GREETINGS BLOG FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The picture posted is of my bridal party and I really like this picture. We were so coordinated with the exception of two people……..(some people just don’t get it). This picture was taken at my “Lipstick Jungle Bridal Shower”



BRIDESMAIDS…….THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY!!!!

If any bride has had major issues with bridesmaids, Its been me! I originally started with 10 bridesmaids, but now I am down to 8 (not my fault of course). You realize a vast amount of things when you are getting married. One of the most important realizations that I learned is everyone that you think is happy for you, are not really happy for you. These certain individuals will try to do whatever they can to ruin your special day (HATERS…..enough said).Another realization that I learned is that I have very few close friends. I have a lot of associates, but only a few can be actually called friends. I now know that you have to be very careful about who you call a friend. Now, I am not a bridezilla, but I am not going to let you control what happens at MY wedding. I admit that I did have some demands for my bridesmaids, but they were few, far, and between. I was considerate because I know that we are in a recession (this word really is overused) and they were allowed to pay for things over a long time span. Bridesmaids were informed up front that if they had any issues, communication is key. Tell me about it, I promise we could have worked some things out. Bridesmaids were dismissed from my wedding because of non communication and because one was just messy. I will not get into specific details about the bridesmaids that were dismissed from my wedding because they may be reading this blog and once again I AM NOT MESSY. If you are reading this and you were apart of my bridal party, I wish you all the best in your life endeavors, there are no hard feelings. I love you and God Loves you.


“WELCOME TO THE LIPSTICK JUNGLE”

My sister and mother had the pleasure of hosting my bridal shower. My sister came to me one day and asked me what I wanted the theme of my bridal shower to be. I told her that I had some colors in my head, but I didn’t have a theme. It came to me in a dream that zebra print and fuscha pink would go great together. I immediately called Tannie for a theme and we brainstormed for about 10 minutes and came up with “Lipstick Jungle.” When I gave my sister and mother the theme and the color scheme, they ran with it. Everything was zebra and pink, balloons, invitations, table décor, etc… My bridesmaids even wore fuscha pink. Guests were given special made boxes with zebra and pink that included things that you would need to survive in the lipstick jungle (zebra tissue, bottled water, hand sanitizer, candy, and lipstick). Cupcakes were even specially made for this occasion by Ann with Kakes Xcetera……….thanks Ann, the cupcakes were a huge hit. Ann even made a cupcake stand with zebra around it (It was so cute and creative). Don’t believe me, see for yourself. Pictures posted below. Enjoy!

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
-Know that people are not always happy for you when you announce that you are getting married (especially if they are in the wedding)
-Be careful of who you call a “friend.” (they may not be much of a friend in the long run)
-Don’t sweat the small stuff, just kick them out. I promise they can be replaced. The wedding will go on with or without them.
-Have a wonderful bridal shower and enjoy yourself!
-REMEMBER to check the blog everyday for my wonderful words!



THE COUNTDOWN:

DAY 4

It’s getting closer and the excitement continues to build. I am so ready because it has been a long 19 months of planning. My fiancé is being very secretive about something…….(hmmmmmmmm) Yesterday when I spoke with him, he told me that he was doing something for me, but he wouldn’t tell me what. I LOVE GIFTS….and he knows that. He refuses to tell me what it is………but, I will be sure to let you know when I know. People continue to call me and ask can they be added to the list….You know my response was “NO.” Why would you call me and ask me the week of the wedding if you can come now? You couldn’t come then, so what has changed? Nothing on my end has changed and therefore the answer is no. Blog family we all need to join together and pray for those who do not understand. Also we need to pray to GOD that it does not rain on my BIG DAY……


Until tomorrow Blog Family. It’s been fun!

GREETINGS BLOG FAMILY!!!!!!!!

It’s been a long weekend, but I am back. The picture today is one of my favorites. It’s a wonderful action shot. It just looks like I’m taking control (this is a good thing)….

INVITATIONS WERE MAILED……THE PHONE CALLS STARTED

I currently have a vast amount of people mad at me because they did not get an invite to my wedding. Oh well, too bad, so sad. I spoke this weekend about cutting your guest list. Well, those that were cut, where not invited and never received a save the date. When I mailed my invitations, I was not expecting all the phone calls that I received. The phone calls ranged from, “such and such didn’t get an invite,” “you didn’t invite this person,” “such and such want to bring this many people,” “I’ve never been to a wedding that didn’t have any children.” My response were, If they didn’t receive a save-the-date, why were they expecting an invitation? Also, to stop people from bringing 3, 4, or 5 people, I am not allowing children and I didn’t allow guest to put a number on their RSVP card. My RSVP stated: Two seats have been reserved for you and your guest…..(not 4, 5, or 6 people). I have yet to understand why people want to bring their whole “crew” with them to a wedding. This is not the club. Plus, I am not paying for people to eat that I don’t know. Weddings are expensive, and allowing my guest to bring one person and cutting out children has kept my guest list at a steady number. I even had people call me and tell me that they have never been to a wedding without kids….and I told them this wedding will be their first one. I am the Bride; this is my wedding, why are they questioning me? To stop the phone calls, my fiancé and I turned our phones off.. Leave a message, I promise we didn’t call back if it was nonsense.

WHAT IS RSVP?

The term “RSVP” on an invitation is an acronym for a French phrase, repondez s'il vous plait, meaning “respond if you please.” It is a polite way of requesting a response to the invitation, not a suggestion to the invited guest to respond if he or she feels like it. This definition is for everyone that has ever been invited to a wedding because apparently, some people don’t get it. You will be amazed how so many people don’t understand what it means. I made it simple for my guests, just write your name and your guest name on the line provided and send the card back by a certain date. I even provided a stamp. Blog Family, I still had to create a call list and call people. I received RSVP’s with no name (they just left it blank), with no name, but checked they were attending (they took the time to check that they were attending, but couldn’t right their name………SERIOUSLY), and guests decided to change “two seats” to whatever number they wanted to put. Blog Family, I was too out done. These people made me work too hard. Basically, I was doing a process of elimination. The ones that didn’t have a name, I tried to look at the postage stamp to see where it was sent from, then I had to call. Those individuals that I didn’t receive a RSVP from called me and stated that they were coming. When I asked them why they didn’t just send back the RSVP card, they informed me that they needed to use the stamp for something else. ………Now..I bought the stamp for you to RSVP to my wedding, not for you to tear it off and use it for something else (just trifling). Word to the wise, if you are every invited to a wedding, please RSVP.. Brides need that information for final guest counts, but Oh well. Some people just don’t understand.


POINTS TO REMEMBER:
-Don’t be saddened by those that are mad at you because they were not invited to your wedding. Heck, they didn’t make the cut.
-People will try to control your process and get you to change things……..It’s your wedding…Stop answering the phone… (I love my IGNORE button………whoever invited my phone was a GENIUS)
-Do not allow kids to come to your wedding. I know, for a fact, that if people cannot control their children at home, they definitely can’t control them in public.. (think about it……when you trying to have your first dance, children will be running around probably pulling on your dress while you are trying to enjoy your husband)
-Educate your guests on RSVP. Maybe they will get it one day.
-REMEMBER…..to check the blog everyday for my wonderful words!


THE COUNTDOWN:

DAY 5

Blog Family, I am pleased to announce that I have five days to go….I am excited more than anything. I spoke this weekend about my meeting with the florist that caused me so many problems. Well problem solved. I’m happy, Tannie happy, and the florist is happy. This weekend was extremely restful for me. My shih tzu, Chloe’ and I had the house to ourselves. My fiancé was enjoying his bachelor festivities and Chloe’ and I were enjoying quiet time. I did manage to get my seating charts printed in 18 by 24 and I scheduled my spa appointment for Saturday morning. It should be smooth sailing from here on out (keep your fingers crossed). My Granny arrived on Friday and she would hate to see me angry. The Bachelor party was a success… I have my Fiance’ back in one piece (that is all that mattered to me)…..


Until tomorrow Blog Family. Its been fun!!!

GREETINGS BLOG FAMILY!!!!!!!!

The engagement picture that I posted today is my favorite. This will be the picture that will be displayed at our wedding………I told you, our pictures should be published in a magazine…so if you know anyone, put in a good word….


CUTTING YOUR GUEST LIST

At one point, my guest list was 250 people. Now I will admit that I have a rather large family, but my fiancé doesn’t. My family took up about 75% of my guest list. Tannie immediately informed me that I needed to cut my guest list down. Actually, Tannie didn’t have to tell me, my parents told me. My cut down process was simple…..If I hadn’t spoke to you in the past 6 months…..that right… ..six months, you were not invited. If you were extended family (meaning, if you know parents, but just heard about me), you were not invited. This may be cruel, but weddings are expensive and if I hadn’t heard from you in the past 6 months, you really not considered a friend……..so therefore why would I pay for you to eat if you can’t call?….(I may have stepped on some toes with that one…). Now extended family will always want to come because immediate family has talked about the wedding to them and they want to come and be noisy……….well…I am so sorry, but I don’t pay for noisiness. With this process, I was able to shrink my guest list to 175. I think I should give myself a pat on the back for this major accomplishment…….


LOVE IS…

“LOVE IS…” is the theme of my wedding….Tannie and I brainstormed for about 30 minutes about a theme and came up with this one. It’s funny because while brainstorming, Tannie and I kept saying, “Love is” and we were trying to think of a word that would describe our relationship, but every word we thought of described us. Love is…Patient, Kind, Unconditional, God, Forever, etc is just a few of the descriptions of Love out of the 25 we came up with. Each word that describes love will be the name of our 25 tables. Our table cards read…..LOVE IS…Patient. Below, I have posted some pictures of our table numbers and our custom monograms that were created for our wedding. My wedding colors are Mocha, Burnt orange, and Champagne. Fall is my favorite season of the year and those colors fit perfectly. Word to the wise, when you create a theme for your wedding, it makes it so easy because everything will evolve around the theme.Also, it will cut your spending because if you see something that you like and it has nothing to do with your theme, you won’t buy it. So………with that being said…..put on your thinking cap and come up with a good theme for your wedding…..

Now I must give credit where credit is due....These wonderful table numbers and monograms were created by Giselle, with GE Designs....Thanks Giselle.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
-Everyone cannot attend your wedding…..
-If you have an insane number of guests, you are going to spend an insane amount of money (think about it, you have to feed all these folks)
-Consider my cut down process… (it works wonders, but you may have people mad at you….oh well)
-Come up with a wonderful theme for your wedding….(it really helps)
-REMEMBER…..to check the blog everyday for my wonderful words!


THE COUNTDOWN

DAY 7

I am on my way to meet with the florist that is giving me all the problems. Wish me Luck. Also, the bachelor party festivities started last night and I have decided to just not worry about it and get some "ME" time in. That means that I am about to shop. I will let you know how the meeting goes tomorrow with the florist.

Until tomorrow Blog Family. Its been fun!

GREETINGS BLOG FAMILY!!!!

I am back again! First, I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful comments and feedback. Keep reading my daily updates. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. Everyday, I will post some of our engagement pictures……..Personally, I think they need to be published in a magazine…….

PLANNING WITH A PLANNER

I can truly say that getting a planner was the best decision I could have ever made. It has been a wonderful experience. I really think that my mother hired Tannie, because I was getting on her nerves (I’ll be sure to ask her that today when I talk to her). Tannie is the person that I can go to when I have an issue, an idea, or just when I am confused about something. She is also the person that brings me back to reality when I sometimes drift off into dream world (which usually happens when I watch Platinum Weddings). I can try all day to have a platinum wedding, but Tannie will be quick to tell me “NO” (which is something she is really good at). She has been like a second mother to me. She actually has told me “NO” more than my mother has. I can admit, I was spending a lot of money and I did need her to stop me and ask me questions. The moral to this story is I would be losing my mind, stressed out, pulling my hair, or just out right unhappy if I didn’t have my wonderful planner by my side to keep the stress down.

MY BUDGET

Blog family, when I initially started to plan my wedding, I didn’t have a budget, didn’t think about a budget, didn’t want a budget, and wasn’t trying to hear it when Tannie was trying to get me to tell her one (sorry Tannie-----love you). The reality is I am spoiled. My Daddy loves me so much that he cannot tell me “No.” A budget to me was not necessary, so I thought. Well, one day Tannie sat me down and made me go through a detailed budget just to see how much I was spending. Blog family, after that meeting, I had to cut off my favorite past time, which is shopping. This saddened me initially, but if I wanted to have a beautiful, romantic, breathtaking, extravagant, eye popping, FABULOUS WEDDING (yeah….all that), I had to stop. Oh…my GOD it has been torture. All my friends get to go shopping and I have to sit at home and say …..I had to pay for my wedding. All in All, when I see the results, it will be worth it. Now, I do have a bone to pick with some people that try to have FABULOUS weddings, but don’t have FABULOUS money. I have a friend right now (I will not speak any names…….I am not MESSY), who is trying to have 300 people on a small, tiny budget (this budget cannot buy you a geo metro), but she wants it to be FABULOUS. I don’t see how….as I stated yesterday, that will not be a pretty sight. Do what you can afford. First, start by cutting your guest list. 300 people, is too many……If you need help cutting your guest list, I am really good at it. I’ll talk about how to cut a guest list tomorrow. Stay tuned…you don’t want to miss it..

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
-Really think about getting a planner
-Really think about a budget (REALISTIC budget) that you can afford
-If you want a FAB wedding, you have to have FAB money!
-REMEMBER….to check the blog everyday for my wonderful words.


THE COUNTDOWN:

DAY 8

The florist crisis that I thought was resolved, was not resolved. I now have to meet with this particular florist on Saturday to ensure that she gets it right this time. I can tell you that Tannie did a wonderful job handling this florist and I really appreciate her for that. The florist was still trying to give me tiny, small, micro bouquets Blog family, and again I was angered. Tannie was able to speak with her and they were able to come up with an agreement that made me happy again. To top things off, the venue where my wedding will be held, called me with a linen issue……ARE YOU SERIOUS? I thought I was being punked. Again, Tannie came to my rescue. Blog Family, if I had to do this by myself, I would have went to the Courthouse (real talk). Hopefully, today will be better, I am a little nervous because my Fiance’s bachelor party is this weekend…..but I have news for him, I am not even going to call him…….I AM GOING TO SHOP….I can do that now, because I am finished…….that’s right………..finished paying for my wedding.


Until tomorrow Blog Family… I had fun!

HELLO WORLD!!!!!!!! I HAVE ARRIVED!!!!!!!!

Greetings Wedding Planner World!!

Let me start by introducing myself. LaKeisha Cotton was the name that was given to me at birth, but in 9 DAYS……that’s right………..9 DAYS (9/26/09), I will be LaKeisha Johnson (it kinda has a ring to it). I have been given this wonderful opportunity to blog about my experience in planning my beautiful, romantic, breathtaking, extravagant, eye popping, FABULOUS WEDDING (yeah…all that). I can truly say that my experience with planning my wedding has been bitter sweet. Everyday, I will blog about certain issues that I encountered during the process and helpful information that I think would have been beneficial to me if I would have been informed in advance. Also, I will be counting down until my BIG WEDDING DAY giving you detailed information on how I am preparing. Get your note pad out and pen because this is going to be GOOD!!!


WEDDING PLANNER OR DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY)

I have been planning my “LOVE IS…” themed wedding since February 2008 and I can tell you that it has been a long time coming. Initially, I was set on the fact that I didn’t need a wedding planner. I thought that wedding planner’s were expensive and since I was extremely organized I could do it myself. WRONG……The most organized anal person could not deal with all this. When I actually sat down and saw all that needed to be done, I was sold on getting a planner. Also, who would I get to help the day of the wedding, my family? WRONG AGAIN. Family is not reliable and since they are not under any signed contracts, they are not guaranteed to be there. I would be ashamed if I relied on my cousin Tosha (not a real person) to bring the linens and she decides that she’s not going to do it the day of the wedding. Now I am stuck with guests sitting at white round tables with no linens (smh).—not cute

MY SEARCH FOR A PLANNER

Now I did mention that I am organized, which I am, and I am not one to procrastinate and in order for you to be considered as a planner for me, you had to be on top of everything. When I started my search for a planner, my venue, wedding colors, wedding dress, and bridesmaids dresses were already picked out (I don’t procrastinate…remember). I went to The Knot website and I actually sat down with almost every wedding planner in Houston. My problem with some was that they wanted to limit the amount of phone conversations we had (CRAZY). If I have an emergency and need your assistance, I should not have to worry about how many phone calls I have left….. Others wanted to change my vision and wasn’t very accepting of my ideas….are you serious…IT”S MY WEDDING. There were some who I couldn’t see myself getting along with. Then I came across a wonderful woman that owns DeVine Choices and my mother and I was sold. Tannie was very accepting of my ideas; she had wonderful ideas of her own, and we clicked instantly. I can actually say that this is the first time that my mother and I didn’t have to discuss anything; we were convinced that we were hiring her.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
-Do not be sold on the idea that you can do it yourself. There are too many details and the smallest thing that you can forget, you will.
-Do not let anyone alter your vision….IT’S YOUR WEDDING.
-Wedding Planners are not expensive!
-Interview lots of planners until you find the one that YOU like and that works well with YOU.
-Please DO NOT rely on family and friends to coordinate your wedding. I have seen it and it is not pleasing to the eye!
-REMEMBER……to check the blog everyday for my wonderful wordsJ

THE COUNTDOWN:

DAY 9

I can actually say that we are FINISHED with planning…. Yesterday I was so excited because I don’t have anything else to do in regards to my wedding, but have my seating chart printed. We all know that when everything is going right and you are having a good day, someone always messes it up. I received a phone call from my florist that is doing my personal flower that really didn’t sit right with me. She called and asked me how many roses did we discuss would be in the bridesmaids bouquets? I informed her that we discussed 8-9 roses per bouquet. She then took it upon herself to inform me that she quoted me the wrong price for the bouquets and I would have to pay the difference to have the extra roses added. Blog family, I was angered. I booked this florist August 2008 and she had been paid in full since March 2009. Why would she call me the week before my wedding? She then went on to tell me that the bouquets she charged me for would only consist of THREE (little, small, tiny) ROSES……..Now these are bridesmaid bouquets, not jr. brides. I immediately called, my planner, Tannie, and they were able to solve the problem without me coming up with additional money. This is another good reason to have a planner. Tannie was professional. If myself or my mother would have spoken to the florist…..it would not have been so professional……

Until tomorrow Blog Family. It’s been fun.

Guest Blogger...The Day in the Life of a Bride .. One week to go!

Hello there!

We here at DeVine Choices are sooo excited to announce and introduce one of our favorite brides this week as our guest blogger. LaKeisha Cotton will be getting married next Saturday and will be blogging up until her big day!! She will be sharing her thoughts and ideas and even suggestions that she has experienced while planning her big day! I now introduce to you LaKeisha!

You are invited!

You are cordially invited to DeVine Choices & Keisha's Kreations Open House

Date: August 22, 2009

Time: 2 - 5 p.m

Location: 12999 Murphy Road, Suite B-6 Stafford, Texas 77477

Vendors that will be in attendance:

Ral's Fine Catering

Dancing Dj's 2000 Entertainment

Kakes Excetera

Divisi Strings

Linens by Lisa

Tanya Robertson (Houston's finest Make up Artist)

Tawana Cox- Photography

Francisco Perez of Houston's Party Photo Booths

We hope to see you there!!