Blurry Bradhams : Its Finally Here

Tender Mercies

So I know...FINALLY!! and I realize these are reception and not wedding photos but the wedding ones have not gotten to us yet, so these will have to suffice. Anyway...here is a bit of our wedding drama during this lovely day

The reception fiasco:

So as Garrett and I arrived back home from our wonderful honeymoon, I began to grow ecstatic for our reception. It was going to be beautiful! We were going to have it at Edgewater with a lovely deck and a fireplace inside. And the best part was….it was NOT at the church. Which was my only request for the whole wedding. As we walked off the escalator and towards my dad, I could tell something was wrong. He had the sick look he gets when he is really worried. Then he dropped the bomb. He said, “do you want the good news, or the bad news first”. I said nothing. He then informed me, that the Management company of Edgewater had double booked my reception. He had also informed me that the chose the other party to maintain their contract with. The other party….a SWEET 16 Birthday!!!..umm yea seriously. My wedding reception was bumped for a lame 16 year olds birthday party! On top of which, they were SUPER rude about it. My poor parents were outraged and freaking out…they even tried to bribe them and they wouldn’t take it. So I am now left with one and only option….THE CHURCH. Yea….I know its silly of me but I was devastated. I cried and cried on the way home. Once I got my cry out, I did my best to suck it up. I knew that sulking was not going to change anything, and there was no use in making anyone feel any worse about it than they already did. My parents rented a HUGE tank parachute to put up and cover the entire gym. And I could not believe the effort that people from the ward put into making it beautiful for me. It was such a blessing and Garrett and I were so grateful. To my shock and amazement, I forgot I was even in church at all. It was like a dream and I got the tent reception I had always dreamed of. As I thought about it and thought about my emotions as I struggled to fight my disappointment and find the good in the bad….I came to the conclusion that sometimes, the lord asks us to go through things in order to show us his love for us. Having that reception come together the way it did, made me realize just how loved I am. The only way it worked was because of the efforts of other people and their willingness and selflessness. The lord helped me get what I really wanted in his own way. It truly was a beautiful thing. I could not have asked for more. My appreciation for the church buildings grew as without it, I would have had no reception at all. What a great reminder of the tender mercies of the lord. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing and wonderful family. From those who lost sleep helping my reception be beautiful, to those who sacrificed to make a great trek just to be there, they are all so wonderful. I am definitely a lucky girl and I do not think I would have been AS grateful had I not had to struggle a little to make it happen. Here are my favorite pictures from that glorious event!

Okay, so I love this one. This one really captures my true feelings that night. We stood in line for an hour and a half and I was STARVING!! all I wanted was food. My sweet little cousin brought me pineapple on a stick and a bag of candy lol.