Straight Talk

Dress by Enzoani / Image via WeddingNet

I'm a chronic sloucher.  Insecurity caused me to hunch my shoulders since middle school.  And since then, it's just been something I do because it's comfortable.  But something tells me that on my wedding day, I won't look as chic as the slouching bride above.  So I'm taking matters into my own hands.  

After some digging around on the internet, I found a couple tips that were a good fit for me.  

At work:

• Sit with my back against the back of the chair, feet flat on the ground.  
• Arms should be extended at at 75 to 90 degree angle and I should avoid leaning forward.  Doing this right now as I type (not at work, I should mention), and to be honest, it feels weird, but keeping my arms flexed at around 90 degrees is helping to keep me from leaning forward. 
• Take a walk!  Sitting in a chair for too long is bad news for your back.  So I'm making a point to go for a walk around the building a couple times a day.
• After my walk, I take another moment to relieve the tension in my neck by simply dropping my chin down to my chest and holding it there for a few seconds.  

Walking, Driving (or, Life away from the Desk):

• Keep weight at the balls of the feet when walking, not the toes.
• Shoulders should stay back, and chin should be slightly tucked when walking.  I thought tucking the chin would be weird, but it's more along the lines of imagining that you're walking around with a book on your head.  Ever try that?  My mom used to make me do it at home when I was younger, in a desperate attempt to improve my posture, but clearly it didn't stick.
• When driving, keep your back against the seat.  This sounds like really common sense advice, but I used to keep the seat farther back than necessary, which would cause me to lean forward--whoops! 

At the Gym:  

I'm incorporating one new move into my routine 

Image via WholeLiving

it's called the "Back Strengthener." Any guesses as to what it does?  By the way, I should mention that I'm only adding one move to my fitness routine because I want to make this change for good.  I feel like if I throw a bunch of new moves into my workout, I'm just going to feel overwhelmed and the changes won't last beyond the wedding.  Since I'm absolutely not an expert on fitness, I'll let the good people at Whole Living describe this move for you:

Lie facedown on the floor with your arms out in front of you. Take a breath, then exhale while you simultaneously lift your right arm and left leg off the floor. Keep your head lifted and your gaze forward. Come back to resting position. Inhale, then exhale, and repeat on the other side. Then take another breath, and on the exhale, lift both arms and legs simultaneously off the ground. Inhale, then exhale, and come back to rest. Do this move again. Repeat the entire sequence 2 to 3 times.

Easy peasy, right?  The hard part is breaking the habit, because slouching is so comfortable for me!  But when I look back at pictures of our wedding day, the last thing I want think is "I wish I just stood up straight..."  And after the that, the last thing I want to actually hear is the voice of my mom saying "why didn't you stand up straight?!" I kid, I kid (a little)!

If you're looking for more, I found these and many other tips here, here, and here.  Since it nearly goes without saying: I am not an expert, so I suggest you check with a professional before starting any exercise.     

Are there any habits you're trying to break before your wedding?  Any former-slouchers out there with tips for me?

Prints, Charming

All images via HistoricFootballPosters

I will admit that I wasn't immediately sold on having a military wedding, and I had absolutely no urge to have our wedding take place at West Point.  There were many reasons, but mostly, I wasn't sure that a military wedding would be a great representation of who WE were (and are) as a couple; to be fair, his career was certainly a major part of our relationship, but it didn't define our entire relationship. I was also under the impression that a formal military wedding had to be, well, formal with a capital F.  "Formal," meant that I couldn't have fun with the design, and that's something that I was really excited about.  So I determined to put together something lighthearted, whimsical, romantic, sophisticated, and still, slightly formal.  


Military or not, it was going to be OUR wedding!


Then one day it occurred to me that apart from the site of our ceremony, the location of our wedding hadn't really played into our decor.  This realization came after drooling over these musem inspired invitations, so I started poking around the internet and found these:

These vintage football program covers would look great if I could find a way to use them!  The bright colors and bold typefaces would compliment the decor while giving a playful nod to the setting.  We could frame a few, or use them as part of our signage.  At the very least they could make for some interesting conversation starters, no?

  

I should probably admit that I got ahead of myself and went out and bought my favorite program off EBay:

Not a reproduction but an actual vintage program.  I wanted to use it as a guest book, though the pages were a tad delicate. Since our wedding was taking place over Fourth of July weekend, it could have been nice to have a patriotic acknowledgment of the holiday.  Because nothing says "Independence Day" like our color palette of white, raspberry, deep rose, and black.  Am I right?

Are you using the site of your wedding as inspiration for your decor?

Source for all.

Friday - Light A Light

I came across this desktop calendar today,

(available for download here)

"Light a light, 

light a light for me,

bring me back home again" - Janis Ian

So appropriate for the month of December.  Up until now, this deployment has been pretty smooth for me.  Yes, there have been some bumps in the road, like say, changing the date and then not changing the date, feeling overwhelmed and alone, and consequently changing the venue.  But here I am today, writing about it from the other side.  


The hard part is now.  When I feel like all I want to do is see his face.  What I wouldn't give to have him home for Christmas this year.  Underneath all the holiday madness; the holiday parties, the shopping, and trimming the tree.  I'm wound up with anxiety.  Stuck between the urge to scream and go home and get into a comfy pair of sweats.  Guess that's just me feeling powerless in this mess.  


And in the end, I know I should be easy on myself.  This is my first time, and there's no wrong way to feel.  And if this is the hardest time so far, then there's hope that come January 2nd, it will go back to being a day-to-day experience.  


So, I'm taking the time to hang out with friends this weekend and try to push through December. 


Here's the song above that the quote above is pulled from.  Enjoy!     








Happy Friday! And have a great weekend!

Deal or No Deal?

Image via Heels.com

A few months before our big day, I bought my first pair of wedding day shoes!  Xavier, by Badgley Mischka in lavender.  Gorgeous, no?

They were tough to find in my size, because it seems that most women on earth wear a seven and half (or at least it felt like that at the time), but I found a pair!  And I found them for waaaay below the retail price because they were a sample.  So what if they weren't completely perfect? They'd be under my long dress!  And, for the price I got, I could buy another pair for the reception! Mmhmm, a little part of me wanted two pairs of heels, and then a pair of flats. Shoe-addiction? Perhaps.

Well, they came a few days after I purchased them and they were...um... 

 Pretty! (Personal pic)

See the sticker goo? (Personal Pic)

 

I wasn't feeling the sticker marks on the bottom, but that was expected since I had purchased a sample. The real problem was that  I was sent the wrong size, they were way too big!

Damn. Cue the FAIL horns!

Ever purchased a bridal deal only to find out it was a bust?  

Fit to Be Crowned

Image via ErinHeartsCourt

Growing up, I had the chance to witness the wedding of many of my cousins in Greece.  And as a little girl, I would stand (as is customary) at the weddings of our relatives that were married in the Greek Orthodox church and just marvel at the beautiful customs.  The ceremony itself is full of symbolism and is, without a doubt, the most gorgeous religious service I have ever witnessed.  

My favorite part of the ceremony are the Stefana, or crowns.  The crowns are a symbol of the union between husband and wife, and their symbolism is best described by the Antiochian Archdioces of America's website:

Image via LusterStudios.com

We witness the groom and bride being crowned (visibly proclaimed) as the king and queen, respectively, of a new family, entrusted by God with the authority to rule their family in faith and love and harmony with Christ. They both share in this responsibility and privilege as a newly married couple...The crowns are then switched back and forth between the groom and bride’s head, signifying that they completely share their lives together. 

And I wished as a little girl that I could be married in a ceremony like that, if I ever got married, but um...I'm not Eastern Orthodox.   

Once we started to plan our wedding, the wheels started to turn.  I really wanted to include a bit of my mom's Greek culture in a way that felt authentic to me.  And that's where the crowns, or Stefana, came into play. 

Image via LusterStudios.com

So I asked my aunt if she'd ever seen a crowning ceremony performed in a Greek Protestant wedding, and she said yes!  Some of the rituals carried over from one denomination to the other, because religion is tied so closely to the culture. So instead of a unity candle or hand-binding ceremony, we incorporated the Stefana.  We asked my uncle, who is a pastor, to perform the ceremony in whatever way he felt comfortable. 

The ceremony has fallen out of favor, and isn't performed very often in my mom's church, so we had to do some digging!

Image via ChristineMeintjes.com

My aunt helped me out on the research, since I have the reading skills of a 2nd grader when it comes to Greek.  And a little birdie told me that my mom had purchased the crowns to surprise me at my shower. And by little birdie, I mean my mom (she's terrible at keeping secrets).  

Image via KristianLevinPhotography

I was so extremely excited about this.  I'll admit that I worried if it was going to be too weird after getting a couple side-eyes from relatives and family friends.  But this just felt so perfect for us!  

Have you looked to your family's background or culture for ceremony inspiration?  Are there any traditions you are incorporating into your wedding?