Mr. and Mrs. Awesome

I give you Mr. and Mrs. Awesome:

Emerging from Salt Lake Temple

It is done!  Our Lady of BYU will now be known as Our Lady of BYU Awesome.  You'll forgive the crappy quality of the photo, and those to follow, but the iPhone camera is no epic camera. 

Suffice to say, Thursday's events were, for all intents and purposes, perfect.  The stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and I both awoke that morning with an incredible sense of peace.  We knew that the day was going to be sa-weet.  And it was.

The ceremony itself was as it should have been, sacred, and we were delighted to be surrounded by a close circle of family and friends, as we witnessed this couple make commitments that we believe will have eternal reward.  Full disclosure - while I didn't weep copiously, I was emotional throughout the ceremony.  The parents were the last of the guests to congratulate the couple after the ceremony.  Hugging my first-born daughter now that she was a married woman was emotional for me.  There was some significant choking back of what would have been some epic sobbing.

We then had to race down to Provo to the reception to make sure everything was in order.  The gardens were stunningly beautiful and Mother Nature continued to behave herself.  Before guests began arriving, we had to get a few last minute things in order and Our Lady of Awesome's bridesmaids were amazing in helping getting things set up.  A certain NBA player and fiancee of one of Our Lady's bridesmaids was there to help as well.  He could not have been more gracious as the stunningly patient and mighty fine SML told him to get the cut-out "A"s on all the tables.  What else was he going to do?  His bosses have him locked out, but I digress.  Just before the guests arrived, I got this picture:

Mother and daughter

Yeah, I get it.  Look at them.  I'm more lucky and blessed than I deserve.  No arguments from me.  None.

As the guests arrived, we were thrilled to see the outpouring of love for Awesome and Our Lady of Awesome.  His family is well-loved and people had wonderful things to say about our new son-in-law.  We loved seeing some of our old friends.  We were surprised to see people that we hadn't seen in twenty years.  It was so good to reconnect.  We've been surrounded by such great people over the years.  Man, what a night! 

So there was dancing to be done - the father/daughter dance was less agonizing than I thought.  I'm sure those that stood by and watched me stepping on Sarah's dress the entire time were in more distress than we were.  There was eating to be done, although we never got any of the food.  The gelato bar seemed to be a huge success.  At the end of the evening, Awesome and Our Lady of Awesome ran out under a shower of light from the sparklers all the guests were holding.  Our Lady loves her some fireworks and this seemed to do the trick.  It was fun to see them take off.  I figured I'd be a mess.  I wasn't.  Just so happy for my daughter and my new son-in-law.  I'm really beginning to like the sound of that.

And now, the Boy and I are home.  The stunningly patient and mighty fine SML and CAL are onto the next phase of the transition here in the Den - moving CAL into her dorm and getting her started in university.  It's a good thing I didn't stay.  I'm in no frame of mind for another big good-bye.  Over the last few days, whenever I've had a free moment with CAL, I've said, "Please give me at least two years before you even think about getting married.  Please!"  First, mentally, her mother and I need the break and secondly, my bank account needs it.  I'm hoping she heeds that counsel.  Please...

Mr. and Mrs. Awesome.  Brother and Sister Awesome.  Yeah, that sounds good.  And speaking of awesome, I think this was the highlight for the Boy:

"How I spent my lock out!"

Yeah, it's been a pretty amazing week here in the Den.