What people say about weddings…

July 28, 2014

There are a lot of things people say about weddings…

Planning a wedding is fun…

Planning a wedding is stressful…

Weddings are expensive.

It’s not about the wedding, a wedding means nothing…

It is about the marriage, the marriage means everything.

Try to really take the time to enjoy every moment of your wedding, because if you don’t, you may miss something. And all those little details you spent so much time on, you don’t want to miss one of those.

Leading up to your wedding, you may be so stressed, you just want to get the damn thing over with. You will cry. You will just want to go home. But this is normal behavior, every bride feels like this at some point.

But when your actual wedding day comes… Your wedding day will come and go. Trust me, it goes by way to fast.

After your wedding day is over you will remember the time you were so stressed and eloping sounded like a great idea.

But now that your wedding day is over, you are so thankful you didn’t elope… Because your wedding day was the best day ever.

Along with being the best day ever, your wedding day was so much fun you wish you could do it again tomorrow.

There are a lot of things people say about weddings…

and guess what?

its all true… every last bit of it.

Today marks one month since our wedding day. It is hard to believe we have been married for one whole month.

Happy One Month, Baby!

I love you to the moon and back!

Running on my Wedding Day!

July 13, 2014

From the title of this post…

Thoughts of a run away bride may be passing through your mind…

But nope, hell no… There is no way I would ever run away from this handsome man.

no way… we are stuck like glue!

So I wasn’t a runaway bride, but because I am a runner, I was desperately trying to fit a run in the week of my wedding.

I flew out to San Francisco Monday, June 23rd. I stayed in the Berkley area with my mom, and then drove to Upper Lake (Wine Country) on Wednesday the 25th. I really wanted to run over the Golden Gate Bridge while I was in San Fran, but it was impossible. My mom and I were so busy, shopping, eating, and wedding preparations consumed us.

I had been lifting heavy and running consistently leading up to the wedding, so taking a few days off felt really good. Plus my main priority was getting married and having a fabulous celebration (wedding.)

My sisters and now husband met me in Upper Lake, on Wednesday night. I will never forget that smile my groom gave me when he first arrived. He was so happy to see me his wife to be, and I was happy to see him.

The rest of the week was still busy with wedding appointments and errands. So it turned out, I wasn’t able to fit a run in until the morning of my wedding.

My sister made me a running bib that said BRIDE.

We pinned on the bride bib, grabbed our running gear, and off we went. We run a 3.5 mile loop in Lake Port, along the lake. It was gorgeous. I always wanted to run in Wine Country, and what better day to do it then on my Wedding day.

There is my something blue… So blue…

There I am running… I know you are jealous. This is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever run.

Although, it was a short run, any run is better than no run. This run will be an unforgettable one. It got me sweating for my wedding and relived any stress I had.

When my sister and I were done with our run, duh… we stopped at Starbucks. The Starbucks girl wrote Bride on my cup.

With a good run and a lot of Caffeine I was pumped to do the damn thing or in other words, get married to my favorite man, and get the party started.

Did you run on your wedding day?

Wedding Planning: ups and downs, all around…

July 7, 2014

Hey lovelies,

Sorry again for being MIA…

I’ve been one very busy lady.

Weddings took over my months, May and June. Many of you may already know this, but for those who have just started reading my blog… I am a Hair Stylist.

You may also know… I got engaged August 29, 2013 (read about the proposal here.) The minute I got engaged it felt like every client of mine did too. Literally, not exaggerating one bit. My client would ask, “What’s new?” I would answer, “I’m engaged.” My client would immediately squeal, “Omg, me too!”

I will admit – although there were many early mornings, and stressful wedding planning days, it was all worth it in the end. My wedding day was the best day ever.

Yes, I was out of my element. I challenged myself to be as type A and as organized as I could be. Being and artist this didn’t come naturally. I never emailed so many people in my life. I never wrote so many checks. I never went to the post office that many times. I was glued to my phone, answering questions, booking plane tickets, making a wedding website, (check out my wedding website,) registering. I have a slight obsessed personality, so weddings became my life.

This was not a bad thing though… Many of my newly engaged clients were going through the same thing I was… We were able to share stories with each other. For example, one of my bride clients used a lady for dress alterations, who was a total nightmare. I told her the lady sounds terribly familiar similar to one I was going to use, but ended up not using. We both had a good laugh when we found out it was the same lady.

Many of my bride clients needed my opinion and advice (beyond hair and makeup) and I equally needed theirs. I shared my mistakes.

I began telling them about my idea of eloping. Everyone thinks eloping is easy and inexpensive… Well not in all cases. My idea to elope while on vacation in Thailand ended up being cookie cutter and expensive. Thank God, I scratched that idea. Always listen to your instincts… I did not feel good about the idea, and was thankful that I planned Thailand as our pre-moon. My husband (fiancé at the time) and I really got to explore and enjoy the country instead of worrying about trying to get married.

Another good mistake I made which I shared with many of my clients is waiting too long to order invitations. I did not know it was going to take 3 weeks to print, and they were really expensive. Average wedding invite for a small wedding of 50 people is around $500.

When it came to hair and makeup, everyone would ask, “Well, what are you going to do with your hair?” I would answer, “Well, I’m going to do my own hair and just wing it that day.” Mouths would drop in shock. I would answer, “Hair is my thing, at this point, it is the least of my worries.”

However, I pinned a ton of wedding hair ideas on my secret, “Vow” pin board. (I just opened it to the public.)

This was a lifesaver for my bride clients who needed hair ideas. I just handed over my iPad and let them scroll down. I have nail ideas, and make up ideas too.

Anyway it was a very special time planning my wedding. There were times when I hated it and there were times when I loved it. But having clients going through the wedding process as well made it even more special. I could relate to them on a a whole different level.

From the hair stylist who never use to check her email, now I can’t go a day without checking. From the girl, who was always spur of the moment, let’s play it by ear kind of girl, who never dreamt up her own wedding… I am proud to say I planned my wedding and it came out exactly the way I imagined it to be. I am happy to say now I am the queen of wedding planning. I know everything about weddings. Woah… never thought those words would come out of my mouth, but they just did, and it is the truth. I only speak the truth.

Check back later this weekend to read…

On Saturday – enjoy reading a post on my Wedding Day Run!
On Sunday – enjoy reading a detailed post on the Wedding. It will be intimate, charming, and funny! Including tons of pictures.

Wedding Planning and Diet and Exercise Routine…

June 12, 2014

So the count down has officially started. In 17 days my groom and I will make things official, and commit to each other for a life time. In 17 days we will celebrate our love, by having a wedding, sharing it with our closest family and friends.

I am very excited! I can’t wait to be married to Erik – what can I say, he is my favorite guy in the world. I am one lucky girl.

However, I will say this… there has been times during the wedding planning process when it hasn’t been fun. I am not a crazy planner girl, so I have been out of my element. I think the below photo expresses the way I feel about wedding planning more than any words could.

However, I am very proud of myself though because I have planned most of this wedding by myself. I am now the QUEEN of weeding planning. I am soooo thankful for my Mom and Aunt Nina for being my side kicks – I couldn’t have done it with out them.

I will say this- I have been swamped with wedding stuff. When I am not busy planning my own, I have been doing tons of wedding hair and make up. It seems like every time I see a client and tell them I am engaged… They respond, “Me Too!!”

Being swamped with wedding hair and make up has actually been really fun. Because I am also a bride planning my own wedding, I can totally relate to my bride clients on a whole different level. We share stories with each other about the ups, downs, and drama of wedding planning. Plus, it is so special to me to be a part of such an exciting time in my clients’ life.

When it comes to my wedding planning, at the moment, I have my checklist and I’m checking it twice. I also am still emailing vendors back and forth. I have never emailed so many people in my life. But my questions need to be answered and so do theirs. I am hoping by the start of next week my emailing will come to an end. It is coming down to the wire. So at this point I am trying to stay focused.

Ask any of my friends, and they will tell you I am the type of person who always goes above and beyond. I am the type of person who totally gets wrapped up in what she is doing. (For example, I don’t just run, I run marathons.) Some may think I am obsessive and extreme, but I am just trying to be the best person I can be.

My advice to all brides to be…

And that is exactly what I have been doing… Working on my wedding details everyday. I will admit I have never been so tired. It is a lot of work – now I understand why my best friend quit her job to plan her wedding. Wedding planning is like a job on its own.

On the other hand, I did not quit my job, but instead I am working more. I have never felt so busy. This type of stress is normal for all brides to be.

Alright, now that I have told you, I am excited, in love, exhausted, busy, and stressed. Let me talk to you about my stress reliever.

Of course I have been running and lifting. Two weeks ago I finished another round of the Livefit trainer.

As for my…

Along with running, I am now doing Ashley Conrad’s Clutch until I head out to California for my wedding. I am loving the intense circuit training. The one thing I need to stay on point with is the clean eating diet. I am eating clean but I need to eat more, and drink more water. Being so busy has made it difficult for me to meal prep and eat every 3 hours. I will say this though…

I am seeing awesome results. I am looking stronger and leaner. I can’t wait to be in my wedding dress! (I’ll post pics of me in my dress after the wedding.) But here are some progress pics.

The Clutch programs make me sweaty. Running in the heat does too… And although, I am seeing great progress, I have been really sore lately. I am definitely taking rest days when needed. Marathon training starts in mid July so I want to feel refreshed, not burned out.

So thats what I have for you guys today! I promise you, I will be updating more often. I awesome have an amazing green tea product to share with you! Look for that post by friday.

What work out do you use to relieve stress? Do you take regular rest days?