Two Weddings

This summer we had the joy of participating in two weddings. Two of our cousins on the Yardley side were married which gave us the opportunity to travel to Beaver and on to St. George to enjoy the festivities. The first wedding was my cousin Cressa marrying Heston and a month later we watched Candace marry Jason. I was asked to do the flowers and cake for both weddings. I haven't had this opportunity in quite some time as there hasn't been a Yardley wedding for a while. The two weddings were quite different from each other but both turned out very beautiful. Cressa had a bright, colorful garden wedding and Candace had a vintage, formal wedding. Both couples were married in the St. George wedding. We realized at the first wedding that all of my Grandma and Grandpa Yardley's grandchildren, 28 of us, have received their endowment. Those that are married, all have been married in the temple, two are currently serving missions. During one ceremony, the sealer asked the 120 odd patrons in attendendance how many had been married in that very sealing room. Over 3/4s of the couples there raised their hands. Our grandparents, all of our parents, and most of the grandkids have all been sealed at the same alter in the St. George Temple. It was a great realization as this was pointed out to us. It made me think of a quote from the story of the Willie Martin Handcart Company, a pioneer company that our great, great grandmother was a part of, "The greatest honor I could receive is to know that my children and their children live in righteousness." The kids had a fun time at the weddings. One of the advantages of having your mom arrange the flowers is getting to present the bouquet to the bride as she exits the temple. Savannah took great delight in this privilege both times. It was cute to see all of the cousins help carry the train of Candace's dress as she walked around the temple grounds. Sharing some of the traditions of a "good, old Beaver wedding" with my kids was fun. From the boisterous wedding breakfast, to the decorating, gift collecting, serving refreshments, hearing the "Moonlighters" play while everyone danced (that's right, they're still in business but we were told Candance's wedding was their last gig), to the final cleanup at the end. A Beaver family wedding is just that, having the whole family involved. I count it a blessing that we were a part of it.

Pictures of the cakes