One Year Later

I should've written this post a month and a half ago.... If I'm honest, I should've written it the week after our wedding. I'm sure you all understand how busy newlywed life can be, though. So, here I am, after a year of being married to my Prince Charming, writing the story of our wedding day. 

January 11, 2013 I was frantically packing up the rest of my bedroom at my parent's house. One of my best friends, Juliann Wankier, was helping me. Nic showed up to help us after his bachelor party. Around 10pm that evening we finished up and dropped the last load of boxes off at mine and Nic's new home. He gave me one last kiss as my fiancé and went home to get sleep. I wished I could've done the same, but I still had to go to my aunt Lynette's house to have my last fitting of the bolero she made for my wedding dress. So, I got into Jules' car and we drove to my aunt's house.

Jules was such a saint that weekend! I can't even begin to express how grateful I am for her help. I couldn't have done any of it without her. 

After my final fitting, around 11:30pm, we finally left and went to Jules' apartment. She was letting me spend the night since my room was all packed up, and her roommate was doing my hair in the morning as well. It all worked out nicely! We went to bed around midnight but, let's be honest, we all know the bride-to-be didn't sleep at all. I had wild butterflies in my stomach and my heart wouldn't stop pounding. I couldn't turn my brain off long enough to get even an hour of sleep. There were many reasons why I was nervous. I'm sure all of you can think of a million reasons why brides freak out the eve of their wedding. For me, it was sadness from knowing my parents would be absent from the sealing room as well as nerves about the following evening.... My wedding night. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't push the worries or nerves away. So instead of sleeping, I played on my phone for four hours that night. I think I was on Pinterest or something. 

My alarm rang at 4:00 in the morning on January 12. Jules let me have the first shower (what a sweet friend, right?) and due to being so exhausted I accidentally bumped one of the removable shelves in the shower which fell with a loud BANG! I was so worried that I woke up all the girls in the house but they all told me they were sound asleep. Lucky. 

At 5:00am Jules' roommate woke up and styled my hair in an updo. This is what it looked like: 

Jules and I left her apartment at 7:00 that morning. Before we got on the freeway we stopped at my parent's house so I could give my family hugs, and then she took me to McDonald's to get me some breakfast. I protested because I really wasn't hungry. However, Jules gave me the tough love I needed and said, "Mace, you ARE going to eat! If you don't, you'll end up passing out because your body doesn't have any energy or nutrients in it. I'm not going to be responsible for that. Eat the entire bagel and drink all the orange juice." I was ticked in the moment, but looking back I'm so grateful she took such good care of me. 

There was a blizzard that morning. I am so grateful Jules was brilliant enough to have the idea to leave so early to give us plenty of time to drive! Once we were on the freeway she let me have control of the music. Bless her soul, she listened to two songs on repeat the entire time: "Some Nights," by Fun and "Jamaican Dance," from Just Dance 3. Those two songs helped calm my nerves, who knows why. To this day whenever my iPod is on shuffle and those songs come up I go right back to that drive to the temple. 

About halfway to the Salt Lake temple Nic called me. I felt so stupid! Why hadn't I thought of calling my soon-to-be husband? The first thing he said when I answered was, "Mace, I don't know how to get to the temple." I looked at the clock. It was 7:30 and we were both due inside the temple at 8:30. Why in the WORLD had he saved this piece of information the morning of our wedding?! I thrust my phone to Jules and told her to give him directions. She's much better at that than I am. As she was explaining things to Nic i looked out the car window and saw his car in the lane next to us on the freeway. I laughed out loud, thanked the Lord, and took my phone back. "Baby, you're right next to our car. Get behind us and follow." 

Traffic was slow due to the weather, so we made it to the parking garage below the Conference Center ten minutes before we were expected inside. My other best friend (there are three in this story) Holly King, surprised me by showing up at the temple! She and Jules escorted Nic and I to the temple doors and gave us both hugs. Here is the picture they took of us before we went inside: 

Nic  and I rushed to the recommend desk, handed over my dress and his tux, and waited to be let inside. BEEP! Nic's recommend was denied! Once again, panic filled my mind. The temple worker had us sit in a tiny room next to the desk and told us to wait for the temple president. Nic took my hand and told me everything would be okay. "Satan must not want us to get married, huh?" I told him. Tears filled my eyes. No judgement! It was an emotional day. 

A few moments later the temple president walked in. He took a look at Nic's recommend and told us it was never activated. All the president needed to do was call our stake president and ask him to verify Nic's worthiness. As luck would have it.... The entire stake presidency and their wives were on some sort of retreat, so the only thing picking up the calls were the voicemails. I was just about to accept the fact that we weren't going to get married that day when our wonderful bishop walked in. Bishop Gray laughed when he saw us and said, "What did you two do?" He then took control of the situation and vouched for Nic. 

Finally, at 8:45am, they let us in to the temple. 

My grandma Ellingson was my escort that morning, so she stayed close by as Nic and I went into a room and the matron talked to us about the events about to occur. She changed my name on my recommend to Macey Catherine Walters then handed it back to me. She smiled, and said, "Good luck, Brother and Sister Walters. Take care of each other."

 Right then and there I knew everything was going to be okay. Comfort and peace filled my heart. I looked at that amazing man standing next to me and squeezed his hand. He smiled at me, gave me a hug, and was escorted to the men's dressing room. My grandma took my hand and led me to the women's dressing room. 

I got my very own locker that day! While Nic and I were getting dressed, Jules and Holly had a very special surprise for me.... I was under the impression that my other best friend, Melissa Ingraham, was on a plane back to Massachusetts that morning. I was heart broken that she couldn't attend my special day, but I understood. I had absolutely no idea that she had changed her flight to January 13, and showed up at the temple right after I went inside! This is the picture I found on my phone later that day (I gave my phone to Jules so she could take pictures on it when Nic and I walked out of the temple): 

After I got dressed in my temple clothing my grandma helped me adjust my veil. In doing so, my dress got lipstick on it! A big, pink stain. Luckily, grandma had worked in the laundry at the Draper temple for years so she knew the Salt Lake temple had supplies to get stains out of clothes. A kind matron helped out as well, and after a few minutes of scrubbing the lipstick came out. 

It was time for me to go to the Celestial Room to sit with my husband. 

The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy at this point. My grandma left to get seated in our sealing room so one of workers led me to the Celestial Room. Nic was waiting by the doors for me. My stomach did a flip. He looked so handsome, even in his temple clothing! I teared up a bit. "We're almost there, beautiful," he said. 

We sat in the Celestial Room for about thirty minutes. I looked around us at all the breathtaking beauty the pioneers so delicately created. The room was beautiful, I didn't want to leave! The carvings in the crown molding were so intricate. The mirrors were reflecting the light of the sparkling chandeliers. I felt the presence of the Spirit so strongly. 

William L. Tanner, our sealer, escorted us to the sealing room. Before we knelt at the alter he gave us some advice. I can't remember it all off the top of my head... I did write it down in my journal, though. One of the things I remember though was this, "Nic, look into your fiancée's eyes. Sometimes she's going to be cranky and moody. Sometimes she's going to drive you crazy. Macey, look into your fiance's eyes. He's going to come home from work stressed some days. He's going to have little habits that irritate you. He probably won't fold his own laundry. You're both going to fight. It happens! But I need you to promise me right now that you will remember that loving your spouse and showing love to each other is much more important than a problem completely solved. And never, EVER, go to bed angry. And if you are angry, never, EVER sleep apart. There is an emotional intimacy that sleeping beside your spouse creates that can remedy many problems." 

Brother Tanner's advice struck my heart. I realized that in a few moments I was going to be sealed to my best friend for all eternity. Loving him was all I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I was going to keep every promise we were about to make to each other. 

Finally, it was time to kneel across the alter. Nic had never held my hand so tightly before. I looked up at him and couldn't stop smiling. Neither could he. We were then pronounced husband and wife and sealed or time and all eternity. Brother Tanner told Nic that he could kiss me across the alter. Our first kiss as a married couple! It was so sweet and tender, I cried again. Nic then stood up and took me into his arms. He held me tight for a few minutes. Everyone in the room was still, allowing us to have our moment. 

We then stood by the doors and everyone in the room hugged us before leaving. Everyone's eyes were wet, and I couldn't stop my tears either. "We did it," Nic whispered to me as the line of family and friends kept coming. 

Once everyone was out of the room my grandma took me to my dressing room and Craig Walters took Nic to his. I didn't want to waste any time getting dressed when I could be with my new husband! I threw off my temple clothes, hopped into my wedding dress, touched up my make up, and fixed my hair all in ten minutes. Lynette was also in the dressing room helping me, since she was the one who did all the alterations on my gown and sewed the bolero herself. She forgot to make a bustle for the train of my dress, but I wasn't worried. The butterflies in my stomach finally calmed down. I was now Nic's wife and nothing could bring me down. Lynette and my grandma found safety pins and pinned up the train. It looked pretty good for being held up by flimsy pins! Lynette had another sealing to attend, so she gave me a hug and went her way. She brought her beautiful fur coat to let me use! I was so grateful.

I rushed out of the dressing room with my grandma following behind me. One of the matrons handed me my bouquet as I waited for Nic. It looked perfect! I sent a picture to the florist and told her I wanted the EXACT bouquet. She nailed it! 

After fifteen minutes I started to get impatient. My grandma said, "Well you're already married, so it's not like he ran off!" I laughed and so did the other newlyweds waiting for their spouses. One of the grooms looked impatient so I joked with him and said, "Maybe you and I should just walk out together. That would throw everyone for a loop." He laughed and we talked for a bit. His wife came, I told her she looked beautiful, and they left. Nic was taking forever! After about twenty-five minutes he finally found me. He looked SO handsome in his tux! He took my breath away. "I didn't have my own locker like you did, so I had to wait for the other guys. Sorry, sweetheart. You look amazing!" He said. 

With the help of my grandma we got his boutonnière pinned to his tux. He took my hand and we made our way up the stairs to outside. 

Grandma and Craig Walters held the doors open for us and everyone celebrated as we walked out. Nic pulled me into a kiss, and I threw my hand holding the bouquet into the air. We did it! 

The first person I saw as we walked down the steps was Melissa. I immediately started crying and ran right to her. We hugged and I kept smiling and laughing. "You're here! This is the best surprise ever! My day is made!" I then turned to Nic and said, "well, you're pretty great too." Everyone laughed and I gave Mel one more hug. She has no idea how much that meant to me. The day would not have been complete without her. 

The next people in line for hugs were family members, of course. My mom was in a wheel chair since she was still recovering from surgery. It meant so much to me that she braved the blizzard and showed up to support me! Her doctors urged her not to, but she went against their wishes.  She was bawling her eyes out, as was Calle. My mom whispered to me when I hugged her, "I am so proud of you for making it to the temple and for the woman you have become. You look radiant." Braden gave me a hug and told me congrats. Jax and Rhett wouldn't let go of me. I cried as I held them close and told them I loved them. My dad pulled me close next and said, "You look beautiful, sweetheart. I couldn't be more proud of you." 

Then I saw two of the most amazing women in the world. 

I had been babysitting for Kim Affleck and Karissa Gardner for several years now, and over those years I created a special bond with each of them. Both gave me advice about every problem I ever had and both taught me important lessons about being a wife and mother. They were both like moms to me, so it was important to me that they be in my endowment session and sealing. They showed up for both. I gave each of them a big hug and thanked them for supporting me. 

We then spent about an hour taking pictures. My cousins Elise, Izzy, and Elyssa were so talented! They thought of so many cute poses and Elise even brought snow boots for me (since all I had were my Toms). They thought of everything! Mel and Jules stayed throughout the entire thing to make sure my hair was in place, my dress looked good, and my make up wasn't smearing. We now have such a beautiful pictures to display in our home thanks to all of them. And to top it off... The snow on the temple grounds made everything so magical and beautiful. 

Once our fingers and toes couldn't handle the seven degree weather  any longer we concluded our photography session and changed out of our wedding clothes. 

We said good bye to our families, told them we would see them at dinner in a few hours, then headed to the Little America Hotel. When we got there we were told our room wasn't ready yet, even though Nic had called and requested early check-in. I was exhausted and wanted to take a nap and a hot bath before our wedding dinner. Discouraged, we got back in the car and wondered what to do. We were both in church clothes and it was freezing outside so we didn't want to walk around City Creek. So... We went to the Salt Lake library. Not even kidding. 

At 3:00pm we were finally able to check-in to our hotel. We were expected at our dinner at 4:30, so it didn't give me much time to fix my hair and make up or take a warm bath. 

At 4:00 we left for the Old Spaghetti Factory in Trolley Square. When we arrived everyone was waiting outside the restaurant for us. They all celebrated when we showed up and starting congratulating us. All our aunts and uncles, some cousins, our grandparents, our bishopric, and even a few friends showed up to celebrate with us. I felt so loved! 

During the dinner my nerves came back. I didn't eat any of my yummy dinner except for a few bites of bread and one bite of my pasta. Nic and I walked around to each table (we reserved the entire upper floor) and thanked everyone for coming. Every few minutes our guests would start clinking their glasses with their forks and chant, "Kiss! Kiss!" After everyone finished their dinner, Lynette brought out the beautiful cake she made for us. She said we deserved to have a cake to cut on our wedding day, too, since our reception was a month later. It was beautiful! She even added sparkly snowflakes to decorate. Perfect for such a snowy day! 

We cut the cake together, and.... I smashed it in Nic's face. I told him I wouldn't, but in the moment I changed my mind. It just looked too fun. He forgave me and said, "I'll get back at you at our reception." 

Around 7:00 people started to leave. Nic and I hung around until everyone left so we could be sure to thank everyone again. Jules and Mel were absolutely amazing! They offered to take my wedding dress for me and store it at Jules' apartment until we got home from our honeymoon. Those two did so much for me throughout our engagement and they did even more that day. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends! After giving them my dress our parents walked us down to the parking garage underneath the restaurant and we all said our good byes. Calle hadn't stopped crying all day, and Rhett joined in when he gave me one last hug before our honeymoon. It was so touching to see how much they all loved and cared about us. 

When we got back in our car Nic said, "Hey, I get to call you 'wife' now. You're my wife. And I'm the luckiest man in the world." 

Little America went all out for our stay there. When we arrived there was classical music playing, rose petals on the bed, two robes set out, chocolate covered strawberries, and a bottle of sparkling cider waiting for us. The first counselor of the stake presidency, Brother Anderson, gave us advice about our wedding night the week before. He told us to kneel down and each take a turn saying a prayer out loud expressing gratitude for our new eternal companion. We did just as he suggested. Nic's prayer was absolutely beautiful.... I cried throughout the entire thing. His words are too special and too personal to write in this post, but they are forever engrained in my heart and mind. After his prayer it was my turn. I can't remember much of what I said, however I do remember expressing how blessed I felt to be sealed to such an incredible man. I also remember crying even more. I am so glad we listened to the counsel of Brother Anderson! Those prayers really helped each of us understand how much we mean to each other. 

Now a year has gone by.... And I still can't believe how amazing that day was. I am so grateful for all the people who pitched in to make it special! Our day wouldn't have been so wonderful without the love and support of everyone there. I am forever in debt to my aunt for making our cake and doing so much for my dress; to Melissa, Jules, and Holly for throwing my bridal shower and helping me get ready for our big day; to my parents who supported my decision to get married in the temple and chose to love and accept my husband; to my new in-laws for welcoming me into the family and loving me; to my grandma who escorted me in the temple that day and made sure I was taken care of; and of course, to my amazing husband, who without I would never be this happy. 

Well, that's the story of our wedding day. I guess I could be cliché and end with, "And they lived happily ever after." I truly do feel like I am living a fairy tale. However, we haven't reached our "ever after" just yet. Before anyone can reach their "ever after" life has to happen first.  Marriage takes a lot of hard work, unconditional love, infinite dedication, and forgiveness. Neither of us are perfect, and our marriage is nowhere near perfection either. To this day we still read the wise words of our sealer and reflect on the promises we made to each other and apply them to the tests and trials we face. Marriage isn't 50-50. It's both of us giving 100% of everything we have every single day. I'm no marriage professional, this is all just my personal opinion. I don't believe in the "happily ever after" as much as I believe in "happily going through the struggles in life as a team and working toward ever after." I'm so blessed that I married my best friend. A man who loves me for who I am, takes care of me, works hard at work and school and our marriage, who forgives me when I am in the wrong and appreciates me when I'm in the right. I know I am the luckiest girl in the world. 

I am so excited to see how the rest of our story unfolds.