And Then They Got Married

It's funny what we end up remembering, and not remembering, about our wedding. The only thing about my wedding that I remember was sitting in the celestial room with Joe before the ceremony, and the fact that I wasn't nervous at all. I have no idea what the officiator said - not a single word. I vaguely remember who was their with us in the sealing room. I remember a whole lot afterwards (the pictures, the reception, etc.), but not the marriage ceremony itself. I wonder what Cora and Andrew will remember. For me, their ceremony is almost as much of a blur as mine was. I remember that I didn't cry at all until Cora started crying, and she didn't start crying until her grandma Liddell came up to hug her afterwards. It kind of opened the flood gates. She has such a special relationship with her grandma Liddell, and I love that. But it was still a happy occasion. Andrew's mom and I went with Cora to the bride's room afterwards to help her get into her wedding dress (Cora chose to get married in her temple dress, like I did, because it's covered up with the temple clothes anyway). Then we all came out of the temple to a VERY windy day. Pictures were....challenging. But they had a great photographer who got the job done.

After all the family photos had been taken, most people left to get ready for the family dinner we were having a little later that night. We stayed until after the bridesmaid's and groomsmen's photos were finished, since our kids were in those.

They got some more photos on their own after we left.

The family dinner was SO much fun. Thanks to Julie and Dan (Andrew's parents) again, for putting it all together. Cora and Andrew wanted a nacho bar, and that was a big hit.

I was asked to MC the night, and I loved that they asked me to do that. We laughed so much that whole night, getting to know more about the couple, and the sibling gifts were especially hilarious. Alex gave Cora a bell that she could summon Andrew with to do her bidding (because in the past, Cora has usually summoned Alex to do her bidding, and he wanted to pass the job on). Joseph gave Cora a grandma mug filled with Werther's caramels (because Cora is often referred to as the grandma or mother of her friend groups). And May gave her something that Cora and Andrew could "do together on their wedding night" - a lego set of a bride and groom. Unfortunately, we didn't really get any pictures of that night. I guess we were too busy having fun. One more thing that I got to do for the wedding festivities was to make all the flower arrangements. Cora found this really cool company that makes wood flowers. They can make the flower arrangements for you, or they can send you all the supplies and you can make them yourself. Since the second option was cheaper, I volunteered. I think they turned out really nice, and they'll last forever.

The next day they had a ring ceremony and reception, but I'll put that in another post.

Almost Here

At the end of May we all went to Utah for the big day. I forgot to post about their engagement pictures and invitations, so I'll put some of those here.

And a couple of days before the wedding they did the first look photos. This is not a thing that was being done when I got married (actually, I think it's pretty new), but I think it's a cool idea. Cora let me and Marie tag along, and it was really special for me. They decided to do the photo shoot at the Utah Capitol building, and it turned out so great. Cora was the most beautiful bride. My mama heart was so full.

It rained before they got started, and then right as they were finishing up, and the skies and lighting were gorgeous.

And here are a couple of candid shots I took.

And then it was time. We had stayed the night together at Marie's house. And we woke up. And Cora was dancing. And then AJ put a great note on the front door.

And then we went to the temple. But wait, I'll save that for the next post.

100

At the beginning of May, Joe and I took a completely unnecessary, one-day trip to Disneyland - just the two of us. Now that I've acknowleged that it was completely unnecessary, let me explain why it was necessary. First reason - Disney was celebrating it's 100th anniversary.

Second reason - Splash Mountain closed at the end of that month, forever.

Third reason - Springtime in Disneyland, after spring break but before schools let out, is a pretty great time to go. Beautiful weather, and less crowded.

Three very convincing reasons. Obviously I unnecessarily needed to be there. This was a very relaxed day for us. We didn't rush to do anything. We didn't even rope-drop a ride. Instead we stopped at the bakery, where I tried the Matterhorn macaroon for the first time.

It was good, but it was the densest macaroon of all time. At this time I would like to take a side quest and give an important lesson on cookies.

Please stop saying macaroon when you're talking about a macaron, you uncultured swine. Okay, I'm just kidding about the swine part. Sorry about that. I feel strongly about the proper use of cookie names. Okay, where were we? Oh right, taking things easy and enjoying the magic.

One thing I wanted to do with Joe that we've never done before is to attend the flag ceremony that they do at the end of every single day. They ask all current and former members of the military to come forward to be recognized, and I think it's a really cool thing.

One more thing I wanted to do was the dining package for the parade. We ate at the Plaze Inn, and the meal was absolutely delicious. I forgot to take a picture of the meal, but I took a picture of the dessert that turned my tongue blue.

I thought the new parade was fun.

Joe doesn't like watching the parades, but he likes me, so he endulges me. He's my favorite person.

But the most important thing we did was to ride Splash Mountain for the very last time. I'm all for the change that they are making with this ride, but this is history in the making. I'm proud of the ability I have to hold a pose on the drop, instead of just screaming my head off, so I was aiming for the perfect picture, and I really think I got it.

Pure magic. And then we came home. The end.