Wedding on Lake Powell

As I mentioned in my earlier post, my mom really wanted a wedding at dusk with candles. She envisioned everyone wearing black with white flowers, and a very simple look. So, on the day of the wedding the entire house boat was busy. My grandma woke early and started to cook, Kendra, my Grandma and I worked on flowers for most of the afternoon, and we prepped and raked the beach. Everyone was hot, so quite often we would jump into the lake to cool off, only to begin working again.

As afternoon turned to evening, everything was set. We decided to have cocktails, presents and dinner before the actual ceremony, because we wanted to wait for dusk for the wedding. After the ceremony we had fantastic wedding cake and champagne!

So now for picture overload. Most of these were taken by E, he was the "official" wedding photographer.

Bride and Groom under the natural arch made of drift wood. Notice we added flowers and ribbon, but we didn't try to change the natural environment too much, it was already gorgeous.
Candles were set up along the beach and on the red rock, ready to be lit at dusk.
My mom's and Chuck's wedding rings. My mom has two, one from Chuck, and a more old fashioned one that was my Great Grandma's.
Before the wedding we all worked on various tasks in our swimsuits. When we got too hot, we'd take a dip. Here is my lovely cousin Kendra finishing some of the flowers. (Isn't she just too cute?)
E scopes out the beach before the party begins, trying to find all the perfect photo locations.
Just a few of my favorite shots from the evening.

Forgotten Canyon. This was the view from the house boat. Amazing.
During cocktail hour my mom noticed there was a squirrel on the beach. As we sat there, horrified, the squirrel went to each candle holder, tipped it over, put his face in, grabbed the candle by the wick, and took off running! E caught the entire thing on camera. These photos are too funny, be sure to click on each one to view it larger. He was such a bad squirrel! By night end he had stashed 5 candles!


Mike (who also played the officiant), Chuck and E moments before cocktails begin.
All the ladies of the evening. Laura, Mom, Grandma, me, Kendra and Melissa.
The food was amazing. It was unreal what we prepared from our coolers. Everything was so fresh, colorful and flavorful.

As the sun started to set the canyon walls turned orange.
Here is our entire group! All dressed in black, of course. E, me, Mike, Kendra, Grandma, Mom, Chuck, Laura, Melissa, Chandler, Kathleen, Brandon.
Right around dusk we all filed out to the beach with flowers and a candle. This was only moments before the bride and groom joined us.
During the ceremony. My grandma was totally tearing up. So sweet.
The candles nestled in the sandstone cliff looked so beautiful as the sky darkened.
Soon we all lit our candles and said a little something to the bride and groom. The atmosphere was magical.
In Utah you can become an officiant and actually marry two people! Mike got all the paperwork taken care of, and my Mom and Chuck went to the courthouse for a license. Everything was the real deal.
After the wedding everyone was ready to cool off and relax. What does my family do? Of course skinny dip! Almost everyone jumped in! It was so fun swimming in the dark with a full moon over head. You couldn't get too close to anyone, because the sky was so bright with the moon, you could almost see! E and my Grandma were the only ones that didn't get in. E was embarrassed, but not shocked, this is not the first time he's seen my family skinny dip!

Powell photo from my mom

My mom just sent me this photo, and I love it. I bet you can imagine why. That is Kendra in the kayak and E and I in the canoe.

Lake Powell love

My family and I are back from a fantastic five days in Lake Powell. As some of you might recall, my mom was getting re-married this fall; she wanted something that was small and intimate, just the family. She also wanted a destination wedding, and so a house boat on Lake Powell was chosen. My mom and her boyfriend of three years, Chuck, were so excited to tie the knot. Chuck doesn't have as close as a family, or any children, so it ended up that the wedding party was just my small-ish family, and we had such a wonderful time. I'll write about the wedding in a separate post, but first I wanted to share tons of photos and captions, we really did have a fun time.

First photo of the group, one I'm sure you are all anxiously awaiting, my tummy at 29.5 weeks. Yep, I'm looking pregnant! Baby November has been kicking and moving a lot lately, I think he knew we were celebrating a wedding.

(This photo was taken in the main channel, once we got into a side canyon, the cliffs were super steep and beautiful.)
E was on cloud 9 the entire time he was driving. He loves boats and ships, and although this is just a house boat, he took his job very seriously and did a great job.
My mom really wanted some sheer cliffs, and since it was her day, we seeked out Forgotten Canyon and found that it was perfect! We got the last spot in the canyon before it became to narrow for boats, it was awesome.
The bride and groom near their wedding location. Don't they look happy?
First thing we did once choosing a spot was jump into the water. The water temperature in Lake Powell is so perfect for swimming, nice and refreshing, but not cold.
My Aunt Laura and I swam across the channel to jump on this little cliff. Yes, I talked to my doctor, and yes, she said it was okay. Now we can tell Baby November that he was a little cliff jumper even before he was born.
The beach we pulled up on had this beautiful natural arch of dead drift wood. Isn't it perfect for the wedding? We loved it! Left to right - E, Uncle Mike, Mom, Chuck, my cousin Kendra, Grandma.
On the second day Brandon, Chandler and Kendra decided to begin "Operation Comfort". This was a silly game where they would try to slide down the slide and land perfectly, as if sleeping, on an air mattress in the water. Everyone was having a great time watching, because it seemed the harder they tried, the faster they flopped into the water. Here is one of Brandon's entries.

The upper floor of the houseboat was a prime chilln' spot. Brandon brought his hammock too. E and my sister Melissa just relax in the heat of the afternoon.
One afternoon Aunt Laura decided to organize a splash competition. Whoever could get the biggest splash by going off the slide would win the fantastic prize of $5! We all were very very set on winning. Each person could try three times. Laura is so funny, each of her entries had a name, one being "Bald Eagle, Diving, in Alaska". She totally cracks all of us up.

Anyway, after some very large splashes, E and Chuck were tied. They each needed to do one final slide to pronounce a winner...



E wins! My Grandma had an entire ceremony where the winner got to wear a blue noodle and receive the prize money. We also decided to do a side competition of smallest splash, and Laura and Kendra were neck and neck. However, Laura's "Golden Eagle Soaring Over Red Rocks" entry won! She also received a blue noodle and $5.
As always, cocktail hour is a very big deal with my family. Most nights around 5:00 we got started and sat on the back of the boat. Here is half the group, Melissa, Chandler, Grandma, me, and my Mom. (E was sitting near me, I'm not sure why he isn't in this photo.)
The other half of the group. Chuck, Mike, Kendra, Laura, Brandon, Kathleen (Brandon's girlfriend), and Melissa.
My brother Brandon and Laura and Mike own canoes and kayaks, which meant they brought them down to Powell. A favorite activity, if we weren't swimming, was to take one of the boats out, especially if it was close to sunset. Here my cousin Kendra give my mom a kayak lesson.
Also near our spot in Forgotten Canyon was one of the remaining intact Anasazi Ruins clinging to the cliff. A trail took us right up to the ruins, and here you could even explore and go inside them, which was so interesting!
Here E and I are inside one of the ruins. Isn't it magical? And aren't I looking prego?
Many nights E and I would try to take the canoe out at dusk. Here we are canoeing up the canyon, towards the ruins. This might be my favorite photo of the entire trip, isn't the water's reflection amazing? It was so beautiful down there, just stunning.
If we continued canoeing past the ruins site, we came to this: a beaver dam! We came often because if you sat very still and quietly, you could hear the beavers within the dam! We heard what we think to be three nursing babies, splashes, and even a burp!
On the last night we were following a trail of bubbles downstream and finally spotted Mama Beaver! I tried to get my camera out quickly and quietly while she slipped into the water from shore, swam a little ways, and finally slapped her tail on the water surface before diving and disappearing. The only photo I got was the tail splash. It was such a neat sighting though, E and I can't stop talking about it!
On the way out the last day most people sat near the front of the boat to watch the canyon glide by. So lovely. Here is Kathleen, Brandon, Laura and Chandler.
Forgotten Canyon, just glorious.
Tomorrow I'll post a blog entry about the wedding and the wedding day! We brought fresh flowers, candles, a cake, and all the other things needed for a beautiful Lake Powell wedding, and I think we pulled it off spectacularly.