HOW I’M SPENDING MY LAST FEW DAYS BEFORE GETTING MARRIED

Wearing Zara blouse, GRLFRND cropped “linda” denim, bangle from ThePeachBox, custom shoes made on ShoesOfPrey and custom clutch made on The Daily Edited.

Ahh, I’m getting married this Saturday! This might just be my last blog post as a single woman! I’ve been waking up really early recently (around 6:30am but I usually get up at 8) because I’ve been waking up with my mind racing on everything I have to do, and can’t go back to sleep. I’ve been leveraging those extra hours in the morning by catching up on emails, Instagram, or cranking out some blog posts before heading to work.

When it comes to wedding planning it’s true what they say, you can do all the planning ahead of time and during the final month before “I Do” there is going to be a ton of stuff that randomly pops up. In the midst of planning though, it’s important to step back and reflect because you’re never going to get that time back. So I wanted to take this moment to talk about some ways I’m been embracing my last few days as Christine Yun. 🙂

How I’m spending my last few days before getting married:  

• Embrace the name change: for the longest time, I debated whether to change my last name to Pyles. I even had a pros/con’s list and didn’t decide until the morning we got our marriage certificate to change my last name to Pyles. It was literally a last-minute decision. I realized that all the reasons I wanted to keep Yun as my last name had to do with emotional ties such as holding onto my independence, my Korean roots, and feeling like I accomplished so much as “Christine Yun”. The reasons I wanted to change my last name to Pyles were also emotional but also practical. Such as wanting the world to know that Josh and I are a unit, having the same last name when we have kids, and making it easier to share assets and “monogram” everything (ok that last reason is silly but it’s true). I started embracing my new last name and prepping for it by getting used to seeing it. If you look at my clutch, you’ll see that the engravery on there has my new initials. Christine Jina Pyles.
• Spend time with your loved ones: Even though I’ve been ridiculously busy, I’ve been attempting to carve out time to spend with my loved ones, especially my family. Yesterday I drove 1.5 hours after work in traffic to have 1 last dinner with my family before I get married. I took this time to thank them for everything and to remind them of all the wedding tasks/itinerary for the big day. It was peace of mind to see them in-person before all the festivities start and to know I did my diligence to communicate everything with them before things get crazy. I know they also appreciated the fact that I went home several times to spend time with them. Josh and I have also been extremely busy but I’m hoping we’ll be able to have 1 last intimate meal just us two before we head out to Joshua Tree, at the spot we had our first official date, Tacolicious.
• Mentally prepare yourself to have a clear mind: At work I started mentally preparing myself to be gone by scheduling meetings in advance, letting everyone know what days I’m on PTO, and handing tasks off 1-2 weeks before so my co-workers get used to doing things independently while still having my support if needed. Seeing my co-workers fulfill tasks without my guidance while I’m still at work has helped me feel more secure about being on PTO for 13-days. It’s also helped me use that last week at work to double-check everything, follow-up with people and to prepare myself to leave without being frantic on completing tasks since they’ve already been transitioned. Outside of work, I’ve been doing a lot of things in advance like packing 1-week early, emailing the entire wedding party a thorough schedule and checking off things on my to-do list asap. Getting as much done as I can early has helped my last week of wedding planning be less stressful and has mentally helped me clear my mind by letting go of the “little stuff” before the big day.

Thank you so much for your support on my blog, and if I’m MIA for a while you’ll know why. 😉