Wedding Diary :: Part VII ::

:: The Party ::


Of all my wedding photos, those of the reception are my most treasured. Because Brando and I grew up just a neighborhood apart, we had so many mutual friends come, some who hadn't seen each other in years! It turned into a giant reunion party. We still have people tell us how much fun they had :) I walked around barefoot, gave out a million hugs, smiled so much it hurt, and completely forgot to have a bite of my pie ;) I've been making up for it ever since...




:: Things I want to remember ::

-the tears that came from skyping my best friend, Lauren, while she was living in Jerusalem. Kaitlyn took the computer around to all the guests and gave her a complete tour of the reception.

-the cardboard cut-out of Brando's brother, David, who was on an LDS mission in Russia.

-Aunt Judy's vintage outfit & hat that she wore especially for me

-Mollie, my childhood side-kick (we wore matching cowgirl outfits to preschool) catching the bouquet

-the wardrobe malfunction that I'll NEVER repeat but that resulted in some good laughs with girlfriends :)

-leaving the reception to a line of sparklers as we ran away together!
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Wedding Diary :: Part IV ::

::The Luncheon::



After our Temple Sealing, we had our luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Temple Square in SL for our bridal party, close family, and friends. It was the perfect amount of people, the food was amazing, and I couldn't stop laugh-crying with joy. Nothing feels better than being in a room full of people you love dearly who love you right back (I'm laugh-crying just thinking about it!). Our wedding felt like so much more than a union between Brandon and I, it felt like a huge thank you party to the people in our lives who got us to that point, and who continue to be our strongest supporters.

Wedding Diary :: Part III

:: The Wedding Party ::



Brando dressed the men in dapper tuxes and bowties. My mom found the most amazing silk floral dresses for my bridesmaids on Sundance Catelogue for less than $20 each (I loved them so much, I got one for myself!) We shortened them to the knee, and I used the remnant fabric to make headbands and little bows for their shoes. My mom's lovely dress was from Dillards (on sale, of course) and she did a few minor alterations to make it just right. And all flowers were by my talented friend, Angie Miller.

:: Things I want to remember ::

Kaitlyn, my maid of honor and best friend since pre-school, "babysitting" me while I recovered from surgery so my mom could run wedding errands. I don't remember much during those drugged-up days but I do remember watching "Notting Hill" and "The Holiday" while she helped me finish my bridesmaid headbands. And she only sort of laughed at me when I said silly drug-induced things ;) She wrote me the sweetest letter to read while in the temple, it's something I'll treasure for ever.

Carmen, my little sis, and I hadn't spent much time together prior to the wedding. That distance bothered me so much, as I'm sure it did her. Although she wasn't in the Temple Sealing, I felt so close to her, and I wanted to hug her more than anyone when I walked out the temple doors. Somehow, getting married brought me closer to everyone I love.

Wedding Diary :: Part II

The Dress

I was the kind of girl who dreamed about her wedding her entire life, particularly the dress. I was always sketching up ideas, making prototypes for my barbies, I even worked for a dress shop where I spent the weekends wearing wedding dresses for bridal fairs. But when it actually came to looking for the dress, I avoided it. The thrill of shopping was gone, everything felt so frilly and poofy, and just NOT ME. A lot of good ideas (and some silly ones) were thrown around. I finally, in a spontaneous moment of desperation, ordered a dress from online. When it arrived, I tried it on in my parent's bedroom. I had that "yes, this is the one" moment, and then my mom and I cried :).

The dress is Jcrew (no longer available) I ordered 2 since I didn't know what size I'd be, and I had a giftcard & searched online for promo codes, it was a total steal :). My mom added a chiffon ruffle around the neck and skirt, as well as a remnant from her own wedding dress, tucked away on the inside, like a little secret just for us.

These bridals were actually taken 2 years after we were married! We had to take a rain-check on our original bridal shoot date when I became sick. Turns out prancing around in your wedding dress two years later is a total blast!

*photos by the talented Elise Lauren
*flowers by me (from my mother's garden)

Wedding Diary :: Part I

On December 25th 2009, Brando and I exchanged what felt like our millionth "I love you" and picked a date: June 25th 2010. It had to be June, we both insisted (this song convinced me it was the only month worth marrying in, and Brando swears the last week of June is the greenest in Utah). The first two months of "engagement" were a drag (and to most, a complete secret) but as soon as he knelt down on one knee and that heirloom ring was on my finger, time flew by! It was filled with dress shopping, engagement photos, reception planning, our first silly fights as engagees, little sleep, poor grades, and falling even more in love. And then, when everything seemed finalized except a few little odd ends here and there, disaster struck. I became very ill. Most of those two weeks leading to my wedding are a blur. What I do remember are several visits to the ER, doctor after doctor after doctor, prayers from family and friends, fear in my parents faces, confusion in Brando's. I felt defeated. I recall one very real and serious conversation with my parents and Brando: would we postpone? Up until this moment, my mind was still concerned with the details of the wedding: the flowers and invites and dress and such. But when the reality of the wedding not happening was present, the only thing that mattered to me was that Brando and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 25th. If there was no luncheon, no photos, no covering up my tired eyes and sickly body, so be it, I would become his wife on June 25th. !!! that bit of fire in me, along with surgery, prayers and blessings from so many people, and miracles from God, I did become his wife AND made it through the entire day with an energy still foreign to me!



What happened in the temple was very sacred, it's not something I can put words to. The feeling is easier to describe: I felt like, up until that moment, I had only been a small part of me, almost as though I were one-dimensional, though I didn't know it. I had been living my life the fullest I could, but by becoming Brando's wife, I became closer to me, closer to God, and closer to whole. I expanded. My heart and mind and spirit grew in an instant, with more room. More room for God, for Brando, for a family we would create together, and somehow, more room for me: the me I needed to become.