Our wedding day…. Wow. I can’t believe I’m writing about our wedding day! It was absolutely perfect! I would not change it for the world. I obviously had to get up hours and hours early for my sister to do my hair and makeup and eat some food. I was so nervous for that day. Mostly because of the weather! When I went upstairs to eat breakfast, it was cloudy and windy and rainy…. When your reception is outdoors and you do not want to move it inside of a church building, you get real worried! I had french toast and a lot of bacon and ate breakfast with my parents. No one could believe that I, Shanoah, was getting married! The day had finally come!
Of course getting ready for the day took so much longer than I thought it would. Ruben was upstairs waiting for me for a good 10 minutes before I finally finished getting ready. And wow. Seeing him. Eeeek! I still feel the butterfly’s and all the pure joy that I felt when I saw him. We went to the temple and I could not believe it all day long that it was MY wedding day! The temple ceremony was absolutely beautiful. And I remember before Ruben and I were sealed, he said to me, “We’re exactly where we should be.” Man, I cried so much during our sealing. I tried so hard to not actually let any tears be shed because my makeup would get ruined and Aubrey wasn’t there to fix it right away. My lip would not stop quivering as I tried so very hard to not burst into a ball of tears because I was so happy and so ready for us to be married! And seeing all of our friends and family in the sealing room…. You guys, I’m crying reminiscing on the feelings I felt while we were sealed. It was the closest I have ever felt to heaven and I think that’s exactly how I should have felt in that moment.
We left the temple and got to greet all our family, friends, and guests! It was so wild the whole thing! We were officially Mr. and Mrs. Zendejas!! It was the best feeling knowing that it was all real. We took pictures for what felt like hours (but also what felt like nothing! The whole day just flew by). I could not stop smiling! I was officially married and sealed for eternity to my best friend… the love of my life! Best.
And then it was time to head the luncheon that we were having with just our families. But (the one and only drama of our wedding day ladies and gentlemen)… MY MOM LOST HER CAR KEYS! And while that doesn’t sound like a huge deal, it was! All of the decoration (minus the tables, chairs, and lights) were in the trunk of her car! I was freaking out and stressed, but I had Ruben glued to my side, so all was well! We all piled into Ruben’s car and left to meet the rest of everyone at the luncheon. (Shout out to Cubby’s for catering and being the only thing I ate all day besides breakfast)
Next was our reception. What a blast that was! It was so much fun and so nice to have friends and family come and help us set everything up (since it had rained the night and morning before, we couldn’t set anything up and it all had to be done day of). We got everything set up on time though and the night began! We said hi and thanked so many people for coming. And I know for a fact that we didn’t even get to everyone (so if you came and we didn’t say hello, I’m sorry, but here’s a belated thank you for coming)! So many people came it was hard to keep track of! We had tons of food, cake, and even had Waffle Love cater. After we greeted a lot of people, it was time for the party to start! We started it all by cutting the cake. I had told Ruben that I did NOT want the cake smashed in my face… So what did he do? Shoved it down my throat! I knew he was up to no good because he had a total “I’m up to nothing but shenanigans” look all over his face!! What a punk! Then it was time for the dances. Our first dance was full of love and butterflies. I literally was so unbelievably elated to be married to my love! Then the father daughter dance. I had surprised my dad with a mariachi number for our first dance. His dad, my grandpa, always loved mariachi music and was in a mariachi band. So I asked some friends of mine to sing our song. I loved it! Then the mother son dance. Ruben was full of so many surprises! Half-way through his song, the music stopped and turned into a polka song! His entire family joined in with their rat-pack hats and all! It was so much fun. Then the party really started! My mom is so fun and bought these light up styrofoam sticks that the kids loved and really added to the party!! It felt like no time before I was tossing the bouquet and we were running off to our honeymoon.
I’m still undecided how I feel about calling our Wedding Day the “Best Day Ever!” because we have had many many days since filled with love and joy that I never wanted to end. But our wedding day truly was the best start to our eternity that I could have asked for. I have never felt more loved, supported, and excited by my husband, family, and our friends. I wouldn’t change a single thing about that day. It will #alwayzendforever be my favorite!
