This week: a 'Cinderella' story

Lisa Collyer met her Prince Charming, Matthew Howell, at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She and Matthew were introduced by mutual friends. Lisa's parents, Glen and Lori Collyer, met the same way as students at BYU. Lisa and Matt were married last Saturday morning in the Church of Latter-day Saints temple in Los Angeles. The Collyers hosted a dinner reception at Oakmont Country Club in the evening. The couple chose a "Cinderella" theme for the occasion with colors of pale blue, silver and white.

I heard the details of the wedding arrangements a few days before the event during a visit with Lisa and her mom Lori. Lori looked deceptively calm for someone who has played the role of mother-of-the-bride twice within one month. Lisa's older sister, Rebecca, married Bart Frances in American Fork, Utah only a few weeks ago.

On their first meeting, Lisa and Matt discovered they'd grown up in similar households. They both were children in families of four girls and one boy. Matt's family lives in Austin. The cold winters in Idaho do not appeal to either of them.

"We're not sure if we'll eventually settle in Texas or California," Lisa said. "But it will surely be someplace warm. It gets so cold in Idaho; 20 degrees below zero, with six feet of snow. On windy days, it's bad."

The couple will live in the married students housing community at BYU in the fall. Matt is finishing his major in business and considering law school. Lisa loves her major, a new version of home economics, re-named family consumersciences education.

"I am excited about learning to sew," Lisa said. "By the end of the year, we'll be able to design and sew jeans." The cooking classes are easy for Lisa because she's already learned to cook from Lori.

Lori said she feels it is important for the family to eat a home-cooked dinner together every night. Glen works hard as a partner at Lathem and Watkins law firm, where he practices corporate finance. He comes home every evening, to sit at the dinner table with Lori, Stacy - a fifth-grader at Valley View - and twins Amy and Eric who are CVHS sophomores.

After they completed their education, Glen and Lori made their first home in La Crescenta. They have lived in town for the past 17 years. In the backyard they grow all their own vegetables.