Houston, we have our location!!

But cuhdear!!! I want one uh dem! 

I keep hearing 'oh I was planning my wedding since I was 8,6, 1.' I have seriously been in love with weddings from about age 10. I was a bridesmaid in my uncle's wedding and ohhhhhhh boy was I excited. The wedding was simple and pretty and peachy and all flouncy and tulle filled and wonderful!

And then I met Andy. Dude, has not EVER and IS NOT letting me have everything I want at alllllll. And I'm the kinda woman, if I want it, I want it. PUNTO. WEll lemme tell ya he is a groom among grooms, homeboy has ideas, and concerns and colours, ideas and preferences and he's making them known. And you know, at first I was taken aback, and ready for a fight, but now I'm like bring it on guy. It IS his wedding too, it's about US, not just me. Then our wedding will really be that, OURS. A union, a joining, a biggg, huge celebration of OUR love!

So when we agreed on the locations for our ceremony and reception almost 2/3 weeks after we got engaged I was pleasantly surprised. We wanted somewhere we both liked, were comfortable with and since we are both Christians we definitely wanted a Church Wedding. A ceremony that focuses on our faith, and its Author. God has brought us such a long way, and to get married in a garden just won't cut it for us. We want to honour Him and give Him all the glory and praise since it was Him that brought us together. In His house. Yea, He's everywhere, we know, but His house is the place to be :D

Of course I'm not telling you all EXACTLY where either event will be, but I will tell you this. The reception is supposed to be held someplace that I practically grew up, it's almost like a return home. When I was really little, this place had a magnificent staircase, beautiful glittering lights and a foyer to die for. And I was there nearly every evening. I was allowed to roam the gym and the spa, as well as a few of the rooms. And I have always loved it. It's overlooking the sea, one of Andy and my favourite places to chill and it's absolutely perfect.  So when it closed down a few years ago I was DEVASTATED. I remember telling Mummy, well, let's start looking elsewhere, I was about 16 years old. LOL.

Imagine my joy when it reopened, AND when Andy told me that's one of his top places to host a reception. I was ECSTATIC. And if you know him, you know if he doesn't like it, he's flat out going to say so, so brace yaself!

So we have our locations, and we are not lagging. We are not planning hardcore yet, but we have been making strides towards securing what we want for 2014. I am comfortable with our pace, and because we started so early, I am confident that we will be in good standing with our plans. For now our house is taking precedence with renovations and deciding on furniture, layout etc.

Anyway lovelies, here are a few of our ideas, and now that I've informed you about my Andy, you know that he is NOT left out of this equation. My boo means he is helping to plan OUR wedding lol. Oh and follow me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/modenmakeup/

Cuties!!! :D We get to have cuties in our party yaaay!! 

Now I love me some Tyrese especially in that grey...however...

Nobody can put a hurtin' on a suit like Andy :D And then when he gives you the 1000 watt smile with that LOVELY space in his teeth... wha loss...chaaa ddread! I done LOL!!

I LOVE these valancey type tablecloths, they look opulent and, regal! 

Swarovski Crystals ;) 

So that's exactly how I want my makeup to look,fresh, clean and matte! 

Isn't the backdrop GORGEOUS!!?!?!

Yes, I'm/We are a tad eccentric in our tastes, but it's the lights we love.

Calm, relaxed and enjoying the day. That's how we want to be! ANd ya gotta love those curtains and the chandelier

So next week, I reveal that we have conquered another obstacle, jumped another hurdle, faced another fear... we finally...

Man wunna serious? Wunna gotta check back next week and find out!! 

Love you alllllllll!!

Heidi. xoxo 

Inspiration From Our Family...

Hiya Everyone!

First of all, I am shocked at the attention our little blog has garnered. No, really... Thanks for reading and giving your feedback. Andy was blown away, but cleverly noted that he's a pretty popular guy (massssive eyeroll) and I am still gawking at the numbers.

Onto the blog!

I got this tweet (follow me @ModenMUA), it said spend more time planning your marriage than your wedding - Michael C. And let me tell you, we sure are.

Sometime in the few minutes last week that I took to decide my likes and dislikes and throw out random wedding wishes and wants to my mother and Anderson, I remembered my grandparent's photos. I love anything sentimental and heartwarming, it just sucks me in. So I decided to take inspiration for our wedding from their wedding day.

Mr & Mrs. Harold & Dora Aboab circa 1958/59.

Nana and Grandad have been together for over 60 years and married for over 50. They always say marriage is a a tough road, but worthwhile. Put God first, talk to each other and listen are their top 3 nuggets of advice for newly engaged and newlywed couples ALL THE TIME! They survived a long distance relationship for YEARS, and when they were reunited, they had long work hours which kept them apart. They lived in England during a time when racism was rife, jobs were hard to come by, and not paying much, yet they never suffered, or went hungry or cold and they struggled along together.

Even for their wedding day. They lacked nothing! Nana is into taking you back to her past so almost every day she recounts the life she enjoyed and sometimes endured, but the one constant is her husband, and she is so proud of  the family they built together. Her wedding plans were no different. Nana and Grandad decided what type of wedding they wanted, who they wanted there, where and how they were going to pay for it. And they did it. They had EVERYTHING they wanted. Except for one thing, their mothers to witness it. It was difficult planning a wedding, looking after my Mum and both of them had full time jobs (Grandad had two at the time). But looking at their wedding photos it's obvious that they enjoyed it and so did their guests. Know why? It was planned by them, and embodied THEM. It was truly personalised because they injected their happiness and contentment and love for each other into their Wedding Day, my grandparents are very detail oriented and it shows in their Wedding Photos and ultimately their marriage. It's the little things that count.

Nana & Grandad cut the cake. No cake smashing here! They kept it classy! 

Even so, they had a reception hall, wid nuff nufffff food, drinks. Nana's maid of honour was her bf, and my mum was a bridesmaid. She had quite a large bridal party. Oh and Nana's dress was BEAUTIFUL & LACY!! She and Grandad paid cash for everything from the undergarments to the car, to the food to the bridal party attire (EVERYBODY'S CLOTHES? THEY PAID FOR guys!!) to the Priest. They covered it all and I applaud them, know why? They were frugal and CONTENT but my grandparents ain't cheap!!! They had a big old car for their wedding chile and it was rented. Renting a car? that was unheard of back then unless someone had died! So dem was doing big tings in the 50's honey.

And Andy's parents! They have been married for 30+ years and are still going strong, they have raised three children, enjoy different things, but after work they come home together. They struggled along together and one thing enormously valuable thing that I take from them is their ability to support each other, even if they have a difference of opinion. And they sure love talking to each other, and everybody else, I too love them!

Andy's extended family, (uncles and aunts)  as well as his brothers are the same. They spend time with their spouses. Take trips together, plan day to day living instead of arguing it out. They are very in tune with their partners and it's great to have these examples.

Our friends are the same, Andy and I have attended together easily over 20 weddings in the 5 years we've been a couple. Andy has been a groomsman in about 15 and Best Man in 3 that I can recall off the top of my head (real ting) all of our married friends are affectionate and kind to one another, their wedding days were a reflection of that, and now so are their marriages. I'm sure by no means is marriage easy, but it can work. As my boy NeYo says, we GOTTA MAKE IT WORK!!

I guess what I'm saying is that Andy and I have set that precedent. We are involving our families (in small, meaningful ways, no hostile takeovers HERE!) we will have a wonderful day, everything won't turn out as planned, everyone we want to be there can't be. But just like we have been in our relationship, and want to be in our marriage we will be on our Wedding Day, grateful to God, happy to have made it, and content with what we have!

Inspiration this Week: 

I have NO idea what kind of dress I want. And that's me all day everyday. I have a style that is ALL Heidi and my dress must reflect that. I want simple, no lotta lotta frou frou lookin like a deranged ballerina. I want my hair pulled back, makeup simple and natural with a pop of colour and my shoes? Sky High and platform baby.

If you want to get a good idea of what i'm/we're going for, check out my Pinterest Profile. I have a Wedding/ Inspiration Board on there. For now, here are my photos for this week !

Comfort is the name of the game -Glenda Aboab ( I love pockets in formalish dresses, so something like this but more jazzed up would be a go for the Bridesmaids for me!) 

Bold and trendy, I love to mix MAC 's Nightmoth/ Currant Lip Liner with Ruby Woo or Deeply Adored to get this look. And the eyes are just smoky enough.

I <3 this photo!! My dad passed away, so I won't have this on my day :'(, but I know he'd  be so proud! He liked Andy alot!

See? no matter what happens even if it rains, we'll be married and happy!  (it was a monsoon!) 

The shape of this dress caught my eye! But I am not sure about the strapless...

No better place to say I do to my best friend  and #1 fan FO LIFE!

Now if Andy would let me get a pug, he'd do this! Not in my church tho, de people would guh mad! And I'd name him George or Mugsy.

My engagement ring looks like the square one, but  I want my wedding ring to look like my engagement ring, not have an attachment, what do you all think?

Love this half up half down concept... thoughts? 

I'd def pin in the loose ends and spritz the fly aways, but this is a great look!  Really easy and sophisticated! 

That's it! Until next week!!

Love,

Heidi xoxo

Coupled in Bim...Engaged in Germany... Married in Barbados!!!!!

Anderson and I are so excited to be sharing this chapter of our lives with you. We are not going to be giving away any intimate details of our wedding. SO this blog will act as more of a guide to getting married in Barbados Andy and Heidi Style. This first one is gonna be loooonng! 

We got together in June of 2007, got engaged in October 2012 and God Willing we will be married in 2014.  

Andy's Birthday 2010.

 How we met: 
Our friend Jason Greaves (my bestie), introduced us in Chubbies, (Video Store) Six Roads. Andy was with his mum and older brother Christopher. It's pretty funny, cause I remember thinking at the time, wowww dude is talll, and I love 6 footers (i'm 4 foot 11.5) but I was newly single and Andy was 'talking' to someone (if you're a Bajan ya dun know what that means) so I just said hi to him, all shy and such and his family and Jason and I went home to watch our vids.

Andy bowling...

How we got together: 

Andy is a HUGE people person, so after we met we started hanging out with the same group of friends EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT. Eventually we exchanged cell numbers, he'd call me to check on me and see how I was doing, so I thought it was really sweet. I'd leave the class I was in at UWI to go and chat with him on the phone til he walked home from the bus stop. My lecturer actually asked me once why I left his class the same time every Tuesday to go and take a call and I still didn't care. I still wasn't 'in like' with Andy, but I really loved our convos, he was super funny and really a nice dude, no strings. AWESOME RIGHT??!? 

Cut to 2007: 

SOooo as everybody knows the Bowen/Aboabs LOVE food! I went to get a fish dinner from Braff (BIG UP KRD CATERERS ya LARGE!!!) near to where we live (we live 2 mins away from each other SERIOUSLY meant to be together right???!? LOL) , next to Andy's church one Friday night to get some food. Andy was there waiting for his food as well, and invited me to his house to eat and watch what is now one of our fave movies... the rest is history. (everybody go awwwwwww awwwwww LOL)

Heidi - MAC Technique 2012

Our Engagement:

Me and Mick Rogers at Crystal World - Austria for the "Happy Xmas - War is Over" Video Shoot

Watch the Video here!!

When I was asked to come to Germany/Austria to shoot a music video, Andy jumped at the opportunity to come with me and my mummy. Andy and I wanted one night to ourselves after the shoot and being with our family and friends in Germany for a week and a half, so he asked me out to dinner to celebrate the success of the shoot. We were in a restaurant and he proposed at the end of the meal. It was quiet, and natural and intimate and very us! As soon as we got back to my Auntie's house we called my family back home and the rest in NY( they were on vacation) and we stayed up til 3 am German time til his mum and family got home in Barbados to Skype them the news. When Andy told his Mum, 'Mom she said yes!' and lifted up my left hand everybody let out a big cheer, we were sooo happy and felt so blessed to be in love and loved by so many nice, cool people!

Our Inspiration: 

Taken from Essence Online. Awesome shot!! Love the colours!!

We want our wedding  to reflect our likes, passions, creativity and our families. Most of all we want everyone to see how much we love each other and why! People are always amazed that we weren't married sooner, but we want to do it right and in God's time. I love magazines and reading, Andy is a techie and internet guru so between us we are taking our time figuring out the best way for us to incorporate our values (we are Christians), our loves: music, art, photography, family and friends and throw the BIGGEST, BADDEST, HAPPIEST party ever. WE take examples from magazines and the internet (PINTEREST ROCKS) and we're building our plan on these ideas. The pressure is on, but we maintain that less is more. And in the end we just want to enjoy our special day!

Location: 

BARBADOS!!!!  we are getting married on our beautiful island, at my home church and our reception follows at a location we will disclose when we are ready to :D 

 More Inspiration: 

I LOVE platform peep toes, and  my feet are HUGE (9/10). Plus since I'm a shortie, I need the height so I don't have to tiptoe to kiss Andy :D 

Love love LOVE the beadwork on this dress! The bow is cutesie too but a little OTT. 

The Veil, TO DIE FOR right? right? 

Engagement PhotoShoot: 

WE are taking ideas!! This was from our Valentine's Shoot 2012- Def gonna plan one for this year again as this was soooo much fun! I loved this idea and everyday I'm pestering Wade, Moden's photographer about our concept. I cannot WAIT to take these photos, and though I detest being in front of the camera, I am excited to be posing with Andy for our official engagement portraits. Great practice for wedding day!!!! YAAAY!

Nazine and Stuart - Valentine's Shoot 2012

Our Story:

The Future Mr & Mrs. Anderson M. Bowen at a friend's wedding. 12/12/12

We've only just begun, and Andy has made me the happiest girl in the WORLD!! I am really excited to be getting married, I've looked forward to this since I was about 8. I almost always cry when I think about how far we've come individually and as a couple and I know we are blessed beyond measure. He is more than I could ever have hoped for, and he loves me for me. He's intelligent, reliable, takes care of me and FUNNY AS BIRD!! We make each other very happy and we're SUPER SUPER excited to be Mr & Mrs. Anderson Bowen. Wow that's the first time I ever saw it typed out... looks realllly good to me ;)