Nathaniel and Audrey had a beautiful wedding! We are so happy that Audrey is part of our
family! Her family did so much to plan a
beautiful wedding for them and we are so grateful.
January 13
Michael left on Thursday morning for Provo. We packed most of the things in the Pilot on
Wednesday night, and I added a few more things on Thursday morning. Once he left, I got right to work on chores
and packing. We picked up Jonathan at
3:30pm, came back to the house so he could drop off his backpack and clarinet,
and drove to the airport. Emily picked us
up at the Salt Lake airport. She brought
us Sweet Tooth Fairy cookies! We went to
the Residence Inn and got settled and went to bed as soon as we could.
January 14
We ended up sleeping in and relaxing all morning until it was time to take the boys to get something to eat. We offered to help with setup, but they had it under control so we decided we would take it easy this morning and go help tomorrow morning. We picked up Emily and then went to campus to pick up Nathaniel because his classes just ended. He originally told us that Audrey wasn’t available but one of her appointments was canceled so she came too and we all went to Panda Express. Then we went to campus and parked by the museum and went to the Wilkinson Center.
Then we went over to the library for a little while. We headed back to the hotel so we could get ready. Daniel and Jonathan took baths and got dressed so we could go to the dinner. I spent quite a while getting everything together. We stopped at Smith’s to pick up the floral arrangements. Then we went over to the restaurant, Ruby River Steakhouse. We set out all the floral arrangements and set up all the votives and the little confetti sequins. People started showing up pretty quickly. I had Emily do the place cards. Betsy came in and told us that Cody got sick on the way over there and they weren’t going to stay. It was nice to meet all of Audrey‘s family. Andrew had the wedding video playing on a loop. We played the “famous couples/who am I?” game and everyone seemed to have fun with that. I asked the waitress to start the appetizers and Michael had asked Brad to say a blessing. Once we put in our orders, I had everyone go around and introduce themselves and give marriage advice or just good wishes to the couple. It went well. I wish I had let Michael go last because his was even better than mine. He talked about praying together and praying for each other. I mentioned how never go to bed angry is not always the best advice and that sometimes things look better in the morning.
The dinner was really good. I think everyone but Daniel got cheesecake for dessert. When it seemed like everybody was getting finished, we started the Kahoot quiz about Nathaniel and Audrey and their relationship. They all had a good time with that. I gave out the prizes. Audrey’s aunt Stephanie won, Jonny got second place, and Audrey’s other aunt named Camille got third place. Then we all stayed around and chatted. I think everyone had a really nice time. I think everyone would’ve stayed much longer, but they closed at 9 PM so I had to tell everyone that we had to go soon. By then it was 8:45 PM. We cleaned everything up and left. Nathaniel took Audrey to her house, but we asked if they would come to the hotel first so we could give them their gift. We told Audrey how glad we are that she’s part of the family.
January 15
Nathaniel married Audrey today and I couldn’t be happier for both of them. Nathaniel looked so happy as he was dancing with her tonight and I even started crying a little bit. Jonathan was standing next to me and said, “Mom, are you crying?” I told him I was. This morning, we went to help set up for the reception. The tables and chairs came and we got them all set up and put on the tablecloths and the centerpieces and everything. Karen had it all mapped out and asked me to use the measuring tape to direct everyone so that the tables were spaced properly. We helped as much as we could and then when everyone was done, we took the kids to lunch. It was only 11 AM, but Emily had her hair appointment at noon. We went to Chick-fil-A. Then Emily went to her appointment and Michael and the boys and I went to the hotel. We got to the hotel and read our scriptures and then started getting ready. We made it there right on time. As we waited, I was so jittery I couldn’t even sit down. As we walked into the sealing room, I started getting choked up, knowing that my son was about to be sealed for time and all eternity. It was a lovely sealing. At the end, the sealer told us that President Nelson is actually his father-in-law so that was cool. Audrey is such a wonderful girl and we’re so happy for them. When I went outside to get the kids, they weren’t in the car. Thankfully, Geoff texted me and told me they were on the other side of the temple, where the couples come out. I drove around to the back and met up with the kids. Then we stood out there freezing. Karen had handed out all of the boutonnieres and gave me my corsage and it was beautiful.
It was fun when they came out and we all cheered.
Then they walked around to the front and started getting pictures and the rest of us drove over to the other side. It was so cold! Especially when I had to take off my coat and be in my short-sleeve dress. I just kept putting my coat on when it wasn’t my turn for pictures.
Once the pictures were done, we drove over to the reception. We did all we could to help set up. Karen’s sister Leslie had made the food and it was really good. They had a nacho bar and they had the tortilla chips sitting in cute little paper trays and a crockpot full of meat plus beans, two types of queso, Pico de Gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. At 6 PM, we had a family picture. Nathaniel and Audrey ate some food because they knew they were going to be talking all night so I thought that was really smart. I think Karen must’ve suggested that. Then they also told us we should eat so Michael and I had some and it was really good.
By 6:30 PM we made sure we were standing by the door for the receiving line. Cole and Ellie McClure came, so that was very nice. Nathaniel and Audrey cut the cake at about 7 PM. At about 7:30 PM, Audrey’s father, Brad, got up to give the toast, but the videographer wasn’t there so I felt bad because if I had realized I would have recorded Brad’s as well but I only caught the end.
I was at least able to record Michael’s speech. Michael did a beautiful job. He told about how his father knew that I would be Michael’s wife when he first met me (a voice had whispered to him, “Go and meet your son’s wife”) and how he knew that Audrey was the one that Nathaniel would marry when he first saw her picture.
Around 8 PM, we all lined up on either side of the walkway and got our sparklers and lighted them at the same time and Nathaniel and Audrey ran through them. Karen was right across from me and I looked at her and said, “Those are our babies!” She gave me a hug and said that I raised a good man and I said that she raised a good woman and we both agreed that we did a good job! She really is a nice lady and has done so much for them. I went back into the reception, and Karen’s sister Stephanie told me that Nathaniel and Audrey were still in the kitchen and said that it was OK if we came in and said goodbye to them again so we did. Michael and all the kids and Erin followed me in there to tell him goodbye. I got one more picture and then we said our goodbyes and they left.
Then I realized that Nathaniel never gave us a key to the apartment and it was our job to take all of the gifts and a few other things over to their apartment so luckily, I caught them in time and Audrey gave me her key. Then they finally drove away and we waved goodbye. We went back in and helped clean up. Michael drove the car over so we could load it up with all the things that we needed to take to their apartment. All the kids went outside and picked up the rose petals that were on the walkway. We helped with all the other cleanup. Andrew got on the ladder and took down some things from the walls, that kind of thing. They seemed really grateful for our help but we were glad to do it.
My beautiful babies
January 16, 2022
We got up early so we could pack and send our suitcases with Michael in the Pilot. It was nice to travel with just our backpacks. Emily drove us to the airport and we got home and unpacked and relaxed for the evening.
It was a wonderful trip and we are thrilled for Nathaniel and Audrey!!!
