Mawwage Bwings us Togetha

As Tawna and Bryce joined hands at the beginning of their marriage ceremony, their minister Jenna proclaimed "Mawwage. It's what bwings us togetha today.". Everyone in attendance chuckled, and she said "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I've always wanted to say that." Having the minister say this quote from the Princess Bride as the opening line of the ceremony was just one aspect that made my sister's wedding so much fun! 

The evidence of the good time is totally visible here:

And if the bride and groom are having fun at their own wedding, then you can be sure everyone else did, too! Their wedding was like a fun party; it was the funnest wedding I've ever been to!

The wedding party danced down the aisle to music...

Bryce's entry kicked it up a notch, too! (literally)

But I think I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm going to rewind a little bit.

Two of my younger sisters got married this summer. Trina, my youngest sister, got married in Logan in June. Just one month later, Tawna's wedding to Bryce was the day after Independence Day in Draper. They started off the day with a family/friend luncheon in Bryce's parents' backyard in Midvale. It was a relaxed atmosphere and a nice opportunity for members of the two families to meet each other before the big event that evening.  

In between the luncheon and the wedding, my family checked ourselves into a nearby hotel and got dressed and ready for the evening. It was the first time the 3 younger boys had worn a real tie (one that doesn't have to be clipped on or zipped up), so Josh helped them tie them on just right. Kanyon absolutely hates wearing ties and will NEVER wear them to church. He says they bother his neck. He had been complaining for a month about having to wear a tie at Tawna's wedding. But a week before the wedding, he pulled some of his long soccer socks out of his drawer and said he wanted to wear them to the wedding because they matched. When we were at the hotel, and Josh was helping him with his tie, he was again very unhappy that he had to wear it. Then I pulled the long socks out of his bag, and told him he needed to put his socks on because they matched his tie. After her put his socks on, though, he realized they wouldn't be seen under his pants. So, we rolled his pants up so the socks could be seen. This seemed the only way to make him happy about wearing a tie: showing off his matching socks. He was so proud of his final look, and we were glad that he stopped complaining about wearing the tie! !

 We arrived at Cactus and Tropicals about an hour before the wedding was to begin, in case we needed to help set up. Everything was pretty much all set, though, so we took in our lovely surroundings. Cactus and Tropicals is a big plant store with a large greenhouse. It has an open space in the middle that is accommodating for large group events. It isn't a traditional place you'd think of to have a wedding, but it was so beautiful! And it really added to the fun and whimsical atmosphere of the wedding.

As I was taking photos of the wedding location, my dad photobombed it!!!

There were little paths all throughout the store among all the plants. It was a large place and so fun to wander around!

Tawna's colors were yellow and gray, with an accent of turquoise. Everyone in the family dressed up in the coordinating colors. There were probably 50 shades of gray and yellow being worn!!!

My boys looked so handsome in their coordinating ties

Dan & Trina

BreAnne, Brendan, & Cody

Aspen, Jen, Liberty, Sunny, Mick, & Abby

Tabbi & Cousin Liz
(she didn't get the memo about 50 shades of certain colors,
so she sprang a fan including the correct hues instead!)

Dad & Mom

When my mom saw me, she discovered a large slit in the back of my dress. I hadn't realized it was so big until I put the dress on the hotel, but I figured there was nothing that could be done about it. She of course had an emergency sewing kit, and she had me go with her to the bathroom so she could fix it. She got on her hands and knees and sewed that slit for me for about 20 minutes. There was lots of activity going on in the bathroom with people getting ready for the event, and I felt like the evil stepmother making Cinderella do my handiwork.

When she was done, I wanted to get away from all the chaos, so we found a quiet spot and took our seats near the front of the seating area.

There was some yellow ribbon marking off the seats of where the family members should sit, and Kanyon immediately got to work making an Indian headdress out of it! He was very happily occupied with that ribbon until the wedding started, so I gladly let him have it (although we got some strange looks from the kids across the aisle)!

When the wedding processional began, I wasn't at all ready for what transpired. Members of the wedding party danced their way down the aisle to different songs. It was so funny! I loved the dance moves of Jenna, I enjoyed watching the moms being twirled, and seeing the skip in the step of all the men was so delightful. Then Bryce's entry was unforgettable--especially with the inclusion of his grandma as he neared the end of the aisle! (You'll have to watch the above video, it's the best!) The little flower girls, two young nieces of the bride & groom, dropped yellow flower petals before Tawna's entrance. She had a traditional song playing as my dad escorted her.

Jenna, the wedding minister, is Bryce's sister. She was Tawna's roommate many years ago, and she's the one who introduced Tawna to Bryce. Because she knew the bride and groom both so well, she gave a very personalized ceremony. It was very fitting!

Several other people were involved in the ceremony, too. Bryce's dad gave words of advice. Tawna's (and mine!) sister Tabbi and Bryce's twin brother Brandon both spoke about love. Tawna and our mom, and Bryce with his mom, tried to light separate candles and join the candle light together on a bigger candle. But the lighter wasn't working, and it took several people and more than one lighter and the A/C unit being turned off for it to work! (It was over 100* outside, so the A/C didn't stay off for long because we were all starting to sweat!!!)

Tawna talked about the many reasons why she loves Bryce.

And Bryce told her the many reasons why he loves her, too.

Everyone was all smiles throughout the entire ceremony. It was such a truly wonderful wedding! At the end, they said their "I Do's" and the ceremony was done (and the Air Conditioning was turned back on, thank goodness!). And they danced together on their way back to the aisle to the tune of "I'm on Top of the World", and the audience clapped in rhythm on their departure.

It was only a little hectic for the momentary time between the wedding and the reception, because that was the designated time for family pictures. All the chairs needed to be cleared from the wedding area and set around the tables for people to eat at the reception, members of the family needed to be gathered, and time was short so it all had to happen quickly. The photographer seemed a little overwhelmed with all the people in the small space, too. I admit I was a little disappointed with how the big family picture turned out. We were all wearing matching clothes and looking good (not at all common for our type of family photos). I wish we'd kept a few of the chairs from the wedding so that some of the family members could sit and everyone would be visible. Brendan's face is hiding behind my dad's, Sunny is facing backwards, Dad is half-hidden, and Jen's face is bright in the sunlight...but it was a feat to have us all together in one place, and for such a happy occasion, too!

Bride & Groom with the Perkins family

Perkins siblings (minus Lisa)

Then it was Bryce's family's turn. At least you can see everyone's faces in his family picture! And what a good-looking bunch they are!

And just like that, the reception began. It was just as fun as the wedding. There was a large dessert assortment, an ice cream bar, and a drink-mixing bar (which included non-alcoholic beverages). Josh and I took turns the whole night scooping ice cream with Jen & Aspen, and Ammon & Bryce's nephew Duncan.

There was fun music playing, and I danced to the music as I was serving the ice cream! Whenever I wasn't serving, I tried to go around and visit with people. I recognized some people from my high school days that were Tawna's friends, and some extended family dropped by, too.

Aunt Janet, Uncle John, Mom, Ileen, Aunt Connie, and Dad

Dad's uncles & aunts came: Frank, Bev, Gene & Shirley, & Dean, 

Tawna's and my friend Jackie. I haven't seen her in 15 years!

 There was an awesome photo booth at the entry of the reception for people to have their photos taken in, then added to the wedding guest book. There were props and accessories that could be worn in the photos, too. That was so much fun! I did it twice with Josh and once with Micah. Kanyon had it done once with cousin Aspen. Unfortunately, Ammon and Jonah never did it. There was a long line to do it at first, so Jonah waited. But then Jonah and Kanyon were taken back to the hotel early by Josh because Kanyon didn't want to stay at the reception after an hour so Jonah never got the chance. Ammon thought it was dumb and chose not to do it (party pooper material right there). The best part was that each photo strip printed twice: one for the guest book and one for the guests to keep. I'm so glad that we got to take home our copies!

A close-up of my favorite takes with Josh.

Micah's favorite outfit from the photo booth.
He reminded us of Sir Elton John!

Micah adding our picture strip to the guest book.

 Towards the end of the evening, one of my favorite songs to dance to ("Timber" by Ke$ha) was playing, and I pulled Josh out to dance with me in the open space near the reception line. Ammon was mortified to watch his parents dance, and said it was embarrassing to watch us "grind". I can assure you that there was no grinding happening, though! I love dancing with Josh, and I was so happy that he was willing to dance with me in front of everyone, even if we were the only two on the dance floor!

The last activity at their reception was the cake-cutting. I loved the backdrop for the simple cake--the rows of pinned photos of Bryce and Tawna from their childhood and dating years:

I found these two that included me, and they made me smile.
The photo on the left shows me in my bowl-haircut wearing my
favorite shirt when I was 6. I wore that shirt almost every day; I loved it so much!

It was a fantastic wedding and reception, and we all had a great time! We are so glad that Tawna and Bryce found each other and got married. They are good complements of each other, and they make a great couple! We are so happy for them and we were happy to be a part of their fun celebration!