The Wedding and all that surrounded it!

November 14th was a Thursday.  Wednesday afternoon my sister Valerie flew in to attend the wedding and we all met up at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake to eat dinner but mostly to meet Austen's family.  And actually it was only the second time we had been around Austen in person.  We covered three tables and included both of his parents and their spouses, his grandparents (Colonel and Judy), his sister, Lizzy (his brother Taylor is on a mission), some of his stepsiblings, her grandma Hall, and Grandpa and Nana Giberson, Aunt Valerie and Aunt Vonette, Scott and Chantel, Jena, and us (Jessica, Elessia and Ben all had to work so they could get off the next day for the wedding.)  Again I didn't take any pictures but we enjoyed getting to know his family better.  We set at a table with his dad and stepmom Michelle.  Michelle had lived in our area several years ago and turned out to know many of the same people we knew (we discovered this at the shower as people came).  They shared stories about Austen which were fun to learn about.  Tosha and Austen went from table to table talking with everyone and mostly just smiling.  Tosha had just picked Austen up from the airport and came to dinner so they were very excited to be together and to begin the countdown to getting married the next day.

And if I could turn this around I would.  I need to learn how
to edit picture on this computer which I have had for over 6 months now.
In my defense, life has been busy.
The INVITATION
Tosha and a woman we found on the internet designed this cute invitation
for the wedding and reception.

Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day despite the bad weather earlier in the month.  It was cold but clear and lots of sunshine.  Tosha looked fairly together and organized during the day as they ran around getting their marriage license and a couple of other errands.  I felt okay too although we both were about 30 minutes late getting to the reception hall where the wedding and reception were being led.  It was called Chantilly Mansion and is located in Layton about 15 minutes from our house.  It is an old mansion which has been redo and remodeled for weddings, receptions and other events.  Tosha and I had looked at a few places and she decided this was a good option for her.  It turned out great. 

I took ONE picture the whole evening.  (The professional pictures have arrived but Tosha wants to see them before I print them here which is fair.)  When I add the pictures, I will send an email alert.

This is Austen with his Bishop who was the one who performed their marriage.  They came to the door of the dressing room when Tosha just had the underdress of her wedding dress on.  The bishop wanted to talk to them both about the service.  I game Tosha my grey sweater so she wrapped it around her and stood in the door way for this conversation....a moment to remember.

The bishop did an awesome job with the service.  It was very warm and solemn as he shared beautiful quotes from President Hinckley about marriage.

I will write more about the wedding, the family pictures, and the reception when Tosha gives me permission to publish some pictures.

But take my word for it---it was a great day, Tosha and Austen looked amazing and so happy, friends and family had a good time being together, and they really got married!

We headed home to sleep and they headed up for a few days in Park City!!!  Welcome to the family, Austen James Russell, we are glad to have you.

(As a side note:  Jena wanted to add Austen's name to her phone so she brought the phone to me to add in the number.  She had already written his name--Austen Hall.  It turned out that she thought he would become a Hall now that he married Tosha and was her new brother.  After all, Chantel became a Hall.  I had forgotten to explain that Tosha was becoming a Russell.  It can be confusing unless you know the little details of life.)