Wedding Memories

Hi! I got married! And then I stopped blogging. Actually, I guess I had stopped blogging a little before I got married. Actually, I guess it was before I even starting dating Matt. Yikes! Anyhoo, I've been absent from blogging for awhile because 1) I have a new job (I started in February, sorry I didn't blog about that) so I don't have computer access at work, 2) now that I'm married, all I want to do is sit around and look at my husband (he is very dreamy) 3) I realize that the first thing I need to blog about is our wedding day, and I feel completely overwhelmed about trying to share the wonderfulness of that day. BUT! I am feeling inspired. Also, Matt is busy talking to his parents about what to do with the internet in their various houses, and I'm not qualified to be involved in the conversation, so I have some free time.

Instead of giving a play-by-play description of the day, I've decided to just share my favorite memories of the day and some of my favorite pictures. I will not bother myself with trying to put my memories in chronological order.



My wedding day was perfect. Just what I wanted, only somehow even better. Just perfect.

(like this picture. isn't this picture perfect?)

I remember waking up in the morning in my bed with my mom and it was the perfect morning and the sun was shining right on my face and I could not believe it was actually my wedding day. And everyone all day was so wonderful and supportive. My mom and Aunt Kathleen (who had come from Eastern Colorado) and friends Jamie (who came all the way from St. Louis) and Kate (who came all the way from Washington DC) went to the reception center first thing in the morning and worked to make things perfect.

(My totally awesome friends)

Since the reception decorators had my car, Corina drove me to get my hair done. It was awesome transforming myself into the pretty pretty princess. And I really did feel very beautiful all day, which I consider a tender mercy from the Lord because I had been feeling very unattractive leading up to the big day. But my prayers were answered and I felt very beautiful all day long.

(so glad I decided to go with a professional. my hair turned out perfect!!)

I remember showing up at the reception and my family and friends had taken care of everything and it was perfect. (My wonderful sister Heather, to whom I will be eternally indebted, had taken over all wedding planning several days before the big day when I became overwhelmed. I hadn't had to think about it for all that time and it still turned out perfect.) (Favorite engagement advice from Heather, "You spend all this time and energy getting everything perfect for your wedding day, but when the smoke clears and the guests leave, you realize that BEING married is easy compared to GETTING married." Very true.)

So many people love us!!!

My incredible sisters!!!

When I walked into the sealing room and all my family and friends were there and I was GETTING MARRIED, I was so overwhelmed that I just started crying and crying and crying. I just couldn't believe that I was actually GETTING MARRIED. (Matt told me several months later that he thought I was freaking out and wanted to change my mind, but he figured it was too late for me to get out of it. But he was wrong. I was just overwhelmed with the overwhelming wonderfulness of it.) When I didn't get my crying under control right away, my mom told me to take a deep breath to calm down. I thought to myself, "Yeah right, like that actually helps," but I did it and -- lo and behold!-- it helped! I calmed down and was able to enjoy the ceremony. (Did I mention that Matt's grandpa performed the ceremony?)




During the ceremony, at one point I noticed that my cheeks starting aching (like a lot) because I was smiling so big for so long, but I couldn't (and didn't want to) stop.


My nieces were SOOOO excited all day. All three all ran right up to me when Matt and I walked out of the temple (you can totally see them in most of the right-outside-the-temple pictures). An especially favorite niece moment was when we were doing the garter-- I sat down and Matt went to the DJ stand and gave a nice speech about how he had caught the garter I was wearing at a wedding during the time we weren't date because I'd turned him down for another man. When he caught it, he just thought of me and was sad that he couldn't be winning me over. (isn't that super sweet?). While he was making his heartwarming speech, my niece Ashley (probably seeing me alone for the first time all day), ran up to me and yelled, "Aunt Holly! I found a snail yesterday!!!" I said, "Now's not a good time, I'll talk to you later," but she just kept yelling over and over again (as if I did not understand the importance and significance of the event) "BUT I FOUND A SNAIL YESTERDAY!!! I FOUND A SNAIL YESTERDAY!!!" So cute.



One of my favorite memories during the day was slow dancing with Matt during the reception. It wasn't our "first dance" but an impromptu dance later to the song "Giving Up" which sounds like it would be a depressing song, but it actually really touchingly wonderful about finding someone and deciding you love them so much you want to stop looking for someone better and stop worrying that things might not be perfect. It was a song that I thought of a lot when I first starting date Matt, so it had emotional meaning, but mostly the moment was so perfect because it was a lovely few moments with Matt with no one watching (or at least it seemed that way) at the reception when it seemed like it was just us and it was romantic and perfect.



I'd always thought that receptions were sort of a drag and something you just had to do (which, coincidentally is what I'd always thought about marriage too before Matt), but ours was SO MUCH FUN. Even for us! It was totally a party! I think everyone had a good time. We had hot dogs, baked beans, pasta salad, chips, and watermelon. There were mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails, for those of you not "in the know"). The centerpieces were colorful mini-beach buckets of Skittles and Starbursts with balloons tied to them. Bubble machines were going full-blast at the entrance. There was sidewalk art everywhere. We had a make-your-own-s'more station with a real fire pit. It was perfect! One fella I didn't know said to me that the hot dogs were better than steak. And my mission trainer said it was the best day of her three-year old daughter's life. A preschool student at my school who was there (I'm friends with his parents) still talks about it almost every day, four months later. It was fun! I was actually a little sad to leave. In fact, after we left and Matt had to sneak back in to get his shoes, I was telling his sister Meredith a super funny story, and Matt had to actually lift one of my feet into the car so we could leave. THAT's how much fun I was having (especially impressive considering how excited I was to start the honeymoon).

Smores!!!

my nieces enjoying the reception. also, a good view of the inside decorations

Thanks to Cousin Brian and Brother-in-law Jason for manning the grills!!!

Isn't our cake awesome! I totally stole the design and flavor from the reception where we met. It was partially a tribute, and largely because it was SUCH A GOOD CAKE. Matt's parents bought it for us. It was SOOOOO tasty.

Mocktails!!
I love the Martinelli's dressed like a bride and groom that was a gift from my boss Cindee. We still have them in our kitchen.

FAVORITE STORY ALERT!!!!
Okay, here's the funny story from above. The day before the wedding, we had a casual get-t0-know you dinner with family and close friends while we worked on decorating the reception venue. Matt's sister Missy was busy making a tree outside totally glamorous and beautiful, which required the use of a ladder.



I was inside sitting at a table with some friends when Matt's 10-year old nephew Mitchell ran up to and yelled, "Where's the pinata?!!!!" I said there wasn't a pinata. His confusion and disgust were obvious in his voice when he replied, "No pinata?!!!! Then WHAT is the point of having a ladder?!!!" Of course, we all thought this was hilarious. The best part is that the next morning, Jamie and Kate actually went and bought one. It was awesome. And it totally made the party. My only regret is that I hadn't thought of it myself. Good job Mitchell!

Kate with pinata

Corina helping with the incredibly awesome pinata celebration

Second favorite Mitchell quote of the day: "You said there would be two bubble machines, but there is only ONE bubble machine!!!" (I checked, there were, in fact, two.)

After the family photos right after the ceremony, I was starting to get a little overwhelmed with everything and everyone. Our wise and talented photographer Candice Andrus sent us off to be alone and recharge for awhile. It was so wonderful to have those few moments alone with Matt and just bask in our wedded-ness. Also, Candice got some really beautiful candid shots of us during that time.




Also, my sister Ann, knowing how I get when I haven't eaten in too long (although I DID try to plan well and avoid this) sent my brothers to bring me back a hamburger, which helped A LOT. Also, she had the foresight to tell them to order one without ketchup or mustard (because I can be a messy eater).





I wanted something fun for when Matt and I left the reception, but I thought bubbles were a bit overdone. Sparkler's were my next thought, but in addition to being a logistical nightmare, it wasn't dark when we left at 9pm. Eventually, the perfect answer struck me: pom poms. People doubted me (including Matt, but he was wise enough not to say anything until he simultaneously admitted he was wrong). Just because they'd never seen it done before. But it was perfect! Totally perfect. I don't know why more people don't do that.



You want to hear something weird? I didn't feel any different after the wedding. I thought I'd experience some sort of "twinkle" or something, but I didn't. It wasn't a disappointing feeling, I was just surprised. After a few weeks of being married to Matt though, I figured it out. It's because being married to Matt is the most normal, natural thing ever. We didn't have a transitional or readjusting period. Right away we both just felt like we'd been married forever and couldn't remember what it was like to not be married. I think I didn't feel different after getting married because it wasn't a "new" thing to me, it was like finally being what I had always been meant to be.

I am so so so glad I married this man!

Our Story

(If you only want the short story, you can read it here.)

We met at a wedding reception at Thanksgiving Point (picture above). The girl who introduced us is the same girl who had introduced the bride and groom at the wedding we were attending. She came up to me as soon as I walked into the reception and said, "There's a boy here I want you to meet. He's tall and conservative." Since I'm a fan of both of those things, I agreed to be set up. We sat next to each other all evening and he seemed very nice, so when he called a few days later and asked me out for the next weekend, I was happy to go.

He planned an awesome date. We went and had super yummy burgers and a shake, and then went to the corn maze at Thanksgiving Point.
Between the great company, the corn maze, the dumb chicken jokes, and the tricycle racing, it was my favorite first date ever, but despite that when he called two days later asking for a second date I had to turn him down because in the meantime I had decided to become exclusive with someone else. I told Matt that I'd call if it didn't work out with that guy.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Matt had fallen in love with me on our first date and was determined to marry me. He spent the next two months in a discouraged funk, thinking of me and being sad he couldn't be winning me over. He figured for sure he would never hear from me again because my boyfriend "would be crazy to let her get away." As he tells the story, he realizes now that he "should have had more faith."

Obviously, things didn't work out with the other boy. So, after a few weeks of a dating vacation, I gave Matt a call. I didn't know it, but I called the day before his birthday. When he saw my name on his caller ID, he was so excited and said to himself, "Happy birthday to me!" Not knowing that he had been pining away for me the last eight weeks, I asked if he remembered me and he assured me that he did and that he was still interested.

I figured since I had called him, I should plan the date, which it turns out is a lot harder than it looks! But I did manage to get us tickets to a Monster Truck Rally because neither of us had ever been and we both like trying new things. And, come to find out, Monster Truck Rallies are pretty stinkin' cool.
After that, I noticed a pattern in Matt pretty quickly. We would go out on a Saturday night and he would call the next day to ask me out for the following Saturday. (It was smart of him to reserve me so far in advance because I was dating several different guys at the time.) Eventually Matt started to coming down from Salt Lake and taking me out to lunch once a week. Then he started incorporating mid-week dates. He always did a great job planning fun activities, and I enjoyed being with him, but I was definitely not ready to commit.

I had the idea in my head that I would probably become his girlfriend if he brought me flowers at work on Valentine's Day. I was pleased, but not really surprised when he showed up at my work on the day in question with flowers AND chocolates AND jewelry. This was particularly impressive since it was also my first day at an entirely new office. (Also, he had remembered my favorite flowers and my favorite flower shop.)
That evening he took me out to a nice dinner and to the ballet. He reserved me two weeks in advance, which is good because (I would like to mention for the record) I did have another offer.
It was pretty much the perfect Valentine's Day, but I still wasn't sure about being his girlfriend. One week later Matt told me for the first time that he loved me. My response was, "Alright. I'm gathering my courage. Gathering. Gathering. Okay...... I will be your girlfriend."

Even then, I wasn't really sure about him. But as I had been praying about him, the answer I clearly got was, "He might not be the right one for you, but he definitely deserves a chance." So, I decided to take a leap of faith. And, of course, I am now so so so so happy that I did. Matt is pretty much the still water that runs deep. You don't see everything about him all at once, but once you do get to know him, you see how incredible he is. I'll save more details on that for the "All About Matt" section of the blog.

The more I dated Matt, the more I couldn't imagine not being with him. It just took me a while to get used to being in a healthy relationship. I wasn't used to being in a relationship with NO trauma AND a steady, consistent, constant stream of love and affection. So, it only took a few months for him to completely win me over. (It turns out his grandparents had been praying for me. Apparently, I was pretty much a goner once that started.)

We are so happy we get to be married!! Yay!!

All About Matt

(If you want the incredibly shmoopy version, read this. The version below is more fact-based.)

Matt was born and raised in Sandy, Utah. As a perfect compliment to Holly's flighty, transitory nature, he has pretty much stayed near Sandy his whole life, but still maintains an adventurous spirit. He's been working at UPS for the past several years while he's been deciding what to do with his life and going to school. (P.S. His stability at UPS is good because Holly has never stayed at a job more than 18 months. Also because they have awesome insurance.) He is currently studying computer science (which works out well because Holly can't tell a joystick from a modem), and will be starting at the University of Utah in the fall.

He is the last of the five children born to Max and Patricia Harker, and the apple of his grandmother's eye. He is the proud uncle to 12 nieces and nephews. He served an honorable mission to Brazil, where in addition to saving souls, he spent his free time fixing large appliance and re-wiring his apartments. Always good with his hands (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), Matt enjoys helping Holly out with her 1901 fixer-upper house (she would be lost without him!).

He loves computers, amusement parks, finding good deals, and trying new things. He also enjoys yard work and fixing things.

The Proposal

On a Tuesday back in May, Matt asked me if I wanted to go on a surprise adventure the next Saturday. Since "surprise" and "adventure" are two of my favorite words, I heartily agreed. Of course, I was hoping that it would be the proposal, but I knew there was no way he would be able to get the ring that quickly, that I decided it was probably a trip to the amusement park Lagoon, since we'd been talking about that all week.

About an hour before he picked me up for the surprise adventure, he called sounding completely dejected. "You know that surprise I had scheduled for today?" he said. "It was depended on the weather and isn't going to work out, so let's go to the temple instead." It made perfect sense to me-- it was raining so Lagoon must have closed. And since we hadn't been to the temple in a few weeks, it seemed like a very nice idea.

When he showed up, I asked him what the surprise was going to be and he said he'd tell me at the temple. Obviously, this indicated to me that it was NOT a trip to Lagoon and must therefore be the proposal. It sort of worked out well because then I had the whole time at the temple to calm my nerves and become even more sure that marrying Matt was the right thing to do.

We had a lovely time at the temple and as we left, just like I figured he would, Matt said we should take a walk around the grounds. He found a private corner and said that he was sorry our adventure had been ruined and that we would do it another day, but he couldn't wait another moment. He then told me about the surprise he had planned: "I was going to pick you up, and we'd get on the highway and drive north. Then we'd go into Parley's Canyon to Park City and through Park City to Heber. At Heber we would drive to the airport and get on a plane. In the plane we would have flown to Thanksgiving Point where we met and circle around it a few times, then fly to Draper and see your house and then fly to the Draper Temple and circle around. While we were circling, I would have pulled this out of my pocked: "
It was his grandma's ring!! And the beautiful ruby ring I'd imagined, which he had managed to get super quickly, even though emerald cut rubies are pretty hard to find (he found this one online in Florida and had it sent lickidee-split.)

He got down on his knee and proceeded to give me a really beautiful speech (based on Proverbs 31:10-31, the reason I love rubies) about why he wanted to marry me. We both teared up a little and I said yes. Then we went right back into the temple and reserved a sealing room. When we came out we had our picture taken to memorialize the event.
Then we drove down to our favorite place Thanksgiving Point, and had dinner at the nice restaurant they have there. Everyone there was so excited that we'd just gotten engaged and it was a really delicious dinner full of lots of well-wishes. (I dreamed about those shrimp nachos for like a week afterwards. Yum!)
I just couldn't believe that Matt had CHARTERED A PLANE to propose to me! I should be used to it now because "storybook perfect" has sort of been the theme of my relationship with Matt.

P.S. Sometimes at school, I'm in charge of leading the students in art projects, and I usually give mine to Matt when I'm finished, and he puts them on his fridge. A few days before the scheduled proposal, I gave him this one:
Isn't that a funny coincidence?

All About Holly

Well, hello. Let me introduce myself.

My name is Holly Elizabeth Bluemlein, daughter of Ken and Charlotte Bluemlein. I was born and raised in a small town in southern Indiana called Vincennes ("Historical Showcase of the Midwest" Ask me about George Rogers Clark sometime). My dad taught at the local university and my mom took care of us six kids.

Since leaving Indiana after graduating from high school, I've had a pretty adventurous life. I went to BYU for four years where I studied Public Relations. Right before graduating, I decided to spend a summer working in Alaska and while I was there, I rather unexpectedly decided to serve a mission. I served in the Arizona Tucson mission, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. I was luckily enough to work in all three states. When I returned home from my mission, I graduated super quick and then went to live in Michigan with my parents, who had moved there the year before. I worked for awhile and then went back to school and got a second bachelor's degree in psychology. When I was done with school, I fulfilled a life-long dream by moving to New York City. I ran the admissions office of a mental health clinic for a year and a half, then sold out and went to work on Wall Street. I loved my three years living there, but one day I just felt very strongly that my time in Manhattan was done and I needed to move on. I decided to move to Utah to be closer to my nieces and two of my sisters. I bought a house in Draper, Utah last year (very unexpected-- I've always like the idea of renting). Back in October I met Matt and my life hasn't been the same ever since.

I love adventures and trying new things. I enjoy traveling. I like to make food for the people I love. I loving going on walks and going to the beach. I love roller coasters and amusement parks. I like going to the theater and to museums. I love bright, happy colors. Watermelon is my favorite food. Matt makes me very happy, and I love making him happy.

Utah Celebration-- Info and RSVP

The Utah Celebration will be the day of the wedding (Friday June 24) from 6:30 to 9pm at the LDS meetinghouse at 1889 South 1700 East, Salt Lake City.
It's going to be a casual and fun BBQ celebration with hamburgers, mocktails, and even a fireplace with s'mores. Yum! There will be seating available inside or outside (if the weather cooperates). It should be a beautiful place!

We want this party to be fun! So, wear what you'd like, and come prepared to have a good time.

The basic schedule is as follows (subject to change at any time):

6:30 Dinner is served (well, it won't be "served" but it will be available)
7:00 The couple arrives; first dance
7:30 Toasts
8:00 Cake cutting
8:30 Bouquet and Garder toss
8:35 Dancing!
9:00 The happy couple leaves

Please RSVP by leaving a comment below. And remember to include your name and if you'll be bringing anyone! Thanks!

Michigan Celebration-- Info and RSVP

Our Michigan Celebration is being hosted by Holly's wonderful aunt Sue Deibel at her home 4185 Maplewoods West in Saginaw on Saturday, July 2 from 11:30 am until 2pm. It will be Open House style, so come and go as your schedule permits. We will be serving some yummy salads and desserts.

We hope you will be able to come!

If you'd like to RSVP, please leave a comment below.

Registry

Wow! We get a spouse AND maybe even some gifts?! This is awesome!

If you would like to get us something, we've decided to register for your convenience. We've picked things at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target.

If gift cards are more your style, our very favorite stores are Home Depot, Ikea, and Wal-mart.

Thank you!