Lucky for me, Jay and I were able to take a day off work and drive up to be there for the whole thing, including the temple ceremony.
We arrived in Idaho Falls rather late in the evening on Thursday night (April 9th) and headed over to Shalie's hotel after checking into ours.
It's no secret to anybody in my family that I am THE most enthusiastic gift-giver anybody knows. Being thus, I was so excited about the wedding present I got for Levi and Shalie that I practically begged her to open it that night. She didn't argue at all, and was quite happy to do so in fact.
I got them a set of matching towels, oven mits and hot pad, sheets, plates, bowels, cups, and some reusable ice cubes from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
I went ahead and purchased a "party bucket" as well to display it all in, but you can't see it in this picture due to the gift bag.
Shalie and Levi were so precious to admire at the temple that day. I was able to concentrate more on their ceremony than on my own due to all the adrenaline pumping through my veins on my special day. I was blessed to have gone.
They were married on April 10, 2009.
Right after the ceremony I went back into the bride's room and did Shalie's hair up as best I could. I was quite happy with the way it turned out, although I took about 100 bobby pins to do so!
The next few pictures are from on the temple grounds shortly after the ceremony.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap a shot of them coming out because I was right in front of them after doing Shalie's hair.
The happy couple with their parents and grandparents.
Shalie and her mom, Linette.
Glenn and all six of his kids!
Plus Linette
Their immediate families
Although the batteries in my camera were dying, I still managed to get several good shots of the two of them on the Temple grounds.
I photo shoped some of these and they are at the end of this blog.
The happy couple on their way home for the luncheon.
Their first "official" reception was held in Malad, ID where the two will be living at Levi's mother's house before heading off to school at BYU-I.
Shalie had me do a slightly different hair style for the reception than in the wedding photos at the temple.
Their adorable wedding cake!
The food table
There were 5 or 6 other cakes baked for them so that they could take the main cake to their second reception in Murray, UT.
Kaela hiding from a snapshot at one of the tables.
Jaeden Longhusrt (I hope I spelled that right)
Because there was not a professional photographer to lock these images into history, I decided to get some good pictures of the decorations at the reception.
Shalie hand-made most of them, and I thought they turned out just darling.
The gift table
I'll also mention here that I became the 'interior decorator' as well for both receptions. There's just something about weddings that calls my name.
I can remember how much my arms hurt after hanging the backdrops and making everything displayed look 'just right.'
People in the receiving line.
Various relatives attended both receptions and the wedding itself, but, unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good picture of everyone.
See who you recognize!
I also thought it was very cute how Shalie and Levi both wore tennis shoes at their reception. Here they took the opportunity to model how contemporary they are!
Viewing the gift table
I've always loved how, at weddings, the little kids are so taken by the bride in her gown. Some of the best candid shots, in my opinion, at weddings come from interaction between the happy couple and kids.
Proof that both Jay and I were there, but we were both pretty tired by the end of the night.
Shalie's beautiful sisters Taesha and Kaela (again I hope I spelled those right)
The 'father-daughter dance' to the tune of "I held her first."
The 'mother-son, and son-mother-in-law dance'
I can't remember what song was played however.
Shalie finally getting a moment to soak in that "Wow, I just got married!" feeling.
End of the dance.
And now... time for cake!!
One of their beautiful presents.
I believe that you can click on any one of these images to enlarge it for viewing. You will then have to hit the back button on either your mouse after doing so.
Shalie's sisters "did up" their car with lipstick.
I was so glad somebody did!
The candid "graduation" shot!
Another couple classic candids!
This was the second reception in Murray, UT.
Shalie decided she wanted me to style her hair 'down' this time-around and avoid any more bobby pins!
This was my favorite "are we done yet?" shot of the whole wedding line.
Everyone was exhausted at this point due to lack of sleep and a whirlwind of activities.
The two photo shopped photos.
I want to do something else with these, but I have really cheap software... so maybe some day I will convert some of those photos into Black and White, and do something really cool with color overlay like Anne Geddes.
I hope you enjoyed all the pictures!!
