December 16th, 2011, I made a decision that would effect my life eternally. I married my best friend in the Draper temple. I still remember the cheesy line he gave me the night before we were married. "Goodnight, Love," Andrew had said to me, smiling. "I'll marry you in the morning." I laughed and we hugged, kissed, and went our separate ways.
Trying to sleep that night was an impossibility for me. I lay awake for hours, tossing and turning. When I texted Andrew about my predicament, he recommended I pray for sleep and added that he would do the same. I fell asleep sometime after midnight, but I kept waking up all through the night, only sleeping in small segments. I finally just gave up on sleep around 5:30 AM, and my cousin Alex (she stayed the night with me because she was going to fix my hair for the wedding) got up with me.
We drove to the other house and got milk so we could have cereal for breakfast (I had moved all of the food and stuff to the apartment on the 15th except for the foods that needed to be kept in the fridge or freezer). This was pretty much a moot point for me, since apparently I couldn't eat, either. After breakfast, Alex started fixing my hair. She was still working on it an hour or so later when Andrew came to get me at 8:45 AM. Finally I grabbed my dress & stuff and we left.
The roads had a mixture of snow dust and mist swirling around the cars, creating a magical, surreal feeling as we drove up to the temple. "This feels so magical! I can't believe we're getting married today," I confided, smiling. "I couldn't sleep at all last night, could you?"
"Actually, I slept just fine. When I woke up, I was like, 'I had something important going on today, what was it?' It took me a while to remember. Then it was like, 'I'm getting married today! What the heck am I doing??' But then I remembered that I was marrying you, and I was okay again." Andrew told me. This was somewhat surprising, as Andrew is normally the one that doesn't sleep well.
"Actually, I slept just fine. When I woke up, I was like, 'I had something important going on today, what was it?' It took me a while to remember. Then it was like, 'I'm getting married today! What the heck am I doing??' But then I remembered that I was marrying you, and I was okay again." Andrew told me. This was somewhat surprising, as Andrew is normally the one that doesn't sleep well.
We arrived to the Draper temple at 9:30 AM. We went in and they pulled us in to a room to sign our marriage license, then they led me to the bride's room. It was SO beautiful!!! I told them that my mom would be coming, and had them let the front desk know her name so that she could come directly in to help me, since we were 30 minutes early, even for the group that was supposed to be early. I got into my wedding dress (I had picked one that I could wear inside the temple) and as they were helping me with my veil and such, my mom entered the room. We were both smiling and happy, and she was super excited and supportive. The temple workers kept complimenting my dress, and then they led me out to go meet Andrew.
"Did you see the way his eyes popped out of his head when he saw you?" the sweet temple worker whispered to me enthusiastically as we came up to him. I hadn't; my hands were shaking and I was so nervous, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I wasn't really able to read his face, other than the fact he looked nervous and he was smiling. Because we had gotten there so early, they led us to the Celestial room to wait. That was wonderful! I had been so nervous, my hands were shaking, but once we entered the room I was so calm. The Spirit overwhelmed me with confirmation that I was in the right place with the right person at the right time, and I had no doubt in my mind that what I was doing right then was right.
When we met the sealer, there was a further confirmation that we were being married by a wonderful person that had the correct authority. He was sweet, funny, old man and the Spirit radiated from him. He then asked us if we would like to do something that is not a part of the normal sealing process, but that he offered the choice to do to everyone he sealed. The option was, just before he sealed us, if we wanted to, he would give us a chance to tell everyone why we loved the other person. We agreed to do it.
When everyone that was attending the sealing was seated, we went to join them. The light that poured into the room through the stained glass windows was Heavenly, and an even stronger spirit hit me as we entered the room. The room was larger than the one we had reserved, but I loved it, even though there were so many empty chairs (maybe they were all filled with those on the other side of the veil). He then gave Andrew and I the chance to tell everyone why we loved each other.
Andrew and I looked at each other and I asked him if he wanted me to go first. He nodded. I don't remember exactly what I said. I just remember feeling the warmth and love. Something about how he was my best friend, he respected me as a daughter of God, his sense of humor... At some point my voice trailed off and, after a pause, Andrew started. His voice was husky with emotion, and he was crying. I don't remember everything he said, other than him saying that I made him want to be the best he could be. I just remember how powerful the emotion was that we were overcome with. The sealer said, "So, what you're saying is, she completes you?" Andrew must have nodded or said yes.
The sealer said he wouldn't be giving a Sunday talk, but it felt like it lasted forever. Finally we got to kneel across the alter from each other. We weren't allowed to look at each other while we were being sealed, which was hard. After we were sealed, the sealer said we could kiss each other across the alter. "Oh, you can tell they're good at this part. They must have practiced!" he teased. "You two looked like you enjoyed that. How about you kiss again?" We happily complied. "Man, I thought you were going to go for a third!" The sealer teased us. We then went to the side of the alter and exchanged rings, and then we looked through the eternity mirrors together. I tried to envision our daughters and sons doing the same thing, and it was too wonderful to grasp.
Andrew and I looked at each other and I asked him if he wanted me to go first. He nodded. I don't remember exactly what I said. I just remember feeling the warmth and love. Something about how he was my best friend, he respected me as a daughter of God, his sense of humor... At some point my voice trailed off and, after a pause, Andrew started. His voice was husky with emotion, and he was crying. I don't remember everything he said, other than him saying that I made him want to be the best he could be. I just remember how powerful the emotion was that we were overcome with. The sealer said, "So, what you're saying is, she completes you?" Andrew must have nodded or said yes.
The sealer said he wouldn't be giving a Sunday talk, but it felt like it lasted forever. Finally we got to kneel across the alter from each other. We weren't allowed to look at each other while we were being sealed, which was hard. After we were sealed, the sealer said we could kiss each other across the alter. "Oh, you can tell they're good at this part. They must have practiced!" he teased. "You two looked like you enjoyed that. How about you kiss again?" We happily complied. "Man, I thought you were going to go for a third!" The sealer teased us. We then went to the side of the alter and exchanged rings, and then we looked through the eternity mirrors together. I tried to envision our daughters and sons doing the same thing, and it was too wonderful to grasp.
Everyone in attendance lined up to either hug us or shake our hands. Andrew's mom was crying, hugging him the longest she could. "Welcome to the family," everyone was telling us. The concept that Andrew was now my husband was beyond me. It seemed so surreal. I was so happy, and I couldn't stop smiling!!!
