The only good part about jet lag is being able to sleep until almost noon -something I never am able to do at home. After nearly 20 hours of travel and 12 hours of sleep, I woke up in Italy on Friday morning to sunshine streaming through my window and a fresh bouquet of roses on the table. I was told our friend Mario had hand-picked the flowers special for the esposa and delivered them to the house that morning. What a wonderful welcome to Italy.
Details like this I want to hold on to. With the chaos of planning and the excitement of our guests arriving, I know it will pass all too quickly so my posts over the days to come will be more of a photo diary to capture the wonderful essence of this crazy, beautiful week. I hope you’ll enjoy them, too.
Your wedding week: what is one thing you would have done differently?
Nothing has ever felt more wrong than stuffing my own wedding gown, veil and high heels into this tiny green suitcase -but it had to be done. Thankfully my dress travels amazingly well and the creases can easily be steamed from my veil once we arrive in Italy.
Shockingly, the hubs-to-be and I made it to the airport in plenty of time to enjoy a celebratory drink before boarding the plane. We have planned, talked about, and waited for this day for over a year now. It’s hard to believe it’s finally here! The excitement of celebrating our marriage in Italy with our very closest friends and family is finally hitting me. It’s overwhelmingly wonderful and we absolutely cannot wait to get there.
Ciao for now!
- eats -
Plain Greek yogurt and raspberries -the breakfast of a bride-to-be in panic mode with not a minute to spare. I can’t believe we’re leaving for Italy today. For our wedding. Eeek! I’ve spent the past few days running errands around town like a mad woman trying to get together some last minute items including shopping for honeymoon sandals, wedding day make up, thickening shampoo (a glorious thing my hairdresser introduced me to), waterproof mascara, ties for the groomsmen… you get the drift.
- exercise -
I’m currently doing bicep curls with our suitcase full of favors and decorations trying to guess how much it weighs. I ditched my scale before the move and quite honestly haven’t missed it until now! If my biceps are correct, I’ll be begging some nice airline employee to look away as my overweight bags roll through. They can’t say no to a bride, can they?
- Monday: Lots of errand-running. LOTS -which meant I walked around most of the day in a frazzled, hangry state. Alas, no energy for a workout.
- Tuesday: Headed to Equinox for one last workout before my trial week ends. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 on the bike & lots of lower & upper body strength work.
- Wednesday: 4 mile neighborhood run + Fab Arms Day 3 -MUST exercise before 17 hours of flying!
- Thursday: Rest -unless for some reason I’m miraculously not jet lagged and feel energized for a run. Let’s be honest though, that’s not going to happen.
- Friday: Trying Jacquelyn’s circuit workout -there will likely be a lot of these the next couple of weeks since there are no gyms or yoga studios where we’re headed!
- Saturday & Sunday: A run to explore the Italian countryside -sounds terrible, doesn’t it?
Any last minute, must-pack items you think I might need on the big day or honeymoon?
I’ve gotten a few questions about what I’ll be wearing the week of our wedding in Italy -requests for rehearsal dinner dress and wedding shoe photos in particular. Seeing as I haven’t any wedding shoes yet (fear not, they’re on the way), here’s a peek at the second most beautiful gown I own -the one I’ll be wearing at our rehearsal dinner two weeks from today.
I never intended to fall in love with a DVF dress -a full-price DVF dress at that.
The Asti Two sat in my Shopping Cart for two full weeks before I decided to click the Purchase button. What pushed me over the edge? Being offered my dream job on the last day of a Shopbop sale. I couldn’t help but feel it was meant to be.
I honestly tried not to love this dress the first time I put it on but obviously, I love everything about it. Whatever buyers remorse I felt at first soon disappeared when I realized this dress was the first purchase I made after being offered my dream job. How lucky am I to be able to remember that and one of the most special nights in my life because of it!
Ever splurged on something and realized in the end you’d do it all over again?
PS. Our Save-the-Dates, the wedding destination & our engagement story.
- eats –
Holy crap. One week from yesterday the hubs-to-be and I will be on our way to Italy. To get married. Between studying for the RD exam, selling my apartment, moving cross country and starting a new job within the past few months -this has me in a bit of a panic.
My wedding gown is hanging in a storage closet at my downtown office and the shoes I ordered, somewhere in the mail between Piperlime and here. I don’t have earrings yet -or a bag for that matter- and there are two dresses I still need to have hemmed. Not my wedding dress… thankfully that fits like a glove. I’ve ordered menus for the reception on Etsy but have yet seen a proof. Will our guests know what they’re eating? Maybe not.
I do have fake eyelashes though.
The hubs-to-be and I hunkered down last weekend and hashed out more wedding plans over platefuls of sourdough french toast, fresh strawberries and coffee. Lots of coffee. Never had sourdough french toast? You should. like yesterday. with something sweet drizzled or sprinkled on top. Or if you’re like me, do both. Sourdough never goes to waste in this house and this is the reason why.
- exercise –
Before french toast and wedding planning, Rob, my friend Erin and I ventured across the Golden Gate for a 5 mile hike down into the beautiful Muir Woods. Sunday was a rest day. I was too busy drawing wedding maps to do anything else.
As for this week:
- Monday: 4 mile neighborhood run
- Tuesday: Bootcamp at Equinox – I’m trying a new gym downtown this week to see if I want to join!
- Wednesday: Hilly, 3 mile power-walk + arms. Good sign about the gym – I was too sore to do much else!
- Thursday: Cardio & strength at the gym before work… which means I need to leave like now.
- Friday: 4 mile neighborhood run + arms
- Saturday & Sunday: Spin class and possibly heading back to the gym so I can take advantage of the eucalyptus-infused steam room… certainly no time for that before work!
Fake eyelashes on your wedding day: yay or nay?
