Mega Wedding Work Workout Update!

This is going to be a major catch up post! I’ve been a blog-slacker (which seems to be the usual this past year-I realllllyyyy want to get better at posting regularly again!).

Mostly wedding updates, but some work and running/workout updates thrown in there.

On the wedding front, Zach and I have been knocking out wedding to-dos like it’s our job over here! We still have a ton left to do, but pretty much nothing left to buy except for vendor payments and our favors.

 

Invitations were sent out in the beginning of January, and we’ve gotten many responses so far! It’s always so much fun to check the mailbox every day for RSVPs! I do feel like I’ll be having to make some phone calls though, I’m still waiting on 44 out of 79 responses. They only have 9 days left!

In the second week of January, Zach and I traveled to Charleston to do some wedding activties, like meet with our Pastor and our DJ, and take some measurements of things at the venue, and for me to have my hair and makeup trial.

I hope the trees grow some leaves before the big day!

Such a pretty place!

I had my hair and makeup trial on Saturday after meeting with the pastor and going to the venue. Here was my inspiration picture:

And here is the result:

 

Here are my honest thoughts on the outcome:We chose Ulta to do our hair and makeup because they were affordable for all members of the bridal party for hair and makeup. A lot of other people I  had contacted were out of the price range that was ok for everyone. My stylist was very friendly, funny, and a lot of fun to talk to. I do like very much what she did with my hair. I think it looks very pretty. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that while my trial was very pretty, it wasn’t what I wanted. I’d like more defined eye makeup and I want my hair to look like the updo inspiration I brought, not a bun. The problem is, I have no time at all for another trial. Help! Suggestions??

On another topic, my beautiful hanger for my wedding gown arrived! I just love it!

Zach and I have a lot of DIY projects we are incorporating into our wedding. We have 3 foot A&Z letters, signs, cornhole boards for our rehearsal dinner and reception, etc. Tons of wood work projects!

Zach’s best friend and our groomsmen Scott came to help us out a few weekends ago. Dude kills me he’s so funny.

Zach making cornhole boards, while I painted signs!

This past weekend we hit up TJ Maxx for some additional candy bar jars, and also worked more on our signs.

  

Zoe supervised.

Here is one of the signs we are using! More details to come once they are finished!

We (and by we I mean I) finally decided on the groomsmen attire. We are going through Men’s Wearhouse for our tuxedos, and my original idea was that I wanted pink ties and pink vests on the groomsmen. However, I hated the pink tie they had! It was pretty ugly! After many trial-and-error sessions, we finally found an awesome pink tie that matched the bridesmaids and decided on a black vest. Zach modeled the groomsmen outfits so I could see how they would look. I’m so happy with how it turned out! Best looking bridal party!

A couple of weekends ago, we headed south to good ole Mississippi!

We stopped in Starkville for a couple of hours to pick up the wine for our wedding (MS muscadine-the best there is!) and the beer for our rehearsal dinner (Lazy Magnolia), and we also stopped by a few local stores to pick up a few additional decor items for the rehearsal dinner. We also got to have lunch at my favorite restaurant-The Grille!

 

I miss Starkville! But I LOVE Greenville!

Speaking of Greenville, on the work front:As many of you know, in July I started working for Milliken & Company in Spartanburg. I started in the research division, and while it was a great experience and I met  a lot of great people, I wasn’t loving it. Since I only have a masters degree and not a PhD, I felt like I couldn’t get any further than the job I started in. An opportunity opened up for me right after Thanksgiving to move to the Performance Products division/one of the business sides of Milliken and work on product development for the Milliken Military group. While I do still spend a significant amount of time at the headquarters in Spartanburg, I also now spend a lot of time at one of the manufacturing facilities, the Enterprise plant in Marietta!

It’s been an awesome adjustment and I love my new position! Its much more “up my alley”, with product design, still incorporating lab scale trials, and plant scale up!

On the workout front, this week has been amazing weather for running! I got in 4.25 miles Tuesday and 3 last night! I’m loving the weather and I am looking forward to my Saturday morning run! I’ve also been still going to Body Pump! Gotta pump up those arms for the big day!

I was having a lot of trouble losing weight. I was working out and eating well and frustrated I wasn’t seeing any results. I got a heart rate monitor, and it has been instrumental in me realizing that I burned more calories than I realized and was subsequently undereating. Hopefully the scale will show a positive reflection of my changes this week!

Zoe the running queen hates one of the bridges on the Swamp Rabbit Trail downtown! She crouches low, moves as slow as molasses, and spreads her paws out as far as they will go to get over the bridge! It’s HILARIOUS!

Happy Thursday!