Taylor and Ellie's Wedding Reception

This beautiful reception was fit for a prince and princess!  Everything was just perfect after a perfect day!

Such a beautiful bride and groom in such a beautiful setting.

Bracken with Grandpa George walking into the reception.

We are so proud of Taylor and the decisions in life he has made.

Bracken talking to Ellie.

The buffet table was just gorgeous--way too many decisions!

I loved having so many of my family members there.  This is my sister Joyce.

The music for the evening was provided by Elle's brother, his wife, and a friend.  It was great!

We have discovered Kennedy is a little party animal.  She never quits having fun!

It was so good to see Sandy.  She has been a family friend for many, many years.  She actually helped us raise most of our kids!

Did Taylor tell Ellie that a "must" for a party is ice cream for Grandpa George?  Whatever--it was BYU Creamery ice cream--absolutely the best!

Ethan with his Grandpa George

My brother Blair's daughter, Melanie, with Great Grandpa Rigby and Joyce.  Natalie, my sister, is talking to John to the left.

Ethan enjoying the ice cream.

In came Mary--we were all so excited to see her.

She and her daughter, Katie, went on the family trip to China with us.  She was a stranger the first day (the only one not family out of 26 people), but after one day, she definitely became family.  We loved having her and Katie both come--a trip of a lifetime!

Like I said--we all were so excited to see her.  Natalie giving her a hug, too.

Mary and Katie.  We couldn't believe how much Katie has grown in the last couple of years.  Such a cute girl. 

Cute little Preston loving the ice cream, too.  It is definitely in the genes!

Craig and Riley enjoying all the fun.

We were thrilled to see three of Kevin's best friends while he was in high school.  They have all remained close through all these years:  Killer, Jewel, (Cope) Kevin, and Yerg--as they are affectionately known by each other.

Here everyone is with their spouses.  We had Kim Johnson get in the picture in the middle.  Her husband, Rick, was and is one of Kevin's best friends, too, but he was out of town at this time so couldn't be there. 

Since Kevin and Alison were only a year apart in school, so many of their friends knew each other.  Plus, Angie and Alison are the same age and attended school together, so everyone knows everyone.  Here Alison is with Rami, Kimi, and Cami who all went to school with Alison and Angie.

Here is one of my favorite Cook cousins--Lon Cook and his wife Linda.  They are some of the finest people I know.  He is presently a bishop and meets in the Joseph Smith Building on Temple Square.  They are always so wonderful to support every family event.

Little Cannon was so good throughout the whole festivities.  I can't believe he is nearly 3 1/2 years old now.

Soon the dance music began and wow!  Everyone was having the best time!

Seriously, though, I think Angie was the one who had the most fun dancing of all.  She never tired out the whole evening!

Taylor and Ellie were so cute to dance with all the little kids.

Ellie dancing with her dad.

Mother and Son having such a great time!

Now the sisters wanted to dance with their brother.  Here's Hannah . . .

and now Lauren.

Ella was having the time of her life with all the cousins.

I loved seeing everyone having such a great time!

And then these three young men took the floor.  You should have seen their moves.  They were great!

Not to be outdone, Brig's little boy, Seth, started dancing.  All of this was totally unplanned, but it was so entertaining!

Here's the dad (Brig) of the little boy who was such a great dancer.

More family who came--my sister Beverly's son, Brad, his wife Erin, and two of their four children.

Kevin is just like all the other Copeland boys--they aren't too keen on dancing, but Hannah went to get her daddy to dance with her, and he was so sweet to dance with her.

Hannah loved it!

The evening has finally wound down. 

The tossing of the bridal bouquet was so much anticipated fun for all the young girls--way too young to be the next bride, but who cares?

The lucky young lady who caught it--a very sweet family friend.

 

 Since Hannah didn't catch the bouquet, she went around and gathered her own.

So, now we all went outside with sparklers and bubbles, waiting for Taylor and Elle to come out.

Nothing better than bagpipes playing on a beautiful, summer evening.  So great that Elle's brother is such a great musician!

Here they come!

And there awaiting them was a horse and carriage . . .

And they were off . . .

In the beautiful night lights, we could see the temple lights reminding us how the whole day had begun--the perfect way in the temple.  What a heavenly day!

P.S.  So George and I flew home Sunday to Jacksonville.  After spending the weekend in Utah, Taylor and Ellie just happened to be coming to Jacksonville to spend a week there on their honeymoon at a beach house owned by Tifany's parents.  They asked us if we could pick them up from the airport and take them to the beach house.  Of course, we would!

After picking them up at the airport, George and I took them to Joe's Crab Shack to eat.  We had such a fun time with them.

We even saw "Santa" in his summer attire.  Hah!

We had told the waitress that Taylor and Ellie were here on their honeymoon, so after we ate, they stopped all the music and made a big announcement, plus sang to them.  What fun!

They even decorated a "to-go" box for them.

Best wishes to Ellie and Taylor.  We will never forget this beautiful day.  We love you both and hope you realize we are so proud of your decisions you have made in life.  Just keep those wonderful goals high like you have in your life up to now!