Earlier in the month, Sam and I were able to travel to Utah to see our niece Melanie marry Chayston. It was by far one of the most FUN wedding receptions we have ever been to. If you have a group of people that like to dance and a pretty good DJ, chances are you are going to have a blast. Everything about the wedding weekend was fun and light and happy. And that was in spite of really tricky May Utah weather (I’m looking at you RAIN)! It was also the first time since before we had kids that Sam and I were able to travel ALONE to Utah. It was so nice, you guys. So dang nice. Usually we drive with our four kids to Utah from California. It is a trip we have made about 35 times now and we are used to it. Our kids are used to it. We have a whole ROUTINE with the 11+ hour drive and we just DO IT. But to fly in and out (and the flight is like 1 hour 20 minutes), rent a car and be at Kneaders  in less than half the time it takes to drive and without four kids? Well that was a vacation all by itself :). I know that those of you who are road tripping parents get what I am dishing right now.

But back to the wedding. Weddings can bring out the best (hopefully) and the worst (occasionally) in people. Sometimes you aren’t really sure what is going to surface. But a wedding with pure love and ease and light and happiness is just THE BEST and that’s what Melanie and Chayston’s was.

Melanie wasn’t even born when Sam and I got married over 20 years ago so we have had the pleasure of watching her grow up from a baby to a married woman. That is one of the very best parts of getting older: seeing the maturity that happens when babies become kids and kids become people. Melanie was a gorgeous, happy bride. Her and Chayston looked blissfully happy together.

The wedding was at the Oquirrh Mountain LDS Temple in South Jordan on a rainy, chilly Friday. We were concerned about the rain because, pictures. But after the beautiful ceremony the rain lifted and we were able to get awesome photos without wet stuff!

We had some time before the bride and groom came out of the temple so we took a bunch of photos of ourselves and some family!

Then the two lovebirds came out and we took a big group family photo. I don’t have any good photos of them coming out of the temple but the professionals took care of that :).

After the wedding we hit Cafe Rio because UTAH AND TRADITION. Even with my new dietary changes I still made it work…sort of :).

The wedding reception was at a placed called Le Jardin in Sandy and wowsers, Sam and I loved it. I don’t think we have anything quite like this in the Bay Area but it sounds like these are all over the place in Utah (it is a land of weddings, after all).

Le Jardin is basically a nursery set up as a reception place and it is GORGEOUS. Because you are indoors but it feels like outdoors, you can use a place like this any time of year. It feels lush because of all of the plants but the place is designed with lots of vingettes and areas of conversation so you can steal private moments or be in a large group. There is plenty of room for dancing and food staging and the thousands of white lights strung around grapevines and boughs of greenery literally make this visually perfect. Can you tell that we loved it???

Rachel and Taylor (my nieces) made the wedding cake (their first wedding cake ever) and it turned out so pretty. Also TASTY. I should not have eaten this cake because dietary restrictions but I did it anyway :).

I have a bunch of super blurry photos from when everyone was dancing and none of them can be used! Just know, it was fun and we had a blast. It was raining by the time Melanie and Chayston left but the rain combined with sparklers everyone was holding plus white lights made for a pretty send off.

The rest of the weekend was spent with family. It was both my 43rd birthday AND Mothers Day. It was my first Mothers Day where I was away from my kids and I hated it. I had a really really hard time with that one. It was also my first birthday where I was away from my kids since I’ve been a mom. The benefit this time around was that Sam was able to be with his mom for Mothers Day for the first time in 20 years which is pretty cool :). I celebrated 43 with an extensive trip to Anthropologie and Nordstroms at City Creek and a really tasty dinner at Carvers. I told Sam that I really wanted seared Ahi tuna for my birthday dinner and he delivered!

After a family dinner Sunday night we headed back to the airport, returned the car and caught a short flight home. Easiest trip ever. Attending weddings is so much fun when you really aren’t responsible for anything other than showing up :). Maybe we will become professional wedding attendees? Best of all was the time we were able to spend with our family celebrating Melanie and Chayston. Happy Wedding, you two! We love you!