With two weeks since our wedding, I think it’s a perfect time to reflect on the big day. Although it was a lot of hard work to get to June, and we had a lot on our shoulders to make it to that day, it was fun and memorable.  Now, my key piece of advice to any bride would be to not have a wedding and get married in a tropical location such as the Bahamas or Jamaica. But if it’s extremely important to have a wedding, here are some tips related to the big day itself and leading up to it: Stay Calm. I was amazingly and almost unsteadily calm the actual 24 hours before my wedding. There really was…

I’ve been accused of being a perfectionist. When I do my work, a project or anything, I work to make it perfect. I’ve tried to get away from this throughout the years, but it doesn’t always prove—well, perfect. Someone once said that a beautiful thing is not perfect, and that could be applied to everything about my wedding. In the beginning, I wanted everything to go perfectly and be a beautiful day, but I think an imperfect day was just as beautiful. This past week became extremely stressful. From the forecast of rain changing my outdoor venue to inside of my reception hall to the programs …

With less than a week left to the wedding, I decided to use this column space for something different. When you get to the heart of the wedding, the truly beautiful thing is two people become one in the eyes of God and the law. Through the stress, trauma and drama leading up to the wedding, we often might forget about it, but as the day nears, my fiancé and I have done a bit of reflection. Therefore, we decided to collaborate on this column to speak to what this impending wedding and marriage means to each of us. He said: Some people marry for love, and some marry for family values. I am …

With officially two weeks left until the wedding, the stress of it all finally hit me this past week. It not only hit me, but it knocked me down and continued to drag me for several blocks. From calling vendors and trying to figure out lost checks to worrying about my bridal shower, it’s been a rough week. On top of that, I’ve had my full-time job to tend to throughout the week. There’s no way around it, stress happens, and it’s part of the process. As much as I’ve dreaded the process—as well as moaned or groaned the whole way—I’m sure it’ll be a day that I remember for the rest of my life, …

In preparing for a wedding, the bride or wedding coordinator has to deal with a number of people and businesses, from caterers and photographers to the bridal shop and seamstress. The vendors are people you have to deal with for weeks or months on end leading up to your big day. Therefore, the earlier you learn about your vendors, the better.  For the most part, I’ve got some amazing vendors. Our photographers are a brother and sister team who really like to learn about the couple to capture some of the best photos. My wedding coordinator is stern but fair, and she knows how to take care of …

When a couple first becomes engaged, it’s important to set some ground rules in planning your big day and answer some hard questions. Well, I shouldn’t say hard, but they can be challenging. Couples should consider questions ranging from, “What china pattern should we choose for our kitchen?” to “What type of bar (if any) would we like to have at our reception?” Knowing the answers to questions up front and keeping a stern approach about them will help you in tough situations as the wedding draws closer. With less than a month until the big day, we’re grappling with the answers to these tough…

A wedding can’t go off without a hitch if you don’t have good people to help. That is, unless, your bridal party can’t seem to cooperate. The bridal party should consist of people who you can depend on and will make every effort to make your day special. But even those who you consider to be dependable have a tough going sometimes. Don’t get me wrong: I love of all of my friends (maid of honor and bridesmaids included), but it’s tough to coordinate schedules between all of us. I work full time, two are in school (undergraduate and graduate school) and the other two have a couple of jobs. …

Before I became engaged, I used to watch the show Bridezillas with a great deal of enthusiasm.  It fascinated me that these women would yell, scream and go into major fits about what seemed to be about nothing. On top of that, I was always perplexed by how these women could behave this way. I always promised myself that I wouldn’t be that way. Sometimes, promises have to be broken. Now, I haven’t become a bridezilla, but I’ve become a bride who knows that she wants and needs to figure out how to make it happen. Therefore, I’m straddling the line between bridezilla and a normal, focused bride…

On Friday, I watched Catherine Middleton become the Duchess of Cambridge next to Prince William with the other millions of viewers, and it obviously had some major significance for me.  Approximately 30 years ago, the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana was one of the most talked about—if not the most talked about—wedding of that generation. That’s what this wedding just proved to be for ours. Although leading up to the April 29 ceremony, several people just wanted it to be over, I couldn’t wait for it all to begin. I wanted to see the dress and the ceremony and share in their joy. For me…

When I used to think about marriage, I used to think about all of the perks it could bring, including family. Growing up without siblings, I thought it would be great to have siblings by marriage and another mother to be able to speak with. This is especially true when I look at my mom’s relationship with my dad’s family, which is warm and loving.  That’s not the whole case with my soon-to-be husband’s family. He has an older and younger brother who don’t seem to understand me, and I don’t really understand them much, either. For example, we’ve been in several settings where we’re in a group …

As excited as I am for our June wedding take place, I’m more enthused to leave a couple of days later for our honeymoon in Mexico.  We’ve never been on a vacation out of the country together, and it’ll be the first adventure of our married life. Amazingly, just like everything else in wedding planning, choosing the honeymoon location could be difficult. When we initially started our honeymoon search, we knew that we wanted to go to a place that neither of us had been, so that immediately cancelled Jamaica and Costa Rica. We then moved into looking at cruises, as I had never taken one. (His …

This isn’t a secret: I’m a busy woman. When I’m not working 50-60 hours on reporting, writing, editing, covering events, etc., I’m focused on my wedding. When I’m not focused on either, I’m focused on family, friends or putting my apartment in order. Notice anything yet? I haven’t made a second for myself. This isn’t uncommon for me. I’ve always put everyone and everything ahead of myself, and I take time for myself when I’m burned out on everything else. The past month, I’ve spent time preparing, planning and working on election coverage for the site, and in the small seconds in-between, I’…

When a bride starts planning her wedding, the most important detail, to her, is usually the bridal dress. Within the top five of the priority list, though, should be all of the other women’s dresses. That might include the mother of the bride and mother of the groom’s dresses, bridesmaids, flower girl and so on. Shopping for her bridal dress is one of the most important purchases in a woman’s life, but finding the other dresses could be the most frustrating shopping trip ever. It took more than two months to gather all of the bridesmaids together to do the all-day shopping trip. Although we …

Guests often have an array of options when it comes to presenting a gift to the bride and groom. Whether it’s selecting something off of the couple’s registry, a cash gift or a gift card, the choices are endless. It’s not the same for when you’re the bride and groom. Although we’ve selected a number of items for potential gifts for ourselves, we’ve struggled to come up with an appropriate gift for others. More specifically, selecting the gifts for the participants of the wedding parties. As a bride, I want these gifts to be special and memorable for each girl and guy who have given their time…

The weight battle lives on.  I started a journey to lose 30-35 pounds before June 18 two months ago. I’m now close to losing 10 pounds. The first few weeks were a bit rough. Finding a consistent workout routine as well as a consistent, healthy diet was the not the easiest thing. I started off running three days a week, but I decided to add a cardio class as well as an abdomen workout class to my routine. The biggest problem was the diet. As I previously confessed, my sweet tooth is large. That as well as a few other unhealthier factors – fast food – took charge.  Now, I think I’ve found the …

My life as a bride just got much easier. Last week, we met with a wedding coordinator whose goal is to make our wedding perfect and flawless – well, in our eyes anyway. When I first began planning my wedding, I wanted to do everything myself. Plan every detail and get the best deals that we possibly could. One of my professors in college dubbed me “Superwoman” for my uncanny nature to work around the clock to make sure things got done. That didn’t disappear with wedding planning. I’ve done everything from book the ceremony site and reception hall to create our centerpieces. For months, my …

Money is such a fickle topic. No one likes to talk about it, but when it comes to funding a wedding, it’s a daily conversation. Now, don’t get me wrong. I knew when I started planning that the odds were against me to plan a wedding for 150 people in a metropolitan area under $10,000. In a survey conducted by wedding juggernaut The Knot, the average wedding costs $27,800. To me, that means that I could put down a hefty down payment on a house. Nevertheless, I decided to try to defy odds and do a wedding on a stringent budget. With less than four months to the big day, that budget looks to be …

When planning a church wedding or many indoor sites, there’s usually not many logistics to figure out. There are plenty of seats, a sound system or good acoustics, and a place to change and prepare for the grand walk down the aisle. If you’re ceremony sits at an outdoor location, however, logistics become another task on a growing to-do list. When we decided to get married at the Grand Basin of Forest Park, Robert and I were immediately swept away by the beautiful scenery and the romantic setup of this location. Of course, I considered the possibility of rain, but my heart had set itself on …

I really never understood the saying that, “The wedding is for everyone else, and the marriage is for you,” but I’ve begun to see the light on this phrase lately.  In the early stages of planning, we made most of the decisions, and it’s been on us to figure out what we wanted. Our parents and family have begun to step in to make their voices heard, though. For example, the rehearsal dinner has become a point of angst for Robert and me. We would like a simple dinner with food catered or just going to a restaurant’s back room. Our parents have completely different plans, however. Both mothers …

When I began planning my wedding, we both knew we wanted a small, fun and somewhat formal ceremony. The keyword in the previous sentence is small.  When my mother and father got married, she tells me they had 600 people fill up Mount Zion Church in East St. Louis, IL. My wedding is nowhere near those numbers as we can’t afford it and, again, we wanted something small. I’ve quickly learned however that no matter how hard you try, the guest list can quickly spin out of control. When we began planning, we thought we’d plan for 100 people, which includes our guests bringing someone with them. …