my sister’s glorious wedding

At the beginning of October my little sister Charity got married.

It was one of the most glorious celebrations, but let me back up for a minute.

We got back to Shanghai late on a Tuesday night from Vietnam.  We finished the last of the lingering homework and tucked the kids in bed and then I unpacked and repacked to leave for Utah the next morning.

It was not an easy feat to figure this trip out by any stretch of the imagination, and I won’t go into the gory details.  I will just say that I am ever grateful for a supportive family on both sides of the world that wouldn’t let me miss it even if I tried.

It was so strange to fly back to the states.  During my layover in Portland it was so weird to use American money to buy an American snack surrounded by American people speaking English.  I had only been gone for a month and a half but still, there was something so comfortable about it all.  I loved this view of Mt. Ranier out my window in route to Salt Lake:

And then those ever familiar Rockies:

Followed by the Salt Lake valley:

My mom came up with the idea to have the grandkids dress up in all of Charity’s significant “growing-up” clothes which I thought was pretty clever.

Here they are all decked out:

Ian’s family did the same thing for him.  Kind of fun to know more about his history and how he grew up.  He is a fabulous boy.

I love this picture of my Dad:

A little prayer of gratitude that these two found each other…even though the road has been rocky at times.

The brothers:

(My Dad is filling in for my brother Josh who was busy showing the kids some pretty funny stuff on youtube.)

Now, we can’t just glance over that last picture without taking note of my brother Jonah’s beard.

Yowzas, that boy can produce facial hair like nobody’s business!  Had to keep getting used to that one but I loved it.  Oh man, I love this family!

The sisters:

We went on a little walk for Charity’s last night of being single and found the best backdrop we could to take a picture of such a sacred occasion.  Ha!

The next morning (the wedding day) all of us sister’s met up at a little breakfast cafe and presented her with a book of pictures and wedding advice and recipes.

Parts of it are pretty funny as you can tell…

So grateful for the influence of these lovely ladies in my life.

Then it was off to help Char get ready for the big event.

I don’t know why, but this is one of my very favorite pictures.  To me it depicts that love for a Dad as she goes off to cleave to that new husband of hers.

The adults:

The boys…and a beauty and a beard 🙂

The Wedding Dinner was one of the most magical evenings, made that way by Charity’s meticulous planning and attention to detail, as well as my cousin Lindsay’s remarkable talents with flowers.

I’m telling you, it was breathtaking!   Every little detail had been thought out and planned.

Charity, after watching most of her siblings get married as well as multiple friends, had some ideas I tell you!

And she knew how to make them come to fruition.

Everything even down to the seating arrangement was so beautifully done (thanks to Charity’s great delegation skills…E & J, great job on this one!)

I am so incredibly grateful for these two:

…and these girls:

…and these boys:

Oh boy.

Charity and Ian were so booked with the photographer and videographer that I didn’t even get any shots of them!  If you look close up above on the right you can see them if you get out a magnifying glass though…ha!

Check out these gorgeous flowers:

The actual Reception was pretty fabulous too.

Once again, Lindsay did not disappoint with the flowers.

We all (along with the bridesmaids) hustled to get the wreaths flower crowns ready for the flower girls as the food was delivered and we scrambled to get everything organized and ready to go.

They sure turned out pretty.

…or is that just Ana who’s so pretty?  (Love you Ana!)

We helped Lindsay string these clear bottles with flowers up around the ceiling…can you see them in this picture?

It was all so beautiful with the sun streaming through.

Charity’s friend made this beauty cake.

My favorite kind of light.

Everyone minus nine:

My favorite part of any big extended family pictures are the parents trying to make the kids smile behind the camera:

My dear cousins who I love so much:

My best friend from growing up and I sat and watched from above as the dancing began (love you Mo Mo!)

And then they were off.

What a celebration that was.

Living in China made me appreciate so very much the fact that I got to be there to witness the whole thing.  So grateful those two found each other and for the power couple they make.  They are going to go places in life and I love them so much!

When the crowds cleared out some people were very tired 🙂