wedding week: the festivities

the festivities.

Luncheon: The Lion House

Reception: Red Butte Garden

When we went out hunting for reception venues, I fell in love with Red Butte right away. It was exactly the kind of magical summer atmosphere I had in mind for our wedding. It also may have helped that a beautiful butterfly landed right on my hand while we were there.

Here are some of our favorite photos from the reception:

tidbits

Another tidbit that is more like a story. I think this happens to pretty much all couples, but we ended up not having time to eat much during the reception. So, when we stopped at my house to grab a few things after we left, I told Daniel to grab a little bag of Honey Nut Cheerios for us to snack on. When we got back out to the car and started driving, I asked Daniel for some of the Cheerios. He reached into his bag and pulled out a gallon-size ziplock bag full to the top with Honey Nut Cheerios. He had taken the entire box of of cereal and poured it into the bag! Hungry, much? Haha!

wedding week: the fun stuff

this post is all about the fun stuff. 

The white dress.

The gray tux + yellow tie.

The "something old" shoes + argyle socks.

The bouquet.

The best friends.

The greatest family.

The behind-the-scenes shots.

The cake.

The flowers.

The bridesmaids.

The groomsmen.

The cutest nieces and nephews in the world.

The rings.

The favors.

tidbits
1.  My grandmother sewed every single one of the bridesmaid skirts by hand. Did I mention there were nine of them? She will forever be my hero.
2. My sister-in-law Jessica made the darling ties for the nephews, and the cutest outfit and headband for my niece. She's super creative! (Check out her blog to see more!)
3. Daniel's aunt Caytie made the darling flower rings we gave to the bridesmaids as favors. Do I know some talented people, or what?
4. I'm not kidding when I say my mom and I went to every bridal shop from Bountiful to Provo looking for dresses. I probably tried on hundreds of them but none of them seemed like me. I always felt like I was wearing a costume, and I didn't want to feel that way on my wedding day. It was all worth it when I finally found my dress.
5. Also - my dress was originally sleeveless.
6. I procrastinate. I bought my jewelry two days before the wedding. Eek!
7. If you thought the jewelry was cause for a panic - the alterations on my dress were also finished two days before the wedding. Whew!
8. My mom and I did all the table flowers ourselves! White Ikea vases, candles, and yellow spider mums did the trick. (p.s. I call them "firework flowers")

wedding week: the ceremony

the ceremony.

Our ceremony was at 10:20 in the morning in the Salt Lake Temple. That morning, I was so, so happy. I've never felt anything like it before or since. Right before we got married, Daniel and I got to sit together in a room while our guests were being seated. That short, quiet moment in the temple with Daniel was so sweet and special to me. I couldn't believe it was all happening.

tidbits

This tidbit is more like a story. We were so lucky to have Daniel's grandfather be our sealer. In fact, Daniel's grandfather was actually the very first person we told that we were getting married. When we decided we were going to tie the knot for sure, we figured out that we had a lot of time constraints with school starting and bridesmaids being out of town. It turned out that there was only one week in August that we would be able to get married, and we'd have to do it at the beginning of the week if we wanted to go on our honeymoon.

To make sure we got our date, I actually called and scheduled the temple about three weeks before we got engaged! When I called, they asked if I wanted to have a specific person as our sealer, and Daniel had told me to request his grandfather. When I told them, the lady on the phone said "Oh, wonderful. We will let him know the next time he comes in." Eek! We weren't even engaged! I called Daniel in a panic. I really didn't want Daniel's grandfather to hear the news from a receptionist at the temple! Daniel and I decided that we would talk to him before and tell him our plans - even though it wasn't "ring official" yet. When we talked to him, he was so happy for us and absolutely supportive. He kept our little secret for weeks!

wedding week: engagement photos.

our engagement photos.

After we got engaged, it was time for all the planning to begin. For our photography, we decided to go with Lindsey Jane Studios and chose Sarah to be our photographer. She was absolutely amazing! We are so, so happy with our pictures, and the studio was wonderful to work with. We'd recommend them any day. Want to see a few of our favorites from the shoot?

M's outfit

scarf: j.crew

shirt: shade

cardigan: j.crew

jeans: lolabella boutique

shoes: dillards

D's outfit

polo: nordstrom

jeans: lucky brand

shoes: nordstrom rack

M's outfit

shirt: nordstrom

jeans: lolabella boutique

heels: nordstrom

D's outfit

shirt: banana republic

jeans: lucky brand

shoes: nordstrom rack

tidbits

1.  Sarah, our photographer, was nine months pregnant when she took our pictures. Such a champion!

2. During our shoot, we discovered that we are not models, and we are capable of some extremely awkward pictures. Exhibit A:

3. We also discovered that we can't do serious faces - especially Daniel. We just look downright angry!  Definitely had to practice that one in the mirror before our wedding day. (If you're wondering - just a hint of a smile is the key!) Exhibit B:

up next: planning the basics.