A Wedding in Vegas

We took a quick trip down to Las Vegas for my niece Jennifer and Mike's wedding on 12.13.14, along with 1,000's of others brides that circled this monumental date on their calendars too. I am grateful for a loving husband that supports the important things in life by my side. Ashlee, Paul and Jack came down with us. I am so very glad we came. My nephew Matthew was there also and when I saw him, I could not stop crying. The tight, long hug felt so wonderfully comfortable. He brought his wife Heather and they are making their home in Texas. He is very happy and doing good.  I pray that Jennifer and Mike will be blessed as they begin their life together. I have missed these two. 

The next morning, we drove over to see my uncle Randy and his new wife Teresa. I really liked her and found out she has a daughter in Salt Lake. They will be up to Utah in the fall. He is my Dad's youngest brother and was my favorite uncle growing up. I had a wonderful weekend seeing my family.

Matthew

Jennifer and Matthew

Matthew and Heather

Jennifer and Mike

Jennifer with Ashlee, Paul and Jack

Ashlee in heaven at the Carlos Bakery of TV's Cake Box

Hotel time...

Uncle Randy and Teresa

Kelsie & Josh's Wedding Celebration

Lilly just sent this video over of the wedding celebration of Kelsie and Josh. It is short and sweet and hopefully something they will love through the years. She did a great job capturing the love. You can find the video here...

Kelsie and Josh Wedding Day Video

Lilly McDowell of Picket Fence just sent over the video of Kelsie and Josh on their wedding day... and I thought it turned out delightful. Let it spool for a couple of minutes before you watch. After seeing myself (ugh), I feel better that I have at least started to eat healthy and am 10 pounds lighter with plenty more to go. I think the people most interested in seeing it one day will be their children and I am thankful we ended up doing one. Click here to see it...

Bridal Pictures

Kelsie and Josh had their bridal pictures taken together about a week before they got married. The last thing Kelsie wanted was a picture taken of herself. She would rather look at Josh and I am quite sure he would rather look at Kelsie. I think they both look quite lovely.

 

Love Story

This little love story video is too cute not to share of these two... They were not too excited to do it, but after a little begging on my part and telling them their children and grandchildren will love it... they agreed and I am so happy they did. Click here to see it... 

100 Things I Love About You

I think my favorite thing I made for Kelsie and Josh for the wedding was the 100 Things I Love About You Lists (Pinterest). They each gave me a thoughtful list for each other.  I printed a large monogram on each and thought the clipboards looked great. I already want to do one for Larry and I and each of my daughters and their husbands too. During the challenges of life, I pray they will be a strength to them. 

Celebrating Kelsie & Josh

Our family's part of the wedding was the reception. I love church receptions. Lots of room for visiting, more informal, close by and surrounded by the people we love. Kelsie picked out the colors and the planning began, asking Kelsie and Josh for their advice as we went along. Thank goodness for Pinterest so we could get a sense of their style. The flowers took my breath away every time I looked at them... we will give them to others and fill our home with them afterwards. Becky flew in Thursday night!

The past couple of months has been filled with trips to the thrift stores,  making lists, being surrounded by my girls who are so willing to help do anything (and they did). What I hoped we were able to give Kelsie and Josh was a gift of love. We had plenty of help and it all came together nicely. Our family is so very blessed. I am excited to see the pictures that Chelsea took on the night of the reception... more on that when they come.

The setting up begins!

wedding plans

The wedding plans have begun. Date is set for March 7 for the evening reception and then the wedding and luncheon the next morning. We love the idea of a reception the night before. It lets them focus on their vows on their wedding day, have lunch with family and close friends, then leave for their honeymoon with energy. When everything is crammed into one day, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and not enjoy the day... that would definitely happen with both Kelsie and Josh. We get their opinion about everything... after all, it is their day and then we carry it out as best we can. We like to think of it as our gift to them and try to keep things as stress free as possible for them. This week was filled with list making, painting a flower cluster for their announcement, donut taste testing, thrift store shopping and painting frames... so far so good.