Melethwen's Memories: Three Summer Weddings

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Three Summer Weddings

6 Aug 2011: Sarah Carter Kinsky, Emmi Gardner Hatch, and Tahna Beal Peterson

on Emmi's wedding day.

I'm gearing up to finally share Sarah's wedding photos. However, I really cannot jump right into Sarah's wedding without first showing the whole summer wedding theme that seemed to dominate the Summer of 2011!

As I've mentioned before, Sarah has 4 best friends: Emmi, Tahna, Brandy, and Kristin. By a happy but unexpected twist of fate, Sarah, Tahna, and Emmi each found their "Mr. Right" around the same time and then planned their weddings to all happen within a 5-week period! Tahna went first, getting married in the Snowflake Temple on July 1st. Sarah was next, getting married in the Snowflake Temple on July 30th. Emmi finished up the trend with her marriage in the Snowflake Temple on August 6th.

9 July 2011: Spencer and Tahna Peterson at their wedding reception.

So let's begin with the reception of Tahna and her sweetheart Spencer. Although they were married on Friday, July 1st, they opted to put off their reception until they returned from their honeymoon cruise to Mexico. Which explains why the bride was wearing a sunburn under her wedding gown! They held their reception on Saturday, July 9th.

I love the back of Tahna's dress!

It was so interesting to see how completely different each wedding reception was. Despite their very close and long-standing friendships, each young lady has her own unique personality, and their receptions were quite reflective of their individuality.

Tahna and Spencer do the garter thing.

I think Tahna's reception was the most informal. Originally Sarah and Emmi were going to be among her bridesmaids, but at the last minute Spencer and Tahna decided not to have bridesmaids or groomsmen at all. They had no receiving line, but instead spent the evening circulating among the guests and visiting. Spencer performed a cute, funny-romantic lip-sync for Tahna, and they took part in dancing to the Chicken Dance, the Macarena and other group dances with the more daring guests. It was a fun, entertaining evening.

Spencer and Tahna's wedding cake.

Tahna's colors were deep red and dark silvery-gray. Her square gift-box wedding cake and funky bouquet (with feathers, buttons, and beads among the red roses) were very much in keeping with Tahna's carefree and unconventional style.

6 Aug 2011: Hal and Emmi Hatch at their wedding reception.

Emmi's wedding reception, on the other hand, was the most formal of the three receptions. This may be because Emmi is her parents' only daughter, whereas Tahna is daughter number seven (and still one more to go). I think the actual reason is that Emmi is a real girly-girl who has been planning her wedding since she was about nine years old! (I am not kidding.)

Emmi and Hal enjoy their first dance as a married couple.

Hal and Emmi had a full contingent of groomsmen and bridesmaids, including Sarah and Tahna. They also had a reception line that was very long and lasted most of the evening. Both Hal and Emmi come from large extended families whose origins are here in the White Mountains.

Emmi tosses her bouquet.

Even though Hal and Emmi weren't free to circulate the way Spencer and Tahna were, they still injected fun and good humor into the evening. For instance, Hal read aloud his recollection of the day he and Emmi met. Each time he mentioned her name, he pronounced it in slow, deep tones: "Emmi Mikelle Gardner." It got a good laugh each time!

Hal and Emmi's wedding cake.

Emmi is the first person I've known to have four colors for her wedding. I believe the colors were cream, pink, gray, and black. The bridesmaids did not have matching dresses, but were instructed to wear something with one or more of those colors. Sarah wore a pink shirt with a black skirt, and she wore a gray corsage.