The Open House

We met even more family and friends at the Williams' who volunteered their home for the open house. My mom made peanut butter balls, Phyllis Sanchez dipped strawberry's for us but the topper had to be Marcia's cake!







Marcia stayed up most of the nights that she was in town working on this gorgeous wedding cake! Can you say Red Velvet? All made from scratch! It had cream cheese frosting and was so delicious! We had leftovers for about a week!








After the evening was all over we took our gifts and went to our hotel downtown on the river walk as a honeymoon. We loved the fact that our wedding wasn't a huge event, but that it was intimate and sacred. It was perfect for us. And we lived happily ever after in our 1/2 bedroom apartment. :)

The Luncheon

Marcia did it again. She planned a gorgeous luncheon right after the sealing for friends and family. The Gunther house was a private residence turned into a historical landmark in downtown San Antonio. The building in the background in the house and we had the top floor. In the foreground in front of the house is a restaurant. As we walked by, everyone oooed and awwwed at us. It was so cute!







There was a really pretty balcony that we took more pictures on while waiting for our guests.













We were so happy!













This is our table, the Lilies were gorgeous!













The catering was delicious and I successfully ate the whole meal without dropping anything on my dress. :)











After taking another round of pictures, we left the Gunther house, with Daniel holding my train the whole way, and went to relax before the open house that evening.

Trying to Drive

After all of the picture-taking I wanted to drive, but I ended up giving it up to Daniel cuz the corset was just too restricting. So we headed downtown to the Gunther House.

Everyone was outside waiting for us and Laura and Dad were taking pictures. We really enjoyed Laura's photography...you can't beat having a really talented photographer in the family!! She coached us in poses and we loved being with each other.

The Big Day!

Finally the day arrived!! I got my hair done by Madelaine at her salon and we headed up to the Temple. The sealing was amazing! Daniel's friend Bishop Burton sealed us together for eternity with our friends and family surrounding us.

Paul and Laura

Daniel's older brother Paul and his gorgeous wife Laura showed up late that night after driving 24 hours straight from Provo, Utah. They were pretty tired but Daniel and I were so happy to see them. We felt so loved to have family there with us.

Downtown

We started the evening by walking downtown from our parking lot.

Our first stop was at the famous Alamo. There were lots of tourists around, but the south is known for its manners so it wasn't that bad. My dad likes to collect leaves from all around the states. You can see some leaves sticking out of his front shirt pocket. That's my dad!

No one is really smiling in this one except for Nathan and me. I think mom saw a fun shop across the street that she wanted to check out.

Samuel read the historical notes to us. He was really excited to see the Alamo.



After the Alamo we went across the street to the River Walk and had a fabulous time. Samuel and Papa ended up going for a ride on one of the river boats. All of the Christmas lights were still up, it was really pretty. And Samuel ended up finding an arcade somewhere.

Big night on the Town

The night before the wedding, after the croquet and presents, Daniel and I took my folks and Samuel and Nathan out for the night. We started at CiCi's Pizza, the place where Daniel took me out to dinner for the first time. Up to that point we had gone to lunch and out to the movies, but CiCi's was our first dinner date. I remember him telling me that his mother wouldn't approve of him taking a date to CiCi's, but I had a blast. So we took the family there. Samuel had to eat his salad before pizza to make sure he got his veggies in. We got so excited about going downtown after dinner that we left Dad at the restaurant, still eating. oops. Sorry Dad.

Passing the Time

The day before the wedding we pasted the time by playing some croquet on the back yard lawn of the Johnson house. Samuel wants us to get our own set so we can play, but I guess we need a lawn first!









Marcia, Daniel's mom was amazing throughout the whole experience. Her and Ed had even more presents for us and here she is giving them to us while she is making a few needed changes to my wedding dress...amazing woman! I got a huge set of Pyrex glassware with lids and a big set of stainless steel bowls with lids, and some kitchen towels from Nathan. Daniel got a handful of nice slacks for his new grown up job!

San Antonio Zoo

A few days before the wedding I had to work, I was a waitress at Olive Garden, so Daniel took the family to the San Antonio Zoo. It doesn't beat the wilds of Kodiak, but they had a blast!






















Samuel and Papa got to buy goat food out of a dispenser in order to feed the goats at the Zoo. Papa had three goats on him at one point, animals have always loved him. Growing up I remember him feeding squirrels, bears and birds, sea lions, every kind of animal!!

A special day

A few days before the wedding, I went to the temple for myself for the first time...it was such a beautiful experience. In this picture I came to pick up my mother who was my escort and to say hello to my love. He didn't have to leave for another hour so he was ironing his shirt. My dad was taking all the pictures...he always has a camera in his hands.

Boy's Day

The Day after Christmas my mom and I went shopping, while the boys hung out at the house, did yard work and took a polar bear dip in the pool. Remember this is December. Ya it's southern Texas, but it was still cold!

I loved spending time with my mom, but the horror of a whole afternoon in Macy's and not getting a single thing still hasn't worn off.

Christmas 2006

When the family arrived (Marcia, Ed, Nathan, Papa Frank, Mom and Samuel) we celebrated Christmas together at the Johnson house. We exchanged gifts and went over plans for the wedding. I think we got Samuel a remote control tarantula spider!

Getting Ready for the Wedding

Daniel and I were so excited to be getting married! I moved down to San Antonio on Halloween of 2006. Daniel was living in his parents home and I was staying with a friend from church who graciously put me up for a month. On Thanksgiving day we found a TINY apartment for me to live in and Daniel would join me after the wedding. We anxiously awaited our families arrival for our special day.