Our Wedding Day

My sweetheart and I were married on December 8th, 2012. It was the most wonderful day of my life. I decided that during this week of "recollection," I would describe what I can remember about it since I never wrote a journal entry and have yet to tell anyone my version of my wedding day!

I woke up to someone jumping on my bed. You know that feeling you get Christmas Eve night where you can't sleep for the life of you? And yet when you find yourself waking up, you can't believe you ever fell asleep? I had that feeling for the entire week before our wedding, but for some reason, I woke up that morning with a start. It was, of course, my soon-to-be husband, who was jumping up and down, yelling, "We're getting married today!!!! We're getting MARRIED today!!!" (He's seriously the cutest-)

It was about 6:00 am, but I seriously shot out of bed with no problem. I think I must have been frightened I was running late or that I had forgotten something, but the minute I looked into my sweetheart's eyes, I knew that everything was perfect. Here I was, with my soon to be husband, happier than any person on earth. His eyes were shinning and his smile was as wide as I've ever seen it. He was shaking like a little dog from excitement and to my surprise, I was too. I don't think my heart slowed down the entire day.

I began my (hectic) day by getting my makeup done. My cute little sister, and soon to be cute little sister, Abbi and Ciara, had volunteered to do my makeup for the day and I trusted them to not make me look like an unrecognizable floozy. I was worried about the fact that they were doing my makeup literally seconds after they woke up, but everything turned out perfectly! They could be makeup artists, for sure. The entire time I was getting my makeup done, all I could say was "I'm getting married today!" as if that would make it sink in. I remember sitting on the little foot rest of a makeup station, wringing my hands, and running over everything I needed to do that day. My patient sweetheart would see how flustered I was and would draw my fidgety hands into his and kiss them softly. There is nothing sweeter in this world than a soft kiss from your soon-to-be husband.

After my makeup was done and my heart had started to dip back into normal rhythms, I had the Olympic event of getting to my hair appointment. I remember running late, but I'm pretty sure it was only by a few minutes and not anything too bad; my hyperventilation would have said otherwise though, I'm sure. Mitch was with me the entire day and was totally my rock. I was terrified that we would be too late and that everything else would have a horrid domino effect, but I luckily chose to marry a pretty level-headed guy who reminded me that nothing could start without us. He drove an even more flustered me to my hair appointment and even sat down and waited for me to get my hair done. I honestly don't remember much about the appointment, other than the fact that the woman who did my hair fostered disabled people in her home. The entire time I was getting my hair done, there was this adorable disabled old man trying to hang up a towel in the bathroom. He just kept on saying, "It's okay. Try again tomorrow!" and then he would try hanging the towel back up. My hair appointment was like an hour and a half long, and that poor little guy tried hanging up a towel for the majority of it. He eventually got it hung up right and was so proud of himself he started clapping. It was absolutely adorable. Seeing that sweet little old man figure something out as simple as hanging up his own towel made me do a serious life check on my mood. Here I was, about to get married, and on the verge of an asthma attack.

After my hair appointment, Mitch and I had a while to spare before we needed to be to the temple. I remember him whispering to me sweetly, "See, I told you we would be fine." or "It's our day, remember?" While it may have been our day, I finally realized what every bride meant when she said that she didn't eat her entire wedding day; we were both starving, so we did what any rational soon-to-be married couple does and went to McDonalds. That's right, everyone! On my wedding day I not only went through the McDonald's drive through looking like a drag queen, but I had a huge Double Cheeseburger and a Sprite. I look back and think, "Dang, we were classy" but I figure it will be a pretty great story to tell in the future. The entire time my husband made sure I didn't get ketchup anywhere or that my hair was fine from laying down in the seat. He kept a tight grasp on my hand and I remember being so peaceful. The entire hectic morning was solved with one quick to stop to McDonald's and an ever loving fiance that wasn't going to let my drama mama side ruin the day. Our day.

My sweetheart and I finished our burgers in time to drive casually up to the Temple. It was so beautiful and what I thought was a peaceful feeling before was nothing. A sea of calm swept over me the instant I stepped into the temple. I remember feeling beautiful and empowered, a regular Aphrodite! The little ladies that worked in the temple just swarmed me with questions and asked for stories, and with each sentence I spoke, their smiles got wider and wider. I loved the three little ladies that helped me that day. They were so sweet and acted as if it was truly my special day. There is a small little nook in my heart for those ladies.

My sealing to my husband was completely enlightening. It was reverent. It was beautiful. And I cried. I bawled like a baby. I bawled sitting with my husband and looking at pictures of Christ. I cried as he took my hands in his and whispered how excited he was to marry me, how happy I made him, and how, in a few minutes, we would be an eternal family. I'm tearing up now as I type this! I have no recollection of what the deep voiced man said before he sealed us, I only remember staring into my handsome man's eyes and thinking of what he had said only minutes before. I remember sitting there and knowing that he loved me, and what he said had echoed everything I had ever felt in preparation for this day. I remember sitting there and knowing that I was, quite possibly, the luckiest girl alive; despite all of the tears and anxiety, my sweet husband still knelt on the other side of that altar and took me as his. We were sealed at 11:30 on December 8th, 2012 as eternal husband and wife.

My husband brought out the strongest testimony I have ever had in that minute. Starring into his eyes reassured me that everything I was doing was right, but more importantly true. It was as if, in an instant, my love for this man had multiplied beyond comprehensible measures. Thankfully, it has only continued to grow. After we were sealed, I was unwillingly separated from my husband to change into my wedding dress. I think the only thing that could have made me stop clinging onto Mitch was the fact that I had my beautiful wedding dress only a few hundred feet away. The same three little old ladies helped my mother and me as we collected all of my knick-knackery. They helped hold my hair as my mother laced my dress. They told me that I was truly more beautiful than Cinderella. Those sweet little old ladies were exactly what I needed. They directed me into the lobby to see my husband. It was as if the words were dripping with honey. Together, arm in arm, we walked out of the temple to be greeted with a crowd shouting their applause's.