Man and Wife....through rain or shine!

Every little girl dreams of her wedding day. Since I was getting married at 29 years old, I had a lot of time to know what I wanted. And a December snowy, cold wedding was not what I had visioned. But Matthew and I had decided more than weather conditions, it was more important to have our wedding at a convenient time for our family to all be here. But December 29th turned out to be just that...the blizzard of 2010. When I woke to gray skies and light flurries, I will admit I let myself have a quick cry before remembering there were no time for tears. I had every second of my wedding day planned out from getting my hair done by my dear friend Aly to allowing LOTS of time for pictures. The night before I had my sister Mistie, sister-in-law Colleen, and life long friend Sarah stay over to be to help me with getting ready the next morning and help calm my tears.

The reality of this long awaited miracle really hit me when I put on my white wrapped taffeta dress. I had put it on several times before, but this time it was REAL. Besides "something new", I was honored enough to wear an old necklace that my Grandma gave me that she had gotten from my grandpa during their countless years of their marriage. I wore it in hopes that this token would rub off on me and give me the perfection that they had in their marriage.

One advantage  of December was the lack of popularity for weddings at the Mount Timpanogas Temple. After the choas of getting ready, I was pampered by the temple workers and had the Brides Room to myself. I was very grateful for those quiet moments that I could ponder on how blessed I was to be able to find such an amazing Priesthood holder to take me to the temple like I had always dreamed of. As I walked into the sealing room, I was overwhelmed by all the many faces of loved ones who have influenced me in so many ways and, like me, had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Although the weather was wet, slushy, and cold I was determined to get the pictures I desired. During my wedding plan preparation, I made it a point to find a photographer that I knew would do the best job for us. I took lots of time to get referrals, have countless consultations, and find someone I trusted to make our pictures beautiful. I was successful when I met with Carrie Butler for the first time. Upon meeting, I clicked with her spunky personality, creative talent, and loved her enthusiasm.

The luncheon provided by Matthew's family was amazing. It gave us some individual time to spend with our family and close friends. With that, we were also able to express to all of them publicaly how happy we were to find each other and unite our lives.



Through getting to know my photographer, we found a common bond that both of our brother's had been suffering from cancer. She was very supportive and understanding when I called her with the news of losing my brother. After the luncheon, Carrie came to me with a very familiar look on her face. Her brother was getting worse and they weren't sure he was going to make it through the evening. Thinking of my recent lose, I knew I had to let Carrie leave early to say the good-byes I had always wished I could have said to Marcus. With my families all too empathetic heart, we rushed to get the family pictures completed and Carrie on the blizzardy road home.

Wow! Was this picture difficult to get even this good.

All my best friends!!!

After years and years of dreaming of my wedding day, I will admit that the day didn't go exactly to how I had planned it. But it is just the first of many lessons during marriage that things don't go according to plan. But the one thing that did go according to plan was that I married the most amazing, patient, understanding, and kind man and I would have never change that.