Getting Healthy For The Wedding

The 3 month mark has officially passed! This means that in 2 months and 30 days.....I'll be married. :)

Weight loss is not something I need to really think about all that much, but when there is a wedding on the line, I can't help but focus on it, seeing as I'll be seeing these photos for the rest of my life. If there is any time that I have to look my best, it's my wedding. So I'll spend a moment to take an in depth approach to one of my new year's resolutions. For me, it's a balance of fitness, nutrition and flexibility.

Source: Elizabeth Messina

As far as nutrition goes, we should probably skip this so I don't totally embarrass myself. Basically I eat oatmeal and drink a lot of tea, oh and I eat tons of vegetables. Not so good for the health of my body. And when I "binge" I eat pastries. I am totally obsessed with bagels, scone, croissants. You name it, I love it. Which doesn't bode so well seeing as I pretty much work in a coffee shop for 40 hours a week. :( But this plan of action is neither healthy, nor smart, so this year I plan to change that. I'm sticking to simplicity though. Brown rice, chicken or salmon, and tons of veggies. And today, I didn't even have my normal scone!

Source

I am lucky enough to not have to worry about shedding too many pounds, but instead focus on toning and strength which will show on my wedding day. I decided that the best way to handle this problem (since weight lifting is pretty much out of the question for me) is to take Yoga. I'm just starting out, but so far I can see two things. First off, I have the worst balance/flexibility ever. And second, my body feels amazing after this type of a work out. I am already getting more toned and stretching parts of my body that I never even knew existed before! It is also a totally amazing way for me to shed the stress of my day to day life and the added stress of wedding planning and take a moment to focus on myself. So basically, I'm totally obsessed with yoga. Totally.

Green Wedding Shoes

Lastly and the final component to my personal program is bike riding. Again, totally obsessed. The winter is definitely my off season because it is so darn cold, but I highly enjoy biking as soon as it gets above 70. Instead of going on bike rides every week, I let my car sit in the driveway and take the bike instead. I bike during short errands and to and from Peets. I even bike to Ian's dad's house every Sunday (which is about an hour ride) instead of driving. This totally burns fat and creates muscle at the same time.

I can't say that I am 100% at following this little program of mine, but when I do, I can tell. So for the next 3 months (and hopefully longer) I am going to focus my hardest on doing all of the above. Will it work? I guess we will find out when I see my wedding photos!

Some Decisions Are Harder Than Others....

True statement right there. But it always seems to be the dumb things that are the hardest. Why is that? I hate spending hours picking a font or color or perfect paper. But, I guess the small details are what makes it unique and yours and perfect. SO, I'm bringing in the big guns and giving you guys a choice in my decision, cause frankly, I can't decide! First up, the bridal shower invites. I think I like the wording, but I am open to suggestions. Can't decide which color to pick though.

1. Purple with Purple font.

2. Purple with Pink Font.

3. Pink with Pink font.

Bridesmaid Inspiration Board

It was way to easy for me to be talked into showing off this board that I created for my bridesmaids. But you know me, I really can't keep my mouth shut about anything.

Source: Necklace, Bouquet, skirt, Hair piece, shoes

I'm getting these incredibly amazing skirts in a few different fabrics, so the girls will be a little mis-matched and a little the same. I've decided to find super cute floral and pearl necklaces (I already have a few from Nordstrom and Anthropologie all on sale!). Still haven't decided if I want the girls to wear the same or different colored hairpieces yet. And of course nude shoes, but all different styles of course.

As far as the bouquet goes, let me just say that I am obsessed with this fabric flower bouquet! I can't seem to get enough of it. The girls would look so amazing with this plus it is totally different than any regular bouquet out there. Now if only they weren't $200 a piece! Eeks.

And the icing on the cake of this whole thing is that just yesterday, none of this existed. I had a totally different mock up and even had ALL the dresses purchased. Somehow I was lucky enough that the store took them back for the full price even though I bought them 5 months ago! Incred. I'm so excited they did because this allows my current inspiration to take it's part in the wedding!

What do you think? Are my girls going to look good or what??

Event Designer/Planner {CHECK}

I said I could do it all myself, I said I was strong enough, I think I even said it would be easy at one point. Well, I have since realized I have been wrong all along. The excitement and decision behind getting a planner goes a little deeper than "booking just another vendor" because in all honesty a planner is basically your wedding brain. I thought I could do it all and I actually did accomplish quite a bit on my own, but there was just no way I could finish it alone.

The real kicker that made me decide was the thought of what to do the day of the wedding. After I found out that Holman Ranch doesn't have a day of coordinator it got me to thinking about what that day was actually going to be like for me. There is just no way I could do it all on the day of for very obvious reasons. So, I began the super simple hunt for a planner.

I started the search by looking through The Inspired List. Enter: Shannon Leahy. If you want to talk about obsessions let's talk about mine with her. Totally in love with her design skills. I just stare at the beauty of it all, all the time. She was super sweet and just loved everything I had going for the wedding.

We met for coffee and went over the whole thing. Toward the end she just started with lists and priorities and everything else. It wasn't overwhelming, in fact, I was glad she did because it was the most sanity I have had about this wedding yet. I could just feel the stress lift and began to realize that the whole thing was going to be pulled off and I didn't have to sit there clogging my head with "to-do" lists when I could just get it all done.

The whole point of this ridiculously long story is that I am so very excited and so very happy that I made the decision to get a planner.  She knows what she is doing and she is making sure that I get it all done on time.

{Our Wedding} Take 5

Each week these boards seem to get harder and harder! I feel like I have done a lot of honing in on the basic details of the wedding but when it comes to the details beyond that, I get weary with decision making. The thing I love about Tuesdays is that it forces me to work through those ideas and make decisions. Yay for that. This past weekend I met with the caterer. I now know what to expect from them which totally helps me out. They were incredibly nice and their food was so full of flavor. We then took a little trip over to Holman Ranch yet again so I could figure out where to place everything. That was extremely helpful, I must say!

And now for the trends and additions to my wedding for this week.

There are a lot of places in the venue that I need to spruce up. One of them is the dinner area and the other is the dancing and games area. I really want to have something hanging above our heads during dinner, but the question is what can I use that doesn't look dumb. Mason jars are out of the question (not to mention the fact that I don't want to light 100 candles) but I need something with color. So the thought process is this: do those hanging pom pom things on strings. Every few I am going to have something that hangs down further and that is bigger like the photo above. I could do flowers, or I could do these really cool yarn balls! Or I could do a little bit of both.

The area behind the head table is this amazing wood wall that has SO many opportunities. I want to create a really amazing "set" behind there so to speak. Windows for sure, and maybe some of those hanging balls and flowers?

Wow, today was a great wedding planning day! Now I just have to figure out who in the world is going to set all this stuff up for me. I really need a planner apparently!

{Our Wedding} Inspiration Take 4

I definitely need to get on the wedding planning BIG TIME! I'm not too worried though. I know it will all turn out great no matter what. I'm sort of dabbling when it comes to this board. Can't decide how much lavender and how much cotton to add to the wedding, but I know I definitely want both! And now for this week's "Our Wedding" Inspiration! Oh and don't forget to comment with your answer to the poll. I need help with this one.

Source: Green Wedding Shoes, Every Last Detail, Green Wedding Shoes, Lushlee

Cotton: I am most definitely doing cotton. I want to add it to the bouquets and I want to add it in a few other places in the ceremony and reception. I'm thinking maybe in bud vases? Oh and it looks so cool with these little hanging balls of cotton! Now I need to find a place to hang that!

Lavender: Love the lavender! Let me just put it this way, I always smell like lavender and I buy every lavender product ever. I'm obsessed. I'm thinking (and this is very pre-mature) having the bridesmaid bouquets consist of cotton and lavender. Not sure how it will look when it is all together, but it sounds like a good idea. Now for a little Poll: who likes the idea of lavender and cotton bouquets???

Chandeliers: I really want chandeliers, especially with my venue. But, I have to come up with another alternative, and this light bulb creation caught my eye as the most amazing substitute! It is far more original and if I do it right, they are going to look absolutely amazing all over the venue! I love finding alternatives to things that are just far better for me, and far more original!

That's my wedding planning of the week! I hope you're loving the ideas thus far. I can't wait until April to see it all come together! It's getting SO close I can't even believe it. Oh and PS, my dress arrives in the beginning of February. Going to be a great day.

Poll: A bouquet of cotton and lavender: It'll look super cute and chic, or it's just not a good idea?? Thanks for the help.

Wedding To-Do's and a Recap!

Because I am not interested in putting everything off until the last minute, I have decided to set a new target date for myself. I have decided that I am going to get 90% of the wedding done by my birthday which is on December 9th. This way I can enjoy my birthday, the holidays, and not worry about planning again until January!

Source

I understand the massive goal in front of me, there is A LOT! Since I decided this I have gotten my butt into gear and I have actually gotten things done. One of which was creating the absolutely complete and totally organized list of to-dos....which goes on for quite a while. Each part of the wedding is broken down in a separate section of the list making it easy for my to think with the overall look of the venue and the wedding.

I have 3 weeks and a few days left until my birthday, but I have 4 weekends. But seeing as I work for myself, weekends don't mean nearly as much as they used to.

So, here are the things I am going to get done by nightfall on Sunday. I figure it isn't a bad idea to post these things on here because I actually have to stick to them!

1. Order Cotton 2. Put Lace, Hangers, Chicken wire and twine on the armoire. 3. Get wood for table legs and chicken wire from Home Depot. 4. Get cupcake stands and make the table number displays. 5. Make the ceremony sign 6. Wrap books in kraft paper, lace, and twine to see what it looks like. Mock up the centerpiece 7. Make a batch of two-tiered mini cakes to see if I can do it! 8. Go to Priscilla of Boston and do the final fitting!!! 9. Order fashion accessories 10. Research birdcages and find out where to buy and if they are expensive! 11. Figure out the save the dates and actually send something.

Ok that may be all for now. It is not really that much but it is a lot of going here and there. PS: Who thinks a bouquet of lavender and cotton would look good for the bridesmaids? I can't really picture it but I can see it being amazing.

What things are on your wedding to-do list this weekend??? I hope you all are getting a lot done :)

As far as this past week, we had a lot going on. Plenty of giveaways, updates, and inspiration.

The Inspired List received some much needed changes and improvements! This site just keeps getting better and better! Check it out to find vendors in your area :) and if you want more vendors in your area, let me know the location of your wedding and I'll do some research for you! Check out all the updates and additions on my post about it!

Discount Time! This time it is on something that you'll love, videography packages. I know this is often the first thing to get crossed off the budget, believe me, I have been there, but having the memories of the looks you two gave each other, the speeches and the guests tears can not be displayed in photos. The good news this time is that Silber Studios is offering $500 off any package booked before the end of the year! Check out the details and the packages.

This is my wedding inspiration, Take 3. Well, part of it. I have a whole post about it and you can check out boards 1 and 2 while you are at it! The wedding is less than 5 months away, eek!

MagnetStreet is kind enough to host this giveaway, the prize being 100 free holiday cards. These are fully customizable too! They have a line of invitations and save-the-dates as well, but with the holidays nearing, who doesn't want free holiday cards??? Find out how to enter!

{Our Wedding} Inspiration Take 3

Week 3 and I still seem to be able to come up with inspiration boards t reflect my wedding. This is totally a good thing because it means I am making progress and making decisions. First off, just curious if anyone else fall asleep to color palettes and tablescapes? I do and it pretty much keeps me up for a long time! You all would be incredibly proud of my progress yesterday! I went to anthropologie and got the centerpiece and bud vases. And I got the cutest little hangers that I am using for the armoire. It's going to look so incredible. Then I headed over to Michael's and picked up everything I need to create an epic ceremony sign. Oh and I found little tiny 1 inch wood letters to create the table numbers. Today I am heading over to Home Depot to get some wood and some chicken wire. (somewhere in the process I took up the trade of a woodsman. Well, I call it a woodsman at least)

I finally figured out how to keep everything of mine totally organized. It's this site called Backpack which I never thought to use for wedding stuff, but it is so simple and now all my lists are super organized. I needed that!

Ok, onto my inspiration for the week!

Birdcages: I'm feeling these out but I want something that hangs above so birdcages are definitely in the running. I have to research where to find them, how much they are, etc first but I think these would look great hanging in front of the tree.

Cotton: Yep, I'm doing cotton. I'm thinking of having these hanging strands go behind the head table or maybe in a few other places. They are pretty awesome.

Signs: The signs behind us will be something like this all cute and spelled out!

Windows: OMG, these old windows are making several guest appearances in the wedding. They won't be the escort cards (though that would have been far simpler) but they will be our sign in.

Drawers: I plan on using drawers to hold the favors for the guests. It will be a cute way to display all the jam jars. Luckily, I already have the drawers.

Ok, 4 weeks to get everything done. My backpack to-do list has about 60 items to get done, so wish me luck! Oh and for those of you who don't follow me on Twitter, I was saying yesterday that no one will even make the two tiered mini cakes that I want for the wedding......so it looks as if I will be making those myself. Craftsman and Baker...it has a good ring to it, don't you think??

Check out Inspiration Board Number 1 and Number 2 to get the whole concept of the wedding thus far!

{Our Wedding} Inspiration Take Two

Last week I posted a small fraction of my wedding inspiration. I figured I would post another this week and for the next several weeks until it creates a complete image of the wedding. So here it goes!

Source: Sign, Jam, Vase, Tablescape

Ceremony Signs: I am unbelievably obsessed with these ceremony signs. Holman Ranch actually has a great ceremony set up where I could totally add a sign above it. We are definitely doing this instead of the traditional alter.

Jam Favors: Most of you probably already know that I am doing jam favors, but I love this photo so much that I figured it was worth adding. Still haven't started making the jam yet, and I may have to pick new flavors depending on what fall berries are in season.

Burlap Wrapped Vases: I think I finally decided on my vases, but if there is one thing I know about me, it is that I suck at making a decision without wavering later. Oh, and did I mention that my focus always seems to go on the very minor details like the vase choice?? I really hope I am not the only one out there that focuses too much on these unimportant tidbits. Anyways, back to my vases. I am doing these SUPER cute Anthropologie sugar and cream containers as centerpieces. Next, and to add some filler to the tables, I am going to do a few smaller vases wrapped in burlap. These may have candles in them, not totally sure.

Tablescape: Overall this is a tablescape that I love. I am planning on adding some of these elements to my design but I definitely have a lot of other elements that will make it a very unique table.

So there you go! Are you loving the inspiration so far??

{Our Wedding} The Inspiration

After much deciding and re-deciding on the look of the wedding, I have finally come up with a wedding inspiration board. I have actually started on a lot of the DIY items and things are moving along just fine! I have to say that the best thing I have done was setting my mind to think that I have to be done with everything by December instead of when the actual wedding is, April.It actually got me started!

This is jut one of a series of inspiration boards for my wedding look. What do you think so far of the wedding inspiration??