Our wedding day started out so early! I was so stressed the night before. Even though I had really great intentions to go to bed early, I didn't actually go to bed until close to 4:30 am. I had so much laundry to do, and still hadn't packed for the honeymoon and with all of that and more I just could not sleep. After just a few wonderful hours in bed I got up and started to get ready. We both had to be at the temple with our parents and witnesses by 9am.
Simone had spent the night with his mom and brother in Layton, so he drove with them. I drove with my parents and met my Amore there. We gathered all our bags and went in. I wish I could say everything was calm and peaceful, but when we walked into the Mount Timpanogos Temple it was crazy busy. There were families, brides, grooms, and about 20 temple workers all crowded into the lobby. To say that this was a busy day to get married would be an understatement! I had always pictured the temple part of my wedding day as the most calm part, and it just wasn't. Everyone was loud and it seemed super chaotic. Finally after signing our paperwork we were taken to our dressing rooms to get ready. From here on out everything went a lot more smooth. My mom helped me into my white dress and then I was taken to the celestial room to wait for Simone. We didn't have to wait too long and then we were brought into the sealing room.
For those who may not know what happens inside the temple...as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we know that when a family is married within a temple, with the power of God, they are married for all eternity. I love this so much because I can't imagine a life with, "till death do us part." I love Simone so much that I want to be with him forever and not just in this life. We believe that eternal marriages are only possible when performed inside a temple. I wanted to add a few pictures of the inside of the temple so that you could see. These aren't exact pictures of the temple we were married in, but they are really similar!
Sealing Room where the marriage takes place.
Here is a picture of the Celestial Room. In the Celestial Room individuals can sit, think and pray.
Our marriage sealing was about 20 minutes. It was really exciting and amazing to be surrounded by family and friends. After the ceremony we got to hug all our friends and family. Then we went back to our dressing rooms to change into our wedding attire. Then it was time for our big exit. It was so great seeing all of our family and friends waiting for us. We really felt so loved and supported.
We then took a handful of photos with everyone, and then took some pictures with just us.
By the time it was all done we were starving. Simone and I decided to stop at Cafe Rio for lunch. We grabbed our food and our Swig drinks and headed home. I changed into sweats and we enjoyed our food. Then we just spend the rest of the afternoon setting up the backyard for the reception. I just need to give a huge shout out to my family for everything they did. And when I say family, I mean friends and family. They were AMAZING! Everyone just pitched in and got everything done. I really am so thankful to every single one of them. We couldn't have gotten it all done without them.
Our reception was everything I could have hoped for! My whole life I had wanted to have a reception in the backyard of my parents house. We had an area with yard games. We had desserts and treats. We had the most beautiful cake ever. Plus we had Italian Ice! We each had chosen an ice flavor, plus we had otter pops.
Each of our tables was decorated with antique items, many of which were from our actual relatives. But one of my favorite parts was the lights. We had beautiful white lights draped over the basketball court, and all along the fences. It really was just great.
One thing that I really didn't want at the reception was a line. I was so determined to not stand in the same spot for hours. I wanted to be able to walk around and chat with people. Some people may disagree with me, but I feel like it worked well for us. I felt like we tried hard to talk to every person that walked in. Plus we had time to go back and talk to a few people when there weren't as many new people coming in.
Later that evening we went to cut our cake. This is one thing I was so excited about. Something that not many people know is that we weren't originally going to have a cake. Neither of us really love cake so we didn't want to spend tons of money on a traditional American cake. We had searched for someone who could make us an Italian cake, but no one really knew. Then about a week before the wedding Simone remembered that his family friends (who live in Bountiful) made cakes. We messaged her and last minute she agreed to make us a cake. We weren't exactly sure what it was going to look like, but when we saw it our mouths dropped. It was seriously so beautiful! It was also SOO GOOD!
After cake cutting we started our dances. Simone danced with his mom to "Stand By Me" in Italian. This was a song that his dad use to sing all the time so it was a special moment for them. I then danced with my dad to the song, "Because You Loved Me." I feel like my dad has always been so great at loving and supporting me. He has definitely shaped me into the person I am now.
Then Simone and I got to dance together. We danced to a song called, "Ti Sposero Perche." In English it translates to "I Will Marry You Because." It was a cute song that Simone chose about all the funny and sweet reasons he wanted to marry me. If you have time to look up the lyrics you should because it is seriously the cutest!
When my sister got married we decided to do a "family" dance. We decided after that to make it a tradition. So the tradition is that we all dance to the Disney song, "You've Got a Friend In Me." I got to take turns dancing with each of my siblings. The whole dance comes to a close with all of us in a circle together dancing. Then in a turn of events, our family danced turned into BYU student section chant. Anyone who is a fan will understand what chant I am talking about. Basically you put your arm on your neighbors shoulders and you sway back and forth while singing the beat of Kayne West's, "Power." I just laughed and laughed. It was so silly and just perfect for my family.
After our planned dances we all just got to party together. Midway through our dancing we had a "flash mob" with friends and cousins. We did the "Cake" dance. It was so ridiculous, but so fun to have something that everyone could join in. I also got to dance with each of my grandpas and that was a special moment for me. I just feel like the whole night was so magical.
I ran inside to change out of my blue dress into a cute and comfy white summer dress. Our friends and family lined up and lit sparklers. We ran into our car and off we went. The whole day went by so quickly and I wish we could relive this day over and over.
I just have to thank everyone again for all their love and support! We felt so loved by all of you. I can't believe how lucky Simone and I are to know so many incredible people! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We love you all so much!
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Photography: Clarity Lane www.claritylane.com
Videography: Rosalyn Felter https://vimeo.com/thefeltnerfilms
Catering: Zeppe's Italian Ice: www.zeppes.com
Cookie Tree: www.cookietree.com
BYU Food to Go: www.dining.byu.edu/foodtogo
Dress: CocoTutuHouse-Etsy
Invitations: Beautiful Wedding Announcements www.beautifulweddingannouncements.com
Rentals: Utah DIY Wedding www.pinterest.com/utahdiywedding
Utah Chair Rental www.utahchairrental.com
Planet Rentals www.planitrentals.com
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