cheap pants!

So as we progress closer to the big day, I am slowly getting my "groom outfit" together. Slowly, being the operative word. This past weekend, I had not a bought a single thing to wear for the wedding. Bonnie already had her dress, which is amazing looking, so I needed to get on it. I tend to procrastinate things. So as we were out and about looking at ribbon and fabric and cake stands at our local ribbon, fabric and cake stand stores what did my eyes behold?? Only the best damn store in the world if you want awesome stuff for low prices....Ross Dress for Less! I love that place. I have bought knives and pillows and spices and t-shirts there....it's the best thing about America! We made our way into Ross Dress for Less and I knew that I would find something great. I wandered over to the aisle where men's slacks are kept and BAM!, a beautiful pair of Brown slacks in just my size. I had been searching for brown pants (well on the internet at least) and hadn't found a thing. I knew Ross Dress for Less wouldn't let me down. I tried them on....fit perfectly! Now, here comes the best part. The pants, normally $80, were being sold for $20. Oh my! Ross Dress for Less once again comes through! The day turned out to be quite fruitful as we were able to get a lot accomplished for the wedding/reception (despite not finding a cake stand!), yay for cheap pants! Oh, and no, I normally am not this excited about pants....but these pants are not just normal pants, they are special pants because they are the ones that I will be wearing when I marry the best girl in the world!

This is The Place

We got a letter in the mail yesterday from the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. When I first saw the envelope I wondered "WTF?" then realized it was from the BLM office in Moab, Utah. Inside was this letter that I am quite excited to have. I know the picture is totally fuzzy and I in no way expect you to be able to read it (but go ahead and try if you must).

It is giving us permission to have our wedding on BLM land, at the location we chose, on the day and time we asked for. Also enclosed was a topo map showing the spot we are approved for. Its funny, when we first thought about getting married "in the middle of nowhere" we figured, hey since its the middle of nowhere, who is going to care, right? But BCH, with that little edge of anxiety he has that can work to his advantage, figured he should call the BLM and ask if there was anything we needed to do.

A couple phone calls followed by some emails, we now have Government approval to hold our ceremony in one of the most scenic places in the world (I might be a little biased, who knows?). And guess how much the rental fee is for our wedding location? Nothing (other than being a law abiding tax paying citizen my whole life - finally - I get something for free from the Government!)

I'm very excited about this, it makes me tempted to post some pictures of "the spot". But we decided to keep it a secret (not that anyone is really going to be crushed about or anything) until our wedding day so our guests will see it upon arrival instead of on the internet first. I can't wait!

"there is nothing more important than your wedding day..."

I was looking at a higher end photography site today. They specialize in Weddings and Family portraits. They have some very beautiful pictures on the site and it is obvious that they are complete professionals at what they do. I began to read the wedding section and it talks about how your Wedding photos are an Investment (yes, it needs to be capitalized) and goes on to say that "There is nothing more important than your wedding day." Nothing? Really? Wow.

Now don't get me wrong, I am very excited about my wedding day. It will be a very special day to me. We are putting a lot of planning and thought into it so that it will be a great day for both of us as well as our family and friends. But I am troubled with the statement that nothing is more important. I have had a lot of important days in my life - the birth of my sons, graduations, falling in love - and honestly I plan on having many more. I hope my wedding day does not remain the most important day of my life, because I plan on having a lot more of them!

This is where the Wedding Industry Complex works its psychological magic. You must believe that it is the single most important event that has ever occurred in your life (and will always be) so that you accept paying in the thousands for a photographer and more for a dress than you make in one month. So that you believe you have to have the coolest trend in favors to hand out to your guests or they wont enjoy themselves; you wont be quite happy enough if you dont have the right kind of flower or enough bridesmaids. You insist you need to have that little heart shaped silk pillow to tie your ring to so your cute little niece in her flouncy overpriced dress can carry it down the aisle for you. You not only get the "his" and "hers" champagne flutes for the dinner toast but splurge to have them engraved with the date and year of your wedding, because there is nothing more important than your wedding day.

I know I come off a little bitter, and yeah, I guess I am. But I'm not bitter towards the girls who choose to have all these things at their wedding; that is their choice. I am bitter at how consumerism drives the way we plan things in our life. Things that are important and special days can only be shown that they are just that by putting as much money as possible towards it. If you choose to get married in your backyard in a dress you ordered off the internet while serving food you purchased at Costco, does that mean your day will be less important or less special than the wedding at the reception center down the street?

I would like to think that my wedding day will be one of the important days of my life, but not because of what I spent on it. It will be that because of all the heart and soul we have been putting into planning it. It will be that because we will be able to share it with those who are closest to us. It will be that because it will be a reflection of who we are, and what is important to us. It will be that because it will be us.

Baldy Blogs

So this is the other half of Team Brannie. I have never written a blog before. Quite frankly I have never thought that I had anything to say that was important enough to put on a blog or the internet (I really only know about beer and Metal, the music, not the stuff that cars and buildings are made out of). But I thought what the hell and decided that I would write something on this. As we prepare for the wedding and reception and all that goes along with it, I am constantly reminded at how lucky I am to have met Bonnie and that life can be so random and present us with such neat experiences (that's for you sweetie!). The fact that we went to the same beerfest....in Idaho Falls no less (I know, its not like we met in Paris, but still that isn't around the corner either). That amongst all those people, we ran into each other (I think it was my rugged, manly, bald headed looks) and later that evening talked and got to know each other and then it grew and grew and grew until BAM, we are getting married! Pretty cool. Anyway, I didn't want to get all syrupy, just wanted to say that life sure can be funny sometimes...okay, not too bad for my first time (I don't want to promise more writings, but hey, you never know)

My wedding dress

I got my wedding dress yesterday!

It was this big debacle cause I tried to order it online through the store but they said it wasn't available ("what does that mean?" I say. "It means its not available" the catalog girl responds). I was bummed. So then I looked at many more dresses online, but I just kept going back to this one that "wasn't available". On a whim I placed an order for it online myself (that girl isn't needed me thinks), and it went through! They charged my card, it was to be shipped to the local store in three days, I was happy. One more thing off my list. Right?

The day before it was to be at the store, my MasterCard was refunded the price of the dress. I freaked. I called the catalog place and spoke with a very helpful man who told me the dress was thought to have been at one warehouse but when they went to pull it, no dress. So then supposedly it was coming from another, further location and would arrive the following week. Wasn't really holding my breath on that, so I was actually surprised when I got a message yesterday that my dress had arrived and was ready for pick up. Yay!

Ordering clothing online is always a bit risky and I was worried it wouldn't fit. I was toggling between two sizes and decided to get the smaller size cause, well, I'm a girl and girls like to hope they are smaller than they are. Also, another fabulous girl trick is to buy something a tad too small then use that as encouragement to lose weight to fit into it. (That trick never actually works for me, but maybe it does for someone...). I know you are dying to know: I was able to squeeze myself into it without looking too garish and still being able to breathe. Yes!

I know this is kind of a boring longish blog without any supporting pictures for those with ADD and way too many mundane details, so here is the summary:

---> I got my wedding dress
---> It fits me. Mostly
---> I stayed within my price goal (under 150-)
---> Yes, I will continue to write blogs that mainly talk about my upcoming wedding, so plan accordingly

Yet another blog site for me

So, I did have another blog but it seems every person I know that blogs is here, so I migrated. I have been itching to blog lately as I have been reading a lot of personal blogs about weddings and whatnot, so it makes me want to share my own personal planning-a-wedding experience. Thats one of the intentions of this blog. I also thought it was a good time start a "family" blog of sorts - with Brandon joining our little family I want us to be able to share that with everyone. Who knows, he may even want to write something. yeah...

Jill dubbed our celebrity mash-up name "Brannie". I think she was trying to tease us, but I kinda like it. Hence the title of this blog spot.

I have become one of those kind of girls...

So, I'm getting married. And in this whole wedding planning process, I have become this person that I didn't think I would ever be. I wanted it to be simple, I wanted it to be small, I wanted it to be easy. I realize now that there is nothing simple with a wedding. Nor is there easy. Small - its still possible and it will be quite small - with about 30 people at the ceremony and hopefully not over 100 at the reception week after.

I have realized lately that by 'simple', I really meant affordable. I don't have a lot of money and I don't want to depend on the folks for much. Its a second marriage for me and I am in my thirties; I feel that means its my wedding to plan and pay for, and I am okay with that. It gives me creative control that I have discovered I very much want.

It has also turned me into one of those women that carries around a folder with a bunch of stuff in it. I remember when my youngest brother got married and his future bride pulled out this HUGE binder with fabric swatches, announcement samples and the like in it. I thought she was a bit crazy at the time. Now, I totally get it.

You need to be organized for everything to go well. You need to plan EVERYTHING. We are planning things I never even thought about, like the exact wording my officiant is going to say, what my guest sign in book is going to look like (I even had a dream about it), and what wine we are going to drink at the reception (which has been fun to do because we have been sampling bottles).

With planning everything (and having much more of DIY wedding than I thought I would) there is a certain freedom about it. we have control over everything - and its empowering. This is our wedding, not our parents, not my kids', and I know that some people will think some of our choice are odd (such as dragging everyone down a dirt road to get married or having the reception at a brewery) but they are OUR choices. And that feels amazing!