On this page you'll find out all about the various things involved in taking two single people, far away from one another, and making them one.

The engagement parties

The wedding date

Wedding plans

*** Photos of the the temple are now available online!!! ***

(Where you find ****, more info will be added later)

THE ENGAGEMENT PARTIES? Been and gone!

The Adelaide engagement party held in April went really well. As people entered they were able to look at photos of the lovely couple together as well as a few photos from their youth (Amy was way cuter as a kid). Before Bryan's mother brought out the mountains of food, everyone was involved in cheering on Amy and Bryan as they competed in a few little home making tasks. It was a lot of fun watching them iron shirts and fold sheets. Then, After the supper, Bryan serenaded Amy with a song that he had written for her, a pleasant surprise. With dessert following that, Amy and Bryan thanked the guests, cut the cake and opened thier gifts. The engagement cake said, "Congratulations Bryan, good luck Amy!" Ü Thankyou to everyone who came along and helped eat the food. Thanks to all of you who gave gifts, they were lovely things and will help to fill the new home they will make together.

The  Perth engagement party was held in July and went off without a hitch (unless you have a problem with little frankfurts that split thier skin). Amy's parents spent most of June and July in the United States picking up thier eldest daughter from her mission field and that a lot was left to the last minute. Bryan's exams were over in June and so he spent July in Perth with Amy, helping her manage the shop her parents own until they got back. Invites went out and a wish list was put together a few weeks before the party. Amy's mum was a bit of a wonder woman and had all the nitty gritty of the party sorted out in less than a week. The night was great, the Jordan house was full up of Amy's old school buddies, workmates, church friends and family. It was great for Bryan to finally meet so many people that Amy had always spoken so highly of. It was great too that so many of Amy's school friends could make it because she hadn't been in touch for a while. The food was great (plenty of leftovers for Bryan's breakfast) and everyone seemed to enjoy the rich engagement cake. Amy's dad tried a 'test your partner' quiz and both Amy and Bryan got 100% (it was no doubt rigged). Again Bryan sang his song to Amy, this time with a bit more confidence, though Amy had to sit well back because he couldn't concentrate when she touched him (sorry Amy). Again thanks to all of you whocould make it and thanks for the well wishes and gifts. Special thanks go to Natasha and Chantelle for helping on the night, and to Brother Joseph for the photography.

The Changing face of the Wedding date

We had our sights set on the 1st of January, 2003, as the date for the wedding because it will be the one year anniversary of our first date, when we spent the entire night together at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane.

Unfortunately, the Perth Temple won't be open on that day so we looked at 31st of December 2002 instead. Even though it was going to be tortuous to wait that long, unfortunately with distance, university and family constraints, it seemed the soonest time when we would be able to do it properly (Eloping was considered!).

Well once again, the date has changed. The torture of waiting has taken it's toll and so to increase the safety, decrease the insanity, Amy and Bryan will now be married in the Perth Temple on Saturday the 21st of September, 2002. It's taking a little patience for people to adjust to the new date but if you ask Amy and Bryan, they couldn't be happier. The end of the year was proving too bothersome with expense and availability - New Years Eve isn't the best night to try for a flash yet affordable reception venue, caterer and hotel room.

Apologies go to those who can no longer make it from interstate due to financial, work and school responsabilities. We hope that you will understand.

WEDDING PLANS 101

July was a pretty busy month for Amy and Bryan. It was the last time that they would be together in the same state before they were married. There's a lot to be organised.

I'll try my best to put things into topics and let you know what's going on.

THE WEDDING PARTY

For the Bride:

The Wedding Gown: Amy is very blessed to have Sister Shortland, a talented woman and dressmaker, on hand to help her with her dress. She and Amy went and found just what Amy wanted. Whatever that may be. Amy refuses to show Bryan what she's got planned for her wedding dress, and actually, won't even discuss anything about it with him. Her notion is that it's a surprise or something like that and so, I'm afraid that this heading will be pretty useless to you. If you would like to know about it e-mail Amy, and then e-mail Bryan with what you learnt (our little secret, of course).

The Temple Dress: A few days before the actual wedding Amy will participate in some special ceremonies in the Perth Temple, in order to prepare her for the big day. Anyone who visits the temple wears white and so she's having a dress made for that also. Again Bryan has not seen this dress but was given the chance to put in a bit of input when Amy asked him what he liked. He made a sketch of what he imagined. Again, such things remain a public mystery.

Jewellery: Amy is planning to wear a tiara and new necklace on the day. She still has to shop for those.

Hair and Makeup: For all of you who know Amy in person you can all agree that she has 'natural beauty', something that very much attracts Bryan. Bryan doesn't want Amy to wear makeup because he's confident that she looks terrific without it. Too much makeup, or poorly done makeup makes brides look worse, not better. Unfortunately for Bryan he is just a man and doesn't know much. In this world there is a makeup fairy who visits every bride to be, convincing them that they need makeup when it comes to this, thier wedding day. Amy is aware that she looks better with minimal make up so in order to compromise with the desire within her she's going to look into having one of her bridesmaids do a test drive on her as well as ask around in beauty salons. She's yet to find the hairstyle that she wants.

Shoes: What's wrong with white sneakers?

For the Bridesmaids:

The Lucky Girls: Amy chose her best friend as her chief (is that the name for it?) bridesmaid. Chatelle Jordan, her older sister. The other 3, yes there are 4 in total, girls are (not in any order of importance, so no fighting) Sarah MacLachlan, Rebecca Morganti and Sarah Landis. The five of them have beena pentagon of friends since whenever Amy can remember and she's excited to have them. She was a little worried at having 4 bridesmaids but she could hardly have one friend without another. The race is on to see who's the best bridesmaid but sofar no one has been hurt.

For the reception to be held in Adelaide Amy had to look through Bryan's little black book to find someone she could have to go with Bryan's best man. The winner is... undisclosed, for she has not yet been asked, though she'd no doubt love to do it. Bryan's happy with who Amy chose.

The Dress: I wish that I could trust the computer to duplicate the colour accurately for then I could show you exactly what colour the dresses are. A dusky blue is the best description I have heard. It's a light grey/blue, on shining material. The dresses are two piece with A-line skirt. Sister Shortland (Sarah Landis' grandmother) is making these dresses on top of Amy's dresses and just last week the girls went in for a fitting and adjustment session. Amy said that they looked great.

For the Groom:

The Suit: Bryan wanted to buy a suit for his wedding seeing as it would be cheaper and he would then have a suit to wear later on. Amy had other ideas. One night on the phone she let slip that she intended for him to hire suits for the wedding and left it with Bryan to get used to the idea. Going out with his brother's brother-in-law, Andrew, he was convinced to try something on and after that, he was sold. He looked pretty snappy and it meant that he could have a vest, funky tie and wing collared shirt as well. He soon found the exact style that he was after, the Houston, and was then left to find the right price. The Houston is a 4 button, single breasted suit which would also suit the groomsmen. While in Perth in July Amy and Bryan went and visited all the suit hire places they could. It tured out that the best price available was with Formal Wear Express who could give a group discount and had precisely what Bryan was after. A black vest with gold emblems was chosen and a black cravat with gold button to go on the collar of his wing collar shirt. They also deliver Ü.

Hair: Bryan and Amy have discovered that his hair looks best (which is interpreted to mean 'better than terrible') about 4 weeks after a cut so he's due on the 19th of August. Bryan will not be wearing any makeup.

For the Groomsmen:

The boys: Bryan's best man is his best friend, Troy Lister. Bryan went through High School with Troy and there's no one he'd rather have. He's known that Troy was his man for years. Unfortunately, Bryan wasn't expecting to get married so far away and so while Troy will do for Adelaide, he had to find 4 young men capable of handling the bridesmaids while in Perth. During his association with WA Luke Holder is the man he's had the most to do with and so he'll be taking the role of chief groomsman. By chance he is someone who Amy grew up with and along with Russel Winter, Rob Landis and Michael Jordan, the group is complete. They're all the boys who mean something to Amy (well, it's a good collection of them anyway) so it works out well. They have become Bryan's friends too on the trips he's made out west.

The suits: The groomsmen will be the same as the groom except they will be wearing silver vests and thier black cravat will have silver buttons.

ON THE DAY

Getting to the Temple: What we expect is that Amy and her entourage will be taken to the temple half an hour before Bryan is due to turn up. No fear, Bryan will not see her until they are ready to go to the alter. Amy's Dad is assigned the task of hiring cars for the day. It will probably be that we get some nice Commodores or something similar.

The ceremony: Amy and Bryan are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and have looked forward, thier whole lives, to be married in a Temple of the Church. We share the belief that a marriage performed in a Temple, by someone having been given the proper authority, will seal us toghether as husband and wife for not only the time we share in this life, but for all eternity. If you'd like to know more about this concept please visit the church's website. The Temple is a holy place to us and so only people who are living up to certain standards will be able to attend the ceremony inside the Perth Temple. Both Amy and Bryan will be dressed in white, as is the standard within Temples, and will be kneeling, facing one another, at an alter. Above thier heads and behind them are two mirrors which face each other, making the reflections they see of one another seem to stretch out into the eternities. The sealing room is beautiful and there is a special feeling to be felt there. The sealing itself will be performed by Brother Eiley and officially witnessed by both Amy's and Bryan's fathers. The necessary paper work for the wedding licence was taken care of in July. LDS weddings are free. The guests welcomed to the ceremony will be required to arrive early so that the ceremony can begin at 10am. the rite takes very little time and so the couple will be out soon after that.

At the Temple: The bridesmaids and groomsmen should be waiting for them outside the Temple and shortly after the ceremony is over Amy and Bryan will join everyone outside for photos and an opportunity for those who weren't able to come inside to congratulate the happy couple. We expect that people will want photos. All are welcome to come and see Amy outside the Temple on this special day.

The ring ceremony: We plan to have a little service outside the Temple where we will exchange wedding rings and personal vows. All are welcome. We thought this would be nice because it's a chance for all those who didn't get to join in the sealing or attend the reception to have a part in this special day. Also, it's a convenient time to exchange rings, something that is not part of a Temple marriage. Amy and Bryan went shopping in Perth, trying to find thier wedding rings. They both wanted simple, thin gold bands. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a simple gold band or two. Amy's engagement ring is 18 carat gold and so they tried to find an 18 carat wedding band which would match it. It's very flat edged band made it tough to match. Bryan was hard to please too because although he would just take anything, the mens bands were all to big for his masculinely lean fingers. He's below average in ring size. When they went into Michael Hill jewellers in Morley, they weren't expecting to find anything new, having already pretty much decided on something elsewhere however, the lady behind the counter convinced Bryan to consider a non plain ring. What she shoted the couple was a wedding band with three diamonds that matched the placement of Amy's engagement diamonds, flat edged and absolutley made for Amy's finger. She threw in Bryan's ring for a discount price making it an offer not to be refused. Bryan and Amy went away to think but soon came back with the cash to buy. It was really exciting. Both rings are safely hidden away from thier prospective recipients and will be there on the day (we hope).

Lunch: Amy cannot go too long without food and so after the ring ceremony and before the photos, the wedding party will have lunch. Amy suggested McDonalds but Bryan preffers Hungry Jacks. The original idea was for something light and healthy as the girls would be conscientious in thier new dresses but the 'cool' option may be the winner. Pure and Natural anyone? I hear we get family discount... don't we Dad?

The Photos: The Photographer: Brother Joseph. ****

THE RECEPTION

The venue: Deciding on this was a real task. Both Bryan and Amy wanted to have a 'flash' wedding reception, unlike the norm. What's normal in the LDS community is to have the reception on the cheap at the local church with as many of the nieghbourhood as you can squeeze in. What they wanted was a proper reception venue with white backed chairs, beautiful centrepieces and nothing that resembled a church hall. Amy and her mother spent months looking around, comparing prices and trying to find a place for the reception. Many places looked lovely and there were one or two which would have been perfect. Unfortunately though, a flash wedding reception requires flash money. After some real humbling Amy and Bryangave in to having the reception at the local church hall, providing of course, and this Amy has really stressed, it doesn't resemble a church hall on the day. Thus the need for a capable decorator. As Amy's Dad will tell you as he reluctantly forks out the cash, it's not a reception on the cheap. It ought to be beautiful and a great event. The church is only up the road from Amy's house and so there will be opportunity for her to freshen up.

The Invites: Amy did an excellent job a few months ago and after some investigating designed a really snazzy wedding invitation. She sent Bryan a prototype in the mail and when he was in Perth he set to perfecting it. Amy had already selected the paper she wanted from Starfish Lane and it was just up to Bryan to use the computer to design the details so that theycould make each invite exactly like another, with all the right dimensions. He really enjoyed it and after a while he came out of the study with a finished copy. The dining room table was a production line for a while there as the 3 piece invited were cut up and pinned together. Every cut and fold was printed onto the paper so that it would be precise and a different name was on each piece of card. Look out for yours in the mail sometime soon. you can't see it very well on the picture but there's a stiff silver card backing that opens like double doors, a darker blue piece and then tracing paper with little hearts on it which has been pinned by all four corners with little butterfly pins. it's a work of art.

Decorating: The decorator: Karen Berryman. ****

Catering: The caterer: Gloria McPherson. ****

The MC: Matthew Pope. ****

The Music: Amy and Bryan were hoping to have the time to go through some CDs and MP3s while together so that theycould decide on the music for the reception. Unfortunately time did not allow and so it's something that still needs to be taken care of. Chantelle will make up CDs of the songs chosen so that there is no need for a DJ on the night.

The Cake: Many pictures had been looked at over the last few months but niether Amy nor Bryan really put much thought into what they wanted. All they knew was that they didn't want a traditional fruit cake. No one likes it so why have it? Also, Amy needs to be able to eat her own cake. They went and visited Sister Curry, who would be making the wedding cake, and had an enjoyable time. She was friendly and helpful when it came to letting her know what they wanted. They pretty much made up thier minds on the spot, using drawings to convey thier ideas. The wedding cake will be chocolate, two tiered, both round, with a bride and groom standing on top. Amy and Bryan went to a cake store and selected the figures, excitedly finding one where the hair on both the bride and groom matched reality pretty well. It's cool. They wanted stairs but it doesn't look possible any more and so they're settling for the flowers and greenery (all edible) to come down and connect the two tiers. Again, it's only an artists impression, but here's an idea.

The farewell: Hopefull not two late, having been going all day, the two love birds will try to escape in thier Corolla to get going with the honeymoon. No doubt there will be a fair amount of work done on the car by revelling family members and friends. Amy has a few siblings who are excited for thier chance to get back at her for all the nasty things she ever did. Toilet paper is a usual piece of equiptment but I'm sure the festivities won't stop there. After Amy and Bryan are disappearing into the horizon, well, everyone can do whatever they jolly well feel like doing. It'll be cheerio a for few weeks.

*NOTE* A reception is also planned for Adelaide on the 19th of October - more later! ****

THE HONEYMOON

CENSORED

*Ü*

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Bryan and Amy will return to Adelaide After thier honeymoon to begin the next stage of thier life. Bryan is well into a double major in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Adelaide University and will be completing that during the next few years. Amy will begin studying next year, though we're not yet sure what she will study. Until then she may have to take on the role of priciple bread winner.

Amy and Bryan are driving across the Nullabour in the white Corolla that they will be buying from Amy's Parents. That provides them with transport. When it comes to living accomodation once back there are a few options. Renting seems to be the only option and so it's going to be a task to find a place within budget. Wether it's found before or after Bryan heads off to Perth in September is a matter of concern along with where to stay until a place is secured. Bryan refuses to have Amy live at his parent's house, for no matter how short the time may be till they find somewhere.

Bryan's expecting to complete his course in the next three years and after that he wishes to take Amy back to WA to be with her family. They plan to wait until then to have children.

Bryan Pilkington 7 August 2002