The Temple Dress by Jenna

Connie is one of those people that you strive to be like. She is
bursting with admirable qualities that would take forever to list, but the quality that I admire most in Connie is her unwavering kindness. This kindness can better be explained with the help of a story…

As all brides know, weddings are incredibly stressful and far too
expensive. The cost of getting everything ready adds up nearly
instantaneously and the smallest little details seem to have been
sadistically created to push a budget over the edge. Because of this, I was feeling stressed and worried about money for mine and Heber’s wedding. I had acquired all of the necessary items for the event, but there was one thing in particular that I desperately wanted: my very own temple dress. Unfortunately, my budget wouldn't allow such a lofty purchase. I am aware that temple clothing is available for rent, but I thought it would be nice to have my own. I was worried that I would end up in a rented dress that was way too big and utterly unflattering. Feeling frumpy on one’s wedding day is rather unsettling
so I was sincerely hoping that I would end up with a half-decent dress for the ceremony.

As those in attendance at the ceremony know, my dress fit perfectly and produced no frumpy appearance whatsoever. This joyous occurrence can be accredited to the gracious hands of Connie.

In passing, I had mentioned an interest in having my own temple dress. Connie, being the thoughtful person she is, must have taken this information to heart. One day, while hanging out in the Cannon kitchen, she told me that she wanted to buy me a temple dress as an
early wedding present. I was super excited to be getting the one thing that I thought I was going to have to do without.

A couple of weeks before the wedding, we went shopping to find the
dress. We had quite an enjoyable time on our search even though I was
indecisive and dragged Connie to several stores across the valley.
Fortunately, she was patient with me as I tried on dress after dress
with hopes of finding the perfect one. In my innocence, I thought that
the dress was all I needed, but Connie took care of this oversight for
me. She made sure I was ready with my dress and other articles of
clothing before we completed our shopping experience.

One of my favorite parts of this experience was the discussion we had
during our drive to the store. It was a very special conversation that
I will always remember and am grateful to have had. I am so thankful
for Connie’s thoughtfulness and for this experience we were able to
have together.