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It is, it is, it is.
Ruby Olivia Photography (on right) / Julia Pomodoro from corelens / Amanda K Bailey
In case it wasnt already obvious, this is what happened to me.
I got engaged in May 2021 and my now husband and I chose a wedding date in May 2022.
Just between our two families, we were looking at a guest list of 100 people.
Little Miss Dolly as a tiny puppy.
(Some from other countries altogether.)
Around the six-month mark, I knew things werent going well.
Little Miss Dolly as a tiny puppy.
A FaceTime workout with Alexa Williams, NASM.
But with a dog, the choice is no longer yours.
You simply have to walk it.
Is it the best idea to get a dog and then train it while you are also wedding planning?
Post-Dyson experiment.
Im not sure; for me, I actually think it was.
The dog brought me more joy than I ever could have imagined.
When I walk the dog literally, I think of the proverbial too.
Travel-size Alchimie creams for every out-of-town guest.
What do I need to stretch inside of myself?
What am I moving through?
What will feel good?
A FaceTime workout with Alexa Williams, NASM.
I did not weigh myself in the months, weeks, or days before the wedding.
And thank God for that.
By the time my wedding rolled around, we had been working out weekly for almost two years.
During our FaceTime workouts, I wasnt thinking about work or chipping away at my wedding to-do list.
I was lifting heavy weights like a badass.
I was laughing and talking with a friend.
Having a trainer who was aware of all this made all the difference in the world.
Like exercise, therapy is something I started long before the wedding planning process.
(Like, 15 years before.)
It doesnt leave you feeling good about yourself or the situation at hand.)
(This is arguably the most time-intensive item on this list.
Learning which attachments and routines worked best for my hair took several attempts over a few months.
(I found anythingJen Atkinposts to be the most helpful.)
(Yes, it is as good as everyone says it is.)
What an experience in getting to know yourself!
But I found I actually enjoyed it.
It gave me a creative space to play, and I was grateful for that.
Afterward, my throat was sore and I was mildly shaky.
Otherwise, I felt so much better.
Before your wedding, it can be tempting to have a go at undergo a major glow up.
I ultimately decided against it.
I knew that my two-step routine worked for me and my skin and I stuck with it.
Every Sunday, starting four months before the wedding, I blocked out the entire day toget myself together.
I got this idea from TikTok, where beautiful people are able to make fluffing a duvet look enviable.
Travel-size Alchimie creams for every out-of-town guest.
The week before my wedding, I startedGolden Girls.
It made me purely happy.
It was the quietest room I had been in for a long, long time.
I listened to the water as I shifted my weight.
I looked at how it distorted the shape of my naked body.
I felt like a baby again, which I think is, in many ways, the point.
I was so alone, and no one could bother me.
The wedding weekend itself was not too bad, either.
Married life is great so far.
My husbandwhat a strange word to sayand I are settling into our new home together.
There are still boxes everywhere.
There are small chips of paint that need to be touched up.
We argue over how to organize the pantry and which lights to leave on overnight.
At first, I was reluctant to complain.
