(plaza) girls have more fun

The lovely ladies of the Plaza Bridal Boot Camp

I have a crush on my wedding venue. We haven't known each other that long, so I'm still not sure how it feels about me, though I've harbored a somewhat debilitating attraction to it for decades. When I approach it, I'm still a little tentative, not wanting to push its boundaries too far. So far, I am very good about using the rotating doors instead of the regular ones, I haven't raided the kitchen in the Food Court (yet) nor have I pulled any sort of Eloise and/or Charlie Sheen shenanigans. I'll save that for our anniversary.

But earlier this week, we made significant headway in our relationship. And by that I mean I was facedown on the floor of the Grand Ballroom, sweaty and out of breath. (You know what's funny? I really didn't even mean for that to sound as dirty as it came out. This is probably a first.) And no, Mike was not with me (yikes, sorry parents).

The reason for my intimate encounter with the Plaza's carpeting? The very first meeting of Plaza's Bridal Boot Camp, featuring a butt-kicking workout from a Plaza bride, herself Amanda Russell. You want to hate her because she's gorgeous and tiny, but Amanda (who also teaches spin at my Equinox!) is not only super sweet but has an amazing ability to make a cardio workout more of a party than a chore.

It was a pretty funny scene: brides, mothers of the bride, bridesmaids and planners, all decked out in our Lulu and Under Armour finest, doing burpees underneath the giant chandeliers and gargantuan columns of one of New York's most famed ballrooms. But pretty soon we forgot where we were as Amanda put us through our paces, which ended with a relay that had us high-kneeing from one end of the dance floor to the other. Will I pull out that move at our reception? Possibly. The best part of the workout was definitely that we didn't need any equipment. Amanda has created an awesome 30 minute routine that uses just what your momma gave you to prevent anything from getting wiggly jiggly on your big day.

Have you ever seen a nicer workout studio?

Afterwards, we were even pampered with free (healthy!) snacks from the Plaza chef, skincare and haircare goodies and lots and lots of water. I think Eloise would approve.

Want to learn more about our workout? Reach out to Amanda on her website and check out the rest of her fun tips.