Christmas with the Clarkes

Our first Christmas season together was loads of fun and filled with lights, games, friends, and family. This is just a little glimpse into our first Christmas together, through mostly pictures, because that is my favorite way to blog(:

So our Christmas season started a few weeks back with a trip down to Saint George where we decorated a tree with one family (The Clarkes) and went and cut down a tree with the other (The Armours). The Clarke family tree turned out beautiful, and my mother-in-law showed me how pretty a tree can be with ribbon and grape-vine in it(:

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We went up to Brian Head near my family's cabin to find the Armour Family tree. The one we finally found was probably around 19-20 feet tall and beautiful. But of course, that wouldn't fit in our house. So we cut it down to 18 feet for our 18 foot ceiling. My dad and Erik were very glad that Derek was there as well to help with the heavy lifting(;

We also got to make gingerbread houses (out of graham crackers), a tradition in the Armour abode. From the top left we have Amber's, mine, Rachel's, Bryant's, Derek's, Erik's. It was lots of fun while also challenging to get them to stay(:

Fun fact: Derek's held a glass cup full of water and still didn't break. It was pretty solid(:

The finished (and a bit blurry) product of the Armour tree(: If you can't tell, the star touches the ceiling.

We had to go back up to Provo to finish up finals week and work, but we enjoyed some fun Christmas traditions with married friends Scott and Leah(: We went to the Tree of Life in Draper, which is a giant tree covered in lights that looks like the Tree of Life from Lehi's dream, and the Salt Lake Temple to look at the lights(: It definitely brought in the spirit of Christmas.

We got to spend Christmas day with both families which was awesome(: We learned some new family traditions and grew closer as our own little family. We watched the nativity and looked at lights and felt the spirit in general our entire trip.

We got a lot of very generous gifts from both families (including handmade quilts from Derek's mom), but this is one that I thought was really cool and happened to already have a picture of. My sister Amber made this for Derek and me. It's a personalized Family Proclamation, which highlights certain points and is just designed in a really cool way. We love all that we received and had so  much fun giving gifts as well. It was a lovely first Christmas and has just made us excited for all of the holidays to come(: We hope that everyone else had a great holiday season and as we bring in 2015 we hope to continue growing closer together and to all of our friends and family. Happy New Year!(:

August 23, 2014: The Best Day of Our Lives

Well about a month ago I got all of our wedding photos from Alyssa Ence Photography (we highly recommend her) and I'm a little late in this, but here is the wedding post! On August 23 I was married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Saint George Temple to the love of my life, and this is a little glimpse into that day(: Mostly pictures, because what Alyssa captured in a picture can tell you much more than I can with words, but this is the low-down of the best day of our lives(: 

 Both of our families were extremely helpful in getting everything ready for the day. It really helped calm my nerves and make it so that I could focus on what was really important: being sealed to Derek(:

Our sealing was beautiful and so spiritual. Many tears were shed, and I know that we are now tied together for eternity, and I couldn't be more happy(: When we came out from the sealing all of our groom's men and bride's maids were lined up creating an aisle for us to exit through. We were met with so many friends and family members and it was the best thing to see coming through those doors.

Rachel just stood there waiting for the initial pictures to be taken until I heard my dad say "Go" and then she came running up to us. She was the cutest and best little flower girl(:

The Armour/Penney clan. I was so happy that so much of my family was able to come to the wedding, and so much of Derek's as well! (They're just a little further down)

I'm so blessed to have both sets of my grandparents still alive and that they were all able to come to our temple sealing and wedding. I truly felt loved(:

My fam-a-lam(:

My sisters, who I have always been close with, were so supportive through the entire process, from dating to wedding. My older sister Amber was our wedding videographer and she was 6/7 months pregnant at the time (she now has the cutest little baby girl). Even little Rach helped as much as she could, and she loves Derek to pieces(: 

Poor Erik is the only boy in our family of estrogen. But with Amber's husband Bryant, and now Derek, he has some brothers to look up to and play video games with(:

My mom was truly a blessing throughout the planning of the wedding (and my entire life). I was still taking classes and wasn't living near home, and she took on so much of the planning herself, including painting flowers, creating the table settings, making the lemon bars, and even making adjustments to my dress. She was right there next to me my first time through the temple, and was understanding of my anxieties and bridezilla-ness. I love you Mom, thanks for being so fantastic(:

I can't really say much about my dad without crying haha but he is seriously the greatest example in my life. And I love him to the moon and back(:

Here is the Clarke/Rutledge clan(:

The Clarke family(: I am seriously blessed (I know I've said that a lot) to have such awesome in-laws. 

I can't say much on behalf of Derek about his siblings, but I know he is very close with all of them, and they were all very helpful and supportive of us throughout our relationship(:

Derek with his mom. Mama Clarke is also fantastic. Not only did she raise the perfect man, but she was there at every point during the wedding. When my mom couldn't help, she would. She made sure I felt comfortable with every decision and was always there. I love how loving and caring she is, and am so glad to call her family.

And then there's Derek with his dad(:

Derek's groom's men: Kyle, Danny, Erik, Brendan, Cameron, and Jared.

My bride's maids: Julia, Haley, Taylor, Marissa, Holly, and Megan. These girls were there for everything, helping every step of the way. I have some pretty, freaking amazing friends. If I needed water, one of them was there with a glass. My arm was tired from holding my bouquet (that thing was heavy), one of them was there to take it for me. They adjusted my hair, my dress, held my skirt, etc. The list goes on. They really helped make our day the best.

This is my baby sister Tay-Tay(: She has been my best friend since she was born 19 years ago. She was helpful on the day of, but has been there for me since forever. 

I'm lucky to have gained a new sister, and she is also awesome and so much fun(: She's the only girl in her family, so hopefully I can live up to whatever she thought a sister would be like(;

Hey look at my cute hubby(: I should also probably mention that I had my perfect dress, and it was custom made by Lena Thomas, or My Amazing Wedding Dress. It was a dream, and I feel like I need to give credit where credit is due(:

From here on out is the reception. Our reception venue was GORGEOUS. I had always wanted an outdoor reception, and what I got fit my vision perfectly. The theme was somewhat vintage-y, and my mom, and sisters and friends, and grandmas and everyone who helped made the place look fantastic.

For refreshments we had snow cones, lemon bars, a lemonade bar, and chocolate covered strawberries. It all looked, and tasted, amazing(:

I absolutely loved our cake. It was exactly what I had pictured, and my mom's friend in our ward made it, and she did a fantastic job. It' tasted amazing as well(: 

Our guestbook was a Polaroid picture booth. Each picture had a short message, and I'm so glad I get to keep all of them. We have them in a cute book and love seeing them(:

My sister Amber had a fantastic idea to earn some honeymoon money by making these jars to decide who wears the cake. It looks like I would've been in trouble if my dad hadn't put that $20 in Derek's jar(; Amber also made a flash video of us at the temple and played it at the reception. It was amazing, and knowing that she put it together in just a few hours was incredible. I know she sacrificed to do it, and I really appreciated it(:

So we started the reception with the line, but we were pretty strict that we would only stand there for no longer than 45 minutes. So if you came by a little late, sorry we weren't there waiting to see you, but we still appreciate your appearance and support(: 

The reception venue had a lovely built in dance floor as well(:

I may have shoved it into Derek's face, but I didn't smear it around, I was nice(;

So I did my bouquet toss twice. I did one with everyone, and then one with just older girls. I didn't want the little girls to be excluded, but I also wanted to make it somewhat fair. You can't throw elbows when kids are involved(;

So my baby sister Rach caught the first toss, and Marissa one of my bride's maids caught the second(:

Derek and I had our first dance to the song "I Choose You (Acoustic)" by Sara Barielles. The lyrics were perfect, and the moment we heard it we knew it was our song(:

My daddy and I danced to a slow piano version of "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins. Phil Collins is one of my dad's favorite artists, and that song always makes me think of my dad, so it was a no brainer. It was difficult not to cry(:

Derek and his mom didn't have a song of their own, but they came out and danced together during "You'll Be In My Heart." It was still fitting(:

When I first dreamed up my wedding when I was 10 or 12 or however old, I knew there would be dancing. And there was plenty of dancing at our wedding(:

So I originally wanted sparklers for the send off, but it became too difficult to figure it out. But instead I was surprised with some popper things. Not sure who thought to buy those, but they were an excellent touch(: 

So, as you can see, our wedding was fantastic and fun and everything we could've hoped for. I'm so grateful to all of those who came and supported us as we started our new life together. We had plenty of family and friends travel to Saint George, even just for the reception. So many people helped, and really it was the best day because of everyone else that was involved. We are now approaching 3 months of marriage, and we couldn't be happier(: Not everyday is easy, but we are learning and growing together, and I'll keep everyone updated with blog posts here and there(: