The blog has been fairly quiet lately which is largely due to the fact that wedding planning and work have consumed my life lately but also has a lot to do with the fact that I’m not really training for anything. Although Ragnar Trail Run is definitely on my radar, the only thing I’d consider myself training for right now is a wedding dress.
As of today, we’re 18 days out from the Future Best Day Ever (this is the name of my Pinterest wedding board). Wedding planning is really heating up and there have been some really stressful days. Overall, things are going smoothly but there is just so much to think about. What time should the hair stylist arrive? When is the photographer coming? Where should we take the photos? What gifts should we get for our parents? What will I wear to the rehearsal dinner? What will Mike wear? Decisions decisions decisions. I’m a pretty decisive person so this process has been smoother due to that, but in the end, no matter how decisive you are it is still tiring to make so many decisions.
One piece of advice I received recently that I would like to pass on (which I didn’t follow myself, but hey, maybe I can save some future brides some stress): limit yourself to three Do-It-Yourself craft projects. DIY projects are by far the most stressful part of wedding planning. If i didn’t have a few crafts still looming over my head, I’d probably be a lot less stressed! When I went to my final dress fitting the owner of the shop gave me that advice. I counted up my DIYs and came up with 8 – oops. Four of the projects are very crafty and four are just more personalization rather than crafting but did require a lot of work ( these are personalized printed materials). We are also writing our own vows which is another (but fun) DIY project.
As for workouts, I’ve started to incorporate more heavy strength training thanks to a plan that Jeremy’s brother and his girlfriend created for Asia and me. It’s a three day a week program and I plan to follow that plus go to two Club Pilates classes per week until the wedding. On top of that I hope to get in 3-4 runs (more like 3 I’d guess), 1-2 of which will be trail runs. I’m enjoying the strength training a lot and it is definitely a fun change of pace for all of us. Jeremy’s brother created a 4-5 day a week lifting plan for Mike and Jeremy and they are pretty excited to get after it.
As for running, the love of the trails has kept me coming back for more. I did, however, sign up for a road half marathon which takes place on December 29. After we get back from our honeymoon (October 12), I will map out a plan and stick to it so that I have a successful race that day. The course is a nice net decline of about 700 feet so it is set up for a fast time. The main reason I am running it is actually due to this net decline since my big goal marathon, Mountains to Beach, has a 14 mile segment of gradual downhill that I’ve heard can kill the quads and make the final 6 miles extra tough. I figured running this half will give me a good idea of what is in store. AND since my 30th birthday is December 25th, I’ll also be running this race in celebration of my new age group! I’m actually almost ready to get back into serious running training so I’m excited to have this race on the books!
Any final wedding tips to get me through the next 18 days? Anyone else want to run the SD Holiday Half!?
I am so impressed with all of your craftiness!! It looks like things are really coming together! I’m sure it will be just gorgeous! That’s interesting advice about not doing more than 3 DIY. I actually had planned on more than that, but after I started my first one I realized… no way. Because you’re right – they are stressful and time consuming. They always take more time than you think. Your advice comes at a good time, I was just toying with the idea of another DIY.. Just say no! 🙂 Good luck with all the rest of the planning – woot!!! 🙂
You look great!! That is an awesome picture. And I really like the wedding box for the cards. My tip would be this: all the little details that you end up thinking are going to matter so much just really don’t when the day comes. Not in a bad way, but in a way where it doesn’t have to be as perfect as you think it does right now. When my day came there were things in the wrong places here or there, and I just didn’t care. I was so overwhelmed with the joy and love of all of my friends and family around me, and the fact that the flowers were in the wrong places or the cake wasn’t quite what I had pictured just didn’t phase me. I kind of was just like, “ha. hm.” when I saw things that weren’t how I pictured them. Prior to the day of I was being very detail oriented and thought I’d truly care that everything was perfect. In the end you’re going to love love love the day of so much that everything will be just perfect.
Thank you! that is a great tip – I really think that’s true. Just this weekend we met w/ the coordinator and I said, “Do you think anyone is gonig to give two shits if I paint these mini clothes pins yellow” and of course I answered my own question. NO. No one will notice. Maybe one person. So it’s not worth my time and money to do it! Hah. 🙂