Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
I hope you can’t tell how nervous I was in these photos!! :) About a year ago, I was contacted by the regional director of Wedding Network USA, BreeAnn Gale, asking if I would be interested in being a speaker for an upcoming educational meeting. For those of you who don’t know what WNUSA is, it’s a nation-wide network of wedding professionals. Each state has a local chapter, and each chapter hosts either an educational or networking event every month for wedding vendors.
As the only Seattle area wedding planner who specializes in planning Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian and Samoan weddings; BreeAnn reached out to me to host one of these educational meetings on the traditions and customs of Filipino, Chinese and Japanese weddings. I was thrilled to be asked to share my expertise in Asian-Pacific wedding cultures, yet super nervous because I had never done anything like this before.
I could not have asked for a better event! The guests left feeling more informed about Asian wedding customs, and I left feeling like I had absolutely done my best- it was fun, interactive and educational- everything I wanted it to be. Of course I could not have done it without a collaboration of fellow wedding vendors who helped make this event amazing!
Many thanks to all the absolute wedding pro’s who helped me pull this off:
Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Darrin and Christy’s Inspiring Love Story – Celebrated At Laurel Creek Manor
Thank you Annemarie for such a lovely, truly touching ceremony for this amazing couple. You care so much about your couples and it shines through to make their day unforgettable.
Here is a blog posting from Annemarie about Darrin and Christy’s wedding day at Laurel Creek Manor.
Darrin and Christy. They met in high school and went their separate ways. Years later, they would meet again and re-kindle their friendship and fall deeply in love.
There is so much to say here so I’ll just say a little.
Darrin and Christy inspire me and those around them to remember what is important. They have enjoyed great blessing and tremendous challenge during their time together and are an example of what a true and conscious/loving partnership is really all about.
This couple walks with remarkable grace and confidence, understanding that today is all we’ve got and to go for it!
And I’ll go for it by thanking Rebecca Grant at New Creations Weddings for introducing me to Darrin and Christy and for coordinating such a beautiful and elegant (and easy!) wedding day!
Darrin and Christy – I wish you a blessed and very long, happy and healthy life together.
Rebecca Grant: www.newcreationsweddings.com
Monday, February 21st, 2011
This is the article you’ve all been waiting for! If you recently got engaged over the holiday season or Valentines Day, (or even if you’ve been engaged for awhile), you don’t want to miss these bridal weight loss tips. I have asked a long-time friend, Sonya Roosendaal, a personal trainer based out of West LA, to give us a few quick tips on how to look stunning and be healthy on your wedding day. Start now, and create your plan on how to have a killer body in time for your summertime wedding.
Sonya has been featured in such magazines as ‘Self’ and ‘Get Active’ magazines, and has been featured on Lifetime TV about her 5 favorite fitness tools.
This girl knows what she’s talking about! So take her free advice, and sculpt your way to a healthier bridal bod!
The Healthy Bride
You’ve found the love of your life, he popped the question and now it’s time to plan a wedding! Let the details and preparation begin, including a healthy approach to looking and feeling your best on your wedding day. The key is to start early so that you can lose weight (or just firm up) gradually. Most brides are short on time and long on to-do lists which cause many to try unhealthy fitness programs or starvation diets. Don’t be tempted by diets that promise quick, drastic results with little effort from you. It’s important to make a plan, take one day at a time and be realistic by setting attainable goals. Make sure you don’t miss the joy and excitement of the engagement and wedding planning because you are worried about your figure. You have found a man who loves you for who you are! Of course being healthy is always a good thing and every bride should feel their absolute best, but just remember that you will be a glowing, stunning, beautiful bride no matter what!
Bridal Nutrition Tips:
-Make sure to eat breakfast. This will help improve your metabolism, stabilize blood sugar and avoid over-indulging later.
-Eat at regular intervals, watch your portion sizes and make healthy choices. If you are on the go, plan ahead by bringing snacks and meals with you.
-Drink water. Water lowers body fat, flushes cellulite, improves digestion, gets rid of dark circles under the eyes, and makes you feel full. These are just a few of the benefits of drinking the required 8 cups of water per day.
Bridal Exercise Tips: Both cardiovascular and strength work is important
-Make sure cardio (walking, jogging, running, hiking, elliptical, swimming, etc) is part of your weekly routine, even if it is just 10-20 minutes a day. You need to start somewhere in order to burn those extra calories!
-My top upper body toners: push-ups, bow-tie band exercises, triceps dips and using light weights with more reps.
-My top lower body toners: Valslide reverse lunges, exercises using the mini-band (great for trimming out the booty and hips), step up drills and dead lifts.
-My top core drills: “Painful push-aways” and plank drills
The Plan:
-Do 20-40 minutes of cardio, 4-6 days per week
-Do a strength workout 3-4 days per week
* Create 2 strength circuits which include 4-5 exercises each. Perform each exercise 12-15 reps and go thru both circuits 2-3 times.
-Cardio and strength workouts can be done consecutively on the same day
-Don’t forget to stretch!
General Bridal Tips:
-Include your fiancé in your nutrition and exercise plan! The engagement can be a busy season so working out together is a great way to spend time and reach goals as a team.
-Make a plan and get into a routine that you will be able to continue with beyond your wedding day. Create a healthy lifestyle that you can maintain!
-Make sure to get good quality sleep, they don’t call it “beauty sleep” for nothing
-Work hard, stay disciplined and do your best!
Cheers to all of the brides-to-be! I hope that you feel the most healthy and beautiful you have ever felt on wedding day. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email me at sonya@skrfitness.com, check out my website www.skrfitness.com and/or give “Sonya Roosendaal-Personal Training” a “Like” on Facebook!
Purchasing workout tools/equipment:
Go to www.spriproducts.com to purchase the bow-tie band
Go to www.valslide.com to purchase the Valslides
Go to www.performbetter.com to purchase the mini-band
Friday, January 21st, 2011
Ok, so I know I’ve already blogged and given you photos from Paul and Vanessa’s October 21010 Snoqualmie Falls Wedding, BUT, our work was just featured on the website “www.twobrightlights.com” for Seattle wedding professionals and Seattle brides to see work featuring Seattle wedding vendors.
Here’s the link to the post! Enjoy!
http://jacinandpat.blogspot.com/2011/01/real-wedding-vanessa-paul-la-luz.html
