It's official! There's a new Carnell in town--me!
Our wedding was absolutely picture perfect, had a few rough bumps, but overall, it was just how we imagined it to be!
We got into Vegas on Friday afternoon and immediately went to Costco to order prints for the display tables. We then went over to Paige's hotel room to drop off my luggage and figure out the plan of the night to make sure everything that needed to happen between then and the wedding was accomplished. Ryan and I still had to get our marriage license downtown so, that was top priority on the list of things to do.
Interesting Side story:::
...While planning out the night, a large surprise occurred--my parents announced that they too were going to get {re}married and elope at some small chapel during their stay in Vegas... They were unaware that they needed a marriage license, so Ryan, Paige, my parents and I all traipsed down to the courthouse together where not only Ryan and I got licenses. When we came out, a man of the streets approached us with a nice little pamphlet of chapels nearby. Below is what occurred the night before my wedding:
Yes, my parents did indeed get remarried at the Walk-Up Wedding in Vegas. And yes, it is just like a McDonalds, but instead of hamburgers and fries they serve weddings and cheap rings.
***
So, next on the list was finishing up boutonnieres and floral centerpieces. We had planned on getting back to Paige's and my hotel room about 9 PM however, due to parental technical difficulties of navigating the Strip, we went without dinner or floral designing until 12:45 AM. There were also some major hysterical fits of crying throughout the adventurous night. {I felt as though my wedding was going to be ruined and that I'd have ZERO hours of sleep before my big day}
When we finally arrived to our hotel room, Paige, Eric, Ryan, and myself 'opened up' "Les Fleurs Boutique de la Bathroom de Green Valley Resort." Basically, the 4 of us stayed up for about 2 hours frantically trying to finish up the flowers for the reception. I have very fond, vivid memories of {literally} sitting in the bathtub making centerpieces while Ryan snipped off buds as Paige and Eric wired boutonnieres. Oh what fun {not wanted} memories!
Luckily, I did get about 4.5 hours of sleep before I had to get ready.
Ryan and his groomsmen stayed with the sweetest family, who also happened to be wedding-lifesavers, the Marx family. Mrs. Marx is a fabulous hairstylist, so as a wedding present, she did my wedding up-do. It was EXACTLY what I wanted and beautiful.
Ryan and I arrived at our appointed time in the Las Vegas Latter-Day Saint Temple at 10:30 AM to prepare for the private ceremony scheduled for Noon. I waited for my mother and Paige to arrive. And waited. And even waited some more...{Unfortunately, I was alone by myself in the Bridal suite because Ryan wasn't allowed in}. My mother had my wedding dress and I could not do ANYTHING without it. They were supposed to be at the Temple at 10:30 AM as well, however again, due to parental difficulties, they didn't arrive until 11:50 AM--10 minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. Needless to say, I had a rather lonely and rushed morning...
The wedding was beautiful and we both said 'I Do', so it was a success! We were married for time and all eternity! Our religious beliefs enable us to be married and remain a family after our mortal death in Heaven. I am so grateful that I get to spend my entire earthly and heavenly life with my best friend and only love forever!
Family and Friends at the Temple
Our photographer, Michael Lloyd drove all the way from Utah to Vegas to shoot our wedding. Oh how we adore him! We spent the next 2 hours taking family and personal portraits at the Temple. Seriously, Michael is bomb. Because his photographs, we have extremely vivid memories of every single minute and detail of our most special day!
My father left his formal wedding suit in Utah, so luckily, Mr. Marx let my father borrow one of his suits and dress shoes for the reception. Like I said, the Marx's are {literally} wedding-lifesavers!
The Carnell Family
The Larscheid Family
Our reception was held at Dragon Ridge Country Club in Henderson, Nevada. We had hors d'oeuvres for our guests while Ryan and I took sunset pictures on the golf course. Talk about blast from the past...we met an unfortunate swarm of mosquitoes that chased us around just like our first date to Utah Lake for fishing. Oh what adventurous memories we have!
After our sunset photos, we entered the Grand Ballroom to the song, I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness to kick of our wedding celebration! We had to keep the reception very small consisting only of family members and extremely close friends since Ryan and I paid for our entire wedding by ourselves. However, we were able to feed our guests an excellent salmon or steak entree and a garden salad. Also, I was quite pleased with how the table linens turned out! I think they looked very classy and didn't resemble Blue and Gold Banquets which I was afraid of.
Toasts were given by Paige and Eric, one of Ryan's groomsmen Jeremy, and Ryan's dad Skip. We also had 2 special musical numbers by another groomsmen Kaimi and dear friend Sam Riddle. I especially loved this part of the dinner because of all the tender memories and love that were shared.
We then enjoyed dancing for the rest of the evening. Our daddy-daughter and mother-son dance was to Unforgettable by Natalie and Nat King Cole. It was precious being able to spend a little bit of time with my father to tell him how much I love and appreciate him before the wedding day was over. Afterwards, Ryan and I danced our first dance to Andre Bocelli's, I Can't Help Falling in Love. It was magical and I felt as though time stopped while we were in our own sphere for those few moments. Oh how I love dancing, it truly does waken the soul!
Daddy-Daughter and Mother-Son Dance
Our First Dance
Of course, we did the traditional cake cutting. Our cake was a fantastic cake. I don't think I've ever seen a cake so beautiful which tasted just as good as it looked! I shoved a big glob onto Ryan's face even though we both promised not to the night before...
We also did the garter throw where Ryan's groomsman Sam caught it. My toss bouquet was missed {typical} but our friend Chelsie was a good sport and claimed the prize! Looks like Sam and Chelsie are next on the list!
After a little more dancing, Ryan and I quickly changed and got ready for our mini-honeymoon in Vegas until we moved to Philadelphia for the summer....
Happy Forevering!
Overall, our wedding was as PERFECT as a wedding could be. I don't believe there are such things as perfect weddings, ours definitely had it's hiccups, but it was our fairy-tale night! Thank you everyone who came and a special thanks to ALL of our vendors who made all of this magical!
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