Kirsi Paalanen, Certified Health Coach                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Kirsi Paalanen is a Certified Health Coach and the founder of My Orange Villa, whose mission is to help you look and feel your best on the inside and out! Kirsi is very passionate about helping others achieve their best health – emotionally and physically. She helps her clients lose weight for good, reduce stress and feel more energetic. She most recently made a guest appearance for a cooking segment on a famous doctor’s talk show.  She is also an expert member of Dr. Oz’s Sharecare community of top-ranking health experts. She shares her advice and answers questions on weight loss, stress and energy on Sharecare. Her health coach training is from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  Here, she shares some tips on how to look and feel your best on your wedding day.

Your big day is fast approaching and you’re busy planning and preparing for the day you have long dreamed of. Do you want to look and feel your best AND be at your ideal weight? Check out these tips to be a glowing, gorgeous bride with a rocking bod.

The way you eat can have a huge impact on your weight. We all lead busy lives and it may feel tempting to eat on the run especially since you have a wedding to plan and prepare for on top of everything else. Slow down. It’s important, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for more stress and you may end up overeating.  You need to relax. Relax and eat like a “skinny” person. Here are the 3 top eating habits that you can start using to get to your ideal weight.

1. “Skinny people” eat when they are reasonably hungry, not when they are starving or not hungry at all. Eating when you’re starved can make you eat too quickly and you can end up overeating. Food can even taste better when you eat when you are just reasonably hungry. Think of reasonably hungry as a 5 on a scale of 0 to 10.
2. “Skinny people” pick out foods that are satisfying and use good judgment around food. They don’t think in terms of this food is good or bad INSTEAD they think is this food nutritious or not nutritious. Take into consideration what you have eaten that day and what you’re going to eat to make a good decision on what you’re going to put into your mouth.
3. “Skinny people” are in-tune with what their body is telling them. They can really identify the signals their body is giving them when they are truly hungry (difficulty focusing, light headedness, growling stomach).  Be aware of what your food tastes like. Chew slowly, eat slowly and be fully focused on eating.

To your best body ever – on the inside and out!

Another thing that gets asked of me quite a lot is how the day-of timeline should run, in reference to the hair and makeup schedule. If you’ve hired a wedding planner or a day-of-coordinator, great! They’ll be able to help guide you through it. And if not, I’ll be there to make sure things run along smoothly. Here’s some things to remember.

1) Hair & Makeup take longer than you think they will.

For makeup I always schedule an hour with the bride and time permitting, 30-45 minutes with others. This may sound like a lot of time, but it really isn’t. Doing your own makeup with your own products is a completely different ballgame than hiring a pro to take care of several people.

For example, if you’re putting on your own mascara, you put it on directly with the brush from the tube. If a pro is putting makeup on you, she’ll have dipped a disposable makeup wand into the mascara, used it, and tossed it away.

Similarly, she won’t just be dipping her fingers into jars. She should be carefully pulling things out and putting them on sterilized palettes, or, the clean back of her hand. Basically, I just tell people to keep in mind that a sanitary artist will take her time to make sure her kit (and you!) stay germ-free.

And for hair, I know that hair is usually set with hot rollers, then they have to cool down, and then the hair will be let down and styled. So, this is a multi-phase process which will also take up a good chunk of time.

2) You’ll want someone in the hair chair and someone in the makeup chair, rotating everyone around until everyone is finished.  Not cool to make your bridesmaids wait around twiddling their thumbs, same with your stylists.

3) Unless it is bride-only for hair and makeup, you will need separate hair people and makeup people. If it’s just the bride for hair and makeup, and you can find a stylist that is great at both (it is SO RARE), then that’s the best thing to do. But you can’t expect one person to handle all those services on her own. It just takes up too much time. And no one wants to be all exhausted by the time the wedding rolls around.

4) Ideally, hair should happen before makeup. But it’s not completely vital. Just preferred.

5) Keep in mind that your makeup artist will want to arrive about 20 minutes before the first application, and will need about a half hour at the end to clean up. At least I need a full half hour. For example, if I wait until I get home to clean my airbrush gun, it clogs. So I have to do it as soon as I finish.

6) Your makeup artist will need table space, access to natural light, and a tall chair. All hotels have barstools they can bring up to the room. If you’re prepping in a location with no tall chair, let your makeup artist know. In those cases, I bring mine. It’s big and bulky but saves my back and prevents me from doing your makeup all hunched over you. Save time that morning by having the room set up with designated hair and makeup areas. Hair will need a regular-height chair, table space, and outlets.

Hope that helps!

Artisans are reinventing the cake topper for 2013.  Think about a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge or watercolor butterflies as an alternative or in addition to sugar flowers or ribbons.

Mirror Mirror Designs has taken the cake topper to a new level with a line of engraved keepsakes to add to your cake.

Etsy is a great resource for handmade and alternative toppers ranging from cute little mice to vintage brooch bouquets

Feather and brooch topper by Solbijou

A charming little couple by Mousey Mimosa

Nesting Eggs cake topper by Mirror Mirror Designs

These are some of the new cake toppers custom designed for your wedding cake to  add whimsy or elegance to the centerpiece of your reception.

I do tell clients that they have the option to keep me around for touchups throughout the wedding, but, it’s really not necessary, as the only think she’ll need to touch up is her lipstick.  But unfortunately, she usually gets swept up in the excitement of the day and forgets.

So I always provide the bride’s lip products for her (liner, lipstick, gloss, etc).  I also provide a translucent powder compact with a mirror and sponge for shine touchups, and also so I know she has a mirror on hand to touch up her lips.  And I give this little bag of goodies to the bride, if she’ll be carrying a clutch, or, to the maid of honor or mom or person looking after her.  I tell that person to watch the bride and make sure to let her know when her lip color has faded.

Because no stain in the world is gonna last through the entire day.  Such a product does not yet exist.

Yet still, I see my clients in their wedding photos afterwards, and more often than not, their lips have disappeared into the abyss.  It’s disappointing because we usually spend so much time at the trial finding just that perfect shade… and it mostly doesn’t get seen.

So, just a friendly reminder ladies… don’t forget about your lips!  I know you’ll have lots of other things to think about, but, this is important too!

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens by Kristina Hill Photography

Congrats Scott and Diana, and wishing a happy wedding day to all the lovely couples tying the knot on this lovely spring day.

xo,

Kristina

Uh-oh! Your wedding is (insert number) of weeks or months away and you are not happy with the way you look and feel right now. You’re overwhelmed with all the other details of wedding planning. Work is crazy. There’s no time in your day. How possibly are you going to get in shape in time for your wedding?

I’ve heard this story many, many times. And, having had the privilege of helping hundreds of people out of that or a similar predicament, I can tell you this: you’re going to be OK!

All you need is a commitment to making a few adjustments in your mindset and to carving out about two hours per week from your schedule.

Below is a summary of the methodology that has helped hundreds of my clients transform their lives and their bodies. Everything boils down to the decisions you make at each moment and each day about how to think, eat, and move. We’re all unique and this methodology is a framework within which I create very specific plans for each of my clients based on their personal goals. But, if you apply it to your own life – even generally – you will experience positive changes physically, mentally, and emotionally.

For more detail or for help applying this in time for your wedding, my team and I are happy to sit down for a free consultation.

THINKING

Your goal is not just to get married but to spend as long and as full a life as possible with your future spouse. Commit to making positive, lasting changes that will create a lifetime of happiness.

A little of something beneficial is always better than nothing at all. Stop waiting for the perfect time to begin and start making small steps toward your goal. For example:

• Take 30 minutes today and go for a walk or a light jog. If you can’t spare 30 mins, try 20 minutes or even 10.
• Replace all beverages other than coffee and tea (if you’re a coffee/tea drinker) with water or sparkling water.
• Eat vegetables or fruit instead of bread, rice, or pasta.

If drinking more water and eating fruits and vegetables in place of most of your simple carbohydrates is too daunting, start with one serving per day. If you do nothing else I’m about to tell you, just making the above changes will begin to shrink your waistline within a 7-10 days – if not sooner. Just DO SOMETHING!!!!

Replace the words “diet” and “exercise” with “eating” and “movement.” You need to eat the right foods most of the time and move your body safely and regularly to live and thrive. Period.

Follow these suggestions and you will have more energy, less stress, better sleep, and a happier state of mind. And, sure enough, with those things will come a stronger, leaner, fitter body.

EATING

Eat four to six times per day – You can eat as much as you want at any given meal, but you need to be able to eat that exact same amount of food two to three hours later.

Eat minimally processed foods without a lot of added sugars

Eat fruits and vegetables throughout the day

Drink more water and eliminate calories-containing beverages

Consume lean protein throughout the day

Eat starchy foods (simple carbs like breads and pasta) early in the day or right after exercise

Eat whatever you want sometimes – Pick a total of three meals (ideally during the same day) each week where you don’t think about what your eating. Just go for it. Remember the part about eating the right things MOST of the time? That’s where this comes in.

MOVING

Move at a comfortable pace as often as possible – Walk, jog, bike, swim, whatever. Just make sure your body is moving at least once per hour and every day.

Move heavy things two or three times per week – Whether weights, boxes, small children, or your own body, you simple must keep all those muscles engaged. 15-20 minutes is the minimum..

Move fast (or with high intensity) two or three times per week – Get that heart pumping (like when you need to walk up a flight of stairs or run for the bus) for 20-30 secs then take a break (long enough to be conversational again). Do that a 5-6 times in a row.

The below workout brings it all together. If you take care of the “moving at a comfortable pace” part on your own and do this workout three times per week (with at least a day of rest between workouts), your body will look and feel better than it ever has.

The key to this routine is taking very short breaks between exercises. Basically, only allow your self enough time to prepare for/transition to the next one. After you run through one circuit, take a slightly longer break. This will keep your heart rate up.

On the exercises with dumbells or cables, use the heaviest weight that you can lift repeatedly for 30-45 seconds. You want to be struggling for the last couple of seconds. If you don’t have a way to keep track of time, aim for 10-12 repetitions. If you don’t have access to any equipment, you can always use you’re own body weight or whatever’s around the house (books, rocks, soup cans, etc). And, of course, be sure to warm-up for 2-5 minutes and stretch for 5-10 minutes when you’re done.

Haute So Sweet

 Unique designs with matching ribbons look great on banquet tables, and custom designed tags attached to the pops are perfect as escort cards.

Cake pops by Haute So Sweet, Handmade Tags by Papertopias

And with flavors that run from cookies and cream to chocolate champagne, you can serve your inner oenophile or your inner child.

Bride and Groom Pops by Haute So Sweet

There are wedding bands and bands that play weddings.  The former performs primarily at weddings on the weekends.  The latter plays together regularly at weddings and private parties, but they may also write, produce, and perform original music together.  Choosing a band that has a camaraderie due to performing and creating music together will not only be reliable and perform technically well, but will inspire your guests to get out of their seats and onto the dance floor.  See them perform, meet the players, get to know your band starting with the musicians themselves.

Unless you want to have a swing-style big band, the days of enormous wedding orchestras are obsolete. All you need is a band with a smoking rhythm section throwing it down and lighting it up.  If the bass player and the drummer are locked together like brothers-in-arms low-crawling in the mud behind enemy lines, if the keyboardist has the sounds and touch to build a rich, textured palette of color, if the guitarist is a rhythmic freight train and soloing sorcerer inciting the inner rock stardom of each of your guests, then you have the foundation laid for an uncompromising, unrelenting dance set sure to be spoken of for years to come.

You can take the most savory ingredients and throw them together in a pot, but if you don’t have that old-fashioned natural instinct like Grandma behind a pot of Sunday sauce, you just don’t know what to expect.  Who is running the band at your wedding?  The person you deal with should be the bandleader, not a corporate salesman, and the bandleader should be a true performing member of the band.  He or she must understand the music in the first person to create and reflect the energy of the audience.  The band must look beyond the stage and become united with the people, moving together, living in the music as one singular entity.

Follow your instincts.  Remember what made you fall in love with music in the first place, whether is was singing into your hairbrush, or falling asleep with your Walkman on.  Music means something to you – it is that knowing friend, that place of bared emotion.  Find a band that performs not notes but inspiration – your party will rock.

-Adam Mason

You can check out 45 Riots performance schedule at:

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