Happily Ever After...

We got married!

This is where our story begins...

Our wedding day was nothing shy of perfect in my opinion. It turned out perfect!

We decided to have the actual wedding take place in the St. George temple. We would then be something like the 9th generation of Crockett's to be married in their sealing room and thought it important to keep the tradition alive. I'm so glad we did! I loved it there! What a beautiful place to be married!

Let me start somewhere near the beginning... We were scheduled to be married early in the morning on the 17th so, we drove down to St. George the night before. My dad drove in my car and asked me all the questions a dad is supposed to ask to make sure a girl is ready to make such a life changing decision. Among the upmost were questions like "are you sure you are making the right choice?" and "Ash, you know you have less than 12 hours to back out of this right?" All joking aside, we had a good talk. When he decided to take a quick nap (we had all been pretty busy before leaving) I became acutely aware of my nerves. What was I doing? Was I really ready to make such a big decision? Was I going crazy? Was almost 2 years of dating enough? I thought back on all the times before when I felt the spirit testify that this was a good decision and it calmed me almost immediately. This was the right thing to do, just a big step, and I was ready to jump in with both feet knowing that my heavenly father would have my back.

We met up with my brother Jake who was already down in St. George on a business trip (I know, he's too young to travel for work right? He's only 15!). I was excited to see him and his death grip hug suggested he felt the same. I dropped my Dad and Jake off at the hotel to check in and help my sister with her road logged children. I was so happy that they all could come! Alone in the car again, I assessed my feelings on getting married. I felt at peace. As I drove down the road to our destination for dinner I soaked up the scenery. The city was beautiful! It was the most perfect sunny bright day. I loved how the city was set up! How the temple seemed to be the center of the city and all the building stemmed around it. Having the temple at the center reminded me of the importance of this day. It signified the choice I was about to make, centering my life around the temple and family. It gave me a warm feeling inside and I knew I was ready! I knew it was what I wanted!

I felt so good as i pulled up to the restaurant and met up with my fiance in the parking lot. I thought to myself: I couldn't be marrying a better man! He is perfect for me! When I stepped out of the car to meet up with him I wanted to run, just like in the movies, but my skirt and shoes decided otherwise for me. We hugged and said a few touching words but had to get back to our guests quickly. Somehow most of them managed to make it there before me :/

My in-laws are amazing! The moment I saw them I felt such gratitude for the opportunity to marry into their family. My soon to be mother-in-law set up a dinner for us at an Italian restaurant the night before our wedding day. It was fun to see so many loved ones gathering to celebrate us and our decision to join in marriage. The dinner was awesome! There were jokes that finally he decided to settle down and that they didn’t think this day would ever come for him. His family joked that he was given a second chance after leaving BYU to come back to Utah for school again and to find himself a wife. Thank goodness he did! :)

Both of our mothers introduced those that came to the dinner and we sat down to eat. It was delicious! I remember thinking that this was probably the last real meal that I was going to eat for a day and a half so I ate accordingly (something I should not have done but don’t regret a minute of it). I was reminded over and over that no body got the privilege to eat at their own reception and just thinking of squeezing all of tomorrow’s events in one day, even to me, sounded a little crazy. Surely this would be our last. I ate as much as I could and came back for seconds on dessert (who couldn’t! It was the famous Italian cream cake- a recipe that has been cherished in the family for years P.S. LuAnn, DJ says I need to get the recipe...).

We socialized a bit after dinner and gave a few of the guys their ties and the girls their dresses. On taking them out of the car, I found that a piece was missing for one of the girls dresses that was essential to her modesty. We decided to look around town at a few stores before going to bed. It was a disaster. We couldn't find anything to match! I was kicking myself. The dresses were such a big part of my planning. My heart sunk. After running into my sister-in-laws at one of the stores, we made a new plan for the outfit. Everything was back on track! We were ready for business. We were both exhausted from the weeks of work that preceded this one and decided to call it a night rather early.

I lay in bed and thought to myself ‘I should have brought a sleeping pill’(Benadryl- a little nurses trick) as I was surely not going to get a bit of sleep this night. The minutes ticked away and I found myself getting more and more tired. I checked my alarm to make sure it was set right over 4 or 5 times as I drifted off to sleep…

I woke up refreshed about 5 minutes before my alarm went off, got up, and took a shower while my Mom got herself ready. We experimented with my hair for about 3 minutes then decided just to go for it. Naturally, this kind of decision would freak me out a little but I just felt at peace. All I cared about was that I was on time and I knew I didn't have to worry about my hair- my Mom was doing it. She always does such a good job! She did my hair for all my dances in high school. She has been my stylist my whole life! I only remember going to a salon once in my life... just to see what it was like with my sis. It was pretty fun but the bill quickly changed our minds. After getting ready my Mom and I jumped in the can and picked up David. I got out to hug him and thought I locked my keys in the car, thank goodness it was a false alarm! Phew!

There is something about the morning that feels so serene. I am so glad we had it that early. No one was out. Everything was still, even the air dared not blow. It felt like the world had stopped for us. We got to the temple, made sure our escorts were there (sorry about the late notice guys), and sat down with a temple worker to sign the paperwork. As David signed, the temple worker noted that his signature looked like a doctors signature... I am sure this was not a compliment... how did he know? We giggled about it for a minute and squeezed each others hands tight.

The people in the temple were so sweet. I felt like I was at home there. With the help of a small crew of women that couldn't stop complimenting me on how beautiful I looked, I got in my new temple dress. I have never felt more beautiful. I opted out on wearing a wedding dress to the temple. I am so glad I did. I cannot explain the love I have for the simplicity of temple clothing. It added to my comfort level. My surroundings were more beautiful than anywhere I could have found on my own. I felt so blessed to be where I was. So blessed to have the spirit fill the rooms we were in so fully.

I met up with my soon to be hubby and we were escorted up the stairs to a waiting room where we met our sealer. He gave us a few tips on what to say when the time came and reminded us of the significance of the event. He kindly instructed us that all couples getting married in the temple had one job aside from saying yes in a sealing room and that was to hold hands the whole time we were there. I was a big fan of this request :) We sat there for a while and talked with our sealer for a bit. He was so cool. In that short time we got to know him and he, us, I felt like so much information had passed between us. He commended us on having a temple marriage. After a while we saw our guests file past us into the sealing room just off of the celestial room in the temple. I loved seeing all of them in white! This decision was feeling more and more real and more and more right. Thoughts of what heaven must feel like ran through my mind and I loved that my wedding day spurred these thoughts!

The purity of the scene was amplified as we walked through the doors and saw all of our guests sitting there in white waiting for us. I knew this was a rare scene and wanted to stand at the door longer to take a mental picture. I walked in as slowly as I could, taking in every smile and kind face. We sat by both of our Moms and of course held hands :) Our sealer was amazing! Many there said it was the best sealing they had ever seen! I had to agree but I didn't really have much to compare it to. He talked for a while before performing the sealing. He reminded us to go to the temple as a couple and to go as often as we could (this has been a theme in all of our counseling prior to getting married - it must be very important for us!). After going through the temple the first time, I realized why that might actually be some of the best advice anyone could receive for marriage. Inside, you are reminded of so many things that are crucial to knowing how to act in that kind of relationship. I felt like the messages had been personalized just for me. It brought a tear to my eye. I love how personally God reaches us.

Our sealer talked about the symbolism within the temple, giving us a few examples of what he had noticed as powerful recently. He noted that we were kneeling over an alter and pointed out that we were making a sacrifice, one of the most important sacrifices we could ever make. He told us that we were sacrificing our lives to create a family together now, and that we were showing our father in heaven that we knew his plan was important to us. He told us that it would be hard, that all marriages are, but to remember in those times that we do think it is hard, our decision this day was a result of our desire to do what God had wanted for us. I had felt those feelings prior to being in this exact place. I loved the fact that God had helped me feel prepared in some way for this day. I love how personal God made it for me. It was as if he had reassured every worry in my head as I made the choice to follow him.

Our sealer reminded us to look for the symbolism each time we come to the temple in order to speed up our learning and understanding there. He said that the temple is God's university and that by going there together we would learn of his plan for us. He told us to pray and read our scriptures together. He told us to put each other first throughout our lives, before ourselves, our other family, and our friends, and that that would make us happy.

He gave us a copy of the proclaimation to the family and pointed out a very significant line in it. I found it interesting that he point it out. It said: "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." I used to use the phrase "such a boy" or "such a girl" when I was frustrated with the stereotypes of that gender. Like a girl being dramatic or too emotional and a boy, the complete opposite, cold and heartless. It became a nasty joke I used to imply my frustration at another without telling them how I really was feeling. Now my joke had come full circle. I could see that God wasn't happy with my use of it. It was important for me to see that our differences were there for an essential reason. We each had an identity and purpose with each of our roles and God revered that as good. I now only use that phrase as a compliment in our home :) "Such a boy" now applies to situations like him protecting me as we walk down the street or walking me to my car in the morning before I go to work so I don't feel scared and when he tells me I am "such a girl" it usually applies to things like making him dinner or giving him a long hug after a hard day at work. I am glad God pointed that out to me and that it is now a compliment to receive.

My testimony of marriage came from the Proclamation to the Family so It felt right for the sealer to use it in teaching us the importance of marriage and how God wanted us to treat each other throughout our relationship. He gave us a copy which we hang on our wall today. It was so special to me.

Our sealer had done a good job. All that I had been studying and praying about felt complete there in the temple. When it was all over he had asked us to kiss over the alter. We did gratefully and embraced it fully. When we were done he told us it might be slightly inappropriate to make out over the alter (don't worry, we didn't. It wasn't really even close). We walked out to the celestial room and looked in the mirrors. It felt like time had stopped for a quick second to show us how wonderful this moment was in our life. I am never going to forget the feelings I felt there in the temple that day. It was so special to me. I am so grateful for our guests that made it there. It made it so special for us. Thank you!

I realize this is turning into a novel... sorry to the readers that are getting bored. I just don't want to forget a thing! I figured this will be something of a diary for me throughout the year and this was a pretty significant event in my life so I've got to capture as much of it as I can! (P.S. if anyone reading this remembers more, I would love to receive an e-mail with your thoughts on the day especially what the sealer said!!)

After getting into my 'wedding' dress, primping a little bit, and meeting up with my new husband, we went out the back door and met up with our crowd of followers. We took lots of pictures with our family and friends and were very pleased with our photographer. When the pictures were done we changed, jumped in our car, and drove like the wind to our reception center. It was fun driving together as a couple. We were married now. As I looked over at him I remember thinking that this is how it would feel 10 years from now when we go on road trips. I would look at him and he would be my husband. It felt different, right. I felt complete. I was supposed to take a quick nap on the way up but I couldn't. I was so wide awake and we had so much to talk about. Despite my attempts to make a fun playlist prior to getting married, we never even listened to any music or turned on the radio at all during our drive. We were having too much fun just talking.

When we got to our reception center, we quickly directed everyone there what to do while we got back in our wedding attire. They decorated the place so beautifully and so quickly! I was pretty amazed at how it looked. I didn't know it could look any better. The place was beautiful before! We took more pictures, started the music, and took a deep breath. The reception went great! My expectations had been exceeded in so many areas! The flowers turned out amazing! She even threw in a little extra on the flower girls that turned out beautiful and one of my favorite pieces! Our cake (a cheesecake) turned out beautiful! I had been worried it was going to look small, or short, or... like a cheesecake :) Our cake lady was adorable and did a spectacular job!! Our food was amazing (and yes we got to eat some)! Our DJ (my brother in law) pulled out a great performance! Pictures were great! It had all been thrown together so nicely. I have my family to thank at this point. They were so helpful in making this day beautiful for me! Thanks guys!!! You are the best!!

After a long night of dancing and chatting with great people we got in our cheesecake smothered car and drove away. We hit the first car wash we could and ran our car through twice.... it was still dirty when we left but in much better condition than it had been in to start with (no thanks to Jake :) J/K). Next post will be on the honeymoon! Pictures to come!