Washington D.C. LDS Temple Wedding: Nicki and Dustin

What has an Egyptian-like obelisk, Roman-esque architecture, a giant man made of stone where people go and ask advice, Darth Vader guarding a Church, aaaaand a beauty of a Temple where our featured couple were sealed?

Lego Land?

Nope.

Its Washington D.C.!
(incase you were wondering, thats the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial - amongst others -, the Lincoln monument, The Washington National Cathedral, aaaaand the D.C. Temple.)


I cannot even say how excited I am to share this wedding with you! Emily Heizer may quite possibly be my new "I've never actually met her in person" best friend for sending over these beautiful images of Nicki and Dustin. (thanks Emily! You Rock.)

The Beautiful bride, Nicki, was fab enough to write a bit about her wedding experience for us, so I'll let her take it from here!
(when I do feel like chiming in, it'll be in parenthesis and italicized... just like this sentence.) :D





Some highs of planning the wedding were certainly working together with my fiance (not husband) and building that relationship even further.

*Taking the engagement pictures where he proposed was also fabulous because it meant so much to us, and my dad and sister took them for us so it became a family bonding experience.

*Dress shopping. I loved dress shopping. I went to this place called Rizik Brothers in downtown DC where I walked in and told them that I needed a modest dress with sleeves and my consultant was so accommodating and knew exactly what designers would build up the dress for me. The second dress I put on I loved and so she called the designer who made a sketch and faxed it to me for my approval. They got my measurements to the needed specifications and a few weeks later I got my dress, which fit perfectly and I didn't have to worry about being modest or anything showing.



(I love Nicki's expressions! She's so real and so much a beaming, happy bride.)

*My husband states that his favorite part was for sure checking things off the list hand in hand. Knowing we got it done. The invitations being done (which we were super excited about when we got a screaming deal) or walking into a store and 15 min later walking out with his tux all rented. we sent out over 800 invitations, but we found a website that printed "postcards" 1000 for just over $100 and they were thick, sturdy and well done, and the photos were printed at Costco for $.10 a photo and we ordered green business envelopes since they are cheaper and we had a tea length invitation. And the invitation was designed by our friend on his computer at home. We were again very pleased with the outcome.


(for the record: I adore family portraits with personality instead of cookie cutter formality.)

Some lows, were for sure the logistics. Planning a wedding where most people did not live there and had to fly out to attend the wedding. The entire groom's family lives in St. George, UT, and the bride's siblings are scattered across the country as well. The groom's parents were in China for part of the time prior to the wedding as well, and flew directly here! And just asking them to spend that much money to come share that day with us was very difficult.

*Trying to balance and take everyone's ideas... I knew what I wanted, but it was interesting where others had their opinions and input and to try and please them and include them and let them know we loved and appreciated them and their advice.

*A low was also the night before when everyone was stressed about getting everything set up since this was a DIY type wedding. Especially when my cousins and aunt were doing the flowers and I felt horrible because they were so stressed about doing the flowers that one cried because they wanted it to be perfect. I just wanted everyone to have fun and be as happy as we were!!!



(Sun flare makes me happy, and it's such a beautiful dress.)

*Another "glitch" that every wedding is bound to have was Dustin's tux came in early, so we went to pick it up but his vest was huge on him and had button missing, etc. So we asked Men's Warehouse to get us one that fit and was in better condition and they said we could pick it up that Wednesday. I called Thursday to see why they hadn't called us and was told that it was there and we could come pick it up that evening, since we were having our photo shoot at 6 am that next morning. When we got there of course they couldn't find it, etc. and it took them forever to figure out what to do since they do not keep anything in the store, but it is all at the warehouse. After some prodding and trying very nicely to not get frustrated since this is their business despite the fact that it was prom and wedding season, they ended up fitting the old vest and altering it to fit him, even though they "aren't allowed to alter rentals". We were relieved. But that was the only thing that went wrong!! So we're grateful.

We LOVED having a photo shoot the day before with Emily (of Emily Heizer Photography) and my sisters, dad, and cousin.
It was nice to just spend the whole morning taking pictures and every time we saw something we liked we'd just say, "How about here??".



*We were also so glad that Emily knew to get a permit for the Washington DC sites since we got "carded" at almost every site we went to. It made the wedding day so much more fun since it was simple and we didn't have a lot of things to do or a lot of places to be. Even though of course we still took some photos after the sealing to capture that "wedding day glow" that only comes after you are married. It was especially meaningful to get married in the DC temple and have all those pictures of downtown since DC is where we met and we'll be able to cherish all those pictures forever. But it was fun sharing those moments with our family and friends who loved us.



*The luncheon was so much fun because we got to know both families a little better as they each had one performance they did about the bride or groom. The Shepherd family changed the words to "Hey Mickey" to "Hey Nicki" and had a choreographed dance for us. While the Hinton family did a Reader's theater with a hilarious slide show of Dustin, by putting his frequently used quotes together and ended it with a surprise of him singing Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way" to me. A song that I had loved since I was little and always wanted a guy to sing to me, unbeknownst to him!



(Purple Shoes!!! I love colorful bridal shoes. I think I mention it at lease once every week, haha.
And don't you love her bouquet? Incorporating large, natural looking leaves adds such character and authenticity to this classic bridal accessory.)


(I'm also loving the stripes in Dustin's tie against his Tux shirt. Not to mention the leaf and bottom-curly of his boutonniere. Check out Nicki's ring - can you name that diamond? *see the previous post*)



Besides that, I loved the fact that our wedding reflected the members of our family, who are most important. We love the DC temple and all it exemplifies, since that is where I had taken my endowments out and interned there before. The cake was made by my Grandma Shepherd, who makes the most delicious cake and we had chocolate cake with raspberry filling and chocolate butter-cream frosting. The reception was supposed to be in the backyard but it rained and so everyone thought on their feet and quickly moved everything inside and I could see little bits here and there of my family members and their ingenuity in doing what needed to be done. And the luncheon was perfect and I could see parts of the Hinton's and their wonderful creativity, especially for planning a luncheon from Utah and China. It was unforgettable and the perfect length.


(Yay for grandma's cake! Nice use of floral garnishes, Nana.)


(I would have NEVER thought a living room first dance would have been enjoyable, but the intimacy and love in this scene is nothing short of moving. Not only are two people joining forever, but two families. Two legacies. I love it.)




(Dash away! I'm digging the lantern bags on Nicki and Dustin's "get away" route.)

I have helped plan and been a part of quite a few weddings, and been a bridesmaid to many dear friends and decided we were going to keep this as simple as a wedding can be with two large families and dear friends. But we just cut the cake and had our first dance, where Dustin chose the song and I didn't know beforehand what he was going to choose and he was able to tell everyone why he chose that song.

*Then the moment that most people thought was especially meaningful was I had decided that I didn't want to throw my bouquet, and was given this idea by one of my bosses, but instead I gave it away. I had my maternal grandparents come up, Venita and Eldon Maughan, who were going to celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary in less then 2 weeks, and told them that I appreciated the example of their marriage and thought that a bride of 53 years deserved to "catch" the bouquet. Or at least it came out something like that!


(Venita and Eldon Maughan, an example of marriage and love)


It's me again (Paige!).
Thank you so very much, Nicki, for sharing so much of your personal thoughts and feelings during your wedding planning and wedding day. You and Dustin look so in love, content and at ease with each other. We hope you have a wonderful eternity together!

Thanks again, Emily for sharing your talents with The LDS Bride!

Awesome wedding. Talented vendors. Lovely couple.

Well done. :D


-The Vendor line up-
*Temple: Washington DC
*Florist: Friends / Family (flowers purchased at Potomac Wholesale)
*Bakery: Grandma (love it!)
*Caterer: Ruby Tuesdays, Costco
*Photography: Emily Heizer
*Paper Goods: Gotprint (Invitations), Shoplet (envelopes)
*Gown: Rizik Brothers
*Tux: Men's Warehouse