I do ♥

WARNING: This blog post contains tons of photos and videos. You have been warned. 

It was the best summer of my life! Everything was finished being planned. All we had to do before I could marry my best friend was take a few pictures with our photographer and do an open house at the in-laws for friends and family. We weren't entirely traditional in that we took our photos and had the open house the day before the wedding. What that means is that, yes, Bryce saw the dress before the actual wedding. Good thing neither of us are particularly superstitious. I would actually recommend this, to those of you who are wondering. It's so much nicer to have a reception and photos done on another day so that your wedding day isn't super stressful and you can just relax and enjoy the best day of your life. Here's a little snippet of when Bryce actually saw me in my dress and I saw him in his tux for the first time!

Sorry about the lighting. Because our photo session was planned just before our open house, the unveiling took place in my in law's basement. It was a very special moment (did you see how much of a stud my husband is?!), although a bit of a rushed one. The photo session was coming up on us fast! Soon after this video was taken, Bryce and I hurried to our photo session at the Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple, where the wedding would take place the next day. It was a beautiful, sunny day with a light breeze. I couldn't have asked for a better day! Our photographer's name was Amy and she was amazing! I mean, just check out some of her handy work!

This is one of my favorites! See what I meant about Amy being amazing? She sure can catch a moment!

                                                                                                     

It was so pleasant working with Amy. She was a sweetheart and had a lot of good ideas. We didn't know her very well, but she had the sweetest spirit. I'm sad to say that a few short months later, Amy passed away on the table during surgery. We are grateful that she was able to be a part of such an important day in our lives and we send our love to her family.

Directly after our photo session, we had the open house back home at the Allred's. It was such a beautiful occasion. The front yard was decorated in our colors of black, white, and lime green, not to mention all the lights in the trees! We had our wedding video slideshow playing on a loop in the background, showing the evolution of our lives and our relationship. We had ice cream, cookies, and Italian sodas for treats! The big miracle of the day? Well, it was an outdoor celebration and the weather man insisted on rain. Yet there was no rain! Many guests told us that they prayed the rain would stay away as they walked through the line shaking our hands and hugging us. We are grateful for those prayers and for all the hard work that was put into that open house.

Here is a snap shot of our Italian Soda boys! Left to Right: Mike, Papa Allred, Spencer, and Brian.
Don't mind Brian, he was actually having a good time and being silly for the picture. 

As the sun set on the beautiful day, anxiety and excitement rose for the day to come! I woke up early to meet with my hair dresser. Then my mama helped me with my dress and my make up. The drive to the Timpanogos temple was crazy! There was an 18 wheeler that broke down somewhere on the highway, and I thought I was going to be late to my own wedding! Luckily we all made it in time. The ceremony was beautiful and life changing. I could finally say that I was married to the man of my dreams! After the ceremony we took some photos in front of the temple with the friends and family members that came to support us that day.

Here is a sweet little clip of us coming out of the temple right after the ceremony! Newly married!

And of course, some pictures!

Check out the heights of my family! Haha

Directly after all the photos, we made our way to our wedding luncheon. It was at this nice little Italian place called La Dolce Vita. The lunch was delicious and I recommend the place to anyone who is looking for a lovely Italian meal! People's glasses were clinked many times and so Bryce and I did a lot of smooching (not that either of us minded). 

It was the perfect day! The only hard thing about it was taking the elastics and bobby pins out of my hair later that evening! Haha. A week or so later, there was a reception for us in San Antonio. ROAD TRIP! My mom and aunt worked so hard to make the reception nice. And boy, was it beautiful! The room was filled with lights and flowers and delicious foods. And of course, everything was black, white, and lime green! It was a pretty traditional reception in that there was dinner provided, music playing, the first dance, the garter throw, the bouquet toss, and all that fun stuff. What a fun night it was! Celebrating this big, new step in our relationship with friends and family was so special. Bryce and I were lucky because we were able to do that in both of our "hometowns." Thanks to everyone who came out and made the evening so great! My uncle took pictures that night. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure. 

Props to Charly Allred for the amazing cakes! We love the traditional cake and the grooms-cake soo much! 

Well, that was almost two whole years ago! What a summer to remember! Thank you to everyone who made these memories so precious, and a big thank you to my husband for asking me to marry him! Life is grand, everyone.