Continuing with photos from Shawni’s camera uploaded in a mere six hours, sent from China after she returned….
Charity, the master of organization, packed everything possible into the festivities of the Wedding Day! MFME (Mothers and Future Mothers of Eyrealm….sisters and sister’s in law along with the Big Mama) who have been a tight knit group now for many years, met at Ruth’s Diner up in Emigration Canyon for breakfast. It was a spectacular ride through the glorious fall foliage and we loved that last hour together with Charity before she became a married woman!
Right up until midnight the night before she left Boston, Saydi somehow managed to collect the whole group’s favorite quotes and favorite recipes as well as some advice from each of us and memorialized in a stunning book which we read together and presented to Charity. Some of it was pretty funny! It’s a treasure!
Thanks for making that morning so memorable Saydi. You are amazing!
On to a cute hairdresser at the condo and help with makeup from Saydi in preparation for the big day:
And Charity and I (we had to be there early) were out the door to the Temple!
Ian picked Charity up exactly on time and I followed the ecstatic couple to the temple, though they didn’t know I was there until the end:
No pictures are allowed in the sacred ceremony in the Temple but they were privileged to be sealed for Time and All Eternity by Elder Tom Perry, one of the Twelve apostles of our church and a long-time friend and almost substitute Grandfather for our kids. The strong spirit of love with a room filled with only immediate family members and dear friends was incredible! The advice from Elder Perry was incredible and the magnificent words of the marriage sealing were deeply moving!
We were so grateful for two wonderful friends who came to watch over the 28 kids, 14 and under in a special room in the temple while their parents were participating in the ceremony! The older kids were helpful and everybody survived!
The long wait for the bride to appear from the traditional doors was worth it. The kids were ready to explode by the time the happy couple appeared to the delight of the crowd:
See that veil back there? The joyful couple were simply buried with hugs from all those little people!
Such joy!
The entourage walked slowly about 30 feet to the steps of the temple where we started taking pictures….a LOT of them! One little girl named Poem was very helpful in getting Charity safely delivered to the steps!
The kids just adore their favorite Aunt Chi Chi and have completely embraced their new Uncle Ian!
Lyla, on front row adoring Charity and Peter, sitting next to her, wondering when this was going to be over!
Charity sneaked a kiss on the cheek to her second favorite man in the world….one happy guy amongst the chaos.
Of course, we were overjoyed to have almost everyone in the family there including all nine of our kids!
We love those crazy people, beautiful people!
Extraordinary friends made the day especially bright. The four below have been together through thick and thin, from Jerusalem to India to the ends of the earth and back.
Here’s a candid of all those wonderful friends who have an amazing history with Charity. Each one has a unique story of how they have made Charity’s life so full and rich!
After every possible combination of family and friends photos, the official photographer took off with the happy couple and it will be a while before we see those pictures! In the meantime, I’m sure Shawni, Saydi, Saren, Kristi, Julie, Aja, Eli, anybody who had a camera or a phone that day will be posting on blogs and Instagram to fill in so much that I’ve missed!
Thanks for these pics Shawni! I stuck in a couple of mine but I got so few that I’d have basically nothing without yours! Even though you may not think the quality is perfect, having transferred from China they look great to me!
On the the exquisite Wedding Dinner next….stay tuned!
14 comments:
Wow, what a shame that Max, Elle, Grace, Claire and Lucy couldn't make it to the event everyone's been waiting for so long...they are too busy living their mother's dream in China.
Madam Queen,
Your constant level of judgement and accusation continues to amaze me!
Richard Eyre
I just think it's sad that Shawni's kids weren't able to attend - Shawni always says "we" do hard things.
She didn't have to miss the wedding. Her kids did. "They" did the hard thing. Same with moving to China. They gave up junior and senior activities, possible college recruitment opportunities, etc etc.
Are they having a cultural experience. Probably, but at what cost.
Beautiful pictures! Beautiful family! I am so happy for you all. There is so much love and pure joy shared in these moments. Thank you for sharing it.
Oh Madam Queen,
If you only knew Shawni's motives, and her heart!
Richard
I'm sure both are stellar but don't you feel bad that the kids weren't there? You know how kids are, you have so many! They probably feel awful missing it and seeing all the fun pics of their cousins enjoying it! Sometimes kids don't see the big picture, they may just resent this for a long time, no matter how pure Shawni's motives are.
Life is full of tradeoffs, and I think Shawni and her kids have made good ones in most cases. thanks for your interest in the family and my only suggestion would be to try to give the benefit of the doubt and understand that there are things you don't know. I, for one, admire Shawni so much for taking her family and herself outside their comfort zone for the long range benefit of broadening their horizons. Shawni is candid enough to share her worries and smart enough to know that there are pros and cons to this adventure. I trust the inspiration that she and Dave get as they seek to be the best parents they can be for their wonderful kids.
And by the way, though Shawni might not always say it, those kids are all in and fully on board for this trip and they understood that there were trade offs.
We all love your interest and inputs except when they cross the line and judge the kids in a personal way.
That's the thing with written communication- you can't see facial expressions or hear voice tones, etc. I know I sound judgemental and don't mean to. Sometimes I'm commenting in a hurry so I get straight to the point and it comes off as harsh. I love reading about your family on all the blogs, I just know how I would feel, or my son would feel, if we had to miss a big family event. Thanks for being nice to me.
I'm so impressed with how many thoughtful, loving, special times you were able to get into Charity's wedding weekend. The sister breakfast and book is just so special and I'm guessing the "fashion show" with the nieces and nephews was a wonderful way for the families (both with many small children) to get to know each other while celebrating the bride and the groom. Well done!
Madame Queen, No one was more sad about the kids not being able to come to the wedding than Shawni, but those kids were thrilled that their mom could come with that wonderful camera full of pictures to take back to them so they could feel the spirit of the celebration together. You should know that Shawni's dream will probably be the dream of her kids for their kids in the future. I told Max. Elle, Grace, Claire and Lucy before they left that they could blame their Grandmother and Grandfather when they were crying because they were homesick or overwhelmed because the seeds for this grand idea came when their mother's parents who took their mom to England for six months when she was in High School. Even though she cried all the way to school almost every day at first, she realized years later that it was one of the best things that ever happened to her. Our other kids would say the same for their own lives. We hope the Pothier kids will too!
Loved your comment about not being able to see facial expressions or hear vocal tones through written words. So true! Thanks for realizing that! And thanks for your compassion for the kids, but they're really okay. They were well-prepared for the sacrifices involved in this trip and were ready and willing to embrace them. We hope you'll continue to be part of the Pothier's adventure with a little more understanding!
Since their time is already half over in China, they are all realizing that one semester is a blink of an eye in the Big Picture, and no matter what they had to give up, that blink will be priceless!
Best wishes to you and your son,
Linda
Whoever took the pictures with the kids did a great job, especially for their not being the official professional. That is a lot of people that need to look forward at the same time, and a lot of little kids.
With that many photographers in the family, the Eyres are probably well trained to take pretty pictures. I agree it is impressive!
The yellow dress looks stunning on your granddaugther, btw.
And back to the theme, it already seem s to have been a wonderful wedding!
I just love reading about your family! The wedding and all the festivities surrounding it look awesome. Makes me wish I had a larger family. :(
I love reading every morsel of the experiences the Eyre family create. I look at every picture with a connection to my own children and grandchildren. I raised my children on every Eyre book and did Joy school with them too. One of my favorite stories is when Richard stayed home to take care of all the children by himself when Linda was gone and had a witness that staying at home all day with the children was not a cake walk! Gallons of milk spilt, bath tubs overflowing and the list goes on. All I can say is how fun it is to continue to follow your legacy!
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