Wedding Tip of the Week: Smell Me!

You may have that favorite fragrance that you wear everyday, but on your wedding day you want to smell as special as you feel. Not every perfume is going to smell good on everyone since all of our body make up is different, so be careful of what you choose to spray. There is a perfume for every ceremony, but there are four main categories;

• Traditional Ceremony: Try a floral scent



• Intimate Ceremony: Try a romantic scent



• Outdoor Ceremony: Try a floral or a woodsy scent



• Creative Ceremony: Try a bold or oriental scent

There are so many fragrances out there, here is a short list of perfumes for each category.

Floral

• Vera by Vera Wang
• Anna Sui by Anna Sui
• Imari Seduction by Avon
• White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor
• Flower by Cynthia Rowley for Avon

Fruity

• Burberry of London for Women by Burberry
• Tropical Punch by Escada
• Tahitian Holiday by Avon

Woodsy

• Imari by Avon
• Black by Bulgari

Oriental Scents

• Obsession by Calvin Klein
• Shalimar by Guerlian
• Rogue by Christian Lacroix by Avon
• Brown Sugar and Fig by Bath and Body Works
• Japanese Cherry Blossom by Bath and Body Works
• Midnight Pomegranate by Bath and Body Works ( one of my favorites)

Whatever scent you pick, make sure you love it and your groom will too. Do you have a favorite scent? Share with others, it might become their favorite scent as well.

(information partly from WeddingChannel)

A Pefect Day: Jakes Marries Henson

These photos are from Bishop T.D. Jakes daughter, Sarah Jakes wedding. She married her college sweetheart Robert Henson, on June 21, 2008 at the Potter House church where her father Bishop T.D. Jakes is pastor. She was so pretty. She has great color choices for her wedding, and they are even close to mine. Her colors are light blue and brown and mine are tiffany blue and chocolate brown. What can I say....great minds think alike.

Here are some words for Bishop Jakes about his daughters wedding:

"Okay, okay, I will admit it-there might have been a moment or two that my windshields got a little foggy at my daughter's wedding. It might have been the humidifier in the room but no, in reality I think those were really tears! It was unbelievable to me to see how she had turned into such a beautiful woman. The music was flawless but that is what one gets when you have Kelly Price, Anasia, and Micah Stampley. The mood was regal as Bishop Noel Jones brought an elegance and ambiance that is consistent with his erudite persona. But for my wife and I, it was all about the look in the bride and groom's eye. I will never forget the feeling of escorting her down the aisle, trying with some futility to get her to slow down her pace. I wanted her to walk slowly-in part because I am still healing and needed a slower pace-but mostly because I wanted her to savor the moment. I whispered in her ear to slow down a little, as she seemed like she was ready to run a track sprint to get to the altar. As we got closer to the front I could see why-the groom had tears running down his face and I swear it seemed like she was all he could see in the room. "

For more on this wedding click on the following links:

CBS 11TV

fav.or.it

Wedding Dresses: Amsale

Amsale's career began when she was planning her own wedding and could not find a wedding dress for herself. She wanted something that was simple and refined and since she could not find it she made it. Thus began her career in bridal. Her gowns are simple with a stylish flare. They are not fussy, but are elegant. Her gowns make any bride timeless.

(all photos from Amsale website)

My Favorite Flowers Part IV: Gerbera Daisies

The gerbera daisy is the last of my favorite flowers. I think that this flower is very "shabby chic". This flower can add a bit of casual elegance to an otherwise stuffy affair. I think that this flower is very versatile and lends itself to be used in a variety of ways. I think that I am going to have this flower somewhere in my wedding. Watch the video below. I really like the idea of the gerbera daisy being used for the men's boutonnieres. What is your favorite flower? What flowers are you going to use in your wedding?

(photos from Yahoo images and The Knot)

You Go Girl!!!

Well, I was looking on some new wedding blogs to add to my blog roll and decided to click on Alltop to see who was listed on there. To my surprise, I saw Jumping the Broom listed. Go, Dana!! Go, Dana!! I am listed with cream of the crop. I can not believe I am listed on Alltop. I am listed right next to The Preppy Wedding ( one of my own daily reads). I am so honored to be on this list with Kate's Wedding, My Cleveland Wedding, Martha Stewart and Wedding Bee.

There are so many wedding blogs that add inspiration to me and so many others everyday. Research Alltop to see what is new out there in the wedding blogging world. Thanks, Alltop!!

Are you a Zen Bride?

My friend Ginger gave me a nice gift set when I announced I was engaged, it is called the Zen Bride. It has in it some bath salts, room mist, an eye mask, body lotion, a candle and a book called, what else, but the "Zen Bride". The book is by Nora Cabrera. The book gives you great suggestions on how to relax and not get stressed from all of the wedding planning. It can really help you focus on what really matters....you becoming a Mrs.

Here are some quick tips to help you relax,so that you can become a Zen Bride.

• If you need to yell, yell into a pillow...take your frustrations out on it and not anyone else.
• Do something nice for someone...maybe even yourself.
• Get your dance on.
• Exercise and get your heart pumping.
• Get outside. It is finally summer enjoy it.
• Make sure that you get your beauty rest.
• Take your vitamins.
• Have a pajama party and relax with your girls.
• Be content. (This one maybe hard when you want, what you want for your wedding)
• Laugh alot and often.
• Breathe. Taking several deep breaths can help alot.

You have any suggestions on how to become a Zen Bride. Please share. We can all use a little help during our wedding planning process to reduce our stress.

( content from the Zen Bride by Nora Cabrera)

Scoops Up!!

Well, my candy bar is coming together. I had talked about in other post on how that I had found containers to hold the candy and websites to purchases the candy from. Recently I purchased these scoops on Ebay for $10.00 for 10 of them. This is enough to cover the entire candy bar, so that each container will have a scoop.

Now since I have the scoops I need to find the bags that the guest to scoop their treats into. I have found some sites that have bags and recently received a catalog from Paper Mart , but I still can not find the right shade of aqua to match the wedding colors. I thought it would be nice to have aqua bags and stamp either our names or our monogram (which I need to finish working on) on them in brown.

I saw these bags on the Internet, but of course the aqua bags in the photo were not available (crap). I have also seen clear bags that you can get in 100-200 piece roll for a cheap price, but I thought that they looked cheap. What do you think? Does anyone have any suggestions on where I can find aqua bags? Does it really matter since people are just going to put candy in them, eat the candy and throw the bag away? At least with paper, people might be more likely to recycle them instead of throwing them into the trash.

I have gathered some ideas for what I want my candy bar to look like.

At least that one more aspect of the wedding almost accomplished. I will look start ordering the candy at the end of February to have for the wedding. Now I just have to find something for my guest to put them in.

Hele mei hoohiwahiwako maua la male'ana

Ho' olaule' a means celebrate in Hawaiian. I bet you are thinking what does the title phrase mean. It means , "Come celebrate our wedding day." We are planning a luau, feast, for our engagement party. The Broomjumpinggroom and I usually have a 4th of July party and have decided to make it a two for one. We are cheap and why fed people twice, when we have other things to take care of for the wedding. I recently finished our invitations for the party and they are ready to go into the mail tomorrow.

They started like this......and ended like this.

(inside)

(outside)

Now, all I need to do is plan for the party and turn our back yard into a Hawaiian paradise. I have already told some people about the party who usually attend our 4th of July bash. I have asked each guest to wear their Hawaiian attire to make the luau a little more festive. I am sure my ku'uipo (sweetheart) and I will have a great ho' olaule'a (celebration) with all of our friends and family.

If you are planning a Hawaiian themed party or wedding check out this website for more ideas. Click here.

Wedding Tip of the Week: Jumping the Broom

The title, "Jumping the Broom", is really not what you think is the name for a blog about someone planning her wedding. To bring everyone reading up to speed about what " Jumping the Broom" actually is, I decided to share a few facts behind the title.



Jumping the broom was always done before witnesses in order for members of the slave community to know a couple was married. No form of marriage was recognized for African-Americans during slavery, therefore jumping the broom solidified this ceremony within the slave community.



Placing the broom on the ground symbolizes the couples new home together. Jumping the broom symbolizes the sweeping away of the past and the jumping into a new beginning.



Jumping the broom fell out of practice due to the stigma it carried, and in some cases still carries, among African-Americans wishing to forget the horrors of slavery. Once slavery had ended and African-Americans were able to have European style weddings, many African-Americans wanted nothing to do with anything associated with that era and discarded the broom jumping practice altogether.



Today many African-American couples add this practice to their ceremony once they are pronounced as husband and wife or when the couple first enters their reception. African-American couples do this today to honor their past and ancestors and to look forward to their future.



Here is a picture of what a broom would look like that would be used in a ceremony today. I did not want you to think that it was just an ordinary broom that you use for sweeping the floor. You can decorate the broom to reflect your wedding colors or theme.

I will be having this custom as a part of my wedding ceremony. I think that I want to do it right after we are pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Jumping the Broom. Are you having any special customs or traditions in your wedding ceremony? Like to share. Respond to this post.

(information from Wikipedia)

Wedding Dress: Angel Sanchez

Angel Sanchez is designer who is multi-tasking with a bridal line and a fashion line for women. When looking at his designs, I really enjoyed the variation of fabrics, the creation of new shapes and the different style patterns. These dresses are so flirty and sexy, and really look like you would have fun in them. These dress are definitely for the bride who is really comfortable with herself and wants to make a statement on her big day. Looking at these dresses, you might become a two wedding dress gal.

My Favorite Flowers Part III: Lilies

Here is third installment of "my favorite flowers" . This installment is lilies. There are several different types of lilies but calla lilies are my favorite out of all of the varieties. I might have a few of these flowers in some aspect of my wedding.

There is one more installment in this series. Can you guess what flower is next? What are your favorite flowers?

(all photos form msn images, the knot and yahoo images)

Wedding Dresses: Vera Wang

Even though I have already have my wedding dress, I still like to look at the all the different dresses that are coming out from different designers for the current season. In this post, I am featuring designer Vera Wang. What I like about her dresses is their simplicity and elegance along with their individual personality. Here are a few of my favorites from her current collection.