Tuesday, May 1, 2012

nup•tial

 Nup•tial [nuhp-shul, -chul]


According to dictionary.com and several other sources--they all agree--nuptial means

 'of or pertaining to marriage or a marriage ceremony.'


You are cordially invited to peruse a pictorial guide to the delightful and happy nuptial events which commemorated the marriage of

Lola Workman
(daughter of me and Charles)

to

Her sweet husband, let's call him Jack
(son of Mr. and Mrs. Laney)

on Friday, April 27, 2012
in the Salt Lake Temple



So, first of all, Lola and Jack FLIPPED for each other, much like Lewis on the Shumway trampoline







Then they decided to "take the plunge," like Lewis did into the pond last month.

( I just HAD to include these pictures somehow; I LOVE them! )

And we decided to make the 1500 mile pilgrimage from MI to UT for the wedding.  We made it just fine, but several thousands bugs gave their lives on our windshield.

These lovely ladies hosted a bridal shower for Lola.  They are also my childhood friends from Hawaii and they are treasures to me!

Just to prove we've still got it.  YES!!!

The delightful hubbub surrounding Lola the night before the wedding.  Some are making adjustments, some are taking pictures, others  are chatting, gawking and admiring.

During the ceremony, the kids hung out in the temple waiting room.  The goal was to keep calm and keep clean!

Two beautiful bridesmaids--Michigan friends--await the emergence of the happy couple from the temple. . . 

. . . alongside Lola's sisters.  Aren't they lovely?



Gramma Workman (amazing at 89!!) snuggles up to Pearl and Auntie Nikki to keep warm.  It was a very brisk, windy afternoon.

One of my favorite pictures.  As the pregnant photographer struggles with her equipment in the background (white sweater), a bridesmaid is sobbing and Ethel and Lola prepare to embrace.

And Ethel welcomes Jack into the family.  

Handsome couple.  Mmmhmm!!



The combined Workman and Laney families--at least the ones that were present that day.

The Workmans on the steps of the historic and majestic Salt Lake Temple. . . 

. . . and now it's the Laney family's turn.
Abner, Uncle Dan, Uncle Chris and Charles stay out of the wind when they're not needed for photos.

Three generations on the Chase side.

And a four generation span on the Workman side.  Great Grandma Workman, Dad and Lola.

"There were never such devoted sisters!"  So pretty.

Abner, Lewis and George surround Lola on her special day.


Mom and Dad with the new Mr. and Mrs. Laney

And the Laney siblings.  They are such wonderful people!

Charles and I are happy, but incredulous that we have a child who is married.  I guess that means we're not newlyweds ourselves!

After the photos, there was a lovely family luncheon in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  The room was beautiful!

What else are you going to do when you're 7 years old and you have to wait HOURS for the bride and groom to finish their photo session and come to the luncheon?

The bouquet was gorgeous.

The view of the temple from the Kirtland Room, where the luncheon was held.

After the luncheon, before the reception.  Don't they look calm?   
Dear friends from Cherry Hill at the reception.  Notice the awesome table decorations created by another special friend from Michigan who now resides in Utah.  She spent weeks sewing fabric, growing wheat grass and accumulating photos for display.  The decorations were exquisite.

Auntie Nikki and Auntie Lizzy at the reception.

Cutting the cake.  The thing about this cake is that it was gorgeous (Martha Stewart would have been jealous), delicious, and EXACTLY what Laura wanted.  It was created by another generous friend.

We're all lining up and lighting up for our "sparkler farewell" for Jack and Lola as they leave on their honeymoon.  Charles had stopped at an incredibly "rustic" trailer in Wyoming to buy these extra-long-lasting sparklers.

They are so happy!  And they are also worried that they're going to catch fire.


Jack and Lola have already left, but we still have extra-long-lasting sparklers to play with!!!  Young and old, friends and family--look at the smiles.  It was a great night. 
And then we had to drive back home the very next day--by way of Little America, of course, where I guess it's become tradition that we take pictures in cowboy hats.

It took 26 hours to drive TO the wedding, and 30 hours to drive home.  I think reluctance slowed us a bit on the return.  It was a fantastic, best-ever kind of week in many ways.  We saw tons of our favorite people from Hawaii, Utah and Michigan at the shower, wedding and reception.  We spent time with family and friends outside of the wedding events.  We were humbled by and grateful for the talented and generous women who made Laura's cake and decorated for her reception, and the amazing family friends who housed all 9 of us for the whole week   It was so much goodness that it was almost too much to take in.  I guess the word to best describe how we feel is blessed.

And what about the word nuptial?  I know what nuptial means, and now I know a little bit about how to plan a wedding, but I'm not at all sure I know how to feel about this step in our lives.  It is a sweet, sweet thing to watch your beautiful, all-grown-up little girl do something as wonderful as marrying a loving, stalwart, fun and down-to-earth young man in the temple.  I can't quite account for the tinge of sadness.  She's still mine after all.  Isn't she?

14 comments:

  1. Beautifully written!! I'm so impressed and I'm ever grateful that I get to be your friend. It was fantastic seeing you all. Congratulations again on such a wonderful thing as seeing your daughter so happy and welcoming another into your circle of family. It'll be great to see you again and hopefully Rach can come and see you for one of her breaks during nursing school. ALOHA!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll make sure we keep in touch with your Rach. It was so good to see you and be inspired by you and your wonderful family! Thanks for your help, Felila!

      Delete
  2. Thank you for sharing that experience ... I'm pretty teary reading this and picturing this sweet event.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was sweet, and I've been on the verge of tears for quite a while now--at least a couple of weeks, so we're members of the same club!

      Delete
  3. Ann..this is splendid <3 As I get ready to face/experience my third child's temple wedding in just (gulp) 11 days, I know the only thing that will be more bitter-sweet than seeing your first child get married will be watching the last child get married. It is pure (slightly painful) bliss...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did our parents feel this way? I wonder if I'm just learning about these things because I'm this age, or if parents struggling with the missions and marriages of their grown children is a new phenomenon?

      Good luck, Julie, and enjoy!

      Delete
  4. I wish we could have been there, Lola looks beautiful and so so happy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As do you! I love your announcement! I wish you could have been there, too!

      Delete
  5. Congrats to you as well as the new Laney family. I love how you and Eric do life!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! What an elegant and touching thing to say, Dolly!

      Delete
  6. As always, I'm grateful that you do life first, so I can continue to be a cuppa copy! I'm too old to rely on my mental lists, so I wrote down all impressions and ideas to repeat when it's my turn! I loved seeing you and your beautiful family, and of course your sweet Laura. Plus, the wedding dress!! and those linen brides maid dresses- LOVE!! Plus talking to your mom, Liz, seeing the bros- especially David- it's been so so long. And of course the classic Mike King moment. Priceless. PS when looking at the pic of all of us- if you ever need an online pen name for me: Lady Elaine Fairchild. Seriously. Look at the picture. I'm her. {which makes you Lady Aberlin :)}

    ReplyDelete
  7. Miss Gimber, if there is any copy, it goes the OTHER way. PLEASE! You're the one with style and panache! (What is panache, really?)

    I will fight you for the title of Lady Elaine Fairchild. After all, I am the one who bought GREEN foundation from Merle Norman to try to combat the redness in my face. It didn't work. However, I'm happy to be any character from Mr. Rogers--he's my new favorite.

    Thanks for all your help, Kim. The kids (did I just say that? I mean Jack and Lola) called me as soon as they opened your quilt. They were so excited!

    Aloha, friend!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a perfect recap of a wonderful event. Laura looks stunning and so, so happy. You and Eric look beyond proud, as you should be. And, by the way, not even close to old enough to have a married daughter. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Now what is a wedding? Well, Webster's dictionary describes a wedding as the process of removing weeds from one's garden.

    ReplyDelete