PROPOSAL

Eric proposed to me July 5, 2008 in my hometown of Detroit. It totally took me by surprise because I moved down to Dallas to get our relationship started October of 07.' I always told him that I expect a proposal soon (im sarcastic like that). Sure enough, we planned a trip to Detroit so that I can go home and see family and friends since it was a year since I was home last. I didnt suspect a thing! We were at a friend of mine house and she was planning her wedding. I told her FI that good job in being a man and proposing since Eric hasnt gotten to that level yet. Little did I know Eric had a surprise for me and I was talking all that noise in front of him. Anyhoo, he told me he wanted to go downtown and he made reservations for a restaurant he saw online. Downtown has a riverfront area that you can see the water and Canada across the border. We got there and walked around until it was time for our "reservations." He said he wanted to take some pictures, so after 5 people walked past, he asked one couple to take a pic of us. I didnt notice that the camera was on video, so he came up to me and I was ready to pose for the picture. He turns to me and then it happened! I was a bucket of tears, shocked, shaking, nervous and a wreck. I was able to get out a yes and thats how it happened. Afterwards, he arranged for a couple friends of mine and their dates were at the restaurant waiting for us. It was a perfect day and so unexpected!! I cried all weekend after it happened. Sorry, its sideways! My fiance had ACL surgery earlier in March and he got on his bad knee lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn7DLWMxsEM

Little did I know, my big moment was coming any moment (pics before the Question)!

My friends and the newly engaged couple after our celebration dinner at Andiamo's!

Me and Eric acting retarded the day after!

Oh yes, I was cute that weekend too! Check me out! :) Ignore our junky hotel room! It was going thru some things!

BEFORE Proposal                                      Day after Proposal, do you see the glow in my face?!

      below                                  & nbsp;                   below

VENUE

Here are pictures of my venue. Its the African American Museum of History in Detroit. Fiance and I had scheduled appointments to meet with other vendors and this was the first and only one we went to. We loved it from the moment we went in and talked to the coordinator. See the gorgeous sunset in the 2nd picture? Thats where the ceremony will take place! The last pic is the Contemporary Art Gallery where the reception will take place! The artwork remains on the wall!

 MONOGRAM PLEASE!

I thought I put the monogram in my bio but, apparently not! Here is a monogram I had done for me. Its nice, but just not a wow factor or uniqueness to it. She did one with and without a border. Im currently trying to get some monograms done for me by some sweet PW brides!

Ok i didnt notice that i never did a ceremony section. duh!!! here is the ceremony spot of the Museum! Its the rotunda and boy is it round.  This was the first and last venue me and FI checked out when we were looking. We fell in love with how different it was and the price wasnt too shabby either! Also, when the ceremony is over they will host a tour of the museum!!!! This will give us time to go get pictures taken and something to entertain the guest as well. Plus saving money on a cocktail hour lol :) Its funny in the middle of the rotunda your voice echos like nobodys business! helloooooooooo hellooooooooo hellooooo:)

This is the rotunda of the musuem where the ceremony will take place. the image above is where the wedding party will walk out. The rotunda is circular so we are doing semi circle seating at the exact spot you see in the pic above and our "altar" will be in the center!!!

For the ceremony decor I want rose petal line or scattered aisleway. I cant make up my mind lol! Thanks to PW bride for finding these images for me!

At our altar we are going to do two huge arrangements. Described from our florist on our quote as two large vases ( they are large from the floor up to 4-5 feet) with gold curly willow and ice branches with hanging white dendrobium, very full looking and uplighted. Here are some pics to give you an idea of what my vision was on this!

See the tree/arrangement in the background?! images from the knot!

We will also be adding some canned lights along the aisleway to brighten it up a bit in case the sunsets early and give the rotunda some light.

We are also doing chaircovers as well. I cant remember what we decided on, but i know it will look gorgeous!!

We are going to do programs as well. I think its important for people to know who's who and the order of the ceremony. Im thinking of having a friend to read a poem as well. Im thinking of getting them done by an etsy seller but that is still up in air until the time comes.

FLOWERS

I'm currently in talks with an etsy seller that does high end silk flower bouquets! I did want to go the real flower route but the florist wanted way too much and I didnt want to worry about ordering flowers and having my wed coordinator put them together. I think I would be more at ease to get exactly what I want and knowing its over and done. At first, I thought i wanted an all calla lillie bouquet, but roses mixed with callas or whatever all white bouquets have been catching my attention. We are also talkin about adding some feathers to the bouquet. She also does hand tied and bouquet holder as well. For my bridesmaids and groomsmen they are going to have red roses for bouquet and bouts. For the groom, he will do a white single calla. The seller is in the process of ordering the silks and then will do a mock bouquet for me to see before I finalize my order. She makes bouquets, bouts, wrist corsages, cake arrangements and pomanders. The price isnt too shabby either. I will post pics and a better recommendation and who the seller is once I get to see the sample.Then I can be an AW and post about it in the forum. Stay tuned!

Pics of what I like so far for me!

  <------ this is pw bride kristeen bouquet. its exactly what i want! i heart it! 

Bridesmaids in red roses!

Some more flower inspiration! I love the feather and the warm tones of the roses against the brown! I am having a new found love for roses now!

UPDATE:

Etsy seller is doing my flowers and here is a sample of our bridesmaids bouquet she created. open and close bud red roses with mocha and latte lace wrapping. i love it!

MUSIC

We are using three songs that flows in together for the processional where the parents walk out, bridesmaids and then myself. Its by a gospel group named COMMISSIONED on their reunion cd and ive been in love with these songs ever since the cd has been out and promised myself it would be in my wedding. Visions start early do they not!

"Please you more" seating of mothers or family. Possibly the groom with best and Pastor will walk out to this at the same time. I cant remember at what point the groom walk out, if its before the mothers walk in or after.

"Secret Place" Bridesmaids will walk out along with flower girls and ring bearer.

"Find Myself in You" what a fitting song for me to walk out to.

Yep i will be in tears!

Program Time!

All, if not most of the weddings I have been to had programs. If it didnt, I felt lost as far as what was next. Yes, programs is optional and it may not be kept by others afterwards ( who cares), but i feel its such a nice and elegant touch. Here is some inspirational pics that I like. I may be DIY these unless I find a better deal!

UPDATE:

Here are our finished programs! They were 3 pages of love completed at 3 a.m. in the morning! Eric designed them using word and we took to a local printing shop who printed, hole punch and cut them! We used white linen paper that we scored at a great deal at a local paper shop( if only i knew they were around i wouldnt of orderd online) that our printer recommended. We added chocolate brown ribbon as well. Eric did a good job duplicating my inspiration pics!

TABLES

Our accent color to the latte and truffle is a deep red. We are doing gold chargers on the tables but, i was thinking should we do red to bring in that element more? What do you think?

FAVORS

I want to do chinese takeout boxes with red ribbon wrapped around it. I plan to put little candies inside. Hersheys, lindts or whatever other chocolates i can find. I want to put the takeout box on top of the napkin that will lay on the charger. I plan to get our monogram on a sticker, and hopefully put some cardstock behind it, then the ribbon underneath. Ive seen some great deals on these takeout boxes on efavormart. I plan to get the candie from Sam's. So this should be cost affordable, hopefully!

UPDATE

So I put in my order for my takeout boxes with Cudge.net! I just got them this week and ordered the half pint size. They are smaller than I thought, they fit in the palm or my hand. HOWEVER!! this works also, what I decided to do was just hang favor tags on them and that would save time on all the tying and sticking and less candies to fill the favors. Also, it wont take over the set up for the charger and napkins. My cousin said she will buy the candies but if not, i will be at Sams club stocking up on some LINDTS(i love their chocolates, especially the white chocolate)! Here is what I'm thinking of using our monogram..

MENU

So I am going to do diy menu cards. I think its a nice touch. We are having a buffet and I love the idea of putting the menu card in the napkin. Here is a menu I plan to copy and I am ordering bright white linen paper from paperandmore.com. Just in time on PW an article was done on how to diy your menu. I knew this was simple, but this answered all the questions i had on how to do it!

http://craftysmurfette.com/2009/08/06/diy-wedding-menus/

UPDATE:

Here are our DIY menu cards that Eric did for me using the above inspiration pic. I think he dupilicated it exactly!! We used the above tutorial more so for getting info on the size cuts we should make and printing instructions. These we printed on our canon pixma and used linen paper from paperandmore. FYI the date i believe was corrected to October 3,2009. ( I hope, dont remember if i caught that before)

I saw this picture and immediately thought of the head table. A lot of candles for a nice, romantic glow. The bm's will also use their bouquets (red callas?) for the centerpieces.

I ran across these on etsy! I so love these and I think its just what Im looking for!

 Ready for some cake??

WOO HOO!! My soon to be cake topper! Thanks PW girls! Sharing is Caring :)

So Im liking the cakes with the square bottom and circle tiers, its kind of the best of both worlds. i really love the 1st one! its going to the bakers!

I also like how they have the cake sitting on these glass square vases! I may have to do this for a cheap cake stand alternative!

Check out this cake table! I have about 100 rosebud heads that i think we can copy the look with. I will probably have the rose heads scattered on the table along with candles.

A Delicious Treat for the Guest

Ok, so I got suckered into doing a Popcorn Buffet. I saw this picture and fell in love. Of course, I decide to do this almost 2 weeks out to my wedding and FI is like are you serious?? But, this may actually just cost me no more than $150 to pull off! Im ordering from a place here in Dallas called Popcorn Pappas and have it shipped to Detroit. I plan to order 6 flavors ( will be confirmed once i do a "taste test" on some of the other flavors I havent tried before) Here is what Ive come up with so far:

low salt

sour cream and onion

chicago style (white cheddar and caramel, yum!)

cheesecake

banana cream

loaded potato

Right now since we are having about 75 guest Ive decided to order the 2 1/2 gallon bags of each that feed around 20 people per bag. Im going to put it in these wide jars with scoops so it will be easy access and will decorate table with signs to say the flavors and these cute popcorn bags for cheap!

MANZANITA WISH TREE

So i wanna do a manzanita tree for my reception for my escort table and wish tree! I think i am going to DIY this as a florist is going to be expensive! branchforless.com has a nice variety at a decent price. i can even order a sample pack! i will be doing this when i go home in may to see how it turns out! here is the look im going for!

Im so going to buy these hanging votives from jamali gardens for my tree! I love the texture of the colors!

Im still debating on what to put around the base of the tree. should i put rocks, rose buds, votives or lanterns what??

 I already have my hanging crystals thanks to a fellow PW bride! Gotta love it!

MY WISH TREE MOCK UP

Check out my mockup! The branch tree was provided by a PW member and I added the hanging crystals and rose buds on the bottom. I plan to have hanging cards in a pretty gold tray and candlelight surrounded by it.

My pic inspiration below! minus the hurricanes.

Wish Tree Tags

Yay, papersource has restocked their expression notes! You can order these 2 x 4 cards on their site for $9 for 27 cards. Im on my way to buying these and punching a hole and tying ribbon. I think the "expressions" are great tie in for a wedding!

http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/item/Expression-Notes-Crimson-Ink/2904.016/381010.html

LINENS AND THINGS!

So we are doing pintucked linens! I think it adds texture to the tables! Here is a mock set up of my linens and a swatch of the pintuck! The table linens will be the choco brown and the chairs will have champagne covers with brown sash. We are also having china thanks to our caters!

Centerpieces!

 Here are the styles of centerpieces I want which is obviously branch centerpieces! We should be seeing our mockups soon when we head to the florist in 2 weeks. Im so excited! They will be iced branch centerpieces with dendrobium orchids, a light pad in red(i think) at the bottom with red wiring at the base! We are also doing low centerpieces, its hard to describe it so ill post pics of the mock up soon!

LIGHTING

We are going to be doing color wash along the wall where the head table will be! Our reception area has flourescent lighting so I wanted something to bring ambiance to the room. Im thinking of amber or red tones for wash of color. Like this

UPDATE:

Here is my uplights I purchased from a vendor recommended by a PW bride! Great deal on 16 lights and so much more cheaper than a pro. I found out my venue (museum) you cant have anything within 3 feet of the wall and if there is a painting/artwork on the wall you cant put anything like lights on it. The reception area artwork changes each month as they showcase local talent so its a possiblity that not all of the wall space will be used. Cross fingers because I would love to use my lights. Also, I didnt notice that my reception area has track lights and they look great when the room is dimmed. So thats an option or plan B.

Pic in my parents living room

Reception Venue:

GETTING READY GEAR

So I decided to join the band wagon of the Bridal hoodie! I didnt wanna do it because they are so expensive. But, I ran across this cute one that fit the bill www.customglamgirl.com. And is stamped with PW approval when I posted in the forum whether or not i should get the Victoria Secret Sexy Little Bride hoodie or this cutie! Check it out! Everyone loved it!

BIRDCAGE VEIL

Yes ladies im doing the birdcage veil! these two below are my inspirations! i want same netting but a bit lower, maybe beneath the nose or at the mouth! i love these type veils! they are so chic. Im thinking of wearing my birdcage to the side now. I love the pic of this bride with hers like this! So its my new inspiration!

Here is my new birdcage inspiration from OnceWed. I love the different looks of a birdcage veil and I think I found one I love on ETSY. But, im gonna look around on the web a little more to be sure.

UPDATE:

So i finally bought my birdcage veil! I got it from Etsy seller AnnMarieBridal. I ordered in Ivory and I cant wait to try it on. I also purchased my fascinator from Etsy seller VintageBox1947! I love em so far!

Here is me in my veil!

SHOES

So the first pair i alreadyd have, i wore them for bpics and they were not too comfortable! they pinched at the toes so im currently looking for another pair. Check out these hot pink ones from ninashoes.com they also have them in purple so its hard to figure out what color i want. But, i will definitely have some slippers for back up, i dont want to walk around crazy in my dress!

I love the back of these babies! I think its going to make some hot shoe pics!

So purple or pink???? I may be leaning towards the purple. Decisions, decisions!

UPDATE: The 1st shoe, Guess Nina's! I ordered the Electras from Nina and they were on backorder so I couldnt take them to my first fitting since I didnt have them. So I took my Guess ones and I still love em! I will just be sure to keep some cute slippers nearby to change into for comfort.

HAIR AND MAKEUP

I havent a clue how i wanna wear my hair. i do want to wear it low because of the birdcage veil. i dont know if i want it all pulled back like the first pic, or have some looseness to it like the 2nd or 3rd! I also love hilary's makeup in the first pic. i want a smokey eye for my wedding so im thinking of doing either silvers or browns! i guess we will see how my consultation goes. and definitely some lashes!

Check out this makeup also!

 I love this brides hair! Its what I feel that i want. Something with body and beautiful curls and sexy. Check it out!

ok and now im thinking of wearing my hair down! check out these cute looks, i think it also goes with my vintage glam vibe with my birdcage and everything!

DRESS

So im debating posting my dress because i dont know when the FI likes to walk in while im on the computer! But ill update this soon, i think :/

JEWELRY

So i have my something borrowed! My MOH use to work for SWAROVSKI so she has a pair of earrings that may go perfectly with everything. Im still going to buy another pair of earrings just in case i decide i want a bit more.  I cant find a pic but will update soon. I dont know if i want to do a necklace because the bust area has some beading to it. plus with the birdcage i dont know if it will be too fussy up top. But, im definitely going to get a blinged out cuff bracelet! Ill find some inspiration pics on this soon!

 UPDATE~

Here is necklace and earrings from etsy seller DAMSELLE. I love the broach on this necklace so I purchased it ASAP. The earrings are dangle earrings. I figure with the birdcage veil it shouldnt be too busy up top I hope. If so I will just do some blinged out earrings and a bracelet per my original plan. Here you go! I bought it with a bracelet too but it was too small, so she is going to make the strands longer for me.

UPDATE AGAIN: so im not going to wear the above jewelry. I love it, but i really dont think it will go with my dress. I may be selling these items so stay tuned. Here is the earrings and bracelet i bought from Whiteaisle.com. I love these!

UPDATE AGAIN!!! Yes im so indecisive when it comes to jewelry, but i was able to score a Dana Saylor bracelet for a great steal! So of course i had to snatch it up. Its gorgeous!!

FUR WRAP

I am still contemplating getting one. I guess I better hurry up with a decision. Im not sure how the weather will be in Detroit but its best to be prepared. If anything, to take some cute pics with it! Check out my pic inspiration!

some styles ive been eyeing!

UPDATE:

I purchased the fur wrap on the right through ebay. Now i just have to get a pretty brooch or pin. I figure it will be cool weather by the time we leave the venue!

 THE LITTLE PEOPLE

So i have two flowergirls and two ringbearers. My fg's are 3 and 5 (my second cousins), my ringbearer is 5 (my 2nd cousin) and will be 2. So i had the ringbearer pillows made by a seller on ebay two for $20!! She did an 8x8 and a tiny 4x4 for our little man, i think his hands will be enough to hold the pillow. lol. The 2 year old ringbearer is my FI nephew so he is adamant about him being in the wedding. Cross fingers that the 3 and 2 yr olds make it down the aisle!

I also got my flowergirls baskets together cost no more than $20. gotta love the knots trash to treasure board! there was no way i was going to spend more than $20 on a little basket! Ill put up pics of those soon maybe.

Flower girl Attire

So i havent bought any dresses yet, it wouldnt make any sense now because littles ones grow up so fast! I will probably wait around Augusts to get their dresses. I wanted to get either a goldish tone or brown colored dresses. Preferably with sleeves since it will be October for the wedding! Here are some cute ones ive run acrossed! I have no clue what the ring bearers will wear! Partly because this is the FI area (cross fingers).

Update: I think i love the dress at the bottom. I want to add red roses to the back like the dress on the far right to add in our accent color which is red.

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 Alright, due to cost reasons we are now doing a gold dress from ebay thats only $15!! I will update with pics later!

Ok ladies so our own PW bride did my epics and I must say she did a fab job! I got different variety and unique pics which is what I wanted. She even put up with my FI who was being a goofball ( j/k) the whole time. So here are some pics for ya!

Here are my save the date cards! We got one side glossy the other matte, 5x7 front and back card from etsy seller designink for $1 each. She even added envelopes and ten extras for $10! Im so pleased with the quality because the paper is nice weight and the images are super clear! I will update with pics once we have them addressed and zazzled stamped! Here are the final proofs from the designer!

UPDATE: THE STD'S ARE OUT THE DOOR AND TO THE MAILBOX!! I was gonna post pics but i didnt know how to not show the address. I dont want no idiot stalking people lol. we did clear labels on our new canon printer and finished it off with a zazzle stamp! I didnt mind doing clear labels for the STD's but i want to actually print on the envelope when the official envelopes go out!

IM SO EXCITED THE FIRST STEP IS DONE AND THEY CAME OUT SUPER NICE! IM SO IMPRESSED!!!

so me and fi picked up the box invites at michaels almost a year ago. they were on sale for $25 a box so we went for it. after thinking of all the leg work we would need to do to get them printed and jazzed up to where i loved them it wasnt worth it. secretly i was hoping he would say well just buy new ones and he said the magic words! so i went on the hunt for cheap, but gorgeous invites. we are at the 7 week mark and really need to get them out soon. so i got on the job looking for them to be already printed but all we had to do was address it! here are the old invites, pretty but not for us anymore!

so after getting ready to dig up someone to do the invites for a deal, i checked out PW vendor reviews and saw costco! so i put in the name on my google and searched for wedding invitations on their site. 25% off invites it said, even better. i found this gorgeous invite that includes the envelopes, and can also purchase the response card separately with the envelopes. they even print the return address for you! i cant wait to get these in the mail. now all we have to do is stuff and address the label. i can handle that easily!! stay tuned to see the actual invites! we have to wait a week before we get them :(

UPDATE:

Invites have been completed and in the mail!! We did brown damask wrap around labels which I love. We downloaded a free template from The Fussy Designer! google it! She has them in several colors! Then we bought full size label sheets and printed them on our printer. Then we used a CRICUT trimmer to cut and score them! Not hard, but time consuming!! Invites from COSTCO! The quality is really nice and I was very impressed and cant stop looking at them. Here is some pics to lust over, ok not lust but you get my drift!

Yes the invite is to our President and First Lady! If you cant read it and want to send them one, PM me and I will get you the address!! I hope they come :)

So of course I had to take on an additional project by sending out rehearsal dinner invites! I got PW alex to do create these invites and took them to my kinkos and had printed. Very pleased!  I didnt wanna order through the etsy seller which wouldve cost more and they charge $50 just to buy the file from them! Bride on a budget, hello!! So glad for PW!

Here is a picture from the site. Ill try to take pics on my camera so you can see the true size. I did the simple 5 x 7 and just did clear labels in Reisling font for the envelopes.

Yay! the day has come and gone. Its been a week now and I loved my wedding day. It was better than I expected. If only i could relive that day again and again( not the whole planning process) Here are a few NON PRO pics to add to my bio. I cant wait to get the Pros, from what Ive seen from the slideshow at the wedding,they are awesome!

Getting that Legal stuff out the way!

  NON PRO PAPPARAZZI PICS!

<-- went with the cute curly bob from my rihanna inspiration pic!<-- my makeup artist was DA BOMB that day! you cant see it, but she used green liner on my lower waterline, so pretty!

<-- MOMS

<-- my GORGEOUS bouquet, my wedding coordinator did for me. I showed her my inspiration pic and she did it. I ordered cream garden roses from theflowerexchange.com, ivory feather trim from www.tonyhill.net, brooch purchased from Sam Moon, ivory ribbon from Hobby Lobby and she added the pearl and clear thingys lol.

<-- my rose petal aisleway( i mean tons of them) and the groom

<-- me and my daddy( tear)

<--- second dress, my grand entrance for our first dance!

<-- back of 2nd dress, beautiful lace bottom!

<-- one of my fav pics, ceremony dress, ivory fur wrap with crystal pin and ivory birdcage. i also have on my feather hairpiece you cant see and Dana Saylor bracelet. along with White Aisle chandelier earrings!

<--- happy couple! im wearing my 2nd dress(champagne with white lace, ivory beaded clutch and my feather hairpiece. groom is in black tux with black pinstripe, ivory shirt with wingtips and tie and vest. he was so handsome that day!

More non pros!

Cell phone pics from a friend...

So i decided to do a pro pic page. Here are a few teasers! Ill post more as I receive them. SIGHS, I WAS SPEECHLESS looking at them! Its so great to see pictures of one of the most important days of my life!

Go to our pictage site for more pics. Cant post anything to my bio until we get the disc!

http://pictage.com/758330

ok so there is no such thing to take pics after being married like your e pics lol. But i couldnt think of a title. Anyhoo, my bpic photographer was doing a customer appreciation session for free! So we definitely participated. Here are the edited images! So quick and easy!

Finally got the disc back from our photographer so i can post all of the detail shots and non teaser pro shots!! Im so happy to have found PW and made it my wedding planning home. It has made my time on here worthwhile! Thanks to finding ideas, suggestions, advice and deals on the site, as well as other wedding planning sites that I may not have been aware of. It has all made my wedding beautiful and memorable for all that attended. As my husband says... I got to give you credit... you did your thang on the wedding lol!

Pics of me and Eric pre ceremony!!

Here are a few ceremony pics! Enjoy!!

We had our rehearsal dinner at a pizza spot in downtown detroit called Niki's Greektown Pizza. Food was delicious and affordable for our budget. Here are some pro pics of everyone getting gifts and having a good time! I gave my bridesmaids crocodile trim duffle bags embroidered with their initials filled with different goodies like manicure sets, journals, travel pillows etc. The groomsmen all got Kenneth Cole watches and the parents got woven photo blankets. Ignore me not having on a SPOT of makeup, I was running late on everything that day lol.

Meet mommy's sweetheart Noah! Eric got him for me as a Valentines gift. He is soooo active and into everything, but I love him so much. Eric says I take care of Noah more than I do him (ok thats true)! Here he is at 6 weeks to now 7 months old. He weighs 7 pounds and probably wont get any bigger than that.

< ---pics here and above at 6 weeks

Here he is at 7 months.