Savanna and Carson Part III- Wedding at the Salt Lake City Temple and Reception in Riverton, Utah

Here is the third and final part of this special feature for this special couple, the wedding and reception! If you missed the first two parts of this three-part series, you can find Part I, Engagements here and Part II, Bridals here!

What a perfect wedding day it was, too. We were threatened by the rain a little bit, which is so ironic considering all the times Savanna and Carson had been or almost had been rained out of their plans! (Head over to Part I to see what I’m talking about!) But it ended up giving us a nice overcast for beautiful and cohesive-looking photos. (To know me as a photographer is to know that I love shooting in overcast or nice open shade)

They were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple, a beautiful and sacred structure belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As Latter-Day Saints, we believe that a couple can choose to make covenants with God that will allow them to be sealed as a couple and continue their relationship and family ties beyond death, and that a holy temple is the only place that those kinds of covenants can be made! So being sealed in the temple is a BIG DEAL, and the excitement is so tangible in the air being among the couple and the guests when they come out! (You must be a temple recommend holder to be able to witness a sealing, so the ceremony is actually a very private event, and not very many people actually get to be there for the ceremony, including the photographer!)

After group, family, and bridal party pictures, I got to take Savanna and Carson around the temple grounds for some special couple’s portraits. My favorite part about doing this is the post-ceremony GLOW that they have that is literally impossible to capture in a bridals session before the ceremony. Plus, we HAD to get a butt-grab shot for them just like we had in all the other sessions we did together ;)

When we finished up with pictures, we all headed to Riverton for the reception, and it was a blast! Carson and Savanna each have such a fun energy, and it showed all throughout the reception! One of the best parts was the garter toss, which we did THREE times because everyone kept thinking that one of the guys was cheating to get the garter. Turns out, he got it all three times, so he got to keep it! It was so entertaining to watch!

While most people do a sparkler exit, Savanna and Carson left their reception to ribbons and bells being waved around on the end of little dowels. It was so sweet and such a fun, new way to see it done.

And yes, they are living happily ever after :)