Our wedding day - Elise's story

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, although the event was a year and a half ago, I have vivid memories every time I have to drive on the freeway in rain or snow. Like this morning. I drove on the freeway for the 2nd time in wet conditions since that day, which was filled with just about every emotion I can think of.

It all started September 29th, 2007. The day I'd dreamed about for 25 years, and planned for a full year! It was finally here, I was marrying my prince in shining armor, without the shiny armor stuff. :) What an awesome morning - Jeff headed out early that morning to go golfing with his brother/best man, Jared. My younger sister, Lindsay was in town for our big day and was fulfilling her duties as my maid of honor like she had done it a million times before, although it was her first opportunity. She started my day off with a yummy coffee from Beans & Brews. Then she helped me load the back of her little Ford Ranger pick up truck with all of my pictures and decorations, including the amazingly cool sparklers she made - well, decorated to match my wedding colors and style perfectly!
It was so nice to have an extra brain to help me that morning. Who knows what I would have forgotten... It was about 11:00 am and we stopped to get gas at the Sev. As she was standing in the pouring rain pumping the gas, I watched the windshield wipers go back and forth wondering what that day would bring, "would the rain deter people from coming to our wedding? Wow... I'm getting married today." She got back in the truck and we were off to the nail salon for a final manicure. I remember trying to rush the oriental lady, telling her, "I don't have all day, I'm getting married, could you please hurry? please??" Lindsay decided we weren't going to have time to stop for lunch, so being the wonderful maid of honor she was, she went to Subway and got some sandwiches that we could eat on the way up to The Point. The Point Reception Center is on the top floor at the Huntsman Cancer Institute above the U of U Hospital. Anyway, my nails were finally done, I carefully left the salon, Lindsay held the door for me and then opened her truck door for me as well. I didn't have time to wait for my nails to dry, we needed to head! I carefully sat down in the passenger side of her little truck, she got in the driver's side. She looked at me and said, "what about your seat belt?" I looked down, then over my shoulder at the seat belt and then down at my nails and decided I wasn't going to risk messing my freshly manicured nails up. She kinda gave me a crazy look, reached over and grabbed the seat belt and clicked it in. I was thinking, yeah, she's probably right, I should put my seat belt on. She sure is nice.
We then drove out of the parking lot and were getting on the 215 freeway. I'm not sure what it was, maybe intuition, maybe an angel, but I remember right before we approached the freeway entrance, I had a strange feeling, a nervous feeling. I dismissed it and talked myself into believing it was just an unnecessary paranoid feeling. As we were driving east, Lindsay and I were talking about how glad we were that we had made amends and were friends again, and how much we loved each other. Then, all of a sudden, we switched lanes from an inner lane to the fast lane. We hit a puddle of standing water, I felt the truck kinda float and then, I remember Lindsay yelling, OH S**T!!, S**T!!, S**T!!!! We slammed into the middle concrete divider wall, I remember seeing the cars going the opposite way and thinking we were going to fly right over the wall and crash into other people. After smashing head on into the wall at about 70 MPH, everything was in slow motion, I watched the airbags come out after we hit. Then the truck flipped on it's side, my side, we slammed onto the ground and then skidded for about 10 seconds or so. I remember being held in my seat. I was held so tightly, that the airbags, didn't touch me. When we slammed down on my side, my head didn't hit the window. After we stopped skidding, Lindsay looked over at me and asked me if I was ok, I said "yes! are you ok?" She said yes! What do we do!? I said, "we just wait, we need help, we need help." I told her to roll down her window because of all of the smoke from the airbags, it was raining so hard, but the cold and fresh air was so comforting. I was worried that the engine would start on fire and we wouldn't be able to get out because the truck was on it's side. Finally, a Hispanic man yelled into the truck, "are you ok?" we both said yes and he helped Lindsay out first, then jumped in the truck, standing on the window, and lifted me out. I immediately, hugged the man and thanked him, I told him, "today is my wedding day, I'm on my way to my wedding!" He said, "you're very lucky" and ran across the freeway, in between all of the stopped cars and was gone.

I've told this story a hundred times it seems, but this is the first time I've ever re-lived it in writing. It's super emotional for me.

Lindsay and I hugged on the side of the freeway in the pouring rain for what seemed like 10 minutes, we were so happy that we were ok. I remember the horn would not shut up, it was blaring, and Kelly Clarkson was still singing her heart out in the CD player.
I called Jeff, and told him not to worry, "we're ok." "We just got in a really bad wreck, we hydroplaned and flipped the truck, but we're ok." "I'm still on my way to The Point." He asked me, "are you at 20th east?" I said, "yes, how do you know?" He said, "that area always has standing water." "I'm so glad you're ok, I love you!" I then called my mom and explained to her what had happened and told her I needed her to come get us. She did, we loaded all of my pictures and decorations from the back of Lindsay's totaled truck, which miraculously were all still in one piece. The sparklers were a little bent but that was the worst of the damage. Nothing was broken! The paramedics, told me, "these types of accidents usually end with fatalities, we don't see many people walk away from these." "You're very lucky".

We made it up to The Point and that's all I could think and talk about, the horrible wreck I was in. Before I knew it, it was time to get married. I was starting to get sore and stiffer by the minute. I was not in the mood for pictures, which took way too long! But they turned out better than I could have hoped for.




I am so thankful for all of the friends and family that helped make that day THE best day of my life! I am so very fortunate to have such a wonderful husband who is so committed to me and our marriage. I try never to take what I have for granted and truly appreciate my many blessings and the very blessed life I live. I was spared that day for a reason, my mission here has not been completed. I hope that I can continue to make others smile and help in any way I can.

And they lived happily ever after...