Wedding Planning At Its Finest

My mother is getting married again and I have the pleasure of co-planning it along with my sister. I'm in love with planning weddings...so I figured why not!! There is so much work that goes into the process. I like to be organized and my mother doesn't, so that makes things a lot harder. She can also really turn into a DIVA.

One day I would love to turn this into a full time profession. I guess dealing with her will prepare me for others who are the same as her. So far we are going for a shabby chic spring wedding. Her colors are green, tan and ivory.

I make as much as possible, instead of buying it or paying someone else to do it. It's just so much cheaper that way. I will post pictures later, so I can share my beautiful work.

Been Gone For So Long...

I can't believe I have skipped writing a blog for basically a year. That is so unlike me. I guess a thing called LIFE got in the way. I will try to write more often this year. There is so much to talk about but I don't know where to start.

Recently, I took a small vacation to go visit my in-laws.  We had a good time and I miss them already.  Driving up there was hell!! We were stuck in a blizzard in the middle of Iowa. We had to drive 35mph so we wouldn't tumble off the road. We witnessed at least six cars that did so. The drive was supposed to be 12 hours but, it ended up being 16. Ugh, it was exhausting but we made it.

The highlights of the trip were going ice fishing and to a Timberwolves game. We had the works when we ice fished; a heater, tent, fishing equipment and food. I think I would do it again...although I didn't catch anything. We got the hookup with some incredible seats at the game. We we only three rows from the court.

We attended the game on the last day of the trip. I would say that was a good way to sum it up.

Until next time...

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

I went to Puerto Vallarta for my honeymoon.  I have to say that place is one of the most AMAZING places that I ever visited.  It had everything, pizzazz, culture, great food, music, great people and the beach. We stayed at this beautiful mansion that was right on the beach. This was a once in a lifetime experience.

Visitors should know that this place is very cheap to visit during the right times of the year. They have great rentals and the hotels are nice. Places like Cancun are so overrated. This place is like a hidden gem.

There is this beautiful beach strip that's called the Melecon. There are tons of places to buy souvenirs  drinks and food. Don't forget that there is an awesome beach to look at. Also, you will find a series of bronze statues on the strip. They are beautiful and well done.  The bus system can be a little hectic but it's fun at the same time. It only costs 7 pesos. That's super cheap! They will take you where ever you need to go...make sure you get on the right one.

Beware of the airport when you first arrive in town and are about to exit the, you will be swarmed with salesmen. They do not give up for anything. The best thing to do is to keep walking and looking straight ahead. They are like vultures circling over dead meat.

There are a ton of things to do such as snorkeling, sunbathing, whale watching, dolphin watching, kayaking, zip lining and etc. The possibilities are endless. You should know that most locals will try and charge Americans twice as much as the normal price. It's good to have a local to negotiate for you. For example, we went zip lining and the price was $20, but without a local negotiating for us it would have been $50. Here are a few pics below:

top floor of our place for the week

one of the bronze statues on the Malecon

My husband & I before going whale watching

What we woke up to every morning

Starting My Own Business

I have decided to start my own Event Planning Company. As of now I am partnered with my sister Staci. We are going to start small and go from there. I am self educating myself. I don't want to go back to college. First of all I don't have the time nor the money to go back. I love making things and providing customer service.

Working with people can be a blessing and life changing as well as annoying and mood altering. I don't mind. Putting together an event is exciting. I am confident that I can do this. I planned, coordinated, decorated and catered my entire wedding with very little help. I am a semi-perfectionist.

I know how stress can affect your mood and mentality when you are planning something as huge as a wedding or any other important event. I've always wanted to be my own boss and to do something that I absolutely love. I have decided to step out on faith. I've always felt that I was going to do profound and exciting things in my life. I love my husband and family for their support. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Wish me luck everyone.... :)

Wedding Insanity

II haven't written a blog in a while. I've been M.I.A because of my wedding last month. Wedding planning was no joke. I planned, coordinated, decorated & catered my OWN wedding. JESUS CHRIST!!!! That was one of the most stressful periods in my life.

I had many nights when I couldn't sleep because I couldn't turn my mind off. I kept going over my mental lists. I was also anxious about marriage. MARRIAGE! That's such a huge step. I knew I was ready but still, I was nervous.

On the morning of my wedding, I felt nauseated. I had to drink ginger ale to aid the nausea. I could feel my hands shaking and I felt surges of adrenaline. As time passed, instead of the symptoms getting worse, they smoothed out. By the time the wedding started, I was completely fine. We had a beautiful ceremony and it went perfect.

This experience helped me realize that I would love to get into the wedding business. Although, I will never forget my 1st love...writing.

6 Ways to Survive Engagement Photos

My hubby-to-be and I recently took our engagement photos. I had to say that I was pretty nervous, which surprised me. I also tend to sweat when I'm nervous lol. Anyway, this blog is just to rant about my experience with my session.

1. Wear cute AND comfortable clothes

• I wore jeans and a nice shirt. My jeans happened to be low cut, which was a huge mistake. When you're curvy that's a bad idea lol. You don't want to moon people in your engagement photos. 

2. Wear cool and light clothing

• I wore jeans that where a bit too heavy ( at least that's what I think)

3. Make sure you bring back up 

• Have spare makeup and/or a small towel to blot your face if you start to sweat. 

4. Have at least a small idea of what poses you'd like.

• This is a way to include a personal touch of something you want. 

5. Relax and don't over think it

• You could end up looking like a puppet or generic lol.

6. Get lost in each other. 

• If you forget about looking perfect and only picture just you and your love in the room, then you're bound to look wonderful in your photos.

Why One Should Love Their Life

Now that I am older, I've come to realize that the struggles we face and the obstacles that face us are all very worth it. I'm about to reveal some things about myself that not many people know.

1. I've slept in a car before.
2. I've had days where I didn't know where my next meal would come from.
3. I've had Christmas mornings with no presents, as a small child.
4. I've been talked about, verbally abused and put down.
5. I've been neglected.
6. I've been broken down to where I wanted to die.

These are a few challenges that happened in my life. During the time when I was going through those problems, I asked the famous question, Why? No answer came to mind. I felt distraught and abandoned by God. I was pissed at the world, myself and everyone who I felt that had something to do with it. I lost myself in writing. I lost myself in reading. I made myself numb to the world and I escaped through words. That's how I found my love for writing and reading.

I now have the answer to the question that I asked. Those things shaped and molded me into the person that I am today. I love myself and my new life. I've pushed myself to be the best that I can be. Life has changed for me dramatically--for the better.  I didn't give up. I now have two degrees, I'm getting married, I have my own place, car, job and etc.

So for anyone who may be going through tough times and you feel that there is no way out. Keep going, keep pushing and think of your self as a piece of wood and problems as sand paper.  It keeps rubbing you the wrong way from all different angles, but in the end you come out polished, beautiful and smooth.

Summer Bloggin'

I haven't written in a while. Life has changed so much in so little time. My husband-to-be and I have almost wrapped up our wedding planning. The big day is 11 weeks away. Nobody warned me how stressful planning a wedding can be. I mean STRESSFUL!!! Stress has effected my skin, my hormones, hair and so much more. Through it all I know that everything will be fine. It's like I've been Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde.  Lately, I've been working out, meditating and trying to chill out as much as possible. Arometherapy has benefit me greatly.  Well I just felt I needed to write somthing --and I'm happy that I did!!

LOVING A MAN'S FLAWS IN ALL

I've been thinking about how blessed I am to have a man like my fiance.  Women talk about how they want a man who will accept their flaws. We want men to see past our extra weight and stretch marks, just to name a few, but sometimes we want a man to be perfect in every way. Most women have that "LIST." Most of us want a man to have a job, car, abs and be tall dark and handsome; not to mention well endowed and the list goes on and on.

I've never been the over picky type, now don't get me wrong, I have a few requirements but nothing over the top or irrelevant. I just feel when you have a great man you should hold on to him.  My fiance is not perfect in the least bit but I love everything about him. He loves everything about me. He never fails to make me feel comfortable, loved and beautiful. That's how it should be.

When it comes to choosing the right one, you can only listen to your heart and not what your friends and family have to say. They may lead you the wrong way. Women should just let go and let themselves love and be loved. At the end of the day, it's you and your significant other.

BE AWARE OF LILYWEDDING.COM

Okay, I came across this site when I first got engaged. I was very hesitant about shopping for a wedding dress on line. This company is located in Shanghai. That says a lot right there. Shanghai, Bangkok and other cities like these have ALOT OF FRAUD & ILLEGAL STUFF HAPPENING!!! I did a ton of research on this website before I purchased something as important as a wedding dress. I couldn't really find any feed back that actually gave me an answer. On the website you can order sample fabric so that you can see and feel the quality in person. I decided to order the fabric. They charged me $2 for the fabric sample. Three months passed and me being as busy as I am I didn't notice until I checked my bank statement and realized that it hadn't arrived yet. I decided to email the company and then 2 days later I recieved an email that says "your order is being shipped." I then finally recieved the fabric sample some days later. Now this made me think, if it took a sample of fabric that long to arrive, what would happen if I order my wedding gown here? And then I had to contact them to get them to ship the fabric. That means these people don't care about their customers and they are unorganized. By the way, the fabric felt cheap.  I WOULD NOT ADVICE A BRIDE TO ORDER A WEDDING GOWN FROM THIS WEBSITE!!!

BE AWARE OF SIMPLICITY BRIDE, BRIDAL REGISTRY & BRIDAL GOURMET

All of the names that I mentioned in the title of this blog are SCAMS!!!! I repeat SIMPLICITY BRIDE, BRIDAL REGISTRY &  BRIDAL GOURMET are all SCAMS.

If you go to a bridal show and give out your information to the various businesses most of them sell your contact info to this company -- especially "DAVID'S BRIDAL". I say "this company" because it's the same company with various names so that they can continue scamming people. 

They will assign a different telemarketer to each person they call and that telemarketer will tell you that you were picked to win a bundle of free gifts. These gifts include, wedding invitations, flutes, a $25 gift card, coupons and a free 3 day 2 night vacation. They offer two choices with the vacation, one is all inclusive and the other is just for a stay at a selected resort. NOTHING IS FREE!!!

The wedding invitations turn out not to be free, they will give you a coupon that says 10% off, the will tell you that they will email you the gift card and they never will, and the vacation requires a $100 deposit for each person.  No one has ever confirmed that they went on the trip.

Also, they will give you a location to so call "come pick up your gifts." When you arrive you will have to listen to a 1 1/2 long presentation on how these top-of-line pots and pans will be the best purchase of your life. The salesman is pretty persuasive but it didn't work on me. You later find out that the pots and pans are worth $4000. Yes, $4000! 

In the end, don't get scammed by these people. They are greedy pigs who prey on couple's who are trying to start a new life together. As for David's Bridal, they should be ashamed of themselves. Why do they need to sell phone numbers and email addresses to 3rd parties when they are one of the top bridal companies? Oh yeah, one of the numbers that called me was from phone number (615) 832-2387.

Big Island Hawaii

I finally came across the perfect destination for my honeymoon, HAWAII! Me and my hubby-to-be decided we wanted a laid back trip. We went with the Big Island. I booked it on expedia.com. They have very great rates when you do the package deals. We paid for airfare, a car rental and a condo on the beach for 7 days. Also, I think that because our honeymoon is in September it made the prices a little bit more cheap. I think getting married in the off season is cheaper than during the summer and winter.

REVIEW OF SIMPLYBRIDAL.COM !!!!!

So I went wedding dress shopping.  Like many other brides out there I am on a budget.  I wanted a whole lot of dress for a little bit of money. I was looking for a strapless, A line ball gown, with a  long train and a little bling. I went to David's Bridal, now they have beautiful gowns and dresses that are good prices, but for that type of dress it was going to cost nearly $1000. I didn't have that type of money laying around so I researched different sites to see could I get that style of a dress. I came across simplybridal.com. I knew that they were legit because I saw an article about the company on yahoo.com. I decided to check out their site and I ended up ordering a gown called Sirena.  I was skeptical about it at first because I couldn't try it on like you do when at a boutique.  The gown was handmade to fit me and the site guaranteed that the dress would be sewn, pressed and shipped within 30 days.  I ordered the dress Feb. 15 and recieved it on March 14. IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!! It fits perfectly and its everything I wanted. I only paid $300 for the gown vs. paying $1000. I would definately recommend this site to anyone whose about to get married. They also sell bridesmaid dresses and accessories.  The boutique is located in LA. Below is the gown that I purchased.

A New Year, A New Me

"Each of us has something to give that no one else has.  Envy has no place in one who appreciates their own uniqueness and self worth."
-Unknown

All my life I've never really spoke up for myself. A little into last year and so on, I started to say what I was thinking.  I was always scared of what someone may think of me, if I spoke exactly what I was feeling. Now that I'm in my mid 20s, I think it's time out for that shy girl thing.

If I want to say something I will. I can't help if individuals get my expression of my feelings mixed up with me being insecure or pessimistic. I've gotten to the point where I don't care what people think of me.  I'm beginning to learn who I am. I'm in no way trying to please everybody. That's impossible. People are going to have an opinion of you no matter what--whether you're doing good, bad, in between or you're gone.

I'm in no way going to disrespect anyone. I try to respect individuals feelings and opinions and present myself in a friendly manner. I'm a very compassionate person and I have a big heart. I'm just tired of people taking my kindness for weakness.

I've been in some situations where I've said and done things that were wrong. I'm learning from those mistakes. I can't take back tomorrow, I can only live in today.  I love my life and the new life that's ahead of me. I have accomplished many goals. I've turned trials into triumphs. I defied most stereotypes. I went from having nothing to something. I've succeeded. I'm confident and optimistic. I've always believed that things will work out...and they always do.

MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE HUBBY

Me and my fiance went to see the movie The Vow. Yeah he was a good sport because it's a chick flick and he didn't complain he just went. The movie is about a couple who's madly in love. They were inseparable. An accident happened that made his wife lose her memory and forget her life with him. It was a very touching movie and it got me to thinking -- what if that happened to me and I couldn't remember all of the great moments I've shared with my significant other. It would also break my heart if he couldn't remember me.

I think that's a thing a lot of us  take for granted...memories. We spend half of the times trying to forget the past and bad things. How about we quit focusing on the bad and only remember the good? One day those special moments that we cherish the most could end up lost forever in our mind's museum of memories. Life is about those moments that takes our breath away, that blows our mind, that leaves us in awe, that makes us love and feel loved.

FACEBOOK and FALLOUTS

Okay, so I had an incident on facebook to happen with an old acquantance of mine. She's one of those types who plays like she's just a really nice person and she never does anyone wrong. Hanging out with her was fun sometimes but I got tired of her wanting everything her way OR NO WAY. We fell out after I took a trip with her to Georgia. We started talking again after she messaged me on Facebook out of the blue one day.  Anyway, to get to the point, she thought I'd be embarrassed because I messaged her on Facebook. I feel that it's stupid now that I look back on it. But as long as I've been knowing her, I've always bit my tongue. So I just said what I felt. Below is what I said:

I think it's stupid that you added me as a friend on facebook and then you blocked me or deleted me. You first contacted me when you were getting married. I don't know if you thought i'd be jealous or what. But I really don't care. I just had to say something about that. Why contact me in the first place? I don't see your point. Don't contact me again out the blue for future references."

Okay, so I sent her this message because we were messaging back and forth. I told her that I was engaged and we where discussing wedding stuff and other problems. She stopped messaging me. I was checking my emails and you can see every email you've ever received. I noticed her pic wasnt there, so I was just gonna message her again. I noticed that I couldn't and that's why I sent her that email.

Now to me it's like she emailed all the time when she was engaged and discussing wedding plans. And it seems like when I said that I was engaged that she all of a sudden stopped talking. It seems to me that she wanted me to be jealous about her getting married, why else would she OUT OF THE BLUE email me? I've never been jealous of any of my friends or acquaintance. I've always wished them the best and gave them advice.

She responded to my message and so called tryed to put me in my place. She talked about I was stalking her page and trying to compete with her and that I had low self-esteem. She also said that I needed to get a life.

I think that was stupid because if you are talking to someone and you're emailing back and forth, that's natural to respond to someone who you feel is all of a sudden ignoring you. It's not about self esteem issues. I've never had self-esteem problems and never tried to compete with anybody.

I'm not the type of person who lives on the cyber world. I check my emails and then go do what I have to do. I'm a writer and I spend most of my time writing. If she feels that my life revolves around hers then she's an idiot for thinking so. She's always felt that she was right and everyone else is stupid or in the wrong. She loves to voice her opinion and what she feels but everyone else who does so shouldn't.  That's why we've fell out more than once. I care not to be around individuals like her.

Facebook is partially to blame for this stupid issue that occured. It's a waste of time and energy.

Friends...

I was once told that the people who are friends with you when you're younger, will nine times out of ten not be your friend when you're older.  I soon learned how true that statement is. Friendships are hard to hold onto.

There can be a lot of barriers that challenge friendships. When we grow up, life changes, so do we and our responsibilities. Maybe you grow apart or you begin to see that individual in another light.

From my childhood, I am still friends with maybe two people. A few were bad influences, some were controlling and with some I realized we had nothing in common. I feel when a person is a TRUE friend they stick with you no matter what. It's one person in particular that I feel is my true friend. We could skip calling each other for months and when we pick back up...it's like we never missed a beat. She never judges me and she understands me and I'm thankful for that.

Support Is The Main Issue

Lately, I've been in an emotional funk. It's hard to be excited when it feels like everyone around you are not supportive. I'm getting married this year. Plenty people (I'm not saying anyone's name) are either against the wedding or just don't care in general. What happened to life being a replica of a movie scene? You know when someone announces their engagement and the cued music begins and everyone's happy and they show the bride being pampered and shopping for her dress. It's already a stressful event but when you have people to add on it sucks. I just feel whoever makes it to the wedding are the ones who were supposed to be there.

No Black Brides...

I'm sick of seeing wedding magazine's and advertisements featuring only white women. I have nothing against white people and NO, I'm not a racist. If it were the opposite, wouldn't you feel the same? Very seldomly do you see a black bride on a wedding mag. If you think I'm lying go to google image search and type in bridal magazine. It's like they are saying that black women (any ethnic women in this case) don't get married. What are we, loose and promiscuous?

I don't know if it's descrimination or if it's just a coincidence but, I'd like to see other shades of brides on magazines. Everyone speaks about how things are equal and how we are always trying to pull that "black card," but in this case...come on. We all see it but nobody wants to talk about it. It's one of those underlying issues everybody just chooses to ignore. I recently discovered a magazine called BridesNoir.

Why is there a separate magazine JUST to feature ethnic brides? That's stupid.  Everything is always separated -- from networks to clothing lines. I'm just sick of it.

THINGS A VIRGIN SHOULD KNOW

Being a virgin is a beautiful thing, no matter what anyone has to say. If you're waiting for marriage or just the right one to come along there's nothing wrong with that. I'm speaking from a female perspective so sorry fellas, I wouldn't be much of a help to you guys. Here are a few things you ladies should know.

1. We know STD's and STI's exist, so practice safe sex.
2. You know you could get pregnant, so educate yourselves on the different contraceptives out there.
3. You are more susceptible to getting bacterial vaginosis (BV) and yeast infections. BV is not a sexually transmitted disease.
4. Your bacterial count in the vagina can be thrown off due to spermicides, lubricants & etc. Rephresh gels are great at maintaining proper PH balance of the vagina.
5. It's good to urinate before and after sex.
6. Condoms are not always reliable, they can slip off, so have a backup plan.
7. If you are into anal play, never go from anus to vagina.
8. You can get an STD from oral sex as well as vaginal. So be safe.

These are just a few pointers. Believe it or not, but there are some ladies out there who don't know the first thing about sex, but yet they are trying to engage in it. Become educated and wait until you're actually ready, not because you're being pressured.