Life Update: Chapter 4!

Happy New Year!

Our first blog post about 2019 and I am focusing on Life update Chapter 4! In 2018 I tried to open up more and really allow you guys to get to know me on a more personal level. I am going to continue doing that even more in 2019. Along with Life updates, I want to share some wedding tips and tricks that I have learned along the way. For any future brides out there, especially anyone in Chicago to get a sense of what wedding planning is like here.

Since Chapter 3:

I originally wanted to share this chapter by the end of the year, but life happens and it felt better suited to wrap everything up right in the New Year! Over the course of last three months i’ve had a little extra time for myself since leaving my second job, but I still struggled to find ways to juggle my 9-5 and the blog. It’s definitely a big goal of mine for 2019, not only to be more organized but to be more consistent. Aside from work life, Rhys and I took a big leap into the next chapter of our lives together and we got engaged! I am beyond excited to spend the rest of my life with Rhys and cannot wait to see what our future holds. I promised in the New Year I would share how the most special night of my life went down!

The night we got engaged:

We went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Chicago called Gibson’s Italia. If you are ever headed here or live in the area please put that on your list of places to eat. Aside from the delicious food, the views are absolutely breathtaking. After we enjoyed wine, mozzarella and prosciutto we moved onto our main course. We split a Filet Mignon that was cooked perfectly and seven year aged risotto and scallops. O M G that risotto was to die for, I think I have thought about it everyday since. After we finished our delicious meal, Rhys asked if I wanted to go get drinks at this bar Celeste. He suggested we walk and naturally I complained because it was raining and I was having a good hair day. He insisted so I followed him up the stairs from the restaurant to those breathtaking views of the city. That’s where he got down on one knee and proposed! I could not even tell you what he said all I remember is “I love you, will you marry me?”. I laughed, I cried, laughed and cried some more and said “of course, of course!”. To which he replied “Is that a yes? Are you laughing?”. Haha I laugh when I am nervous! It was a big fat YES!

We continued to walk a little more and then ended up under a bus stop because it started to rain even more. We face timed with my Grandma, who was so excited. Then tried to face time with my Yiayia and Papou, but of course they didn’t pick up. Rhys then told me that he had invited a ton of friends, our siblings and parents to Celeste. When we walked to the second floor everyone was waiting for us! It was beyond special. I loved that it was just the two of us initially and then we got to celebrate with some of our favorite people. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season and then we continued celebrating for the next ten days with our families! Below are some pictures from the night we got engaged!

To everyone who came out late on a Thursday night and celebrated with us, I love you more than you know! It meant the world to me to see so many of my friends out! Plus my niece and nephew even had a late night in the city. Of course thank you for the phone calls, texts, DM’s, comments congratulating us, it made us so happy! My college roommate Amanda even drove in from Iowa just for the night! After our celebration, we continued on and had some more drinks before we were ready to call it a night. Both Rhys and I were lucky to be working from home the next day!

By the next day everyone in my family was asking a but load of questions “What date is the wedding going to be?” “Who’s going to be in your bridal party?” “What kind of wedding do you want to have?” “When are we going dress shopping?” etc. I was like “I have been engaged for less than 12 hours can we pump the breaks?” haha but secretly couldn’t wait to get the show on the road with finding a venue and lots of those questions I already knew before we got engaged. We have learned a lot so far about venues and costs in the city and I will share that at a later date.

The first day we looked and saw five venues. I was excited, overwhelmed and amazed by how insanely gorgeous some of these places are. We are starting to mix in some hotel venues, which typically aren’t my favorite because the ballrooms don’t have as much character. They can be a little more cost effective, convenient for out of town guests, less vendors you have to bring in and the rooms are typically much larger which we need! We are going to look at a couple more places this week and next. I am hoping after that I will be able to put all information I have gathered into a spreadsheet. Then really start to evaluate what venue is going to be best for our reception and as well as most cost effective.

We will be getting married in a church and having a traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony. I have always dreamed of getting married in a Greek Church! After we finish seeing all the wedding venues on our list, I am going to compose a list and share what I have learned along the way.

2019 Goals:

Rather than setting resolutions for the year, I want to share with you some of my goals. Whether they are short term or for the whole year. I would also like to do an update here once a month to give you insight into how everything is going! I feel like if I write these down for the world to see I will hold myself more accountable

Dry January – With the Holidays and all the celebrations for our engagement I really just need a break from Alcohol. I am not a big drinker to begin with. But I felt like it has just been in excess over the last two months.
Take a Photography class- whether its online or in a classroom. I am trying to get Rhys to do this with me too!
Continue with a good skincare regime– I feel like within the last two months I have really gotten this down. Starting this week I will be going to Lustre Skin Care Boutique for my first round of facials with Jennifer. Hoping she can help me tackle some of my major concerns and we can get on a good track to get my skin in tip top shape for the wedding. I will also be sharing my progress!
Try Workouts I have never tried before – Nothing like getting engaged to kick this into full gear! Starting this week I am trying my first Orange Theory Class. Pray for me.
Post on the blog at least twice a week- Aside from trying to publish something every Thursday, I want to publish one additional day on here. Then gradually get to three times a week etc.
Be active on stories everyday -This is something Stacy and I both decided we wanted to work on for 2019. We want you guys to get to know us on a more personal level. As well as a little more insight into our day to day!
Travel– It’s always in my list of goals. With planning a wedding i’m sure we won’t have much room to spend on traveling! I am going to New Orleans for work and that’s paid. Then we are headed to Charleston, SC for a friends wedding. Aside from those two things, I think we will be saving all of our money and points for our honeymoon!

The next couple of months I will be heavily focusing on some of my goals above and finding a wedding venue! I am looking forward to everything this year has in store not only personally but professionally. I am most excited to become Rhys’ wife, have and become a part of Rhys family! Can’t wait to share my journey along the way and see where we are in the next Life update! Feel free to send any tips or tricks you learned while wedding planning too!