Erin's Wedding

You're looking at the new Mr. & Mrs. Eric Dixon:

Don't they make a gorgeous couple??

Erin asked my Hallie if she'd be a flower girl.

This was something she eagerly accepted and seriously contemplated in the days that followed that request.

Her cute cousin Ciel (Elizabeth's daughter) was also a flower girl:

The ceremony was beautiful, and when it was over, we all stood outside and waited for Eric and Erin to come out together.

 

Here are Erin's four younger siblings, anxiously awaiting the appearance of their newly wedded sister, and brand new brother in law. (I almost cropped Hallie out of this picture but she was so cute standing there I just couldn't do it):

And a particular somebody (and vital part of the wedding pictures) forgot his black dress shoes, and so Lared was so sweet and swapped shoes with this boy.

Getting these two to look up at the camera and smile (a real smile) at the same time is like trying to gargle peanut butter.

Luckily Dad Firmage came to the rescue with his fancy camera and mad photography skills to capture what is now my absolute favorite picture of my kids:

 

As you can see, Hallie is holding Erin's bouquet, which she was beside herself excited to hand to Erin upon her exit from the temple. 

My Camera was a little bit glued to this girl, but I love Hallie's lisp and it looks like she's using it to full capacity right here:

Okay, last one I promise (but isn't she stunning?!):

Then came the moment we all were waiting for!

And Hallie got her moment of glory as she handed over those flowers:

She doesn't look like somebody who just did something super important does she?:

Check out the smile stretched across Eric's face.  Does he look like a guys who's just landed himself something more precious than gold or what?

I'm bummed that this one's a little blurry, but it looks like Erin's a wee bit happy with who she landed as well:

It was so fun to watch Hallie and Ciel grab hold of Erin's train, and walk behind her like little ducklings:

These guys don't look like they're in love or anything do they?:

Erin's youngest brother Jackson got Erin to himself for a little while, which I think tugged at everybody's heart strings.
 
The bond between these two is unreal.  Erin has always been such a nurturing big sister to her siblings, and I'm sure they all felt tender about her "officially" flying the coop and starting her own household somewhere else.....and far away....like Idaho, where both she and Eric will be finishing school.


It was a good thing Uncle Ken was there to "turn" any frowns upside down:

So here's the Dudley family....with their new addition:

And if you ask me, he fits in quite nicely.

Here we all are (except for a couple of spouses and a whole slew of little, and big cousins that unfortunately couldn't be present):

Here's Elon with his three siblings....and can you say "ridiculously good-looking?!" :

They're in order of age starting with Ken in the middle, moving to the right, and then Elizabeth, the youngest, is on the left.  Ken and Elizabeth each brought one of their kids, but their spouses and three other kids stayed home in Utah and Idaho. 

I have to say though, that with all of the wonderful things that this wedding entailed, my favorite part was watching these two:

Oh to have a camera lens that could capture the sparkle in their eyes.  It was there, I saw it, and the joy that radiated out was almost tangible.  As a parent myself now, I watched these two reap fruits that I desire so badly to reap myself someday.  No worldly object or accomplishment can compare to the treasures we build up in heaven.  Our families, our relationships here and how we cultivate them are the only things that really matter.  

And I'm so grateful that being there in Boston with such dear loved ones for such an important union helped put it all back into perspective for me.

After pictures, we began our trek up to Maine for the reception, but first Eric's family treated everyone for lunch at Chili's, and I'm kicking myself for not taking my camera into Chili's.  But we all had a great time, and ate yummy food...at least my quesadilla was out of this world!

Just before the reception though, we all met together at mom and dad Firmage's for studio portraits.  They set up their front room with a back drop and the suspended bright lights, etc.

And lucky for me, he took some great ones of my kids!

I mean check out my Chan:

How on earth am I going to keep the girls away from that handsome devil?

And I love this one:

Then it was off to the reception where we got to see this amazing work of art, hand crafted by our good friend JaNeal:

And it was just as delicious as it was beautiful.

I took a lot of pictures at the reception but so many didn't turn out because of the lighting combined with my limited knowledge of how to combat the lighting, but here are some of my favs:

Not sure what was up with that expression on the middle one's face up there :/

I love this one of Hallie and Jackson dancing (if only it was crisp and clear):

I love this of Leah and Jackson dancing too:

Here's Elon and Hallie bustin' it up out there on the dance floor:

Okay, so lets not forget that all this happened on my anniversary too.

So just for kicks and giggles, here we were on that cold December day, standing outside the same temple:

Seven years ago that is!

And look at us now:

Despite our clenched teeth smiles, I think we're a pretty happy bunch.

And if I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.