The Reception – kandid memories

The reception was a week after the wedding. We all needed time to recover from traveling before we put on our planning and executing hats for a reception in the desert. This is what we woke up to to greet us on our busy day for an “outdoor” reception! Haha!! Gotta love Arizona in June!

But let me back up…..

We have an out of this world AMAZING couple in our ward, The Walters. They moved into the ward a few years ago and built their dream home in White Fence Farms next to our neighborhood. They built it with the intention of it being a place for hosting, gathering, and serving.

As the wedding date got closer we weren’t sure where to have the reception and my good friend, Yenifer, had suggested asking The Walters. So, one day at church Eli and Brynne approached them and they were so thrilled they immediately agreed and offered to help in anyway they could! They are just good people and I feel unbelievably blessed to know them and rub shoulders with them.

We went over a couple of months before and got the lay of the property and the kids shared their thoughts and ideas with them. We were on cloud nine after seeing how gorgeous it was and the planning began!

Fast forward to the day before the reception and we went over and started setting up everything that could be set up, that wouldn’t melt in the insane heat.

And that brings us to the day of!

Brynne, her mom, and her sister-in-law went early to Trader Joe’s and got all the flowers they could manage. Brynne is so creative and crafty and she wanted to do all the flower arranging herself!!! Wow!!!

A couple of hours before the reception the troops gathered again to get all the final details in place.

I feel terrible but I didn’t get a good photo of the Walters that night. But here’s a great one of them. LOL!

Eli and Brynne ordered food from Rigatony’s and everyone raved that it was the BEST food they’ve ever had at any reception they’ve been to. And that’s saying something from LDS families that go to dozens of weddings a year! Haha!

I put together some fruit and veggie trays. A few of my friends from the ward and Mamaw helped bake cookies, brownies, and lemon bars and helped to serve the guests. (Again, didn’t get a picture 🙁 Darn it!)

We had lots of helping hands and we appreciated .every. single. person!!!!

The backyard was transformed and it turned out even better than any of us dreamed!

It was VERY toasty that day but as the sun started to set the temps started to come down. And by the time the guests arrived it was actually really pleasant outside.

Our good friends AnnMarie and Chris drove from out of state to celebrate with us. Eli, Brynne, and their daughter Baili went to school together and they were very close. It was so nice having them there. Wish Baili could have made it.

Family also came to support the new Bride and Groom. Love our family!

The GORGEOUS couple!

Have I mentioned how talented Brynne is? She designed this arch herself. It’s stunning!

In fact she decorated the entire reception herself. She had a vision and we all were her worker bees to help bring it to life. It turned out so perfect!

The parents.

My beautiful family!

Jared’s side of the family.

Brynne’s family.

Brynne’s Dad and more siblings.

Ashley, the maid of honor. And Tanner, Eli’s best friend growing up.

The happy couple. They were so happy to have a few minutes to eat!

I can’t express how grateful I was for alllll of the help we received in pulling off this night. Our good friends The Franks were a big part of that team of helpers. Love them!

We could not have done it without everyone who did a million and one things!!! We even had ward members just show up and we hadn’t even asked them to. Just so blown away by the service and love we received. Thank you just didn’t seem like enough. It really humbled me and made my heart so full. We’re blessed beyond measure!