April 6, 2005

Well my recent anniversary has me thinking. I haven't written much about my wedding. Not in journals, in scrapbooks... not much at all. What a shame. Because it remains to this date, the best day of my life. My wedding by the standards of the world - could be considered odd. I was married in the Salt Lake Temple. The only family members present were... well no one from my biological family. My mother-in-law, Janet, was there... and for that I will be eternally grateful. I had a few close friends (mainly roomates) that were there. And yet, I felt like I was home. I knew that my spiritual family was present, and that was enough.

This is a picture of my girlfriends and I outside the Temple. My sister Meghan is the Marine on the top left. She is currently in Japan, pregnant, and I miss her dearly. She is newly engaged to Andy. Some of my bestest friends are here. Andrea is the one to my right... looks kind of like a floating head here. She's now in Boston... I miss her dearly. She's too far away right now! Mandy, is the girl above me in the blue. She is in California; pregnant, and returning to Utah soon. That girl is a rock! I can't wait for her to get back here. It will be nice to have her calming presence within 2,000 miles of me. Phone calls haven't sufficed. Jenny, is just above her (and below Meghan). She recently married my husband's best friend, Britt. Which is odd, because now I never see either of them. Newlyweds! I'm sure some day we will be able to see them again! :) Gwen is on the right, she's in Oregon. How awesome that she was still here for this! She is doing the Spudman triathlon with me, and we have been having fun communicating about that. Man, why are all of my friends moving away from me? Am I missing something? Heather, above Andrea, she's in Oregon too. She's dating a blue shirt hottie, and making out a bunch. Yes! So here's an odd fact. I lived with Andrea and Heather, and both were Relief Society Presidents in the same Ward.... both in the same house. Yeah! I know what your thinking! How did they put up with a heathan like me?! Ha! I love Heather, she always made me laugh. Anyhow, yeah... again - I have so many good people in my life. I am a blessed girl.



So these are the boys (left to right) - Mike Gutke... he took me to Homecoming on my senior year. Pretty much like a brother to me. Only... a brother I dont see very often anymore (boo hiss!). Scott.. my actual brother. Hates suites.... although he's getting married soon, and will probably just have to put up with that. Nate... my husband's twin brother. My Dad - my hero. My husband, Jaren. Hottie huh? Craig, he's my brother in law. And Walt - my father-in-law. Handsome bunch!




These are my new sisters... well not so new anymore. This was taken at the Joseph Smith Memorial building, the night before the wedding at our Rehearsal (what did we rehearse?) dinner. Left to right, Lindsay (oldest), Kara (the youngest), and Marci. I love these girls. Seriously... I love them. They took me in immediately, and we cried together when Jaren asked me to marry him. They are so sweet!

These are my bridesmaids. Jenny, Mandy, Andrea, Siobhan (my sister), and Meghan. Siobhan hasn't been discussed yet, because she was not able to come to the Temple for pictures. she is my baby sister, and I love her so much. Meg is my lil' sister, and I love her too. I'm lucky to have sisters that are my friends. So, I'm pretty happy with their outfits. I had the skirts made, and they all can wear them again without the usual "brides maid shame." The tops, I have seen them wear so I know they were cute! We each have matching necklaces made of stone. I picked the stone because of my love of climbing, moutains, rocks, and all things nature. They are my rocks in life... they keep me grounded. The three on the left definitely brought me back to the Gospel, and to Christ. My true rock.

Which brings me to Jaren. And, if your reading this, you've read my other posts about him.... so you know I'm lucky! One of my favorite memories about our wedding day, was uncoventional - even for Mormon's. Typically when a couple has been married, they exit the Temple together, and have their pictures taken for all to see. My mother, not being able to be in the Temple wanted to some way participate in the initial shock of Jaren seeing me in my dress. This was actually possible, because I did not wear my "wedding gown" in the temple. I just wore my regular temple dress (so now each time I go back - I am actually wearing my wedding dress). Anyhow, so Mom wanted to see Jaren's face when he saw me in my gown. Jaren loves my mom, and wanted to help her feel a part of the wedding too. So, he came out by himself to wait with my parents to see me for the first time in my gown. It meant so much to my mom! I love that he takes care of me and my family. That memory is so special to me, because there were a lot of people outside yelling at Jaren - telling him that he had come out on mistake! Jaren simply grabbed my Mom's arm, and waited patiently for me to appear. His face was undeniably proud and impressed. My Mom was crying, and got her moment! I was happy - because both were happy!

Two years later... and I feel like it's been longer. Not in a bad way either. But I just feel so completely happy with my life, and my choice in a husband. We get along, we complete each other, and we are going to be doing this for eternity! What a blessing!