Mike and Catye's Wedding

Friday, October 7 was the big day for Mike and Catye.  I prayed really hard that everything would go smoothly, and the Lord truly blessed us.  There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but didn't. The marriage was at the Mesa Temple. It is one of the oldest temples the church has built.  The inside was beautiful and the ceremony was so wonderful. It was sacred, simple, peaceful, and full of joy. I am so glad that I could be a part of it.

It took about one hour and Catye and Mike emerged as a new married couple around 12pm. Look at those two. So stinkin' happy.

This is the official wedding party. Don't they look beautiful? I made the bouquet on the drive up from Tucson. It took me less than five minutes. But I thought it turned out great. It was so perfect for the pictures.

Catye wore turquoise loafers. I bet she bought those at Walmart or somewhere chic like that.

Catye found her dress on Craigslist in Provo. It cost a whopping $90! It fit her perfectly.

These are the parents, my Mom and Dad on the left and Mike's parents David and Dawn.

After pictures, Rinar and I had to get to Tucson quickly. I calculated that if I got to Tucson without any delays I would have just enough time to go to Costco and buy all of the food for the reception. And boy, was I right.  We got on the road at about 1:30 after getting some drive thru at Arby's. I dropped everyone off at the hotel by 3:30, was shopping at Costco by 3:50, checked out by 4:30 and then made it to the church at exactly 5:00, the scheduled time.

The menu included Chick-fil-a chicken strips (Rinar picked them up later), bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit salad, and a waffle bar with various homemade syrups made by my talented and intrepid sister Christi. Everyone loved the syrups. They were a highlight of the reception.

Things got a little bit crazy leading up to our 6:30 go time. We had set up the church the night before with a whole bunch of wonderful volunteers from my parents' ward.  I cannot begin to show the gratitude I have for all of them and the help they were to pull this all off. Amazing people.  No matter where I go, I always have sisters in Zion and we speak heart to heart. Anyway, everyone helped out and we were mostly ready. It was a lot of fun. There were not a ton of people, but the ones who came stayed for the duration of the reception.  I must have done a good job if they felt comfortable enough to stay for 2 hours.

Heather helped me with my kids and took some pictures. Love this girl!

I made a bunch of aprons and ended up wearing one myself because I didn't have a chance to change back into my church clothes.

They had a first dance with each other and with their parents. It was really sweet.

One of Catye's bridesmaid's, Amber, took charge of decorating the car.  It was sticky noted to death.  My brother contributed to the graffiti. Apparently on the driver's side it said, "Don't be a fool, wrap your tool."  Really, Jamie?  Sheesh.

We cleaned up super fast and were on the road to the hotel by 10pm. Christi's kids looked zonked, huh?  This was their silly picture, with Chance, Mya, and Lije. She has such good kids...4 gems.  It was a lot of fun to hang out with them for the week and to make fun memories together. 

But I am glad that it is over and I am back in Reno.