Taking My Own Advice.

I'm ashamed of myself. As I near the 100-day mark I've become more and more aware of one thing in this wedding planning process that I've completely neglected: my health.

I came to this (not-so-abrupt) realization yesterday when I had to call in sick to my internship. I had somehow forgotten to drink water/liquids the entire day before and was severely dehydrated. Desert-dehydrated. Nearly hospitalized-dehydrated. Dehydrated to the point where I felt like I had spent the previous night partying in Vegas harder than those Hangover guys. You get the picture.

This is so not like me. I routinely carry a reusable water bottle around with me EVERY where I go (I have a huge glass of water at my desk as I'm typing this). While recovering, I also realized that I've hit another point in my life that I've never been before: weighing the heaviest I ever have. I seem to have just disregarded my health and fitness completely while planning for my wedding. The worst part? Exactly a year ago I was in the best shape of my life and making money as a part-time model because of it.

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No, I didn't have any self-image problems. In fact, it was the absolute opposite. I was healthy because I had changed my lifestyle, not started on some crazy fat-loss pills, crash diet, or detox. I worked out 4-6 times a week, ate 4-6 small (but satisfying) meals a day, didn't stress over calories and got plenty of water and rest. And although I've always been a slimmer (but "soft" around the edges) girl and active in athletics, I was learning to truly take control of my health and fitness. Pretty soon, my "model" body began morphing into more of a "fitness" body.

Photos taken by friends.


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This photo was even featured on a calender sold by bodybuilding.com!

Photos courtesy of NRV Photography

My back a year ago would have looked sexy in my low cut wedding dress now! (Don't worry, only Mr. Lab was in the house with me all nakedz!)

Can't believe I'm sharing this one with the hive, but here's part of my progression into a FIT body from the "I'll just cover the extra flab with my clothes" body.



Yeah, that last one was taken exactly a year ago. So what happened? Well, school started (I had been training during the summer) and with it I suddenly had a ton of excuses for skipping out on the gym and stuffing my face. I never quite learned how to manage my fitness with my hectic schedule (classes, extracurriculars, studying, friends, football season, the holidays, etc.). And when I got engaged, I thought the magic wedding fitness fairy would pay me a visit and get me back on track. Well, I'm still waiting on that fairy. In the meantime I've put on about 20 pounds. Here's me now:

Photo taken last week. Wii Fit kicked my out-of-shape ass.

Yesterday's set back has really knocked some sense into me. I'm not trying to get down to a certain pant size or number on the scale. I'm trying to get healthy and fit, to feel energized all day, and to like the way I look. I want to do all this for my everyday life, not just for the wedding (although I'd be lying if I said that the wedding wasn't a big factor in getting back on track).

I know some of you are reading this thinking "Why is she complaining? I wish I looked like that now!" All I have to say to that is we all have different short and long term goals and know where our bodies should be. I know that I shouldn't be this out of shape. It took a lot of fast food and laziness to get this way. (Ever heard of skinny fat?) And it's a bit frustrating to hear people say I look good when I'm so out of shape that playing a hula-hoop game on the Wii gets me sweating and panting in less than a minute. I mean, not that long ago I could run 3 miles in less than 30 minutes and squat 135 lbs!

I have a little over 3 months until the wedding. You might think that's not enough time to get where I want to be, but those progression photos were taken over just a 2 month period. I won't be "ripped" like an Oxygen magazine cover model, but I'll be in shape. (Btw, in my opinion, Oxygen is the best women's health and fitness magazine out there. Trash your Shape & Self magazines and get a subscription to the "O" stat!)

I'm going to occasionally post about the things I have done in the past (and am doing now) that have worked for me. I'm no fitness or nutrition expert, but I do know enough through experience about what works and what doesn't. I don't expect everyone to agree with me when I write about my renewed fitness journey and that's okay. A lot of health and fitness is trial and error, so what works for me might not be the best route for you. But I guarantee you'll learn some things along the way that will help you get to your own fitness goal-finish line.

Now I just have to start taking my own advice, starting now. :)

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Drinks on us! Part 2: The John Hancock of Cocktails.

As you may have guessed by the title, this post is about our signature drinks! ;)

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We're having a full bar at our cocktail hour and reception and thought it would be fun to have drinks that represent the entire wedding party. They'll be a total of three signature drinks: one for the bridesmaids, one for the groomsmen, and then one in honor of Mr. Lab and I.

Our matron of honor and best man will be in charge of creating their respective signature drinks. The only rule they have is that the ladies' drink must be a pink concoction...

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...while the men must have a brown one (again, all fitting into our color palette).

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They've yet to pick out their cocktails, so any ideas are certainly welcome! As well as cute and catchy drink names!

As for Mr. Lab and I's signature drink, we're going with the "yum-o!"-inducing White Russian. We both love love LOVE this drink. And it's white, so it sorta fits the theme of a wedding!

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In case you've never had a White Russian (or you aren't a lush like moi), here's the quick and simple recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Coffee Liqueur (ours will be made with Kahlua)
• Light Cream
• Chocolate Syrup (optional decoration-we're having the bartender add the initial of our last name on the drinks!)

Mixing instructions:

Pour vodka and coffee liqueur over ice cubes in glass. Fill with light cream. Add chocolate syrup swirl to top and serve.

We've decided that we're going to use tags to label our ceremony drinks...

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And chalkboards to display our signature drink options!

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These are the two easiest and cheapest display options. I really liked the chalkboard signs, but decided using them inside only will insure they won't blow away or fall down in the wind during the ceremony. I will be hitting up Michael's tomorrow after work to get started on our DIY signs!

I've got plenty of experience working with chalkboards. I've had one chalkboard since I was a sophomore in college that has "evolved" to fit my needs. I'm hoping I can hold on to the ones I use in the wedding for many years just like the one I have already!

My trusty chalkboard as the focal point of my crazily decorated apartment door. All my roommates had similarly-overdone doors! (Hey, I was a sophomore, so don't judge! lol)

Same chalkboard, different location and messages. I love that my little sister and I are rockin' the braces at the same time!

Still the same chalkboard but with the new border I painted to match our updated "Parisian" kitchen when Mr. Lab moved in! I added the sign above it for about $2.

Now comes the hard part: naming our cocktail! Any suggestions? I hope you have some cause Mr. Lab's drink names aren't so great:

Haha! Wait, wut?

Thirsty for more? Read Part 1!

*Have you ever noticed how John Hancock and all the other men who signed the Declaration of Independence have phenomenal, calligraphy-like handwriting? Seriously, where are all the men with GOOD handwriting nowadays?!? I could use one of them, especially when I'm writing thank you notes or addressing invitations! Sheesh.

Drinks on us! Part 1: An infusion of pretty and yummy.

Beverages will be a big part of our wedding. Because our ceremony will be outside in the Georgia heat (but hopefully not scorching heat come November), we are setting up a refreshment table with drinks for our guests to enjoy before the ceremony begins. This will also come in handy while they are waiting on the trolley to take them back to the reception.

So I've been collecting ideas on how to present the drinks and quickly fell in love with infusion jars.

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Aren't these super cute? I love the way they add so much "punch" (*chuckle*) to any table. So I began keeping an eye out for deals on infusion jars.

Last week, while casually perusing Bed Bath & Beyond on FMIL's first ever visit to the awesome-est store in the world (I mean really, who hasn't ever been to BB&B!), I ran into one of those deals.

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They had gorgeous infusion jars with iron stands for only $20. But wait, there's more! We (FSIL and I) had our trusty $5 off BB&B coupons in tow. So we snatched up 3 of these cuties for $15 a piece. FSIL and FMIL both wanted one for themselves, so they offered to each buy one and let me borrow them for the wedding. So I'm getting 3 jars for only $15 for the wedding! Afterwards, I'm going to have a super cute way to display drinks during get-togethers. Double score!

We want the drinks to be not only southern staples, but also in our wedding colors. So we decided on sweet tea and pink lemonade for the infusion jars. They will be joined with water for anyone who doesn't want sugary drinks (although I'll probably make them with Splenda since Mr. Lab and I are very health conscious). We're also serving up bottled Coca-Cola like Mrs. Cherry Pie did for her wedding:

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My oldest brother has an entire guest house/barn decorated in nothing but vintage Coca-Cola items (he's a bit obsessed with the drink), so he'll be loaning some signage for the set up.

I found our jars in action with the colors we're going for:

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We're going to infuse the tea with mint and the pink lemonade with peaches. Yummy-ness! Now I just have to find a way to label the jars with what's in them. Hmmm, chalkboards, tags, or ribbon labels?

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Whatever drinks are left over at the ceremony will be transported to the reception site to be enjoyed there by our non-drinking guests.

And just because this is Weddingbee, I HAD to include this adorable beehive infusion jar:

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Block Head

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Um, why hasn't any told me how difficult and time-consuming reserving a block of rooms for a wedding can be? Somebody has really dropped the ball on keeping Miss Lab in the loop!

I've been trying for a couple weeks now to get a hold of someone at a few hotels I'm interested in, but haven't had much luck. Either I call too late (this internship is killing all my free "business hours" time) or when I get a chance to call within operating hours, their sales teams are out for the day! I've tried leaving voice messages and emails, but no one is getting back to me. ARGH.

I was always under the assumption that hotel blocking would be one of the easier things to do in the wedding planning process. I guess I was mistaken. I mean, what's so hard about taking down my contact information and then marking some rooms as unavailable until a certain date? Sheesh. Maybe one of you hotel-savvy hive members could clarify the reason it may be hard to do?

Anyhoo, I figured that while I wait for someone to have mercy or pity on me, I'd share a couple hotels I'm hoping to snag at a discount for my guests.

I'm reserving two hotels for the wedding weekend. One will be close to our reception site and the other will be close to our after party site. Both are within walking distance of all the squares, so our guests will rarely need a car to get around and see the heart of Savannah. However, the hotels are still near a major highway, so guests will be able to make a quick escape back home the day after the wedding!

First up, the Hampton Inn & Suites in the historic district:

All photos found at their respective websites!

This hotel is literally right around the corner from our reception site. Our guests could just walk there and back if they wanted to. The Hampton is Savannah's newest hotel, so it's definitely clean! It's the only hotel I've visited from my list of possibilities and the entire staff was incredibly friendly (even those sales wasn't working that day).

I loved the chandeliers and southern decor they had in the entryway and lobby!


The rooms were all very clean and modernly dressed in neutrals.


Who doesn't love a free breakfast bar?!?


Our next top choice is the Inn at Ellis Square downtown. The building is simply stunning:



And it's located close to River Street where we'll hold our "after-party"! Again, no ugly super-busy-color-clashing-gaudy printed comforters on the beds. Always a plus!


I'm keeping my fingers crossed on these two in hopes of scoring some discounted rooms in the price range we want for our guests. Of course, Savannah has a plethora (I love that word!) of hotels, some chain-owned while others are historic and/or bed & breakfasts to choose from. Our guests will be welcome to pick any hotel they want, but we wanted to make sure we provided them with some affordable and conveniently located options. Not to mention that I love when hotels are researched and choosen for me, so I'm guessing our guests will appreciate that as well.

We're expecting 75 OOTs, so we're planning on about 25 rooms (a mix of single and double beds) at each hotel. We'll be suggesting on our wedding website that friends share rooms to cut down on travel costs (a lot of our single guests are friends and/or co-workers who won't mind sharing).

I haven't found much information concerning how many rooms to block according to guest counts and when the deadline for reserving should be before releasing extra rooms. Any suggestions so when the sales managers finally call back, I've have a better idea what to ask for?

Piece of Cake Part 2: There's Nothing Finer in the Land

Last Sunday my future in-laws and I stopped by Publix to pick up my cake samples. Boy were we surprised at Publix's idea of a "sample" size.

It was practically an ENTIRE cake! I honestly thought I wouldn't have enough to share with my FMIL & SIL when we went to try it. I was clearly wrong. Publix even threw in an extra flavor combo (half & half aka chocolate & vanilla). It was around lunch time when we brought home our sample, so we undoubtedly gorged ourselves. Hey, it's all in the name of wedding planning, right? ;)

Um, Mr. Lab, I am going to politely ask that you refrain from clicking the "read more" link below. K, thx!

As expected, I went with the red velvet and vanilla with raspberry filling, all in buttercream frosting. We managed to quit stuffing our faces long enough to wrap up some of the cake to take back to Mr. Lab when I visit him next week. Look how nom nom nom, er...yummy, they look!

The perfectionist dwelling inside me loves how the two flavors are alternating colors. It's going to be pretty even after the cake has been sliced and diced! As for the updated price for the red velvet flavor I mentioned in Part 1, Evelyn put down the same $165 on my order form! I'm assuming she gave me the prices with the extra 20% included already. Nonetheless, it's on the contract, so that's what I'm paying!

So now that the wedding cake was all settled, I excitely moved on the the groom's cake!

Some of you may remember my scare with Mr. Lab and his desire of a meat cake. Well, he assured me that it was mostly a joke. He definitely thinks meat cake is totally awesome and wants to try it one day, but he also said that he didn't really want it for his groom's cake. Whew! I'm was so relieved he felt that way!* It meant that I could move forward with my plans for a (surprise) cake that represents the pasttime we both share a love of: Georgia football games!

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I had a vision that our cake would be a replication of our beloved Sanford Stadium with a few added personal details. It would be presented soon after the cake cutting to the Georgia fight song and placed on a table full of photos of me and Mr. Lab at Georgia games.

Just some good-hearted fun with our arch enemies! :P

On the field would sit a "cake topper" of me and Mr. Lab playing some football, kinda like this:

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I love how the bride looks like she's tackling the groom. That's what I'm talking about! And to play on the idea of us in the middle of a "game", I'd have the jumbotron personalized with our "score": LeiLani (me) winning 11 to 7 against Chris (Mr. Lab). The 11-7 score reflects our wedding date and the fact that Mr. Lab scored a touchdown and made his PAT and I would have had to score a touchdown, miss the PAT, and kicked 2 field goals OR scored a touchdown, made the PAT, and gotten two safeties OR, well, you get the point! Can you tell I'm ready for the college football season to start? And can you tell that I take competition seriously? ;)

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Anyways, the first place we went for the groom's cake was Custom Cakes by Minette Rushing. She is Savannah's premeire cake designer. She's even making the wedding cakes featured in the movie Miley Cyrus is currently filming in Savannah! But because of her talent, she comes with quite the price tag. She doesn't sell any cakes under 100 servings or $550. I decided to still have a consult with her because I was saving so much with my wedding cake. So FSIL and I booked an appointment.

When we walked in the door, the first thing I saw was this:

I thought it was pretty ironic that I was there for a cake honoring the Georgia Bulldogs and ran into a gator! But I was helplessly in awe. I couldn't believe this was a CAKE! I felt extremely confident that Minette would be able to carry out my vision flawlessly. I mean, look at some of her other work on display around the room!




But alas! After the consultation, she sent me the price for what my vision would cost: $1200 plus tax! YIKES. I have expensive visions. For that price I would have to put the cake in a glass box and display it in my living room for the next 50 years.

So I went back to the search. I happened to run across a Sanford Stadium cake online and found out that the baker doesn't live far from Savannah. Thank goodness it's the weekend so I actually have the time to give her a call. Isn't this cool?!?

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So stay with me. This cake saga isn't over yet!

*Oh, and just because Mr. Lab was a good boy (hehe) about the meat cake, I'm planning to make him one in honor of our fourth anniversary in October! :D

All un-sourced photos are my own.