My Best Friend's Wedding

As I sit here watching My Best Friend’s Wedding (in the Chicago airport, even. It’s not quite the Drake hotel, but it’s close!), I can’t help but think of the past few days and how wonderful it was to be able to attend MY best friend’s wedding. Laurel and Phil sealed the deal in the LA temple on Saturday, and it was the perfect combination of sweetness and hilarity, just like Laurel herself.

I flew into California the night before, and then drove up to the temple with Brian and his girlfriend, Janessa, and Harmony and her fiancé, Jeff. We got to the temple right on time, and despite the somewhat disorganized feel inside, it was so nice to be there. We were especially happy to be able to reunite once more with the Mautzes, who had also flown in also for the wedding. They are the best! 

Apparently the couple who was getting married right before Laurel and Phil had been running a little bit late, meaning the larger sealing room that had been reserved for them was still in use. So what to do? Stick us in a smaller room, of course! According to Sis. Mautz, we broke a cardinal rule by moving the chairs in the sealing room to allow room for people to stand behind us. We eventually got all the lights in the room turned on and were good to go. It was a bit warm in the room, however, what with about 40 people and no airflow.

And then on to the sealing. For those of you who don’t know, we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that in the temple, the holy house of the Lord, we can be sealed to our spouse and to our family for time (meaning this life) and for all eternity. It is the most amazing blessing I can even think of, and the words of the sealing are simply the most beautiful words I have ever heard. There are so many precious blessings that are pronounced, and the feeling during a sealing just can’t be beat. I was struck by how completely different a temple wedding is from any other, and how far outside the hustle and bustle of normal weddings it is. We could hear people outside cheering as a couple walked outside, and it was almost surreal because of the calm, quiet feeling that occupied the room. Anyway, so the sealer is in the middle of the sealing, and getting to the end where it talks about multiplying and replenishing the earth, and suddenly the sealer gets this strange look on his face and kind of leans in toward Laurel. I was already pretty emotional at this point and was thinking that Laurel must be losing it herself, so I wasn’t that surprised when it looked like she was leaning down to wipe her eyes, but then she just kept on going! Before we knew it, she was crumpled in a heap on the floor. 

Luckily her mom was right there and caught her as she passed out. 

Somehow, no one seemed too surprised! Haha. We tried to stay reverent, but it was all just a bit too funny to handle. The following comments didn’t help:

Laurel: “I fainted? Wait, we’re married, right?”

Sis. Mautz: “Laurel, did you eat breakfast this morning?!”

Charles (Laurel’s dad): “It’s important to breathe, Laurel!”

            …and at one point, he also said something like, “Don’t be haters.”

So they got Laurel some water, her dad gave up one of his lemon drops, and the sealer pulled out a sugar packet (Laurel: “I feel like I’m doing something bad!” as she downed the sugar packet), and we watched her face go from white to green back to normal.

They gave her a few minutes, and then continued on with the sealing, and all went well after that. Yes, we did make fun of Laurel for the rest of the day. Kind of had to, right? Haha. But it did make for one completely memorable wedding!

So here we are, waiting outside the temple afterward. Check out my great bow. Bro. Mautz tied it for me--that's what you get after decades of tying those bow ties! 

 With Laurel's beautiful sisters. I love these girls!

 Had to take a picture with Sister Mautz in her sunglasses. 

 Announcing...

 Mr. & Mrs. Philip White!

 So many hugs! Hugging "dadders," as Laurel calls him. 

 Did we have a big enough wedding party??

 Fixing the veil. 

 Harmony and I were feeling a little bit left out of all the pictures, so we decided to just be in some anyway.

 The bridesmaids. Plus Harmony. Haha. 

 1 mission + several crazy companions + a beautiful tropical island = besties for life. 

The rest of the day went perfectly, and we had a nice little picnic lunch on the lawn next to the temple. We braved the traffic back up to Lake Arrowhead, and then had a lovely reception. 

Welcoming the guests:

 This is all Heather and I could come up with when the photographer asked for our "sexy faces." What was he expecting, honestly? We're a bunch of mormons, this is as good as we can do. 

 Laurel wouldn't be Laurel unless she got a little bit burned. 

 Somehow I missed the memo here with the lifting our legs up...? What was that, guys? 

 Denise reading a cute little story for the newlyweds, while Charles threw candy out to the crowd. 

 The daddy-daughter dance.

 Oh, yeah, and don't worry, I definitely caught the bouquet. It wasn't even rigged. I just had to take out a couple of girls to do it. Worth it!

 Jeff caught the garter, and Harmony wasn't very happy to have been left out. 

 Awkward...

 At one point, it was just the 7 of us out on the dance floor. 

 And me with my cake, dancing to Mylie Cyrus's Party in the USA. 

(...yes)

All in all, it was a lovely wedding. And I am SO happy for this lovely couple. Although it seemed a bit rocky for a second there in the sealing room, I have no doubt that this couple will live happily ever after. Congrats, Laurel and Phil! I love you guys :)