4 Months 'til the Big Day!

The time has honestly flown by this past 11 months! I cannot imagine people who can plan their entire weddings in the time span we have left, as I am still completely overwhelmed by what is to be done and feel like absolutely nothing has been crossed off the list as of yet. (I know that isn't exactly true, as the previous 100 or so posts can prove... but it still feels like the "to-do" list is much longer than the "done" list).

Our newest journey towards marriage, as I introduced last week in Wednesday's wish, is the hardest one yet. One would think that courtship, dating, and the road to engagement, added to wedding planning, would put the most stress on the relationship. I challenge that claim. Have you ever tried training with your fiance? This new fitness journey has proven to be an obstacle that Kyle and I will need to work through with more patience and understanding than I've been naturally blessed with. I am not against getting fit and healthy, or even paying someone to help, but an entirely new challenge is posed when the level of competition is present. I am not a competitive person by nature, nor do I do well when others dictate decisions such as what to eat for breakfast for me, so my natural defense mechanism has proven to be getting angry that I have to sacrifice so much time, deliciousness, and relaxed muscles in lieu of eating proteins all day, scheduling my days around working out instead of work, and feeling sore on a pretty consistent basis. However, in the moment while I am at the gym, I feel pretty great, and after eating a solid healthy meal, I still feel satisfied. I just have to get past the initial shock of saying goodbye to cookies or pasta.

On the positive side, Kyle and I kicked off this fitness journey with a literal journey this past weekend. Our weekend consisted of somewhere between 21 and 29 miles of hiking the back country of Arizona in Aravaipa Canyon. A 5 mile hike in with at least 25 pounds on my back in record time, headlamp assistance needed, was the Friday night cardio kickoff. Saturday we ventured down Hell's Hole Canyon and added another 10 miles or so to our total for the weekend. Sunday was the reverse of the Friday night hike in. This is the 3rd time I've done this hiking trip with Kyle, and I really have enjoyed the tradition, sore muscles, blisters and all! We were joined by some good friends and groomsmen. Thank you for REI for supplying our gear (and future registry) and the military for the MREs! Here are pictures to commemorate the weekend, our last 11 months of engagement, and to kick off the final push (to use a mountain climbing term) towards our wedding day .

Right before we hiked out of the canyon- a little dirty but in great shape!

Sun setting on the river and canyon walls

A waterfall at the end of a canyon hike

Lunch Break! Representing the Alma Maters!

Photo courtesy of Jared Ross- Groomsman

Hiking through the river with the lush green landscape

The walls of Hell's Hole Canyon- so appropriate for my literary passion

Wednesday Wish: A buff bod!

I am getting today's wish, thanks to my loving and motivated fiance. Today we booked our pre-wedding personal trainer and sessions. I even convinced him to work out with me in the mornings so I'd have the rest of my day. This is perfect timing with the upcoming summer break. I'll be able to establish a routine before I get back into the stress of work, and hopefully this is the turning point I'll need to see the real results I am hoping for! This bride will be buff in her wedding dress come September!

Via Pinterest

Meet and Greet- Maid of Honor 1

I couldn't have possibly chosen one sister over the other, so I am putting them both to work for my wedding! I know that neither of them has much experience in being in a wedding, but what better way to break them in than to be in their older sister's?! I am going to give each of them their own meet and greet page, since for most of their lives we've just referred to them lovingly as "the girls".

I am starting with the middle sister, Amanda. Amanda had to suffer and endure the torture my brother bestowed upon her when she became the third member of our family, AKA "slave". This traumatic childhood lead to her being the kind and compassionate member of the family as an adult. It is only fitting that she majored in elementary education. I am proud to share my teaching profession with her and love when we get to share stories about students. At least she understands my stress and annoyance when it comes to work.

Amanda is not just caring, but creative. She has been the baker in the family for awhile now, starting with an early experiment of melting chocolate in the microwave (caution: chocolate burns), and leading to a recent cupcake endeavor. She also creates endless crafts for the summer camp program she runs through our local community center in Shoreview, MN. She has even more of a connection to my past with her following in my footsteps at my former job as a daycare employee at the health club, and then in her involvement in show choir, although I believe she is a much better singer than I ever was. I also hope that I was a bit of a help in her choosing to attend Indiana University for college as I had visited it during my year of traveling for Delta Gamma and fell in love.

Currently Amanda is in charge of making a card box for my wedding, as I trusted her with the skills to construct one in a creative and practical fashion. I am sure she can apply her teaching tools to get the task done. 

Thank you, Amanda, for stepping up to the challenge of helping me out with my wedding, which I am sure from an outsider's perspective is starting to look like a total production! I hope you'll wear your red dress proudly!

Back in the day! Amanda on the left.

Many family Christmas photos of "the girls"

Girly drinks at the lake

In Branson watching Cassie perform in the show choir.

I think this may have been her first martini

She attended my graduate school graduation from ASU! I fell the first time we tried to get this photo.

At cousin Ben's wedding

"I have to be related to you in the future?!"

Wednesday's Wish

I found a new necklace I am in love with! Still not buying accessories until I have an actual dress to test them on! #waitingpatiently

Etsy.com

Monday Meet and Greet!

Lenny, it is your turn! Lenny was my sorority "mom" in college, which was a blessing as at first I was skeptical about sorority life. The fact that we wound up together was fate, as she was president, then I became president, and the love for the anchor sealed our friendship. After Delta Gamma, I also helped to set up Lenny with her husband, and was a bridesmaid in her wedding way back in 2003. Needless to say, she has rightfully earned her spot in my wedding.

Beyond the commonalities we shared in college, Lenny and I have an uncanny ability to talk like we only saw each other yesterday, even after weeks of not having a conversation, or months of not seeing each other. There is never a dull moment when we are together, laughter fills the air and hurts our stomachs. We love martinis, girly things, and we are both neat freaks. She is going to be an extremely vital resource to me when we start to have children, with 3 of her own, and I thank her for taking one for the team and having kids first to help us and provide hand-me-downs.

My memories with Lenny range from sitting on her front porch and playing "Traffic", to spending countless hours at the DG house working together as a part of Chapter Management Team, to visiting her and Nick in New Jersey and touring around New York. I can say that whenever a major event happens in either of our lives, we have always been a part of it. She was the first person to answer my late-night text when we got engaged!

So Lenny, thank you for being my friend for the past 13 years, and keeping me from going crazy.

We even found an anchor at her wedding- July 19, 2003!

My surprise 30th birthday trip to Colorado Springs (from Kyle) at my favorite bar- Jack Quinn's!

Wednesday Wedding Review

Another weekend, another wedding, at least that is how it feels at this house! This time we got to travel to beautiful Madison, WI for my cousin Ben's wedding. It was great in many ways. First, we got to see family that we haven't seen in way too long; second, I got to see Madison again after even longer; and last, as with any wedding, we had plenty of cake, dancing, and booze.

Since most of the weddings I attended in my childhood were in Wisconsin, I feel like a Wisconsin wedding is the "original". There were many classic elements at Ben and Dawn's wedding, from the traditional church ceremony, to the 50's and 60's rock songs, and even cameras on the tables for guests to capture the behind-the-scenes moments. I got to see all my relatives cutting a rug, and enjoyed catching up in between dances.

Some of my favorite details included a touch of Colorado! The guest book was purchased in Crested Butte, where we just traveled in October, and the card box was covered with a collage of photos from the region (my cousins have family there from the my aunt's side).  Here are some pictures of additional details:

Pew decorations

"Getaway Cars"

Hershey Kiss rose bud favors!

Leftovers? I am not sure I'd be willing to give up my extra cake! :)

Red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate!

The family and the plus ones

Orange is in our color palette, too!

Monday Meet and Greet!

Kaycee, bridesmaid number 3 that I've profiled, is another former college roommate. Best known for her late night missions, from raiding friends' houses to making stops at Wendy's after the bars close, she was my partner in crime. We wore our sunglasses at night, and black hoodies, and drove with the parking lights on to remain discreet. One time I tried to get a free burrito from Seven Eleven, which failed because I fell on the ground in front of the cashier. She shared many a Grateful Dead with me at Jack Quinns, danced with me on our hydraulic kitchen table senior year, and made sure that the Air Force boys didn't take over our apartment every weekend.

Senior year, I lived with Kaycee in our 3 bedroom apartment, where one room was for all our many guests. Her original late night missions started with renting carpet cleaners from Walmart when she couldn't sleep. Then we escalated to breaking in our friend's when they turned us down for a guy. We soaped a car window once with evil messages about leaving our girl friends alone so they could spend time with us. We also spent my most memorable Super Bowl ever together, where we didn't care about the teams at all, but made the entire thing a drinking game so we could make it through.

Beyond the crazy college antics, Kaycee is the friend I can call on whenever I need to vent about life. She is supportive of my emotional stability. She may live in the middle of nowhere Colorado for now, but even there we found fun in the gas-station-converted-to-yoga studio. I couldn't imagine my wedding without her yelling at me to stop freaking out, or handing me the bottle of champagne to ease the tension. I got a chance to be in her wedding, and now both she and her daughter are in mine!

Thank you for keeping it real, Kaycee. And making me laugh. Keep those tricks up your sleeve in the case of tears on my wedding day, please!

At Kaycee's Wedding

A preview of part of my wedding party!

Wednesday Wedding Review!

I am very excited to share some of the awesome details of my good friend Jill's wedding on April 21. First, the wedding was held in the beautiful chapel of the University of St. Thomas, where so many friends from my high school attended college, so I was quite familiar with the area. The reception was located in a historic country club on Lake Minnetonka, where we were fortunate enough to stay the night (due to the college friends being procrastinators, we got rooms there instead of the reserved hotel!) 

Jill and Justin

We all knew the Jill's wedding would be epic, as she kept mum on the details throughout the past year of planning. In college she was notorious for her intricate scrap books in the sorority, and when we saw the invitations, we knew that she had put her skills to the test.

Then, we arrived at the reception to rapidly enjoy as many cocktails as we could during the 1 hour "pregame", complete with drink holder in our friends' baby stroller :). Only when the doors opened to the dining hall did we take in the entire picture. See the following pictures for all the details:

The card box- AMAZING!

The appetizer- spinach dip love!

The homemade (wrapped) candy bar

Centerpieces and glittered table numbers

The Guest Tree

Delta Gamma Love