Sweet Tales from the Wedding

After months of planning, and countless hours of work on the part of innumerable people, Kristen and Peter’s wedding went off beautifully. I didn’t take very many pictures as I was busy with so many other things, and we had a photographer, but I hope to post pictures when they become available.

In the meantime, here are a few random stories from our weekend that I wanted to be sure to share.

1. Miracles of Miracles!! There were two miracles I witnessed this past weekend. The first is that my back held up through all the work and stress. I have a bad back and usually when I am in a highly stressful situation, or having to do a lot of physical work, my back flares up and I end up flat down in bed. This time I didn't have any serious back problems until the very end of the reception. But even then I made it through all the clean up!! Truly a miracle.

The second miracle was the weather!! It has been very hot here in Phoenix--about 105-110 degrees and somewhat humid. However, on the day of the wedding, I walked outside early in the morning and felt COOL air!! We had some pictures taken around 7 and additional pictures afterward and we never felt terribly hot. It was such a blessing!!!

1. I #2. A League of Their Own. I had a vision for the reception and worked for several months to make it a reality. The day finally arrived for us to set up and while my husband and several others tackled the drop ceiling, I went to work with two friends to create a faux gazebo where the musicians would perform. Before going to the church, I put together a box with everything I could think of that might be needed. I had string, wire, wire cutters, scissors, duct tape etc. I was so pleased with myself for being so prepared and proudly displayed my box to my friends. Sonia Holmes looked in it and then asked, “Where's the chocolate?” A big oversight to be sure. But soon Sonia and Michelle Hill were pulling out screws, screwdrivers and ladders from their supplies, and I quickly realized I was out of my league on this one. I was so glad they were there, and even happier to leave the construction of the gazebo to their capable care. They both were awesome and stayed many hours making sure everything was perfect!!

And here is a little sneak preview of how it looked. This was taken before the centerpieces arrived but gives you a basic idea. The structure in the back is what Michelle and Sonia put together using Kristy's 8 foot posts and 5 gallon buckets.

#3. DIY to the Extreme! I really wish I had a picture of the wedding cake!! Kristen did not want to serve cake and she did not want to pay for an expensive cake that wasn’t going to be served. So, being the resourceful, thrifty person she is, she decided to make the cake herself—with fondant frosting. Now she had never used fondant before, but she had seen several you tube tutorials, so she felt perfectly qualified. Unfortunately the frosting was very hard, did not roll out well, and consequently was rather impossible to smooth over the cake. In some places there were folds, and in other places very noticeable gaps, leaving the chocolate cake exposed. No problem! Ribbon and silk flowers rushed to the rescue. Personally, I voted to throw it out and replace it with something from the store (especially when a pink substance started oozing from one of the gaps in the frosting), but Kristen insisted on putting it on display. (Much to my chagrin. :-)When it came time to cut the cake, they could barely get the knife through it, but in the end they did, each took a bite, and after the reception I happily threw the poor little cake into the garbage

#4. Secret Elves . . . I am so grateful to the many, many people who helped set up for the reception. They truly were a little army and did an amazing job. Wes and I worked from around noon to 4:30 but then had to leave to attend the wedding dinner—the night before the wedding. Our friends kept working, however, and when we returned around 9:30 there were only a few minor detail things that were left to do. Since we had an early day ahead of us, we went home around 10, leaving the mess from setting up in the cultural hall, with the plan to return after the wedding to clean it up. But when we returned the next day, we discovered that everything had been cleaned, the floor swept and the halls and lobby vacuumed!! I honestly started to cry. Thanks so much to the Carlini family and Doug Nelson for all their hard work!! It was very much appreciated. Thanks also to Doug for spending so many hours fixing the electrical problems so we could have all the lighting!!

4. And speaking of thanking people . . . thanks to Lisa Nelson for sewing the cute table cloths, Suzie Jones for the darling aprons, the entire Sheffield family who came to set up, Kristy Rose and family for the posts we used for the “gazebo”, as well as the lights for the ceiling, Jodi Poston for the plastic used for the ceiling, David and Vicky Goss for the backdrops, my daughter in law, Kali for the cute floral swag she made and the other decorations she borrowed from her cousin Becky Stone, Susan Hunter and Jenny Carlini for the food table display, Connie Purtymun for her table cloths, Bryan Purtymun for all of his help with the ceiling along with his son in law Andrew Darrow, Phyllis Leber for loaning me her chair covers, Matt Bullock for serving as Emcee, Jen Collins for the beautiful flowers used by the wedding party and Jackie McAfterty for the gorgeous centerpieces—as well as a thank you to all who helped set up, take down and donated greenery, cut up fruit in advance and served the food at the reception. Whew!!!! ( I have more thanking to do but will save it for other posts.)

It was a wonderful, beautiful day for our family, and there is no way we could have done it without all of your help!! How blessed we are to have you all in our lives!

We love you all!!