Writing a Ceremony Pinspiration

So we finally nailed down the ceremony details! We aren’t having an exclusively Irish ceremony but I picked a lot of great Irish ceremony passages that I think will go really well with our non-traditional ceremony.

Before I got In contact with our officiant I had no clue how to structure a ceremony. Now, if your ceremony is religious, you are quite lucky because its pretty much all structured out for you. Non-traditional ceremonies are basically whatever you want them to be, so if you have nowhere to start and no basis of how to begin…how could I make it come together?

Our wonderful officiant sent us the bare bones and all we had to do was fill in the gaps. And now, for those of you lost in this area, I am going to share it with you!

Here is what a bare bones ceremony looks like:

Greeting- The officiant greets the guests and announces the intention of marriage. You can change this up by adding a quote or a funny anecdote for the officiant today.

Declaration: The bride and groom declare their intent to marry. This can be made to be simple statements or quotes. You can also go traditional, “Jane, will you have John to be your husband…”

Reading: This doesn’t have to be a specific reading. This can actually be anything you want, it’s basically a break from the two of you and allows for friends to speak or sing.

Exchange of Vows

Second Reading: Again, another change to personalize the ceremony and get friends and family involved. We are actually skipping this one altogether because we want a short and sweet ceremony.

Exchange of Rings: You can keep it traditional or customize the readings however you want. We found a passage that was perfect for the ring exchange and very non traditional.

Special Ceremony: The place for the sand-pouring or Handfasting (like us)!

Declaration of Marriage, Blessing, and sending forth: It is as it sounds and totally alter-able to your needs!

Now that you know how to set up your ceremony, customize it! Today’s Pinspiration is of different books that have wonderful passages to use your ceremony.

“Pooh” whispered Piglet
“Yes, Piglet” replied Pooh.
“Nothing,” answered Piglet,
“…If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.”
“It’s so much more friendly with two…”
“Some people care too much, I think it’s called love.”

“He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…He’s always in my mind; not as a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”

“…Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take…It is indeed a fearful gamble… Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.”

“I have for the first time found what I can truly love – I have found you. You are my sympathy – my better self – my good angel; I am bound to you with a strong attachment….a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you – and, kindling in pure powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.”

“A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not who we’re pretending to be…
Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction.
When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person
Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.”

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day…
“Real isn’t how you’re made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse…”When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt…”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. ” You become. It takes a long time…Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

These are just a few of the passages I love! Are you having a non-traditional ceremony? What kinds of things did you include to make it personal?

Wedding Nails and Pedicure Adventures

Last weekend, on my only day off, my bridesmaid treated me (and my hubby-to-be) to pedicures! It’s a little hilarious to watch your significant other get their feet taken care of.

I have to say that it was a first pedicure for both of us. I have heard too many horror stories about unclean foot baths that would make your skin crawl, so I avoided it like the plague. So my wonderful bridesmaid did a little research and promised me a salon with good reviews.

It was quite a nice little place and the experience was wonderful. I really should have done this a long time ago.

Up until I had the pedicure I hadn’t thought about what my nails would look like for the wedding. I guess I had always assumed it would be a French manicure. But there are a bunch of festive and different ways to wear your nails on the big day. You can paint your nails to match your colors, your dress, or even your flowers!

Top Left, Top Right, Middle Left, Middle Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right

I really like the lace inspiration, it would match my dress perfectly! What kind of nails are you doing for your big day?

Striving For Healthy

I want to take a break from weddings for a second and talk about my second favorite subject: food. Seriously, I love food. While I was in college we must have gone out to eat at least 4 times a week. So of course the “freshman 15″ followed me. When I left college and started my first job, that’s when things started to turn around, weight wise. I was making all my meals and going for regular walks. Eventually I cut out a lot of the fattening meals, focused on the healthy ones and “amped” up the physical activity and I lost all the college weight.

So since many women try to lose weight before the wedding, I thought I’d help y’all out with a little recipe swapping.

So many people deprive themselves of things they like to eat when they want to lose weight. It almost never works especially when you find pictures like this everywhere:

Via

(Thanks Pinterest) And you cannot tell me you don’t salivate a little when you see that? Two of the best comfort foods in ONE sandwich? Who doesn’t love a good burger with Mac n Cheese?

I really wanted that burger, but I would have to somehow make it healthy…CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

Instead of beef I chose to make a delicious eggplant burger. (Mine are not pictured, this is the gorgeous picture from the blog that holds the recipe)

Via

 

It has eggplant, humus, cannellini beans, onion and so much other good-for-you stuff all ground up into one burger. I love veggie burgers, but you have to be in a cooking mood to make them. They have a lot of ingredients to them and can be a little complicated to make.

For the macaroni and cheese part I picked up gluten-free rice macaroni. And, since I was already in the organic section, I also picked up some organic cheddar cheese. It looks like it turned out alright.

And, as a side dish, I went with baked sweet potato tater-tots. Here is how the pretty Pinterest picture looked:

Via

And here’s how ours came out:

Now besides the fact that we didn’t put the, in a fancy basket, I think they turned out well.

So how did I do? I am basing this around the calorie count of a Macaroni and Cheese burger from the Cheesecake Factory.

A Macaroni and Cheese burger from the Cheesecake Factory: 1,150 calories

My Eggplant Mac n Cheese Burger (Including the bun and the inevitable tomato & lettuce you’d put on it): Right around 580 calories, just about half of the cheesecake factory burger.

The tots are about 40 calories per tot, making 4 tots around 160 calories.

So the whole meal is fewer calories than one Cheesecake Factory Macaroni and Cheese burger. Is it the healthiest meal in the world? Absolutely not. I’m sure I’d be better served with a good salad. But sometimes we have to splurge, but the splurge doesn’t have to be a real leap. You don’t have to eat everything on the dollar menu and wash it down with a gallon of ice cream. A big part of losing weight is learning to eat smart. Being able to have the foods you want, just by substituting ingredients. In that way you don’t have to deprive yourself, but you don’t have to do the diet backstroke either!

I love a good challenge so if you have a recipe you’d like to see me “make healthy” send it my way! I just may feature it here on the blog!

Picnic Pinspiration!

Maybe it’s because I’m hungry right now, and it’s a gorgeous spring day, but I saw this picture and thought, “I want to do that!”

Via

I love peanuts, and it is always super fun to pop them open and chuck the shells on the ground. It feels very summer. And in Maine we can’t wait for summer. Winter is far too long! So Pinspiration today is all about picnics, and how awesome a picnic wedding would be! There is something so great about laying on a blanket in the cool of the shade on a hot summer day that’s picture perfect!

Top Left, Top Middle, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right

The weather has been so nice here, I’m thinking about planning a picnic date for fun…but instead of cooking, I’m going to get take out from a place we haven’t tried yet! Life is so much sweeter when winter is gone!

Natural Skin Care For The Wedding Day

I’ve been under a ton of stress lately so I’m sure that accounts for the horrible skin problems I’m having right now. In addition to stress acne, I have the ongoing problem of acne rosacea. Fortunately I only get mild redness with occasional bumpy flare-ups, nothing that can’t be covered by a little make-up, but it still has a negative effect on my skin.

I have tried tons of products to make my regular acne go away, as well as multiple visits to the dermatologist, all have yielded less than positive results, not to mention the expense. I’m super tired of going through product after product and nothing works. I am also tired of telling people about it, and they say, “Oh you should try xxxx product it’s awesome!” or “Well I’m a consultant for Mary Kay/Avon, and I have blah blah blah.” Mary Kay/Avon never has, never will solve the world’s skin problems.

So I have decided to now take a more holistic approach to skin care. There are a lot of foods that are supposed to really help out skin. Here are just a few:

Honey: moisturizes, helps heal acne, fights aging
Yogurt: firms up skin to prevent wrinkles
Green Tea: fights inflammation (which is good for rosacea sufferers!)
Egg Whites: improves circulation & tightens pores
Avocados: help add moisture to your skin, combine with other ingredients for a great facial!
Turmeric: Evens out skin tone, helps reduce inflammation, and reduces wrinkles

My first attempt at this is actually with Turmeric as well as with some honey and milk. If you mix Turmeric with other ingredients it can make a kind of paste which allows for a great mask! I should say that the best thing to do when using natural ingredients in skin care is to buy all organic. This way, you know you aren’t getting anything that could harm your skin.

Here is what you need for the mask:
Organic Turmeric
Organic Honey
Milk
Small spoon or teaspoon
Small bowl or mug (glass is best…but I’m not that cool)

Just a note, Turmeric does stain, so wear a shirt that you don’t mind getting dirty, and make sure you do this mask at night, as Turmeric tends to give you that “Jersey Shore” orange glow. It goes away with a little time and a shower. If you have to go out in public with a yellowish-orange glow, practice the line, “No, my liver’s not failing, it’s just the Turmeric mask afterglow.” Seriously though, it will go away & makeup will cover it.

Before you start, wash your face thoroughly, and get all the makeup off.

First, fill your small spoon with Turmeric and put it in your bowl, followed by a spoonful of honey.

Mix it around a bit before you add the milk, which will make an unmanageable paste. Add the milk, but just a tiny bit, because otherwise it will become too watery.

I accidentally made mine too watery, it’ll still work, but more drip-age may occur. Once you mix everything together it will form a nice orange paste.

Now it’s time to apply the mask! Do it over a sink or something because it will drip, and it’s best to avoid dripping on furniture. Just take the same spoon you used for mixing and use the back of it to spread it across all the areas you want to affect. If you have dark circles make sure you hit up under the eyes, as Turmeric helps to improve pigmentation.

Slather it all over until you look like an Oompa Loompa…see?

Now just wait around for 15 or 20 minutes, till it starts to feel dry around the edges. Then just rinse it off. Don’t use soap and don’t wash your face again! Yes, you will look a little orange, and it will come out by the time you have to go to work tomorrow!

This is only the second time I’ve tried this mask, so I cannot speak to the long-term results. My skin did feel smooth after washing it off though. This mask is like the ones Indian brides use before their wedding to make their skin smooth and glowing. So hopefully the long-term results are good ones!

Get your girls together and do Oompa Loompa facials all around!

Gifts For Mom On Your Wedding Day!

I hope all the moms had a wonderful Mother’s Day yesterday! If you’re a reader you know my mom is helping A LOT with this wedding, giving her time and money to help make our day as beautiful as possible. For our wedding I want to get my mom a great gift. I want to honor her as my mom and thank her for all the help she’s given us.

But because my mom is awesome, she always reads my posts, so I can’t post it here! Sorry momma, but it has to be a surprise! Instead, I found a bunch of great gifts for mom to give to her on your wedding day!

Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right

Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right

Guys, call your mom! She loves you!

Great Gatsby Pinspiration Was Inevitable!

 

 

I read this book a long time ago, longer than I’d like to admit for sure, so I’ll definitely have to read it again before seeing the movie. If I remember correctly though, it came to a rather tragic end. That doesn’t mean the glamor and style can’t translate to a gorgeous wedding…just don’t embody Daisy or Gatsby…

So before you run out to see the Great Gatsby tonight I thought I’d give you a little Pinspiration for your Gatsby wedding!

Top Left, Top Right, Middle Left, Bottom Left, Bottom Right

Top Left, Top Rightt, Middle Left, Bottom Left, Bottom Right

The car at the bottom of the first board is actually going to be at my wedding! The owners of the farm have this car for use for the weddings they host! That’s one of my little nods to The Great Gatsby, to see the other little bit of Gatsby at our wedding, click here!

A Post From The Heart

I have really not been inspired lately. I have been more or less exhausted. Working six days a week is really taking its toll on me (and my mood). But on top of all that is that I really haven’t seen my husband-to-be in a very long time. No, he hasn’t gone missing, we just work entirely different work shifts and never get the same days off. When he leaves for work I am asleep, and when I get home from work he’s asleep.

This has been the hardest change for us. We went from seeing each other all the time, developing a pattern and bonding, to communicating through text (now, I love my phone, but it is a horrible cuddler). And I feel like this separation has put a strain on our relationship. That’s really hard to say in a public forum, but it’s true.

When you are in a relationship, it’s so important to see each other and talk with each other, and cuddle. There is something about being in each other’s presence that builds the relationship. The other day he was actually home when I was, and we got to cuddle on the couch for a bit. Those moments of just sitting and cuddling made a huge difference in my mood. Just that short time brought back that feeling of partnership we had at the beginning.

The six-day work week won’t last forever, and we are trying to get through this time the best we can, but it is hard. I miss my best friend and partner. I say all this not to bring doom and gloom to your Wedding Wednesday, but to maybe offer some comfort to other men and women that are dealing with problems like this.

It seems like so many people gloss over the fact that relationships go through trials and tests and I don’t want to be that person. I want you all to know, we are just like you. We are working hard on our relationship in the midst of difficult life obstacles on top of planning a wedding that is less than 4 months away.

In the face of these obstacles we are committed to each other, we are committed to what we know we have. We don’t need to stand up in front of family and friends to know that. And if you guys truly love your significant other, you’ll feel that too. It will get better, it’s just hard right now, and I understand.

Wedding Budget Woes (And Cheering Myself Up)

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the budget for the wedding. I have been having reservations of, “Did I really do all I could to keep down the cost?” The cost of the wedding is really expensive for an average couple making an average salary, so you can imagine why doubt has crept in. I really feel like I went to the ends of the earth to make absolutely certain that we got the wedding we wanted at the cheapest cost. Lately though, it feels like I either didn’t do my best, or didn’t sacrifice enough to keep costs down.

Fortunately this doubt can be solved with a little research. I went searching for the national average cost of a wedding, as well as the average cost of a wedding from the exact area of maine where we are getting married to see if I really did a good job. Spoiler Alert: I did

To show you all the break down I made my very first Infographic!

 

Can you believe that national average cost? Whew! The cost to have a wedding in Maine is significantly cheaper, but certainly still a lot of money! So to the part that made me feel better: Our wedding costs SO MUCH less than the national average, AND even less than the Maine average, by thousands of dollars! So I breathed a sigh of relief, and those of you planning a Maine wedding, hopefully you can too. If not, check your wedding against the national average and see how you stack up!

Not too bad for my very fist infographic ever…seriously, I spent waayyy too much time on it. I will probably hang up my infographic hat for now.

Pinspiration! Outdoor Seating (Love!)

I don’t know what it is about a couch in the middle of a grassy field that’s relaxing and picturesque, but I am in LOVE with the concept of a wedding lounge area! I really think it gives everything a warm and inviting atmosphere.

So, for your Pinspiration today, I thought I’d show you what’s possible. Just because I can’t have a wedding oasis, doesn’t mean you can’t!

Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right

Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right