As I sit here thinking about my wedding day, I can't help but get emotional and amazed how time has passed us by. Our wedding day was everything we hoped and dreamed for. I literally put my blood sweat and tears into that day and I can tell you all of it was well worth it.
Most brides delegate the daunting task of planning their wedding to a wedding planner, but for me that wasn't option and for many reasons. I knew I would be paying for my wedding with no help so each penny counted, so to pay someone to tell me what I wanted seemed silly to me, that and I'm just a control freak. I worked for two straight years as a Bottle Host and sacrificed time with friends and my now husband, so I wouldn't have to pay for my dream wedding with my savings or a credit card. Not only was I surprised I did it, but very proud to know that when I set my mind to something I can accomplish the task in hand.
Bridal Parties Looks
As most women, I had a vision of my wedding day way before I got engaged. I knew I wanted a fall wedding and dark colors, all the other details pretty much fell into place. I had a pretty big bridal party, but whats funny is I don't talk to half of them and I'm ok with that. I was warned by many that this may happen, but I can tell you I have no regrets. I have a picture of them sitting on my night table and there it will stay. I will however give a little advice that I should have taken from myself, if you have any doubt before asking someone to be in your wedding, just don't do it, it would have saved me a lot of headaches. Anyway back to the details...my girls dresses were custom made because I literally couldn't find anything I liked, I knew that each girl wasn't going to have the same style top because well lets be honest we are all not built the same and I wanted each girl to feel pretty. Each girl wore black and my maid of honor wore plum. I was very happy with their overall look. The guys wore Vera Wang suits from MensWearHouse. We topped the guys look off with Pocket Squares and Pocket Watches which were their gifts from us. Our gifts to the girls were jewelry and a bridal-hanger-customized. The bridal party looked beyond gorgeous and I truly was happy with Old Hollywood feel.
My Look
So I know you guys want to hear about my dress, right?! LOL! Well I can tell you I didn't have one, not two, but three dresses, I know, I know, I'm crazy. I honestly was only going to have two dresses because I knew my first dress was not a dancing dress because of the weight. I absolutely loved all my looks. My First dress was a Rosa Clara Dress and purchased at Michael Wade's.
I had a custom Bolero made to tuck into the dress and topped it off with a caged veil for my ceremony look. For the reception I bustled the train and took off the bolero. I also dropped my hair for the reception which was mainly because I suffer from migraines and knew I couldn't have my hair up the whole night. Both my best friends were my hair and makeup people for the day. If you follow me on instagram, you can easily follow my bestie @Beautyholic_mkupartist, she is phenomenal when it comes to making someone look like a super star. You can contact Odalis Nieves at Panico salon in RidgeWood NJ for hair...she is the only person I let touch my hair. My second dress was purchased on the whim, it was such a steal and I couldn't help but purchase it for a mere $400.00. I fell in love with the flower detailing on top and added a belt to add some bling to the dress. Last but not least my last dress was purchased from Hautelook for $100.00. I loved that the black sash tied into my bridesmaids dresses. My something blue were these beautiful www.swarovski.com. I also had Jewelry from Shoppaige. My shoes were Christian Louboutin and Ivory Satin shoes crystallized by me.
The First Reveal and Ceremony
From day one I knew that my husband was going to see me before the ceremony because the time I wanted the ceremony. I wanted the sun to set as I walked down the aisle, so obviously we had to take our pictures prior. It was an ongoing bet on whether my husband would cry and as I called it he didn't. My husband has cried once in front of me and I can tell you it wasn't even when our daughter was born. He actually asked me why I was crying,lol. He did say I looked very beautiful which was good, haha. The reveal was exactly how I wanted to go and just made me feel at easy because my stomach was in knots. I don't know if some of you are like me , in which your nerves are tied to your stomach. I had the joy of puking three times before walking down the aisle, don't worry I brushed my teeth before I kissed my husband. I honestly just wanted the ceremony to be over with so I could have fun. Once I walked down the candle lit aisle all my nerves subsided because I knew I was marrying my man. The ceremony was short and sweet and I purposely did that, so we had more time to party.
The Venue & Reception
I had the ceremony and reception at the Crystalplaza. We both decided that it would just be best to have it at the same place, so we didn't have guest scrambling to get from one place to another. It worked out perfect because there were actually people at the ceremony. Most of the time people skip the ceremony and just attend the reception , so I knew this gave people no excuse to miss it. I was so happy that people loved all my details at the reception. I added touches of my husband into the details because I wanted him to feel like the day was about him too. Throughout the process he would joke this is for you, but when he saw the little things I added, his smile said it all for me. Under each picture I'll explain each detail of the reception.
The Vendors
Ok, so I left this for last because I believe all the decisions when picking the vendors were the right ones and made our wedding a hit. I chose MPW-Media-Group for my pictures and video. This team is beyond phenomenal and professional. They made me feel comfortable and knew exactly what shots to take. If you have not heard of same day edits, these people are the masters of this technique. They made a video the same day of my wedding and it was shown at my reception. The video was beyond amazing and was such a hit , check it out below. My DJ was the one and only Ljdjs. Jack Bermeo, the founder of LJDJS is a good friend of mine and I knew he would be the only one that could MC my wedding. He had everyone out of their seats dancing , wearing dinner napkins on their heads and just having a great old time with the great music his DJ was blasting. He even created a damask backdrop for my Photo Booth. My aisle runner was damask so the fact that he remembered that and added those little touches, shows he actually takes the time to listen to his brides. He even had this number people could dial into to send us messages right on the big screens at the venue. I truly believe if you have good entertainment at your wedding your guest will have a great time. I still have people come up to us saying our wedding was the best they have attended and that makes me extremely happy because I planned the whole thing myself.
I hope you all liked my wedding blog. The biggest advice I can give any bride to be is to enjoy your day. There will people, whether family or friends that will frustrate you but remember its not about them its about you and your future husband. That is one day you can be selfish and think about yourself. For me and Mark, we loved everything about our day so we don't regret anything and will do it the same in a heartbeat. We do plan on having a vow renewal for our 5year anniversary, so lets see what I have up my sleeve for that,lol. For now I love every minute of being married to my husband, and now we have our beautiful daughter to celebrate with us.
Enjoy the pictures and video below.
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