Jaiden and Jason's Wedding!!!

May 9: Today Jaiden and Jason were sealed for time and all eternity in the St. George Temple!!

The sealing was at 10:15. Jaiden and Jason (and we as escorts) were supposed to be there at 9:00. Rick's sister, Julie Yearsley, came over to our house at 7:45 to do Jaiden’s hair. She did a fantastic job, as usual, and Jaiden looked absolutely beautiful! 

Rick, Jaiden, and I were soon on our way to the temple. Jason was staying with the Marks family at their Airbnb and would meet us there. As soon as we were in the car on our way to the temple the magnitude of what was about to happen finally hit me. I started feeling so many emotions and was soon wiping tears away. We arrived at the temple and went into the recording room where we were helped by our neighbor, and ward member, Shan Gubler. Brother and Sister Tew, who used to live in our ward, were our helpers for the day, and so it was fun to have people we know taking care of us!  

We got the bride and groom situated where they needed to be and then Rick and I went to the marriage waiting room. Jenna had left at 9:30 to pick up Audrey Williams (her best friend, Clarissa Williams, had to work) and go to the visitor’s center to watch the grandchildren during the sealing. Jenna's boyfriend, Ethan, also met them there to help. Karla Seamons made the bridal bouquet and bridesmaids’ bouquets. They looked beautiful! She arranged for them to be delivered to the visitor’s center at 10:45. 

Family and friends started arriving at the temple. We were grateful that we were able to meet Jason’s immediate family yesterday. Today we were able to meet more of his extended family. Jaiden had six bridesmaids. Three were friends that she has had for years, and three were former missionary companions. So we were able to meet the missionary companions in the waiting room too. (Jaiden and Jason both went to Mongolia on their missions, which is where they met!)

All of our extended family lives in Northern Utah, and the only ones who were able to come were my brother Chris, and his wife, Kim, and Rick’s sister Julie, and her husband, Scott. I was grateful that they could come. I loved that all of our children could be there in the temple with us (except for our missionary, Josh, and Jenna, who isn’t old enough). We also had invited our good friends, the Williams, to come. Emily Williams has been Jaiden’s best friend since first grade and was her maid of honor. 

When everyone arrived they brought us to the sealing room. They had reserved the biggest one to accommodate everyone. As I looked around the beautiful sealing room I had to smile when I noticed that the colors of the sealing room were light blue and light yellow – Jaiden’s wedding colors! There was such a special spirit there in the sealing room. 

We waited for the bride and groom and then we all stood up as they entered. We had asked President Jim Ence to seal them. He is our Stake Patriarch and also a temple sealer. He and his wife are in our ward and we have known them for many years. Their grandchildren are good friends with our children. President Ence and his wife were mission presidents in Nebraska, which is where Janika also served. When Janika’s mission president and his wife finished their service, the Ences were the ones who took their place.  

He kept it short and sweet. He said that he wasn’t going to give marriage advice, but he did talk about the ordinance. Then he began and soon they were sealed as husband and wife!! Such a beautiful moment! I am crying just thinking about it! They did a brief exchange of rings and then he had everyone go up row by row to give Jaiden and Jason a hug and then sit back down. After the sealing Jaiden, Julie, and I went back to the bridal room so that Julie could touch up her hair. Then Julie and I went around to where Jaiden and Jason would be making their entrance to waiting family and friends. 

Around 11:00 they walked out of the temple amongst cheers from the group. Then we took a big group picture with everyone on the temple stairs. It was forecast to get up to 96 degrees that day and it was already very hot. So we were all sweating and trying not to squint during that first group picture. But then we went to the temple grounds where there was a big tree and lots of shade. So it was quite comfortable there in the shade for the rest of the pictures. I wish I had thought to snap some pictures of each of the kids and their families while we were waiting our turn for pictures. 

The bride and groom were the last ones to leave the temple grounds since they were still getting their pictures taken. They had taken some of their bridals at the temple, but we still wanted a few more. Rick and I had stayed with them also since I had Jaiden’s recommend and we had left some of our things in the bridal room. Then she headed to the luncheon with Jason, and Rick and I headed over to meet everyone! (The pictures at the temple and reception were done by my friend, Julie Freeman. She did an amazing job!)

And a few pics from our phones...

Jaiden and Jason's Wedding Luncheon

We had the wedding luncheon at the Pizza Factory in Ancestor Square. The Marks family was in charge of the luncheon and wanted to have it at a restaurant, especially since they were flying in clear from Maryland and so coordinating another location and set up would have been tricky. It was a good call!

Jason's mom, Anna, had asked for ideas, and Jaiden and I had searched for options and locations for the luncheon and had a difficult time finding a restaurant that had a big banquet room. So we considered recommending that it be held at the stake center across from the St. George Temple and having it catered by a restaurant, such as Costa Vida. But it definitely would have added a lot more stress having to set up for that AND the reception, especially since we were all at the temple and would have had to rely on others to set it up. We also would have needed to bring over all of our tablecloths, centerpieces, decorations and everything else. With this, we only needed to show up.

Anna ended up finding this one, which fit most of the wedding party. She had also reserved some tables in the overflow area in the room next to the banquet room. There were 7 or 8 who ended up in the overflow area, but they were all missionaries from Jason and Jaiden’s mission in Mongolia and so I think they were okay being in the overflow room so that they could all visit with one another. Jared also put a speaker in that room so that they could hopefully hear the speeches, and I called them all in when Jaiden sang. 

The bride and groom were the last to arrive (except for Rick and I who took a wrong turn, ha ha) and Jared had everyone stand up and cheer when Jaiden and Jason walked in.

The food was delicious! It was pizza, breadsticks, salad, and drinks. Anna had ordered several gluten pizzas also and they were very good! Jared was our DJ for the day and he had brought a couple big speakers and a microphone to the luncheon for the program. They had arranged for Jason's parents, Anna and Seth, to give a 5-7 life sketch about Jason and then Rick and I spoke about Jaiden. I think it is nice for the group to get to know the couple a little better. Then Jason’s best man spoke and Jaiden’s maid of honor spoke. 

Emily Williams was Jaiden’s maid of honor and I was so touched by her speech. She talked about how she and Jaiden have been best friends since the first grade. She shared some stories, and some thoughts about Jason. Then she ended with, “I always heard that you should marry your best friend. So I always thought that Jaiden would marry me!” That got a lot of laughs. Then she said that since Jaiden would now be marrying her best friend, she was officially turning over that title to Jason.” That had us all crying! It was a perfect segway into Jaiden’s song, Vow to Be Yours,” by Leanna Crawford,  which includes the line, “I vow to be your very best friend for the rest of our lives.” (hopefully I can add a video of her song later).

We didn't have a photographer at the luncheon, but I got a few pictures from my phone. They aren't the best quality, but they are still nice to have! (Jaiden and I came and checked out the location a few months before the wedding and so these pictures of the empty room are from that day.)

Former missionaries from the Mongolia Mission in the overflow area... (and the videographer, Graycie, who is friends with one of Jaiden's former companions, Mikele Stewart)