HappyNuss: The Wedding Edition!

On April 22, 2017, my only daughter got married! After a fun few days of preparations in Utah, we got up on Saturday morning, got dressed and headed for the temple--Huzzah!

It’s funny, I suppose because of the kind of parent I am, I never had specific dreams or visions for my Sara’s wedding day. I knew from the time she was born that she would be independent and would choose her own way. I also knew a long time ago that she is a minimalist when it comes to decisions and plans. She is practical, well-mannered and compassionate, so I knew she would consciously choose not to make the preparations so complex that they were a pain. She has a strong sense of beauty as well. All of that came together.

The Dress: 

She found her dress on Etsy and had it custom-made to her measurements. People asked me if I was disappointed that I didn’t experience shopping for and helping her choose her dress, with the theatrical try-on session in a fancy dressing room. Upon reflection, I can honestly say that I wasn't. It felt very right to let her take the lead on this important decision. Certainly we worked together and I was involved, and there was plenty of sweet anticipation and delight associated with the process. There were lots of texted photos and discussion, and I never felt like I missed out on anything. It was totally fun and I was proud of her for handling it on her own. The whole experience of finding her dress fit our circumstances and her personality and sensibilities. My contribution was a lace shawl and it was a joy to make for her.

The Announcements/Invitations: 

Having an out-of-town wedding makes things interesting. I remember at one point, the photographer was completely puzzled and asked, "Why are you having the wedding in Utah if no one in the wedding party actually lives there?" I know. Crazy. Mostly because it's central to where most of the family lives. The only people who had to fly out for the wedding were me and Eric and our son Sam and his wife from Mississippi. My sister also flew from Tennessee, which was awesome. Pretty much everyone else, from my siblings and parents to Andy's family and friends, were able to drive. So, our announcements were simple, but had to include some unique information. This is what we came up with. I've taken all my kids' announcement photos and that makes me happy.

There were also several enclosures and we made them as small, square cards with other photos on the backs of each one. They really turned out nicely. I'm super-happy with all of that. We did not follow many of the accepted conventions of wedding stationery, but again, it reflects the personality and vibe of our family.

In case you're reading this and planning a wedding, the gathering of addresses and mailing of the announcements is one of the biggest jobs. Both Sara and Andy were in classes right at the mailing time, so I voluntarily took it on and man...there were some stressful minutes. But everyone helped out, including Andy's parents, so it was all good and did get done. There were glitches along the way, but we had faith, stuck together, and it worked out.

The Temple

Because of the logistics, I had a couple of hours to sit quietly at the temple before anything even started happening for Sara and Andy. Sara had to be there waaayyyy early because some other members of Andy’s family were meeting up for a joyful day of their own at the temple. An adopted son was being sealed to parents. Another permanent family connection was made. While I was waiting, I saw a friend—Maddie, who served a mission here in Maryland. She was also waiting for a family wedding. I’m not entirely sure she knew who I was, but that’s okay, it was still lovely to see her. When it was time, we were met by workers who would be our ambassadors the whole day. Marriage is a crowning ordinance in our beliefs. There is simply nothing more important to us than the formation of a family. So, Sara and Andy were treated like a young prince and princess as they made their way through the beautiful building. Here are some photos of the inside of the Payson Temple. I did not take them that day, because once a temple is dedicated as a sacred House of God, no photos are allowed. However, before each temple is dedicated, there's an open house and quite a lot of media coverage. You can go to the open house! Anyway, Payson is amazingly beautiful, with simple-yet-rich details and lots of light.

Here is the entry. Anyone can go in and see this part of the temple.

This is the Bride's room. Sara had her own closet, vanity
and mirror to use to prepare for the day.

Here is the room where she was married. These chairs were filled with family and friends. It was glorious. You can read more about our basic beliefs about marriage here.

They came out as a new family unit. We gathered outside to welcome them. There was cheering, there were photos. It was so fun! The best part of course were all the people who came to celebrate with us. The last pic is all the folks from my side of the family. It still makes me weep to think of all the time, expense and love that brought my children, parents and siblings to this place. I love them so. 

The Celebration:

Sara did not want a big reception. We opted for a wedding luncheon at a restaurant, so our involvement would be much simplified, which is the way to go if you don't actually live in the town where your kid is getting married. Ashlyn helped us settle on La Jolla Groves, a lovely spot in a lovely area. It is decorated with a weird-sounding-but-actually-really-beautiful grove of life-sized artificial trees. They specialize in these kinds of gatherings and we rented the main part of the restaurant for the afternoon. They provided personalized menu cards, white tablecloths and excellent service. We decided our decorative touches would be flowers and some Knudsen Stars. We would have a brief interlude between the temple and the start of the luncheon to get these simple decorations set up at the restaurant. Here are some of Rachel's gorgeous photos of the luncheon. I can't say enough about her. I hardly took any photos all day long because I was so happy she was there with us. I hardly know her, but because of our previous meeting and my longtime following her on instagram, and mostly, because of her personality, she felt like a friend. You can see her blog posts about the formal portrait session here and the wedding day here .

One thing that must be noted about this day was that we did have some precious Maryland people with us. Many Mormons end up in Utah at some point in their lives, and some of the people who helped Sara become who she is today do live there now, and they were able to join us. That was a really special flourish on this already beautiful day.

Some of the Maryland people who thrilled me with their
presence.