WEDDING!

Our wedding day was so much fun!! We got married May 8th in the Salt Lake Temple. The day went so fast, so I'm really grateful for the pictures. I wish I could time travel back and re-live the whole day. I only would have changed a few things... for example, I would have told my dad what time to be at the temple because I forgot to tell him when he should be there. I would have eaten more at breakfast so I didn't get a little sick during the reception. And I would have fast danced with Rich a few more times... since that's something we won't do very often. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. It really was the happiest day of my LIFE!

Here we are, standing outside the temple before we got married... I think we were both pretty nervous at this point.

My cousin, Katie, did my hair and despite all her stress, it turned out great! She and my other cousin, Toni, drove down to SLC super early in the morning and had to fought traffic from the breast cancer 5k to get to me, so I really appreciate all their effort! (Also, my "something borrowed" is Toni's veil. Thanks so much!)

This is us coming out of the temple after we got married. YAY! From this point on, I think we were pretty relaxed and able to enjoy the rest of the day.

This is a fun picture!

More pictures outside the temple.

Here are some of my closest friends. Megan traveled from Las Vegas, Kim came from Denver, and Jessamyn and Michelle came from Washington. It was so nice to have them here! Jessamyn came several days early with her two little kids to help me get ready. Her little girl got sick, so Jessamyn's husband took the kids to the hotel for the rest of the day and I sure missed them! :( Michelle met up with us the day before my wedding. I don't know what I would have done without the those two girls! I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends!

Here is our nephew and all of our nieces. Our other nephew was sick that day, so he couldn't come. I think Daniel really missed having another boy in the group.

This is Rich's immediate family.

And here's my immediate family.

After pictures we went to This is the Place Heritage Park for a ring ceremony and the reception. More to come...

What I've been doing since last post (numbero uno)...

Before I post about my wedding, honeymoon, and house project, I feel like I need to post about some other really wonderful events... I try to keep things in chronological order. :)

Before I moved to SLC, my mom and aunt drove down to Mesquite with my roommate, Shannon. My other roommate, Megan, and I drove up to Mesquite to meet up with them for a spa getaway. We stayed at the Casablanca, where we ate in their little diner and danced the night away.

This is me and my cute little mama. They made me wear this bachelorette sash and hat because Shannon, who planned most of my friend bachelorette party, couldn't be there to see it because her sweet grandma passed away. So this was a little bit of a carry over party. Megan and I packed the left over goodies and brought them to the hotel room so Shannon could enjoy some of the food she prepared.


Me and two of my favorite women ever!


Megan and I painting our nails in the hotel room before our SPA DAY...

We were able to spend the day in the mineral pools, swimming pools, sauna, steam room, and in a relaxation room. We then each got an hour massage. It felt so great to spend a day relaxing after so much stressful planning.


A week before my wedding I had a shower thrown for me by my mom, aunt, and cousins. It was lots of fun to see everyone! I loved that so many of my dad's side of the family came too. I hadn't seen them for a really long time. It was so great!

They like to embarrass me by making me wear ridiculous things while I'm center of attention.

My new mother-in-law came, along with my new sister-in-law. It was super nice of them to travel so far.

It was such fun and I feel super lucky to have such incredible people in my life.

More blogging to come....

BACHELORETTE PARTY

A few weeks ago, my roommates threw me a little bachelorette party! It was such fun and so much detail went into this little shin-dig. My roommate Shannon planned most of it and then she had to leave town because her grandma passed away. :( She put in tons of work for this to come together before she left and then my other roommate, Megan, and our friend, Anne helped with everything she didn't get to before she left. The food was great! The games were fun, and I got some fun gifts!



Thanks for everyone who came and planned! It was a blast!

WIND!

I first saw this video on my friend's blog and I really liked it. I think I like it so much because it's shows what a JERK wind can be. I really dislike wind. Especially on the day we take our engagement pictures. Here's why...





It was fun anyway. Hopefully we can use some photo shop and find at least one that won't embarrass us. And by "us" I mean me. :)

this IS the place

This weekend I went up to Utah again, with hopes of finding a reception hall. My future mother-in-law and I went to This Is The Place Heritage Park and found this little gem...


I offically have a reception site! I'm so relieved to have one more thing planned. And I'm so thankful for second opinions. Thanks Corinne!!

Palm Trees

This is what I see when I leave work. I love these plam trees! They look so cool against a clear sky. I think I love them because even if it's freezing cold or blazing hot outside, my brain is tricked, for just a small little second, into thinking I'm in paradise! Just thought I'd share. :)

ENGAGED!!

The ring that Rich picked out on his own. It's not a very good picture... but he did a great job! I don't think I could've picked out a better one.



I'm a little late in writing this, but I've been kinda preoccupied with making (or attempting to make) some wedding plans. I'll give you the condensed version of how it happened.

I drove up to Utah on February 19 to go skiing with Rich and some friends. When I first got there, we went out to eat and then when we went back to his house, he said that a friend of his called and said he could take us up to the top of the Capital building to look at the city. The Salt Lake capital building has 3 levels that let you walk around the dome (as long as you have an employee with you). So we walked around the first level and it was BEAUTIFUL! I love that city! And then we went up to the next level and his friend stayed back to "make a phone call". When we got to the spot where you can see the temple and the downtown area, I saw that there were flowers laying on the ground. I said, "Rich, someone left flowers up here!" and he just picked them up and gave them to me. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was very ROMANTIC! It was a perfect proposal! I don't think I've ever been happier. Then we went inside the dome where you can sign names. Rich brought up a Sharpie so we signed the wall and wrote the date and our wedding date (May 8 2010) for all to see. Then we went up to the very top level and were able to sign our names again up there and take some photos.

Now I'm just really excited to be married to him! I love him a lot and I feel so LUCKY that he wants to marry me. I also feel like I lucked out because he has an incredible family who has made me feel welcome from day 1. And I'm excited for when I can stop thinking about all these wedding plans... turns out I'm not much of a planner. :)