Wedding Day Part 3 - The Reception

Let the celebration begin!

Rikki and Zakk Greeting Guests

Sign-in Book

Dessert consisted of soft serve ice cream (vanilla, pineapple, or twist) along with a toppings bar and brownies from a "special" bakery in Provo. We loved the service we got from Summit SoftServe and highly recommend them!

The Rikki and Zakk Slideshow:

Wedding Cake

Bouquet Toss

Daddy Daughter Dance

Mother Son Dance

The Traditional Cultural Dance encore (we did this dance at the luncheon (see "Wedding Day Part 2" post, but thought it would be fun to perform again for the many friends that were there at the end of the reception). It was a blast.

Leaving the building

Wedding Day Part 2 - Ring Ceremony and Luncheon

Saturday afternoon we hosted a ring ceremony and luncheon in American Fork. This was scheduled for 1:00, but in true Hawaiian and Greek fashion, we didn't start until 1:30. The ring ceremony provided an opportunity for all of our close friends and extended family members to join with us as we parents shared our thoughts, feelings, and advice for the young couple. They then stood and shared their feelings with the group. Neither Rikki nor Zakk had prepared speeches, but each spoke sweetly from their hearts about their love for each other. Zakk shared his memories of the first time he ever saw Rikki and their first "date," nearly six months later.

Dale spoke first, followed by me (Rochelle). Then Shanie (Zakk's mom) spoke on behalf of herself and Zakk's father, Michael, who passed away when Zakk was a teenager. I'll share video excerpts from the ceremony, but out of respect for the privacy of others, I'll stick to the more light-hearted comments and advice from Dale. As a little bit of background, you may have noticed that Zakk is in the Army. He's currently stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. He will be here in Utah for another week then return to Alaska. Rikki has one semester left at Utah State University. She will receive her cancer treatments over Christmas break, then join Zakk in Alaska after graduation in May.

Dale's Words of Wisdom:

Not quite so lighthearted, here's what I had to share:

Following the exchange of rings, we served Hawaiian food for lunch--teriyaki chicken, ribs, mac salad, rice, seafood wontons. Food was catered by the Original Bamboo Hut.

Dale had prepared a traditional cultural dance performance for after lunch. While we waited for that performance, my brother Ryan took the microphone and shared this small tribute to Rikki and her nerdy ways:
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(thanks to Kevin Koeven at Two Travelers Media for capturing this clip. We'll have more from them in our "Reception" post)

As Dale mentions at the beginning of this video, we recognize that many of you will be expecting a performance of the traditional Haka dance. That is not what Dale prepared.


[This post is part two in a three part series. Click here to view part one]

Wedding Day Part 1 - Our Princess and Her Prince

Our only daughter, Rikki, was married on Saturday (November 23rd)! We'd like to share some of our wedding day experiences with our blog reading friends. Our events of the day had three major parts, so I'll be doing three posts (I know, I'm just too logical sometimes). The wedding took place in the Draper Temple, so this post will share photos from the morning. Part two will share highlights from the ring ceremony, which was scheduled for 1pm. Part three will share photos and video from the reception/celebration which went from 4 to 6pm (and then some).

The wedding took place in the LDS (Mormon) temple in Draper, Utah. This particular temple was dedicated in 2009. The room where the wedding takes place within the temple is called the sealing room, as the bride and groom are "sealed" to each other for time and all eternity. You can read more about our beliefs on that concept here. And you can view photos of the Draper Temple sealing rooms here.

And so it begins... Zakk and Rikki walking towards the temple

Married and exiting the temple! Royalty.

Happy Couple

Outside the Draper Temple

Family Photo!

It's a little sad not having Rain here with us for this event. You can read about how he celebrated in Africa on his latest blog post. Rikki was engaged to be married (and her wedding date set) before Rain left for Africa, so we all knew that he'd be missing this huge day. Before he left on his mission, we visited the Draper Temple and had a wonderful experience there. He was able to visit the sealing room so that he could remember and imagine this moment from afar. In his Christmas package we mailed him his matching purple tie (her colors were purple and green).

25 years ago next month, I wore this same dress and married Dale

Adoring eyes

It WAS a Tumor

A favorite phrase around our house has been a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop. He mentions he has a headache and a little Kindergartner says, "It could be a tumor." Arnold replies "It's NOT a toomah!"

This video still makes us laugh, but after years of joking, "It's NOT a toomah!" this time it really WAS a tumor. Our daughter, Rikki, is getting married this month. She went in for a premarital physical exam and the doctor found a growth on her thyroid. Initial (FNA) biopsies were inconclusive, but the growth was large (initially estimated at 6.5 cm), so it had to come out. That surgery was on Friday (Nov 1st). 

Pre-op Rikki

Waiting Area. I should have taken an "after" photo of the snacks. Let's just say I ate my share.

It turned into a five hour surgery. It was cancer and had spread to her lymph nodes, some muscle, and was even bigger than originally thought (it had grown up under her jaw bone). The surgeon did an amazing job. 

 

  

 

How do we spend our time in the hospital? Between the occasional visitors, Rikki watches HGTV, Dale and Ryatt read the paper, and I finished my book club book.

 

 

 

 

 

When Ryatt joins us, the party starts: 

Rikki is now on the road to recovery. Her ongoing treatment plans are still to be determined--pending detailed pathology reports and cancer review board recommendations. Her wedding will be November 23rd. We're looking forward to celebrating her life and her future with her best friend, Zakk.

Yesterday she graduated to eating toast! (four days post-surgery)