PREPARING FOR KAYLA'S BIG DAY

When Kayla set her wedding date for July 25th, we knew we had our work cut out for us. With her in Rexburg and me here, we had to plan our weekends carefully. We had clothes, invitations, refreshments, a wedding dress, reception place, showers, wedding cake and so much more to think about. When she wasn't here, Kayla was busy with school at BYUI, work at the radio station and finding time to spend with Brian since he had moved to Blackfoot. I'm happy to say that through it all we were able to get prepared and Kayla, amazingly, earned grades that would allow her to keep her scholarship.


Our weekends were fun and eventful. In May we looked at places to have the reception. Brian and Kayla's favorite was Wadley Farms.

In May we also went shopping for wedding dresses. I thought it was going to be impossible to choose because Kayla looked so beautiful in every one she tried on.

I'm afraid we wore Rachel out. It's a good thing that most of the wedding dress shops had a comfy couch for the tired "maid of honor."

The minute Kayla tried on this dress she knew it was THE ONE. She really loved it. It was just what she had wanted. She especially liked that it was ivory. Of course once you pick out the dress you've only just begun. Then you have to find the veil, the sash, the brooch, the jewelry, the shoes and the slip. Whew!

We also fit in time to visit a fabric store and pick out material for a quilt to tie at her shower.

Then in June it was back to Wadley Farms for the engagement pictures. Brian's mom and I went along. How fun!!

We joked about using this picture for the invitation. It certainly is a good depiction of how happy Kayla was that day. But then, the guests would have had to come to the wedding to see what the groom looked like.

This is the picture that Kayla chose to go with their announcement in the local newspaper.

After looking at over 100 exceptional pictures, this is the one they chose to include with their invitation. Kayla and Brian found the paper for their invitations at a store in Rexburg and then they shipped it off to Houston where Brian's dad, JC, did a beautiful job of printing them. Amy used these pictures and others to make a wonderful wedding DVD. It is truly worth watching! You can see it on Amy's blog at http://www.thewondertwins.blogspot.com/ under her July 2008 posting.

Next, we took the material for the quilt over to my sweet next door neighbor, Xenna. She cut it up into squares for us. Together she and I would put patterns together on her floor and then I would take a picture of them and email it to Kayla to see what she thought. Once she decided which pattern she liked best we pinned it all together and Xenna sewed up the quilt top for us. I picked up the batting and other materials needed and we were ready to tie it at the shower. Xenna came to Lisa's house and set everything up for us.

Lisa gave Kayla a fun family bridal shower. She really went the extra mile to make it so nice for Kayla. We tied a quilt, had delicious food and enjoyed visiting. Kayla received alot of nice gifts.

Notice how Kayla and I have the exact same expressions in the next three pictures.

Brian and Rachel found time to have a marshmallow eating contest. The object was to see who could fit the most in their mouth at the same time. Rachel won.

BRIDAL PICTURES, A TREK AND LAST MINUTE PREPARATIONS

June ended and July began in a very busy way. Brian and Kayla came down for a ward shower, bridal pictures, some shopping on Craigslist, addressing invitations, picking out a wedding cake, some more shopping and a ward trek!


Lisa helped Kayla do her hair for the bridal pictures. It took a few hours and lots of hair product.

Kayla wanted to have her bridal pictures taken at the temple. Ernie, our photographer, thought it would be neat to have them taken in the evening when the light was just right. There wasn't anywhere to change so we had to get Kayla in her dress outside (holding up blankets) at a church nearby. To my horror, I found that I had forgotten the slip! The slip is extremely important because it gives the dress it's shape. I didn't know what to do. I thought everything was in the bag with the dress but there was no slip. I started to question if the dress shop had given me the slip. I'm afraid I had a melt down. I called home and thank goodness Suzi was still there. She found the slip and brought it to us. She also grabbed some flowers from a vase on my table. I must say that Suzi saved the day. By the time we were ready I was afraid that it was getting too dark but Ernie didn't seem worried. He took some beautiful pictures. Brian came along for the bridals too and that made it extra fun.



Ernie went right to work. Brian got the posing thing down immediately.

After the weekend of showers, Craigslist shopping, invitation addressing, etc. We took a few day break and went to Rocky Ridge near Martin's Cove on a trek with our ward. This was just three weeks before the wedding. We slept in tents, pulled handcarts and became pioneers for a time. It was a good and humbling experience for all of us.

Rachel's favorite part of the trek was square dancing with Brian.

Usually treks are for the youth and their leaders. I am so glad that the whole family, which is very rare, was invited on this one. It was fun to have grandparents, babies, children, etc. I was really glad we got to bring Parker along. Notice Tyrel and Suzi's clothes. Suzi made her dress and his vest. They looked so good and very festive for the upcoming 4th of July holiday.

We had a program at this ampitheater on our last night there. Rachel sang and Tyrel spoke about the man he walked for who died at Rocky Ridge.

I am always happy when Tyrel is with me. He helps me keep a good eye on everybody, especially his younger siblings.

Tim thought Kayla looked so pretty in her blue pioneer dress and bonnet. He told her so every few minutes. We were all liking Brian's "scruffy" look. Such a cute couple....and so ready to get married!

On July 18th we all headed up to Rexburg to be with Kayla when she received her endowment in the new Rexburg, Idaho temple. Grandma and Grandpa Salisbury came and so did Tim and I and Brian's parents. Grandma Wilkins (Kayla and Brian's adopted grandma in Rexburg) was there and so was Kayla's organ teacher. Rachel and Parker waited for us outside of the temple.

After we were done at the temple we went to a nearby park and celebrated Brian and Rachel's birthdays which are both on July 18. Brian's mom, Sandi, and I ordered sandwiches from Broulims and we had a picnic topped off with an ice cream birthday cake. After that we went back to Kayla and Brian's apartment and they finished unpacking and organizing so they'd be ready to move in when they got home from their honeymoon.

The next morning I grabbed Kayla and ran to Utah so we could take advantage of a couple of days to finish getting ready for the wedding. Brian went with his parents to Blackfoot and then on to Salt Lake where he waited for his siblings to fly in from all across the country.

It was a fun and exciting week. There was a Cook family shower, shopping, packing, a Cook family no-talent show and lots of anticipation. Before we knew it, the big day was here!