29 Days Till we Wed

Working out is nothing new in my world. I do it regularly But when you come to crunch time and want to look FABULOUS at your wedding, sometimes you need to kick it into a higher gear. That is exactly what I started doing last week.

After feeling like I wasn't loosing weight (and seeing I wasn't), something had to change. And I really knew the key that I was missing to lose the weight I wanted these past few months, but it's hard to change. My diet. I don't eat HORRIBLE, but I don't really watch what I eat either. Till last week. I have gotten very strict on my diet and I'm doing very well now that I've changed (this thing called a WEDDING is really helping that motivation).

Matt is a personal trainer (besides being a dancer and instructor). He writes my workouts up for me every 3-4 weeks and now is monitoring what I eat, so I feel fabulous on my wedding day. Honestly, this is more about me and not other people, I want to feel good and sexy.

I'm not one to eat breakfast. I don't like mornings, I don't wake up in time and I just don't want to do anything when I do wake-up. Last week I started getting up early (with the intentions of working out in the morning, that didn't happen), so instead I ate breakfast. A grapefruit. I've had one everyday since last week for breakfast and it is working out very well. I have also basically cut out cards (no bread right now). I'm not eating very much dairy, some milk here and there. I eat a lot of chicken (like twice a day) and almonds for a snack. This week I've added: avacado, vegetables, sweet potatoes and tonight I'm having fish!

I have completely cut out sugary drinks. I never drank soda (unless I'm having a Bacardi Coke), so this wasn't that hard of a task. Though I had to add "drink more water" to my to do list. I struggle with this, even though there is always a water bottle around me.

As of this week as well, Matt & I are getting up and going for a morning jog two - three days a week. I'm also still going to the gym those evenings. I don't want to wear myself out too much so 2-3 days a week is just fine for morning jogs.

What little things do you do to keep your diet on track or motivated through your workouts?

The wedding is getting real! Happy 29 days before the wedding.

30 Days till we Wed

I know it has been awhile since I've updated this blog. Okay a few months! But we are on our final countdown to the wedding. 30 Days! For the past 20 days I have started my 50 Day to the Wedding Countdown, in which I take a picture each day with the count down to the wedding. I started to hashtag them #gasperwedding (which is our wedding hashtag on social media.)

Things are coming together. I feel like at this point there are so many small little things that need to be done and of course they all take a lot of time. I'm doing some DIY stuff and luckily I have amazing friends and maid-of-honor who are willing to help me out.  I didn't think I would stress out, but not going to lie, the 2 months leading up to the wedding is CRAZY!

Here are a few pictures from the countdown.

Ready to head out for the Bachelorette party. Thanks to my sister in law Erin and maid of honor Ann. And all the gals that came out to celebrate with us. The 2nd picture is of a gift we received in the mail. Pretty wrapping. Our guest room has officially turned into the wedding room, Best to keep things in one place.

And thought I'd share one of our engagement photos :) We had a fun session with our photographer Bernadette Pollard a few Friday's ago. Last night, Matt & I decided we are just not serious people, we love to goof around and be silly and we are so happy to be with each other. I think this reflects in our photos.

 

 Check our Bernadette's website, blog and facebook page!

And one last picture today. 30 Days till the wedding: Matt & I have been getting up early. Mostly for me to eat breakfast (I'm horrible at (a) waking up in the morning and (b) having breakfast), but as of yesterday we have started going on a morning job (which we will do 2-3 days a week till the wedding). Here I am stretching after the jog. Ohh and this is just my FIRST workout of the day, I will go to the gym after my evening activities to get some weight training and more cardio in. 

I'll blog more about working out tomorrow. :) 

Happy 30 Days till the wedding

Family

Matt & I really want to have a special wedding. Something we will always remember and cherish. We both find it really important to get our family involved in all aspects of the wedding. Marty (Matt's brother) is a groomsmen, Erin (my sister in law) is a Bridesmaid, Chat (my brother) is our ceremony musician, our niece and 2 nephews will be our flower girl and ring bearers and we are excited to announce that Melanie (Matt's sister) will officiate the wedding. This is so special to us to have her involved and to MARRY US!

Melanie lives in Florida with her husband Tim. (Picture from their Trash the Dress photo session.) She is an owner of Dream Day Essentials. They have designed vitamins to keep you healthy, energized and alleviate stress during big moments (and every day moments) of your life - like your wedding day.

We are so lucky to have her as part of our big day and appreciate her celebrating and MARRYING US!! Isn't that crazy she is going to make us an official married couple. How do you feel about that Mel?

This was extra special for Matt, as he really wanted his sister involved in our day. Our wedding is a family affair.

Check out Dream Day Essentials on Facebook. 

Wedding Party Introductions - Part 2

Today I want to chat about some important kids in our life and someone else who is very near and dear to me. Introducing our Ring Bearers and Flower Girl!! Our next announcement will be about our groomsmen. That is coming soon.
 

The Kids

 Chad with Lucas & Colin

Lucas & Colin Igo are our nephews. Bound to steal the show (at least one of them), these two keep us busy. Lucas will be 4 and Colin will be 2 at our wedding. We couldn't ask just one to be apart of our special day, it had to be both. They are brothers and I want to look back at the pictures and memories and have both the boys standing with us. Well we will see how much standing they will be doing. Grammie and Grandpa may have to control these two little guys for a short while.

Miss Maya

Our niece, Maya Gasper will be our flower girl. We are so excited to have her as part of our big day and in a cute little dress! Maya will be 2 1/2 at the time of our wedding (yes 3 kids under the age of 4). The cute factor may take away from her Auntie Lacey & Uncle Matt. Though she is a little shy (at first), her smile and cuteness will light up the space.

Ceremony Musician

 Picture taken at Chad's wedding - June 2005. I know we don't age :)

 

Chad Igo is my (Lacey) brother. I really wanted him to be apart of my special day, he means so much to me and I couldn't imagine him not being apart of this. We have asked him to play the music at our ceremony. Chad and I are only 15 months apart and in High School, I can remember spending 1/2 my day with him at school (meaning we had 2 out of 4 classes together). Good thing we got along. As kids he was my buddy and playmate.

Wedding Party Introductions - Part 1

This has been a long process coming. We have known who we have wanted to ask for quite some time. And with the Holiday Season, what better way to surprise them than with a special gift asking them to be part of our special day! I will do this in a 3 part series and today I will introduce my girls who will be standing by my side.

The Gals

Ann Wiley is my maid-of-honor. Ann & I go back to the college days. More specifically, I was her mentor when she was a freshman. Who would have thought when I first met her our friendship would have grown to what it is today. I felt honored to stand with and support her during her wedding and I'm so pleased to have her next to me at mine. People MAY think we are sisters... only because we both have red hair. Are all red heads related?

Erin Igo is my amazing sister-in-law. I couldn't have asked for my brother to marry a more wonderful person! Another redhead and I'm sure you will think we are sisters as well. Well we ARE just not biological. Erin has seen our relationship (Matt & I) from the beginning. Matt & I are so lucky to have her in our lives and the whole Igo clan for that matter.

Liz Brandenburg is someone I know will be my friend forever (near or far). When we told her we were engaged she scream and cried into the phone. It was adorable! We met Liz a few years ago when Matt hired her to teach at the dance studio. My friendship with her has grown so much since than, even though she has moved far away, texting has become our friend. Random fact: Matt was Liz's dance instructor for a year when she was younger. Oh, Las Vegas and Zak Bagans here we come!

Come back soon for the introduction of the guys, the kids and more!
♥ Lacey & Matt ♥

Pinterest

I have to say, Pinterest is awesome. I love being able to save things to a board specific for my wedding and go back to it and add to it. It really helps generate ideas and collect things I like, without printing everything out.

I have 37 Pinterest boards. Being a Graphic Design major and my love for crafting, it is easy to make so many boards. Hey, it's a great source of inspiration.

So here is some wedding inspiration... 

Source: indulgy.com via Lacey on Pinterest

Love these flowers.

Source: dessy.com via Lacey on Pinterest

Source: projectwedding.com via Lacey on Pinterest

Check out more inspiration on my Pinterest page! Feel free to repin. Other sources for inspiration: The Knot, Wedding Magazines (the ones I've found most helpful, is the ones specific to the city we plan on getting married in), and R & H (Wedding Planning book FREE Templates).

What do you use (or did you use) to find wedding inspiration?

Location, Location, Location...

Oh boy! I have realized that this part of the process is overwhelming and SLIGHTLY stressful. All I dream about is wedding locations. It's awful! I will be happy when we pick a location that works with a date that works for us.

We have a list of over 20 locations we are interested in and have contacted. It is hard to keep them all straight anymore. Matt suggested a few weeks ago that we start a spreadsheet. Um...he's onto something there. So that is exactly what we will do this weekend, make a spreadsheet and start eliminating ones we know don't fit our personality.

Are you married? Was this part stressful for you too? Did you have your ceremony and reception in the same location, or different? What time of day was your Ceremony?