04-13-12 ~Party~

Cake Cutting:

I knew there would be no such thing as sweetly feeding eachother cake...



...so I was prepared

and

 I am proud to say I did the worst damage

:)



First Dance:

Josh is a country fan, as am I

and he picked the song we danced to

"I cross my heart"

George Strait-his favorite



Then my dad and I shared our dance

and like walking me down the aisle...

it was the sweetest moment.

He has said for years that when I get married we would dance to

"I loved her first"

because naturally-he did love me first-

and he will always claim it



 Love him

04-13-12 ~Ring Ceremony~

 Like I mentioned in an earlier post-

my family was not able to attend our temple ceremony.

It was hard

BUT

we planned to exchange rings at an additional ceremony.

It was in front of all our family

with the traditional bridal party arm in arm

and where my dad could walk me down the aisle.

I had always dreamed of the day my hero of a dad would walk me down the aisle

and him and I were ecstatic for the moment to come.

The sad thing was this handsome guy below was sick.

Poor fellow...

we watched our ceremony again and his commentary wen as follows:

"This is where I was deciding whether to pass out or thow up"

-

"This is where I was sure I was going throw up"

-

"This is right after my grandma and aunt popped me all their tums"

-

you get the picture

But all was OK, I didnt know (good thing), and he felt a little better as the night went on.

The ceremony was wonderful and perfect, just like the one in the temple.

 Dun Dun DunDun...DUN Dun DunDun

Such a special moment for my daddy to walk his very daddys-girl daughter

down the aisle.

 My dad took my hand...put it in Josh's...and said:

"She is my most precious possession and I love her more than anything in the world, all I ask is that you take care of her and love her as much as I do...take care of her, she is your responsibility now"

Granted...I have since learned I will always be my dad's responsibility in his eyes...but he was trying :) and it was one of the sweetest moments in my life.



 The rest of the ceremony went wonderfully like I said.

Josh's uncle, Scott, is a bishop in our church and performed the ceremony.

He spoke the most perfect words

made everyone feel comforted

involved

and said nothing to make anyone feel sadness for not being in the temple.

It was about Josh. Me. Our families. Our marriage.

Nothing else.

Then I was able to say a few words...

I honestly hadn't thought too much about what I would say

until the time came.

I ended up thanking everyone for their support and love.

Then I bore my testimony to my parents about how I would never ever do anything to keep them from my wedding unless I knew what I was doing was right and true. I explained for the millioneth time it was so difficult but I was grateful for their grace and love.

There honestly wasn't a dry eye in the whole place.

I was so grateful then, more than ever, to be surrounded by our family and very close friends.

04-13-12 ~Our Family~

I have been blessed with an incredible family

turns out

so was my sweet husband.

We are extremely lucky.

Once my mom met his family and heard stories about them

she used to cry because she was so happy I would be marrying into an amazing family.

Now her and Josh's mom, Linda, text and talk.

They are adorable...and they get along so well...my dream!

Our day was special because of the covenants we made and the people we shared it with.

We are so thankful for both our families and for their constant love and support.

Along with my two wonderful in-laws...

I gained an older sister, a younger sister, and 2 more brothers-but this time, younger

I am thrilled!

 And it wouldnt be right to not acknowledge my incredible parents.

They worked so hard and supported me so much to make my dream wedding come true.

They have been my biggest cheerleaders since I was born...

I wouldnt be who I am

or where I am

without them.

I love you mom and dad more than you'll ever know!

04-13-12 ~details~

Just some beautiful pictures to show some beautiful detail.

If you know me...you know that

gold

ivory

lace

were the absolute perfect colors for me.

It didnt even take me 2 seconds to decide that detail for our day.

I loved it. Classy. Elegant. Simple...I so badly wanted it to comprise those three words...

and in my opinion-our wedding did just that.

~

HONEYMOON

~

In other news...in t-minus 7 hours Josh and I will be leaving on a jet plane to...

TURKS AND CAICOS

We are beyond excited!

Josh served a mission for our church to Jamaica.

While there, him and his companion were called to open the islands of Turks and Caicos for missionary work...they were the very first two.

Amazing right?

He loves his mission and he loves Turks...almost as much as me...NO.JOKE.

So off we go to where he finally gets to get in the water and swim, lay on the beach, and be a tourist!