For years and years I've heard from girls how "perfect" their wedding day was, how nothing went wrong, and how it fulfilled all of their dreams from when they were like 3 years old. Of course, you hear the horror stories of every possible thing going wrong (bless those girls), but I tried to not dwell on those so much. Well, before I got engaged, I hadn't done a lot of my own dreaming of what my "perfect" day should include. I just knew I wanted a few things:
-A reception in my backyard.
-To throw the bouquet from my balcony.
-To kiss at our luncheon when people dinged the glass with their utensils.
-To have a dance party at the reception.
I wasn't asking for much, right? Well, guess what. I didn't get any of those things. It rained the week leading up to our wedding, so we made a decision Thursday night that we would move everything to the cultural hall up the road. That was
really hard for me. I remember making that decision with my parents in the car. It was pretty dramatic--tears were running down my face as I looked out the window and watched the pouring rain drop down the side of the car. My "perfect" wedding seemed shot (I know I know, a little dramatic). Well, good news is that it ended up being okay. In fact, it was a whole lot better than okay. Heavenly Father has a wonderful way of teaching us life lessons, and I know that this was a lesson for me about remembering what matters most in life. I had my cry and then I had to embrace the situation and make the most of it. I prayed a lot and reminded myself of what my mom had told me time and time again, leading up to the wedding: "Rachel, the sealing is what matters most. The rest is just a party!" And a party it was!
Well, my mother, like always, was right. The whole temple sealing experience was more beautiful than I can put words to. There is nothing like being in the temple with your family, the people you love most. It truly was a piece of heaven. Robbie and I made sacred covenants with each other and I was completely overcome with the Spirit. We were promised eternal blessings as a result of our faithfulness. God is so good. Being sealed to Robbie is something that I will never forget.
Our luncheon was amazing, and any expectations I had for the luncheon were washed away as we all huddled in the Simons' basement to get away from the rain outside. It was such a wonderful, intimate setting. The people we loved the most were all in one place, and the food hit the spot for everyone. Seriously, so delicious. We got to hear our wise fathers speak, and introduce our loved ones to everybody. It was perfect.
My aunts and mother are total rockstars and pulled together the most fabulous cultural hall reception I'd ever been to. I was overwhelmed with how perfect it was. Why did I ever stress a minute about my reception turning out okay? When you put those Ray sisters in charge, you know the outcome will be fabulous. The sound system in the cultural hall ended up being pretty quiet, which made our rockin' fast dance song a little harder to dance to and get people involved with, but it didn't even matter. I had my man on my right, my bridesmaids breaking it down, and of course, Todd. What more did I need? I just keep telling myself that it was a nice reflection of my quiet, sweet personality...right? Right?
Did I mention that the bustle on my dress got ripped off just seconds before were exited the temple from being sealed? Hahaha, that was funny. Robbie accidentally stepped on it and it snagged. "Sorry I broke your dress!" It's okay babe, I still love you. Thank goodness for mothers that carry safety pins. It was a quick fix, though a little dramatic in the moment. Makes for a great story!
Oh, and I forgot to bring my veil to the temple. That gave us quite the laugh!
What a glorious day it was. I often ponder the events of our wedding weekend, and each time I do I am overcome with gratitude for my Heavenly Father, for Robbie, for our families, for ward members that stepped in to help with the reception, and for friends that showed support in a myriad of ways. If a wedding isn't evidence that God loves His children, then I don't know what is. I had the opportunity to be sealed to the love of my life, and I got to spend the day with those that I love. And THAT is what matters most.
Our wedding day was perfect, not in the "nothing went wrong" kind of way, but in the "we were sealed together FOREVER" kind of way. Life doesn't get more perfect than that, my friends.
A few wedding photos taken by the Simons family (we will get all of our pictures back from our photographer in a few weeks! Yea!):
