A little while after my last post, Matt's little brother Brady got engaged and all kinds of chaos ensued. Here is a little background on their story.
Brady went to Denmark on his mission and met a man named Michael who he became very close friends with. Michael had a daughter. While Brady's initial impression of Malene was that she was very beautiful, and Malene thought he was great, he was of course still a missionary, and she actually had a boyfriend (soon to be fiance). Brady continued to be friends with Michael after he returned from his mission. A few months later Malene broke off her engagement and she and Brady began a casual friendship through emails and skype. Conversations became more frequent and soon there was a trip planned to the States. Malene tells me that she had hoped that romance would begin, and I have never seen Brady so giddy as the date of her arrival came closer. Malene and Michael came on July 3rd, Brady had kissed her by July 4th. They had apparently decided that they wanted to be married within about a week, but didn't tell the rest of us for another week.
Here's where it gets complicated. Their original trip was for about 6 weeks. They talked about possibly waiting a few months to get married, but applying for visas can be tricky, and if they were to just get married say, within the next 3 weeks, she could just stay here. Problem solved!
Only 3 weeks is not very long to plan a wedding.
This is where I come in. I am a teacher and it was summer, which means that I had A LOT of time on my hands. I offered my full services as wedding planner and we were off the ground. It was all very exciting. Of course I didn't do the whole thing, but I sort of ended up overseeing all of it. Let's start at the beginning.
First we had a shower. It was at Grandpa Snarr's house and the guests consisted of all of Brady's relatives. I wish I had the invitation to show you, because they were super cute. Malene was really cute at the shower. The Snarr family shower is a little overwhelming just because of the sheer numbers of the clan (I remember from my own shower). However, Malene took in stride and won everyone over with her charm and wit. We played a get to know her game (since this was the first time most people had met her and it was just days before the wedding). I asked her a variety of questions. Before the shower, I had recorded Brady answering the same questions. She would answer the question, and then I would play Brady's answer to see if they could get the same answer. It turned out fun. We had an excellent homemade icecream dessert which my mom help me make.
Here is Malene surrounded by the loot and enjoying dessert.
The wedding was on August 9th and turned out beautiful. About 2 weeks before the wedding, we discovered that both churches in the neighborhood were reserved so there was a scramble to find a new location. We ended up deciding to do it and my parents house in the backyard.
The day started at about 9 am, with breakfast at my parents. Everyone came over to unload and set up chairs and tables, and then enjoyed a breakfast of german pancakes, bacon, and juice. It was so great to see everyone who had come from out of town for the wedding. After breakfast we got down to business, and it was WILD. Malene retreated upstairs to get ready. Tambra did her hair and helped with make-up. Leanne set to work on ironing table clothes, the Puro's set up the "alter", the men set up tables and chairs, and the twins put together the centerpieces. There were people everywhere.
We borrowed most of the decorations from Carole Voorhees, who is my great friend Melissa's mother-in-law. Other decorations came from great friend Heather Lloyd (both from my childhood). The Puro's provided the columns and pots for the alter. Since it was at my parents house, I mostly ran around from job to job, getting people started, or finding odds and ends needed to make things work. I got this great recipe for chocolate covered strawberries, and set the twins to that task! I also made it a point to frequently check on the progress of the bride and to bring her water and chocolate covered strawberries. We also had to set up centerpieces and the serving table. About a half-hour before the ceremony, Leanne's wonderful sisters and sisters-in-law showed up with the rest of the food and helped to arrange it on all the platters so that we could bring it out right after the ceremony. My wonderful husband borrowed sound equipment from his boss so that we could have music during the ceremony and after for the reception. We bought beautiful lilies and roses the night before, and Lena made a beautiful boquet for Malene.
Somewhere during the craziness, I managed to slip and way take a shower, although I wasn't in my dress until about 15 minutes before the ceremony. Everything was finally ready to go. The bride looked beautiful, and the groom was anxious to start.
Malene and Michael, walking down the isle. Isn't she pretty?
The ceremony was conducted by Bishop Crosby who did a great job.
(Rick, your head is in the way.)
Here is a better shot of what the "alter" looked like without all those people in the way. I wish I had had time to take pictures before all the chair were moved. It looked really great.
Mingling afterwards. Malene had the train down for the ceremony, but it also looks so pretty bustled up. Also, her hair looks beautiful under the veil. (The veil is mine by the way. Isn't it pretty? I picked out that veil before I even found my dress. I think she looks ravishing in it.)
The groom. Notice the lovely Boutineer (also made by Lena).
He's got a lovely wife and mouthful of food. Does life get any better?
The serving table. It looked prettier before people started taking food, but I couldn't get there fast enough to take a picture. It was a little windy that day, as illustrated by Laree's hair.
Me and the Bride
My sweetie and me. Isn't he handsome? We love being married. Congratulations Brady and Malene. We're so excited for you!
The happy couple have been married for 4 weeks now and are doing great! They've been staying at the Cox's, but are moving into an apartment this weekend. Malene will be going through the temple on November 4, exactly one year after her Baptism date. They will be sealed in the temple on November 7, 2008, in the Salt Lake temple.
This is Isaac
Oh my, look at all those rolls.
I can't take it. He's so cute.
Let's not forget about this cute nephew Taylor.
(This is Taylor's evil alternate personality. Taken about thirty seconds later. 
This one's pretty dang cute too!
This nephew on the right is pretty cute too. Oh wait that's my husband.
So is this one. The one the middle. Very handsome.
But what if something like this happens?
Or this!
This one's pretty cute too. Oh wait that's me...
Thanksgiving at the Cox house.
Cox family pictures in the Parkway. (There are some with the whole family, but they weren't on our camera. I'll post more when I have them.)
Chrismas Eve at the Hogle Zoo with the Black family. This has been a tradition for many years.
Acting out the Nativity with the Black Family (a few of my nephews as the 3 kings) 
