It was supposed to happen last summer, but did any of you notice that something went a bit crazy with our world? Yeah, we all noticed it, too. The grand plan for a summer wedding in the mountains slid into hiatus.

This was not an easy decision. In fact, our intrepid Mollie trudged up Guardsman Pass in the deep snow to stake claim on the wedding date not only once, but twice!!!

The original plan was to get have a ceremony at the Church of Dirt. (This is a video of the place and a random couple — not our Hudi and Mollie.)

To get a spot there, one puts up a sign with a name, date and time of a wedding. Mollie staked their claim then realized she had the wrong date so went up to fix it.

Then the world went into lockdown.

Ever resilient, the couple realized that it wasn’t about the day, but about the love. They built their life together with Utahna silently watching from the majestic peaks of Mount Timpanogos. Two kittens joined their water dragon and our Star in their household. A beautiful family.

Soon things started looking promising in the US — opening up for more travel, and the couple decided to elope. Remember Zeb and Bri’s wedding? Hudi proposed to Mollie during his brother’s wedding celebration. That wedding was small and beautiful. Mollie wanted a small wedding as well, so they went for it.

Check out Timpanogos on their tattooed wedding bands. The tattoos seem to be a family tradition… Zeb and Bri have tattoos, too.

In true COVID style, parents, the officiate, siblings, the photographer and the best man and matron of honor got vaccines (if they chose), masked up and headed west. With snow still making Guardsman Pass inaccessible, everyone congregated during set times at the rented home of a family member for two days of conversation, games and celebration.

The weather behaved perfectly, offering nice cloud coverage on the actual wedding day (it rained the days after so we were super fortunate). Food trucks brought food as we dined on Mexican, Italian and vegan Chinese food in style.

The matron of honor and Mollie’s mom did a beautiful job making the place look festive, while still keeping it child-safe. The toddlers especially loved the balloons.

At the bridal shower, we drank mimosas and chatted. The matron of honor brought us a surprisingly tricky word scramble game she had made using terms related to marriage. None of us got them all.

Even better, in my opinion, was a game where she asked Hudi questions about Mollie. We were all given the same questions and had to see if we could answer as Hudi would. She creatively interviewed Hudi over Zoom (or some other medium like that) and recorded his answers so we filled in our papers then one-by-one got to hear his response so we could compare.

It was very fun learning more about the couple like that. Major kudos for planning a party like that long-distance –even with the world shut down!

After the shower we all went our separate ways for a few hours then reunited for games and socialization as the couple planned for the next day.

The evening wrapped up with canole-making in the kitchen (they also had made pazelle’s and biscotti earlier in the week). Now I have two Italian daughters-in -law. I’m totally okay with that :D.

Mollie shooed all us adults away since the treats were the wedding cake substitute and she didn’t want it all eaten before the big day, but Avalon received special treatment and got to taste test. She approved.

As the two read the vows they had written for each other on May 15, 2021, I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the place (especially since the toddlers were still melting down a bit — their tears might have been a bit different than the adults 😀 ).

And suddenly we had another Mrs. Pollock on the premises. And I can now officially say I have three amazing, wonderful, beautiful-in-and-out daughters <3 !!!

The rest of the day found toddlers getting rest and adults enjoying games (including ping pong). The wedding swag included shots and masks and hand sanitizer that encouraged us to spread the love, not germs. A sign of the times. lol

Other favorite moments of the day:

And these sweet souls don’t even stop helping with the kiddos — even on their wedding day!!!

Those of you who are friends with them in real life might have seen their engagement pictures a few years ago. With CJ’s help on adding the water dragon, I added the cats and turned it into a family photo:

It was truly beautiful. Mollie has been in our hearts and has felt like family for a long time now. Making it official is truly a gift. Hudi, God has surely blessed you and all of us, having her in our family.

We love you, Hudi and Mollie! Here’s to many amazing years together <3