The Wedding Barbeque (the "Reception")

So, after we finished taking pictures at the temple and got our grab bag of food--we headed to SLC. Home. Together as husband and wife for the first time. Kind of exciting. Mark carried me over the threshold. I'm glad he did--I've always looked forward to that.

We only had time to change out of our "picture" clothes and into our t-shirts.

These t-shirts are AWESOME! Mark's cousin, Brent, designed them for us. (He works for Sansegal, so you should support his art: http://www.sansegal.com/.)

My t-shirt says "Bride" and Mark's says "Groom." The little squiggly under "Bride" is a WHIP! Hahahah!!! And Mark's two O's are two balls connected with a chain. Heheheh... HE'S MINE!

Our siblings and parents were asked to wear corresponding t-shirts that say "Family." My family and I have the script font from our wedding announcements. Mark and his family have the block font. And, on the back of all of them was our initial insignia. Oh--and my three brothers had black aprons instead of the gold t-shirts.

We hurried over to the park and got there at about 3:45. When we arrived, nothing had been set up. It kind of freaked me out for a minute. Then I thought, "What am I going to freak out for? It will all work out." And--it did.

Balloons were blown up. Tables were covered. My friend, Jorie, made some really simple and great table decorations (LOVED them). The cake arrived. Pictures were arranged.

The food arrived at about 4:30. (I'm pretty disappointed with Costco regarding this issue--and I can explain if you need the details.) My brothers got right to the cooking.

We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, veggies, pop, popsicles, and cake.

Friends and family arrived right on time too. And--that was the best: the family and friends.

Mark had lots of family come that had previously said they would be unable to attend. I know Mark appreciated their love and support. So did I. In fact--Mark has mentioned a couple times how it turned into a little family reunion and how glad it made him.

Lots of my family and friends came too. If they only knew how much I appreciated each and every one of them who came. I remember too--so don't think I didn't notice. There were some people who didn't come that I expected, and I noticed.

We didn't have a line, because neither Mark nor I have ever wanted to stand in an awkward line. We know how much we dislike lines at receptions we go to--so we didn't have one. And it turned out great. Not only did we get to talk to the people we wanted, but our parents and families had the same experience. It was sweet!

The cake was AWESOME. Originally I didn't care. Then, I thought I better have one. I tried to get my friend to make one, but she never returned phone calls or emails. So, I started looking to buy one. But, my sister-in-law volunteered to make one. I told her I would love that. She made it the day after she got back from her belated-honeymoon. She made it at her sister's house. It was AWESOME. We served it as a dessert option--and it was sooooooo yummy!

Oh yah--and we didn't smash it in each other's faces. We decided that we didn't want to be sticky and such. We just wanted to be nice to each other. So--we were. Yah baby! You can think what you will--but both of us agreed to it, even without threats.

Honestly, I don't think I would have done ANYTHING different about the day. There were obviously glitches, but they had nothing to do with our preparation. Everything that day turned out so well, I was just sooooooooooo happy. I'm still happy when I think about it. And I get all grinny (I just made that word up) when I look at the pictures. I think everyone had almost as good a time as I did--and that was the intention.

Thank you--everyone--for coming to our barbeque! We love you!!!!

All of our BBQ pictures can be found here.

Actually--I just got a new CD today filled with pictures from one of my dear friends. The link to those pictures can be found here.