Welcome to the third post on my daugher's wedding in Utah. For this post, I'd like to concentrate on the big day - the wedding/sealing, to be specific. Mind you, the official wedding pictures won't be done for another week. I'm going to rely on snapshots from several family members, to help tell the story.
The day began early, with a trip all the way up to Salt Lake City, to pick up my daughter, one of her best friends, and a cousin on my ex-wife's side of the family. My little girl looked so pretty. I asked if she was nervous. She said that it felt like Christmas - she couldn't sleep all night, because she was so excited for the big day ;)
We drove to the LDS temple in Bountiful, Utah. It's an amazing building, at the mid-point of a mountain. The car had to climb hard to make it all the way up the hill.
The external lobby for the temple - people waiting for the bride and groom
My youngest son waits for his sister - in the heat
Family and friends wait outside the temple for the couple to emerge...
The bride and groom emerge from the Temple!
One of life's great moments - watching how happy your children can be. The moment that I saw that look on my daughter's face, as she walked through those doors, was just the best. I was lucky enough to see it on my son's face just 8 weeks ago.
The bride and groom were then inundated with congratulations and best-wishes from friends and family:
The groom and his brand-new mother-in-law ; )
A little touch-up on the veil, with the help of her sister-in-law
We then proceeded to take some pictures. Now - when I saw "some", I mean "a ton". I felt so sorry for the bride and groom, as the temperatures were soaring into the high 90s, and the sun was bouncing off of the gorgeous white walls of the Temple. Also remember that many of these pictures were taken off-to-the-side, so they wouldn't interfere with the "official" photographer (my wife):
It was hot...africa-hot...
A quick snapshot with the groom, bride and her mother's family
We decided to give the couple a little break, and take additional pictures off to the side, with a little shade. Don't worry, these shadows won't be as pronounced in the finished photographs:
One of my favorite pictures from the session - the two newlywed couples
All three of my kids - with their spouses. Glad we have time to save for the last one ; )
Me, my daughter, the groom, my wife and the youngest son
The official photographer in action - with the couple and the groom's parents
A little note - the actual marriage and sealing ceremony in the Bountiful temple is one of the best that I've ever witnessed. The man who performed this ordinance was unique. His name is Glen Price and he used to serve as the Dean of Students at BYU Idaho. In his words of advice to the couple, he spoke of continual improvement in their respective lives, as well as their progress as an eternal couple. I will never forget the quote that he used to reinforce the advice. It comes from Neal A. Maxwell and goes:
"If we choose the course of steady improvement, which is clearly the course of discipleship, we will become more righteous and can move from what may be initially a mere acknowledgment of Jesus on to admiration of Jesus, then on to adoration of Jesus, and finally to emulation of Jesus."
Great words of counsel, to be sure. I know that it's difficult to pay attention to all of the advice given at weddings...but this is some of the best that I've heard.
Next post - the Family Wedding Luncheon!
1 comment:
Great re-cap. I have to agree, the counsel given by Brother Price was fantastic. So glad you included the Elder Maxwell quote.
I think in spite of the fact that everyone taking pictures were very careful not to get in the way of the "official" photographer, they were pretty good. Of course, the subjects were beautiful.
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