Emily done got married!

One of my best buddies, Emily Anderson, got married on Thursday, August 4, 2011!

Emily is the mother of our little group of friends from high school known as the Anderson family. Trying to explain this family is a bit convoluted, but here's a brief description: when most of the kids were at breakfast one morning, Steve Anderson sat at one head of the table and Emily Anderson (no relation to Steve) sat at the other head. The matching last names and the seated positions automatically fostered the image of mother and father - thus the Anderson family was born. Each friend received a nickname that delineated their role in the family - Favorite Child, The Annoying One, Rebellious and Mischievous Child #1, etc. You may be wondering how I fit into all of this - I'm not exactly sure how I lucked out, but I was the only person adopted into the family post-creation. It might have been because my brother Josh was in the family. Whatever the reason, I became the Older Sister Who Is Never Home (I am a year older than all the other kids and went away to college before they did.) I love this group of kids - they are some of the nicest, most caring people I have ever known. It really is like a wonderful family.

Three of the family members, now including Emily, are married. For Emily's wedding we got to be a part of the temple pictures, wedding luncheon, and reception. I love receptions; everyone is generally ecstatic and smiley. However, my least/most favorite part of the reception (I say both least and most favorite because I both love and fear awkwardness) is usually the bouquet toss. Not only is it generally awkward but I really don't enjoy the idea of catching the bouquet and getting the "you're gonna get married!" comments because I haven't dated anyone exclusively in about two years and currently am not dating anyone. Well, we single ladies were all predictably lined up towards the end of the evening for said toss. I made sure I was in the back so the chances of me catching the bouquet were lessened. Regardless of my lack of desire to catch it and my hidden position in the back of the group, the bouquet came soaring towards me. I muttered an "Oh, crap..." before catching it, much to the chagrin of the girls who actually wanted the bouquet. My mom was there, and apparently her face upon my catch was priceless - a shocked, kind of frightened look. The bouquet looked and smelled gorgeous, and in the end I'm quite glad I caught it. If marriage comes my way in the near future....woohoo! If not soon, no biggie. I'm not in any kind of what could even possibly resemble a hurry. I have a lot of personal issues that will play a larger role in when I get married than a wonderful bouquet will. And now I get to keep these beautiful flowers! All in all a win-win situation, right?

Anyway, the rest of the reception was great fun - dancing, singing, laughing, etc. I think it's one of my favorite receptions I've been to. It was simple and beautiful. And I had a lot of friends there. And I came home with awesome flowers!