And so it {officially} began

So I'm in the car with the man of my dreams, most of my earthly possessions in the backseat and trunk, and we were talking wedding, marriage, future plans all the way to Provo.  I was in heaven and SOOOO in love.  It was awesome to know that we were going to be living in the same area and could have a normal relationship, too.  I mean, we'd been doing the long-distance thing for a whole month. :)  We'd first made contact through eHarmony on October 3rd, met in person on October 13th, and here I was, moving to Provo on November 7th.  Call us crazy, I won't mind.  When you know, though, you know.  And we'd both done enough dating to know what we were {and were not} looking for in a spouse.

Ty told me a few times the previous week that he wanted to take me to a nice dinner on Monday - a Welcome to Provo date.  So on Monday I got dolled up and he took me to a really great restaurant - The Cabin at the Canyons Resort in Park City, UT.  It was beautiful, romantic, and perfect {he now says that he couldn't believe I didn't make a bigger deal about how much money he was laying down on dinner; here he was, a poor college student paying for a really expensive meal, but the guy I dated before him loved going to really nice restaurants so I was kind of accustomed...we joke about it all the time now}  He told me that afterward we might stop by a bonfire that some friends of his were having, but we wouldn't stay long if we did go.  I thought that was kind of nuts because I was wearing open-toe fancy-pants shoes and it was November in Provo, but he said he had blankets and a heavy coat for me in case we decided to go.  I kind of wanted to just be us that night, but I didn't want to be rude and knew I should meet his friends. He got a phone call from one of his friends {or so I thought} telling him that the bonfire was a go and we decided to stop by.  He promised we wouldn't stay long.  We parked {at Sundance Resort}and started walking past all of these buildings.  I was thinking, "Man, we're going to have to really hike to get to a place where there's a bonfire."  I saw a bathroom and decided I'd better make a stop.  I took my time primping.  He hurriedly took my arm when I emerged and we started booking it.  Suddenly he was leading me into a building, without saying a word about why we were going into a building. I was confused.  I saw a fire in a fireplace at the end of a long room and thought, "Do they call that a bonfire around here?"  But as he walked me toward the fireplace...there were no other people there, there was romantic music playing, there were candles on a table in front of the fire as well as some champagne glasses and sparkling cider and an envelope with my name {fancily} written on it.  I pushed/hit him and said, "Shut up!" {or something equally as charming} because I realized that this was IT...the man of my dreams, the one I had prayed to be lead to since I was fifteen years old, the perfect man for me, was about to propose marriage.  Officially.

I'm pretty sure there were tears right away {there are some now as I am typing this}.  We sat down on the couch and he handed me the envelope.  I opened it and read, through many tears, the most beautiful letter; all about how he felt toward me, what he loved about me, and that he was excited to spend eternity with me.  I glanced up as I finished reading and he was on one knee with a ring in his hand.  He asked me to be his wife.  I said yes, of course.  I was blown away.  We sat and basked in the glow of the proposal and our love {and kissed...a lot}

Over the next few hours the story began unfolding: the week before, he had done extensive ring shopping {Ty is super thorough when it comes to big purchases and he drove a few owners of a few jewelry stores crazy.  Finally, one of the owners brought the price down on the ring Tyler had pretty much decided on and told him that the only condition was that he had to buy it right then; if he walked out of the store, that was it.  He wasn't going to deal with Ty anymore.  Ty asked if he could just walk around to think about it, but promised not to leave the mall.  The guy hesitantly said "okay" and Ty came back a little bit later and bought the ring :)}  Ty flew into Las Vegas, remember, the previous Friday.  He had called my dad earlier in the week and told him that he needed to talk to him, so they established that the two of them would wake up early on Saturday morning to talk.  I had NO idea that had been done.  So my whole family knew about it!  And I looked back on how sure my mom and sister seemed that everything was going to be fine when I was wigging out and realized it was because they really did know.  I loved that he talked to my dad and asked permission.  I loved that he planned it all before we had ever officially talked about getting married.  And, soon, Tyler's brother, his friend Todd, and Todd's girlfriend, Ann, emerged from the woods around the building and came inside to congratulate us - they were the ones who had set everything up for the proposal, per Ty's directions.  Ty and his brother, Adam, had driven up there the week before, finding the perfect spot for the proposal.  Based on their conversation about how Tyler felt about me, Adam actually wrote us a really awesome song that  I will always treasure.  He sang it at our wedding reception.  Calling our parents was really fun, spreading the word in general totally rocked!  And Ty had chosen the perfect ring...I told him I wasn't even sure I wanted a diamond, maybe just a band, because I really didn't want anything sticking up.  The ring had a diamond, but it was like a tension setting so it didn't stick up.  Perfect.

You know, I always thought that I would be deeply concerned about the small details of my reception - I had worked at a flower shop where we did many weddings, as well as at a wedding dress shop, before my mission.  I had so many ideas {for an outdoor, June reception}.  But when it came down to the real deal, I didn't care much.  We drove to Vegas one weekend and during that ONE weekend we met with the caterer, the decorator, the lady who would make our cake, the florist, the photographer, the seamstress {I bought my dress pre-mission to get the discount while I worked at the bridal shop and I'd *ahem* put on a little weight since then...I served my mission in Hawai'i, people!}  We also took engagement pictures and got invitations printed, addressed, and stamped.  Whew!  After that, I just didn't focus on it the way I thought I would.  Looking back, my poor family probably had to pick up the slack because of that.  I just wanted to be MARRIED to Tyler.

During our 7-week engagement, we also flew to New York and found and apartment to live in come January.  And my in-laws flew to Vegas to meet my parents at some point.  I got to watch as Tyler defended his thesis; he even included a sweet tribute to me in the published acknowledgements.  "Our song" is The Broken Road by Rascal Flatts {hence the titles of my previous three posts - lyrics here} and it is perfect for us.  Check out the lyrics...

Now, for the day we picked.  I'd always thought it was rude to have a wedding on a weekday for the people who would be travelling.  Turns out, though, that when you are getting married, you are so wrapped up in your own life and care the most about your spouse-to-be being there, that you make plans like these: we were married on Decemeber 28th, a Tuesday, three days after Christmas.  I apologize, friends and family.  But we had good reason!  We wanted to have a few days for a honeymoon, we'd need to fly to Denver for a reception there, and we had to be in New York by the following Monday for Tyler to start work.  So there were legit reasons for the craziness.

The day finally came.  The weather had been sunny and beautiful leading up to THE day, but the forecast was kinda miserable looking for the 28th.  I remember worrying about it for pictures after the sealing.  I got there with my family in tow and was walking to the doors of the temple when I saw Tyler sitting on a bench just outside. Gasp!  My heart leapt and I couldn't breathe for a second.  I remember half-whispering 'there he is!' to my sister with a huge smile on my face.  There may have been a squeal?  I could not wait to be this man's wife.  He looked incredibly handsome in his suit.  I had zero nerves, just excitement and peace and joy.  I wasn't sure I could contain all of the happiness and love that I felt.  We got changed into our clothes in our respective rooms and then I sat waiting for him for what seemed like a l o n g time {turns out the sweet gentleman who was his helper was confused, so Tyler was standing in a hallway for quite a while and kept asking the guy if they were maybe supposed to be somewhere else...finally my sweet helper went and found them.}  We had just a few minutes to talk before they came and got us for the sealing.  Our sealer, Owen Roundy, talked to us for a few moments and then it was time!  I was overwhelmed with love and emotion as I walked into the sealing room...SO many people that I love and care deeply about, many had gone to great lengths to be there.  {The room was tiny because the large sealing rooms were taken and so we had to really pack them in there; I kind of like the memory, though, of us all being so close.  Again, I apologize to friends and family who were probably less than comfortable.} I think that was the most love I had felt in any room ever.  It was really incredible.  But, then, as I knelt across the altar from Tyler, everyone completely melted away.  It was honestly as though we were the only ones in the room because he was the only person I was aware existed in that moment.  Within just a few minutes we were sealed as husband and wife, for time and all eternity.  I will never forget looking into his eyes as we made those covenants to one another and to God.  I was also very aware, for a moment, that our future children were looking on, grateful and excited.  We then greeted and were congratulated by our guests.  We went to the Celestial room to sit for a few minutes and say, "we're married!!!!"  I got downstairs to the Bride's room to get my flowers and freshen up for pictures and my mom mentioned, "Sweetie, it's POURING outside."  I could not have cared less.  Really, not a bit.  The most important thing had taken place - I was sealed to Tyler Michael Foster!

We emerged from the temple, hand-in-hand, super excited, and greeted more friends and family.  Someone had foresight {I think my dad?} and had brought/found a huge black umbrella.  Turns out, pictures with umbrellas are really beautiful too.  We had fun doing pictures, cut it short because of the rain, and then we got in the car, just the two of us.  We got all checked into our hotel, the JW Marriott, and because we showed up in our wedding duds, they upgraded our room in a major way.  We had just paid for the standard room {like $135}.  We walked down the hall and suddenly there was a break in the doors and our room # was next to these huge double-doors.  The room was incredible - there was a nice foyer, a living room, a dining room with a huge, beautiful table, the bedroom was gorgeous, and there was a huge jacuzzi tub.  I don't know that we'll ever actually shell out the cash required to get a room like that again!

We went to the Alta & Thrush building for a dinner with our family.  Our reception was beautiful, or so everyone tells me.  I really don't remember much about it, though I do remember walking in and being so impressed and grateful for all of the work that went into it.  Vegas was flooding {seriously} and several family members were late because of that.  We had a really nice little "program" before the reception started where we talked about our story, Adam sang the song he wrote for us, my dad retired my dating bat with a really cute marriage poem he wrote, Ty's dad spoke...it was perfect.  I loved the reception and talked a lot to friends and family who came.  Tyler kept bringing me plates of food {particularly with the stuffed mushrooms we were so excited about}, but ended up eating each plate of food because I never stopped talking. Ha!  {Thankfully, our wonderful caterer, our dear family friend, Linda, packs a little bag for the couple to take to the hotel...I was STARVING later that night!}

{Some logistical craziness I want to remember - we were having some furniture delivered to my parent's house the next morning, the same day that the movers were coming to get all of our stuff.  We also left our car at the airport and my sweet parents had to come and pick it up and get it back to the house for the movers to put it on the truck to take across the country.  The delivery truck got there when the moving truck was there and just loaded our furniture from truck to truck.  All of our unopened wedding presents were also loaded onto the truck.  Ty called it "a logistical nightmare" and he was right...but it all worked beautifully.  I wasn't worried.}

Tyler planned our honeymoon and it was perfect.  We went to Sedona, Arizona, and stayed in the cutest bed and breakfasts while we were there.  We had just two planned activities - an airplane {cute little red bi-plane and a hilarious-voiced pilot} tour of Sedona, and a cool Jeep tour over the beautiful rocks.  Seriously, our honeymoon could not have been more perfect.  Then it was off to Denver for a beautiful and fun reception.  Monday morning, we took back as many of the gifts that we could off of our registries {don't worry, we re-bought them in New York!} and then shipped whatever we couldn't take back.  That afternoon, we got on a plane and traveled to our new home in Niskayuna, New York to start life together.

This is what I was so excited about - grocery shopping, cooking, working, living, exploring side-by-side.  And these past 8 years have not disappointed.  I LOVE being Tyler Michael's wife.  I love working through life together.  I love parenting together.  I love supporting each other.  I love that my love for him has increased beyond anything I could have imagined in the temple those 8 years ago, that day when I thought I couldn't contain more love.  And I know that I will look back on this time in another 8, 20, 30 years and think, "girl, you had no idea...."  He still gives me butterflies {especially when he's all spiffed up for a date and wears cologne...mmmm...or in a suit at church....}, but now there is a security, utter contentment, and deep love and respect that couldn't have existed then.  I love what we have built.  I love what we have become, separately and together.  I love what we have to look forward to.  We are so not perfect, but we are a perfect match.

**I love having all of this documented for our kids and posterity to read.  Thanks for everyone else who has cared and commented as well.  You know that I love you. **