A COVID Wedding to Remember

I slept so well the night before the wedding. Nathan called me and I told him I wasn't nervous yet and felt calm. To help me sleep I took Benadryl and melatonin so I slept deeply. This was a great blessing that got me through the emotions and joy of my wedding day! 

I got up at 7 and did my own make up before heading out to get my hair done by my girl Tracy. She made a braid crown for the top of my head that looked amazing! I got so many compliments. The salon was close to my parent's house so it was easy to go with them to the temple to later switch to Nathan's car. Mom could tell I was nervous because I was super chatty in the car.

We all met in front of the temple doors and entered together. We mostly invited immediate family except I also had Alisa and Cameron there. Nathan looked so good in his suit. And I loved our Mr and Mrs masks. I beat him to the temple and I was jumping up and down when he walked up!

We walked into the sealing room together and sat on the bench next to our mom's as witnesses. I was grinning the whole time. As we knelt across the alter I mostly stared at Nathan with a dopey grin. We completed the sealing ordinance and Nathan and I kissed over the alter and then exchanged our rings at the side. As the sealer directed everyone one by one to congratulate us I got super emotional and had to try not to cry because the love in that room from everyone was so palpable. Nathan was just beaming. We left the room as man and wife! 

When I changed out of my temple clothes into my wedding dress I really felt like a princess in the bride's room with the big mirror and beautiful vanity. My dress is so gorgeous! I'm so happy we got it to work since I had bought it 7 years prior we bought a corset kit and my aunt Kay hand sewed it in place of the zipper for me! When I bought it 7 years ago from Goodwill it fit me like a glove, and I have been many sizes since then... But I was still so happy with it! I only had to order a jacket and hoop skirt. I was told by Nathan and many others that I looked like a princess. Nathan specifically said I looked like Belle. 

We walked out of the Jordan River Temple to a cheer from our family. Aubrey and Jack were so excited to see me they both ran up for hugs. Aubrey especially wanted to be in every photo with me and I had her hold my purse which was actually a purse that belonged to my great grandma Walker. The purse was bought for her by my great uncle Bill in Paris and it is gorgeous and was perfect for my "borrowed" item. She treated it carefully so she became the official purse holder but the first time I needed it back she cried. She felt better when she got it back again. Jack also ended up in some cute photos with me and Nathan. Nathan's siblings were all there but they weren't able to bring their spouses and kids. The rest of the family photos went well and then we sent dad to get grandpa for the luncheon and Nathan's mom and sister left to decorate the luncheon tables. I also snagged Alisa and took a photo with her and with my sisters we recreated our sister photo from Lizzie's wedding.

Our luncheon was at Bryce's Event Catering and the food was so good! We had many people tell us how much they liked it. We had brisket that melted in your mouth, rice pilaf, salad, sourdough rolls, and assorted dessert bars and soda. When we arrived, we had more of our extended family waiting who cheered our arrival. I walked in in my wedding dress so everyone got to see it, but I bought an evening gown to wear during lunch so I could breathe, eat, and keep the wedding dress clean. I was so excited when I found this gold/silver evening gown that flattered me perfectly. And more importantly I still felt bridal in it!

Nathan had most of his aunts and uncles there and some of his cousins. I had the Bushman's, Grandpa Rausch, and then some friends. So there was around 42 guests at the luncheon. During the luncheon Aubrey had to come sit by me and she took some chocolate away from me and made me take 5 bites of my dinner which she counted on her hand until she gave it back. Mom had just done the same thing to her, so I think she enjoyed doing it back to me. It was pretty adorable! 

When we left the luncheon I told my mom I'd be leaving and going home with my husband to which she replied that sounded weird and I had to agree! I have a husband! It's weird but awesome. At our house we only had about an hour and a half together, which we spent getting our paperwork done to obtain admittance to Hawaii. Once we were done family showed up to get us set up for the last minute details and mom got me back into the wedding dress.

While Nathan had a better luncheon attendance, my friends and family had a better reception attendance. Even my friend Becca VanBibber drove all the way from Idaho to see me! She nearly made me cry too. I also got to meet some of Nathan's friends which was great and they were so excited to see each other since they hadn't seen each other in years. We spent most of the reception on our deck in the back yard since that was more COVID friendly and Lizzie let us use her white canopy and I draped sparkling star lights around it. We also served cookies and milk! They are my favorite comfort food and easy to arrange and safe to serve (individually wrapped) with cute milk cartons. We also got a white cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting, but ordered from my favorite vegan bakery so it was safe for me to eat! Mom had to help get the cake cutting going by telling Nathan and I to stop visiting and cut the cake. As the bride and groom is harder to tell people to stop talking so you can go get cake. Haha. Only a few people were left by then, but it was still a great time. One of my aunts told me she was so excited when we heard we got engaged that she was jumping up and down!

Since the party was winding down mom helped me back into my evening gown again. I was happy to show it off again and be a little more comfortable and feel more able to move around for when we started the clean up. Alisa stuck around to make sure I had help since Nathan's family had to leave early for their early flights the next day. 

It was such a good day! It was weird to have everyone leave and for me to stay behind with Nathan in our new house. We were both a little overwhelmed because everything felt new, but we both said it felt right too. We snuggled and went over all the awesome points of the day and we started our marriage off with our first family scripture study and prayer. I love this man very much, and I think it's only going to get better from here.