Hey there! I got married. Brandi Murphy-Burch’s the name. Nice to meet ya.
I got married 2 months ago. We will be honeymooning this Fall, so it’s not like I didn’t have time to reset. It’s taken a lot longer for me to recalibrate and get back into the rhythm of life than I anticipated (by a LONG shot), however. I suspect the drop off of endorphins and adrenaline are the biggest factor. I’ve dealt with my Depression for my entire adult life. I am ADHD. I was on a super fun, exciting roller coaster for the better part of a year and then the ride was abruptly done and the amusement park closed and I had to go back to the mundane life of work, chores, dead car batteries, broken refrigerators, dying dryers, and a husband who is gone half of each week. Real life can be a real bummer sometimes. I am eternally grateful for the good friends, loving family, and patient colleagues who helped (and continue to help) me and us through it all. I am a very lucky woman and I try my darndest to remember that even when I’m beating myself up for not being a perfect rock star 24/7. Thank goodness I married the most patient of men - not always in the moment, but in the long run he is far more balanced and rational, and far less defeatist than I am. Love you, Andy 🫶
I’m finally getting traction again at work. I’m spinning the hamster wheel, as it were, instead of the wheel spinning me.
Also, if you were one of the many kind humans who gifted us for our wedding, I am staring at the box of thank you notes I bought as I write this. My mother raised me better than this. Honest, they’re coming your way. I promise. You deserve all our thanks for being part of our lives and loving us.
All that being said, I wanted to share some of our wedding pictures and highlight some of the special details and moments. Enjoy!
I tried to DIY as much as was reasonable - we didn’t have a wedding planner or a florist. Thank god for our wedding party who helped set up day of, understood my vague neurodivergent vision for the decor, and who made all the bouquets. Extra special shoutout to one of my amazing bridesmates - Justus. She’s fae, I swear. She gave the Eat Drink and Be Married sign I found at Goodwill a major facelift, assembled the entire photo backdrop, not only trimmed my veil but also made a shorter one for me to change into and a matching fascinator clip for the rehearsal, made her bouquet and my gigantic one AND Andy’s boutonnière, and sewed the groomsmates’ pocket squares… in like 24 hours. All in all, this is what we DIY’d:
Pocket squares for groomsmates
Andy’s boutonnière
All bouquets
All table decor
Photo guestbook backdrop
Archway decor (aka the sentient disco blob)
All invitations and signage
My veil(s)
I think I was the most prepared for it, but Andy made everyone cry with his vows. I’m glad we decided to write our own.
Also, I fully encourage including dogs and kids in your wedding. They brought me much joy.
And one final sampling - Here’s our first look. Andy knew what I was wearing (I needed him to be prepared for the boots!) but he hadn’t seen me in anything.
Now to get to those thank you notes!