Stevie and Brady had been using dating apps for a little bit but had just downloaded the app Hinge in March of 2019. The same day Brady downloaded it, they matched. Stevie was tired of going on bad dates and was about to give up on the online dating thing, but told herself she needed to meet Brady, but if they did not work out she would be done with online dating. After an agonizing seven days, Brady finally asked her out (after she offered up her number because she was impatient), and they planned a date for the next Sunday!
Stevie watched Brady walk into the café from her car. She took a deep breath and walked into the restaurant. Brady quickly realized he didn't know how to greet her, so he played it safe and shook her hand. Stevie had been awake since 6:00AM and was absolutely exhausted, planning on leaving after an hour or so at the restaurant with Brady. Brady and Stevie ate bad food, played weird games, and talked for about five hours before Stevie wasn't sure if she could stay awake anymore. Brady walked her to her car, where he realized he didn't know how to say goodbye. He, once again, went for a handshake. Stevie thought this was a bad sign. Brady thought a hug was too much commitment to ask after a first date.
One evening, Brady picked Stevie up from her house to find her in a nice dress, with her makeup done, and her hair curled. "You look fantastic!" Brady said as she hopped in the car. "Oh, thanks." Stevie still hasn't mastered the whole "I'm not trying too hard" look. Stevie was nervous and Brady's comfort was, "You'll be fine! You're not awful." Which was not exactly encouraging,,, But it all went okay! The scarier of the two meetings was Brady meeting Stevie's parents. He walked in the restaurant and Stevie waved as the color was draining from his face as he saw how tall Stevie's dad was. Everything was fine, Stevie's parents were both making fun of her and having a lot of fun doing it. Brady awkwardly laughed as he tried not to upset either side. Somewhere in all of this, Stevie's mom says, "She's gotten a lot better since she got out of rehab." To which her and Stevie's father BUST OUT LAUGHING. She then explains that it was a joke, Stevie has never had to go to rehab, and it was all a joke. Stevie still doesn't think it's funny.
Brady currently lives on 100 acres with his family in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, where the two will be getting married. Stevie and Brady spend quite a bit of time on the farm playing with his dog Jet (who is ecstatic to have a new mother) and looking for deer out on the four-wheeler! If Stevie had been told 5 years ago she would be driving four-wheelers, jet ski's, fishing, and shooting guns, she would not have imagined that's something she would be voluntarily choosing to do. Funnily enough, she loves doing all of those things now, and her and Brady love going on adventures at the Lazy B!
Whenever Stevie and Brady first started dating, she quickly realized how much of a dog person he is. This is intimidating because Stevie's family has cats, and she has grown up with them! She loves them dearly, but wasn't so sure that Brady would. Much to both of their surprise, he is best buds with Taz, Jack, and Stella! Stevie's other cat, Pepper, hardly likes anyone, so she just hides when Brady is over. Stevie and Brady love playing with the cats, watching movies, and playing games with her family when they are at her house. They have also developed a tradition of playing Go Fish or Crazy 8's every time he is at her house. This is mostly a stalling tactic on Stevie's part to make him stay longer.
Stevie and Brady had talked about marriage and knew they were approaching an appropriate time for it. They talked about it for a few months before deciding they were ready. They talked about the wedding, the rings, where they would live, all of the logistics. Stevie showed Brady one of the rings she liked as an example, and he ended up buying it for her! Stevie knew the ring was on its way because she had to figure out her ring size. One day, when she was at Brady's house he said he got an email that the ring was delayed (which she later learned was actually just a shipping confirmation email. It was coming early.) They talked about it a little bit and left it. Stevie accused him, mostly sarcastically, of making it up to throw her off. He played it cool and really convinced her. One night, at Stevie's house, she kept making jokes that he probably already had the ring. She really did not believe he did, which is why she made the jokes. Little did she know Brady actually did have it in his car because it came in that day. He had planned to print a photoshopped version of one of the cards in Villainous, a game they play together, and have them play the game so he could give her the card and propose. This was all planned for the next day. Well, he didn't make it. Stevie was walking him to his car and making jokes about the ring. Brady made a show acting like he was faking grabbing something out of the car. Then, he hugged Stevie for a suspiciously long time and got down on one knee. The first words out of Stevie's mouth were, "that's not real." It was real. And then an hour later she realized she hadn't said yes, so she did then!
Brady and Stevie really wanted to have a fun wedding with their friends and family. They planned on using Brady's church, inviting about 100 people, and going to Disney World for their honeymoon. However, as the climate changed and COVID was shutting things down, they decided they wanted their families to be comfortable coming to their wedding. They also didn't want to plan a wedding they might not be able to have anyway if things change. So, they had to make some tough decisions and invite family and a couple close friends each to the wedding on the Vineyard property. Stevie and Brady are now planning to go to Colorado to ski on their honeymoon and are excited to be getting married, even with all of the difficulties that come with planning a wedding during a pandemic.