The weekend before last was filled up with weddings, friends, sisters and oranges.
And I just want to record it here because I do love to record the gold. Maybe because when I do it seems to squeeze out the not-so-gold in my memory. Ha!
Anyway, some of our best friends have come to town twice over the last month. You don’t usually leave as mission presidents for your whole three years of service. You stick around because boy, those two hundred or so missionaries need you. But if you’re your kids get married, you go where they are. And our friends had two weddings within two weeks of each other. The first was right when we got home from our Christmas trip…we drove into our neighborhood under pink-laden skies and got to catch the tail-end of the festivities.

But the second wedding was last weekend, and it was so grand to not only catch up with the in-town friends, but the ones we don’t get to carve out time to be with as much as we wish.




Three of the bridesmaids are daughters of my best high school guy friends, and one of them was there. It is such a small world, and I loved reminiscing those high school years.

The wedding was beautiful, sun glittering through those stained glass windows at the temple sealing, hanging out with friends all day (Costa Vida for lunch, all of us taking up the restaurant).

Lisa and Melissa’s porch huddling by the fire talking through the world…

…to the reception that night filled to the brim with gorgeous flowers and good friends from all stages of our intertwined lives that night.






Another couple weddings the next day, filled with other friend reunions.


This one was one Lucy made a rare appearance at. LOVE HER!


How do people find spouses so beautifully? Dave and I have been talking about this with all these weddings (one more this weekend too). The timing and place just happen to coincide and things seem to match up. Then it comes to how hard you want to work on it. Interesting to think about.
Speaking of friends, this picture popped up on my phone of all Claire’s friends starting to gather after returning from their missions.

Oh I love all these girls so much (and the amazing mother who gathered them)! I’m so excited for Claire to get to join them soon!
To top off an already great weekend, my sister Charity was in town with friends and brought over her twins for a quick visit. We decided to harvest some oranges.


And juice up those babies.

It was so special to have time just with them. And Josh too.
Out in the sun picking oranges and squeezing them into gold, so honored Auggie wanted me to help him buckle in the car when they were leaving:)




Char overlapped with Dave’s parents who joined us and Josh for dinner. We do not see them nearly enough and they are golden too.

Finished off the weekend with more friends…who happen to be my family, celebrating Claire’s birthday.
It was a good weekend.
I know there are stipulations about who can enter the temple to watch sealings, so how is that managed in the context of the larger weddings? Do guests who are not LDS just not go to the temple? Or do families typically only invite LDS guests?
I am not mormon, my best friend is. when she got married, i was her maid of honor. I couldn’t go in, just stood outside and waited for them to come out. it was awkward. how, as a best friend and maid of honor, (or anyone) be excluded from such a special event. silly rules!
Yes, in order to go inside the temple you have to have a temple recommend. So some people wait in the waiting room and meet up with the bride and groom as they come out after the sealing. I’m so sorry that was awkward for you, Layla! 🙁 I think so many people have ring ceremonies these days outside of the temple in addition to the temple sealing. I love this, especially when they choose to exchange vows.
In the UK we get married first in the chapel, or another building. Then if we are worthy we are sealed in the temple.
I really like it this way, as non-member family & friends are able to still attend your wedding.
They just changed the rules to allow this in the U.S. and two other countries that didn’t permit a ceremony before a sealing without making the couple wait a year for penance. In much of Christian Europe you need to be able to enter a wedding in progress to object. It is not valid otherwise. Can’t do that with a temple being a members only card thing. So those countries can’t recognize a sealing. But the U.S. did recognize a sealing as a wedding if there are witnesses. So the church restricted guests and put a penalty on the couple if they did a public exchange first.
Here is the thing, Lucy could not go to Max’s sealing. She was not old enough to have a temple recommend. So siblings don’t necessarily get in the room. Lots of sealings are missing siblings on missions. They don’t get to come home like mission presidents. The sealing rooms are small. The big thing seems to be the large family and friend photo outside the temple when they are all done. Hours later or even days later they have receptions or open houses (gathering at someone house where people can drop in to congratulate the couple). Before the rule change forbidding couples from having an outside vow exchange they could have a ring ceremony after. They don’t exchange rings formally as part of the sealing. For some reason they thought the rest of us really like that part. After a sealing where they promise time and all eternity they can’t promise until death do us part anymore, so a vow exchange after makes no sense. Which is why friends and family wanted a vow exchange before. But couples had a hard time doing this for grandma or dad of the convert cause the church would not let them seal for a year. They would be banned. So nonmembers and young members would wait outside the temple and be in the photo. And miss hearing the couple proclaim their intent to be exclusive. Which is all they wanted. No one insisted they be entitled to be inside for the sealing or wanted the couple not to seal. They just wanted to see and hear and be present for a vow exchange. And now they finally changed the rule and allow it in the US without the 1 year ban. Usually the is only a vow exchange if a key relative can’t go in for the sealing. So if your friend from college invites you, her and her groom born into it likely you will be invited to stand outside for the photo or just to a reception later on. If her family converted when she was 5 and she wanted her never Mormon grandma there, there might be a public ceremony you could be at.
Lifting the year ban was helpful during Covid when you could not do a sealing. Couples could marry outside social distancing and then seal when they could get an appointment. And people didn’t whisper behind their backs wondering if someone sinned they could not seal right away.