Wedding Day Recap

Most of you reading this probably attended the wedding, so I will keep the recap brief.

Jay and I were married Saturday May 26th 2012 in the Portland Oregon Temple.  We were blessed to have many family and friends come to town for the occasion and that the weather cooperated for the day.  We had sunny skies from start to finish.

My mom and dad are serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington DC.  They were able to come to the wedding, but have other responsibilities keeping them busy.  And since I'm not much of a party/celebration planner, I was grateful to have help from the Brennan family.  Shelby designed my invitations and most of my flowers.  Amy let me borrow her beautiful dress and jewelry.  And Lisa -- she and Greg were the masterminds behind almost everything else.  She sewed a beautiful dress, made my bouquet, sewed the table cloths, designed the center pieces, found a location for our family dinner, helped us find a korean/mexican fusion taco truck for the family dinner, planned our family 5K, prepared all the sides for the family dinner (Italian sodas, fruit), set up and took down all decorations and helped keep me sane while wedding planning out of state and completing grad school.  Oh-and I can not forget to mention that back in February she and Jay conspired together without my knowledge to fly Jay to Portland while I was in town visiting and making wedding decisions.  And a final thanks to my sister-in-law Katherine who made my wedding cake and a grooms cake for Jay.  And to Becca, Jay's sister who took our engagement photos (pre-engagement and post engagement :)

Our announcement photo

And highlights from the big day--

7:45 sharp, the Family 5K started.  I think it was approached tentatively by some family members, but I'm pretty sure all who participated loved it.  Even the nieces and nephews who ran, rode bikes, or rode scooters had smiles on their faces.

We had a family breakfast following the run for the Robertson family to meet the Dougall family.

And then I was off to get my hair and make-up done.  Surprise-no hot water.  I've taken plenty of cold showers in my travels abroad.  What's one more, right?!?  I didn't have time to wait for the hot water heater to be reset so I sucked it up.  And despite a warning about shaving in cold water, I opted to take my chances.

Jay's friend Chantelle flew out as my hairstylist!  And did a great job not only on my hair, but Jay's too!

Our ceremony started at 1pm with a room packed with family and our close friends.  Legrand Wolley, a long time family friend, married us.

 

Following we were off to Scholls Valley Lodge for a family dinner with Korean burritos and tacos by Koi Fusion and some serious family chaos.  (See the previous post about our very LARGE family).  The Lodge is set up on a hill overlooking a grassy field and orchard. The setting was perfect.

The days leading up to the wedding I was stressed.  Most of it can be blamed on the fact I have no idea how to plan a party let alone my own wedding.  Ordering flowers from an Asian flower lady that I could hardly understand was just the beginning.  The rented chairs weren't right-they were filthy and outdoor not indoor chairs.  And answering questions and phone calls from both sides of the family were just a few.  It was all stressing me out and in tears I asked Lisa-"Am I magically happy tomorrow on my wedding day? Because right now I'm not."  And I was unsure how I was supposed to in a matter of 12 hours put all of this behind me and be a carefree bride.  Her answer was an emphatic-YES.

And just to put any future brides concern to rest--that is exactly how I felt on my wedding day.  Nothing was that big of a deal.  The shower was cold.  The caters showed up almost 45 min late.  My nephew's head was 1/2 shaved from crazy hair day at school and had no intention of shaving the rest of it off.  The beautiful cake that my sister in law made slightly melted during the ceremony and the 5 layer cake starting leaning ever so slightly.  (We delayered it down to 3 and it still tasted amazing!)  The microphone wasn't working properly.

The family quieted down long enough for our parents and 2 siblings to share a few memories and advice for our new journey.  (Jules thanks for the toothpaste analogy.  And James thanks for heads up about tape on the upper lip!) We rounded up the afternoon with Jay and I sharing a few thoughts about our relationship.  We both strongly feel God's hand guiding us in the decisions we make in our lives. These decision led us to each other and some good memories and ups and downs in the process.  Jay-Thanks for waiting 5 1/2 year for me and for giving me one more chance summer of 2011.

Okay-so much for a quick recap.  This was much longer than expected, but I am horrible at writing in my journal and this is probably the best journal entry I'm going to get for the event.

We spent a relaxing weekend at the beach before flying back to Utah 3 days later for us to get a running start on the next 6 weeks of life-more on that to come.