Getting ready...

The night before the wedding, nana put the girls' hair in these curl formers so they would have gorgeous blonde ringlet curls for the wedding.  It was late and they were tired, yet very intrigued by these funny looking objects in their hair...

McKel's expression is priceless...

Time for bed!  Big day tomorrow...

Wendell was all over the place capturing the memories... I'm not sure exactly where he even took this photo of the wedding dress, but he disappeared with the dress and came back with this photo:

excited for our big day!!!  :)

Nana gets beautified...

My brown-eyed beauty

My goofy McKel :)

being her silly self...

A sweet smile :)

Who knew beauty was such a pain!

Princess Avril

Glamified!

McKel's turn...

How's that?

How do I look?

Smile, you say?

Sweetheart sisters...

Papa tells stories to the girls to keep them from running all over and destroying their curls before the wedding ceremony.

Posing with Elena, who did my make up at the last minute and did an exceptional job!

Thank you Elena!  Its important to feel pretty on your wedding day :)

My mom perfected the waterfall braid for my hair...

the finished product

Goldilocks flower girl.  She looked SOO beautiful!  Which makes Avril VERY happy :)

Avril with her nana :)

Avril (back view) all ready to throw some flowers

Arleen and Britt

Sweet McKel

Flower girl sisters

The girls with their cousin :)

Now we're all ready!  Such an exciting day... so glad our families could all come to be with us when we make this special commitment to each other.

Wedding Photoshoot

We were lucky enough to have an AMAZING photographer, who was able to capture photos all over beautiful San Diego.  We had a long, exhausting day driving around to all the top photo spots, but it was so worth it.  We couldn't be happier with the way the photos turned out.  Our photographer, Wendell Pace, found his dream photo spot at Balboa Park, where he had all kinds of incredible architecture and landscaping backdrops to choose from.  The perfect California weather cooperated wonderfully for all of the picture taking.  After Balboa Park we ventured over to La Jolla to catch a gorgeous sunset over the caves.  Finally we hit up Coronado beach the next morning for some last minute memories.  We had such a blast taking all these photos.
We rode scooters, a beach cart, went seal-watching, climbed rocks along the shoreline, and pretty much got to feel like movie stars... everyone stopped and stared, often taking some photos of their own.  Its not every day they see a bride and groom in town... after all, we weren't in Utah anymore!

...And below is a picture of our picture-taker, Wendell.  Thank you for loving your job :)

Pre-Wedding

Can't believe the time has come... on our way to tie the knot!  Time to leave this wintery wonderland and head for sunshine and ocean breeze.  The whole family packed up the cars and drove down the weekend before, ready to celebrate.

Mike and I designed these glass bottles, complete with custom m&m's, to give as wedding keepsakes.  Luckily we remembered to pack them in to the van in a non-meltable spot!

Long drive = some good nap time for McKel

And our non-nap-taker watches some fun DVD's to stay entertained.

We stopped at an alien rest stop to get some out of this world snacks, and use the restrooms.

Papa takes McKel to check out the aliens outside... McKel's not so sure what to think

Mike and his muscles easily can hold the two girls at once :) my soon-to-be-hubby

Affectionate Avril plants a kiss on her soon-to-be stepdad :)

Hanging out with some aliens... we come in peace.

Once we made it to beautiful San Diego, everyone was anxious to get some beach time in.  While mommy and Mike went off to do some pre-wedding photo shoots, the family played.  I really think the girls' favorite thing in the entire world is the beach.  Which is nice, since its free to visit.  They are in heaven here...

Uncle JJ, Papa, and sweet Avril & McKel

Way too cute

Wave chasing can wear you out...

Nana and the girls

Seaweed and sand castles...

LOTS of seaweed...

We all went out for a pre-wedding meal across from our hotel.  It was nice for the families to get to all be together for the occasion.

Brothers :)  Brenton and Mike

Snow!

Utah gave us a nice cold snowstorm to help us appreciate the warmth in So. Cal. we were headed for.  The girls were super stoked for the snow.  They couldn't wait to go outside and play in it.  We went in the backyard and threw snowballs at each other :)

Watch out for this little cutie.  She will sneak up on you and throw a snowball right at ya!

Watch out for this guy too.  He encourages the snow-ball throwing, teaching them new techniques.  No gloves though... he couldn't last long out there...

McKel can't contain her excitement.  She jumps up and down squealing with delight :)