Bridal-plasty

I think most brides-to-be think about self-improvement at some point during their engagement. Whether they want to tone up, lose some lbs, clear up their skin, or the like.  Some, like the contestants on E!'s "Bridalplasty" go so far as to make some major changes. As for me, it's a bit of a combo! Let me explain...

I am making a sort-of major change. I got Invisalign! I had always wanted to straighten my teeth (which got a little "crowded" when my wisdom teeth came in), and one of our daily-deals websites had an offer for Invisalign I couldn't refuse (and it was through our family's orthodontist, too!).  I'm currently on tray 5 of 13, and my teeth are noticeably straighter. I haven't had any side effects (i.e. no lisp while talking with them in), and I am now totally used to wearing them.  I'll be on tray 9 or 10 come wedding day, so definitely more than half-way there! So happy I did this.

I've started to get once-monthly manicures.  I see such a difference in my nails when they are healthy, and I am always excited to make an excuse to pamper myself :)  This is also a relatively inexpensive "maintenance" as mani's are about $10.

Gym & diet - I wouldn't say I'm on a "diet," but I am now (...with 9 weeks to go!!!) super conscious about what I'm eating/drinking.  I'm limiting my weekday alcohol intake (bye-bye glass of wine..or 2...after work), increasing my veggies, and watching my sweet-tooth. Again, not looking to lose weight, more just about keeping healthy!  I've also tried to incorporate more running into my work-outs, as I feel like that gives me the best results.  My arms & back will be the most "exposed" (spoiler alert Adam - my dress isn't a mid-driff or see-through corset! Sorry!), so I am trying to keep up with my Body Pump classes, push-ups, etc..

Skin and makeup - my skin loves to play tricks on me.  One day it'll be cool, calm, and clear.  The next? A disaster!  I've heard from other brides that they tried to wear less make up in the days and weeks leading up to their weddings to allow their faces to "breathe." As long as I don't have major puffy eyes or a big old zit to cover-up, I think I might try this tactic, too!

Anyone else have good pre-wedding trips as far as health & beauty go? :)

Playing Catch Up

This is getting REAL.

We're under 80 days (!) and have been able to keep the productivity in full-gear.  Besides all of the small details we've done over the last few weeks (ordered our sparklers for the send-off, scheduled hair appointments, looked into flower girl baskets and moss letters), I had one HUGE detail to check off my list...MY FIRST DRESS FITTING.

We went this past Saturday, which worked out well because Adam was out of town (yep, I totally lied when I said he wasn't going to be doing any more international traveling before the wedding! Whoops!).  So Mere, my mom, and I made a day of it - dress fitting, a yummy lunch, and some wedding-related errands!  The fitting was not only AMAZING (y'all, I love my dress!), but it took a lot longer than we had anticipated.  I was able to try it on with all of my accessories so we really got the entire-package-look :) I go back at the end of March for my next fitting, and then once more before the big day!

We're headed to FLORIDA tomorrow for a wedding weekend - one of Adam's buds from high school is getting hitched.  I can't wait to wear flip-flops, drink a cold drink, and sit by the pool.  The weather is looking niiiice.  Of course, I'll have to stick to strapless bathing suits (if you remember me posting about my tan lines from this ancient post!).

Enjoy the warmer temps!!

100.

In exactly 100 Days I'll be getting ready to walk that aisle and become Adam's wife (!!!!).

Crazy how fast these last few months have gone by, but I knew they would.  And now the real work fun starts :)  We had an insanely productive weekend in Charlottesville (Mere, my momma, Mrs. Matthews, and Kate joined Adam & I for the weekend) - we crossed off lots from our "to-do" list, got great ideas, ate TONS of yummy food, and just got to spend a lot of great time together.

My mom and Mere have all the pictures of the weekend (in all the hustle & bustle of getting ready I completely forgot my camera) but we did document the trip!  It was so great tasting all the food we'll be serving at the reception (y'all better come HUNGRY!), choosing our linens/serving plates/etc (I'm so excited about the final product), and - one of the highlights - meeting with the organist to choose the songs for our ceremony (and on May 7th there will be 100% chance of bride-tears, seriously, no way around it! I started tearing up just hearing the song I'm going to walk out to with my dad).  Sheesh.

With just 100 days to go (well, the weekend actually kicks off in 98 days!), we're trying to cross off as many small tasks that we can get done NOW instead of later.  I've been spending time researching decorations, DIY projects, etc. I can now picture the ENTIRE weekend and it is going to be a dream come true - we just have to get it all done :)

We're off for a weekend of skiing with our family!  We're actually heading to a place we were this summer for my friend & b'maid, Nancy's wedding! Yay!

P is for PRODUCTIVE

Man alive - this whole wedding thing really is starting to come together!!  Adam was out of town for a week with business (hopefully his last international trip before the big day!), so I found myself with some free time on my hands... luckily I used it wisely (instead of just watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills).  We conquered a lot!

• I have my rehearsal dinner dress!  It seems funny that I've had my wedding dress for months and haven't really given that much thought to what I'll wear the rest of the weekend.  BUT, did I hit the jackpot a Neiman Marcus :)  The morning we went shopping, I had brunch with a few girlfriends and told them, honestly, I didn't think I was going to buy anything - I didn't know what I wanted!  But when I saw the dress, it hit my like a ton of bricks! I am SO excited about it... but I am not going to post it here :) 
• WEDDING INVITATIONS ARE ORDERED!! Holy-weight-off-my-shoulders.  We aren't really "paper" people, so we had no clue what we wanted these to end up looking like.  We ended up ordering something very "Blair & Adam" that is still simple, modern, and classic.  We also ordered some of our other "wedding stationery" (escort cards, out of town bag labels, etc.) - I love progress!
• The ultimate wedding-vendor meet-up takes place in 4 days - yeehaw!  Both of our moms will be with us as we do our tastings, meet with wedding planner, all of our venues, and more.  Plus, I love a good excuse to head down to Charlottesville ;)
• The smaller stuff: Mere & I went to Michaels to get our craft-on.  I get great ideas from blogs, but really needed to see what was available to us from the stores in our area. There are some things I am not going to make (like monogrammed moss letters), but others I'll definitely tackle (like the rustic wooden "Wedding" sign I'd love to have outside of King Family Vineyards).  For these DIY projects - the earlier you start the better!

The entire day/weekend is really starting to take shape, and I can totally "picture" it now :)  OH, and we're creeping up on 100 days... AHHH!!! :)

Quick update!

The month of December has FLOWN by! Hasn't it?  With all 4 Reilly kids' birthdays, Christmas, and a busy month a work, that whole wedding thing has taken a back seat ;)  But we have hit some other major milestones (er..at least they are to us!).

• ALL THE SAVE THE DATES ARE MAILED.  Man, we had been like 95% done for.eve.r.  But now I can say, it, we're DONE.
• Adam started looking at suits for the dudes! I'm actually really excited about how cute these guys will look :)
• We have a design for the CAKE and I didn't think I'd be this excited about the cake, but I am. And, it'll taste as good as it looks. Amen.
• We met again with our amazing, sweet, super organized & creative day-of-coordinator!  We got some GREAT ideas for the wedding! And she helped calm our nerves about all that we have left to do (thanks Kate!)

Things still outstanding (...well at least the BIG stuff): wedding invites (but we're soooo close!), the get-away car (another post on that coming up), signs for the wedding (menus, placecards, etc.), my hair & make-up (remember my wedding nightmares? haha, let's hope they don't come true!), and the honeymoon!  Luckily the honey has been doing TONS and TONS of research and we've been able to at least scratch a few places off our list (our #1 had been Thailand, but May is the beginning of the rainy season...BUMMER.  Adam's sister spent a few weeks in Thailand last year and it sounds absolutely amazing).  Now we're focusing on Hawaii, and still some of the islands in the Caribbean.

This Christmas season has me so thankful for our close family & friends! Everyone is being so supportive during this planning process - thank you all for helping us keep the stress level to a minimum!  I'm sure 2011 will bring along even more to-do's! ;)

And a HUGE shout out to all my dear friends who have gotten engaged & married recently - love is in the AIR.

Wedding Nightmares

I've read about them, and now I've started having my OWN...wedding nightmares(!!!).  I've only had a few, but they all include:

• Everything running extremely behind schedule
• Adam hanging out with me WHILE I'm getting ready (we're going to stay traditional and have the first time we see each other be walking down the aisle!)
• Having no one to help with my hair & make-up
• Not having the right shoes...or any to wear (thankfully, that won't happen...just got my wedding shoes, yes!)

My mom and Meredith assure me they won't let any of the above actually happen, but still! It's consuming my thoughts, eeeka!

Besides wedding nightmares, we've done some other things for the big day!  The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went back to KFV, did some wine tasting, and chose the wines to be served at the wedding!  'Twas a very fun task, and I think our guests will be happy with the vinos we've selected.  With the holidays coming up, and the countdown to 2011 quickly approaching, we are trying very hard to make sure we've got everything covered!  I see many very busy weekends in our future... ;)

Happy Holidays!

...Creeping In...

We're creeping in on the 6 month countdown!

But I'm feeling pretty good about our progress!  We've addressed ~80% of the save-the-dates (which turned out ahhh-mazing!!), our wedsite is ready for launch (minus a few more pics Adam and I need to scan in), we've narrowed in our invitations (thanks to this lovely store), and we're in the midst of finding wedding cake designs!  We all know that from Nov 1 - Jan 1, time basically fast forwards and flies by more quickly than any of time of the year.  PLUS, we've got all 4 Reilly kids bday's, plus the holidays, plus trips to Atlanta, West Palm, Richmond, and of course Charlottesville.  The weekend of Dec 4th we have our big tasting with our caterer and our first visit to Festive Fare (it's where we will rent all of our "stuff" from - linens, cups, plates, decor, etc!).

The first of the save-the-dates are being mailed yesterday/today/tomorrow (I left them at my parents, haha, and I'm not sure when my mom will get to the post office!), I can't wait for people to get them!!