Thursday 27 July 2017

Hey so, Pinterest is a bit vague.


A wedding update! A wedding planning update, and really, an excuse to dump just a whole bunch of our engagement photos we got done that are just making my life. Seriously, I’m wondering how much restraint I can show to not put up 4-5 framed photos in every room of my house. And to avoid spamming people like my male cousins who couldn't give a shit, I'll post them here! Our photographer, Marnie with Honey Deer Photography did some straight up wizardry with these, and blew my awaaaay. 


So, wedding planning. My go – to phrase for the planning process has been “Oh, I don’t care”, which is really not a helpful statement when you’re somebody who really does deeply care; kind of makes things difficult. But it’s true. Basically, if by the end of the evening I’m Mrs Brianne Elizabeth Stuchberry, then the night was a success! I could get married in the parking lot of the McDonalds, as long as I'm married by the end of it. The rest of it is just little details that people get soo caught up in, and while most would think I would be a massive Bridezilla jackass (myself included, full disclosure), I just haven’t been. Atleast, not yet. As one of my bridesmaids lovingly said when I told her I wouldn't be an asshole: "Oh don't worry, you will be at one point, but I'll still love you". I know my day will be beautiful, and I am hiring professionals to take care of it for me so that I don’t need to get caught up in the details such as “Who will be pre-filling the water glasses?” did you know that was a real question!? Neither did I.  I kept thinking to myself, “Okay, I know what I want to wear & my look, I know my colors and my general ‘theme’, I know what color I want Jake to wear, and I know what my bridesmaids are going to wear – I’m pretty much done! That was super easy.”




Come on now, everybody! HAHAHAHAHA OKAY BRIANNE.

Hahaha*help me pinterest didn’t let on that there was so much more detail involved* hahaha

Yeah, it’s way more difficult than that, even if you’re someone who generally doesn’t give a flying fuck what your guests eat, as long as they don’t get food poisoning. I wanted a smokey/burger bar because I love smokies unnecessarily so, but that was promptly shut down as tacky. Not by me, or the Groom, but by one of the many who have opinions on this day. Ohhhhhh, the opinions. I have found that while everyone who offers opinions mean well, it’s like asking when you’re going to have kids: don’t do it unless the topic is brought up by the person in question. Like, unless I ask you: “what color should my napkins be?” don’t tell me what color you think they should be. Or what color brings out your eyes best for the linens. Or what your third cousin did for their table scape that was just so darling and that we should definitely do. And especially, please don’t get offended when I tell you that’s probably not the direction we’ll be taking. This is not to say that some opinions haven't been bangers, I just did not expect the sheer volume I'd be receiving.  



Overall, we’ve been pretty good about the planning and being on the same page. Namely, we were insistent that we were not going to go over our budget, we were not going to borrow money to pay for the day with say a line of credit etc, and we were not going to lose sight of what the day was: the beginning of our marriage. Will it be gorgeous, extremely romantic and a super fun party? Shit yea, but all of those things will not add up to digging ourselves out of debt afterward. I asked Jake from the get go: How much or how little do you want to be involved in the planning? His response was “let’s go with ruffle, cammo & machine gun theme” so you know, he wanted – and received! – very little input into the minute, nitty gritty details, but as we do with everything, I ran the bottom lines past him before making a decision. Teamwork makes the dreeeeam work. Truth is, I have the most talented (in my humble opinion) wedding décor/planner extraordinaire helping me, so that’s really helped with the blasé attitude. I know Sara is going to absolutely rock the shit out of this, so why be concerned? She’s my people, she swears like a sailor and I love her for it. Fun fact, when Jake & I first started even talking, she was the first person I told. It happened to be when she first began Top Knot Events, so our joke for a while was “K well I’m doing your wedding then obviously” and finally, I get to use her magic myself.




All of the major vendors are nailed down, minus floral, which I’m really working hard on that whole “Oh, that’s okay I don’t care about that, we can just DIY if we have to”, but really, I do care about that and would very much love to get that nailed down. I texted Sara, “On a scale of 1-10, how ghetto is it to have silk bouquets instead of real flowers?” Her: “Ummm, no fucking comment”. Like, see?! That honest opinion with a solid fuck thrown in for good measure? Refreshing. She makes me want to have several vow renewals at interval anniversaries.



Hahaha just kidding, No, she doesn’t. Nothing could make me want to do this more than once. Big picture person who's bad at details trying to figure out how many outlets the venue has? You figure out how well that’s going down. That being said, the more things are getting nailed down, and the more the months fly by - no really, they are fly-yy-ying, my butterflies just get bigger and bigger. I may not want to do this more than once, but you bet your ass I'm going to enjoy the absolute hell out of this one <3



But like, seriously, Pinterest, we gotta talk. False advertising.

Monday 17 July 2017

Love Letters; house edition.


Dear Trumpet Vine, aka the Weiner Plant,
Thank you for coming back to life, even though for a solid three months you looked so dead I was sure everyone was lying to me to have faith that you would resurrect. You’re super pretty, and your buds looking like little wieners right outside my front door made me giggle for a solid immature week.

Dear Raspberry Bushes,
You neglected massive things you, you sure know how to make my heart and wallet happy. In a week’s time, you’ve filled 3 freezer bags FULL of pure money as far as I'm concerned. You’re in the shittiest spot possible, and because of that I can only reach half of you without scratching my arms but you know what? For you, I’ll endure the scratches. Love is pain.
Dear Marble Sink,
Nope, still dislike you. In the summer your water puddles turn goopy frighteningly fast and they smell. But everyone who comes here is still charmed by you, so whatever I guess. Once I ever figure out how to successfully get you out of the house without breaking everything, watch out. 

Dear (front) Landscaping,
You get your rock accessories this week and then you are done! We’re so happy with how you look, and it’s been so fun learning how to do everything, and what plants work best where. I now have hydrangeas, lilac bushes AND peonies surrounding my house, which of course means I’m never ever moving; and while this may pose a space problem down the round, at least we’ll be a cramped house surrounded by pretty flowers. Sacrifices can and will be made.

Dear Tom & Linda (our ADORABLE neighbors)
To my newly appointed surrogate grandparents (were you not aware you inherited a new granddaughter? K well you did), you’re so wonderful and I promise to love the little lilac bush you gifted me with with as much as green thumbiness as I can muster up. I don’t have luck with well, keeping anything green thriving, but it seems to be doing okay. Same with the peony bushes you said I could thin out. You’re just the bees knees. & yes, I am making sure to help myself to the rhubarb and cherries while you're gone, you friggin angels you.

Dear Home,

You still make our hearts so so happy, especially the fact that it’s been 30+ degrees for weeks and you stay so cool (AC free!) that we can still sleep in polar fleece sheets without hating life. This is an exceptional bonus because I’m quite lazy and don’t feel like changing them. I enjoy being chilly and you just get that, ya know? You just get it. We love you, every little bit of ya. We can’t wait to keep growing with you.