Gabby and JJ are radiant after their marriage and sealing in the Gilbert Temple.
March 6, 2020
Two of my nieces were married recently. In fact, their weddings were exactly thirteen days apart, which meant two trips to the Valley to celebrate with them. The second wedding took place on Friday, March 6th. The beautiful bride was my sister's daughter Gabrielle (Gabby), with JJ Elliott being the lucky man who gets to spend eternity with her (and vice versa, of course).
Unlike Emma's rainy wedding day two weeks earlier, Gabby's day was sunny.
However, it was very windy, which brought a whole new set of problems!
Despite the two weddings being held so few days apart, the weather couldn't have been any more different. Emma was married on a chilly February day with rain pouring down, which made the outdoor wedding photo-shoot a challenge. Gabby had a beautiful, clear, sunny day for her March wedding, except...it was quite windy, which posed its own brand of photographic turbulence. The bride's veil kept blowing off, and photo subjects with longer tresses often had to hold up the session to clear strands of hair from their eyes and mouths.
My sister Karla's two oldest grandchildren wait to open the temple doors for
the bride and groom, their Aunt Gabby and Uncle JJ. Both girls are 14 years old.
At left, Genevieve's daughter Brooke, and at right, Jeremy's daughter Analyce.
Regardless of the challenges, it was a lovely wedding, from the sweet temple ceremony uniting Gabby and JJ as husband and wife for eternity, to their getaway in a big truck at the end of the night.
Steve and Karla fooled us by coming out ahead of the newlyweds!
That's not an angry face; Karla is mimicking our disappointed expressions.
At last, the happy couple comes out of the temple amidst joyful cheers.
Karla and husband Steve join the bride and groom with all 21 of Karla's grand-
children (Gabby's nieces & nephews). And there's at least one more on the way!
Like our brother Jeff, who has thirteen children, Karla also has a large family with her ten children. However, she wins the prize for the most grandchildren (so far): twenty-one of them, and more on the way! Altogether, it made for some very large group photographs.
JJ and Gabby with Gabby's mom Karla and step-dad Steve.
Gabby and JJ with JJ's mom.
Gabby with her mom, my little sister Karla.
The bride and groom with all of their bridesmaids and groomsmen.
The Brinkerhoff kids and their spouses: Addison (the youngest at age 15);
Jeremy and Cami; Scott and Genevieve; Bryce and Brianna; Gabby and JJ;
Mariah and Dallin; Elyssa and Ross; Celesta and Riley; and Julien.
Karla and Steve with the bride and groom and nine of Karla's ten children.
Left to right: Jeremy, Addison, Genevieve, Brianna, Karla, Gabby and JJ,
Steve, Mariah, Elyssa, Celesta, and Julien. (Son Josh was unable to attend.)
Gabby gets lots of attention from her mom, sisters, and sister-in-law!
Gabby with all six of her sisters and her sister-in-law: Elyssa, sister-in-law Cami,
maid-of honor Addison, Gabby, Genevieve, Brianna, Mariah, and Celesta.
Gabby with two of her brothers, Julien and Jeremy.
Sadly, middle brother Joshua wasn't able to attend.
We managed to get some individual family group pictures between professional photos. This makes it easier to see which children (my grandnieces and grandnephews) belong to which parents among Karla's children!
#1 child Jeremy: In back are JJ and Gabby, Analyce, Cami, and Jeremy.
In front are Makayla, Braxton, Lexi, and Jaren.
#2 child Genevieve: Left-to-right are Genevieve, Brooke, Max,
Gabby and JJ, Drew, Lila, Jaycee, and Scott.
#4 child Elyssa: Ross, Melanie, Gabby and JJ, Brydon, and Elyssa.
#5 child Celesta: JJ and Gabby with Riley, Levi, Celesta, and Lincoln.
#6 child Brianna: Jackson, Gabby holding Lydia, JJ, Carson,
Colton, Bryce, and Brianna.
#7 child Mariah: Dallin, Lucas, Oliver, Gabby and JJ, Mariah, and Hazel.
Sarah always seems to find a baby who needs cuddling! Lydia, in this case.
After we were done at the temple, we attended a wedding luncheon.
After all the picture-taking, it was approaching 1:30, so we headed over to a nearby church in Gilbert for the wedding luncheon, which was provided by JJ's side of the family. As soon as we walked in, we could see that everything was attractively set up and ready to go. I loved the table filled with welcoming signs for the newlyweds.
The luncheon was prepared by the groom's family, and it was wonderful.
The food was both plentiful and delicious, as evidenced by the picture of my full plate a little further down! The tables were decorated with springtime flowers in pastels (my favorites) and sprinkled with colorful chocolates. Not only did I weaken and enjoy one Kiss and one Reese's "egg," but I took a whole slice of Texas sheet cake, too!
The luncheon tables were decorated for springtime.
My lunch was this burrito and a side of Texas sheet cake.
We were able to help set up for the reception on Thursday, the day before.
Thanks to Sarah's and Mark's work schedules, we were able to drive down to Mesa the afternoon before the wedding, arriving a little after 5:30, which meant we were able to help get things set up for the reception. For me, that often includes filling in a little chalkboard (using permanent chalk) with information provided by Karla and the bride, meant to hang on a wall in the new couple's home. It's a tradition Karla started with the wedding of her third daughter, Celesta, several years ago. The finished product was displayed at the entrance to the reception (photo below). It's such an adorable way to capture courtship memories!
We were greeted by this photo when we entered the reception.
After enjoying the good food and visiting at the luncheon, Sarah and I stopped by Fry's to purchase our Renaissance Festival tickets for Saturday, and then we returned to Jacob's house to join him and Mark for a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries. I believe Pippin Took calls that "second lunch." Sarah and I already had our wedding gifts prepared, so a little after 6:00 we headed back to the church in Mesa where the reception was to be held.
The guest book display...beautiful!
Courtship memories for the happy couple.
The lovely wedding cake, of course!
I didn't get a good picture of the huge spread of good food that Karla always provides for her daughters' weddings, but it was as wonderful as always. Croissants stuffed with her special chicken salad, pasta salad with bacon crumbles, cut fruits and vegetables with dip, and both lemon water and lemonade. It's always great, and especially helpful for those of us who are far from home. So nice to have one less fast food meal!
Wedding presents begin to fill the gift table.
Karla displays her official mother-of-the-bride corsage.
The traditional tossing of the bouquet for the single gals.
The bouquet was captured by Gabby's cousin, Callie (Jeff's youngest).
JJ prepares to collect the garter from his new bride.
He has to go deep undercover to gather the evidence...
And then the garter flies through the air toward the single menfolk.
All of the fun, traditional wedding elements were observed throughout the evening; there were lots of enthusiastic dancers on the floor; it was great to be with family we don't see nearly as often as we should; we enjoyed an evening of laughter and hugs and getting caught up on each others' lives; and it was just an overall awesome day of celebrating the beginning of something beautiful and lasting.
In the end, Gabby and JJ made their getaway in their truck, while we all waved sparklers and cheered them on at the start of their lifelong adventure and eternal joy together. We wish them a lifetime of amazing memories!
Congratulations, Gabby and JJ!
The cutting of the cake.
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