Category Archives: Real Weddings + Engagements

We Want to Feature Your Love Story in our “Real Engagement” Series

Posted in Real Weddings + Engagements by
Engaged

Photo Credit: Alexis Mattox Design

Calling all NEARLYWEDS!! There’s very few things we love more than a great love story. And if your love story has brought you to the life chapter titled ENGAGEMENT, Congratulations are in order and we want to feature you in our upcoming REAL ENGAGEMENT series.

All you have to do is answer our brief survey of fun questions below and once selected we’ll send you a confirmation and request a picture of you and your Fiance.  It’s that simple!

 

 

10 Things To Do As Soon as You’re Engaged

Posted in Real Weddings + Engagements by

i said yes

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!!

Whether you are recently engaged or well into planning for your big day, it is undoubtedly an exciting time in the life of you and your fiancé and a lot will happen between “Will You Marry Me” and “I Do”.  With each glimpse of your ring finger your settle more and more into the promise of forever.  But, what next?

  1. Breathe. Deeply inhale through your nose….now exhale through your mouth….good, now you’re ready!
  2. Tell your parents.  Give them the honor of hearing the news first.
  3. Tell everyone else.  Before you update your relationship status or instatweet your happy news, be certain you’ve PERSONALLY announced it to everyone who should hear it from you.
  4. Schedule a manicure.  Your hands will be the new focal point as friends and family “oooh” and “ahhh” over the new sparkly adornment so keep that weekly appointment on the calendar.
  5. Guesstimate your guest list.  Before you even begin the venue search, nail down this magic number. Planners want to how many people you’re inviting so they can pair you with spaces (ballrooms, tents, etc.) that can accommodate head count. Banquet packages are also priced in ranges based on guest minimums, so this will help you with the next step: budgeting.
  6. Set a realistic budget and start saving.  It’s easy to get carried away planning for the happiest day of your life, but it is never a good idea to incur exorbitant amounts of debt in order to have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of.   Once you find out who’s going to help you pay for the wedding, decide on an amount that you and your Fiancé can comfortably contribute and STICK TO THAT NUMBER!
  7. Location is everything!  Deciding where you are going to hold your ceremony and reception is a big decision that may require several venues before finding the perfect one.  Creating organizational systems, such as spreadsheets to keep tabs on the venues you visit and their pros and cons, will help you stay calm along the way.
  8. Find inspiration. Having an idea of the type of wedding you want will prove useful in helping finalize decisions.  Sign up for Pinterest to track and pin pictures that excite you.  Attend bridal shows…read bridal magazines…scour the web.  Inspiration is everywhere!  But be careful, the Internet can be an overwhelming place.  Allow yourself a certain amount of time each day to get lost in cyberspace but remain realistic about what your budget will allow.
  9. Relax. Between family, friends, and decisions, this may seem like a tall order but you must do your best to avoid any unnecessary stress.  Planning for your wedding will be no different than planning for any other monumental life event.  The truth is some days will feel completely overwhelming and when this happens, make time to getaway – get a massage, sleep in, read a (non-wedding related) book.  Don’t hesitate to reset and allow time for you and Fiancé to just focus on yourselves.
  10. Ask for help. The average wedding can require as many as 250 decisions and demand over 150 hours of your time.  With this in mind, it is important to consider whether you can plan the entire wedding by yourself (or with limited help)?  If you’re the type of person who’d rather not stress over the details, you may want to consider hiring a wedding planner. You may find there are some areas of your wedding where you require some planning assistance—negotiating with bakers and caterers for the best prices, finding the ideal venue, organizing party favors?  If those are tasks you don’t want to tackle alone and don’t have the assistance of your mom or bridesmaids, you definitely want hire a wedding planner.  Keep in mind that a wedding coordinator will cost money, so make sure the option to hire one comfortably fits into your budget before you give it consideration.

If you’ve decided that a planner is necessary, your decision to place someone in charge of pulling all of the elements and details together on your wedding day is a good one.  After all, you’re the bride and you should be carrying a bouquet, not a clipboard!

If you have not yet settled on a planner to assist with these details, I invite you to learn more about SocialBFly.  We are a comprehensive and stylish special events lifestyle marketing boutique that is comprised of three studios – each offering a unique and inspiring assortment of concierge, imaging, and special event planning services.  We provide an array of wedding packages that are designed to assist couples in any stage of the planning process and are guaranteed to take the pressure of planning and wedding day worry off of you and your Fiancé.  All of our wedding packages are 100% customizable and can be modified based on the full scope of your needs.

All of our planning services begin with a 1-hour details meeting with you and your Fiancé to discuss your vision and expectations for your big day and can easily be scheduled by completing our online event request form.

Happy Planning!

ICYMI, Letoya Luckett is Engaged!

Posted in Celebrity Weddings, Real Weddings + Engagements by

If there’s one thing we love, it’s an engagement.  And if you’ve been a reader of Behind the Veil, Beyond the Vows for any length of time, you also know that we love a good celebrity love story. And we were thrilled to learn that our 2nd favorite member of the Destiny’s Child dynasty, Letoya Luckett, is engaged.

She took to Instagram to show off her gorgeous oval rock and publicly announce her engagement to Dallas entrepreneur Tommicus Walker in a post that read

“I said , ” Yes yeeeesssss” on his Burfday!! #issaengagement #GodShowedout  #HesaGoodManSavanah  #LoveWins #8/16/17.”

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And she looks over the moon with happiness..not to mention, how CUTE he is…proving, once again, love does really win!Letoya Luckett and Tommicus Walker

Congrats Letoya!

Bridezillas gone WILD!!

Posted in Real Weddings + Engagements, Weddings by

images (19).jpgAlthough I remember hearing about this story a few years ago, it can still be filed under: deplorable!   The young lady, who I think we can appropriately label as the victim, recalled a story of attending a wedding, and not too long after receiving a message from the Bride expressing her dissatisfaction with the $100 wedding gift she received from she and her date. You can read the message for yourself below, but we must warn you: Your blood WILL boil.

“Hi Tanya, how are you? I just want to know is there any reason or dissatisfaction of Mike’s and I wedding that both you and Phil gave 50$ each? In terms of the amount we got from you both was very unexpected as a result we were very much short on paying off the reception because just for the cocktail + reception alone the plate per person is 200$ (as per a normal wedding range with open bar is about) and Mike and I both have already paid for everything else including decor, photography, attire etc and didn’t expect we had to cover that huge amount for reception as well. As I know you both live together and work, so I did not see any reason for that amount, when it comes to your wedding hopefully you’ll know what I mean. I hope for the best as from what we receive is what we will give back. Anyways, good luck on everything.”

Now, I’m not sure if the Bride was aware but the young lady whom she is berating had recently graduate, was only working part-time and didn’t know the couple very well. Regardless, I think it goes without saying that this is a most inappropriate response to any gift.

But….just in case anyone reads this that is unsure, let me take this moment to clarify: there is no rule that states that a guest must give a gift to a party to which they are invited or what they should give. No, not even a wedding.  And as the recipient, it is just poor etiquette to question the amount of the gift that is given and you should NEVER rely on gifts to pay off the balance for your wedding vendors.

Thoughts….PLEASE!!!

A Second Chance at Love

Posted in Real Weddings + Engagements, Weddings by

bride3_102116043238There’s so much to love about the wedding of New Jersey couple Millie Taylor-Morrison and Harold Morrison.

For starters, they have the most Notebook-esque award-winning love story ever!   Millie, an 86-year-old proud mother and grandmother, was married to her first husband for 41 years before he died in 1992. Years later, she reconnected with Harold, 85, who was actually a guest at her first wedding in 1952.

 “I used to sing in the choir and Harold attended my church,” Millie tells PEOPLE. “I would be standing with the other choir members, waiting to walk out and he would come over and kiss me on the cheek before sitting down for the service.”

“Then when I got married [to my first husband], the whole church was invited and Harold was there,” she told People Magazine.

When Harold became sick, Millie and other church members would visit him at his house and she offered to drive him back and forth to services.

When he got better, they continued to see each other. Eight years later, he became sick again to the point where he couldn’t live alone.

“I asked him if he wanted to live with me instead of a nursing home,” Millie says. “And he said, ‘Definitely.’ ”

When Harold recovered a year later, the couple set a wedding date for earlier this month and tied the knot in front of 200 close friends and loved ones at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.

And she was the textbook definition of a glowing bride – carrying a bursting bouquet of what looks like lilies, roses, and baby’s breath; and wearing an off-the shoulder purple custom-made gown that she designed herself.  Ms. Millie approached the designer of the dress, Marco Hall, with a sketch of the dress in hand and when she stood in front of the mirror for the first time, she “couldn’t believe it,” she says. “It was exactly what I wanted. I felt so wonderful.”

[And THAT ladies and gentlemen, is how a bride is supposed to feel in her dress and on her wedding day!!]

When asked about her life as a newlywed, Ms. Millie says she’s happier than ever, proving that there’s someone out there for all of us and that no ONE is ever too old to fall head over heels, in love.

Check out all of the photos that she’s made public on Facebook from the elegant affair with her beautiful family!

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Hey Baby, I Think I Want to Marry You!!

Posted in Real Weddings + Engagements by

If ever there was an awards ceremony for wedding proposals around the world, Isaac’s Live Lip Dub Proposal – performed to Bruno Mar’s single, ‘Marry You’ – would win in the category of Most Creatively Romantic, for sure.

It starts off with a few opening statements that don’t even begin to prepare you for the performance that follows:

On Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012, I told my girlfriend to meet me at my parent’s house for dinner. When she arrived I had stationed my brother to sit her in the back of an open Honda CRV and give her some headphones. He “wanted to play her a song”…

What she got instead was the world’s first Live Lip-Dub Proposal.

How could she NOT have said yes?  Incredible thought and preparation went into this production and I found myself  not only laughing and crying the entire time but wondering what the wedding day could possibly have in store.

{Video Credit: Isaac and Amy’s Youtube Channel}

A Gush Worthy YouTube Favorite

Posted in Real Weddings + Engagements by

It is Friday!!  And because this Friday is the grand finale of what was a very hectic week I’m deciding to keep it light today. And doesn’t love ALWAYS lighten the mood?

So, take a second to enjoy this very gush-worthy youtube video and bask in this groom’s very musical profession of love for his new bride.

Aint love grand?

Happy Friday Everyone!