Ceremony Housekeeping...

Over the weekend Mr. Joey and I met with the priest who is marrying us and the chapel's wedding coordinator. We weren't looking forward to this meeting at all. We knew there were a few housekeeping issues that needed to be taken care of.

When we first asked about getting married at the chapel, we were told its use would be free to us because Mr. Joey is a teacher at the school. When we finally met with the school's priest, he mentioned that the fee was now $500. Hmm. I should have said something then but Mr. Joey said to wait and he'd check it out.

Using the chapel for free was probably the number one reason we decided to hold the ceremony there. The chapel is out of the way and not really convenient unless you live east of Seattle. When the other teachers at school heard about the fee, well, let's day they we're less than happy. They had also been told it would be free. I don't think anyone else is thinking of using it, but I think they like knowing they had that free option. Many teachers and staff lobbied on our behalf and because of that (thanks guys!) we were told the administration would review the fee and we'd find out what it would really be during this housekeeping meeting. Oh great, confrontation with a priest.

The meeting went OK. There were some highlights and some lowlights.

The good news is that we don't have to pay the $500 fee. We're getting it for $250. I'm totally OK with the $250 because I know all the money is going to the chapel coordinator. She's so nice! She was happy to hear we'd be pretty low maintenance and I was happy to hear she was super flexible should anything change. Now we can use the $250 in savings to pay for the required pre-cana classes. It looks like we'll be spending $200 on those, so I guess the in total we're saving $50? Not bad.

Our second piece of good news is that we can arrange the seating in the chapel any way we want. I know right? When can you do that inside a church? The seats are movable and so is the alter. All we have to do is draw up our plans and Geri will arrange to have things moved. I can't wait to play around with this.

The other piece of happy news is that we will be able to set up a mini breakfast bar outside the chapel. The school is less than a year old, so they are super strict about food and drink inside. Because we're having the wedding early and having all pictures done before 10am, we wanted to set up a breakfast bar for people to enjoy. I haven't mentioned to much about it yet because I wasn't sure the school would OK. But they say it will be fine as long as it's set up at the bottom of the stairs or in the teachers lounge. Works for me.

I don't think we got bad news as much as we got a nice good slap of reality. We're doing a Catholic blessing. We originally wanted to do an non-denominational ceremony but both Mama Joey and FMIL Joey asked that we be married in a Catholic. FMIL Joey has been super great about supporting what ever we want, so we felt like we could do this for her. So, blessing it is. For some reason, we thought a blessing would be the Rite of Marriage followed by a blessing and then we'd all peace out. Um, nope. It's the full mass without communion. Mr. Joey was not happy about this.

Now we need to think about scripture readings, gospels and psalms. We hadn't realized this because in our first meeting, we were told a blessing would take no more than 30 minutes. We weren't provided with any materials about Catholic ceremonies at that time because the school didn't have any. We are the first couple to officially be married in the chapel. I probably should have done some research myself. Doh! So now we're going to get our scripture on. Non-scripture passages cannot replace the two required scripture readings but can be read in addition to them. So that means no non-scripture passages. We've got to be out of there because of the hyrdo races and blue angels. Remember? I freaked out about them.

We also learned that we can't have aisle runner and that we have to use musical selections from their list. I told Mr. Joey to push the list. He's picked out music and I think they are totally appropriate for church ceremony. Definitely more so than Endless Love which is on the list. I think if Geri and Father hear the selections, they'd be fine with it.

So, the meeting wasn't all bad but it wasn't all great. We have a little more work to do, a little less freedom and $50 extra to play with, but I guess that's the way it goes. Did you get any surprises (good or bad) from your church or officiate late in the game? What were they and how did you adjust.

P.S.
If anyone in the Seattle area took a pre-cana or other marriage prep course they really liked, will you shoot me a note or mention it below. Since the chapel doesn't offer marriage prep, we have to get it done elsewhere.

Timing is Everything...

...in life, in love and especially in wedding planning! A lot of people have asked me why we sent invitations so early and my response has been timing is everything. I know I've mention it a lot before, but I have been doing a lot of traveling for work over the last 3 years. When I add up all the time I spend away from home last year, it comes to about 4 full months. I don't leave for months at a time, but I do leave for 2-4 weeks several times a year. Besides being gone a lot, I also have to deal with travel notice, or lack thereof. I've gotten less than 10 days notice for every trip I've taken for work. That seems like a reasonable amount of time until you factor in getting your everyday work done ahead of time or covered by someone else, packing, vaccinations, booking flight and rescheduling personal commitments. I'm not complaining (I know, it sounds like I am), I love traveling for work and I love seeing the "real" work get done, but the traveling can disrupt life.

I don't know how many concerts, weekends away, birthday and weddings I've missed because of travel. Last year I missed my own birthday. I hope Mr. Joey didn't have a surprise party planned! I also almost missed our vacation to New Orleans. We had out tickets booked for months and days before we were schedule to take off, I found out I was headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia the day after we got back from New Orleans. Fun! We got back to Seattle on a Thursday around lunch and went straight to the travel clinic to get vaccines. The next morning I boarded a plane for Addis via DC and of course got a fever on the plane because of the Yellow Fever vaccine. I told you, I shouldn't travel. :) So this is my life and we deal with it.

When we thought about a wedding, my first reaction was to do it fast because of my work. Not elope, but just get married in 2 or 3 months. That wasn't an option because Mr. Joey is a teacher and once school starts, he has no time off. This basically meant we could get married during mid-winter break (February), Spring Break (April) or Summer Vacation (mid-June through mid-August). Mid-winter break was out. Who wants to be in Seattle in February? Not me. April was out because two friends are getting married that month. That left summer. Mr. Joey was hoping to not have the wedding in June. With school finishing up, grades due and general ware and tear from the school year, he was sure he would be too tired for a wedding. Late August was out because both FFIL and FBIL Joey are professors and they'd be back in school by then. Late July/Early August was the best option.

So we found a date (the only spot) we could get a reception venue and booked it. When this is all said and done, we'll have been wedding planning for 13 months. The Save the Dates went out in October and the invites in late February. It was all done really early but our philosophy about wedding planning is it's better to get it done early than scramble at the end. There are definitely things that will have to wait until the last minute like flowers, but on the whole, come July, I want to be triple checking my list with a Pimms cup in hand. I don't want to be begging my boss to not send me on a trip because I'm not done with wedding stuff. Actually, I'm not sure they'd listen. A co-worker postponed her wedding for work. Yes, you read that right -- postpone her wedding!

Life is full of unexpected turns that can make wedding planning a little bumpy. Sometimes you get sick and sometimes you decide to build a house. Oh yeah, let's not even talk about trying to work around building a house while wedding planning. That has been a big adventure and the real work hasn't even started. But I guess you have to adapt. We're planning this wedding around work schedules and time constraints. It's hard, but it's easier than the alternative.
How did you pick your wedding date? Are you working around work/school schedule?

Doing My Homework : The Make-Up

Make-up, Make-up. What to do about wedding day make-up? I can either go with something a little more natural or, I can go with something a little different. My initial thought it do something different.

I'm already wearing a short dress and yellow shoes, why not complete the look with something a little more daring on my face? Something like this?

All these option are different for me because I don't use much shadow. I wear eyeliner (bottom and top lid) and mascara, but that's it. I love the color on the eyes in all these pictures but the nearly nude lip.

I could also break out of my normal routine and go with a dark lip color. I can pull it off with my skin color.

Or I can go with a little more natural look with the help of some eyeliner. Maybe something like this?

The last option is to going with something in between. Natural with a little POP!

all images from project wedding

Both these shots have a more dramatic lash but less color around the eyes.

I'm not sure which direction to go in. Hopefully Ashley and I can try a few.

Are you going with a more natural look or something a little more daring than usual for your wedding day?

Doing My Homework : The Hair

Last time I met with Ashley my hair/make-up artist, I didn't do my homework. I wasn't sure what I really wanted so we played with a few styles. After some careful consideration and few hours lost surfing the web, I think I finally know what I'm after.

I'm thinking a low ponytail pulled to the side. Sweeping bangs in front to hide my crazy hairline. I don't want something that looks "done." I'm looking for something pulled together but slightly messy. If a hair or two fall out of place on the big day, I want it to look like it was meant to be that way. I also want my hair to have some body.

Here's what I'm thinking...

all images from project wedding

I'm leaning toward the low ponytails of American Ferera (pic 5) and Michelle Williams (pic 6) but I really like the messy bun of Misha Barton (pic 3). Actually, I really like her make-up in this picture too.

Is your wedding day hair going to be put together and polished or a little messy?

Calling all Seattle Bees!

Just a reminder, the Seattle bees will be swarming around B & O Espresso this Sunday, March 29th at 4 pm. We hope to see you there!

Thanks to our AWESOME hive hostess doctorgirl for putting this together!

Craig? Make Me Pretty?

Mr. Joey and I were so happy to find someone to document the big day but now I needed help finding someone to make me pretty (and not oily). So of course I turned to Craig again and found someone to make me look comfortable and pretty on my big day.

In comes Ashley. Ashley’s day job is as a stylist for nice salon in the area. On the side, Ashley and her best friend Julia run A.J. Hair and Make-Up. I really liked Ashley because she was willing to come to me both in for the hair trial and the day of the wedding. She is also talented, really easy to get along with and flexible. I had to tell her that instead of starting at 8am on my wedding day, we’d now have to start at 7am. She was super sweet about it and told me that she’d do what ever she could to help me enjoy my big day.

Ashley and I had a sort of hair trial a few months ago. I had really no idea what I wanted in terms of hair. I knew I wanted all my hair up (because of the high neckline of the dress) and that I had to have bangs. Other than that I gave her a huge range of pictures that really gave her no direction.

She showed up at my house and played around with a few styles and talked wedding day details. We were going to do a make-up trial but she had just come from a Redkin conference in Vegas and her make-up kit was picked up by her boss. It doesn’t matter though. I wasn’t ready for that.

Next week we have another hair trial and we’re going to try make-up too. Ashley told me that she just got an airbrush machine, so we’re going to play around with that too. I’m so excited and I’m definitely going to do my homework this time.

So Craig comes through again. This time it wasn’t just the deal and talent I was getting from Ashley, but the good vibes I was getting from her also. Did you go with a vendor just because you just knew they were right for you?

Cracking Craig

So a few readers asked me what I posted to find my awesome photographer and super duper hair/make-up artist.

More or less, this is what I posted:

Wedding Photographer Needed - $300

We’re getting married in August 2009 and in search of a photographer. We are on a very, very tight budget but hoping to still get beautiful pictures to commemorate our big day. We are looking for at 4-5 hours of shooting time (300-400 images), 30 pictures edited/touched up and all images raw and edited on a CD.

This would be a perfect job for a second shooter trying break out on their own or photography student trying to build their portfolio. We have a lot of friends getting married soon, so this would also be a good way to spread the word about your talents.

Please send us a note if you’re interested listing what service you can provide within our listed budget and a link to some of your work.

The wedding is in Sammamish.

Hair and Make-up Artist needed -- $100

I’m getting married in August 2009 and looking for a hair and make-up artist to make me pretty for the big day.

I’m getting married in Sammamish but live in Seattle, so I can come to you (if need be) if you live in Seattle, Bellevue or Sammamish. I'd like to do a hair/make-up trial before the big day.

This would be great for a salon stylist trying to make a little extra on the side or a recent Gene Juarez or Aveda Institute student or graduate.

Please send me a note if you are interested and can work within my wedding budget. Also, if possible, please send me a link to any previous hair/make-up work you've done.


There are a few things I think you should know and do before you post your ad.

Know:

• What you want
• What you want to pay – we told ourselves $300-400 and no more
• What you are willing to compromise on – I knew $100 wasn’t much for a hair/make-up artist so I was willing to go to them.

Do:

• Your homework – look up what popular vendors are charging for the service you are seeking. It will help you understand why you can’t get a second shooter, 500 edited images and an engagement shoot for $300.
• Be clear what you can provide. We have a lot of friends getting engaged, so we could refer people to craigslist vendors.
• Be ready to be slammed both in the number of responses you receive and the tone of them. I got over 250 responses the first day. I also got some very NOT nice responses. One person told me that I must look really cheap and it was no wonder I didn’t care about quality photos.

When you get down to a few candidates, make sure you come prepared with questions and ask them to bring samples of their work. We asked photographers to send us their work but seeing them online and seeing them in person are two different things.

What we’re getting:
We are definitely getting a steal of a deal. Jess is providing us with 9 hours of shooting including over 900 shots, about 100 edited images (more if he has time), 4 DVDS of all the images in color, Black and White and Sepia, and the ability to buy all our pictures from whatever online vendor we like. We are responsible for archiving the photos. Those are the biggies.

I hoped my Craigslist advice helped out.

And I Did it Again!!

So, I selected my first bridal hair piece. Then I selected my second. And now I hope I've selected my last one. I loved the first one but wasn't sure how I'd actually wear it. For some reason I couldn't love it like I should. The second one I also loved and even had boutonnières made to match. I paid and received it and was happy. Then one faithful day I looked at it again and realized it was just not right for a Joey wedding. It was lovely but it was beachy. I put it away and thought I'd feel differently, but I didn't. So I surfed Etsy again until I found a seller with really lovely but interesting recycled pieces. I sent Jess at beetle and bloom a note asking her if she'd be interested in making a custom piece. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I knew what I didn't want. I sent her pictures of my dress, shoes, a link to Weddingbee and pictures of the hair pieces I'd selected and passed on. She was great! She went to work and a few days later came up with these lovely numbers...

Option 1 is smaller but is more in line with the style of my dress. The flower is paler than the yellows we are wearing but it is super cute.

Option 2 is larger and the yellow flower is bolder.

My gut is telling me to see if I can get option 1 with the yellow flower of option 2. I like option 2 but I think it looks like the white flower I bought and decided against. What will Jessica come up with? Only time will tell. But I do like shot 1 of option 2! Maybe Option 2 with a little more white texture to make it look less like what I had before?

Katie of my panel says option 2 hands down -- just as it is.

Which flower would you choose?

Option 1
Option 2
Option 1 with the yellow of Option 2

Option 2 with a little modification to make it look less like my previous beachy choice.

P.S.

If you are interested in my lovely white beachy hair piece, let me know as I'm trying to sell it. :)

Brown Dress Plan : Week 1

If you think back to last week and my post about my health and weight (take a quick glance to fresh your memory), you'll remember that I'm trying to get back to my DC healthy lifestyle.  

My goals were:

1. Spin class twice a week.  

2. Eating breakfast every morning  

3. Weights and abs an hour a week  

4. Additional hour of cardio

How'd I do?

1. Well, I didn't make it to any Spin classes.  Working late one night and an appointment with our architect the other.

2. Breakfast? Check!  

3. Weights and abs an hour a week?  Double check!  I got in about an hour of each this week.

4. Additional hour of cardio?  Triple check!  Since I didn't get to Spin class, I squeezed in 3 hours of cardio this week.

In addition, I also made it to a Yoga class and got in about 3 miles of extra walking with Mr. Joey.  I picked up all the food we ate this week by walking to the store.  Well, that's a lie.  We did stop at the fruit stand on Sunday for weekday snacks.  

Not bad so far.  Did you find the first week of a new health or diet plan the easy or hard?

The Big Invite

I make all the posters for Mr. Joey's band the Tailenders. I'm no professional by any means but I love doing it because it gives me a chance to be creative and be part of activities he enjoys.

When we thought about invitations, I suggested doing a full size poster and Mr. Joey loved it. We didn't know how or what it would look like, but that it would be big and different. No mention of our parents, no mention of bringing two souls together,  just the details and the design.

I came up with 10 to 15 options for posters. The early versions were busy and not quite right. Eventually I work my way down to one basic design and it was just a matter of figuring out what size paper and where to place it on the paper.

We have this great Modest Mouse poster hanging by our front door that's about 9 inches wide and 23 long that we both love. It fits perfectly in the Clips frame available at Ikea. I decided if we were going big, then we were going big. That would be the size of the paper. Mr. Joey agreed and I re-designed the invitation to fit.

If you recall, I tried to screen-print the invites myself but they just didn't come out right.   I was really upset about having to outsource the job but I also had to face reality.

http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/03/05/its-here-its-here-er-um-its-there-its-there/

In the end, it doesn't really matter that I had to have someone else print them.  I love the way they turned out.  I love that our invitations are different.  I could never produce anything like Mrs. Cupcakes invites but I wanted our invitations to also have a lasting impression on those who received it.  I think these will fit the bill.  

I had other invitation ideas.  I suggested to Mr. Joey we sing the invitation to people, burn it onto a CD and send it in a specially made CD jacket.  He wasn't feelin' it like I was.

Did you do anything out of the ordinary for your invites?  What was the most memorable invite you received?

Just Plain Fun!

Mr. Joey is a t-shirt guy. He loves them and has all sorts of odd ones. As I was perusing the Weddingbee blog yesterday, I noticed a post about Sales from Around the Web and a comment made by Mrs. Toucan in particular about a sale at Threadless. Thanks Mrs. Toucan!

We LOVE Threadless. The t-shirts are so cool and you know the odds of running into someone wearing the same Threadless shirt you're wearing are pretty slim.

That being said, I had full intentions of filling my Threadless cart with $5 shirts for Mr. Joey but couldn't find many I liked in his size. Instead, I decided to by thank you t-shirts.

We have a lot of people helping us with this wedding. Some jobs big, some small but all important to us. So along with some homemade Limoncello and Lumpia, I decided that I wanted all our friendors to get something that would represent us and them. So for $70 including shipping, I bought 12 shirts. Yes, 12! One of them is going to be one of my wedding gifts to Mr. Joey, one is a little present for our new nephew, one a birthday gift for a friend and one for me just because. So for less than $6 a piece, I got some awesome shirts!!

For the Band:



from top to bottom:

the Average Bear, Music Box and Allow Me to Explain through Interpretive Dance

For the Ring Boy and Flower Girl:

from top to bottom: Lab Partners, Impostor at the Bird Hotel

For the Reception Coordinators:

from top to bottom: Scare List, mmm...oranges

And for our amazing breakfast guru (post to come):



Gingerbread Nightmares

all images from Threadless

I'm so excited about these shirts because not only did we get a great deal, but they are just plain FUN! Where are you getting your thank you gifts? We're hoping to bring back some fun stuff from Australia too.

Seattle Bee Meet Up

Calling all Seattle based hive members. Mrs. Cherry Pie and I will be joining 12 other hive members for drinks and/or dessert. Please join us! We're meeting at B & O Espresso at 4pm on March 29th. We'll send out a reminder closer to the meet up. Hope to see you all there!

A Yoga Virgin No More!

image

I've been resisting Yoga for several years. I have no idea why but I have. I'm weird, I know. I've tried DVDs and Yoga on our Wii Fit, but I think they just discouraged me from taking a class. The Wii Fit was ok but doing the DVDs just hurt my knees.

A few months back, I was talking to a friend from LA who teaches Yoga and she suggested I tried a class just to learn proper form and the basics. She said it would help my knees. I took her advice and enrolled at this great local studio, 8 Limbs Yoga. The instructor was awesome. She went slow, focused on form, breathing and other basics (like standing and sitting up straight) and was really attentive to everyone.

I did the 3 week, 6 hour course for $60 (a deal if I do say so) and I think I may go back. They have a great intro deal right now -- unlimited 2 month access for $102. They offer a range of classes at different levels including a session about practicing yoga at home. I definitely want to take that class. It would be the perfect way to continue Yoga on a budget after my 2 month deal expires. I may not be able to afford going to the studio 2 or 3 times a week but once a week and practicing at home should be very doable.

I took this class because I thought it would help with my knees but so far I'm getting so much more out of it. I definitely feel more relaxed and for 2 whole hours I forget I'm getting married and building a house. Blueprints, RSVPs and DIY projects are the last thing on my mind. My back and stomach muscles are definitely sore the day after class. I may not be sweating, but I am working something. I've also noticed that already I'm consciously trying to stand and sit up straight. This will help on the wedding day when I'm gliding down the aisle!

I love taking new classes. I took pottery last year and hoped to continue with it but work and the studio location made it to difficult. Post-wedding, I might try and find a closer studio. I should have taken a screen-printing class before I attempted our invitations. I think that would have really helped! I really want to take Pilates or Tai Chi. What new classes have you taken (health or otherwise) to help prepare for your wedding? Was it worth it?

It costs to look good

I've noticed that is a lot of places I've lived, eating healthy costs a lot more than eating unhealthy. Poultry and lean pork always costs more than fattier beef and pork cuts. Fresh vegetables cost more than instant mashed potatoes or boxes of Mac and Cheese. I know there are exceptions like tofu (always cheap and yummy) and frozen vegetables (the price has gone up), but on the whole making low-cal meal can cost more than just buying junk.

Since I'm trying to get back to being healthy and feeling good about my body, I've been trying to eat healthy and exercise more. I'm finding that's easier said than done on a budget. I think I'm lucky because I live near a really great produce stand where I can get fresh fruit and vegetables really cheap but I know others out there aren't so lucky. It's hard to justify the $3 tomato when you are living paycheck to pay check or cutting corners on your wedding because of the budget. OK, that may be a little dramatic but you get the picture.

image

Exercise can be expensive too. Gym memberships, classes, work-out gear, shoes, personal trainers -- it all adds up. I know there are some cheap/free activities out there like running, but what if you can't run?

So I can't run. No, it's not that I don't want run, it's that I can't. A couple years ago I was getting sharp pains in my knees so my doctor sent me to physical therapist. The physical therapist told me that if I hadn't come to see her, I could expect to have surgery on both knees in about ten years. OUCH! I've got some real bone on bone action in my knees. The crunching sound they make when I do squats is no joke. So what does that mean for me? Well, no running, kickboxing, step-class, jumping, lunges and up hill hikes.

When I told my friend that I was looking into getting more healthy (weight and knees) she suggested a dietitian and physical trainer. Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't cover a dietitian even if weight is a health issues unless you are diabetic. A trainer is out of the question because of the budget. So I'm trying to come up with some low cost options to help me get healthed up.

My employer subsidizes part of gym membership dues, so I try to go to the classes I can do like Spin and weight training. There used to be an awesome Aqua class but the instructor left the gym. I used to swim at my gym but the pool water has been a little questionable in the last few months.

Getting to gym can be hard without a car. We don't have a gym that's walking or a short bus ride distance from us. When I got to the gym, I have to make sure Mr. Joey can get me afterwards. Working gym times out between our schedules can get sticky but we try.

To compensate for not making it to the gym, I've bought a couple sets of weights and have some DVDs I like to do at home. I own the Weddingbee approved 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels and I also have the Wedding Workout by Women's Health. Those are great in a pinch but after a while they do get repetitive. My cheap alternative to buying DVDs or subscribing to Netflix is getting stuff from the library. The Seattle Public Library has a great catalogue and a lot of workout DVDs. I put a 5 or 6 in my hold queue and I use which ever one arrives. It adds a little variety without me spending money.

What low costs tactics have you used to lose weight or get healthy?

The brown dress plan

Like many people, I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I'm 5' 1.5" (yes, the half inch is important) and at my heaviest, I was about 175 lbs. I'm sure part of it has to do with genetics, some with bad eating habits (lots of rice as a child) but a lot of it was because I didn't workout much. I had asthma as a kid and once had an attack so bad it kept me in bed for a month. After that my Mom was hesitant to let get involved in too much physical activity. I didn't fight her hesitation.

In the last 10 years, my weight has yo-yoed quite a bit. My first significant weight loss happened at 18 years old in Russia during a study abroad semester. While everyone was gaining 5 to 10lbs, I lost 25lbs not doing anything in particular. I'm sure it was the change in diet and all the extra walking I was doing. I didn't feel any different but my clothes were looser.

I gained about 10lbs back, but still I had lost quite a bit of weight overall. When I got back, I started dabbling in the gym, but nothing serious. I'd ride a recumbent bike or hit the Stairmaster while I read for my classes.

Towards the end of my first trip to Russia. Check out my eyebrows! And my chins...

My second big weight loss again came in Russia. When I was 20 I spent another semester in Russia and this time lost about 15lbs. It was great. This time I really noticed the weight loss. I could see it in my figure. I had curves! Mama Joey and sister Joey came out to visit me at the end of my time in Moscow and couldn't believe what they saw. I think my mom was proud. I was so excited.

Following my semester in Moscow, I spent the summer teaching English at summer camps in Poland. In Poland I got down to my skinniest and most unhealthy size. I went from a size 8 to about a size 2 in 2.5 months. The food at camp was awful. I could barely stomach it and sometimes I wasn't sure it had any nutritional value at all. I think once I had pasta with fruit boiled in sugar and water over it. The weird thing is that I love Polish food. It's hearty and altogether yummy. Too bad I didn't have any at camp. It got so bad that I was actually losing hair. When I got home from Poland I put on about 25lbs within 2 months. I'm sure that was way too fast but my body was hurting for nutrition.

The years I spent in DC and Manchester have to be my healthiest. During my first stint in DC, a co-worker introduced me to Spinning. I LOVED it. I was going 3 times a week and taking a 30 minute abs class twice a week. I ate what I wanted but got down to about a size 6/7 and stayed there. I think the big thing is that I felt really good. I had energy and staying at my size was comfortable. Yes, I had to get to class, but I liked it. I tried to eat healthy but I didn't feel bad if I had a burger and a beer for dinner.

Me and my friend Di in Manchester. Why does my pinky stick out?

Since I've move back to Seattle, I've definitely put on some weight. I've gone from the comfortable size 6/7 to about a 10. So I'm using my wedding as a way to get back on track. I don't have a set amount of pounds I want to lose before the wedding. The places I'd like to target are my upper arms and my calves. My real fitness goal for the wedding and beyond is to fit into this cute little brown dress I used to wear all the time when I lived in DC. I worn it at a time in my life when I was healthy and happy about the way I looked. I'm using the dress to get back there.

I'm not using weight goal because my body plays tricks on me. Really. I can fluctuate 10lbs in a 24 hour period. I have gone down 2 dress sizes and only lost 3 lbs. I don't understand and it's easier (and less discouraging) for me to not focus on weight.

Oh the back rolls and chins...

So, what am I doing to get into the dress? Well, I think I'm going to try to recreate part of my DC life style.

1. Spin class twice a week.
2. Eating breakfast and help my metabolism along (I'm so good at skipping breakfast).
3. Weights and abs about an hour a week
4. Get in other cardio at least once a week

I think the biggest change I plan to make is around walking and buying food. I think one of the biggest things I did to help my weight loss along in DC was walk. I didn't have a car, so I walked everywhere. I liked it. DC is a great walking city. Also, I only ate what I could carry. The grocery store was about 1/2 mile from my apartment, so there was no point in taking the metro there. If I couldn't carry it, I couldn't but it. If I didn't buy it, I didn't eat it. Even though I don't have a car now, I do have access to Mr. Joey's on the weekends for all our food shopping needs. I can buy whatever I want. I think my big change will be buying only what I can carry.


I work 4 blocks from 2 grocery store and 2 minutes walk from a Trader Joe's. If it means buying a couple meals at a time, then I guess that's how it's going to be. If I really need eggs, I'm going to have to go out and walk to get them.

I'm hoping these changes will get me into my brown dress and keep me there for a very long time. Want to see the brown dress? It's coming:)

Have any of your wedding weight loss/health goals extended post-wedding?

Bring on the Madness!

Since the "madness" will soon be upon us, I thought I'd share with everyone a few of the Joey traditions. Our first tradition has of course to do with the NCAA men's tournament. Every year we put together a bracket, invite our friends to play with us and always, ALWAYS watch the final game together. If we're not in the same city, we still both watch and text or IM back and forth. I don't know how or why it is a tradition but it is. I look forward to putting together my bracket pick every year. Go Huskies!! (Sorry Pengy, I know you're a Bruin).

Our next tradition is the Annual Joey End of the Summer Bash. Since Mr. Joey is a teacher, we always end the summer with a party. We supply a half keg and mixers, and friends bring whatever else they want to drink. Sometimes we open up the grill so guest can BYO BBQ. It's a great time. Not stressful at all and cheap to throw. Summers are crazy and we always feel like we miss out on seeing everyone. I can't wait to have our End of Summer Bash also be our housewarming party. Our house building is right on schedule!

Our yummiest tradition has to be Thanksgiving. Every year we prepare a themed thanksgiving meal. The first year we made all the traditional dishes, the second year we had Chesapeake inspired dishes (Virginia spoon bread, Old Bay Turkey), the third year we did Hawaiian food (Kalua turkey, spam fried rice) and last year we had New Orleans on the table. Hawaiian was the easiest and the tastiest but they were all really great. This year we're thinking Chinese or New Mexican. Thanksgiving is my favorite of "our" traditions.

Our last tradition is around Christmas. Every time we go on a trip together, we always buy a Christmas ornament from the city we visited. We have a great one from New Orleans of the Crayfish playing the double bass. I was on Etsy one day (of course) and came across the custom ring bowls by Paloma's Nest. It's a little more than I wanted to spend on a ring pillow/bowl (like $20 more) but the more I thought about it, the more I realized what bigger journey are we going to go on than marriage? It won't always feel like a vacation but I certainly hope it will be filled with many of them.

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Mr. Joey liked the idea of the bowl doubling as our first ornament as a married couple, so I ordered it. We went with just our first names and the date.

What traditions have you developed as a couple? Are you incorporating any of them into the wedding?

You pick'em -- this time we mean it!

Thank you to everyone who shared their favor preference with us. In the end, we went with the luggage tags. I know it didn't get too many votes, but we think they will still be pretty popular with guests.

We didn't pick the limoncello because of the price of the bottles and because when we counted, we had over 30 people who don't or can't drink. We didn't want to come up with two beverage favors. We plan to bottle the limoncello we have and gift it to people who have helped with the wedding. Also, since my sister isn't around, we don't have access to the discounted vodka we need until a week before the wedding. To make the Limoncello, we'd need to start now.

The trail mix was the overwhelming winner (and one of our favorites), but it turns out it is not as easy to get our hands on it as we thought. Shipping it here would cost a lot. We could maybe find a place out of California or Vancouver to get it but each mix differs and sometimes greatly. We'd want to try the variety out first. If my Uncle can get a US tourist visa, we are going to ask him to bring 6 or 7 bags with him to Seattle. Instead of giving mini bags out as favors, we think we'll put them out on tables and at the bar for guests to snack on. It's likely my uncle won't get to Seattle until a few days before the wedding and it would be too much work to repackage them in such a short amount of time. MIL Joey will be here a week before the wedding and can start on the chex mix then.

Weddingbee Reader December had a great idea of just putting bowls out of both mixes with little bags and twists and having guest help themselves. I really like this idea. I also thought of just having bowls out of the mix at the after party. If we can buy the Sri-Lankan mix in Sri-Lanka and my uncle can bring them with him, each large bag would cost less than $1 and fill 20 smaller bags. But all this would depend on whether my uncle could secure a tourist visa.

The recipe cards were also popular but for some reason we just weren't as into it. Besides, we'd only have one or two family recipes to share as the Lake Union Cafe is catering the event. We're doing a breakfast bar and are thinking of incorporating recipes there. I'll explain this in another post.

The CDs seemed like a lot of work and we'd have to make several versions to insure no family went home with multiple copies of a CD.

Yeah, we didn't like the puzzle much either. Too cheesy for us.

So we're going against the crowd and have decided to give out luggage tags. We found a great deal online. We got 150 luggage tags holders for $85.

We know a lot of you let us know that favors often end up in the trash but we're hoping these will prove to be more useful. We've decided that while all the luggage tags will feature variations of our wedding colors, none of them will refer to the wedding itself. We're personalizing the front and leaving the personal information side blank for guests to fill out. I like this particular favor because I can work on it even when I'm traveling. As people RSVP, I can personalize their luggage tag on the road.

So we're asking for your help again, please let us know which designs you like. I think we're going to go with 5 or 6 designs. Both Mr. Joey and I will select our favorites and the top 3 or 4 designs selected by Weddingbee readers will complete the set. Sorry about the clarity of the pictures. When I turned the pdfs into jpegs, they got a little fuzzy. We also have kids coming, so we'd like to have a choice or two for the little ones.

Which ones should we choose?

a) flowers
b) matroshka
c) dots (I'll fix the dots if this gets selected)

d) luggage

e) ABC text (Daniela Melgar)

f) 9 dots (Lan Vu)

g) Umbrella (it is Seattle after all!)

h) chicks

i) mixed tape

j) raccoon eyes
k) plain text (Justin Cook)

l) none, go back to the InDeisgn drawing board!

P.S.
Please feel free to vote multiple times :)

If I had it to do over again - part 1

The Joey wedding is still 4.5 months away but already I'm thinking about what I would have done differently. Don't get me wrong, I still love what we've done and are going to do, but it hasn't stopped me from coming up with "what if" alternatives.

My first new idea? A school themed wedding at McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland. Mr. Joey and I had lunch there when we were in Portland a month ago. As soon as we walked in, we both thought it would be the perfect location for a wedding.

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The hotel-school is located in a neighborhood outside of downtown Portland, but not too far from it. It's got everything you could need on site like various bars, restaurants, brewery, movie theater, soaking pool, guest rooms, a gym for the reception and courtyard for the ceremony. I love how well they preserved the school.

two images above

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It's perfect since Mr. Joey is a teacher who comes from a family of teachers. They have concerts on site and I was even thinking that his band the Tailenders could play the night before.

Think of all the school inspired favors and decor you could incorporate into the site! Stacked books as centerpieces with flowers in vases. Or as a favor what about hitting up your goodwill for cheap used paperback if your favorite titles. My Goodwill sells paperbacks for about $0.69.

Or what about this idea for STDs from Martha Stewart? Wouldn't that be so cute!

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Ah...the fun I could have with this theme. Have you come up with different versions of your wedding that you'll never use?