Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 24, 2016

Brad, you’re pushing her in the wrong direction. It’s past time for you to start listening to her for a change.

Must be quite a list Brad made.

I still think the wedding is going to get tossed out the window in favor of eloping.

It’s not too late to dump him, Toni.

would not be funny if they elope, and get married by someone who found God, left anger behind and became a priest at a small church? ;)

Knowing what I know now…….I’d hold my wedding at a trauma center.

What on earth could take up six pages, before Toni and Brad even GET to the wedding planning meeting?!

Perhaps it is time for Toni to say, “Surprise me.”I really enjoy the way they are turning the gender stereotypes on their head, esp. since i find minutiae very annoying

Aside from my being male, I identify a lot with Toni. I’m a Capricorn, and think that she easily may be. She’s very practical. She suggested staying at TJ’s for a while to save money for another place, not to have it remodeled into her palace. And while she wants to marry Brad, she doesn’t see why the process needs to be so lavish and complicated.

These meticulous wedding plans do not seem to fit with Brad’s character in all the years I’ve been reading Luann. And his beautiful wife to be doesn’t want all this. In short, I don’t get it.

Item #23: Song to play during feeding each other wedding cake: Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”

I have heard that building a house can put people in divorce court but I wonder how many clashes over wedding caused the wedding to be called off?

….and….. that’s the thing about TJ. He doesn’t take notice when his horses are getting away from the barn, so to speak, with all his elaborate plans, and also their effect on people (in this case, Toni). -…and…..that’s the thing about Brad. He doesn’t take notice if the ‘subtle clues’ from Toni’s reaction to TJ, with his elaborate plans…only to foist upon Toni his own set of elaborate plans.-….and….that’s the thing about Toni. She can’t hold all those heavy choices and carry them around. But who can blame her? From her young life onward, she had to put up with the likes of Jonah, and had a lot of whirlwind and constant chaos around her. She likes to keep it simple, and isn’t for all the ‘fuss and bother’. She must feel like she’s studying for entrance exams, while being asked to tell the differences between two identical penguins, in the Antarctic…. and to decide between 75 shades of white….and asked to explain why hot dogs come in packages of 10, and the rolls come in packages of 8….all while riding on a unicycle…..and at the same time, being made to listen to CDs of Justin Bieber gargling to Pat Boone cover versions of classic rock…. and, then, there’s the matter of trying to balance her bank statement….and….

Brad, now is NOT the time to suddenly tell Toni she has to make six pages’ worth of decisions in a matter of twenty minutes or so. Couldn’t you have discussed this with her when you made the list? This is the sort of stuff that will make Toni start to think they’re not ready to be married.

That, plus she may be surprised to find out that TJ isn’t moving out.

Brad is a slob. The only thing he’s ever worked on is his car’s engine, and he wasn’t very good with that. So why are we being asked to accept that he is a meticulous fuss-budget with a 6-page list of decisions outlined before meeting with a wedding planner? This is contrived and unnecessary. There are plenty of more nearly realistic things Brad and Toni could fail to see eye-to-eye about that might now cause them to question the wisdom of their impending marriage.

Suddenly, taking Shannon to the pool seems like the better choice after a hard days work.

TJ has forgotten the the house is rented. You don’t remodel what you don’t own.

Uh Oh! Something tells me Toni is going to panic. It is a comic, so will she really break Brad’s heart?

“The Proof Of Burden”“Pore Judgement”“Too Fast For Daytona”“Love It, But Don’t List It”“Throw The Book At Her”" ‘The Wedding Overplanner’/’Swindler’s List’ "“You’ve Got To Carry That Weight, A Long Time” (♪)“Strapped And Over The Shoulders”“Unabridged And Flooding”“The Rube Goldberg Catalog”“More Straw, Madam?”“Pressure Cooked Her”“Give ’Em The Old Dazzle Frazzle” (♪)“White Noise And Page Strain”“You Need A Paper Cut”Freedom From The Freedom Of Choice"“Why Do You Have To Be So Complicated?” (♪)“Shelter From Taxing”“Weight And See”or “Terms And Conditions Of Endearment”or…..

Bring back Brad’s pointed head

A list is freaking her out? Sounds like Toni is just as big a flake as her brother. Sounds like someone needs therapy… or at least a marriage session with the minister.

TJ forgot to ask about the room addition for Shannon.

TJ forgot to ask about the room addition for Shannon.

What about Jonah’s room?

What straight guy actually wants a big wedding? Toni should dump Brad to save herself the heartache when he comes out of the closet in a few years.

@TEMPLO S.U.D.

Wow…really???

We got married on 3/22/75 and it was great, but I still remember how surprised I was, as the groom, with all the details that go into a moderate wedding, not to speak of the money. But details are not the biggest part I found, wait until you get into who is going to be groom’s men and maids in waiting, although I anticipate TJ as Best man, and Luann as Maid of Honor. At least Toni does not have a lot of female friends we are aware of. Not only that but weddings bring out all kinds of emotional issues in families, and among friends. I still remember it, but I would not have given up a minute of it. Lets see what happens here with Toni and Brad (Bwad). They willl figure out the details, they have so far. It’s the surprises that will be delicious.

6 pages… yuck.. too much complication

some people would find this “new beginning” exciting.*For Toni, it’s just scary. She’s already got enough trauma and drama in her life. (good rhyme, eh?)

Brad’s got a list…Toni is feeling listless.

AH-HA!!!

I SEE What YOU are TRYING to PULL Here, Smiley!

PRETENDING to ‘Selflessly’ Fix Up Brad and Toni’s Future ‘Love Nest’ So That THEY Will Go All ‘Marshmallowly’ and Feel ‘SORRY’ for YOU and BEG You to STAY with Them!

Well it AIN’T Gonna Work THIS Time, Scumbag!

Once the Work is DONE, You’re OUT!

…….., And You AIN’T Moving IN with the DeGroots, EITHER!

Toni mental breakdown in ….5……4…..3….

Concerned that I don’t see Shannon… what’s that brat… er… little angel up to?

This is why the FSM invented Las Vegas wedding chapels, Toni…

Toni’s reluctance to speak up about her unhappiness with the wedding extravaganza is consistent with her avoidance in not speaking directly to Jonah about Shannon’s care. The misery will continue unless she empowers herself in her relationships.

Let’s hope it’s a long car ride.

Call the wedding off already! damn it feels like they’ve been engaged for ten years.

7Today what is especially thought provoking to me are Toni’s various reactions:1) From the disdain she is displaying to both TJ’s list and Brad’s list….. it is readily apparent that Toni is feeling quite overwhelmed. I can understand this fully, with the rushing around she had to do earlier, and the drama with Jonah. 2) However, I am also wondering if perhaps Toni is really not a “detail oriented” person? I am wondering if in general she is more interested in only the end point of a task, or perhaps really has interest in only the big picture? I have known people who are definitely of these sorts of mindsets… and I can be like that in some situations as well. 3) For a person who is really psychologically “end point” or “big picture” focused, a lot of undesired details can certainly put them on edge. To me, Toni looks like she is about to “fall apart” emotionally. I think perhaps at this point, if Brad actually becomes cognizant of Toni’s distress about the “details” is that he should:1) Talk to Toni, saying that he notices her distress, and then take the discussion they have had previously to heart and suggest to Toni that IF SHE WOULD PREFER he can take charge of the details and he will promise to work at developing a moderate wedding plan that is intermediate between Toni’s no-fuss-no-muss tiny wedding and Brad’s initial desire for an extravaganza. 2) If Toni agrees to letting Brad take the reins, then he should work really hard to accomplish just that…. an intermediate…. moderate wedding plan.3) If Toni insists that she still wants to be integral in the planning, then Brad should really take back his enormous list of details and suggest that perhaps they should consider some sort of “package” approach to make both of their lives easier…. and not fuss to much about the details. At least from what I have seen, it is often possible to getting a “wedding package” that is relatively modest-to-intermediate and then they can both relax some. My favorite, funny part of today’s effort is TJ’s array of color choices for the wall…. basically a huge number of different choices for what is basically “white”. TJ seems very set on a “white-ish” color pallet. In some ways, this surprises me…. I would have anticipated TJ would have more of a preference for dynamic colors for walls. None-the-less, I suspect Sheriff will fortunately keep the walls fairly colorful for us in his rendering of the backgrounds…. and I think this is a good thing.

Just to clarify something from yesterday:

JPuzzleWhiz said, about 19 hours ago

@trilogy

Careful — the mods consider that telling someone they’ve been flagged counts as “making personal attacks”. I know this from first-hand experience. I once told someone that they were flagged and got sent to the “Phantom Zone” myself.

That is not true. The comment will likely get deleted, but in itself, that is not considered a personal attack.

My reading is that Brad made that mile-long list, not because all those little details are so important to him, but rather because he is so eager to please Toni, or rather, he wants to make sure that he doesn’t displease her by deciding alone on anything she might turn out not to like. He just wants to give her a chance to have a say in everything, and to save her the hassle of having to think of all that has to be worked out in advance.

He just has a little trouble getting it through his head that she honestly doesn’t care about all those details any more than he does. But I don’t see this becoming a very big problem for them. :)

our wedding was quite simple. immediate family, a few (and I mean only FEW) friends. we had the wedding on my dads’ property, it was fairly informal, and NOTHING fancy. It was not her first wedding -and it was mine -but I don’t go for frills. Typically its the woman who wants all the big plans -so what in the heck is with Brad? K.I.S.S.!!!

I see TJ and Toni together.

My wedding took place in the chapel my father-in-law was supplying for, immediate family, other relatives both sides, some friends, ( about 10 ), and a reception at my in-law’s house, outdoors, with a home made wedding cake. Very awesome, and very memorable, despite the relative simplicity of it.

to Nightgaunt, I saw you asked me whom I was referring to yesterday, i do want you to know it was not you, the other person seems to have been removed so it no longer is an issue.

Maybe they’ll opt to elope.

Toni was stressed enough by being late for the meeting when Jonah showed up with Shannon. That added more stress, and then Shannon screaming ‘no, no, no’ was gas with a lit match. Now Brad hands her a list of things that need to be done right after TJ is showing her chips of ‘white paint’ to choose from, and we all know there are about a billion colors of white. Sheesh! Give the girl a break.

I think Brad may be confused as to Toni’s desires. Someone posted 3 comics, further up in the thread, 2 showing Toni’s apparent dismay at the concept of an elaborate wedding, but I think she still wants a reception, which means she wants some kind of official wedding. She said as much in her imagination when looking at the warehouse. It may be that being she had no Mom or Dad to mark certain milestones in her life, she has gotten into a pattern of ’let’s just get things done’ so to speak, and could very likely be pleasantly surprised when she gets to be the main event for once in her life.

Toni is near either a temper tantrum or a meltdown. If a meltdown, Brad will get wise.

Ha ha! Well, thank you!!!

Brad needs to not confuse showmanship w sincerity. A number of people do that w proposals and with weddings. Toni is big on sincerity itself and on mutual respect and responsibility for the big things in life. All the fluff means little to her compared to hearing vows Brad has written specifically for her, or seeing the look in his eyes.

Toni appears to be under a lot of stress. Let’s hope she doesn’t go postal on us. Yea. I can’t see her carrying a mail bag. ……..:)

Did you ever get a tiny size gift in a great big box with lots and lots of tissue paper? You remember the fun of it and you remember that the tissue paper was there, but most people are not going to remember specifics about the tissue paper because in comparision it was such a minor thing. Fluff at a wedding can be like that, with the setting ultimately being more important to the guests (observers) than the couple, so worrying over-much about the setting can be more of a stress for the couple than it is worth. Better to set a budget and let someone else do that part IF there is the right person for thst to be a viable option. If not, then down the road a simple wedding has as many wonderful memories as a fancy one for the couple because the parts which mater are still there.

Toni needs a list of lists to keep track of them.She only needs a list of lists that doesn’t include itself as one of the lists. Then she might devise a master list of those kind of lists of lists. Darn, fell into Russell’s Paradox

MAYBE… the lists came from the wedding planner so that they could be prepared when they arrive and Brad has bumbled it by not opening the attachment and printing until now.

My daughter’s simple backyard wedding took months to plan and money to pull it off. So did my friend’s planned elopement.

venue, flowers, clothes, minister, hotel, license, food, invitations/announcements, pictures, cake(s), wedding party,..

Look how many choices there are for White wall color that TJ has. Somebody has to make all those little decisions. Six pages may not be bad. It’s just that he sprang it on her instead of spreading it out over the past couple of weeks.

Toni always lets Jonah coerce her into providing unscheduled baby-sitting duties, and although she complains about it to him, she never stands up to him and refuses outright. We see the same thing happening today with Brad and his 6-page list of wedding arrangements that he wants her to help decide. Grow a spine, Toni. It’s your wedding, certainly as much as Brad’s. You don’t have to give in to his desire for an elaborate production. For once in your life, just say “No!!!”

On Lists and Weddings:I once planned for my own wedding. We had lots of lists- guests- foods- dresses- events & attractions- etc

But we missed the most important lists:- how do we want our life organized- what happens if one walks away

The latter lists should have been completed way before a wedding date is set, or kids are conceived.

Free advice.Ignore it at your own risk.

TJ is doing all this stuff for the place, does he not consider the possibility that he probably won’t be living there after the newlyweds live together?

Yeah, lord knows we don’t need another comic about a happily married couple like Arlo and Janis !

I would recommend a traditional but SMALL and SIMPLE wedding for Toni and Brad. Chuck the lists!There is no sane reason for a normal (i.e, not “1%” wealthy) person to spent upwards of $50000 to get married!

I would like to know more about TJ ..

I would like to know more about TJ ..

Spoiler:You want someone to stand beside youPlease, shut up, look at me…

Spoiler Alert II: Someone put a quarter in him and now he won’t shut up. Estimated time of detonation: 2.7 seconds…

Eloping sounds good to me.

I don’t remember any lists when we got married 39 years ago… although today we can’t function without lots of lists :-)

Weddings are such a travesty anyway.

just fly to Tahiti and get married naked! you will have the wedding and the honeymoon in one place. no 6-page list!

or dress in your gala uniforms and let the chief marry you!and let T.J. and the firehouse guys cook you a 5-alarm meal!again, no 6-page list.