This is royallyurs612's Pink Wedding!

I've been so busy with life that blogging hasn't been easy!

The FH, our daughter and I will be moving to Florissant, MO in just 7 days! We both had our last days of work this week and is wrapping all our Michigan business up. I gotten so much done but have not had the time or pleasure of telling u all. As soon as I get a couple free, uninterrupted secs, I'll be back to spill the beans! Love u all, ttys!

There are a million reasons why I love Jamar; his ability to be spontaneous and totally random is just one of them. He comes home from work and goes,
"Baby, I know what song I'm walking down the aisle to!"
I'm like, "bay, u pick a new song every other week!"
He's like, "I know, but this time I'm 4real. U ever heard Dedicated by R. Kelly?".
Me- No! Ur Ma is gonna be super geeked u picked her husband lol

(in my post abt our wedding cake there's pics of the FMIL's 40th Birthday cake, adorned with R Kelly Albums lol smh...she is soooo in love with him! And to make matters worst, he and my FH has the exact same bday so his mom thinks it's a sign er something idk bahahaha)

So, make a long story short, I hop on my one stop shop -google- and find the song. It's actually by Public Announcement, which is the group he was in before he went solo. The song pours out his feelings and I think it's perfect; so sweet and fitting to our big day. His previous choices were, Love by Musiq, They D'ont Kno by Jon B and Always &Forever. Good job honey =)

The lyrics are posted below. But for those of you that would rather watch the video:

http://youtu.be/3_olUwhLlF8

[Intro:]
This Is Dedicated,
To My Favorite Girl.
[Verse 1:]
U Have Given Me The Best Of U
And U Have My Dreams Come True
And After All The Things That U Have Done
Girl, It Makes Me Say That U Are More Than A Woman
So I'm...
[Chorus:]
Dedicating This One To My Favorite Girl (She's The Only One)
She's The Only Woman In The Whole Wide World
Dedicating This One To My Favorite Girl.
She's The Only Woman In The World For Me.
[Verse 2:]
Never Thought That Love Could Be So Kind
Until U Came And Brought Me Peace Of Mind
I'll Treasure Every Moment Spent With U.
Cuz No One Does The Things For Me U Do...
So I'm...
[Chorus: Repeat]

Isn't that just the cutest song??

Welp ladies, once again I got a great deal bujt wasn't completely pleased with it. The original servers were on clearance for $7.00 at Wal*mart but were wayyy too plain. Because I knew I wouldn't find a better deal, I bought them anyway. They've sat in the closet, with all my other wedding stuff, since I purchased them back in I think...March? After I decked out our toasting glasses (see post below), I'm like, "I can jazz these up too!"



So I bought some of the Aleene's glue, and used the leftover rhinestones from my other project and went with the flow. I didn't plan for how they turned out, I just kinda followed my creative mind. I think they look great! The color scheme and bling just make me feel all warm inside lol...

Opinions, add-on suggestions, anything???

*************Flower Girl Dresses***************

Okay so from the moment I saw Etsy.com, I was in love. CUSTOM EVERYTHING! (Imma custom queen hehehe)

I found the dress in pic 1 and was in love again! (i fall in love easy with material things hahaha) It matches my theme perfectly: damask, hot pink, and black.AND I am a HUGE fan of tutus. Seriously, my daughter is 14 mths and she has a closet full of em lol. I knew this was the dress I wanted them to wear.

While searching for my daughter's Jr Bride gown, I came across PinkMarie.com. Here I found a few dress choices for her (will post separately) and saw some cheaper for my 2 flower girls. They are Kamari & Kimora. They both will be 4yo. Kimora is the FH's Goddaughter and Kamari is our friend's daughter. One will wear the pink and the other will wear the silver.

It's such a hard choice because, the etsy dress is custom, nthn anybody coming to my wedding has ever seen. And the ones from pinkmarie are lovely because of the price and the variation in color choices, let's them look a little different. neither parents of the girls complained of the price of the 1st dress. Sigh...

HELP!! Which choice is yours?

Well ladies, I feeling a tad bit discouraged abt my centerpieces.

A little while back, I chose to change my centerpiece because they were right at eye level. The design I chose now has a pomander/kissing ball sitting on top of it. After googling how to diy them, I thought, "sigh, looks like a headache for 25 freggin tables!" So, I googled to see how much they ran to just buy and almost pee'd my pants LOL jk...then there's the issue of whether to do tissue or silk flowers. AHHHHH!

idk what to do honestly, I don't want to change my centerpieces, YET AGAIN. I know sometimes u have to just foot the bill to less'n ur headache.

Please help me! every suggestion welcomed =)

These just came in from JustFab.com.

I opened the box and was completely AMAZED! They are even more beautiful in person and on MY feet hahaha. The pink matches perfectly which REALLY scared me because companies always warn u that it'll depend on ur computer monitor.

I plan to wear them for my Rehearsal Dinner as well to break them in a little...

Cute choice Ladies?

I long for a deep/hot pink runner for my outdoor ceremony! I have yet to find a decent priced one. Any suggestions ladies? I'm gonna be bald! lol

GET TO KNOW US!!!!! I found this on another Bride's blog and thought it was a good idea. Plus 2day marks 2 years as a couple!!! Happy Anniversary Babe =)

-How long did you date before you got engaged?
1 year, 2 mths, and 4 days...

-Did you get the ring you wanted?
Yes, one of them! We went looking and I chose my top 3...He selected from them

-Was the proposal a complete surprise?
Yes! I THOUGHT I was so sure that the gift he bought me for V-day was an engagement ring but it was a Pandora bracelet. Lol...I was sooo disappointed but he just wanted to throw me off!

-Do you wish you had a bigger/smaller diamond? If so How big or small?
I love my ring! There is room for growth but being that we'll be 2gther for the rest of our lives, I can always upgrade every few years lol...

-Did you cry when he proposed?
NO! I just in such shock there was no room for tears!

-Was the proposal romantic or creative?
It was creative...he's not a "romantic" so Im glad he decided to be himself and not chessy like the movies lol

-Where do you want to go for your honeymoon?
The Bahamas!

-Are you buying his wedding band for him?
Of course, Im still on the search for the perfect one though...

-Have you gone over your original wedding budget?
No...not yet, at least lol

-What day of the year will your wedding be?
Saturday, June 16, 2012

-What kind of weather?
Only The Lord knows! Hopefully Sunny but not too hot...hint hint =)

-Inside or outside?
Ceremony is outdoors, reception is indoors.

-Church/justice of the peace/other?
A minister...still unknown who???

-How many people will be there?
Planning for 250

-Time of day?
4:30 pm

-Any kind of theme?
Glitz, Glam, &Damask...

-How many bridesmaids? Who would they be?
7 total: A Maid, Matron, &5 BMs...3 Sisters, 3 Friends, A Cousin

-What kind of cake/what will it look like?
Check my Blog: www.weddingbycolor.com/royallyurs612/milestones/182556

-Where will you have the reception?
At a 58 year old museum

-What kind of dress will you have/color/material?
Beautiful mermaid style with a black lace applique. It's to die for! Check my blog: www.weddingbycolor.com/royallyurs612/milestones/182705

-What kind of flowers in your bouquet?
No freggin clue! lol...the only thing I know is I want deep pinks

-Kind of engagement ring?
The pic above shows my whole set. The engagement band alone is a solitaire princess cut.

-Kind of wedding bands?
Mine is a wrap with diamonds. Still unsure abt his...

-How will you wear your hair?
Long curls, all on one side...adorned with a fascinatior and birdcage veil

-Who will be important to be there?
This is a dumb ? lol...The President won't be there but he's sure getting an invite! hahaha

-Will the reception be big or small?
It's big! We have the whole museum rented out =)

-What will the groom wear?
Thinking, "he's gonna look so sexy!" hahaha Im getting him &his GM shirts made from iTailor. He'll wear that with a white tux and a boutonniere picked str8 from my bouquet =)

-How long on Honeymoon?
Undecided...

-What will you do?
Take it easy...lots of...ummm...hehehe...&hopefully try some new things

-Will it be modest or costly?
It'll be pretty cheap considering we won our honeymoon! Lucky us huh

-How old will you and the groom be?
He will be 25 and I'll be 22...

-Live together before or wait till married?
Opps, broke that rule already! hahaha

Will it take a long time to plan or will it be simple?
I've been planning since we picked a date. I never understood what "simple" meant lol

-Will you do it yourself or with family or hire someone to plan the wedding?
Im doing it with my older sister, who's also my MOH...I LOVE HER!

-Will you write your own vows or use something pre-made?
He's a lyricist in his spare time, so it only seems right that we write our own

It's over? Awe man that means I gotta go back to work! Come on 7am! Happy Planning WBC Ladies!

Ok ladies, I have a secret. Please don’t judge me for it. I am a bride on a budget that cannot afford all the lavish things I want in life. Including a million $ wedding. To cut corners and be costly, I purchased a replica dress for coralsbridal.com. I’m gonna give u girls the timeline of my experience.

Nov 7, 2011- This is when it all started. I’m not quite sure HOW I came across a picture of the dress but when I did, I INSTANTLY fell in love. The design reminded me of the damask theme we’re going for. PLUS, it wasn’t traditional…Perfect 10. Pics #1-2.

Nov 8-11, 2011- I began to research in hopes to find a place to try on &purchase this dress. This included calling EVERY bridal shop in Michigan listed on the Maggie Sottero site and contacting a seller on recycledbride.com. No luck. From one of the many bridal salons I called, I learned that the dress is discontinued. It was in their 2008 collection. I was devastated. During this time I also showed the dress to a friend, my MOH (sister), and my fiancée. The dress is SO different; I wanted to get a 2nd opinion on it to ensure it was “weddingy”.

Nov 11, 2011- Just as I was ready to give up, I somehow came across coralsbridal.com on Google in my last hopes for finding my dream dress. http://www.coralsbridal.com/2215-wd09122f-white-mermaid-wedding-dress-bridal-gown-outfit-WD09122f.html is the link of the dress they actually made for another bride. Before even checking the site out, I sent them an email. The description on their site never said it was a Maggie Sottero dress and after comparing their pictures from the ones on MS’s site, I quickly understood that it was a replica. Because I’ve never been one to care abt designers, I didn’t care! Lol. They later emailed me back to say they’d be continuing to make this style and it was available to buy WITH custom measurements. They were VERY friendly and spoke very good English.

Nov 12, 2011- I did some research on the site. I looked at tons of reviews. The percentile was abt 75% positive and 25% negative or questionable. What I mean by questionable is it was a positive review but the person didn’t seem like a real person. OR the review was negative but based on a wrong color or something else I would consider a customer’s mistake. I began to ask Coral Dai (the manager) abt minor custom modifications I wanted made on the dress. They included changing the fabric from taffeta to silk satin, making it tighter in the mid-thigh area to give it a more mermaid look, changing the closure of the dress from a zipper to a lace-up corset, changing the bubble hem to a flat hem, and lastly reshaping the neckline to a sweetheart from a scoop effect. They promptly emailed me back and said that all these changes could be done with NO EXTRA cost due to it being custom. With the dress, shipping, & custom changes they only charged me $373.00.

Nov 13, 2011- After carefully reading the returning policy, I decided to go with them. It states that they will accept returns, with no questions asked, for a full refund or they’ll make you another dress. With the exclusion of a custom made dress. Of course you’d probably have to pay returned shipping to the company but that was a cost I was willing to eat considering I knew what I was getting myself into. The email came through that payment was accepted and they needed my measurements. I sent my measurements that night.

Nov 15, 2011- I received an email stating the process had begun. They told me they would take photos for be before shipping the dress out and it would arrive to me no later than December 30, 2011.

Dec 12, 2011- I received an email from Coral that my dress was finish. The email had pics #3-5 attached. I was in awe! They made EXACTLY what I had asked for @ a faction of the cost! I still couldn’t believe that it was all real and it got done so fast. Once I Okayed shipping of the dress, they shipped it out.

Dec 13, 2011- They sent me an email stating that it and been shipped out and gave me a tracking number. From here until the 19th, I watched the ems tracking website like a hawk lol.

Dec 14, 2011- The dress left YUHANG and arrived at HANGZHOU.
Dec 16, 2011- It was handed over to US Customs.
Dec 17, 2011- It was released from US Customs.

Dec 19, 2011- Around 6pm, I asked my FH to check the mail, not because I thought my dress was here but just because! He came in the house and goes, “Who did you say made your dress.” I instantly got excited as I saw the shadow of him holding a large envelope. The envelope was a package from Vista Print lol. Come to find out, the mail lady never delivered it, there was a notice from the post office saying come down and pick it up. I was so mad because we lounged around all day and the post office was now closed! I’m like, “1st thing 2mrw, I’m going to the post office.” I was so excited I told my Maid and Matron that they better be there for me to try it on once the FH left for work @ 1pm.

Dec 20, 2011- I had an interview this morning and I decided to get up earlier so I could go to the post office beforehand. I picked the dress up after signing the paperwork and was instantly worried because of the small packaging. I’m thinking, “Omg, there’s no way a whole dress can fit in here.” While driving, lol, I tore it out of the packing to be surprised by what looked like a small pillow. I could tell it was my dress but the fabric looked polyester! I tried to take my mind off it and went into my interview with a clear mind. Afterwards, I rushed home to learn that my FH & our baby were still sleeping. I was happy because if the dress was gonna be a disappointment, I didn’t want anybody to know. (No one knows that the place I ordered it from is a “knock-off” shop in China.) Anxiously, I cut open the plastic that covered my dress and realized it was shipped inside out to protect the embellishments! I was sooooo relieved to learn that they DID send me the dress in the pictures. It is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!! I am so in love! Now I understand why when they say when you know, you just know. The “lace” part is slightly off from the original MS made but who cares! I saved over $800 by taking this route. Shipping, alterations, and custom changes included. They only thing I have to get done to the dress is a bustle if I decided against buying a reception dress.

Bottom line ladies, I know this story took u on a roller-coaster lol but it was worth it for me. I had doubts but I went with it because I’m risky I guess. I’m just glad it all worked out in my favor. If your gut doesn’t tell u to do it, don’t. I will recommend Coral’s bridal to anyone that ISN’T a plus size woman. Some of their reviews from plus size girls weren’t so good. I not sure they know how to make certain designs in plus size. I don’t think it’s worth the risk. But besides that, my experience was wonderful from the beginning. I’m so happy with the finished product of my dress and the cost I paid for it. 5 stars for Coral’s Bridal from Me! =)

You can’t see all the details on me in pics 6-11 but I think overall, it looks great. Esp in person. Our lighting was so crappy lol. I actually think my changes made it look better. What do you think ladies?

So, my quest to find the perfect wedding cake has ended. &I must say, I am in Love! This cake screams ME (pic#1). It matches my theme perfectly. Of course I plan to change a few things about it to customize it and make it my own but for the most part, this is it. AND to top it all off the Cakestress who will be making it also made my FMIL’s 40th bday cake and is only going to charge us $340.00!!! Pics #3-4.

Ladies, can you say STEAL DEAL.! God is really looking out for us to ensure we stay in budget. But also that I’m getting everything I always wanted. =) Lucky Me lol….

Pic #2 is the stand I plan to have the cake sit on. It’s simply made with flame-less candles, 4-8 short cubed cases turned upside down, and a flat glass plate.

Pic #5 is the backup plan if for whatever reason my 1st choice for a stand doesn't work out. Its always good to have a backup plan!!

**For some reason some of the pictures are tinted purple. Shrugs Shoulders. But if u click to enlarge it, the real color of the picture shows**