Monthly Archives

October 2020

Wedding

Last Minute Wedding Details

October 23, 2020

Hey hey hey, happy wedding weekend! I cannot believe that it’s finally here. As you’re reading this, we’re prepping for our rehearsal dinner tomorrow and wedding on SUNDAY… ahh it’s finally happening! Since we’re so close, this post is going to cover all the little details that have happened in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Let’s get started!

To start off with a couple things I’ve been doing besides wedding planning, let’s talk about my diet and exercise leading up to the big day. I’m not a dieter and but I have made a huge change in my water intake. Up until a few months ago, I could go all day without drinking any water at all. In August, I did the Blogilates 30 day water challenge where you take your body weight and divide it in half and that’s how many ounces of water you drink everyday. I mostly stuck to it and continued the challenge for the next few months and I noticed I actually do feel a lot better when I drink the right amount of water… who would’ve thought?! Not only did it allow me to feel better but I noticed a difference in my skin too which was one of my main goals in doing the water challenge in the first place.

Another thing I started over the Summer was following a workout plan because I didn’t want to get to the wedding day and have my dress not fit… can you imagine?! I started the plan 4 months out. The first and second months, I did the monthly plan that Cassie from Blogilates offers on her website. In September, I switched to her Bridal Bootcamp monthly plan (which kicked my butt!) and then for the first three weeks of October, I did the 2020 Chloe Ting two week shred and I went for a run on the off days. After doing all that, I do feel a lot stronger and it was a nice way to keep my body moving without being able to go to the gym.

For the wedding, we do have a few items that we’re renting from an event rental company so yesterday, we picked them up. I also had my final dress fitting yesterday! The place I bought my dress from doesn’t do alterations so I found a separate company to do some custom alterations and additions to my dress. How they do it there is you have three appointments. One right after you purchase your dress, one about 4-6 weeks before the wedding, and the last one only a day or two before your wedding to ensure it’ll fit perfectly the day-of. During the wedding planning process, my fiancé’s mom hasn’t been able to have a huge hand in everything because they live down in Florida but she was in town for my last fitting and it was so special to have her there! I’d definitely recommend having a few special guests at your final fitting.

And today is my final prep day! This morning, I have a hair appointment to make sure my blonde is wedding ready and then I have a nail appointment in the afternoon. I just can’t believe the wedding is practically here! My next post will be all about our big day and I can’t wait to share! Any final guesses as to what venue and vendors we chose???

Travel

48 Hours in Arizona

October 16, 2020

Hi there, happy Friday! In the midst of all the wedding planning craziness, we took a little break to fly to Arizona for my uncle’s wedding last weekend. It was such a beautiful time – keep reading to hear all about it!

It was quite a whirlwind trip! We left for the airport around 3am on Saturday morning not quite knowing what to expect when we got to the airport. This was our first time flying, or using any type of mass transit, since COVID-19 so we didn’t know what we were walking into. Overall, I’d say the airport was exactly the same. Other than everyone wearing face masks and attempting to social distance, I didn’t notice it to be any less busy than any other time I’ve flown which did surprise me a little bit. Luckily, we flew on Southwest and they aren’t selling the middle seats right now so Connor and I had a whole row to ourselves on the way there and back. Our flights were the COVID-19 version of “full” (~60% capacity/93 people) though so people are definitely starting to travel again.

Once we landed, we picked up our rental car. Tip: If you’re under 25 years old (which Connor and I are) Hertz isn’t charging the young driver fee right now and it saved us a ton of money! Something else to look out for if you’re traveling during the pandemic is the rental car shuttle lines. At Phoenix Sky Harbor, there were literally about 300 people in line for the shuttle – I’d never seen it like that before. They can only let 10 people on each shuttle bus at a time so it got really backed up but they were super efficient with sending buses every couple minutes.

Once we got our rental car, we headed to get a late lunch. We went to the Hayden location of Butters Pancakes & Cafe (click here) in Scottsdale and it seriously was the best brunch we’ve ever had. I got the Belgian waffle with fresh banana on the top, Connor got the garden skillet, and we split a toasted plain bagel with cream cheese. I will admit that we were starving after the travel day we’d had but it was DELICIOUS. If you go, you have to get the orange juice. It tastes like you’re drinking right from a fresh orange and I wish I could have it everyday!

Before we made our way to Sedona, we made a few quick stops since we knew we weren’t going to get there until much later in the evening anyway. Our first stop was Papago Park. Papago Park is close to the airport and is a nice little park area where you can do a super easy and short hike and see some cacti. Next, we stopped at the Royal Palms Resort & Spa because I always see it all over Instagram and I wanted to see for myself! We only walked around for a few minutes but it’s so beautiful – I’d love to stay there someday. And pretty much every inch of it is an amazing photo opportunity! The last thing we did before we got to Sedona is stop at Montezuma Castle National Monument which is the perfect stop if you’re doing a Phoenix to Sedona road trip.

Once we made it to Sedona, we met up with the rest of my family at our Airbnb. We had a stunning view of the red rocks and the house was perfect! It was only about 10 minutes away from L’auberge de Sedona (click here), where the wedding was on Sunday afternoon. The venue was BEAUTIFUL and the wedding was such a success! It got me even more excited for our wedding next weekend(!!!).

On Monday morning, we left for the airport around 4am and flew home. Overall, it was a wonderful 48 hours in Arizona although I wish we could’ve stayed longer! My next post will be about all the last minute things I’m doing this week to prepare for the wedding. I’m so excited… talk to you then!

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Travel Wedding

My Bachelorette Weekend

October 9, 2020

Hi everyone, happy October a.k.a. our wedding month!!! I can’t believe after over almost a year of planning, we’re down to just a couple weeks until our big day. I’ve absolutely loved the wedding planning process and I’m getting so sad that it’s almost over! Going right along with the wedding theme of my recent posts, today’s is all about my Bachelorette party! Keep reading to find out where we went, where we stayed, and what we got up to…

Usually, the Maid of Honor throws the Bachelorette party but since we’re having a micro-wedding, I’m not having a typical bridal party so I got to have a big hand in planning a low-key, fun weekend with my best gals! We originally made our plans back in the Spring so COVID-19 was in full swing and while we were hoping it would be gone by September, we wanted to pick somewhere somewhat local so we decided to go to Philly for a night!

On Saturday afternoon, we all were coming from different directions so we met at Iron Hill Brewery in Wilmington, DE and had lunch. We got to sit outside on the riverfront and it was beautiful and delicious! It was so nice to chat and catch up with everyone. One of them I hadn’t seen since college graduation which was almost three years ago so it was extra special!

Once we made it to Philly, we headed to the hotel. We stayed at the most beautiful boutique hotel ever! It’s called the Lokal Hotel and they have two locations in Philly; we stayed in the Fishtown one. It’s contactless so they don’t have a lobby or a front desk or anything like that, you just put in a code at the door and walk right up to your room! We stayed in the room called the Big Jawn. Keep scrolling to look at the most beautiful 2-story boutique hotel “room” you’ve ever seen!

When I was upstairs unpacking, the girls set up the downstairs with photos of Connor and I, bride and engagement ring balloons, confetti poppers, and it was just perfect! We got there a little later on in the evening and wanted a pretty chill night, especially with being in a city during COVID-19 times so we took our relaxing night in to the next level. We watched Twitches 1 & 2 (hello spooky season!), DoorDashed cheesecake slices from The Cheesecake Factory, made bead bracelets, and I caught them up on all my wedding planning!

The next morning, we had to check out at 11am so before then, we headed out to get a quick bite to eat. We were SO SAD to leave! I seriously could’ve lived in that hotel room for a year and never gotten tired of it. Now we just need someone else in the group to get engaged so we can go back for another Bachelorette weekend there!

On the way home, one of my friends and I decided to make a last minute stop at Linvilla Orchards in Media, PA and holy moly, was that a good decision! If you live in the Delaware/southern Pennsylvania area, you probably know of Milburn Orchards… Linvilla is like Milburn times 100. It was awesome and totally got us in the Fall spirit (as if we needed any help!)! Pumpkins galore and they had a garden center and bakeshop where I could barely resist the apple cider donuts.

All in all, the weekend couldn’t have been any more perfect and I am so excited to see them all again at the wedding in just a couple weeks! In the meantime, make sure to check out my last post on our honeymoon destination options. Have a great week!