Living Through It: Wedding Part 3: Reception

The Reception

Valle Vista Golf Club

The reception was located in the same place as the ceremony, in a room upstairs with lots of windows. We were able to enjoy dinner and a toast with everyone who came to the ceremony, and then were joined by more friends and family for the cake and dancing. It was wonderful to celebrate such an important event with so many of our loved ones.

Brandon, my mom, my sister, and I created the decorations, and I was really pleased with how it turned out. Fortunately, my mom has more of a creative eye than I do and was able to take the vague Pinterest-inspired ideas I had and turn them into beautiful reality.

In lieu of a guest book, we had guests fill out a small card, which asked simple questions like how far they traveled, how long they've known the bride and groom, and what advice they had to give. They were really fun to read after the wedding was over.

In an effort to save money, we ordered our cake from Wal-Mart. Surprisingly, it was actually the tastiest of the ones we tried, so between price and taste, there was no contest. We got a simple two-layered cake and a few sheet cakes with strawberry or Bavarian cream fillings to cut for guests. The cake was pretty plain and I was hoping to jazz it up somehow but couldn't quite put into words what I wanted. Before the wedding, my mom took a bag of leftover stuff we had from the centerpieces and worked her magic. I don't know how she did it, but it was exactly what I envisioned and it was gorgeous. I'm still so in love with how beautiful it turned out.

My brother Jacob served as our MC for the evening and Dominika hooked us up with some speakers and a microphone so we were able to save money on a DJ.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Esselborn!

First order of business: sign the marriage certificate. My dad and Brandon's step-dad served as witnesses.

Isaac blessed the food then we enjoyed a nice spread for dinner.

The plates were a little small, so those with big appetites had to get creative. :)

My dad gave a toast, which was very funny and very touching.

And after dinner, dancing and mingling.

After our other guests arrived, we cut the cake, shared a toast, and had our first dance as a married couple.

We made a deal beforehand to not smash cake in each other's faces. I couldn't risk having to reapply my lipstick! Lucky for me, Brandon complied.

Our first dance was to "From the Ground Up," by Dan + Shay. We didn't really have a song, and Brandon suggested this one a few weeks before the wedding, and it made me cry the first time I listened to it. I love to think about the life we'll build together over the next several decades.

Grandma and Grandpa painted a picture

Of 65 years in one little house

More than a memory, more than saying "I do,"

Kiss you good nights and "I love you"s

Me and you, baby, will walk in their footsteps

Build our own family

One day at a time

Ten little toes, a painted pink room

Our beautiful baby looks just like you

And we'll build this love from the ground up

Now 'til forever, it's all of me, all of you

Just take my hand

And I'll be the man your dad hoped that I'd be

And we'll build this love from the ground up

For worse or for better

And I will be all you need

Beside you I'll stand

Through the good and the bad

We'll give all that we have

And we'll build this love from the ground up

This life will go by in the blink of an eye

But I wouldn't want to spend it without you by my side

The clouds are gonna roll

The earth's gonna shake

But I'll be your shelter through the wind and the rain

Someday we'll wake up with thousands of pictures

Of 65 years in this little house

I won't trade for nothing the life that we built

I'll kiss you goodnight and say, "I love you still."

And we'll build this love from the ground up

For worse or for better

And I will be all you need

Beside you I'll stand

Through the good and the bad

We'll give all that we have

And we'll build this love from the ground up

We practiced that spin and dip a few times in my kitchen at the apartment I was living in when we were engaged. Practice paid off!

Following our dance, I danced with my dad and Brandon danced with his mom.

Apparently, halfway through the dance, Jackson came out on the floor and Brandon and Dawn thought he wanted to dance with them, but he really just wanted them to stop dancing.

The last organized dance was an anniversary dance. All married couples were invited out on the dance floor and gradually invited to have a seat, starting with those who had been married for the least amount of time and increasing until the last couple standing had been married the longest.

Isaac and Dominika and Chrissi (Bartnett) and Ben Harris

Strait and Kim Hill

Jim and Shirley West

Kevin Tharp and Brooklyn Callaway

Obviously, we were out pretty quick.

It came down to three couples - my parents, Jim and Tracy Kleinhenz, and Jack and Terri Bartnett, who had all been married about forty years.

Jim and Tracy won out, though. I think they'd been married for 41 years!

The longest married and the shortest married.

Now came the real dancing.

The Sorensens, from my Crossroads ward, and David and Jeanette (Brickley) Bish, who I met in the singles branch.

Isaac with Camille Shoaf and two of her daughters.

I was so happy that Melissa was able to come out for the wedding and so grateful to her mom, Crystal, who designed and made my dress from scratch. She did an amazing job!

Sam Wade, Shaeli and Stephanie Shoaf

My former roommate Alanna Norman and her fiance Joey Koons (they got married a month later), Johnnie Martin, and Jaime Zogmaister and her then-boyfriend Kyle.

President and Sister Myers (from the single branch) with David and Jeanette

Rob and Jackie Fishvogt

Nola Porter with Dominika

Several of our friends from work came to support us. At work, we didn't announce that we were even together until we were engaged, but there were a select few who were in the know. Left to right: Aaron Munson, Emily Chestnut, Ashley Whitaker, Kathleen Miller, Abby Taylor, Michael Landeck