wedding – Page 2

Charleston, SC – Before the Wedding Part 1

May 27, 2019 by Alicia 1 Comment

It’s two weeks after the wedding and I’m finally writing about it. I think the wedding day deserves a post for itself with all the pictures, so instead, let’s talk about Charleston and leading up to the wedding first. I also realized Charleston needed to be 2 parts for all I wrote, so get ready for the wedding series to begin. I’m thinking 2-3 posts a week for a while.

Brian and I flew down Tuesday evening after work. We started the trip with our first crisis because I forgot my cell phone at home plugged in. This is why I should not have multiple chargers as I packed up a different charger and forgot to grab my phone. I’m usually using it for navigation or some sort, but we got a ride to the airport. Luckily we flew out of the local airport and had a good 1.5 before the flight when we got to the airport and I realize I didn’t have it. I owe Brian’s brother for driving to the airport and getting Brian with the key and going to our house to grab my phone and make it back to the airport. Again, luckily Binghamton airport literally only has 3 flights a day so there aren’t many people and security is quick. We still had some time to spare. I was only slightly panicked, but glad we arrived early and had that time.

wedding dress carry on, we learned to fold it and it worked

Also I learned on this trip why people drug themselves before a plane ride. I really never used to be so anxious on planes, but small planes, like the one that flies from Binghamton to Detroit I hate. Plus it hasn’t helped that in all my experiences on that flight I have gotten super nauseous and not had a good time. So this time I took motion sick pills before the flight and we had had a long day so I was pretty much knocked out while listening to music. I signed up for the free 60 day trial of Pandora before my trip so I could enjoy music offline and it was great.

We actually had a couple hours after landing in Detroit which was way better than my prior experiences of running from one end of that airport to the other. Thanks to the motion sick pills, I was doing OK upon landing. Brian wanted dinner. I opt to skip meals around flying times, but I did enjoy chips and salsa for a lighter snack. It was delicious too.

We then flew from Detroit to Charleston and finally arrived at our hotel at midnight. It was straight to bed upon arrival and so nice that we got to sleep in without an alarm. I was still awake around 7, walked around the hotel, grabbed Brian a coffee and then at 8 we went out to breakfast at the Black Magic Cafe in the town of Folly Beach.

Folly Beach SC — waking up to this view isn’t so bad

After breakfast, we headed into Charleston to the courthouse to file for our marriage license. I think that might have been my first time in a courthouse too. It was easy to find the room on the 4^th floor and we were simply given a tablet (like an ipad) to fill in our names, then reviewed and voila, done, come pick up in 24 hours. Oh and it’s 24 hours exactly! We could not pick it up until after 10:07 the next day, to be precise.

Once we finished, my friend Ashley was just arriving into the airport. Since we were only 20 minutes away, we went to pick her up. Then we drove over to Battery Park and walked around for a bit. It was quite hot (though not complaining), but I needed water. Ashley, Brian and I stopped in a café and they had jumbo cookies which I couldn’t turn down either. We all split the massive oreo, chocolate chip, Reese’s cookie. It had a whole oreo and Reese’s cup backed inside it.

My parents were arriving shortly after noon as well as my best friend Mercedes and her husband, Geoff. It worked well as my parents were renting a car, they were able to find Mercedes and Geoff in the airport and meet up with us downtown. By this time it was 1pm and I was getting really hungry. We wanted to eat all together with the 7 of us and the first spot we found wouldn’t take a reservation so by the time we all arrived it was a 45 minute wait. So we walked around and had passed some other places when we moved the car and ended up at 5 Church Restaurant. I also learned to not text my dad “5 church” because apparently there was a Church street nearby and he went for a long walk before my mom called him and explained it was the restaurant name. Oops.

The place was able to seat all of us right away and was actually perfect. Our waiter gave us a brief history of the place and explained that it was an old church (hence the restaurant name) and the writing on the ceiling was actually a section of the Art of War book and not just random words as it may look.

My only complaint about the restaurant is our food took FOREVER!! I think we sat down at like 1:30ish and we didn’t get out of there until after 3. I even had Brian run to the parking meter. The restaurant wasn’t even crowded. Also when we told the waiter that everyone was in town for my wedding Friday, he gave us complimentary desserts for the WHOLE table. That was very nice, but again the desserts took FOREVER. At least they were free. The brownie was very delicious. The others got red velvet cake, carrot cake and whatever Brian got.

By the time we were leaving the restaurant, my sister was arriving at the airport, but we couldn’t fit her in the car. Brian and I were driving Mercedes and Geoff back to Folly Beach and I was finally going to see the beach house I got for the girls plus Geoff. Luckily my other friend, Kristin was renting a car and arriving shortly after my sister so they eventually met up and carpooled over to the house.

Meanwhile, we checked out the house. It was like some crazy adult tree house which was super fun. There were 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and tons of beds. You can see a house tour on my sister’s Youtube channel actually.

It was late afternoon and I think with the heat and all the walking, I was getting a headache. I needed to chug water. I headed back to Brian’s hotel room to get my things, but also relaxed for a bit and took ibuprofen to calm my head. Thankfully once that kicked in and I drank a bunch I was feeling better. We ate such a late lunch, I skipped dinner. Once my sister and Kristin arrived though, they were hungry and they headed to a local restaurant in the Folly Beach area that happened to be across from the hotel, so Brian snuck up on my sister and we chatted a bit.

Once everyone was all together at the beach house, we made a plan to go to Wal-mart, since it was nearby and get some groceries for the few days.

By the time we got back to put away groceries, it was getting late, but we hung out and chatted for a bit. I called it a pretty early night and was in bed by 10. I figured this was long and next will be part 2. Thanks for sticking with me to the end.

Bridal Shower Weekend

April 1, 2019 by Alicia Leave a Comment

This weekend was a busy one. Saturday morning, I started out with making a new pancake recipe, almond butter pancakes. They turned out amazing and were perfectly filling for my busy morning. I first had to take my stats exam to get that out of the way and I was happy it was quick and smooth.

The rest of the morning I could relax. I went grocery shopping and then went on a bit of a cleaning spree throughout the house. In addition, I went through more clothes so I have a nice donation bag now. It feels good to lighten my load and maybe soon I will be fully unpacked for the first time in 5 years. I even put on my prom dress. 11 years and it still fits!!

At 1, I had my bridal shower at a local restaurant. I knew nothing about the planning other than when to show up. I was glad I arrived just as two of my friends pulled into the lot so we could all head in together. We had cute table favors and I didn’t even notice, but the cupcakes were arranged in a dress.

bridal shower 3 — ready in my new stitch fix dress

We ordered our food and everything came fast. We had bread on the table, salads to start and then got our meals. Once we were done eating, I went up to the front to open the gifts. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had to open gifts in front of so many people, but it was fun. I got a lot of good things off my registry and gift cards and of course the best item, a blue kitchen aid mixer.

box cutter team — box cutting team, Brian’s aunts

Although a close second was a homemade grey blanket which has already added to our couch blanket mix.

My friends took a bunch of photos for me, which I loved seeing afterwards.

We didn’t play any games, but we did put together all the bows and I balanced the card plate on my head with them. Good thing I practiced balancing books on my head when I was younger! LOL.

Wedding Dress Shopping and Weekend

October 22, 2018 by Alicia 1 Comment

This weekend I finally said YES to the dress. I will say though, if you recorded my experience for reality TV it would be quite boring haha. I was told I was one of the easiest brides the person at the store had. I went with Brian’s mom and my friend Kelsey. I facetimed my sister through the experience, though she actually missed the first dress I tried on. Walking into a wedding dress store for the first time to find a dress was overwhelming. Also I hate lace. I mean I like it on other people, but personally, I wanted simple white and no long train since we will be getting married on a beach so I didn’t want too much dragging through the sand.

I also knew I wanted strapless and flowy for the beach. This also allows me to continue building muscle on my arms and thighs without worrying about not fitting a dress in just over 6 months. I have a powerlifting meet in April and we get married in May, so I will be constantly working on my muscles.

We shopped at NY Bridal and they organize their dresses by designer. I didn’t have a clue which designer I wanted. Actually I didn’t even pay attention to the designer of the dress I bought. I just looked for the style I wanted. I was kind of hoping I could describe the style and the person helping me, Megan, would pull things. She did pull a couple and I pulled a few as well. I think we started with 6 dresses and spoiler alert, I stopped at dress number 4 and was done.

Since I had never tried on a wedding dress, it was an odd experience. I like to dress up, but this is probably the fanciest dress I will ever wear. I am also not a big dress person in general. I didn’t want anything super poofy and also some of those dresses are massively heavy. I first tried on a fit and flare style dress, which I was fairly certain I did not want and once I put it on, it was beautiful, but I felt like my legs were stuck together and not free to move and it was HEAVY (this coming from a weightlifter).

The second dress was a little better, but it was hard to picture the dress without a long train if we got that altered. Dress #3 was a contender, but ultimately, I put on dress #4 and it was COMFY. I added a veil and a little sparkle and was set. I didn’t want to try on more and in 45 minutes I had decided on my dress. We won’t even talk about price because it was way more than I planned to spend, but it was my dress. I didn’t cry or anything, I just knew I loved it and I was blushing with excitement. My sister said I looked like a princess, which is what every bride wants to hear right?! I will still say it felt weird wearing such a fancy dress and it did make the wedding seem more real as it has been a long time coming and planning has not been easy whatsoever. I am happy that I now settled on the venue and dress this month. There are now little details to put in place and travel arrangements, but I felt those were the two big things as we aren’t doing a reception and it’s a destination wedding. A local reception will come later though.

Also Brian was home briefly this weekend, but to keep things traditional, he is not allowed to see a photo of the dress. Thankfully it takes 4-6 months for the dress to come in, so I don’t have to worry about storing it for long as the wedding is less than 7 months away. I also shouldn’t need too much altered on the dress, probably just the top taken in, because my chest is like size 2-4 and my hips are size 10…gotta love sizing. I was surprised at wedding dress sizes, but I believe being designers and such, they are probably real sizes and not American messed up sizes. A size is just a number anyway.

As for the rest of the weekend, Saturday Brian cooked some dinner and I got a bit of homework done and grocery shopping before relaxing on the couch for the evening.

Sunday morning was back to the gym. I took a few days off to rest as my right hip and left knee were acting up a bit last week. The extra rest was beneficial since I felt so good doing the big 3 (squats, bench and deadlifts) at the gym.

The rest of Sunday was spent doing some quick meal prep, making some veggies and turkey meatballs.

Then it was homework time. I can’t believe this Fall semester is almost over. I am counting down the last few assignments and discussion boards and then I will be able to fully enjoy December and the holidays.

Wedding Weekend: MIMM#77

June 27, 2016 by Alicia 1 Comment

How did the weekend come to an end so quickly?! I even had a 3 day weekend since I was traveling for a wedding. It was such a fun weekend with friends. I actually didn’t take too many photos during the wedding as I was enjoying the present moment but I have some good ones, so let’s look back.

Friday morning I left around 8am and made good timing getting to Binghamton, NY shortly after 11. When I arrived, it was time to find some food. We enjoyed some spiedie salads. The afternoon was spent running a few errands.

In the evening we joined in on the rehearsal dinner at The Lost Dog, that we were kindly invited to even though we weren’t in the wedding, but Brian’s brother was. The dinner started at 6pm and we started with drinks. Since I saw a mojito on the menu, I decided to give it a try.

The bad part in that was that I had not eaten, other than a banana and small muffin, in 6 hours. Despite drinking it slow, that was the first time I got slightly dizzy from a drink and it was not fun. I was so hungry which didn’t help because when I get really hungry I just feel sick. It took forever but we finally ordered and got food shortly after 7. I got a quinoa wrap and sweet potato fries which I inhaled, so no picture. I really want to recreate the wrap though as it was really delicious. After guzzling water (thank goodness for awesome refill service on the waters) and digesting some of my food, I was feeling a bit better. I’m pretty sure I had a water baby when we left as that is what it felt like.

We had tickets to the 7:40 Finding Dory movie at the theater down the road. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you MUST go. Being that it was a later show, there were many adults there and only a few kids, one of which definitely had a breakdown in the middle of the movie, at least it didn’t last too long. I would definitely see the movie again, but most likely will wait until I can buy it.

Saturday was the day of the wedding, but it wasn’t until 4. We enjoyed sleeping in and around noon I crashed the hair party. I got my hair put up and the bride’s sister did my make up.

After that I had a couple hours to hang out before we headed to the wedding. The wedding was fully outdoors and when we got there, the clouds were covering the sun so it wasn’t too bad, but then the sun came out and it was HOT. It was about 90 degrees.

They ran out of water bottles and we were all standing and fanning out our dresses to stay cool. They had an awesome horse and carriage which brought over the bridesmaids, grandparents, parents and bride. Since it took multiple trips though, it was a long wait. However, very beautiful!

Once the ceremony got started, it was fairly quick and then we made our way over to the reception area, which was outdoors but covered so it was perfect. The decorations were beautiful and with over 100 people, you never felt crowded. I loved that they had iced tea and lemonade in addition to soda, water and an open bar. There were also a ton of food options, though the seafood wasn’t ready until later, but I don’t really eat seafood. They had salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage and more.

The rest of the evening was dancing, wandering the area (big open fields!!), eating cake and having fun.

We got back at about 10pm and crashed hard (I blame the allergy pill Brian and I both took as my nose was so stuffed after being outside).

Sunday morning I slept until 8:30am!!

At noon, we headed over to hang out with the newlyweds and the groom’s family for a bit of a pool party. It was also kind of a dog party.

I left the pool at 2pm and headed home. Since I only had breakfast and a few veggies, I stopped at Tim Horton’s for a cookie (eaten while they made my tea lol) and iced tea and that held me over until dinner amazingly.

I got home around 7pm after stopping at the store and it was time to unpack and meal prep for a couple hours. Meal prep is very important to me and I always miss my kitchen time when I am away.

meal prep 0626 — spaghetti squash, zoodles and ground chicken and veggies for lettuce wraps this week

And that ends my weekend. I am excited for another 3 day weekend next weekend for 4th of July, though I don’t really have plans, it will be a nice low key and get stuff done around the apartment weekend for sure.

Do you meal prep after traveling?

What did you do this weekend?

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