Kelly ♥ Jeremy
Kelly ♥ Jeremy
Sealed: Salt Lake Temple
Photography: Photos By Wendy G.
Wedding Dress: Petals and Promises – Logan, UT
Flowers Every Blooming Thing – Salt Lake City, UT
Bride’s Hair and Make Up Versa Artistry’s Specialist, Flavia Carolina
Mother of the Bride’s Hair and Make Up Cali Stott
Honeymoon Anniversary Inn – Salt Lake City and Johnson Mill – Midway, UT
Our Story:
We are from the GREAT state of Louisiana, where the percentage of LDS members for the entire state as of 1/1/2012 is unfortunately 0.64%. I joined the church in 2008 at the age of 20 after many long visits with the missionaries. I was the only member of the church in my family. After learning about temples as a “new convert”, my DREAM was to one day marry in the Salt Lake Temple because of its beauty and the wonderful history behind it! I met my husband April 29, 2011 through a friend. Within the first year of dating I taught him a lot about the church and my beliefs, and to my surprise he was very interested and continued wanting to learn more. After a couple lessons with the missionaries, he was ready for baptism (being that he was not raised in any particular religion made him an EASY convert) 🙂 He was baptized on Valentine’s Day 2012. What a joyous day it was! Then on New Years Eve after my daughters 8th birthday she was baptized. Jeremy proposed to me the very next day 1/1/2013. HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ME! After the engagement was official it was time to start wedding planning, we had always talked about getting married on our anniversary which was April 29th, and because he waited so long to propose here I was left with only 4 months to plan!
I knew where I wanted to be married but anything else besides the location was beyond me. With GOOGLE (one of my reliable friends) I found weddinglds.com. I referred to this website for answers to the many questions I had. Many “all-nighters” were pulled to get everything booked and ready but there was still so much that couldn’t be done living many states away. I decided to wait on purchasing a dress until we arrived in SLC. A modest wedding dress is IMPOSSIBLE to find in Louisiana! However after lots of searching I came across Photos by Wendy G, I was very impressed by her work and was able to book her in advance. Because I was not going to have a “traditional” wedding and my family was not to be able to attend the actual ceremony, my photos would be the only thing my family would see. I wanted them to be fun & creative! I found “I DO” stickers online, which gave me the idea to put them on the bottom of my shoes with our rings on my stiletto. Some prop ideas were found while browsing the internet. When the thought of having wedding shoes that matched my bouquet and would stand out in photos came to mind, I “just knew” it would be one of a kind. I had never seen or knew of anyone who had ever done that….until I arrived at the temple on my wedding, to my surprise it is VERY COMMON in Utah.
We arrived in SLC a week early, it was everything we imagined and more. The Temple grounds were unlike anything we had ever seen. Things we had only seen in photos. We shopped at DESERET BOOK every day we were in Utah. We drove up to Logan, UT to visit with the former missionary who baptized me in the church and while visiting I found Petals and Promises, one of the few dress shops that sell wedding dresses straight off the showroom floor and was able to find “the perfect dress”. It was a wonderful experience. Everyone was very helpful and the prices were very reasonable. My shoes were found at Forever Young Shoes in Fashion Place in Murray, UT. Shopping around for a flower shop last minute in downtown SLC was no easy task. I wanted fresh flowers, I wanted specific colors, and I needed to be able to pick them up in the early morning to have them at the temple for our 10:30am wedding. After stopping at many flower shops, I came across Every Blooming Thing. The staff was very friendly and offered to do anything necessary to get me the “perfect bouquet”, they had in stock every color flower imaginable, and were willing to open earlier than their usual business hours just to be able to have my flowers ready for me with no extra cost. My husband rented his tux from Tuxedo Junction and was pleased. The night before the wedding while in my hotel room, I created the “Our Story” prop, it was done on a heart shaped chalk board and with a paint pen, very simple but very cute. Special dates have always been something important to us, and we always try to schedule important things on special/memorable dates (Jeremy’s baptism = Valentines Day, My daughters baptism = New Years Eve, Engagement = New Years, Our wedding date = 2 yr anniversary). It makes it easier to remember! 🙂
Our Wedding Day:
I didn’t know what to expect. Our wedding was scheduled for 10:30 in the morning. We had to be there at 8:00am! I used Versa Artistry’s Specialist, Flavia Carolina for my hair and make-up and Cali Stott for my mother and daughters hair and make up. They arrived at my hotel room at 6 am. It was wonderful to have a make up artist that does “on location” work. Both women were amazing. We were very satisfied and grateful we chose them.
After being sealed to my husband in the temple, my daughter was sealed to the both of us. What an incredible blessing that was! All the while, I still couldn’t believe I was actually on the SLC temple grounds. It was truly a dream come true! We were very blessed to have our mothers, the missionary who baptized me, his companion who also taught me, the missionary who baptized my husband, my daughter, and a couple from our ward back home be there with us on our special day. Wendy G. was waiting for us the moment we exited the temple. She knew all the perfect places for great photos around Temple Square. After hours of pictures, we parted ways with the Wendy.
My husband and I walked to Deseret Book (still in our wedding attire) and shopped around. I told you WE LOVE THAT PLACE! It was obvious to everyone that we were not from SLC.
We spent our wedding night at the Anniversary Inn. I recommend this place to anyone who visits the SLC area! The next day we drove up to Midway, UT and stayed at the Johnson Mill, another wonderful place to see if you get the chance. After that it was time to pack up and head back to Louisiana. Our trip to SLC was the most wonderful experience of our lives! We are so grateful that we had the opportunity, and we plan to visit again soon!