We have attended so many weddings for nieces and nephews in Steve’s family and have traveled near and far. Out of the 18 marriages, we’ve attended 15, and one was an intimate wedding that extended family wasn’t invited to, so really we’re 15 out of 17 which is a pretty great track record.
This summer, my side of the family had their first niece/nephew wedding. The ceremony was in Utah right after school started so Steve and I flew up and we brought our favorite daughter who wasn’t in school yet. Her invitation was probably less about her availability and more about her relationship with my niece. They have been the best of friends and it !
We had a little time when we flew in so we stopped by Temple Square, which has recently opened after an extensive remodel. It gave us an opportunity to walk down memory lane with our own wedding in the Salt Lake temple many years ago.
We attended the wedding dinner the night before and then enjoyed a beautiful wedding day and reception. My parents and all my siblings were in town (including my sister living in North Carolina) and it was fun to celebrate such a special event with them – something we haven’t done before.
It was only slightly alarming that all these girls are close in age and we likely have more weddings in the near future.
In a crazy sequence of events, we ran into two of Steve’s nieces at In-n-Out after the wedding ceremony. We had just placed our order when my niece walked in and totally caught us off guard. They were an hour from their college homes for a wedding at a local temple (not the same temple we were at), and neither of us knew we were in the same area. Hallie hadn’t seen her cousin Claire in over three years since they had overlapping missions. We had a happy little reunion among the red benches at In-n-Out.
I inadvertently matched the table linens which was only mildly embarassing when I stood near them and suddenly disappeared.
We have a special relationship with my niece so this wedding was especially tender. Halie grew up by her side. We’ve never lived in the same area but we’ve spent so much time together over the years. Summers aside, my brother brought his family down to Arizona every year and we’ve lived within driving distance most of our marriage. We’ve spent holidays and fall breaks and spring breaks in addition to all our summers together. Hallie is the only girl in our family, and Kinlie was the only girl in her family – and they were only 4 months apart so as far as they were concerned, they were sisters! And I’m grateful for their sisterhood.
So grateful we could be part of her special day.
