wedding moments, part 3

our sealing was absolutely the best thirty minutes of my life. and the rest of our wedding day was just incredible to me - everything felt so perfect and magical and full of love. i knew i would be happy on that day, but i could have never anticipated how full of joy i was - i've truly never experienced anything like it.

am i oversharing here? i just want to capture things (in multiple places!) while they are fresh in my mind, so i can remember them forever, ever. and this much joy?! i just have to share. so, to pick up where i left off...

-the experience of taking pictures outside the temple was pretty chaotic, to be honest. lots of people, lots of kids, lots of cameras, lots of instructions, and i wanted to talk to and hug and celebrate with each one of these people so very dear to my heart! our photographer was an absolute champ dealing with everyone and everything, but just the nature of huge families and not tons of time equaled some frenzy. it was happy frenzy, though. there were these somehow still, joyful, beautiful moments laced through the hoopla -- stealing kisses as our very most loved ones surrounded us on all sides, laughing as my dad took selfie videos, excited looks into eyes of friends and siblings and parents. the weather was outrageously perfect - not chilly and not too warm, sun shining but not beating, and a lovely little soft breeze - and i didn't see a single other bride around (that is quite unusual at the salt lake temple grounds).

{official pictures to come, but here's a couple that siblings snapped that i love!}

-after we'd wrapped up pictures, we needed to go straight to millcreek inn, where we had our wedding dinner, right away (we were a bit behind schedule)...but we stopped for a few minutes, just the boy and i, and sat on the edge of the reflecting pool and decompressed. everything had just happened so fast and so brightly, so it was good to just sit and talk in the kind sunshine for a couple of minutes, alone after being surrounded by so many loved ones.

-as we walked up the downtown street to get in the car, i caught a glimpse of our reflection in the storefront windows and i gasped. we were married! and we looked really good :) just seeing us together, dressed like that, striding hand in hand - gosh it made my heart so happy.





-when we arrived at millcreek inn, i just about died at how beautiful everything looked. seriously, we could not have dreamed up a more perfect autumn evening. the foliage was softly flaming and the brick paths were freckled with gold leaves and our wedding flowers were draped over the arches and placed so exquisitely on the tables and the slanty sunlit views of the gilded mountains were open and clear and delicious. the setting was just so much prettier and more lovely than i could have ever hoped, and i'll just never forget my first views of it.

{i was sooo happy to have my sister shawni, who came all the way from china, at the wedding}


-after we took a few pictures, the music was turned on (jazz classics perfectly selected by my brother eli) and the lights along the building illuminated and the people very, very most beloved to us began arriving. those twenty minutes of appetizers and greetings was just splendid.


{this picture of my brothers - oh my gosh i love them! - shows off how gorgeous the foliage was!}

-then, the boy and i sat to eat flanked on either side by our parents, and i had the best view of my entire life, no doubt. there's just no way to describe how wonderful it was to be literally surrounded by truly (almost) everyone i love most in the world, with the person i love most in the world next to me, and the people who so positively influenced him around us too. i mean, it was just so, so, so outrageously wonderful. everything around seemed just so full, so saturated...i felt like the love and joy could reach so far through the outdoor space, yet wasn't diluted at all. as we all ate our salads and bread i stopped to hear the merriment, and notice the magic of the candles and flowers and occasionally falling leaves, and feel the warmth of the heat lamp behind me and radiating from my happy, happy heart.

-each of our siblings and two of our friends each gave a one minute toast, and then our parents had a chance to share some thoughts. there was just this crystal clear love in the air. the twinkle lights in the trees came on and dessert was brought out (oh man, i loved the dessert that we brought in and the millcreek staff plated and served - pumpkin cake with fresh whipped cream and pomegranate seeds). the things that were said were so thoughtful, tender, genuine, and kind and my heart was glowing.

-as i rose from my chair to say a few words, i was totally overwhelmed with love and gratitude (are you sensing a theme here?!). standing next to my true love and surrounded by our beloved parents, i looked out over my brothers and sisters who are the truest friends, and my friends who have been like sisters, and my new family and all the people who built my husband and i was electrified - just buzzing with joy. i gave my husband book to the boy and explained to everyone that he is so much better than anything i could have dreamed up, and that i wouldn't have our wild ride any other way, and that i know our love will last forever. then, hearing him thank everyone and thank god and express love for me - it was the calmest, most pristinely beautiful feeling - i was so full up yet so at peace.

-after taking some time to say goodbye to our loved ones, we went inside while my dear, dear, dear friend dani prepared guests for our send off. we weren't planning on doing anything special when we left the dinner, but dani asked if she could plan something which we loved! she didn't tell us exactly what it was going to be, so it was so fun and exciting to walk out of the front door of millcreek inn to a sparkly golden tunnel of love. dani had made navy signs with glittery words on them (i wish i had pictures! - "charian" "you did it!" "hooray!" "c+i" and even "dripping with passion"!) and sticks with gold ribbons to wave and she set up a bubble machine that filled the air with magic :) everyone cheered as we walked through the tunnel to our car and it was just about the most fun thirty seconds ever.

...to be continued...