4 years and 4-ever

Four years ago Nathan and I were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on a cold winter morning. The weather was pretty much like it is today, overcast and cold, with a dusting of snow. I remember freezing during the outside pictures, but we were so happy that the weather made it safe for most of our family to join us.The reception was perfect. The cake was made (for free, yee-awww!) by my talented sister.Very talented sister!

My theme was sort of Renaissance/fairy tale. (Notice, it was MY theme. Guys don't have themes, they just show up.)
My dress had boning in it, and we added flowing sleeves. My bridesmaids made their dresses (sorry girls, I know it was a lot of work)and they turned out really nice. (My hope was that they would be able to wear the dresses again sometime as a costume.)Nathan in his tux was oh-so-handsome (and hot, and . . . oh, nevermind, I'll tell him.)
My bouquet was made of red tulips (tulips are my favorite flower) and red roses.The reception was full of fun. We only had the Dreaded Line for 30 minutes, and we had fun with it. My Aunt Jessie showed up in the Cinderella a la Rogers & Hammerstein hat (think, Druzella) I had made for her as a joke, and stayed completely serious as she curtsied deeply to Nathan. I think that was his first time meeting her! (Meanwhile, my cousin Molly back home in California was busy changing her name and pretending she didn't know her mother.) We had a live band, thanks to my sister's musician connections, and we had a lot of dancing. The groomsmen had fun during their pictures, and I made a really funny face when the photographer wanted me to sit on my brother-in-law's knee--I was so embarrassed, I hardly knew him! (click on the collage to enlarge, it's really great.)The eligible ladies did their best to rip apart the bouquet. When it came time to toss the garter, the only two unmarried men escaped, leaving Nathan standing there with the frilly thing. Finally, his brother brought their little baby boy Dominic over to catch it. (Just an interesting note, all but one of the fighting ladies are married now, while neither of those reluctant bachelors are!)
It was a wonderful, busy day. We changed into travel clothes, and I left wearing a white fur hat and cape from my Grammy. We drove to the hotel and then tried to find some food, ending up at a pub. We'll be going there tomorrow night for dinner, just like we have every year on our anniversary!

I wish I had started blogging before we got married, but at least I can finally record all this information somewhere. Since Valentine's Day is so close to our anniversary (AND my birthday, poor Nathan!) I'm going to use the next few days leading up to V-day to reflect on how we met and all those sweet happily-ever-after details.