Erin's Wedding Reception

So, in our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) our goal is to be married in the Temple.  A church or civil service will marry you only "until death do you part" whereas a Temple marriage is "for time and all eternity."  The Temple is a very sacred place and only those who have been found worthy may enter.  So it is not at all uncommon to receive a wedding invitation that invites you only to the reception and only tells you that they'll be married in a certain Temple before hand.  Pretty much, unless you are family or VERY close friend (and worthy), you're rarely invited to the wedding ceremony.

Anyway, when I moved to Utah, my first job was with Farmer's Insurance.  It was in the district office, so there were lots of agents in offices within the building.  I was a customer service rep working for one particular agent.  Well, in the cubicle near me was Erin.  She was vibrant, energetic, beautiful, and became my first friend in Utah.  I was so grateful for her, because it would have been a lonely day at work otherwise.  Despite only working in the same building for 3 months, we've kept in touch over the past 6 years.

To connect the two:  Erin recently got married/sealed in the Draper Utah Temple.  I have no pictures of it because I'm not family and because you don't take pictures inside the Temple.  However, I was privileged to get to attend her reception.  It was the most beautiful reception I think I've ever seen!!  ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!  It was in this greenhouse made up just for receptions.  There were archways all over the place, adorned with fresh flowers.  There were potted plants everywhere.  The tables were spread out and nestled into cute growing corners.  Pictures were on easels set up as you first walked in.  And there were several sitting areas surrounding flowing water fountains.  Everything was lush and growing, yet there wasn't a single bee or wasp or anything of the sort.  And she did the most awesome wedding favor!  They had a booth set up with some props.  You picked out some props, went into the booth, pushed a button and it took your picture 4 times, and then printed two little strips of your pictures.  One was put into their Guest Book along with your well wishes and names, the other was to keep.  We did it twice, once with props and once without.  Without did NOT turn out well!  But the pictures WITH props were AWESOME! 

And so, here are the pictures from Erin's reception.