MODestly adORN....

Flowers are definitely a hit or miss in a wedding! Brides can be way too ambitious or just totally miss the most BASIC mark ever! Since guests don't usually know what kind of flowers are in season or out of season...have an open mind about your flowers. Visiting florist appointments with one flower in mind can be to your extreme detriment when the flower you thought you'd always have (and dreamt of since birth) is out of season. I promise your smile will flip upside down when the florist tells you "well, that's rather exotic...I'll have to fly those in from Ecuador." lol Stay with what's in season, use more greenery as fillers, and use flowers with fewer blooms. The one thing about roses...they are usually ALWAYS available! Roses are safe...and their price isn't bad. Colorless flowers are also more inexpensive! The jazzier your flower selection, the more coins you'll have to shell out! When planning a wedding, it's also a good idea to steer away from big holidays. When you plan your wedding during the big holidays, your flowers are more expensive of course BUT you also run into unsatisfactory customer service! The florist is so busy with other orders, the delivery sometimes doesn't run as smooth with less able hands! Reception centerpiece set up is sometimes a tad bit sloppier in comparison to how they COULD have looked in a less busy season. High Demand will drive up YOUR cost. Lastly, unless your budget absolutely permits it...don't jump the gun on the Church. Your guests will spend the most time in the reception location...so it's okay to modestly adorn the church with flowers!

~Just my Opinions

Patty Cake...Patty Cake...Baker's Men...

Another unnecessary reception budget-breaker can be the overloading on sweets!!! Candy bars, dessert tables, ice cream sundae bars, 9 tier cake, groom’s cake….all too lavish (but really NICE if you can afford it lol)! People really overspend on desserts; starting with all those shower cakes, then they'll get a three-tiered bridal cake, plus a chocolate one for the groom, and then have a full tray of desserts at the reception and a candy bar as you depart! If you can’t afford it comfortably-don’t attempt! Incorporating all these things into a small budget wedding can be a FAIL of epic proportions leavings your guests saying, “but she tried it”.  After a long evening of eating, drinking, and dancing, many guests will actually pass on dessert altogether anway. Besides, if the cake is absolutely BREAKING you, there are cheaper options! These options may not be for EVERYBODY, but may be just right for a bride on a budget….use a faux bottom for the lower two tiers of the bridal cake! This option will look good for pictures and we all know that’s the second most IMPORTANT thing. The first thing, hands down, would be the taste!

For bigger weddings, here's another trick…choose a smaller version of your dream wedding cake and then get sheet cakes (in the same flavor as the wedding cake) that can be cut in the back and served to guests. They'll never notice if you do it RIGHT! I’ve seen people bring out the sheet cake that is a square corn bread looking piece of something with different icing and everything…Umm that’s just not the answer! At the very least do a double sheet cake (icing in between layers) and have the SAME baker make it…not Aunt Judy! Aunt Judy can make a mean cake but Aunt Judy’s icing is Betty Crocker and looks like a butter knife was the instrument (probably because it was)…not like the real baker’s wedding cake with the whips and the fluffs. I’ve had to suggest this in the past for events and believe it or not…the hardest part once, was getting the baker to agree to the faux tiers! He didn’t want his name on anything….understandable! But when it’s done right and the choice of your couple...BAKERMAN you make it happen! Or Bakerman, you compromise and cut cost…thereby discounting the original price! lol

I find cakes to be a hot topic at weddings! After it’s been sitting there-starring at you-begging you to taste it-of course you expect it to live up to the hype. LOL funny story! One of my line sisters went to a wedding of a vegan couple and never for once thought this may cause a cake fiasco. They had meat for dinner….she’s a true cake connoisseur so she was super EXCITED for cake cutting. That cake was made true vegan style…no eggs, no butter, just tofu organic stuff. She was so ready for the cake to see styrofoam now sitting before her…you know that made it even worse! How disappointing! The lesson here is WARN your guests… they may not be aware of your lifestyle changes or sacrifices.

~Tata

See the latest options for faux cakes….

RoMaiNE oR iCeberG?

If you’re having nightmares where 150 guests enjoy their choice of romaine or iceberg lettuce as their entrée…this might be the blog post for you hunnies! LOL not really joking… you see this is REAL life! Accompanying that “salad” with lemon water to boot…it’s getting even sadder! Most people believe sticking to a budget foregoes everything nice, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Having realistic expectations is key! The average cost of a US wedding is …..*DRUM ROLL PLEASE* $21,000-$24,000! Not bad! It’s so hard to research this topic however, because average costs vary depending on region. The average cost of an elegant suburbs wedding routinely reaches between $40,000-$50,000 which differs severely from the average cost of the smaller town wedding coming in at around $12,000-$14,000!

So getting to those ways to trim the budget….

Who died and made you have your wedding during typical “wedding season”….having your wedding before May or after October has already saved you a lot when it comes to typical wedding venues. Think SLOW SEASON…which just so happens to be chilly season! Limos aren’t getting much business during those months and caterers may also be in a slow season…so grab em’ for your wedding! After you change the month of your wedding…change the day! It’s a good idea to determine your priority…is it more important to have a Saturday wedding or more important to have a fab wedding? If you choose fab wedding then let’s consider a Friday or Sunday…..oh and let’s have the guests arrive in the afternoon/early evening! If you’re not attached to tradition…the ideas are endless! It’s those Saturday night club sessions til 2 am that will hurt your pockets! Bargaining, arts and crafts, artsy friends and families can really help on cutting decoration costs! Bargaining at vintage boutiques…friends and family may be delighted to help decorate your wedding with their art as your official wedding gift…and visits to ACMoores and Michaels for yourself on one rainy Saturday are all GENIUS. If you know a couple tying the knot or frequent craigslist and BLOGS….contemplate  the idea of bag, borrow, or steal for your wedding decorations (well not steal for real for real...you know what I mean).

Last we spoke...I was excited about Pan Afrikan at my alma mater! I didn't do a lot of official activities that I usually do...such as the gospel concert, model show, dance concert...but I was able to enjoy good friends and linesisters!!!  See the pics below....

My Tre Christina....



My Ace April and 12 Kossandra...



On Tuesday..my chapter welcomed NEW SORORS! "Endangered Prototype"

The baby 9...Victoria! She is super sweet and I was happy to be apart of her "process"

Peace and safe weekending people :)

BaSix Ma+H

Hey people Hey...

Soooo, I’ve not been blogging each time I think to blog….seems like that defeats the purpose of a blog huh?  Yeah I thought so too. All is well my way…LIFE IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY GRAND! I’m actually kind of nervous for two weddings on the horizon…it’s one of those -will they actually follow through or was it just something nice to say when requesting my services-type of deal! Just because, in a huge network of people is an event planner DOES NOT mean it’s rude to pass on booking said planner-trust me I’d understand! It’s so funny though, people ask me ALL the time, are you doing this or that for such-n-such, when I reply NO…they are more shocked or offended than me! LOL Sirs and Ma’ams please take a seat….it says nothing of my work ethic/abilities or our relationship. Through the grapevine, I’ve heard of a couple planning a wedding where 3 people have agreed to contribute into an account for a luxurious wedding! Sounds like an “okay plan-maybe not” at first but I think they were contributing $40 a pay period….I’d just like to say if 3 people contribute $40 every 2 weeks…$240 a month…in a year’s time that’s only $2880. Booking a church, reception hall, caterer, and decorations is far in the distance on that type of budget!  99 and a half won’t do J!  I say this to say, even if you’re not going with a planner-at least do some research AND brush up on your BASIC MATH!

Check out the testimony from the last wedding I did…of course it came in a sweet email which I appreciated so much….but this is the official testimony….

There are times in our lives that create stepping stones that take us to the next chapter on our life's journey, and being able to share them with friends and family makes the occasion a memorable one.  I have had the opportunity and privilege to work with an amazing planner who made my wedding a "Timeless Creation" that I will never forget. 

 My wedding can be described as an event that was:

 T = Timeless

I = Indefinite

M = Measureless

E = Everlasting

L = Lasting Memory

E = Eternal

S = Supertemporal (limitless, without end)

S = Supreme

 That was created by a planner who was:

 C = Continuous

R = Round-the-clock

E = Enduring

A = All-Embracing

T = Termless

I= Infinite

O= Ongoing

N = Never-Ending

~Tata....this weekend promises to be AMAZING...it's Pan Afrikan week at State and my dolls will be in town