Linds: Spencer and I were married in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! We decided to keep things interesting, and head up to where a lot of the people on our guest list lived. We wanted a fun wedding, and knew that to have family and as many close friends as possible would set that up. Canada seemed like the prime spot since so much of my family still lives there and we knew at least some of Spencer’s family and friends could make the trip!
The “mini” temple in Alberta’s capital (the middle of the province); or in other words, the temple that is smaller than the large temples- has a special place in my heart because I remember President Hinckley visiting and choosing the location right by the church I attended as a teenager! The temple was dedicated the year I graduated from high school.
November 20th dawned a bright, clear day with snow sparkling on the ground and the hoar frost glistening in the sun. I love hoar frost.
I woke up excited as ever and started to get ready for the day. Our wedding day had finally arrived and I was thrilled! We had been counting down for so long! After visiting the hair salon with my sisters, 2 parallel brunch parties began- the “Mrunch” (men’s brunch), and the “Bridal Brunch” (for us ladies.) It was so fun to get together with everyone and ride the buzz of excitement as we chatted and enjoyed a meal at my Aunt’s and Uncle’s place. They were so kind to let us celebrate there! (The men were at my parents.) My Mom and Sis in law followed us over, and my cousin Jaima was really sweet to plan the event. She made it so special! I love the cards that everyone wrote to me - Thanks, ladies!
My sisters and I finished getting ready and had a little time to hang out. It was fun to chat as we did makeup, and to visit before the big event.
Soon the time to leave for the temple came and we loaded our stuff in the van then made our way over! We wound our way through the tree lined streets and crossed the ravine then came along the bend in the freeway. The temple looked so pretty under the clear sky on our right as we saw it at the top of the hill. I couldn’t believe that the time had finally come! Dad dropped us off right in front and we walked in with my big dress all garment bagged up. They checked our recommends and we went to the foyer.
Spencer: The “Mrunch” was the brainchild of John Schneider and Ian Puente, more as a counterpoint to the Bridal Brunch and to give us something to do in the morning as opposed to simply sitting around acting bored. Also, it allowed us to keep an eye on all the kids. John and Ian prepared a very yummy dish involving eggs, bacon, bread and other assorted goodies, which we wholeheartedly enjoyed.
As the Mrunch was winding down, my groomsmen (my friend Tom and my brother Adam) went to go get an “executive shave.” Essentially, it was a professional shave done at a salon where they spent 45 minutes preparing the face, shaving and cleaning up. It was really nice and refreshing. We had to go in turns due to the number of barbers available; Tom and I went first, then as Adam went, Tom and I went to go pick up his tuxedo.
Traffic decided to be a pain, mainly because of a broken water main right outside the tuxedo shop. We got through by using L.A. traffic avoidance techniques (bypass the main street by using side streets, then rejoin main street at last possible moment), picked up Adam at the barber, picked up my dad and went off to the temple.
We took a little longer than I would have liked due to not knowing the intricacies of Edmonton driving, but we made it right on time.
Linds: It was nostalgic to be back in my familiar temple, and Spence arrived shortly after we did. We saw each other and hugged, so excited to see each other for the first time on our wedding day. We chatted and felt excited together. Before we knew it, he and I were sitting in the celestial room holding hands, realizing we were about to experience the opportunity we had been waiting for: to be sealed together for time and eternity. Spencer leaned over and said, “zero!” to me, and I smiled.
Our countdown to the wedding day had ended. There were only seconds between us and marriage!! We entered the sealing room and saw all our family and friends waiting for us. There was such a special feeling of love there! It was just marvelous! Without giving too much detail about the ceremony, I just have to say it’s wonderful to marry in the temple and I recommend it! I felt so happy as I looked at the man of my dreams and responded affirmatively that I wanted to spend every moment possible with him! The sealing was performed by my old Bishop, whose wife taught me piano growing up. It was really special to be there with a lot of our family and friends, feasting on the spirit in that special room.
Spencer: I was so happy to finally find that woman whom I was supposed to spend forever with. Knowing that the temple was the only way to make that happen and that both of us were worthy to make this eternal commitment made it that much more special. And to be surrounded by family and friends who had cheered us on throughout our lives to this point and were there to support the forming of our family made the moment complete.
After the ceremony we headed outside and documented the occasion with pictures!
You can see lots of things in these pictures. Lindsay’s shining face, smiles on everybody. The one thing you can’t really see is how cold it was out there. Since we were in Canada, the metric system is used; it ended up being around -20 degrees Celsius. For the Americans reading this, that translates into -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say, there wasn’t much delaying going on taking these pictures. They turned out great despite the frigid conditions. Then we made our way to the Mayfair, where we partied!
Linds: We found a venue by the lovely Edmonton ravine for our reception. We wanted our event to have a vintage style, fun ambience, with a splash of elegance. We scoured magazines (well I did, and Spence joined in some too,) and found some ideas we liked, then continued to work and plan with my Mom and some friends. Things really came into place- my sister in law and Mom found delicious red velvet cupcakes for our wedding cake, we decided to use pinwheels as centerpieces, and because Spence is a “bean counter,” the flower vases were filled with jellybeans! It was just delightful!
We had an absolute blast pulling up to the reception hall and meeting our photographer to take some fun, silly pictures. We stood in front of a backdrop we had set up and played with all sorts of ridiculous props my cousin had brought. Spence tickled my nose with a peacock feather; I laughed hysterically when he put the pith helmet on and made a sergeant like face. We posed with silly faces, serious faces, and moustache faces. We had an all round great time!
When everyone sat down in the banquet room Spence and I entered to the song “The Final Countdown.” It was great to see all our friends and family in one room! Everyone clapped as we came in, introduced for the first time as “Mr. and Mrs. Ferrero!” as we entered, my little cousin (the only girl in her generation so far,) threw rose petals at us! It was really cute and fun! After we sat down, my nephews came through as the adorable ring bearers and we did our ring exchange, which was so special and sweet to hear Spencer’s words and to share my own of commitment and love.
The dinner and program were yummy and entertaining, respectively- a big program hit was the song my brothers put together in Johnny Cash style about Spencer and I. It was great! With a few more fun and awesome toasts from parents and bridesmaids and groomsmen, we made our way to the dance floor!
The other day my nephew caught Spence and I stealing a kiss in the hallway at their place. He said, "Why are you kissing?" "Because we're married!" I replied. Then he said the funniest thing, "You're not married here!" We laughed and then I explained, "We're married everywhere we go!"
