And thoughts regarding the actual day ... more than seven years after the fact.
The first thing you have to know about our wedding is that it took place in December. And I, no longer being a teenager (by a couple of months), yet still possessing a typical know-it-all demeanor (no offense to current teenagers, but let's just stick to the facts here), insisted on wearing a short-sleeve dress. I used to have issues with long sleeves. By issues, I mean that I felt like my clothes were going to suck the life right out of me if I had them covering every inch of my skin. Now, in the bridal shoot, the short sleeve dress wasn't an issue. For starts, the pictures were taken earlier in the year (say, November?) and they were taken indoors. So not only was I warm, but no one could tell which season it was, so a short sleeve dress didn't look so ridiculous. Funny thing is, on our cold, snowy December day, I wasn't cold at all (must have been that hot love) . OK, enough stalling. Here's the dress (and me trying to look like I'm contemplating the roses in my hands, but really I was thinking, "I hate bridal pictures without the groom."):
Oh, look! There's the groom. This is the picture that I had on our wall for many years. Now I have no wedding photos on any walls because I can't decide which one I dislike the least.
This is the photo that my mom picked out for her wall. Can you see us? We're those smudges between the trees and in the middle of the snow. Yes, in my brand new white leather heels from Nordstrom, I hiked (and I'm not known for my hiking) in the snow to get this photo. Still wondering if it was worth it. For the record, that's the Bountiful Temple behind us. Clint let me pick our wedding location, and this is, by large margins, the most beautiful and easily spotted edifice in Northern Utah. It sits way high on the hill in Bountiful, and if you drive down I-15 at night, you can't miss it all lit up. It's even more spectacular up close.
Our photographer was a little out of control, and kept asking us to do weird poses and kiss all of the time. Don't know what he was thinking -- us being newlyweds and all. Anyway, here are some of those photos (turns out they weren't too bad).
This one would have been way cooler if we were on the steps leading to the Montmartre neighborhood in Paris.
Not the typical shot with parents. Hmm ...
I'm laughing. Clint's not. I don't know why. I suppose I should have written about this photo seven years ago instead of today.
For the longest time, my dad had this picture on his desk at work. Knowing my dad, it's probably still there because he doesn't like change. My mom's in red because my wedding colors were red and white. I always thought red roses were so romantic. Actually, I still think that. Maybe my husband will bring some home for our upcoming anniversary (hint, hint). My only sister is not in red because we didn't have a wedding line with everyone in coordinating clothes. Don't you hate going to weddings and having to pretend like you're interested in meeting a bunch of people you'll never see again? Us, too. And moreover, don't you hate having to buy/wear a really ugly dress that someone else picked out that isn't right for your body style that you plan to donate to goodwill on your way home from the reception? Me, too. So for our reception, we greeted our guests at the door and let our family dress, mingle and eat according to their whims.
Here's our wedding party. Let's see if I can still name everyone. Just kidding, that would take too long and you would get soooo bored. Instead let me tell you some things that I think of when I look at this picture now.
- My brother Tom was regrettably and most unfortunately out of town.
- Next to Tom, I only have one brother and sister-in-law missing from my family.
- Since hardly any of my family lives in Utah, most of the other people that were invited from my side are really good friends.
- Quincy, my niece who's practically all grown up now, was only five years old in this picture, and she's standing right next to me.
- Clint's grandma Euvola is pictured here, but has since deceased.
- My brother Gary brought a date to my wedding. He is now married to someone much lovelier.
- My sister-in-law Jen has hair shorter than mine. That's not such an anomaly, except that her hair hasn't been that short since, and neither has mine.
I don't know who took this picture, but bless their little heart because I really, really love it. Even though we're looking straight at the camera and obviously smiling for that reason, the smiles feel more genuine. And what says I love you more than a genuine smile?
How about still loving the person you married nearly eight years ago? Yeah, that probably compares.
