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So as many of you have probably heard, I got married back in the first part of September! Now my lovely Mother decided that it would be better if I was the one to write about it since I did most of the decision making so here we go.

It all started about this time last year when Josh and I began to realize that this was going to be more than just a passing thing. (Though he will tell you he knew that from the start.) As we began discussing when we were going to have this monumental event, I was still working up at MiVoden as one of their taskforce employees for the winter, and I was hoping for at least one more summer before I had to give up working at camp. So keeping that in mind, we began looking at dates in mid to late 2016, so that I could still have the time at camp that I wanted. That quickly became mid 2016, but it didn't stay that way for long.
Unbeknownst to Josh, I had been thinking about asking to move the wedding up to September of this year as June of '16 was feeling like a long ways away, and he'd only settled that because it was the earliest I was willing to go at the time. So when he was up at Camp helping with a group over Christmas, (yes, he was amazing and gave up Christmas with his family to come work in the kitchen with me!) I surprised him and asked what he would think if we moved the wedding to this September, I'd never seen him so excited!! And this all happened before we were even actually engaged! Though that wasn't too far in the future I would find out.

     I left camp the end of February to come and work for his parents at their daycare. As if I needed any more proof that I'd found an amazing man, Josh drove 4 hours up to get me, just to drive back the next day, though, in his defense, doing so would mean we were 4 minutes apart, rather than 4 hours.
     We stopped at Olive Garden on the way back to celebrate our 6 month anniversary, but little did I know, he had another reason for us to stop. If I'd have been paying attention, I would have noticed that we got seated really fast for how many people were there waiting when we got there, and we had pretty fast service too. But I wasn't, so I didn't think much of it when Josh insisted we order dessert, even though I said I just wanted to get to my Grandparents (where I would be living in College Place) because I was tired. I was about to find out he had a VERY good reason for insisting though, because when they brought out the dessert, “Will You Marry Me?” was written on the plate! Next thing I knew, he was down on one knee in front of me pouring his heart out in a speech I can't remember most of. Of course I said “Yes!” and we proceeded to laugh and hug both each other, and his parents who were there with their camera for the whole thing.
     After that it was time to get down to business, as I only had 6 months to pull together a whole wedding! Luckily I already had some of the major stuff figured out, like a general idea of how I wanted it to look, as well as what colors I wanted to use, and, at that point, the venue we were going to use, though that would change, but more on that later. When I showed my parents the color scheme I'd picked out, my mom gasped, and for a moment I thought she didn't like them, until she told me that those were the same colors they'd used for their wedding! This ended coming in very handy, as it meant I had the option of using things from my parents wedding, which I most definitely did. My mom was willing to cannibalize her bouquet, which was mostly silk flowers, so she had kept it, all these years, it even survived all of the moves, and the tornado!! So she let me use some of her flowers, and we used the goblets that they'd used too. I had always wanted to have my wedding up at Camp, as it had been such a large part of my childhood, unfortunately Josh didn't want to have his wedding out in the woods where I really wanted it, so we decided to use the nice big ball field Camp has. When Josh's parents heard this, they asked if I'd be willing to consider other venues closer to Walla Walla, so that there wouldn't have to be so much driving involved. At first I didn't really wan't to, as I'd already been talking with Sandy up at Camp to see how we could make this work. I did tell Wade and Barbie that if they wanted to do some research and see what venues were in the area, I would be willing to look, but if I didn't absolutely fall in love with one, we were still having the wedding up at Camp. In the end, we only went to look at 1, as all the others they'd looked at, were either too small, or weren't available on the date we wanted. I wasn't too sure before we got there, but at soon as I saw it, I immediately began to see the potential that it could have. I still told them I would need to think about it, just to make sure this was what I really wanted. After a couple days, I came to the conclusion that I could easily see myself getting married there, and that we should meet with the people who ran it to get all the details worked out.

The next step in the planning was to find the right dress for the occasion. I flew down to see my family in Tennessee in May, and to pack up my stuff. While I was there we began looking for dresses. We found a couple that I liked different parts of, at which point my mom began considering making my wedding dress, just like she'd made hers. It would have been a lot of work, but she could have done it, if it had come down to it. However, when she and Sarah flew back out with me to do more dress searching and other planning, we found the perfect dress just hours after we landed in Spokane!

With the search for the perfect dress over, I was able to focus on the rest of the details that still needed to be worked out. One of which was what we were going to serve for dessert. I had originally wanted to serve 2-3 different kinds of pie, and maybe peach crisp too. However, once I began looking at the logistics of getting enough pies made to feed almost 300 people, as well as how much it would cost, we quickly decided to just serve peach crisp, as it would be a lot cheaper, partly because Josh's parents were kind enough to give us several boxes of peaches from their back yard, and also because we could make them all our selves once the rest of my family got here just before the wedding. Once I had that all worked out, things were in a bit of a holding pattern, until it came time to start getting the last minute things like the flowers and such.

Fast forward to about 3 weeks before the wedding, and Josh and I were driving down to Portland to pick up my mom and Sarah so we could get all the last details worked out just before the wedding. One of the biggest things that still needed to be finalized was the order of ceremony and who was going to walk with who in the processional. In order to work all of that out, my mom, Sarah, and I all met with Sue, the AMAZING wedding coordinator that a friend of mine recommended to me. With that all taken care of, we were in another much smaller waiting period until my dad and the rest of the family got here.
When we drove down to get them from the airport, we made a day of it in Portland, getting little things we needed, as well as getting some very nice decorations that an old church member was kind enough to loan us. By this point we were in the final push to get things done before the big day arrived. The 2 biggest of which were getting all the bouquets and boutonnieres done, as well as making the 15 peach crisps that we were going to need. Thankfully I have a large family and lots of relatives who were willing to help out. My moms cousin and her husband who were here from Australia ended up coming over and helping my dad get all the crisps made, while my mom and Sarah and I made the bouquets with the bridesmaids. Not long after that I was sent to bed so I would be well rested for the long-awaited (well, sorta long, but not as long as some wait!) but very exciting day, the next day.

The morning of the wedding, I was up at about 6:30 in order to take my shower, and eat some breakfast before Rachel, one of my bridesmaids, came over at 7 to do my hair. After that it was out to the venue at about 9:30, and getting ready at 10:00 when the bridal suite was open. We were all getting ready from 10:00-about 11:30 when the photographer arrived to begin taking pictures. At this point there was just over 2 hours until the main event! We did pictures in various places around the venue until about 1:00 when the bridesmaids and I all went back to the bridal suite to stay out of site until it was time for the ceremony to begin. The ceremony began at 2:00, and by 2:45 I was a married woman! After that it was on to the reception where we had good food made by the caterer, graciously paid for by Wade and Barbie. Once everyone was done eating, we played the shoe game, which everyone enjoyed, especially when Josh and I gave different answers. By about 5:30 things were beginning to wind down, and Josh and I were getting ready to leave for our Honeymoon at the beach. After a lovely send-off by the friends and family who had come to celebrate our day with us, we were on our way!

All in all, it took lots of planning, and more than generous help, both financially and with actual set up, from both sides of the families, but in the end, our wedding day couldn't have been more perfect!!

My sister, Anita, her husband Mark, Mom, two of my cousins, Dave, and Dan, and Dan's new wife, Sharon, and her daughter Sarah, Emma, Mayahna, Lon and I made the trek, on Monday, the day after the wedding, up to a favorite camping spot on the North Fork of the John Day river. Our family and my aunt and uncle and cousins camped at this location EVERY year. We rode motorcycles and rafted the river. Many MANY happy memories in this place. It felt so RIGHT that Dad would be laid to rest there, in a place that brought him so much happiness.

This is the eulogy that Mark wrote/read while we were gathered there. Mom also wrote and read a basic biography - that I will copy here, when I find the copy she gave me.

Until we see Keith Hanna again

We all have memories worth treasuring of Keith. We will always remember him for the different things he was to each of us.

He loved his family, he loved living a quiet life, and he loved God. Rather than words, Keith showed his love by his actions.

He practiced living a good life and doing what is right. He believed in and honored God, the creator of all heaven and earth. He was an honest man. A man you could trust.

He did well in life choices, in his education, in gracefully climbing through the rungs of his career, in earning a living, in providing for his family, and in serving the church. He was true to his friends and consistently served to help others. He was respectful to everyone he came across. He was always ready to help when there was a need. He was always there to contribute positively to peace and togetherness. He lived a responsible life.

I have been fortunate to have Keith as my father-in-law. He was a good example of living well. He respected our differences and never made an issue of any of them. He was there for me and supported me in my time of need. I am proud to be his son-in-law.

It was painful for Keith as he battled health issues in his final years. It was an honor for us that we could help him and care for him. He was as graceful through all of it as anyone can be. I appreciated how he accepted the changes and worked with us to plan and make all as good as it could be. It was also painful for us because we wanted to do more to make his daily living comfortable and safe, and to add as much joy as possible for him.

He was true to his callings as a boy, a man, a friend, a worker, a faithful husband, a good father, a loving grandfather and a man of God.

Farewell for now Keith Hanna. We look forward to reuniting with you and living through eternity with you and all of God’s children.