HOW TO MAKE AN OSTRICH FEATHER CENTERPIECE

My step-daughter wants a sweet 16 party. Her Birthday is a few days after New Years.  She wants purple and leopard print for her colors. I wonder where she got that idea from? We will have a mild Mardi Gras themed party. (mask & beads) I chose an ostrich feather centerpiece. My mom will be 70 next year. Since she is from Louisiana, we be giving her a large Mardi Gras Bash! Her colors will be pink and orange!

I found a very good tutorial of how to make a ostrich feather centerpiece. We are using 24" Eiffel tower vases instead of flared Trumpet vases. When using tower vase, remember to add a filler to add weight to them. They may fall over if the table is bumped into. I`am using Velcro on the bottom of the vase and on the mirror.

Enjoy and be BLESSED!

The Nubian Bride is Now The New Wedding Planner!

 The Nubian Bride is Now the New Wedding Planner!

I wanted to be a wedding planner since 2007. I have planned and designed baby showers, birthday parties, and retirement parties. I really enjoy the logistics of details. But my real love is event design. I enjoy creating elegant events and seeing the expressions on my clients faces! That is priceless to me!

Planning a wedding is not easy, especially if it is your own! I planned and designed my wedding. I created my own save the dates, invites, centerpieces, etc. I had close to no cooperation from family and friends. I try to contact a wedding planner, but she told me to get in contact with her. I`am confused! I emailed you and gave you my info, lady. She really did not want my business! It`s was OK! I saved, but with much stress!


Lovelies! don't let your family help you plan your wedding. They have their vision in mind, not yours.
The last three months is the most stressful! There were a few things that went wrong. I had to fix it! No one had a clue. I did not enjoy my wedding day at all. My guest were talking about my wedding for months! All I could thing about hiring a day of the wedding coordinator!

I enrolled in Penn Foster`s Certified Wedding Planner course. I chose them because the program was written by the Association of Bridal Consultants.

After completing the first module, you are a novice member of the association for six months. The program was very informative. The exams were quite challenging for open book exams. The program steers you towards opening your own business.


I was an intern for a Bridal show promoter. I met some wedding vendors in the tri-state area of my hometown. I had the opportunity to met and speak with women who had started their own businesses. 

I will have to pursue wedding/Event planning part time. Fortunately my full time job has to help finance my new career. Research, advertise, market and network. Keys to a new business!

Get A Wedding Planner!

My mother and I went to bed at 5am on my wedding day. I manage to get 4 hours of sleep. I had a break down and locked myself in the bathroom. My best friend prayed me out of the bathroom. I was 1 1/2hrs late to my wedding.



I discovered that the church was very warm when I entered. The air conditioning system broke down the night before.The ceremony was beautiful. It went according to plan.



I tell you Planning this wedding was the most stressful year of my life The last month was a killer I had planned my wedding and had a wedding planner apprentice by my side Not I had to call her up to find out what happened? I said honey? What happened to you? The apprentice: I thought you did not need me anymore. You did not leave me anything to do. Me: Did you read your book? Did it not say that for the Day of the wedding services, you are needed the month before?



A few years ago, I wanted to be an event/wedding planner. I read books and took some courses. I knew what to do. I did not need her to plan because I interviewed my vendors, negotiated my contracts and had signed on the doted lines But girly girl, I still needed help with my details.



On my wedding day, my girls and I went to the venue to set up a table so my apprentice would visualize what I wanted. Months prior I had set up my kitchen table so she can get an idea of what I wanted By the time she unloaded her truck with some of the decor, my niece, my best friends and I had already placed covers on 120 chairs, placed pink overlays and centerpieces on 12 tables before she came in with the boxes.


I thought she went to Timbuktu. All she had to do is set up the candy station, put the framed menus and the favors on the tables. Tie the pink bows on the chairs.



Well when I got to the reception hall from the church, there were no bows on the chairs I nearly had a fit what You just wasted $70 The bows went with my cake.

I should hired a professional wedding planner!





Our DJ was playing some kind of crap My son, Music Mystro had to take over. Do you know he got mad and said this was a setup My husband said what the hell do you care? You are the one who got paid Someone did not do his job and I`am fixing it

My husband song You Are So Beautiful, his band played, Everyone enjoyed themselves. They are still talking about the wedding and oblivious to what`s going on behind the scene

I told my apprentice to stick to teaching and planning birthday parties. She does not have what it takes to be a wedding planner
I decided to launch my event planning business the first of the year. No one should be as stressed out as I was!

I`am planning my nieces wedding, a baby shower and some church banquets. As long it is not my wedding, I can handle it Thank God it is over!

THIRTY ONE DAYS UNTIL MY WEDDING!

Thirty days until my wedding day! I`am still in the middle of my DYI`s! I had one year to plan and I kept changing centerpieces, invitations, favors, table numbers, etc. My ceremonial and reception favors are finished! I have to finish blinging one heel of my wedding shoe. I have to place the petals on my aisle runner and Bling my veil. I have to glue my table numbers together and finish painting my "S" to place on top of my centerpieces.

I `am ready to see how this is going to play out! I `am so done with this already!

Here is what I finished with my cricut machine:


Wedding CD Favors






Tears of Joy and wedding bubbles


I blinged the heel of my shoes!

It took over 200 4mm AB crystals to bling one heel! I still have one heel to go!







Personalized my aisle runner.




My Candy station favor bags:



I need to be finished in the next four weeks!
Pray for me!

Blessings!

Three months to go and counting!

Less than three months to go! I`am trying to complete my DYI projects. Everytime I log on to weddingbee, I find something else to do! I switched up my wedding invites. By the time I completed 50 pocket invites, I was so stressed out! I ditched the pocket folds, then purchased 100 pocket folds from paper and more! I downloaded an invite and a RSVP card from weddingclipart.com. I blinged them out, then I made some inserts for the pockets! Commercial invites are preloaded from a program then they personalize for you and print them on card stock. I requested some samples from PaperDivas and other companies. Trust! I was not impressed!
I do not mind spending money, but I refuse to spend a lot of money on things that people will throw out! Invites are one of them!
Any how, My invite are complete and ready to be sent out Saturday!


Click on picture to enlarge.



I`am so addicted to weddingbee! The site has so many great ideas from other DYI brides to be. The wedding magazines are useless unless you are looking for a wedding attire. They have no ideas for ceremony and reception. Martha Stewart`s wedding magazine is a joke. It `s like arts and crafts trying to marry vogue. Now and then, I may see one or two ideas that may have caught my eye. I`am not into shabby chic. You can have her!

Weddingbee had a great idea for my guest, song request cards! I decided to use some Avery index cards to create my cards. I down loaded images I found on google and placed them on my cards. Here are the results:



I also made pocket tissue packets called "tears of joy". There are people who cry at weddings, so I thought it would be a nice addition to the ceremony.
I bought clear bags from clear bags .com. Found leopard print tissues from amazon.com and I made my cards from vistaprint.com.

Since I was going to have my guest blow bubbles out side the chruch, I thought it would be nice to give the tissues and the bubbles together in a nice favor box. I downloaded a pillow box template in pink from download and print.com.


Click on picture to enlarge

Since I will have disposable cameras on each table, I decided to make "I Spy" cards.


Click on picture to enlarge.

I even manage to complete a centerpiece for my mini candy station/ guest table!


Click on picture to enlarge

I found the cherry blossoms on clearance from Michael`s for $2.99 from $9.99. I took the blossoms off and spray painted the branches silver, the placed the blossoms back on the branches. I went to Hobby Lobby and found acrylic crystals to hang on the branches. I filled the trumpet vase with large and medium acrylic gems.

My job is so demanding! Who would think I would have time to DYI! Making these things help to eliminate stress! Now, If I can continue to keep focus with my projects without changing them, I should be complete with everything by the end of June!

Have Faith and Believe~

Blessings to you!

JUMPING DA BROOM!

I have always been intrigued with the tradition of jumping the broom! I said if I ever got married, I would incorporate this tradition in my wedding!

The tradition of jumping of the broom stems back to Africa and the early days of slavery in the United States.

In Africa, the broom was used to symbolize "sweeping away oneness in order for two to become one" It also symbolizes the new bride`s willingness to keep the shante clean while her husband (the warrior) was out defending their land and providing for the family.

During the darkest hour of slavery, the slaves were considered property. As such, the law forbid them to marry. The slave owners did everything that they could to discourage family units from evolving.

Nevertheless, love always prevailed.

To marry (or "sweep away oneness in order to become one"), slaves adopted the African tradition of "jumping the broom" to symbolize their marriage before their friends and God.

To pay homage to my grandparents and their parents Mr Chocolate and I will be jumping the broom!

Do It Yourself Swarovski Crystal Monogram Cake Toppers

When I started looking at photos of wedding cakes, I saw a cake topped with a bling monogram. I immediately googled monogramed cake toppers. I was appalled with the prices! $225 for a three letter monogram cake topper! Are they on crack?!

The price did not deter me. I was sure some bride out there had some info on this project! I was right! Chocolate brides DYI! I went to craftcuts to purchase my Monogram. I purchased one 5" letter S, one 3" letter C and a 3" letter T in the brock script font. The font was considered a special order. I paid $15 additional. The total cost was $22.

I sprayed the letters with a primer and then with silver spray paint. The next day, I bought 3", 4". and 5" flat back swarovski crystals. With the assistance of gem tac glue, an rhinestone applicator and a Q-tip, I went to work! When I was finished with crystalizing one side of the letter, I painted the other side with silver sparkle paint. I also primed and painted wooden hearts that I purchased at Walmart for the bases to stand the letters on.

I was happy with the results! It was not hard at one you get the hang of it!

Next Project: personalized aisle runner!