April 24-26th Ryan Wedding reception and honeymoon

The day before the wedding we went over to the mall to pick up the wedding bouquet, boutonniere and flowers for the cake. Liz was with me and loved it (thank goodness). There was some last minute shopping for the big day. We also had a friend pick up the wedding cake and we got it from her...the top layer was red velvet and the bottom layer was carrot cake. We were set. We went out to dinner with the family and had Italian.



Not only is April 25th the day of our son's wedding, but it is our 44th wedding anniversary. How cool is that? The day started early with Elder Kyle taking the couple over to the temple to get their wedding video. The funny thing was that they wanted to capture Ryan seeing Liz in her dress for the first time on video, so Ryan was blindfolded, led to the van...very funny. Then Liz in her dress could not get up in the van because the dress was so fitted, so her brother had to lift her up into the van. Unfortunately I was not there, so no photos of this funny event.


Since Liz's mom also went with the couple, she filled me in on the rest. They took Ryan around the corner of the temple blindfolded and then had him turn around and they took the blindfold off. Liz approached from the rear and when she was right behind him, told him to turn around. I haven't seen the video yet, but as I understand it, he cried when he saw her. How sweet to capture that on video!




The video team kept them for three hours filming in different parts of the temple, temple grounds, Area Office grounds and White House grounds (where the Area Presidency live). Elder Kyle came back and picked me up and then we went over to the Jacaranda and picked up Liz's family and drove over to the temple. We went inside and the couple got some instruction and turned in their paperwork. Bethany and I went back to the bridal dressing room with Liz, so we could help her get out of her dress that had about a hundred buttons going down the back. Bethany was much better than I so she ended up doing most of it.

Brother & Sister Clayton with the newlyweds

Once Liz had changed, we were led to the sealing room where the Claytons (Liz's former mission president - photo on right), the Hamiltons (Area Presidency), Sister Shupe from our office and the family were gathered. The man officiating did a nice job of explaining eternal marriage and then proceeded to marry and seal them for time and eternity. They were facing each other across the altar and Ryan started to cry again. I finally handed him a tissue. It was pretty sweet and very spiritual...we all felt it and commented on how great it was.

Johannesburg Temple

Photos were taken afterwards and by then we were all tired, but none as tired as Liz. She finally took her shoes off and when I asked her if she was okay, she said, "I'm done." Unfortunately, she wasn't and photos went on for another couple of hours.

 One of the fun things about seeing Ryan and Liz together was to see how happy they are and to witness the smiles and joy that our son now has in his life. We have received many blessings while on this mission, but to have our son married in the temple to the woman he loves is the biggest blessing of all. Both of these wonderful people waited a long time to find each other. Heavenly Father directed them through many unusual circumstances to where they would be in the right place at the right time to make it happen. We could not be happier and it's obvious that they feel the same way. We are so proud of them for doing what they need to do to get to this point.









It had been raining on and off for about a month, but when they came to Africa, the sun came out and stayed out the whole time they were here. What a blessing that was. The day of the wedding was a beautiful, sunny day and the photographs were so good. Their happiness was captured even through the long session of video and photo. People in the area offices kept sneaking peaks out the window as the couple came back and forth between the temple, area office grounds and white house...A proud day for mom and dad.


We left early and went over to the house to decorate. We were having the celebration on the back patio and I had purchased some festive wedding decorations, plus we ordered food trays and I prepared a few things. We got the table set up and the decorations placed and the couple called and said they were ready to be picked up. Elder Kyle went to fetch them.















The photographer came and took a few photos of the food and decor. The food had been setting for awhile and was cold, but we ate it and enjoyed the celebration....


Then she took some photos of Ryan and Liz cutting the cake and feeding it to each other...

The family toasting the happy couple...

And some other various shots of individuals before she left.












Finally, Ryan and Liz opened some wedding presents, including the sculpture we got them.













Then they packed up and we took them to a hotel for their wedding night. This was a very cool place that used to be two mansions in a residential area and someone bought them and turned them into a very cool bed and breakfast. There was a Rolls Royce in the carport and a guy decked out in uniform including a top hat to greet you, plus two other guys near the entrance. It was very fancy and looked like a great place to spend your first night together...romantic.

We got to see the inside the next day when we picked them up and it was pretty fantastic as well.

After we picked up Ryan and Liz the next day, we took off for Pilanesburg Game Park in the Black Rhino Reserve.













It took about three hours to get there, but we had some fun conversations in the car, plus some good scenery and time passed quickly. The only place we could find to stop for lunch was KFC which has to be my least favorite place, but they've added some things to the menu that aren't fried and it wasn't too bad (but I will probably never go again).


Pilanesburg was very pretty...reminded us of Sedona, Arizona only with wild animals like this giraffe.

When we finally got to the entrance of the game reserve there were about 15 different lodges listed. Ryan and Liz chose the Tambuti Lodge and we got to take a little tour after we arrived. It was pretty amazing, with beautiful rooms with amazing bathrooms with separate shower and claw food tub and even a private hot tub on the patio.Very swanky!



The lady that showed us around was very nice...the common areas were great and we were sorry that we had to drop them off and couldn't stay too.







That same day, Liz's family was being picked up to go to the airport and head for Utah. We really enjoyed getting to meet them and spend several days together getting to know each other. We were sad to see them go, but so glad they got to come. It was a sacrifice for them to come, but such a blessing to us. We are very grateful that our son and his beautiful bride decided to come to Johannesburg and get married in the temple right next door to the office we go to every day. We're also grateful for being able to introduce Liz and Ryan to the people we work with. They were the talk of the office for a couple of months leading up to the wedding. Everyone was so nice. What a blast.

About a week later we picked up the honeymooners and they told us about all their adventures and took lots of animal photos. They got to go on lots of game drives and were fed well. All that and a beautiful room. They looked pretty relaxed when we picked them up. Liz said they had to get up at the crack of dawn each day, but they looked pretty rested.

We took them back to our flat for some homemade burritos and then they got ready to head for the airport. We dropped them off...sad to see them go, but happy for their new life together. All in all it was a great couple of weeks!