Wedding Success, Marriage Fail... NOT HAPPENING

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!

MIA doesn't begin to describe! But thanks for staying tuned and asking, when is the next blog coming out?? Keeps me on my toes.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I CANNOT!

People are something else, just yesterday this lady asked me why I was wearing a ring. I told her, cause it was given to me. Of COURSE as GIPSY BAJANS do, she asked if I was engaged, I smiled and said yes. My girl launches into a tirade, well ya knowww I had Donovan (let's cover the poor man's identity, shall we) for ova ten years, he is do he ting, I is do mine. But ya betta live wid de man before ya married. You is a young girl and men aint easy. Dem is mek ya snort... I could tell you stories... blah blah blah.

We believe life is what you make it! 

I tuned out and moved on to the next customer, first of all she had me bored, den she hit me for six wid 'men does mek ya snort'. Andy and I allllways have this discussion. The latest thing when people meet us is they tell me, youuuuu he marrieding to you, wha he is a good looking fella. You betta try and treat he real good, not he gine leff ya. But wait, do we not have equal capacity to leave/be left? Furthermore who enters a marriage with the constant thought of divorce?

And here is why we believe that most marriages fail. A lack of Commitment. But ting, we had we one anudda seven (7) years though. Plus, we've been to hell, through purgatory and back, short of killing one another, we strive for harmony, and while we have our disagreements and occasional spats, ain't nobody got time for the negativity!!

And with God on our side, we cannot fail!

Hence, our focus on our MARRIAGE! WE want to ensure that after the money don spend, food done eat, gifts done buy and dese people gone home that ANDERSON M and HEIDI R are going to make a go of it SUCCESSFULLY. That our lives will mirror Christ' love and that we will ENJOY, yes dare I say be happy for the balance of our lives together. That is our firm commitment. And you can hold us to it, (me especially check Andy's never coming blog to be sure, yes I'm calling you out!)

Life and death is in the power of the tongue people. Stop declaring doom over our marriage 'fore it even start!

It's in the Holy Bible!

Happy talk now, rant done:

Hear dis. Invitations look tooooooo sweet! And nuff fancy tings included. Of coursely after wedding done we will share a few of our features. But as I'm putting alot into the blogosphere we still want to maintain a few secrets and surprises.

Suddenly, I'm getting nuff nuff kisses, and loving up from this man though, is that normal? Leading up to? If it is I sure hope it continues :D cause I like nuff lovin up :D  I mean I could've just awakened from a nap or whatever and this nutbag is kissing my face and stroking my hair. Mummy says he's been doing it since we got together, but I must be so fagged out, that I'm clueless. Sweet tho :)

I love him <3

How to:

Ammm about this housewife thing though. I mean, I don't plan on NOT working. But the washing, cooking, cleanting, grocery shopping ,bill paying. Lawdddddd havismercy. I need a day planner, P.A AND a nanny to keep me by the time I'm done. It's alot!

Stay sane during house repairs: Andy is uber excited. I on the other hand, will only care when decisions have to be made. I know nothing about construction, and I'm not interested either, sooooo sweetboy and mummy are on the case again. I can guarantee you that I will not be left out of curtain or bedspread selection, china or the Gift list. Cause Andy is VERY VERY VERY VERY PICKY. Like SUPER selective, and crazy when it comes to service soooooooooooooooooo, yea.

Lose weight before your wedding:

ZUMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, and Shawn the Tyrant T. SO Andy has us on this T-25 programme, chile. I didn't know I could sweat so much between my beloved Zumba and that psychopath? I am in constant muscleboundness. But I'm TRYING to eat better, and I work out super hard and I lost an inch and a half off my waist and other body parts, clothes are a wee bit loose and I can run up stairs without my oxygen tank (joke) Check out my sweet boy below all sweaty and flexin n stuff :D lololol.

We bout dis life!!

Sorry for the long one. Hope you enjoy!

Stay tuned, BIGGGGGGG surprise coming up in the next Edition of T-130 + days til We are Mr & Mrs Anderson M. Bowen :D :D :D :D :D :D

First look, family photos and trash the dress!!

Hiiii!!

200 plus days left... remember when it was 400 plus. I know, we are BOTH getting nercited (nervous and excited), anxious and entering financial comas LOLOLOL.

No on a serious note, we decided not to overspend and stick to a budget, and so far so good, but we allll know in BARBADOS, where EVERYTHING is expensive, you have to be savvy. Otherwise, things can get ugly. So we have a plan and we are determined to stick to it. But things come up so we have back up plans and back up back up plans.We're gearing up for our Engagement Photos, Andy has a final quarter of the year challenge going on with a friend of his to get fit by December or end of I believe. (he's gonna kill me for mentioning this, no wedding lolol) Can't wait to see the results, Andy is EXTREMELY competitive and he usually wins, did I mention he was Captain of the Basketball team at St. Michael's yasssss huntys, get yo lives :D  ;) I have been progressing nicely on my weight loss journey. I weighed recently and I am at 164 so I have to reaaalllly work on my eating (was naughty, ate burgers, at $9.95 and the BEST Coke in Bim?? you betta eat em! LOL)

The supplement I'm taking is WORKING! It keeps me in check and I'm drinking loads of water. So I'm starting my juicing next week to kick start my 10 lb loss again, but I will eat during the day to fuel my body properly.

I found shoes!!! 6 pairs. Decision decisions, but I need two for the day, Some ballerinas or wedges for reception and some sky high or platform heels, I AM marrying a 6 footer after all :)

I'm on the hunt for a cinematic Wedding videographer. I've been seeing tons of great work from our American and Canadian friends, but are there any local companies or film students who do it here? Help a Bridesista out!

I am also in need of decorators! WE have a few in mind but we like to weigh our options. One of our colours I can tell you :) is Ivory. No my dress is not.It's lily white :) BOOM.

Onto the meat:

First look:

HATE IT. I don't subscribe to the superstition. I do dislike most of the Groom's reactions that I've seen. The men are hardly ever blown away by their brides. At least it's not apparent. HOWEVER, I have seen no less than 20-30 grooms almost bawling at the altar when they see their brides enter the church, hall or Ceremony Location. So we will NOT be doing first look bleccch. ( just my opinion to each his own).

Photo Credit: http://abeautifuldayphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/wedding-photos-js-0261.jpg

The Compromise:

However, one thing that calms Andy and I down, especially during stressful times or if we argue or disagree about something is PRAYER. And something I have seen and know to be effective because our God is real ( can I get an amen, hallelujah, thank you JESUS), is the Couple's Prayer.

:) I love it!  Photo Credit: unknown

So the couple sits or stands on opposite sides of the doorway, hold hands and pray together before the ceremony. The beauty behind it is that you can't see each other, but touching and agreeing in prayer sets the tone for the rest of the ceremony and the day. Setting that small window of time aside to give God thanks for His blessings, ask him for His mercy and grace on your lives together, and expressing your commitment to Him and each other, thereby acknowledging His place. I imagine there must be a great sense of peace and happiness after that. It must get a little emotional too. So that's what we are going to do. Before all the fun and family, all the eating and making merry, we are going to give Almighty God thanks for bringing us to our Wedding Day and for (speaking prophetically) taking us through to a beautiful marriage.

Photo Credit: http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2013-06-14-prayingphoto.jpg
This was the photo that inspired my thinking about it.

Blindfolding Anderson would be HILARIOUS. But I'm sure he didn't see jack til the altar. Cute huh? lol Photo Credit: Unknown

This blog has a beautiful prayer for the couple 10 days before the wedding. Beautiful http://beyondblessedblog.com/2012/08/14/10/

Family photos:

Wade (www.vecpict.com) And Charles 'Chris' (Facebook: Firefly Photography OR Charles Butcher) have been trying to get some of our brides and grooms to take their family photos BEFORE the wedding.

I pitched the idea to Andy and my mum about taking the family and bridal party photos especially with our overseas guests on the day, and at our next function (date to be announced soon) ;) The rest of the photos. You know how Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonggggggggggg the photo sessions can run at weddings. Everybody and dem granmudda does want a picture. And ya dun know the 1980's cameras gine be coming out of the woodwork. Gotta crank the film too and then use the viewfinder, uh uh boah! We want to ENJOY so we are seriously considering NOT doing them before but definitely doing them after the Wedding while we still have our newlywed glow ;)

Safe to say this photo session probably took AGES???? : Photo Credit: Unknown

Trash the Dress:

I LOVE THIS. Although I did read of one bride who drowned, so safety is KEY! I'm def not trying this at the sea, nonsense. I mean ya can drown anywhere but uh uh boah, I'll take my chances with a pool of fairly still water thanks.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/canadian-bride-words-dragged-death-water-logged-wedding-gown-trash-dress-photo-shoot-heavy-article-1.1145343

( soo soooo sad ) the poor photographer, he tried and the groom :(  Deepest condolences, sincerely.

Anyway, I'm thinking a pool and Andy and I jump, big splash, nuff laughs, EPIC photo. Truly memorable and fun. If not, we can do dirt bikes or riding bicycles through the neighbourhood. Something fun and funny for our personal album. With the greatest caution and care!
I am willing to let Wade and Chris do whatever they want. I trust them totally! But I def have my own ideas. Andy has about 500 more than me (photographer problems).

Trash the dress with your husband :) 

With time going by so quickly I tend to forget that I'm getting married. But when I do I'm mostly stoked, slightly stifled that my room will not be mine and my beloved bathroom will change. We've started house repairs officially and Andy seems to be enjoying it. It's a great time for us. And we are grateful to have a house to renovate, building costs are ridiculous.

I'm still debating whether or not to do a giveaway for this blog. Your response has been fantastic, and I love to give things away. So stay tuned, it could be wedding related, photography, makeup. Who knows. Maybe October, but I don't know if you all are interested in that sort of thing hmmmmmmmmmmmmm... wink wink...


That's all for now, talk to you soon :D

xoxo
Heidi

Updates, questions and excitement!!!

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!

I've been counting the weeks since last blog! 5 or so right? Despicable, i'm treating you terribly. But of course that means that there is more news.

Let's talk flowergirls! I have three of the prettiest, sweetest little ones that you can imagine. I've always loved the idea of having lots of little ones in my bridal party. But as I got older I realized the potential for disaster. Children cry, get sick, get shy. But these three are precocious, intelligent and make Andy and I laugh with their crazy antics and witty banter.

No photos, they are young and I do not want them plastered all over the internet. The world has become a strange place and children are often targeted for the wrong reasons. But I can tell you their names are Kendra, Asia and Neriyah. Kendra and Neriyah are cousins, and my cousins specifically and Asia is my goddaughter. No word from the groom on whether we are doing a ringbearer yet, but if not, we'll just omit that step.

Can I tell you, Anderson Bowen is getting excited. More and more I'm hearing, Hun, for the wedding or, did we discuss... I'm super excited too and NERVOUS especially about the photos. But as long as I have Andy there and THE BEST TEAM in the world for support along with my my mum and family and Andy's family, it's all good. He picked out his suit, and he has a special, secret colour he's accenting with. Blow me down. No best man chosen yet though, it's gonna be so hard for him. Lots of people he loves and they love him back, I do NOT envy him :( But I know his peeps will understand.

This guest list is ever reducing, more and more the monkey is climbing and the tail is being exposed, I love it and so does our pocket! Boom! No budget busters up and through here homies!

No more travelling this year, but  I DO need some advice, where should we honeymoon, we kinda already decided but it's still early days, so input is welcome!

What do you all think about a post wedding photo session, would you want to see the photos? It will save time on Wedding Day since I have so much family and I know everyone is gonna want photos with my handsome groom, I mean who wouldn't? Oh yea and of course with me, the bride (teehee).

My mother,  future mother-in-law and I are in talks re: their outfits. My mother's nickname is Sweetsteps, because she walks in heels like she's barefooted. Elsa Klench boy. She's a trip. And she is the ULTIMATE dresser. My mum is known for her classy dressing and really good style . Now Mrs. Andria Bowen She loves to dress up, and she dresses well. But this is the last going down for her, Andy is her baby, and I need her to be beat and snatched. My mummy is the mother of the bride and MUST also be beat and snatched for the gawds! So I'm just making sure that they have it together. No wardrobe malfunctions or regrets over here. Any bride worth her salt knows, everybody has to be on
point. Photos are forever huntys!

Onto today's topic, KISS. Keep it Simple Silly/Stupid. I am a big thinker, I love to do things OTT (over the top). Andy gets a bit miffed, especially since I get these random notions and MUST try to at least get parts of the 'projects' done.

Case in point. I am NOT a DIY princess, I am more of a go and BUY princess, so this friend of ours says, 'Oh Heidi, for your programmes, you could make fans or, if you decide to do bookmarks, you can draft them on the computer and offer them as favours.' bahahahhahahahahaahahahahhahhahahah *tears* In the words of my FAVOURITE celeb Tamar Braxton, 'uh uhhhh She tried it.' She, me, her Heidi is NOT sitting down drafting NOTHING.

Let me tell you about WHY brides get stressed out. They take on too much and impose way too much pressure on themselves, and for WHAT? Are they happy during? HARDLY, most of our brides are usually SUPER glad the event is over when we ask if they enjoyed it. Scuse me? After all the time, energy and effort, you better at least be telling me it was all worth it.

The night that Andy proposed was soooooo happy and so much fun. He made it so that we were alone (which is rare for us), and intimate and sweet, and then after when my Auntie came and picked us up and started FLIPPPPING out cause we had just got engaged, we started talking about how he did it and what my reaction was.

Well I was GENUINELY surprised and felt like I was floating for the next two days for sure. Earlier that day I had been moaning to my mum about how I just wanted to go home and SLEEEEP. I had just had surgery, my stomach was sore (I have four scars now, photos to come), flown 9 hours to Germany, another train ride for 2 or so to Munich, dropped off luggage none of which I could lift :(  straight to meet the designer off the train, then a few days later we drove to Austria, two days later shot the video, drove back to Munich, spent a day there, took a train to Paderborn and THAT was when the relaxation started. Whirlwind trip right? So I just wanted to breathe. I CAN tell you I woulda been plenty disappointed if I hadn't taken my mum's advice and not gone to dinner with Anderson.

As soon as I realised what Andy was doing that night, I paused. We talked about it after, and we laugh about it now, cause Heidi pauses for nothing so big man was in a state of panic for a minute. I paused because I had always promised myself that if ANY man asked me to marry him, I'd take a minute or two before I said yes, let it process a bit and marinate, and then give my answer. Sounds simple right? Well it's not, if you don't get a feeling of calm assurance when you take that time to think about what you REALLY want, back the hell up honey, cause this thing right here called marriage is the long haul, the big leagues it's the real deal and SHOULD NOT be entered into for frivolous reasons.

In that moment all the joy, happiness, love, hardtimes, grief, pain, euphoria came rushing back. I remembered the first time I really looked at Andy, when he met my mum, when he helped me with my thesis, when I helped him decide what career choice to make, our first trip together, my dad's death which came soooo soon after we got together, when he called me to ask if he should buy his first car, when he took me to meet his grandmother. Our likes, dislikes, our love for God and our love for each other is what flooded my mind and I knew that I HAD to say yes. It was what I wanted and what God wanted for us.

So that is how I want our day to be. Simple, sweet and elegant, but well thought out and organized. Fun and a little bit flirty but SIMPLE. I don't want fanfare, a HUGE expense, or a show off occasion. What I want, is what we want, memories. In the end that's alll we have, time is fleeting.

Just like our proposal and engagement, we want to simply enjoy what God is doing in us. The works He is perfecting in us. Our greatest success on our Wedding Day will be us leaving our former individual selves behind and embracing our oneness. But we are going to do it, simply, not QUIETLY now. Just nice and easy.

How was your wedding day? And what would you do differently now. Or If you're not yet married, what would you include to make your day unique to you?

xoxo,
Heidi.

Your party or your guests party?

Well I'm glad you're all still following because life is happening FAST!

I love unique, anything that seems even remotely unusual or odd is for me. I am officially marrying Mr Conservativo. Bae (like the slang?) LOL, is pastel and I'm neon.

However as you may have surmised from our last entry, we are different with similar tastes in extracurriculars and hobbies. Board games, wii, pawn stars. Also, we are music lovers. So quality entertainment for our beloved guests is a must. Thank God my family can sing, rap, act and dance. So we are set. A few poets too! Countless wedding receptions we have attended and few stand out. They are all memorable because they were family and friends of course. But we have to be us and make sure that guests that attend ours, have that unforgettable experience in a good way.

And soòoooo fun is the aim. An old friend of mine recently suggested (and please feel free to offer suggestions as you wish via the comments section, fb or email), a kissing menu. I was clueless! He explained that instead of the old cheesy clink glass with fork at various intervals throughout the evening or after requests, the couple would kiss. For example, a guest requests the mike or signals to the mc (it's all scripted and timed so there should be no rowdiness,) and offers a word of advice like don't go to bed angry or have breakfast together once a week or the family that prays together stays together, and the couple would kiss.

Sweet right? So after the third suggestion I done wid dat, I'll kiss my new husband whenever I please on that day and any day cause no clinkingglass people are dictating our pace!

I also love the idea of a family tree , each family or friend member should write on a piece of paper provided their relationship with the bride or groom and paste it onto a tree, which will be framed at a later date. Totally cute and different  without being ott or difficult right?

So keep the Ideas coming we greatly appreciate it, great food for thought and great suggestions! Never know! One may make it into our Day Of Calendar of events ;)

Love,
Heidi xoxo.