Confessions III
Happy Friday! I’ve got another round of confessions today. Be warned, there is a lot of wedding talk in this post so if that’s not your thing then you may want to back out now.
1. We’re getting married on a Monday. I was a little embarrassed to reveal this at first because, well, who gets married on a Monday? It just sounds weird. That and it seems kind of rude to ask of your guests.
Let me explain.
Brandon and I paid our own way through college and the aftermath of student loan debt is like chipping away at an iceberg with a fork. The last thing we need is another pile of debt from a wedding. Fortunately, we have always agreed on wanting something very small and intimate for our special day. A short guest list made choosing a venue a lot easier but it didn’t change the fact that they set a required food and beverage minimum of $7500 on the weekends. On a weekday, however, they allow you to spend as little as you like.
With only our closest friends and family on the guest list, we were able to contact everyone to see if a Monday would be okay and thankfully, they love us enough to miss a few days of work. So we are getting married at a beautiful venue with everyone we love by our sides at almost a third of the cost.
2. I’m officially addicted to wedding blogs. I’ve been reading healthy living and food blogs for the past four years but I never bothered paying attention to wedding blogs. Now I find myself checking a select few everyday for new ideas and they are just so much fun to look at! Sometimes I cry but most of the time I just drool over all the pretty things.
For example, this wedding. Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous?
It’s become such a habit that I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop looking at them after we get married.
Here are a few of my favorites:
3. I’m horrible at accepting gifts. I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with me but I get uncomfortable at the thought of opening gifts in front of people. I feel so much pressure to react a certain way and then I just get really awkward after I open it. It’s not exactly Brandon’s favorite quality of mine.
Accepting gifts in the mail is much easier though. Like this thoughtful package Becky sent to congratulate me on my engagement.
Isn’t she the sweetest? This was before she even knew about the surprise blogiversary we threw her so it just goes to show why she is so loved so much.
4. I miss my family. As much as I love living in California, being an entire country away from my family is a real batch. Especially during the holidays.
Because we’re going home for the wedding in April, we’ve decided to save money and spend Christmas here and it’s killing me to be away from everyone.
Seeing how much my twin nieces and nephew have grown is just one of the many harsh reminders of the passing time. Staying busy is the only thing that helps to distract me from how much I miss everyone.
5. I ate chocolate cake for a post workout snack. Sometimes when I get home after a long day of work and an hour of exercise, I am literally starving. I usually have a few boiled eggs prepped in the fridge to hold me over while I prepare dinner but this deliciousness was just staring me in the face and I couldn’t help it.
I mean, it is packed with protein from quinoa plus healthy fats from the coconut oil and coconut milk. That counts for something, right?
We have some family coming to town which means we’re going to go get our tree this weekend! I can’t wait to make a cup of hot cocoa, light a fire, and look at the pretty lights.
Do you put colored lights or white lights on your tree? I think white lights look really pretty but we always put up colored lights.
So exciting that your wedding is coming up so fast!
Oh and that chocolate cake so counts as a proper post workout meal. I’d be all for that.
I can’t wait to see the pictures, Sarah! You will make a fabulous bride. :)
The thought of planning a wedding gives me anxiety and I am far from that stage of my life.
I love looking at wedding things online though, that branch thing the couple said ‘I Do’ under is so pretty. (greenweddingshoes)
Girl you just confused me for a good 30 seconds because it’s Thursday, though I wish it was already Friday night! ;-)
Looking at wedding stuff is so much fun, especially when you’re engaged! I have a hunch that you’re going to be great at making all the little details of your wedding beautiful and special. Can’t wait to see pictures!
Too funny about the accepting gifts things, I totally agree! In my hubby’s family, they open Christmas gifts one by one with everyone staring at the opener and it makes me SO uncomfortable. I prefer my family’s style, where everyone just opens presents all at once! I just went to a baby shower last weekend and my friend didn’t open gifts at the party. She waited until she was all comfy at home — I need to remember to keep that in mind for whenever I have a kid!
My comment is getting ridiculously long, but I totally understand, I really miss my family too! I’m going home for a few weeks soon and I’m really excited. Aren’t holiday plane tix so outrageously priced?! Thank heavens for using award miles to book travels!
I loved reading your long comment! :)
My family does the open at once thing too and it is so much easier. Although sometimes my grandma opens my moms gifts by accident, lol. Have a safe trip back to Jersey!
Aww the wedding plans are so so exciting! I’m sure that yours will turn out to be wonderful even if it’s on Monday (hey, there’s nothing wrong with that!).
And I’m sorry that you cannot be with your family on Christmas :–( But it’ll all be so nice in April *-* Hang in there!
I’m so with you with the cake thing. I’d totally have it as a post-workout snack ;)
Your comments are always so sweet and encouraging. Thanks Consuelo! :)
Omggg do not be embarrassed! Weddings are so freaking expensive these days it honestly makes me wonder howwwww people can get married on a Saturday! I mean it may be “ideal” but the debt is not. As for the chocolate cake….lolll can’t say I’ve never done that!
With how crazy-expensive weddings seem to be, I think it’s awesome that you guys found a way to make it more affordable by having it during the week – I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all!
And chocolate cake for breakfast, chocolate cake for post-workout snack…it all sounds good to me ;-)
I currently have coloured lights on my tree, but I like both.
I had no idea how expensive everything is!! It’s insane what people charge for the smallest of things because they know they can get away with it.
Haha, yes, Brandon ate the cake for breakfast every single morning! I prefer my sweets a little later in the day though. ;)
Your plan for a Monday wedding sounds 100% perfect (and super-smart!) – I think you’ll always feel like that was an awesome decision! Oh – and admitting to chocolate cake after a workout?!?! Ha! Makes me like you all the more! (And yes, yes I do definitely think that quinoa flour and coconut oil count for something – practically the very definition of health food, right!?!?) :D
Thanks Shelley! It feels good have reassurance. About the wedding and the cake! ;)
Is that a picture of your wedding venue? It is gorgeous!!!!
It is! I fell in love with the beautiful oak trees. :)
I’m a white lights girl!!! We are going to try to find a tree this weekend too. It’s hard in Australia though; mostly everyone has articifical. Coming from Canada, we used to enjoy getting a permit and cutting down our own conifer…so I’m struggling. Think a decorated Palm would look weird?!
Also, love the idea of your Monday wedding. Who cares what day it’s on! Actually, people probably love it! It forces them to take a couple extra days off. Who doesn’t love a long weekend, especially when it’s celebrating the wedding of a loved one. So smart. Pinterest kind of emerged the year after our wedding, but I can completely see how easy it would be to get enthralled by everything! Do you find it a bit overwhelming? So many amazing ideas!!! Excited for you :)
I think a decorated Palm tree would be gorgeous! I say do it! :)
Yes, I definitely find everything to be overwhelming but I think it’s because I only have 5 months left to plan everything. I’m actually grateful for Pinterest and all of the blogs because it makes it easier to pick and choose what I like. Making it all a reality is the hard part but I’m sure it will work out fine.
I think a Monday wedding is so incredibly smart if you can save that much money! Definitely worth it, and honestly, anyone who attends your wedding should love you enough to sacrifice a day if it puts you and Brandon in such a great financial spot to start your married life together!
PS -chocolate cake is most definitely an acceptable post workout treat! :)
I think it’s kind of cool that you’re getting married on a Monday! Something different and out of the ordinary! It’s going to be amazing…I’m sure!
OMG…I’m totally like you, I hate opening gifts in front of other people. I feel so awkward and uncomfortable and I mean…what if you don’t like the gift!?! I guess you just have to act surprised and happy about it. I’d much rather just open it on my own!
The day of the week doesn’t matter as long as your friends and family will be able to be there to support you. One of my bridesmaids got married on a Thursday and she still had about 100 guests! It is so annoying how venues jack up the prices during the weekend. I imagine it’s even worse here in the wine country. Talking $10,000 and upwards just for renting it for 6 hours, usually with no food either. Hence, I didn’t get married at a winery. haha.
As for wedding blogs, do you ever check Weddingchicks.com? I loved that one. While I was obsessed w/ wedding blogs before the wedding, I’ve definitely cut down after the wedding.
Have fun with your visitors this weekend!
For a quick second I thought you said you were getting married THIS Monday! I think it’s sooo smart to save money that way. I feel so bad for couples who get married with tons of debt just from the wedding. I went to a Mexico to get married so we could cut down on the costs so I totally understand! Wedding blogs will totally suck you in, I spent a ton of time on them too!
A destination wedding sounds so nice! I thought of doing that too but it’s difficult for all of our family to travel.
Ditto to Kelly! I thought you meant THIS Monday! Minor freak out there…but I totally feel you on the price. Love my parents dearly but if I were to expect them to pay for my (future) wedding they would have more say than I would like so my wedding will likely be small and intimate too.
Not quite there yet with wedding blogs, but give me a few years…unless of course you want to start sharing some of your wedding details in which case I would stalk you endlessly!
I got married on a Monday! It was actually Easter Monday, which is a public holiday in Australia (where my husband is from) so a lot of our guests ended up having that day off anyway but a lot of people didn’t and came anyway. I think it is more common these days to have weddings on non-weekend dates because the prices are so exorbitant on the weekends. I LOVED looking at all things wedding. So much fun. I want to do it again!
Your nieces and nephew are soooooo adorable! Happy Friday! :)
Love your confessions. And good for you getting married on a Monday. I love it. We paid for our own wedding and did a lot of “non traditional” things since we couldn’t afford to do some of the normal things. Also, everyone loves a day off from work! Especially a Monday so they will all probably thank you!
I loved looking at your wedding pictures. It was so unique and you looked beautiful. I guess not having loads of money forces you to get creative which, in my opinion, makes for some of the most beautiful weddings.
It’s strange. I never even glanced at a wedding blog in the two years Eric and I were engaged. It never occurred to me. And then after marriage, I see all these blogs and was like DAMN! should researched more. But our wedding turned out just fine :)
I hear you on weekend weddings being expensive, so good for you to scheduling your day on a Monday.
hope you have a lovely weekend with your guests!
love colored lights btw. those are so festive. :) I decorated my college room with twinkling Christmas lights. for many years.
I used to keep colored lights up in my room too! They create such a comforting glow. :)
I love Rustic Wedding Chics too! Thanks for the other blogs, I will have to check them out! And I am going to a wedding on a Monday and one on a Sunday next year–I don’t think it matters the day!
Getting married on a Monday sounds like a fabulous idea. My belief is that it is YOUR wedding so you should do what YOU want! Plus a Monday wedding should weed out the people who don’t care enough to take a day off of work ;) I’m with you on the gifts thing. Whenever we open Christmas gifts with Kyle’s grandparents we each have to TAKE TURNS opening gifts in front of everyone. I’d almost rather stab my eyes out – seriously. It’s so awkward and doesn’t even make getting gifts fun!
That’s great that having a Monday wedding allows you to save that much! I have clearly never planned a wedding but that seems like a huge minimum, especially just for the food and drinks. Being away from family on the holidays is hard! I’m glad you and Brandon have each other, and a cute fur baby to celebrate with.
It’s crazy how expensive weddings are! I had no idea until I started planning a few months ago. You really have to get creative to save money. I hope you and your fur baby have a good Christmas too Nicole! :)
Keep the wedding talk coming – it is all I am thinking about recently! And I don’t think you should feel too bad about getting married on a Monday, especially if it’s just close friends and family. No one will remember the day of the week in a few years! Better that than to only invite 1/3 of the people who are important to you. April is coming up!!! So excited for you.
I’m not really into reading wedding blogs at this point in my life, but I do love listening to friends talk about their plans (i.e. you)… so feel free to ramble all you like about how things are going :D And I’m with you on smaller, more intimate weddings. I used to think I wanted a huge fancy one, but the older I get, the more I realize that I’d rather have something that was more intimate and not as stressful.
Oh, and white lights on my tree :)
Girl, never be embarrassed about the decisions you make for you! Its YOUR wedding. I’m sure you’ve heard it 100 times but its true. Get married on Wednesday at midnight if you want ;)
PS Rustic Wedding Chic <3<3<3 Confession of my own: I've been re-pinning so much of your stuff to my secret wedding board ;) haha
Aw, I’m so glad I can help provide some future inspiration. :) You are going to be a gorgeous bride!
I hated opening gifts in front of people – I was not at all looking forward to that part of my bridal shower. And then to make matters worse one of my mom’s friends started shouting that I needed to use a microphone so that everyone could hear what I was saying / what all the gifts were. I wanted to crawl under my seat at that point : )
And we use white lights on our tree!!
I think it’s awesome that you’re getting married on a Monday. You’re wedding should be about you anyway. I can’t wait to see you’re pictures! I’ve always hated opening presents in front of people too. I hated opening them at my bridal shower in front of everyone.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You will be one beautiful bride!
omg, I almost had a heart attack. I thought you said you were getting married THIS Monday, as in today. You must be getting so excited, and I’m so very happy for you. The planning is the best part, for sure! Actually, no. The honeymoon is. Have you figured out where you’re staying in Maui?
Something terrible happened – we’re not going to Maui anymore – we’re heading to Kauai instead.
Don’t worry, I am SO awkward when it comes to accepting gifts too. I get what you’re going through. If I was opening them in private, I would probably just smile, set it aside and go back to doing whatever I was doing before I opened the gift. In public, you’re forced to react with fake enthusiasm, a fake high pitched voice, and then I never know what to do with my hands.
That is so terrible! I can’t believe you have to go to Kauai. Ick. ;)
We are staying on Napali Bay for the first 5 days and then in Wailea for the last 2. April can’t get here fast enough!!
Smart move on having your wedding on a Monday! Weddings are so expensive these days. My husband and I found ourselves in the same boat as you and decided to semi-elope with a Hawaiian wedding of 13 people. It was amazing, and I wouldn’t change a thing about the entire day! Point in case: your wedding is what you make of it, and I know your wedding will be beautiful!
I say good for you for having your wedding on a Monday! First of all, weddings are ridiculously expensive and if you’re able to swing it with family and friends to make it on a Monday, then why not?! That is a great excuse for people to take a little vaca and everyone loves that. I am proud of you for doing that!
Becky literally is one of the sweetest, and thoughtful people I have ever met. What a sweet surprise to get in the mail!
You are so beautiful, inside and out, and I really appreciate your blog. I always feel relaxed when I read it and get inspired to make nummy recipes. Thank you for all of your hard work you do with it!
Thank you for your sweet comment Melanie. I honestly feel the exact same way about you! You seem like such a kind person and are gorgeous to boot. I hope we get a chance to meet in-person at some point. :)
I just got married in November and am definitely in wedding blog withdrawal, though it’s honestly a huge relief to have thrown such a fun event and be able to move forward. :) We got married on a Sunday, which some folks thought was strange, but those who matter most will be there for you no matter what — and I totally feel on finding a less expensive day to wed! I’m sure yours will be fantastic.
Hi Meg! Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. I can imagine it is so relieving when the day comes! I can’t wait! :)