The wedding

There are a lot of advantages to being in Utah right now. One of the biggest ones was being able to participate in Rachel and Aaron's wedding. I met Rachel when we moved to Wisconsin seven (yikes!) years ago. I started working with the young women and immediately fell in love with Rachel. She is the youngest of my dear friend Karen's four children and the only girl in her family. She is level headed, considerate and grounded in the gospel. She has always been a joy. I watched her blossom in the three years that we were in Young Women together. She helped me organize a trip to Nauvoo, helped teach Emma the gospel, and was a dear and true friend to the other girls. One of the things that we all loved to do as a group was to attend Rachel's dance performances. While watching in the audience, I could see from afar her glow and her zest for life. I adore Rachel.

She and Aaron have a sweet story. They met as freshmen at BYU, two Midwestern kids (he is from Minnesota) living in the dorms. They dated and fell in love and then he left on his mission. She went on adventures abroad and continued to dance. She dated others but no one quite lived up to Aaron and they were engaged a few months after his mission. (I will admit that part of the reason that I love their story is because it is similar to mine and Nat's.) When Rachel came home talking about Aaron I had a feeling that things would end up this way.

The wedding was amazing. I was able to attend the sealing and feel of that sweet, sweet spirit. I sat next to my dear friend Rochelle, who I had served with in Madison. While in there I looked at Karen, Rachel's mom and my dear friend and thought of all the advice she had given me as a new mom and all the time I had spent scrapbooking in her basement. She is, in my mind, the ultimate authority on little boys (she had three in a row, just like I do). Then I looked across at Rachel's dad, Doug, who was bishop while I was Young Women's president. I remembered the hours that I had spent talking about the young women and their needs. I thought of all the conversations we had about the sister I visit taught. I remembered his compassion and his inspired leadership. I thought of all the ward councils I sat through while serving with these wonderful people and I was filled, to the brim, with love for this work and gratitude for the friendships that are formed while working together. Being in the temple with those you love is beyond description.


I also need to note that Rachel's dress was made by her mother, without an official pattern. The dress was just stunning. I wish I had a better shot of it. It was so Rachel and so perfect.

It was also wonderful to be at the reception and see so many dear friends from our Wisconsin era. I look back on graduate school with the most tender feelings of gratitude for the people I met, the things I learned and the lasting bonds I formed with those wonderful and dear people. I was able to spend much of the weekend with Whitney, another one of my young women. I cherish these girls, truly.

My talented sister Emily and her crew did the flowers for the reception. They were, in my opinion, amazing. The palette was subtle and stunning all at once. My mom wants to see the flowers and so the following pictures are mostly for her.


Congrats Aaron and Rachel!