Q&A Part 1: Brett/Marriage

So here is the first of my four Q&A posts! I thought I'd put the most important subject first, Brett and our marriage! I'll also be doing work/school, fashion/blogging and home/apartment. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me but hopefully this will clear up some of the FAQ's I've been receiving lately! Enjoy and thanks for all of the questions you submitted!

1. How did you and Brett meet?

When I was younger, I always went to shows to see bands play. Brett was a drummer in a band called The Potentials. I remember I used to see him around (and thought he was absolutely gorgeous) but it never really got to me until I saw him one night at a basement show. He was wearing his dark, skinny jeans with a black t-shirt, converse chucks and he had his long dark brown hair. He was loading his equipment up into their band van and here I was, chubby little Tiek, thinking I'd never have a shot with this boy. We had mutual friends and I remember shaking Brett's hand that night on the stairs and he was so nice and genuine and said, "It's so great to meet you." and I was in love. That was it for me! I started "lurking" him, haha! I read his xanga, I commented on his posts, I even emailed him and we started talking! We decided to hang out (as friends) and we hung out a few times before he went on tour with Darlington. After he left, we stopped hanging out so much. I'd always see him at shows and give him a hug, but it just wasn't our time, I guess! A couple of years later, I ran into him and it must have been the right time because we started hanging out with friends, developed major crushes on a ride called "the sizzler" and you can just say we fell in love from there. We decided to be "boyfriend and girlfriend" on June 20, 2006 and were engaged on November 30, 2006! It was such a whirlwind but we were completely and totally in love and right for each other.

2. How did Brett propose?

We had plans to get married months before he proposed. Two months after we started dating, we said we loved each other and talked about getting married and how wonderful our lives could be together. A couple months later, we started looking at rings together, and Brett was just kidding one day when he went into a jewelry store without me.. and I giggled out in the hallway. When we got back in the car, I was prying him to tell me if he actually did anything and he wouldn't say a word. It was end of November, right before we got this huge freak snowstorm, and we were driving around his town, Grand Haven (I lived in Grand Rapids) and he was driving toward Lake Michigan. I was like, "What are we doing?" and he says, "Just driving." He pulls into the pier's parking lot and asks if I want to take a walk (it's freezing by the way!) and I totally suspected something. We walked to the very end of the pier and it was so cold and I was ready to turn back and he goes, "Are you ready to go?" and I say... "Yes..." and he goes, "I'm not.." and I turn around and he is on his bent knee. I couldn't even see the ring/box because it was so dark on the pier and he says, "I want you to marry me. Will you marry me?" and I, of course, said yes and we hugged and then immediately said, "Okay, let's get out of here, it's freezing!" Haha!

3. What was your wedding like?

We were married on August 12, 2007! I was 21, Brett was 22. Our ceremony was held at Brett's parent's church. I wanted to get married in Grand Haven, because that was "our" home. I grew up in Muskegon and lived in Grand Rapids, but he grew up in Grand Haven and I was always there with him and this town just reminds me of him and us, so we got married in our "home" town. Our ceremony was simple and afterwards we took trolleys with our entire bridal party to the beach. It was hot and a seriously sunny day, but we walked all the way down the pier to the lighthouse! Our reception was held in downtown Grand Haven at an Italian restaurant's banquet room upstairs called Porto Bello. It was so pretty. Exposed brick, wood beams draped with white curtains and twinkly lights. We had all Italian food and confetti cake for our wedding cake (we always said we would, it's our favorite cake!) It was amazing. Our wedding day was perfect.

(yes it's real!)

4. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

We went to Disney World in Orlando, Florida! It was really inexpensive (we were really poor kids then! ;)) and it was a total blast. We couldn't imagine going somewhere and sitting on a beach all day; that's not our style. So instead we decided to go ride rides, ride the scariest water slide in the world, walk around Epcot, eat total junk food and spend our evenings in downtown Disney. It was so so so much fun.

5. Do you and Brett ever fight?

Well, we really don't fight much. We bicker, of course. "Brett! Will you please just pick up your dirty laundry and put it into the bin. It's not that hard!" kind of stuff. And "Tieka, will you please just choose somewhere to eat because I really don't care!" kind of stuff. The kind of stuff that doesn't really matter and you're over it in five minutes and saying you're sorry. Being married is the best because you know you're going to have to say sorry eventually, so you might as well do it sooner rather than later. Brett and I have never gone to bed angry at each other. We're so good at saying sorry when we're supposed to and if something is bugging one of us, we work really hard to sort it out as soon as we can. As for big things? We really don't have a single issue to work out (besides him being a slob and me being a nag! ;))

6. How does Brett handle your love for clothes and you always wanting new clothes?

To be honest, he really doesn't care! I budget all of our expenses (he's irresponsible with money to say the least!) I make our monthly budgets, I pay all of our bills and I make sure we have enough money for everything all the time.. and if there is extra money in the budget, you can bet I'm buying new clothes! But of course, I always make sure Brett gets things too. And he does. So he really can't complain. Whenever he sees me sneaking in bags from my trunk, he drops his jaw and goes, "WHAT!" and chases me around the apartment and we giggle. And that's seriously the truth! Haha!

7. What do Brett's tattoos mean?

The lighthouse that says "home sweet home" refers to Grand Haven. The three x's are a straight-edge tattoo. The blue bird with the courage banner is courage to think for himself and not to worry about other people, plus his grandpa had a blue bird tattoo. The praying hands are for his sister, Jodi, who died in a car crash when she was sixteen. Brett was 6. The shark is there because sharks are awesome. The day of the dead flapper girl skull is because it looks sweet and there's no real meaning behind that one. <--All of those answers, per Brett. ;)

8. Does Brett read your blog? How does he feel about it?

He says, "Yes, I read it and I think it's pretty awesome!"

9. Was Brett amazed after you were able to lose all that weight?

He says, "Pretty amazing! I was very very proud". (Gosh, his answers are lame...)

10. Are you two planning on babies?

Absolutely! We are so ready right now mentally, but financially and realistically, it's just not possible right now. I'm still finishing up classes and we're trying to figure out our careers and lives first, and then we'll be ready! I'm going to say.. another 2-3 years. I'll be about 25-26, Brett will be about 27-28. That sounds about perfect for us. But we'll see. Life is crazy sometimes!

Thanks so much for all of the questions! I don't feel like I need to add anything else that I don't already add into my everyday blog posts! Hopefully that answers some questions and if you have any more, definitely feel free to email me!