This week my husband and I looked over our wedding pictures. Between the two of them, our photographers captured literally thousands of pictures. We were given every shot–edited and unedited, good and bad, eyes closed or open. It was so much fun because with my family, it’s always hilarious what candids come out. Let’s take a look, shall we?

And this one isn’t candid, but it’s an absolutely adorable picture of Jenny:

In this one, I am just so genuinely happy.

And then these are some of the more tender candid pictures:

And now…my favorite picture of all:

They did not pose for the above picture. But after realizing the camera was on them, they decided they’d pose…the Payne way:

Toast to us:

Then All The Single Ladies came on:

You’re welcome, America.

Zach works for Instructure, a Salt Lake City- based company that runs the learning management system Canvas. Its main competitor is Blackboard, but Blackboard continues to disappoint, causing many top universities to switch to Canvas, including Brown, Auburn, University of Texas, Marriott School of Management, and Wharton School of Business.

My place of employment, Utah Valley University, has also adopted the software and today I saw this image on the website. I think the guys at Instructure would appreciate it.

Also, Instructure’s CEO is quite the gangster. Check out his response to several moves Blackboard has taken recently: http://www.instructure.com/blog/2012/03/27/blackboard-calls-it-quits/

I got married in the dead center of studying for the bar exam. It may seem like an irresponsible decision, but it was actually the best decision–for me at least. Having a husband while I studied meant I had someone who made me dinner, cleaned the house, scraped my windows, drove me around while I studied in the car, and didn’t mind that I vented or took care of me when I had bar breakdowns every once in awhile.

On February 28 and 29 that all came to an end when I finished taking the two day, thirteen hour exam. Now comes the worrying: About one in every five people fail the February Utah bar. Nearly nine out or every ten pass the July bar. Why did I wait until February to take it? Well, (1) when it was time to turn in applications I did not yet know in which state I would be practicing and I didn’t want to waste time and money in a state I’d never practice in and (2) I wanted to wait until I had a job that would pay for it. On those grounds, I’m glad I waited because now I know I’ll be here (as opposed to Texas) for a few more years and I didn’t have to pay the exorbitant fees for the test prep course or the exam itself. The only thing left is to get my scores back and wonder if I indeed made the right choice about timing.

A few hours after completing the bar, my husband drove me up to the airport and I caught the red eye to New York where I met with many top players and lawyers in the music industry. It was quite a wonderful experience, but it was a whirlwind. I got one hour of sleep at my hotel before leaving to go to meetings. The best part was when I went to a music law conference and met someone I didn’t know who had actually heard of me in Utah. That was pretty awesome. With every spare second I had I got to catch up with some old dear friends of mine now living in New York. I love New York. I lived there for a short time during college while completing an internship at a magazine. I loved exploring the city by myself, walking from the East Village to Harlem, and generally enjoying all the eccentricities of the city in solitude. This visit was nostalgic for me, but honestly these experiences seem to lack luster without my husband with me. As much as I loved being single and I loved being independent, it is so much better to be able to share these experiences with someone you know can appreciate it as much as you do.

No thanks to the terrible TSA at JFK and the staff at American Airlines, I made it home last weekend, where I got to spend a few short hours with my husband before I was whisked away to Denver. I attended a work-related conference in Downtown Denver for three days and stayed at the beautiful Brown Palace Hotel (named after and built by Molly Brown). The hotel takes you straight back to the 1920s in a charming way–not in a “this building was built in 1920s but renovated to reflect blah blah blah” or “this building was built in 1920 and we have not touched a single detail since then.” It truly felt like you were in a different time, but with enough modernity to provide a T.V. and a hair dryer. Even the elevator had an indicator on each floor that was not digital but was like a temperature gauge–moving left or right depending on where the elevator was located. While the conference was informative, the hotel was nice, and having an impromptu mission reunion at the Denver Temple was fun, it is now nice to be home.

Zach now finally has a spouse who can help around the house. He finally does not need to deal with the stress of someone else in the house leaving bar prep books strewn about and late night and early morning study sessions, nor does he have to deal with constant airport runs. Most of all, I am glad I get to be back with him. It is funny how when I was single I relished my free time and my independence. I think I may have even viewed sappy newlyweds as disgusting and co-dependent. I now understand. Sappy newlyweds are that way because they are happy in their marriage. Marriage is such a dramatic change from single life and it’s all positive (as long as you marry the right person). I am becoming such a better person because I am married to Zach, and I love being around him. When I start gushing about marriage, I tell my friends I get one year to be a sappy newlywed before I have to stop. I don’t want to annoy people forever, but I do want to embrace and be true to how lovely it is to be married to the right person.

So while I’m finally grounded–no longer flying to L.A., NYC, or Denver, I am on top of Cloud 9 with Zach. Come over and join us some time.

I have been trying not to post too much after the big day. I am so crazy in love with Zach that I was afraid it would get annoying with all the corny and over-the-top things I would post. So instead, I’ll make this post simply about how Zach and I got married on Friday the 13th, and I’ll reserve all the gushing declarations of love for Zach.

I am getting married next month, and I am so excited. There are reports circulating that I’ve gone on literally thousands of dates,* and although I didn’t really feel like I was being too picky, I was more in love with being single than I was with any person I dated. Well this year I fell in love with a man whom I have been friends with for more than three years. And life with him (Zach) is much better than the best single life.

We became very close last year when he was going through a divorce and I had to move into a heatless recording studio by myself in the winter. I prayed every day that he would be able to reconcile with his wife; he helped me transport several large loads of furniture and other items to my temporary home. And all during that time, we helped each other study for finals in our Criminal Procedure study group. Sadly, Zach’s divorce became finalized a year ago next week. When we came back the next semester, I had a plan that, looking back, was really kind of silly. My plan was to spend a lot of time with him as his close friend so that he could regain his trust in women. I had no interest in starting even a casual romantic relationship with him. Of course we called our outings dates, but that’s just because Zach is a gentleman. I continued to date other men. Long story short, I started to develop feelings for Zach; he did too. And on June 4, 2011 he proposed to me and I said yes.

This is where the humility comes in…

Because Zach is divorced we needed to get a sealing clearance to get married in the temple. No big deal, I thought. Sure, I wanted to get married soon, but I was willing to wait. He was the perfect man for me. In the fall, our sealing clearance had not come through and we were faced with the difficult decision of having to wait much, much longer or just getting married outside the temple. Our bishops and stake president counseled us to begin our family as soon as we could and then get sealed a year later.Even though the advice was coming from church leaders, thinking about getting married outside the temple made me cry. A lot. I had never imagined getting married anywhere other than the temple and if I was marrying anyone else I would be able to. I watched as a person I dated in the spring found a girlfriend, proposed, and married her all during the time that Zach and I were waiting for clearance. I would plan our wedding online, and invariably stumble upon pictures of excited couples coming out of the temple. That would not be us. Our families were overwhelmingly supportive, which made it a little easier, but I still resisted for months.

One day when I was with Zach, I had an overwhelming feeling about what a wonderful man he is and how privileged I should be to be his wife. It was at that moment that I decided that since I found the right man, it’s time to start our family sooner rather than wait an unknown time period, just so I could have my dream wedding.

It’s still hard. It’s hard sending out invitations to people who don’t know and who think perhaps we cannot enter the temple for other reasons. I even wanted to put a disclaimer on our RSVP website about why I was getting married somewhere else. And it’s hard talking to casual acquaintances and co-workers who hear you’ve served an LDS mission so they assume and say, “So what temple are you getting married in?” And you have to go off on this long monologue of why you’re getting married somewhere else.

This experience has been very humbling to me. It has reinforced my resolve not to judge people. It has helped me understand that we all have circumstances that are not so black and white–that there are many reasons why people do the things they do and say the things they say, but it is not up to us to judge them as good or bad. I will probably judged privately and possibly openly for the rest of my life for this decision. But I am committed to this choice because I have found the perfect person for me. And I would rather marry Zach any time, any place, then marry the wrong person inside the temple.

And on a side note: Zach’s stake president has put in another request for a sealing clearance. If by some miracle it comes through before our wedding date, we will quickly be switching venues to the temple on that date. And instead of the planned ceremony, we’ll probably just have a huge dance party or something. Zach has some pretty sweet moves.

* (Sara starred in a regionally unsuccessful documentary about LDS dating life in which the claim may or may not have been made that she dates a lot. The DVD can be found at Deseret Book, but both Zach and Sara disclaim all liability for its content. It’s a terrible documentary, and you’re better off spending your $15 on stale bread and expired lunch meat.)

Zach and I went back to Las Vegas last month for Labor Day weekend. Maybe it’s not a romantic place for most people, but Las Vegas was the place where I first started to fall in love with Zach. We went to Las Vegas the weekend after Valentine’s Day this year, and I came back smitten. Half a year later, we went back to Las Vegas where Zach showed he loved me by riding the New York, NY roller coaster–despite his complete fear and hatred of roller coasters–all because I wanted to go with him. And I showed my love for him by giving him his wedding/engagement ring, despite the fact that typically only women get engagement rings. It was pretty special. Zach took me to dinner at the Bellagio, then we walked outside and got a front-row view of the Bellagio fountain water show. It was picture perfect.

And despite the fact that I started to fall in love with Zach in Las Vegas in February, it was not until General Conference in April that I realized how much I wanted to marry him. Zach was sick last general conference so we didn’t get to attend together, but we made up for it this weekend.

I look forward to a whole new lifetime of milestones with this man.

Many people say that I am the last Payne to get married. Well folks, that is not true. Anyone who knows our family well knows my oldest sister, Jennifer, is unmarried. My dad always jokes that the youngest (Me) cannot get married until the oldest (Jenny) is married. This weekend, I think Jenny took that joke a little too far.

While I was showering, she walked slowly from the kitchen to the living room, where Mr. Pendleton was innocently working on his laptop. I came out for a second and I saw him helping her sit down on the couch right next to him. When I came back later, this is what I saw:

My sister had grabbed Zach’s hand and yanked it onto her lap. Do you see that tight death grip she has on him? Hands off, Jenny. The boy is mine.

Here’s one great thing about getting married in 2011: as a female I do not have to automatically assume all domestic roles upon marriage. Luckily Zach and I get to split the duties according to what makes sense for both of us. That means once we’re married I will never have to wash one more item of clothing or touch an iron again. Zach is actually quite the laundry wizard, it turns out.

On the other hand, I have always had quite extensive dreams of being the primary meal provider for my family. I would wake up early and make an elaborate breakfast for my husband, pack him a delicious lunch with a personalized note, and then have a gourmet meal hot and ready when he comes home–each and every day. The problem is I am not exactly a master chef. So to counteract my culinary deficiencies, I have been practicing a lot lately. Actually I’ve been practicing for awhile now. I occasionally made Zach breakfast, lunch, and dinner while we were dating. He always said he liked it, but you can’t really trust a guy who’s trying to impress a girl. So here are just a few of my culinary concoctions that will probably make their way into the Pendleton dinner repertoire quite frequently.

1. Bowtie Pasta with Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomatoes                                                     I made this dish first when we were dating. The sun-dried (okay, I cheated and dried them in the oven) tomatoes took all night, but it was worth it. I made almost a pound of this dish and Zach’s parents ate all the leftovers. 

2. Jala-Payne-yo Poppers                                                                                                         Okay, that was cheesy. But these jalapenos are so delicious, you could make a meal out of them. If my memory serves me correctly, this is the first non-breakfast food I served Zach when we were dating. It’s essentially jalapeno halves stuffed with cream cheese and topped with cilantro and thick, peppered bacon. 

3. Grilled Portabello                                                                                                                   I may have temporarily decided to become a vegetarian, so I cooked my man some portabello mushrooms instead of a well-seasoned steak. It was pretty good with the avocado-basil mayonnaise that I made from scratch. Mmmm, that stuff was delish. 

4. Roasted Root                                                                                                                    My more delicious vegetarian adventure was this dish. You wouldn’t think that roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, and cauliflower would taste so good, especially as a main dish. Oh but it was. Yes, it was.

5. Spaghetti with Fresh Meatballs                                                                                             What exactly are fresh meatballs, you ask? Well they are meat balls made from the meat of our former family pet, Tuffy. That’s right: my dad’s form of Texas food storage is to keep a stock of cows on hand. When we have too many, we have them humanely slaughtered and then we package their meat and our grandchildren eat it for the next 100 years. It takes the whole Chicken/Pig story to a whole new level.

6. Trechas!                                                                                                                              My Man! As high maintenance as he is in other areas, he is very easy to please in the food department. He loves trechas on fruit. We ate this for lunch one day. Yum! 

If all else fails, I can buy the little angel two Jack-In-The-Box tacos and a bag of mini- churros. I am also open to any new ideas. I’d love delicious, healthy, cheap recipe ideas.

Zach and Sara love each other. Despite that love, Zach and Sara have very different interests. Let’s take a little journey down the path of these differences, shall we?

Movies: He loves The Social Network; She loves Hotel Rwanda. But they’ll cuddle up to Kill Bill together.

Food: He lives for Lamb Tikka Masala; She thinks cheese enchiladas are to die for. They’ll both share a plate of Chili’s Chicken Crispers.

Television: He’s watched every episode of Mad Men; She watches 30 Rock reruns. They will cuddle up to Parks and Rec together but mostly because they both love comedian Aziz Ansari.

Books: While he loves reading about wartime friends in White Teeth, she loves reading about hidden enemies in The Count of Monte Cristo. But they both have read Pride and Prejudice multiple times.

Color: Glory be! They agree on a favorite color (You know, the most important test of compatibility). Yellow!

Music: He jams out to The Mountain Goats; The Format (OK, Nate Ruess) speaks to her soul. They both karaoke to Vampire Weekend.

Instruments: He rocks out on guitar; she fiddles on the violin. They play duets together on the piano.

Hate: He passes on bread; she is terrified of dogs. (Okay, but for good reason. See below.) They both are annoyed when people get bro’d out.

Love: Computers are his second love; swimming occupies a part of her heart. They both love each other more.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Pendletones.com. This is the first official site detailing the adventures of the future Zach and Sara Pendleton family. I hope you enjoy following our months long journey toward marriage and then the life long journey ahead. We are so excited to be together, and we are thrilled to share our happiness with others.

A couple weeks ago, Zach and I went to San Francisco for Zach’s summer work party. We went to a quiet, warm vineyard in Sonoma Valley. His colleagues and their families were pleasant, and the office manager even offered to call an ordained minister to meet us at the vineyard and marry us right then and there.

We spent the other days sightseeing and being surprisingly cold in San Francisco.

Yes, that is a man walking his iguana in the park. And yes, below is Zach being his adorable self in front of Alcatraz. Man, I am so lucky to have him.