{ Jesse and Melinda - Engagements }

Melinda and Jesse are just 11 days away from their dream wedding in Utah and we can't wait to cover all the action! All of our wedding vendors have been hard at work preparing for the big day, including Amanada Castleberry of Castleberry Photography. Enjoy a few of the gorgeous engagements!

Thank you Amanda!  You can check out this Wedding and Portrait Photographer's work at Amanda Castleberry Photography.

{ The Wedding (and baby) Countdown Begins... }

While Aubrey and Matt are less than a week away from expecting their first child (a baby girl we are all excited to meet here at TMB:), Melinda and Jesse, winners of our first ever Mormon Bachelorette Wedding Giveaway are getting ready to tie the knot in Utah.  The wedding will air on Valentine's Day, February 14th.  Leading up to the big day we will feature all of the gracious and talented wedding vendors that are making our couple's dreams come true.  In the meantime, enjoy the video that got this whole thing started - a love story worth telling - Melinda and Jesse.

{ CONGRATULATIONS J & M }

Happy Halloween everyone - and more importantly CONGRATULATIONS to Jesse and Melinda who have won the wedding of their dreams in Utah!  Each couple was equally as deserving and we are happy to help J&M move forward toward wedded bliss.  As the plans come along we will update you on their progress.

Jesse and Melinda

{ WEDDING GIVEAWAY & AN UPDATE! }

We are so excited about our exclusive Mormon Bachelorette Wedding Giveaway, but time is running out. One lucky couple has the chance to win an entire wedding package valued at over $30,000, but you need to submit your video to us by October 15th to be eligible for the prize of a lifetime. Forgot the details? Click HERE for a refresher on how to apply.

And speaking of weddings, we thought we'd give you a little update from our favorite Mormon Bachelorette Season One couple Matt & Aubrey Laidlaw with a little peak into their wedding day and exclusive update from the happy couple. If this doesn't inspire you to enter the TMB giveaway, we don't know what will!

{ video credit :: ryan southwell films }

Hey there TMB! Aubrey (and Matt) here! We hope you haven't completely forgotten about us as you've enjoyed watching Season 3 of TMB with the lovable Ashley Chapman. Can you believe it's been one whole year since we started this crazy journey together? Sometimes it blows our minds to think of all the many blessings we've received in these last 12 months. An engagement, a wedding, new home, AND a baby? We truly have so much to be thankful for!

{ photo credit :: elovephotos }

Recently we found out that our wee-one on the way is a GIRL! We are both so excited to welcome her into our home and feel like January can't come soon enough. We've been busy with nursery plans, getting ready for baby showers, and adjusting to all the changes a newborn will bring. We're truly so grateful for all the wonderful things that have come into our lives, thanks to The Mormon Bachelorette, and hope to continue to share more good news in the months and years to come!

{ SEASON THREE FINALE }

In Ashley's Words:

I truly cannot express enough gratitude and thanks to all those who have helped me throughout this incredible experience. First to Erin Elton, Tristen Ure, and Aubrey Laidlaw for giving me this opportunity. Thanks to Denver Porter for his help in creating my application video – that man can make anyone look good! Check out the project that he’s been working on at www.e3imagine.com. I am grateful for Brad Burnham’s willingness to do my headshots – I am a huge fan of his work! Check it out at www.bradburnhamphotography.com. I cannot thank our incredible film crew enough for the countless hours they have put into this project.

I am so blessed to have the best family and friends you could ask for, who have helped carry me through this intensely wonderful experience. I especially owe a shout out to my Mom and Dad, each of my siblings, and many other friends who have sent me supportive notes, given me phone calls to check in, and have given me love and advice through it all (you know who you are!). I have so enjoyed receiving facebook messages and seeing comments from people who I do not know, but who have given me encouraging words and have often come at just the time that I needed them. Thank you for enriching my life.

I of course cannot neglect thanking my Father in Heaven for his infinite wisdom in placing me in the situations that have guided my life, that have pushed me to my limits of both sorrow and joy. He has brought me into touch with so people who have shown me how to be a better person, how to have faith and belief that no matter what, things will work out as they should. “Come what may, and love it” – Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

I am forever changed by The Mormon Bachelorette. Thanks for joining me on the journey.

{ WIN YOUR DREAM WEDDING!!! }

FIRST EVER TMB WEDDING GIVEAWAY!!!


Join us at 5pm PST as we find out the ending of Ashley's love story
In the meantime the TMB Wedding Giveaway is here!

Getting married to the man/woman of your dreams in Utah?  You deserve your dream wedding to seal the deal! The Mormon Bachelorette has teamed up with the best of the best wedding vendors in Utah to turn your dreams into reality.  Here is how it works:

• Apply here to enter the giveaway - deadline October 15th, 2011
• Each Couple must submit a video (no more than 3 minutes) that will be posted to The Mormon Bachelorette - tell us your love story and why you should win the wedding of your dreams in Utah
• Admission is FREE!
• From October 16th-October 30th the voting begins - the couple that gets the most votes wins the dream wedding!  Be creative in rallying voters - you can use any method you want to promote your video.
• On October 31st we will announce the lucky couple that wins The Mormon Bachelorette Wedding Giveaway 2011
• TMB will be there on your special day to capture the magic and feature your wedding on our site 

So spread the word, get your videos in and get ready for more True Mormon Love!

The Vendors:

Reception Venue, Caterer, Wedding Flowers

White Willow is Utah Valleys Premier Reception and Events Center 

Where Every Event is Customized to Fit Your Dreams

www.whitewillowweddings.com

Wedding Day Photography

Creating Memories

Cassidy Photography

Wedding Flowers - Bouquet, Bridal Party, Reception

Jolley's Flowers with head designer, Rachel Osguthorpe, have the experience to create an outstanding and beautiful enhancement for your big day.  We will work closely with you in design, color and display to make your wedding a truly memorable occasion.  If you can dream it . . . we can create it!

www.jolleysgifts.com

Wedding Dress and Tuxedo Rental

We Have the Perfect Dress for Your Perfect Occasion

www.adressyoccasion.com

Bridesmaids' Dresses

Engagement Photos

Amanda Castleberry Photography wedding and portrait photographer

www.castleberryphotography.com

Wedding Photographer

Julie Lafferre Wedding Photos

www.julielafferrephotography.com

Wedding Video

Wedding Videos That Will Melt Your Face

www.collinkartchnerstudios.com

Wedding Invitations

Personalized Wedding Invitations Designed to Fit Your Personal Style

goodfrau.etsy.com

Wedding Cake

Wedding Cakes that Taste as Good as They Look, Serving the Wasatch Front for 20 Years

www.utahcakes.com

DJ

Entertainment At It's Best Since 2004

www.bigbeatevents.com

Bridal Make-up
Freelance Makeup Artist

Bride and Bridal Party Hair
Premier On-location Hair and Make-up Artistry since 2004

www.signaturebrides.com

Bridal Eyelash Extensions

Customized Eye Lash Extentions That Turn Drab to Fab in Less Than 2 Hours

www.glamlash.com

Painting of the Bride and Groom

Personalized Paintings To Capture Your Love Through Generations

www.littleshopofshavs.com

We can't wait to watch your love stories unfold!  Questions?  E-mail Erin, Aubrey and Tristen at: themormonbachelorette@gmail.com

{ Post Date Interview #2: ASHLEY & RUDD + voting + TMB Wedding Giveaway }

Now that Ashley has finished the last of her 8 second dates who will win her heart? The Season Three finale will air this Monday, September 19th. Until then vote for who you think Ashley will choose as her man! Will it be Jace? Aaron? Brad? Erik? Rudd? Pete? Mike? Alex? We will know soon!

In the meantime the first ever Mormon Bachelorette Wedding Giveaway will take place starting on September 20th - starring YOU! TMB has teamed up with the best of the best wedding vendors in the state of Utah to give away an entire wedding to the winning couple (valued over $30,000!). From September 20th-October 15th we will be taking applications from couples that want to win their dream wedding in the state of Utah.  Each couple will need to submit a video about how they met and their love story which will be posted on TMB.  Voting will start on October 16th-30th and the lucky couple with the most votes will be announced on Halloween!  More details to come tomorrow morning - until then spread the word!!!

And... Here's RUDD!!!

{ Second Date: ASHLEY & RUDD }

In Rudd's Words:

Who needs the make a wish foundation when you've got Ashley Chapman. My dreams came true when Ashley asked me out on a second date. I was sure thankful that I was at the end of the first round so that I didn't have to wait very long for the second round to start. My deepest appreciation goes to Erin and Tristen for their tremendous logistics abilities in getting me where I needed to be. Another huge thank you to Mesa's real men Lee and JR for taxi services and hotel accommodations.

My date was supposed to go down on Saturday, late morning where I was to meet up with Ashley and the Crew in Black Canyon Springs. An hour or so later we pulled up to Slide Rock Canyon above Sedona. Its always interesting to go to a new spot, but then mix that with a new person and then stir in a camera on you at all times and you've got an interesting situation. I figured the best thing to do would probably be to take off my shirt. The Go-Pro camera was a great addition to our date, the question is that as I was getting tossed in the water if I got my good side or not? There were some cliffs that provided me with some prime spots to do my best George of the Jungle impersonation.

Hunger set in so we found some delicious food at Oaxaca(wa-hoc-a). The restaurant name is actually best pronounced if you have a lot of saliva in your mouth. Ashley and I shared some Flautas and huevos rancheros and Ill let you guess who ordered what. There was no dessert at this meal but I was ok with that seeing that the conversation was pretty sweet.

The drive back was for the most part in the dark. No one snored on the ride home, thank goodness, but needless to say there wasn't a whole lot of conversation either.

At one point of the date I found myself wondering if I had more sparks with Ashley or with the Creative Director Luke (in a platonic way of course) They were soo much fun to work with and had some great ideas as to shots and even different ways to find a reason to hold Ashley's hand. We even did improve music videos for crying out loud.

So back to Ashley...she was exhausted the poor girl. At the end of our first date I thought that there was some spark. I guess the way I understood it was by the fact that Ashley and I didn't feel any kind of personal bubbles, especially at the end of the date. This time around I thought the same thing could happen at the end but that vanished into thin air when I realized she was sailing at half mast well say.

I stratigized with Luke as far as camera set up went and decided that I was going to invade the Ashley's bubble and see if she backed away. Eye on the prize, eye on the prize I repeated to myself. As we conversed I referred back to a compliment she had paid me earlier in the day and used that as a little creative foreshadowing we'll call it. And before she or I knew it I had tripped right into her lips. The fourth of July came about a month late for me this year.

{ Post Date Interview #2: Ashley & Aaron }

{ Second Date: ASHLEY & AARON }

A BIG thanks is in order to Jason Cooley at Freedom Boardshop for coming out on the lake with Ashley and Aaron to throw down some sick tricks and give really good tips and advice. Not to mention the t-shirt that is now Ashley's favorite t-shirt ever. Shop Freedom Boardshop for awesome boards and apparel. 


When I got the call from Ashley for a second date I was pretty relieved that she did. I mean I had made a pretty confident prediction that I would get a asked for one... period. Needless to say I was excited to drive out to Arizona (this time with a fully functional air conditioned car).

When I walked up to the door fro the second date with Ashley I was pretty excited. I didn't know what to expect, I just knew we were gonna have a fun time. She greeted me with a kind smile and great hug. She had told me to dress for something in the water but I had no idea what we were going to do. We started to drive to a board shop, and in my mind a board shop was for skateboarding. Little did I know she was taking me wake boarding! I never grew up really close to a lake and I rarely ever went out on a boat so I was totally floored by the idea of it, not to mention that we got to see up close a two time national champion wake boarder throw down some pretty awesome tricks. When it came our time to get in the water i had a blast, i even learned how to wake surf so that was pretty cool as well.

Ashley looked so comfortable out on a wake board and when she wake surfed. Every time she was ready to board she would say "hit it" and the song "It takes two" came in to my head and i told the crew they should put it on our video. What i like about Ashley is how she is up for almost anything and likes to try new things and different adventures. Being on a boat with Ashley was really fun. Not to mention she looks really good on a board and while she was on the boat... if you know what i mean ;)

Ashley and I got to see what each other were like in a different environment. Second dates are usually more that way. The ice has been broken and your personality comes out a little more, especially when you are doing something together that you really enjoy. Getting to know her better and talking in the car on the way to the lake was really enjoyable. She is really easy to talk to and likes to joke around a lot. I can see that we have a lot in common in not taking things too seriously and going with the flow, be able to adapt to new situations and being comfortable in those positions.

Dinner after boarding was amazing. Authentic Mexican food is probably 70% of my diet. Living in southern California we have some of the best Mexican food there is but Arizona can boast that as well when Ashley took me to this place with Mexican hot dogs. It was really good and I need to find a place out in California that has those.

The night was filled with good times, good conversation, and good food. Ashley knows how to treat a man right. I like her, but with me it is too early to tell if i will get a potential 3rd date but i would be more than happy to be with Ashley. Living in another state does make things difficult so it would be the hardest hurdle to jump if things were to happen between us.

PS what happens off camera, stays off camera... you know what i mean.

{ Post Date Interview #2: Ashley & Brad }

{ Second Date: ASHLEY & BRAD }

A BIG big thank you to Chris and Joe at Western Destinations for a true western adventure for Ashley and Brad. These legit cowboys know how to show you a great time in the wild west! They have all sorts of activities to choose from.


In Brad's Words:

Things started out rough. I've never gotten up so early for a date in my entire life! I went to her house around 4am. I was really tired and quite worried that I was going to be sleepy for our entire date. I had no idea what was in store for me. We started off with a three hour drive, which at that hour, is brutal! Actually, I really do like road trips when the company is good, and she kept me awake. She really is pretty entertaining.

We drove out to the middle of the desert and met up with some cowboy. He was a total character. When we pulled up, he was sitting in a folding chair, right beside his truck. Oh, and he was playing the harmonica. Classic cowboy move.

As soon as he saw Ashley, he jumped up, and shouted a good "HOWDY!!!". We all jumped. He stood up, hurled his chair through the air, and started walked towards us before it had time to land in the bed of his truck. We got a good laugh out of that. Right then, I knew we were in for a good time.

Then the cowboy took us to his ranch. It was awesome! He explained that we were going to have a few competitions. That was music to my ears. I am always up for some good competition. One thing that I really like about Ashely from our first date, was how competitive she was with basketball and skeeball, so I knew this would be good. Life is much more fun when you have someone that can challenge you.

Our challenges included tossing hatchets at some wooden signs, and shooting clay pigeons and cans. We taught those cans a lesson or two about being shot. We even had to do the old fashioned stand off/show down to see who could "draw" first, and shoot the other person.

I thought it was a great date for us. Since we only get one date (2 if you're lucky) we have to spend some quality time together. I really liked Ashley's ability to just have fun. I wish we had more time to really get to know each other. As it is, we were just able to scrape the surface. If this is that last time I go out with Ashley, I will be disappointed. The one problem I foresee with Ashley, is that I fear that my life style is a little too different from hers, and what she wants in a guy. As a filmmaker, each movie is like starting a new business. That takes a lot of work. I am afraid that she would kill me if she had to start putting up with my crazy, ever changing schedule. But who knows… Maybe she will grow to love it!

{ Post Date Interview #2: ASHLEY & JACE }

{ Second Date: ASHLEY & JACE }

A HUGE thanks to Melanie and Rachel with Freestyle Dance Company for choreographing a great routine for Ashley and Jace. If you live near the San Tan Valley you should definitely take a class!


In Jace's Words:

After a nice flight from desert to desert, I was greeted at the airport by Ashley. Once again I came with some flowers. However, this time they were a little different. I brought turquoise roses. She thought they were her BYU blue; I thought they matched my shirt perfectly. Interesting how that worked. We had a few good laughs over that. She also had a few things for me. One of them was a package of Mike n Ike's, which represented some things (inside jokes perhaps) from our first date. I was very impressed. I've always been a guy who likes the little things/details and Ashley is very good at doing the little things.

Soon we were on our way. We drove for quite a while to Joe's Farm Grill for dinner. During the car ride we discussed work, politics, and sports. We also had a little discussion about what I thought we were doing for the date. I like surprises, but the suspense was killing me since I was told what to bring a few days beforehand, but I was not informed about the details of the date. She told me to bring basketball shorts and a t-shirt. What could that possibly mean? I thought well maybe she wants to try her luck on the basketball court with me again. Or perhaps we're going to play her game, football. Or better yet, maybe she is taking me to a hip-hop dance club in an attempt to see if I'm really as athletic as she is. I didn't figure that out until we pulled up to the club and saw the sign, but I'm sure she enjoyed watching me as I attempted to figure it out.

We were greeted at Joe's Farm Grill by Joe himself, which was quite a treat. Being in business, it's always fun for me to meet the owner because they are usually the most passionate about the business and can answer all your questions. We had a great conversation with Joe about his farm and his businesses. It's common food done uncommonly well at Joe's Farm Grill. As we waited for our food, Ashley and I were able to take a walk through part of the farm. There was a little hand holding which was great. After our walk we ate at a table Joe had prepared for us with a centerpiece. Our food was delicious. I think we ordered just about everything on the menu. Halfway into dinner we noticed that it became very dark outside. A giant monsoon came through which was really cool because that was something I had never seen before. After dinner we were on to the activity.

As we left Joe's, Ashley told me we were in for another long drive to our activity. She told me we were going to Queen Creek. I don't know the Phoenix Valley super well, but I had never heard of Queen Creek so I figured it was pretty far. Driving thru the desert in a monsoon wasn't quite the way I had pictured seeing the outskirts, but it was kind of fun. As we arrived at Freestyle Dance Co., we were greeted by one of Ashley's college hip hop friends. She and her sister had a choreographed routine for us to learn. I love to dance, but I am by no means a dancer. I thought to myself that this was really going to challenge my abilities. I just hoped I wouldn't embarrass Ashley or the show. We had a great time learning the routine and performing it. After we were finished, I had the great treat of watching a video of Ashley when she was in college as a hip-hop performer. She probably wouldn't admit it, but she is a great dancer.

After she showed me up on the dance floor, we drove back to Mesa. Once we arrived in Mesa, it was time to say goodbye to Ashley. She had been giving me good signs all night for great doorstep scene if you know what I mean. We had great conversation, held hands, and she cuddled up to me a time or two while we were walking. I gave her a chocolate kiss on our first date so I thought it would be extremely appropriate to conclude the evening with a different type of kiss. The play by play from my perspective goes like this. We pull up to the house, I get out of the car and walk over to her. Our eyes meet as we embrace and we chat and tell each other how much we enjoyed the evening. Then the magic occurred. We kissed. It was a great end to a great date.

{ Post Date Interview #2: ASHLEY & MIKE }