This June is my 10th anniversary, so I wanted to share what I’ve seen over the years. This is what has changed in wedding dress popularity since I was married.

What seems crazy to me is that most couples are only together for 4.9 years before they get married, regardless of how old the partners in the relationship are. No matter how old you are or how long you’ve been together with your significant other, anniversaries are exciting. Especially when they’re your wedding anniversary. 

Anniversaries are special days, especially when you’re celebrating your 10th wedding anniversary. I still can’t believe I’ve been married for almost ten years, and with my now-husband for 15 years! We met towards the end of my college career and began our relationship after I graduated from Appalachian State University. 

We used to celebrate our dating anniversary. But over the years we have had several other special occasions crop up, such as our wedding, the birth of our children, the day we bought our house, and more. As we get closer and closer to June, I’m finding myself more and more nostalgic for our wedding day. So many things have changed since then! 

Among the million things that change over the years such as style and taste, trends come in and out of popularity. When you’re planning your wedding, some brides find they don’t care about trends because they want to look more unique on their special day. For some people, they’ve thought about this day since they were little, and that kind of day-dreaming yields lots of opinions.

In my experience, I wanted to know what kinds of things were popular as we were planning our wedding. The most important things to be unique, to me, were the cut of my ring and the accompanying wedding band as well as the style of my dress. When I was getting married, the most popular dress style was a strapless mermaid gown. 

Of course, that’s different these days. My husband and I got married just outside of Atlanta where we live now. The most popular wedding dress style in Georgia is the princess style, which is beautiful, but definitely something that has become more popular in recent years. 

I’m fortunate enough to have had an engagement ring in my family that I had my eye on for years. And fortunately, my then-fiance knew about it and was able to acquire it before he asked me to marry him. My family ring had a beautiful, clear, large center diamond with baguettes on either side. This was a popular style in the ‘50s when the ring came into my family. We were able to create a beautiful custom-made wedding band that was unique to fit the engagement ring, satisfying the daydreams I had when I was little. I hope that one day my daughter can have this ring when it’s her time.

A decade changes so much – from wedding dress styles to the dates in your life you find important. When you’re looking back at your own wedding, you’ll be astonished to see all of the differences between then and now. 

Enjoy the nostalgia!   

With the kids home from school and daycare, many parents are struggling to find a balance between work-life, mom-life, and self-care. Staying on your health and fitness grind during quarantine is hard and there’s no beating around that bush – but there are ways for it to be a little easier. 

Let’s face it. Kids need our undivided attention right now. If they’re old enough, they are most like confused about what is going on. 

“Why is mommy home so much?”

“Why is mommy ignoring me while she’s on her laptop every day?” 

These are valid questions that shouldn’t go unanswered. It’s important to explain to our children that while things might look a little different right now, schedules and guidelines within the home need to be followed. Whether it’s quiet time during meetings or TV time with dad during a quick jog, things that are of higher priority to you shouldn’t fall by the wayside. 

Working out is so essential to our health, especially during a pandemic, because it boosts our immune systems to keep us healthy. And if you’re like thousands of mom’s out there wondering how to keep up with your workouts during a time like this, you aren’t alone. Here are some of the best workouts you can do at home that allows the kids to get involved while still getting your sweat in.  

Riding Bikes

If your family owns bikes, this is a fantastic (and fun) way to get active outside. With car traffic down 75% right now, there really is no better time to get outside and start riding. Kids typically don’t view bike riding as exercise, so this is a sly way to get in your exercise without any objections from the little ones. If you don’t own a bike yourself, let the kids ride while you jog beside them. 

Yoga

Kids have an affinity for stretching, bending over, doing flips, and contorting their body in multiple different ways – because well, they can. You can find thousands of free yoga videos on the internet, like YouTube, some of which are kid-oriented. Lay down a blanket or yoga mats if you have them in the living room and start practicing. The kids will find this exercise challenging but fun at the same time as it requires concentration and coordination. 

HIIT 

You might be wondering, what is HIIT? HIIT is high-intensity interval training and one of the top exercises in the United States right now. It’s a cardio exercise that involves short bursts of intense exercise, like jumping backs, high-knees, and burpees. HIIT is amazing to do with kids because there are no props or weights required. Kids also have terrific stamina and will surely challenge themselves and you to keep at it. This workout is especially is fun for mom because this will surely tire your kids out for the rest of the day. 

Let us know in the comments if you tried any of these exercises with the kids!