Girly Jock Goes Bridal

Save the Dates

2009-10-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

Last week, BK and I sent out the majority of our save the dates. Now, it didn't take us long to decide on wording (which was straightforward, giving the date and place of the wedding, and asking people to save the date). The picture took a bit longer to pick out, because there was a classier picture we could have used (we stayed at the fancy hotel when we went to Mackinac island, and had to dress for dinner), as well as a more "fun" picture (we rented a tandem bike). In the end, we settled for a more generic picture of the two of us, taken when we stopped to walk up a million stairs to look out at the water (I'll ask BK if I can post pictures here, as I'm not censoring pictures so that I'm standing next to someone with a blurred out face), which also had plenty of room in the background that allowed us to write on the picture itself (the "fun" picture did not. I'd already made a possible save the date with, and it looked great, albeit a little too classy for an informal wedding).

Once we'd sized and spaced everything, we got magnet paper and printed them out, along with labels of our address. While BK cut out the magnets (paper-cutter), I put the return address labels onto envelopes, and put the magnets into them. We also had the TV on, to reduce the sweatshop vibe.

Then it was a matter of printing out labels with everyone's addresses (and waiting for all the addresses to come in), sealing the envelopes (we got the envelopes that already had the sticky adhesive, and we just pulled of strip that keeps the adhesive from sticking to everything), and going to the post office to mail them (it cuts the delivery time by a day, and I wanted to weigh them to make sure that I'd buy the correct postage). As far as I know, people have recieved them, and we're just waiting for some stragglers to send us their adresses so that we can send them a save the date.

Clothing

2009-09-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

I already mentioned on Girly Jock that I've found my wedding dress. It's here. It's perfect. But it's extra perfect because the beading is actually a sash. Which means that when BK and I visit his parents for Christmas, I'll be able to take the sash with me. I know that it sounds really stupid, but 1. BK and I are driving, so no I'm less worried about it getting lost/wrecked, and 2. BK's parents have a neighbor who used to make veils professionally. And BK's mom offered to trade her free babysitting if she comes with us and teaches me how to make veils. So I'll be able to custom-make my veil, which makes me really really happy.

Beyond my clothes, I did have to worry about the bridal party's clothes. Initially I'd made everyone pick between yellow and green, then told them that they could pick whatever dress they wanted from JCrew's web site, provided it came in the specified color. The problem with that was that all the dresses on JCrew's web site looked kind of the same to me, some of the bridesmaids balked at the idea of buying something that they wouldn't be able to try on, and there would be no guarantee that the colors would match each other. Also, BK thought it'd look a little rag-tag, especially if there were two different colors, but none of the shades exactly matched.

The problem was that the bridesmaids all have different body types, and I'm not used to picking out dresses for other people (I showed Jeno a dress I thought was cute, and she said "I'll wear it if you make me, but it'll look hideous on me"). And I really, really wanted to find a color that everyone could wear, and if they didn't match each other perfectly, it wouldn't bother me at all. So I decided that if I found a color that everyone liked, they could pick out their own dresses, provided they used the same manufacturer. At first I thought black would work, as almost everyone has a little black dress, and it's fairly flattering. But my mom and my sister both went "THAT'S A FUNERAL COLOR", so I dropped that idea.

Now I should point out that I have 6 bridesmaids in 5-6 states. So I can't just go to a local bridal store with them. Unfortunately, the biggest chain in the wedding industry is David's Bridal (I've heard horrible things about that store). However, I did find a great color that everyone in the bridal party loves (or is just keeping quiet about how much they hate it): my Maid of Honor was on the phone with me when she found it and went "oohh, pretty"; BK's sister went "yay I don't have to worry about having to wear the same style of dress as your sisters, cause we're not the same body type"; Jeno was happy about it; and my sisters picked out their dresses in 5 minutes.

For shoes, I'm being as demanding as the dresses: I've asked for silver strappy shoes. If the bridesmaids want to wear flats, they can either go with the gladiator-style sandals that seem so popular, or ballet flats. I don't care if the shoes match perfectly or not. Frankly, I feel that if people are judging the wedding based on the bridesmaids' shoes, they shouldn't have come to the wedding (no offense to anyone in my bridal party). I'm also happy, because again, everyone seems pleased with that decision.

Sweet Relief/guest list angst

2009-04-14T04:13:00.001-07:00

The reception site and the church are both booked. Meaning that I no longer need to think about anything until late June, and that from here on out, it's pretty much all details. And most of those details are working themselves out: I tend to do my best work when I put things in the back of my mind, and let it chill there. Eventually a great idea comes out when I least expect it.

I'm still deciding on the guest list. I'd like to give my siblings each an invite, so that they have someone else there, besides their date (to minimize any awkwardness of having their S.O.s meet our family) but at the same time, I'd prefer it if I knew and liked everyone there, and I don't know many of their friends. Plus, right now, none of MY friends are on the list (family and close family friends and two sorority sisters who are in the bridal party), although BK's got some friends listed, and some of those friends may or may not be dating some of my friends (I'm really hoping they are, and will be together for the wedding). But I'm also friends with large groups of people, and if I invite one person, I'd feel like I have to invite all 6 or 7 (plus dates).

Now, this isn't the case for all of my friends: there are at least 3 that I can invite without really making anyone else upset, but that's not a very proportionate number of friends I had: my sorority was fairly close-knit, so I was pretty much friends with everybody from my class to the girls who were just initiated when I graduated, and BK was friends with most of the girls in the class above me, so between the two of us, there's a case to be made for all 80-90 girls in my sorority, and a similar case to be made for about 50 or 60 of his fraternity brothers (maybe more).

What BK and I are thinking about doing is making a secondary "B" list that would be made up of people who would most likely be willing to go to the wedding and be available on that day. Since our guest list covers the people in my area that I want to invite, depending on the guest list, it'd be possible to give my siblings invitations as they become available. However, I'm still not entirely comfortable with the concept of a "B" list, as it just seems wrong to rank people.

Update: I changed the guest list to reflect the 3-4 friends I really couldn't picture the wedding without, and tonight I'm going to ask BK to do the same, at which point we'll send the list to our parents for any additions. I'm still not sure about a "B" list, as we really only guaranteed the minimum to book the room, so we won't need to invite more people than the guest list, but I don't want my siblings or their S.Os to feel awkward.

Fun Stuff

2009-04-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, I definitely feel like I've started this blog super-far in advance, so after this, it'll be workouts, thoughts about different products, and random ranting, for at least 6 months.

But a week or so ago, I was running through the knot's checklist, and it occurred to me to add some aspects of my Irish-ness into the wedding. Nothing too big, but enough to match the invitations I found with a claddagh symbol (unfortunately, I didn't bookmark the page, and it's buried in my e-mails, but they look similar to these).

So I've decided to have the bouquets include white and yellow daisies (my favorite), lavender (it smells so good, and it used to be a symbol of love and devotion), Bell's of Ireland (also smell good), and a sprig of rosemary (to remember loved ones who have passed away). I'm also hoping to add a horseshoe (carried like a U, so that the luck never runs out).

I also found a cake topper that I love:

And both BK's parents and mine are both on board with the idea. So my optimism and excitement about the wedding drastically increased. :)

Body-Image Struggles

2009-03-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

I'm having issues dealing with the whole "bride to be" thing. (the negotiation post will wait, as I need to let some crazy out) Some of it stems from refusing to let go of my sanity enough to buy into the fact that this is my "big day" and I'll never be this important ever again, mainly because I KNOW I'll be way more important when I hold BK's children hostage in my uterus for 9 months.

Seriously though, the whole wedding industry caters to women who grew up planning their weddings, not their future careers (mine was a lawyer/spy. The lawyer part didn't pan out. Neither did the spy part, although I'm still hoping on that one.), and even if they didn't they wanted to get married. Except I didn't. Not in the sense that I needed to be married to BK to feel complete. Which is not to say that I'm thrilled to be marrying him: I am. Just that it wasn't necessary for me to be happy.

Which is why, when someone tells me that they got a celebrity makeup artist for their big day, I think "you could have spent a couple hundred on brushes and makeup, maybe take a class on applying it, and when the day's over, STILL BE ABLE TO LOOK THAT AWESOME. Because you have the makeup, brushes, and knowledge". Plus, celebrity makeup artists usually cost more than a couple hundred. Although I get the whole someone else doing your hair thing: it's less stressful, plus someone's touching your head, which is one of the more relaxing things out there.

In addition to that, I'm having issues with the fact that there will be no huge transformation. I mean, every Disney movie, romantic comedy and infomercial I've ever seen has told me that I'm screwed without a big transformation. But I don't have tons of weight to lose, I'm not already a mermaid (so turning into one could complicate the wedding night), don't have a stepmother trying to kill me or stop the wedding, and I've got decent muscle definition.

And it's hard for me to realize that I'm not going to look that much more amazing than I do now. Although, as I keep reminding myself, that's the point: I don't want to be that bride who starves, exercises, teeth whitens and tans herself into her wedding dress, while spending way more than necessary on everything. I want BK always think that I look the way I did on our wedding day, even if that means setting the bar low (by Disney standards).

Reception Site Savvy

2009-03-24T06:26:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend, BK and I (and my parents), looked at a bunch of reception sites. And we found one that we both like, and are deciding between the two areas at the site. Now, in this economy, we believe that we have the upper hand, especially because we are booking so far in advance (you can also get a "deal" if you book a month or so before the date, because the reception site wants to fill that empty room, but you'd need nerves of steel and a great backup plan to do so). But beyond booking in advance, we have other things working in our favor:

The month. While August is in the May-September peak of wedding season, it's also not that popular a month, because of the heat. Further, any date outside of those months (Besides Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day) will be discounted.

The Day. We picked a Sunday. However, any day of the week other than Saturday would warrant a break, price-wise.

The Guest List. At this particular reception site, there's a larger room (which is the nicest room we've seen), and a smaller room (which is almost as nice, and by far much nicer than the other places we looked at). Now, we have just enough on the guest list to get into the bigger room, but we also have enough to fill the smaller room. If we pick the smaller room, it will mean that we'd guarantee less than the 150 we'd be expected to guarantee for the bigger room, and that there would be fewer people on our "B" list who would get an invitation (I hate that we have a "B" list, but BK and I are more popular than I'd thought, and without separating the two lists, we'd have to invite over 200 people, which neither of us wants to do).

Further, the salesperson didn't want to show us the smaller room, and even pointed out its flaws when he finally showed it to us, so we think that he believes that we'll be the biggest party that day (the more people at an event, the bigger the profit). Assuming that he makes a commission on the sites, it's in his best interest to come down a bit on the price for the bigger room than it'd be refuse to do so, only to have us book in the smaller room (where there would be fewer people in a room that's less costly per plate, meaning that he gets a smaller commission). And that's not taking the economy, and the idea that there will be fewer large wedding next year into consideration.

I've got some phone calls to make (to people married at the reception site before, and a family friend who happens to be a wedding planner), so I'll end this post here. On Thursday, I'll talk a bit about how to negotiate a lower price than the quoted one.

How to Keep Your Sanity

2009-03-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

Since getting engaged, it's been tough to avoid all the ads telling me that I need to lose weight in order to have the perfect wedding. And it's especially tough because I know that my own workouts don't really fit the minimum to be considered that I'm actually doing something for my health. I usually work out for 90 minutes, twice a week. And a lot of the minimal workouts stem from the fact that I gave up sweets for Lent, and because of that, I've been eating more fruits and vegetables, and been fuller on less calories (part of my slide into ED started when I decided it was time to start eating healthy, and replaced junk food with fruits. Healthy, yes, but calorically, I needed more to exercise, and didn't realize it), but I haven't hit the magic caloric number that means that it's okay for me to exercise more frequently.

But I do have several strategies in place to make sure that I don't end up crash dieting and/or overtraining (because I'm not going to remain in this healthy but too little to exercise state forever), and because weddings aren't the only major events, I thought I'd share my strategies.

Set Rules. Relatively far in advance, get a pen and paper and make a list of all the things you want to do to get ready for the event (teeth whitening, work out 5 times a week for 60 minutes a session, eat 5 servings of fruits/vegetables). One rule: you cannot expressy say "lose weight" unless there is a specific amount you want to lose, you'll be at a healthy weight after the loss, and you can reach the weight safely (also, weigh yourself before making the goal).
Add the Rules into Your Life Slowly. I've got a list of 25 things I want to add into my life before walking down the aisle. So far, 6 of them have been added. Meaning that I've managed to incorporate them into my life. For example, using the 3 examples above, you can say that eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables and working out 5 times a week are the two that you should get started on fairly far in advance. So the first few weeks, you aim to work out twice a week and eat 3 servings of fruits and vegetables. Once you get used to that, you can increase the amount of times you go to the gym, and the amount of fruit you eat.
Get a Sanity Buddy. A friend of mine is getting married a month and a half before me. And while we sometimes bounce ideas off each other, we also make sure that the other isn't going crazy, or setting herself up to go crazy by ignoring physical activity now (and yes, she is aware that I'm not doing my best effort at working out, but understands why I'm not, and approves of it, as she saw the ED-tricia).
Think Long-Term. I know that sometimes this is the hardest one. But when BK sees me walking down the aisle, I don't want him thinking that it'll be downhill from here. I want to continue to look my best, so that he always feels like the luckiest guy in the world. For me, getting married means that I'm spending the rest of my life with someone, and that someone deserves a healthy partner. But I'm also aware that if I follow the guidelines I've set for myself to get ready for the weddng, I will look my best (at least that's the theory). So if I follow those guidelines after the wedding (within reason, some of the rules involove unhealthy things like allowing my skin to get tan, instead of wearing sunsceen and reapplying frequently), I'll continue to look my best, making future events (friends' weddings, reunions, holidays) stress-free.

The Point of This

2009-03-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I've been a bit...weird when it comes to this blog, but it's kind of because I'm not sure how to write this.

Ideally, I'd like to do this to get some/most of the crazy out of my system before interacting with the physical world around me (yes, I understand that real people read this, but I also understand that it's easier to slowly back away from the crazy on the internet than it is to do so in real life). In addition to that goal, I'd also like to shed some light onto just how crazy the wedding industry is, and why women can turn into Bridezillas. I'd also like to shed some light onto the underhanded things that go on in the wedding industry (and share some of my workouts), so that this blog can be used as a resource by brides-to-be to help maintain their sanity.

However, for those of you who haven't been married recently, I thought I'd share some things that make one look more sympathetically on the crazy bridal shows. For example, some caterers insist that you use the wedding cake they provide. If you'd prefer another baker, they will try to slip a cake-cutting fee into the contract (meaning that, depending on the contract, you'll either be charged for them to slice up the cake, or you'll have to pay to cut the first slice of cake, or both). If this happens to me, you can bet I'll be using cupcakes out of pure spite (since they don't need to be cut, and pictures can still be taken of BK and I feeding each other).

Another big problem: the staff at the reception site drinking. Sometimes at the reception, but sometimes afterwards. The bride and groom (and anyone else throwing a party, so look for this if you do a family reunion or anything else with a catering company/facility that provides its own liquor) are chaged for the number of open bottles, not empties. So the wait staff can start opening bottles like crazy right before the bar closes, then charge the host for all the newly-opened bottles. The staff can then have an afterparty with the leftover food and drink.

Sometimes you can recoup some of the loss by having the open bottles corked and brought home (or sent home with guests, as long as they're boxed up and secured properly, although you should check the local laws about open containers of alcohol), but sometimes the facility will refuse you to do so, citing insurance reasons. Sometimes the contract can prevent this, but it can be hard to catch (unless someone agrees to hang out by the bar) In this case, it's up to the host to decide how to proceed: if you choose to, you can allow the staff to drink the bottles, however, you can also have the stuff poured out (which would mean that the alcohol goes to waste, however it also means that the staff does not get rewarded for their antics). Again, this depends on how upsetting such a charge is to you. Alternatively, you can say that the alcohol can count as a gratuity, and refuse to give anyone on the wait staff a cash tip (if you feel bad, remember that sometimes contracts include a gratuity and and a labor fee. While some of that money will go to the owner/manager, the wait staff is being compensated, and should not be rewarded with both a tip AND free alcohol, at least in my opinion).

Further, most people in the wedding industry do not care about ripping you off, because they know that there's little chance of seeing you again (would you have the reception of your second marriage at the same facility where you had your first?), and because they realize that this is their only chance to get as much money from you as possible.

Anyone else understand why brides get so crazy?

Ranting About the Dress

2009-03-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

The more I plan this wedding, the more I want the whole thing to be over with. Mainly because there's so much insanity in the wedding industry. I mean, where else could you go to a designer's web site to look at dresses, only to find out that not only are prices not listed, but the fabrics that are used to make the gown aren't listed (most times, just the weave is mentioned, not the fibers). And "Satin" can be made with almost anything from silk to polyester.

I'd hoped to avoid a lot of this by having the dress made, but ultimately decided against it because 1. I'd have to trust someone that I didn't know and whose priorities might be elsewhere and 2. my mom and sisters wanted to go dress shopping, and I got the feeling that it was more important to my mom than it was to me.

And it's not that I can't find a pretty dress. In fact, I can most certainly find one that will work. But right now, it's hard to continually find a dress that is beautiful and I can see myself happily wearing, only to look at the dress's description and find out that it's polyester. And please note that I'm not against polyester, but I am getting married in August (of next year), and am expecting it to be very hot.

However, I have discovered two things that I think will be able to help me a lot: 1. prom dresses and 2. department stores.

Here's why: prom dresses are essentially evening gowns. And you can find white prom dresses and white evening gown for significantly less than a wedding dress would cost. JCrew, for example, while not a department store, has a wedding collection with silk wedding dresses for around $300-500 (online only). Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom also have wedding dresses online (although I will be checking the stores).

So far, this one is the winner. Although it's hard for me to figure out how I'll look in it with a tan (I plan on being at least not pasty white, because the honeymoon will be somewhere warm and sunny). But at this point, I'm pretty done with the looking around.

Concepts

2009-03-05T04:43:00.000-08:00

BK picked up my fake engagement ring on Tuesday (Kay's is calling it a "concept ring"). And it's beautiful (it's almost exactly like my real engagement ring, except the real one will be in white gold instead of yellow gold. Kay's even put in the original center stone from BK's mom's engagement ring, so it's got similar sentimentality):

The background is the pajama pants I was wearing when the picture was taken. I know, classy. (there was an angsty rant that accompanied the picture, but I've decided to hold off on that till a bit later.)

Also, the ring sparkles the most under the lights in the bathroom. My hands have never been washed so frequently (and BK totally took me in there a bunch last night so he could see it shine too).

What's Important

2009-03-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit of a nightmare when it comes to the wedding industry: I never planned my wedding as a child (I planned my lawyer by day, spy by night career then). So now, it's not uncommon for me to say things like "for the right price, any venue can be the right place for the reception". But I do understand that while it's "my day", it's not entirely about me: I do want the people who share the day with BK and I to be happy and remember it fondly.

So that's how I've been approaching much of the wedding planning. If I don't have my heart set on something, I ask myself if, 10 years from now (or even 10 months from the wedding day), people will remember it. Meaning, there will be an open bar, because it would be remembered if it were a cash bar. But there will not be an aisle runner, nor will I have the bridesmaids have matching shoes, because if people remember that as a negative, they shouldn't have been invited to the wedding in the first place.

But some things are more complex than that: my mom has mentioned going wedding dress shopping with me twice. And not in an "let's get ideas for your dress" way. In an "I want to be with you when you pick out your dress" way. And I do think that it's something that she's looked forward to for a while, which makes me feel bad about not wanting to do it. So I'll probably compromise and buy a dress instead of having one made (although I draw the line there. I'll be getting a dress I like and am comfortable purchasing.)

And others are a gray area: no one really cares about the favors, but if there were no favors, people would think it odd. It also might look bad, as favors are essentially a token of grattitude that the person came to the wedding. But again: most favors get thrown out or forgotten.

I think I've found a solution (meaning: a plan that I love, and that I think most people will be able to live with): BK and I will donate the part of the budget that was marked for favors to the American Breast Cancer Research Foundation. We will provide cards saying that the donation was made, and I will make those pink ribbon pins for people to either wear, throw out, or put somewhere. Now, I *really* love this idea, because my mom's mom passed away because of breast cancer, and it's a way to honor her (this will also go on the cards).

And again, if anyone remembers these favors in a negative light, they shouldn't have been invited to the wedding.

The Engagement Ring Story

2009-02-26T05:11:00.000-08:00

My engagement ring should be ready by May 1. I'd complain, but I adore the setting, and I wouldn't change how we arrived at it for a second. I've realized that I haven't shared that with you guys, so here goes:

After I'd accepted his proposal, BK pulled a ring out of his pocket, saying that he'd picked that out. I interrupted to tell him it was beautiful (it was), only to have him laugh and tell me he'd got it at Claire's and it was completely plastic. He then pulled a necklace out of his other pocket (a single diamond on a gold chain), and told me that the diamond was the original one from his mother's engagement ring, and while his family would love it if I wore it, I didn't have to and could pick out something else, but he wasn't sure about his taste vs. my taste, and didn't want to give me a ring that I didn't love, as I'd be wearing it for the rest of my life.

Now, his mother and I have had some misunderstandings in the past (nothing major, just breakdowns in communication, although both of us were hurt by it), so I was thrilled that she'd be willing to let me wear her diamond in my ring, and I told BK such. He looked a bit relieved (I guess he'd been mentally preparing himself to tell her I'd hated the idea), and we agreed to go ring shopping the next day. The rest of the night was spent calling family, and having them call us.

The next day, we did some research online (looking at rings), and headed out for Round 1 of ring shopping (BK wanted to do it in two days, so that we wouldn't cave into pressure to buy). On the way to Delaware (which has no sales tax), BK asked if I wanted to look for the ring at Tiffany's. Now, all of their rings were classic, in that they looked like every other engagement ring, except there was a definite huge jump in price, so I asked if we could not go to Tiffany's, and just go to Hawaii for a week instead (if he really wanted to spend that much on the engagement).

He laughed, and seemed happier, although that was short lived, as the first two jewelry stores gave us a hard time about wanting to use our own diamond in the ring. At the third store, when the salesperson asked us if he could help us find something, and invited us to sit, I refused until I got his assurance that we could put BK's mom's diamond in the ring. Then, when he asked what we were looking for I told him I wanted a ring setting that would allow us to swap out the center stone for ours. He said they could do that with all their rings, and started pulling out rings that he thought I'd like.

BK was the one who found the ring, as it combined elements that we both like (he likes the 3 stone ring, I'd prefer something more original). The problem is that my hands are crazy small, so that they didn't feel "safe" re-sizing an existing ring, and I also wanted a different metal to be used (white gold instead of yellow gold). So my ring had to be made, and I guess they're a bit busy right now. However, Kay's (the store that worked with us. I wasn't sure if I should put their names in the post, but they were so good) was nice enough to put our diamond into a loaner ring (which is the same setting as my ring, although yellow gold), so that I'd at least have a "concept" of my ring to show people.

The loaner will be ready this weekend, and BK and I are picking it up sometime next week (he's going on a ski trip, and we like the idea of getting it together). At which point I will post pictures of the necklace, and the Claire's ring, and the loaner ring.

Prep Work and The DRESS

2009-02-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

Last night, BK and I went through a bunch of marriage prep questions. They were all straightforward enough, but I'd be lying if I said that we didn't learn a lot about each other (beyond the fact that BK will probably always be the bookkeeper in the relationship, as I don't keep track of things well. Besides my workouts).

One of the sections was health/appearance. And we were asked some tough questions, like how important our appearances were to each other, and how important the other person's diet was (which doesn't seem that tough, but when half the couple has had an eating disorder, it becomes far more loaded).

But we talked about how we felt answering the questions, and we both thought that it was good for us to know the answers to the questions. We also liked that we were having conversations where we didn't have to think of topics, but got to learn a lot about the other person.

Beyond that, today I'm sending e-mails to some design schools in the area. Why? Because while I accept that if I want to get married in a traditional wedding dress (and I do), I will have to spend money, the fact remains that I'm not spending $600 for polyester (a.k.a. "silky satin" or any of the other romantic ways to say it). Nor do I feel comfortable spending $4,000 for a silk dress.

However, white silk is about $10/yard. So if I can get a grad student to agree to design and make the dress, I should be able to get the perfect dress without feeling like a monster for spending so much. And I'd be lying if I said that this idea wasn't heavily influenced by Project Runway. But I'm hoping that someone's going to be willing to help me.

A New Blog

2009-02-16T06:09:00.001-08:00

I have another blog, which is solely for me to get the crazy out of my head, but because I'm engaged, there's a whole new set of crazy that comes with planning a wedding. And while my readers at Girly Jock have so far been patient, frankly, I'm not getting married for a year and a half, and they're probably going to get sick of wedding planning fast (especially because it is a health/fitness type blog).

I'm going to try to update this at least once a week, and it'll most likely be updates on planning, ideas I'm kicking around for the decorations, or rants about the craziness that is the wedding industry. There may be times when I post the same thing on both blogs (like if I try a beauty product or spa treatment, as that would fall under health/fitness and wedding planning).

I may also post workout and strategies for dealing with the pressure of being engaged.