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One Month Later

Gooooood Morning!!!

How is everyone?? 

Can you believe Anderson and Heidi have been married for four weeks??

He's asleep and i'm up and bouncing off the walls. 

Our honeymoon is far from over. Everyday we look at each other like, is this real? Did it happen? Our wedding was seriously THE best day of our lives. 

My husband (ahem). Wants us to share the photos over time. So sneak peeks today.

Let's talk about Wedding Day.

It was soooo much fun. God kept the rain in those clouds and sent the sun. And after we found out it was a tropical depression!! Thank you for allllll your prayers!!

The night before, Andy dropped me, my cousin Tiff, two of my bridesmaids Natalie and Tammy and my goddaughter Asia who was a flowergirl to the Hilton.

Yes! That's where our reception was!!! The staff there was so excited for us! We checked in, Andy took us up to the suite and then it was bye byes! I felt a little sad, when Andy had to leave, but excitement crept back in. Especially after he said see you tomorrow Mrs. Bowen. Soooo cute right??

Ffwd to the morning of! I was up from 4. Sorry, couldn't sleep anymore. Downstairs in the banquet hall with Natalie and my other bridesmaid Camille by 7 to start decorating. Andy's mum and my uncle and family soon arrived, and my cousin Shernelle who shooed me off to have breakfast! 

Well if you never had Hilton buffet? Chile get yo life. The wait staff kept asking you sure you getting married today? You are way too calm. And I was, the joy of the Lord was my strength!!

Here was my thinking, Andy will be there. So will Pastor, our parents and me. I control NOTHING. Let go and let God have His wonderful way. 

Simple.

After breakfast, got ready to make a mad dash to the hairdresser. Then I remembered... No car! 

My other mummy Auntie Yvette brought my bff and bridesmaid Tonya to the hotel, so Auntie dropped me over and then my other bff Tara brought me back. 

The salon was quiet and serene and my stylist asked when I arrived, so Heidz, how we doing this hair? I said Chimes, no clue. Just go for it and make sure it looks sleek and smooth. Boom!

2 hours later. I was in business...

Clip ins, hair spray and more bobby pins than #1 Beauty Supply could stock and Tara whisked me outta there, back to the Hilton. 

On my way back up to the room, my goddaughter Asia who went with me to get her hair done too seemed to realise I was getting jittery. Hear dis now, Auntie don't be shy, if you're brave, i'll be brave. And doan cry hear? Or not ya makeup gine run. 

I nearly died with laughter and truthfully allllll my fears just vanished. In the corridor leading to the room I met Shanelle... One half of I Heart Makeup. Yessss honey I was a heartbeat on wedding day! That was Nella's gift to me and so I asked her Kamilah and my friend Dee Blackett to do the makeup for the entire bridal party and some relatives of mine from England, Auntie Winsome and Maya and my Mummy.

So, by this time it was 1 pm. With the wedding at 3 pm. Definitely time to get ready. The girls were in makeup and I needed to shower and get Asia ready too. 

Nerves? None! Excitement PLENTY! My mummy, auntie who was my Maid of Honour and Nana were there. My godson Seth and his grandmother, everything was calm and peaceful. We were chatting and laughing and so relaxed. God is good...

It got real when I put my dress on. I was late :( In my defense I was ready to go, but we had a slight hiccup. So down to the lobby we went...

See Tammy like she sprinting??? Lol.

Into the limo, and off to the church...

We all got ready to get out of the car, cue flowergirls and ringbearer and bridesmaids and groomsmen.

My brother and my uncle walked me down the aisle. And there was my handsome groom.

Andy looked soooooo freakin good!! I was grinning like a halloween pumpkin. Super happy!!!

The ceremony was intimate and went by smoothly. Our friends and family were there and when we said our vows, we kept grinning at each other.

I did cry a little. I saw my godfather and I couldn't believe he had come, which reminded me of my Dad. Then the tears came.

We went to sign the certificate and that was it!!! 

Mr. & Mrs Anderson and Heidi Bowen, yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! More grins and happiness and fun!!

We headed out of the church after the FBC chorale sang our neww fave song Happy- Tasha Cobbs (remember?) and our bridal party cheered for us when we got in the limo. 

And then we headed to Central Bank Green for our mini photo shoot alone. Special thanks to Ms. Fran Wickham for granting us permission. Well ya know the Bajan peoples!! Waving and staring and we didn't care! 

We're married!!! 

Wow Photobooth Rentals made our evening!!! Service was excellent and all of our guests took home a strip of photos as their favour. It was kinda funny cause some people thought they had to pay. When they found out it was all part of the reception? Cray cray! We got some great shots!!

We also had a candy buffet, with indigenous sweets, like sugar cakes and nut cakes and black bitch, Quality Street sweets from the UK and US as well. I included some for our diabetic friends and relatives too! They really appreciated that!!

Three best parts of the day for me?

Seeing my uncle and aunt dancing.

Seeing my uncle Michael breakdance.

When Anderson said and to My Beautiful Wife, TWICE!!!

It was over in a flash, and we had a faaaaantastic time. Everything we wanted and prayed for? Happened. God blessed us richly, His grace was sufficient and He provided down to the last cent! 

Our families and friends enjoyed, and most importantly, my husband had a great time.

For your love and support, we are grateful. We cannot wait for the next chapter to begin. So stay tuned, God is at work right now!! 

We love you, keep praying for us as we are for you.

Xoxo 

The Bowens

Amazing Love

Good Morning.

It's here.  This is it, we've worked hard, loved hard, prayed hard. We've planned organized and shopped.

I'm so excited. And anxious, and sleepy and thirsty. I need to drink alooooot of water today. And people have been so nice!!

Our life together began 7 years ago. Completion.

We believe God has brought us together and we are more in love with who we are now than who we were then.

That's progress.

Yesterday, I woke up happy, excited, anxious. 24 hours no longer seemed like an eternity. It seemed like a good time to enjoy being Ms. Aboab for the last time.

How do I feel? I have butterflies, I feel rested, focused, secure. Loved.

Our families:

We love you! Not a minute in this life is worth it unless you have love. We have it in abundance.

To our friends:

We love you:

You have come through for us at a time when we needed you THE most. 

Our followers:

We looooove you! 

Every comment, email, thought, prayer. Recognized and returned ten fold. The support has been overwhelming.

The journey? Has a fresh start today. There will be pain, sorrow, joy, success. Faith will be tested. In a half of an hour our lives individually will change collectively. We are so ready for the challenge.

To Anderson:

For allowing me to share our story. For loving me when I was still a girl. For growing with me, caring for me, praying for me, thinking for me when I couldn't or wouldn't. For adding so much richness and joy

to my life. I love you and will love you until my heart stops. And I am so grateful to God. 

For choosing me.

Love 

Heidi.

Xoxo

Keep praying family. We love you!! 

The Bowens.

A week and a day away

Goooood Morning Loves!!!

I cannot tell you how grateful we are to be at this point. Andy and I are apart right now. I'm away shopping for our house and the wedding. I also had some business to take care of up here. So I had to take leave at a critical time.

And Anderson has done a tremendous job of keeping our plans in check. Sure we got frustrated. We are still finalising guests. People have taken ill, been involved in accidents. Some of our friends are unable to attend because of work commitments, their employers refuse to give them the time. Sad huh? Jealousy is a helluva thing.

And emotions have run the gamut. But we are so blessed. Andy's mum is making and decorating our cake. I got a really cute topper for it. I found my veil and a hair accessory to make a real statement. As you know I said yes to the dress. Got my shoes at a STEAL!! I wanted a pair of Badgley Mischka's but.... These shoes are soooo much prettier and more comfortable. Pricepoint? Affordable.com. 

BUT, still no wedding day panties HELP!! Spanx? Bloomers? Girdle? Boyshorts? Help muh nuh? I aino wha tuh put on!!

Fears:

Rain on wedding day

Tripping down the aisle

Ratchetness

People watching me 

Me and Andy kissing for the first time and bumping noses (sooooo embarassing)

Fainting

Feeling Fat

Menstruating - gross but with stress anything can happen please pray for me!!!

Not resting enough, i've been extremely tired the last few days! 

Being a good, humble, loving, honest wife.

I'm going to be somebody's wife. That's huge. My family up here is so excited. And I finally caught the bug. God and us want this marriage, we're happy and blessed. And through all the strange occurrences and few mishaps, this process has been abundantly blessed.

Advice?

Trust and love your partner.

Have faith and pray to God for wisdom.

Be romantical (Anderson is!!!) 

Get positive and negative feedback.

Do NOT divulge major plans to anyone but yo mama

and yo mans! 

People often pretend to be happy for you, when often times they are jealous. Beware!

Go for counselling.

Stay sane! 

We love and appreciate every one of you!!

Xoxo

Heidi and Anderson

See you next week... When the day is finally here!!!

Mr. & Mrs. Anderson Bowen - to - be

Ding ding ding!!!

Welll Good Morning!!!

Guess who's getting married in less than a month? 

Yasssssss huntys, God is goooooooood!! 

And guess who said yes to the dress???? Meeeeee!!!

So I've been in NY since April/May. And there was some drama with my Mum and Auntie's passports. They applied for them earlier in the year and i'll be a daggone monkey's uncle if it didn't take goshdarnit 10 weeks o_O. 

So finnnally on Thursday my mummy and auntie made it to the Big Apple woop wooooooop!!

And the hunt was on from Friday. Now I'd been advised to visit many boutiques and places but I have to say that I like to move as God directs me. Before my mum came, my wonderful cuz Renee took me allllllll over the city and all the way to Long Island to find a dress. I know she was super disappointed though, because I was NOT about to try on dresses without my mum being there. I'm her only child and she deserved that honour. 

So I looked and felt and touched, asked questions. I was trying to figure out how important it was to have the shoes. Veil, no veil, gloves, mittens, Man, it was alot! 

I hopped onto google trying to find the nearest Bridal shops to my uncle's house. I'd visited one in Flatbush but both Andy and I were unimpressed lol. 

Yessss Andy came up to NY too! My very own GZ (groomzilla) came to my rescue! I was getting a little overwhelmed and he came for a week and some!!! Yaaaaay!

Fast forward to the day I got my dress. My uncle drove us out to Long Island City and as my mum and I browsed around, it hit me. This is real. So I had the names and style numbers of the dresses I thought would suit my body type and my consultant Damaris went searching. She later told me the ones I'd selected she was going to pull for me when she saw me lolI. I tried about 5/6 dresses. And then I found the one!

As I slipped into the dress and Damaris zipped me up, she said you're gonna love this one. I said yea? Ok

let's go then. 

There was a couple next to us and the baby kept coming over by my family to

check us out lol. The wife was trying on a bridesmaid's dress. When I stepped out of the dressing room, the husband heard my family and me as I looked at myself in the mirror say Woooooow! He looked around and said in spanish ' Honey look, she's so beautiful.' And I busted out laughing, he said did you understand me? I said yes, he said oh my god you look fabulous, really that is the dress! You have to buy that. 

I was laughing and grinning and cheesing and I knew it was the one. When you know, you know. The dress compliments my body, it's slightly sparkly and is a nod to dresses of hmmm.... Andy reads the blog so that's all I can say on that.

Thanks for the love and prayers, we found it!!!

T- 21+ to go!!

Xoxo

Heidi.

Crunchtime, bridesmaids and the best husband to be ever

Goooood Morning!

If you follow me on Facebook, you would have seen my post about how good Jesus is. And I'm here to testify AGAIN He has already provided.

So Andy and I were presented with a test. It was major to me but for him, it was either a yes or a no. And in hindsight that is exactly what it was. But I have an extremely difficult time accepting no. God is teaching me that sometimes that no is a means of protection.

So Andy's enormous faith and nuff nuff nuff prayers from both of us and our families took us through this little challenge. And God granted us favour. So for all of you praying for us thank you and please continue!!

Onto the good stuff!! I chose the ladies of our bridal party with great care. I have been friends with 4 of them for over 17 years one of them for 7 and the other for 5. See where I'm going with this? Relationship is important. Knowing your worth is valuable. Long and short? 

Invest in people who have your best interest at heart. Trust the people who have always been there. I want to look back at our wedding album and see happy, smiling faces, with people we love, admire and appreciate. 

Well folks. Our wedding is next month. Colour me excited. Andy is still smiling. I'm happy. Ideas are flowing and I can reveal one tidbit. We are taking our photos in a brand spanking new location. Historic, and it is quite picturesque. 

The curator of this garden was thoroughly impressed i'm told when my mother spoke to her, the lady couldn't contain it. She indicated that people simply took advantage without seeking permission. I was adamant about asking. It is VERY important to know your place and ting de people lil garden doan belongs ta we.

In essence, being a bride is awesome. It's fun. It's exciting. It's a beautiful and fulfilling experience. And if you focus on the marriage, the life after the wedding and pay a leeeetle attention to the wedding. You would enjoy it too. Cause I'm telling you, people who go through this twice? Nuts! Mental craycray.

More soon. And the photos are going to be fab!

Chile it's drawing nigh

Hellllllller!!!! 

Status: dressless, shoeless and bubbling with anticipation.

If you'd told me last year i'd be stressed and worried I would have agreed. But i'm not. Not yet at least. I was a little overwhelmed this week. Thanks Shars!! But I took the advice I usually impart to my brides. One thing at a time.

And now I have plenty lists and i'm back in organisation mode. I'm hiring and firing putting people in their place. Getting my act together. 

Mr. Bowen and his groomsmen got their suit lives!! Shout out to Dom and the others over at Men's Room, City Centre Mall in the City. I am not on any of the paperwork, but if you want to go take a peep at Andy's suit and send me aphoto  maybe on whats'app. That would be irie!! 

So now, of COURSE there is drama. American airlines mad?? How ya mean ya gotta pay for a carry on doah??? Alll of my God bless muh extras does be inna meh bag. May have to explore jetblue folks cause double A stands for something I cannot say on this platform. They may ban me. 

We have decor! For both the church and the reception site!! After scouring pinterest and instagram I am sooooo excited. I want simple, classic and chic. Boom!!

I have THE best bridesmaids though!!! I set up a group on whatsapp to stay connected and so far so good. All te ladies are fun, happy and not divas at all. And I reallllllllllly hope they aren't planning a bridal shower. I am NOT about that life. Take me some where to eat, have a cocktail or mocktail depending on the calories and let's chill. And they can tell me allllll about marriage and men and the joy of being a wife blah blah. 

Also!!!! What do you all think about clip in extensions??? I'm thinking I don't want a full sew in nor do I want to bond. But i've had clip ins before and they are awesomesauce. That way I can switch up the look from wedding to reception as suggested by my girl Jaye!!! 

Well, less than 75 days to go. My friend B is getting married shortly and we wish her all the best. She's just as excited as I am, and has a great sense of style so I know her day will be a fab, do down!!

Love you all! More on Monday!!!

Xoxo

Heidi.