The day we became “the Purzyckis”
Asheville, North Carolina
If you had told me five years ago that guy Ryan Purzycki would be my husband, I would not have believed you. I honestly never thought I’d be so lucky to have him as my husband. We became friends in October of 2014; it’s five years later and we’re freakin’ married. I am so incredibly thankful that God’s plan for us when we met in college was to build a foundation that would end up being used in our marriage. I’m here just to share how special that weekend was for us; the weekend we became the Purzyckis.
My family and I stayed the whole weekend at Twisty Maple and waking up every morning to that mountain view was incredible. The staff there was so kind and truly worked to make our stay so special for us.
Our rehearsal and dinner was held at Twisty Maple too. We’re so thankful for my in-laws who made that evening so special. We had tacos and margaritas in the yard, with a mountain backdrop. Our friends said so many wonderful things that we don’t deserve, but we just loved having them all in one place, together. My face honestly was sore from so much smiling. To end the evening, my dad created a video about the story of our relationship and my family debuted a film, “Brothers of the Bride,” per Barker family tradition. Whenever someone in the fam, get’s married, it’s customary to make them a movie, and somehow I completely forgot. It was such a surprise for both me and Ryan.
The whole weekend felt like it was made for us. We were married on Sunday, so Friday and Saturday we were able to hang with our people who came from so far away. Only six guests there were actually local to Asheville. The rest came from all over the US to celebrate with us. It was a dream to see our friends and family get to know each other over the course of the weekend. Without the help and work of my mom, Georgi, this weekend would not have meant to us as much as it did. She baked our cake, embroidered hankies, met with vendors, found our venues, to name a few.
Our vendors were our friends, which made it all the more special. Juliet Furst illustrated and designed all of our stationary, invitations, etc. Crazy talented gal. You might recognize the start of our “The Purzyckis” pennant logo - we absolutely thought she captured us so well in the postcard that we just had to keep those icons alive.
The ceremony and reception were held at Taylor Ranch in Fletcher, NC. The staff there was amazing - so helpful and made the day go so smoothly.
Our friend, Christine of Xine Benz, photographed the whole weekend. Never has our live been so documented. She captured oh so many details and moments that we’ll cherish. And it certainly helped that all the photos were so beautiful.
Andraya Northrup, of Flora Wedding and Event Flowers, created such beautiful floral masterpieces, that we wore, held, gazed at. She created little scenes on the tables at the reception with flowers, greenery, and logs from the backyard of my childhood home.
Hankies were embroidered by my mom, Georgi Barker. Rings from Brilliant Earth and Zales. Stationary printing by Miller’s Professional Imaging, Shoes from Lotta from Stockholm.
For generations, my family has said goodbye with the wave of a hankie. My great grandmother, Meo would bid farewell to her family with the little handkerchief she kept tucked under her wristwatch. It was only fitting for us to depart with our people waving us on! Oh, what a beautiful day it was.
