• privacy policy
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • Shop the Home
  • Before & After Home Tour

North Country Nest

  • RENOVATIONS BY ROOM
    • The Exterior
    • The Entryway
    • The Living Room
    • The Kitchen
    • The Guest Bathroom
    • The Guest Bedroom #1
    • The Guest Bedroom #2
    • The Laundry Room
    • The Office
    • Master Bathroom
    • The Garage
  • DIY + DECOR
    • Cleaning + Organization
    • DIY Projects
    • Furniture
    • Home Decor
  • RECIPES
    • Appetizer Recipe
    • Breakfast Recipe
    • Dessert Recipe
    • Dinner Recipe
    • Drink Recipe
    • Garden Recipe
    • Lunch Recipe
    • Snack Recipe
    • Soup Recipe
    • One Pan Meal
    • Meals Under 30 Minutes
  • SEASONAL
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Holiday
    • Winter

An Engagement Story & Wedding Flower Preview

Lifestyle· The Wedding

16 Aug

Shed hunting, or the act of combing the forest for deer antlers, is not my idea of a good time.

When Brett and I first started dating, he’d ask me to go shed hunting with him and I’d say something along the lines of, “Go hiking? Yea, sure!”

DIY wedding bouquet

Once we were out in the woods, Brett had, “Kelly, keep your eyes down! You can’t find any deer antlers when you’re looking up,” on repeat. I would laugh and mutter some form of ‘mmhmm, yea sure.’

After an incident with a cow herd and one too many times saying, “Kelly, look down!” I think he finally gave up and decided it was best to venture out on his own.

DIY wedding bouquet

Fast forward to May 4, 2016. It’s a Friday night and we’re just about to go to bed. Brett nonchalantly asks if I want to go out for dinner the next night to the Saint Paul Grill.

After the conversation, two things stuck out to me as odd: 1) Brett initiated dinner plans to a fancy restaurant. In the four years I’d known him, I could count on one hand how many times that happened. 2) He wanted to drive into the city…on his day off.

DIY wedding bouquet

The next afternoon as I’m putting on my makeup, Brett says to me, “I don’t really like that shirt. Do you have anything else?” After picking my jaw up off the floor, I turn around to see him digging through my closet.

What the hell?!

DIY wedding bouquet

We had lived in the house for an entire year and I had NEVER seen him even open my closet door, let alone physically pick something out for me to wear.

Then he started commenting on my jewelry and how I didn’t have any nice necklaces that weren’t the size of my face.

What the hell?!

DIY wedding bouquet

The final straw was when he told me I shouldn’t wear heels because we were going to take a long walk…along the river. He suggested a nice pair of flats.

Clearly, hell hath frozen over.

DIY wedding bouquet

After trying on fifty different outfits and debating about JEWELRY with my boyfriend, we headed over to my parent’s house to drop off the dogs and have a quick drink.

As soon as we got there, Brett disappeared into the garage with my dad and brother and I sought solace with the girls on the front deck.

After about 20 minutes, Brett came over and sat down next to me. He calmly asks, “Want to go for a walk on the path and look for sheds?”

DIY wedding bouquet

Why yes, of course that’s what I want to do before we head to dinner.

“Absolutely not.” I reply.

“Kell, come on. Just a quick walk. Let’s go.”

“No. Why in the hell would I want to go walking right now? I’m dressed up and wearing my nice shoes. I didn’t come to hike.”

DIY wedding bouquet

This back and forth goes on for about five minutes.

Finally my mom interjects, “Kelly, go show him the new picket fence I bought.”

“Fine. Let’s go shed hunting right before we go to dinner,” I say sarcastically.

So, we walk around the house and head out on the path. He then has the audacity to tell me, “Kelly, look down. You’re not going to find anything looking up.”

To say I lost it would be an understatement.

DIY wedding bouquet

“Are you [expletive…use your imagination] kidding me, Brett? I’m wearing flats and dressed up for dinner. Why in God’s name are we out here HIKING?!”

After I finally shut my mouth I look at Brett. He’s uncharacteristicly calm and maybe even slightly smug.

“Kelly, just keep your eyes on the ground,” he says.

DIY wedding bouquet

I throw my head down and all of a sudden, WHAP. I’m smoked in the face with a tree branch.

If I had any sort of composure left, it was quickly out the door followed by another string of expletives.

“BRETT! If I wasn’t so busy keeping my head down I wouldn’t have just gotten nailed in the head with a tree branch. WHAT THE HELL?”

We continue walking for another five or so minutes, along with the bitching and not-so-subtle glares in Brett’s direction.

DIY wedding bouquet

He notices and says one more time, “KELLY, LOOK DOWN!”

I throw another quick glare his way and my eyes find the grass.

There in the open field is a deer antler, sitting just so perfectly.

I turn around and face him.

“Are you kidding me?! You’re trying to TRAIN me to shed hunt so you PLANTED ONE?!”

“Kelly… just go look at……….”

And his voice trails off because as I walk closer to the antler, I see the most beautiful ring hanging from one of the tines.

Speechless for the first time that evening, I turn around to see Brett right behind me. He picks up the ring and gets down on one knee…

Maybe this whole shed hunting thing isn’t so bad after all 🙂

p.s. the flowers are freshly cut from my own (!!) garden as a test run for our centerpieces and bridal bouquets, and they’re ready for their time in the spot light.

All our best,

 


Related posts:

Default ThumbnailApril Rewind 5 Tips for Saving Money When Looking for a Wedding Venue Minnesota Bridal Consignment Roundup rustic wedding seating chartDIY Rustic Wedding Seating Chart

7 Comments

Previous Post: « The Creative Gallery #244
Next Post: The Creative Gallery #245 »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jodie says

    August 16, 2017 at 6:48 am

    Ahhh beautiful!

    Come join us at Reader Tip Tuesday and share your story (it’s open all week & growing xo)
    http://www.jodiefitz.com/2017/08/15/reader-tip-tuesday-craft-recipe-party/

    Reply
    • North Country Nest says

      August 16, 2017 at 7:36 am

      Thank you, Jodie! Heading over now to link up ??

      Reply
  2. Donna @ Modern on Monticello says

    August 21, 2017 at 2:25 pm

    Beautiful and funny story. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
  3. Nikki says

    August 22, 2017 at 2:50 pm

    haha I can totally relate as my now husband was totally WASTING my time when suddenly he proposed. Great story!
    🙂 gwingal

    Reply
  4. Jodie says

    August 24, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    CONGRATS – I featured your post this week as a congrats on your wedding planning :). Love your flowers = it will be very beautiful! Enjoy every moment of planning xo

    Grab a button & join us this week http://www.jodiefitz.com/2017/08/22/reader-tip-tuesday-party-crafts-recipes/
    Its still & growing all week :)…

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Creative Gallery #245 - North Country Nest says:
    August 20, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    […] getting married THIS Saturday, August 26 and thought it was a perfect time to share our engagement story and give a sneak peek of our home grown wedding […]

    Reply
  2. Reader Tip Tuesday a party full of Crafts & Recipes says:
    August 22, 2017 at 7:39 am

    […] Congratulating North Country Nest on her engagement & wedding planning activities. I love that she’s using flowers from […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

oh, hi!

We’re Brett and Kelly! A husband and wife team tackling our first complete home renovation. We love all things DIY, our two furbabes and lazy summer days out on the lake. Our mission? To share the journey of turning a house into a home.

[posts contain affiliate links, which means we make a small commission if a purchase is made, at no additional cost to you. thanks for supporting north country nest!]

the archives

Copyright North Country Nest LLC © 2023