Say Yes To The RIGHT Dress

I wanted to write this post to give my advice to any brides-to-be so as to ensure that they make the right decision and not the cheapest decision. It’s so important that you choose the dress that YOU love and not a dress that someone else likes or thinks is great value! You are going to have your wedding photographs framed and will see them every day for the rest of your life so when you think about it choosing the right dress for you is so important! This is a decision that should be influenced my no one but yourself.

 

My Dress

 

I got married in September 2013 and one regret from my wedding is my dress! I know I shouldn’t really think like that but my lovely sister, Orla, is getting married this September so it’s all coming back to me! Everyone thinks I’m mad to think like that but I know that I should’ve picked a different dress. I got swept up in the hype on the day in the bridal shop. I had the dress on, which everyone said was lovely on me, with a beautiful bolero and once the veil went on there were oohs and ahhhs all round. The dress itself is pictured below and don’t get me wrong it’s a beautiful dress but really it wasn’t the dress for me!

 

 

On the day the sales assistant said that the dress was being sold off for an unbelievable price of €745! It fitted me like a glove, bar the length but that was easily sorted by a dress maker. I then made the impulse decision that I should buy this dress rather than leaving it and thinking about it. The spin that the sales assistant gave us was that because of the price it would be swept up so fast and if I waited then I might miss the chance to buy it!

 

I’m not saying that I hated the dress but what I am saying is that I wished that I’d have thought before I bought. They say that “Your” dress will run through your mind constantly and when I think about it I should have bought the below Grecian style dress.

 

 

This dress was amazing when I tried it on but there is no point dwelling on that now. I just want to share my story with you and help you to make the correct decision.

 

Budget

 

Whether you have a large budget or a tight budget it is important to stick to it. Weddings are expensive enough so going a little bit over budget means that you will have to cut back on something else. When buying a wedding dress you need to consider a few things:

• Depending on the time of year, does the dress come with a bolero/shrug?
• If you have fallen in love with a boob tube or sweetheart dress but want straps then you will need alterations
• Does the dress need to be taken up, let in or out?
• How much is the veil?
• How much will shoes and accessories cost? 

Borrow What you Can

 

If possible try to borrow what you can. For example my own veil cost €245, it was beautiful, and sister is now using it for her upcoming wedding. This will be her “Something Borrowed”. The accessories that you have on the day could also be borrowed if you have a tight budget. 

Pre-Loved Dresses

 

Brand new dresses can be quite expensive so buying a pre loved dress is another option. More and more Bridal shops are now taking in second hand wedding dresses and selling off at knock down prices. This is a great option for a bride on a budget. The great thing about this option is that there are minimal alterations needed as the bustle will usually already be added. The alterations for my own dress which involved adding the bustle and taking it up 2 inches, cost €150! The little white Dress in Limerick is one such shop that sells pre loved dresses. Jennifer is a fantastic help and the shop is fab! A number of the charity shops will also have pre loved dresses.

 

Tips To Remember

 

Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing your wedding dress:

Always visit at least 3 bridal shops but no more than 6 as you will only begin to confuse yourself and remember that you will try on approx 10 dresses in each shop!

Never get swept up by the occasion and buy something without thinking about it first

• Always , always, always think before you buy
• Get the details of the dress(s) that you like so that you can look it up on the internet (Some bridal shops do not allow you to take photographs!)
• Be open minded and try all styles and  shapes and fabrics
• Wear nude and if possible a strapless bra when wedding dress shopping
• Don’t go wedding dress shopping on your own, it’s a nice day out and it’s great to have a second opinion
• Wear shoes of a similar height to those that you will wear on the day
• Know your budget and stick to it
• Never ever allow anyone to pressure you into buying something 
• Have fun and don’t allow stress and frustration to creep in!

 

 

I hope that my story and tips have helped in some way. At the end of the day it should be an enjoyable experience and so don’t allow stress to creep in. Have fun and enjoy being the centre of attention because once it’s all over you will feel a sense of anti-climax!

 

Please please please let me know if you would like me to blog about anything wedding related in particular, having been through it all quite recently I know the stresses and frustrations that go with it! You can contact me on:

Email:deeterminedtoglamandglow@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamglow

Twitter: @deeglamglow


Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee xx

 

 

Monday motivation week 1

Today was D-Day! It was day 1 of my challenge and the start of my journey towards reaching my long term goals for 2015. It was also the official end to my maternity leave and the day that I dropped my little man off at crèche and headed back to work after seven and a half months off! Needless to say I was a bit emotional but I'm not going to over think things and get stressed again. Positivity and dee-termination are my new middle names!

Long Term Goals

 

My long term goals are:

Run 10 miles by April

Lose 2 stone by my sisters wedding in September

Do 8 hill walks/mountain climbs

I have given myself until December to complete all if these goals. That is plenty of time and as long as I stay focused I know that I will achieve them. I will reach these by setting myself some short term goals. 

Short Term Goals

 

Each Monday I will post an update to track my progress. Within this weekly post I will detail my short term goals for that week. I feel that giving myself regular short term goals will distract me from the long term goals so that I don't get stressed from not seeing instant results!

 

With all of that being said my short term goals for week 1 are:

Lose 4lbs this week

Start back 30mins running training tues, thurs and sat

Do a 10-20 minute intensive routine 5 times a week

 

I will of course need to rest my body from all of this exercise so I will take 2 days to rest.

 

What Plan To Follow.....

 

So I'm going to be totally honest with you, as per my last blog post (Crawl-climb-walk-run-sprint...to the finish line ), originally I was taking part in Fit Man Fran's 12 Week Challenge but due to communication issues my training partner, Eimear, and I decided against it. Our new plan, as per my last blog post, was to follow the Operation Transformation plan.

Yesterday I spoke with Fit Man Fran and I am now back on track with his 60 Day plan. Fran has said that he is 100% committed to this plan so I am willing to trust him on this!

My training partner, Eimear, will follow the Operation Transformation plan. We are both following different plans but we are doing it together as originally planned! We will do a comparison at the end, as previously our weight and inch loss had been extremely similar. Eimear will also be blogging about her journey and you can follow her on her own blog Chirps From A Little Red Hen.

 

I do very much believe in Fran's plans as I've seen the results first hand myself. I lost 10lbs and 15inches of body fat when I took part in the "Drop A Dress Size" challenge on the RTE Today Show. The results speak for themselves!

 

I hate and love that picture. It's so hard to believe that I let myself get that big but it's great to see what I could do in 30 days! I've no doubt that I'll achieve the results that I want because once I focus on something I will give it 100%. I am the type of person who puts a lot of pressure on myself, which I know in general isn't good, but for this plan it will definitely benefit me. 

The Plan Itself
 

Foodwise Week 1 is a detox. For me this is needed as I indulged a bit too much over the Christmas period so it's now time to get back on track!  

 

The plan is quite strict for the detox week. No caffeine, alcohol, meat, sugar etc, the usual suspects. I need to be drinking green tea and water and eating only natural and healthy foods. I can snack on fruit and protein e.g. Boiled or poached eggs. Today I had porridge, made with water, for breakfast along with a green tea. For lunch I made a green salad with 2 boiled eggs and for dinner I had a delicious green veg stir fry with couscous.

 

Exercise wise Fran sends through 2 days of exercises, in video format, at a time. There will be 5 workouts in total with 2 rest days. All exercise routines are between 10 and 20 mins in duration. Day 1 is a simple fitness test lasting 12 mins and day 2 is a circuit style 20 min intensive workout. 

Day 1

It was an early start for me this morning, my alarm went off at 6. Now I know that for some people this isn't early but for me it is. Colin normally doesn't wake until 7.30 so I usually change and feed him and we'll both go back to sleep for another hour! Needless to say this morning was a bit of a shock to the system, on all levels!

 

The Fitness Test today was tough but I got through it ok! I had to do squat jumps, push ups, star jumps and burpees. I'm unfit only because I got lazy in December so I felt every bit of it but I struggled on through! I don't want to be sore tomorrow so I've done all of my stretches and had my protein shake following the workout. 

Each morning I take a wheatgrass shot. It comes in powder form from holland & Barratt (I'm sure that you can get it from any health food shop). I find that this wakes me up and refreshes me immediately. It definitely boosts my immune system and sets me up for the day. I take the wheatgrass just before I exercise.

My Stats

 

I'm going to be completely honest with you (much as it pains me) and let you all know my statistics. There's no point in me doing this if I'm going to disguise the truth and not be honest and . It's more motivation for me and hopefully for you too! 

Posting my stats will allow for comparison each Monday. I will update them weekly. So here are my stats for Day 1:

Weight - 13stone

Height - 5ft 7

BMI - 28.7

Thighs - 27.5 inches

Bottom - 47 inches

Hips - 43.5 inches

Waist - 41 inches

Chest - 38 inches

Arms - 13.5 inches

 

I've been hiding from the scales for weeks now and the above stats prove why! I'm so disappointed in myself that I've slipped back so much. I have alot of work to do to get back down and stay down. It's scary because my BMI shows that I am over weight and my waist line is a full 6 inches over what is recommended.

 

Here's hoping that there will be a huge change in these figures next Monday!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee xx

Crawl-climb-walk-run-sprint...to the finish line

2015 is going to be my year! That's a big statement but for once in my life I am adamant that it will become fact and not a figment of my vivid imagination.

My 2015 goals are as follows:

• Run 10 miles by April
• Lose 2 stone by my sisters wedding in September
• Do 8 hill walks/mountain climbs

Now this seems like a huge task and you might even say that I'm a dreamer but I KNOW that I can do it!

Background

To give you some background, 2014 was a year full of challenges and full of firsts! I had my first baby, the beautiful Colin (of course I'm not biased!!!!!), in June. Following this I decided to set some goals for myself so as to not get "lazy". With that being said I signed up to do my first climb of Galteemore, 2 and a half months after my son was born, and to run the 5k with Ray in Limerick 10 days later! This all seemed achievable but it was not without some obstacles along the way.

I climbed Galteemore with my lovely sister, Orla, and a number of friends. It was tough but so unbelievably worth every excruciating step. The feeling at the top was so fulfilling.

Bump in the Road

Colin's christening was the following Saturday and as normal I did my 3 days of running training in preparation for the 5k with Ray on the following Wednesday. Of course, thanks to Murphy's Law, one of the tables at the christening, with all of the dinner plates piled high, collapsed and landed on my toe! I cried but not so much with the pain more so knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to run the 5k!

I'm not going to go into the gory details but I ran the 5k, or bits of it, and managed to damage my toe even further so putting a halt to my running training and general motivation for 3 weeks. It was during these 3 weeks of feeling sorry for myself that my moral and self extreme suffered. Old feelings resurfaced and created a negative atmosphere everywhere I went!

The Turnaround

I applied to take part in the "Drop A Dress Size" Challenge with  Fit Man Fran on The RTE Today Show. By some miracle one of the researchers called me and so my weight loss/health lifestyle journey began. I lost 10lbs and 15 inches of body fat on the program! To say I was delighted was an understatement! It made me realise that I have the will-power and determination to keep going.

Through the whole process I met my partner in crime, Eimear. Considering that we had never met before this, it's unreal how much we clicked! During the challenge we motivated and supported each other and weirdly it was almost like we were in sync! 

When I lost 2 lbs so did she or when she lost nothing neither did I! We both have very different shapes and have different goals but our ultimate aim is the same, to become a healthier and fitter version of ourselves!

Reaching my Goals

So initially the plan was to take part in Fit Man Fran's 12 Week Challenge but this is now not to be. I really don't want to be negative towards anyone or business but let's just say when you promise to commit to something then you should follow through on those promises otherwise people will lose respect for you quite quickly!

Eimear and I have been in regular contact and we both feel that each other is a huge support so we have devised a new plan. We will start, on Monday 12th January following the Operation Transformation plan in order to reach our goals. Eimear will be blogging about her journey also. Her blog is Chirps From A Little Red Hen.

Each Monday I will be tracking my progress so please join me on my journey.

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Never let anyone take your glam or dull your glow!

Why is the first blog post always the hardest to write? It's the same with sending an email or text message to someone for the first time. Maybe that's just me but taking the initial first step is always the hardest! So here goes...

I have always kept a diary, possibly as some form of support and comfort but I have now decided to branch into the big bad world of blogging. This is, on one hand so exciting but so terrifying on the other hand.

This is blog is a fun approach to my lifestyle as a 30 something new mom, beauty therapist/makeup artist, office manager and so many other things! This is me and I hope that you will join me and enjoy my journey to Glam & Glow!

Until the next time, always remember to be:

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow!

Dee X

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