Bridal Pictures!!!

Hey Ya’ll!!!

OMG I haven’t blogged in a couple of weeks. There has been so much going on in my life. Of course ya’ll know I’m getting married and on top of that my fiancé’ and I finally got our own place….Yayyy! It’s nothing like waking up to the person you love every morning J

This blog post is about what I did over this past weekend. I took my bridal photos!!!! My cousin who used to be a wedding photographer volunteered to take my bridal photos and of course I said yes. My pictures were scheduled for Saturday, July 13^th at 6 pm. It had been raining that whole week and Saturday when I woke up…it was raining. I talked to God that whole morning asking him to please provide great weather around 6pm and boy did he answer. When I got to my bridal pic destination the sun was out and there was nothing but blue skies! We took 4 hours’ worth of bridal photos and I was so exhausted but it was soo worth it. My cousin has a very, very nice home so we took photos in his home and the rest at some beautiful landscapes outside. My wedding is in August so I can only imagine what I’m going to feel like in my dress with all that heat but with everything going on that day it probably won’t even faze me. My parents were there and some of my family members and we had so much fun! I really enjoyed myself and I cannot wait to see the pictures.

Before I took my bridal pics I had a bridal makeup trial run with my wedding MUA Brandy (instagram- b_pagemakeupartistry). I’m not big on makeup so I told her to do whatever on my face because I trusted her. When I looked at myself in the mirror I almost cried. She did a MARVELOUS job!!!!!! I looked so beautiful and I cannot wait until my wedding day because I know my girls and I are going to look gorgeous hunny. If you’re going to be in the Richmond, VA area I highly recommend her! She is great at what she does.

The countdown continues: 32 days more days to go and wedding invites have been sent out. TeamRynica!!!

Wedding Dress Bliss!

check out the button

Hey Ya’ll!!

There's only 50 more days until I become Mrs. Anderson! Time is flying. I've decided that I was going to be extra and wear my "Bride To Be" button until the day of the wedding ..hehe but yesterday I picked up my wedding dress!!!! I’m so pleased with the outcome. I literally transformed the dress into what I wanted it to be all while staying under budget. My wedding dress is by Alfred Angelo and when I first tired it on I was like hmm. It was nothing that I wanted in a wedding dress. I wanted a mermaid style wedding dress with a busy bottom. My personality is fun and I wanted my dress to reflect that. After staring at myself in the mirror I came to the conclusion that maybe I can just transform the dress into what I wanted it to look like and basically that’s what I did. I don’t want to describe what it looks like because I don’t want anybody to see it until I walk down the aisle to say “I Do”. I will say that the dress reflects the softer side of me. It doesn’t scream MONICA but it does show the softer, calmer side of my personality. When I saw myself yesterday I almost shedded a tear. It’s so simple yet so pretty!!!!!! I can’t wait for everybody especially Ryan to see me all dolled up in my wedding gown J

Now let’s talk about the bridal boutique where I got my wedding dress from... Ava Laurenne Bride which is located in Fredericksburg, VA. I ran across Ava Laurenne Bride at a bridal showcase in Richmond, VA. I knew I didn’t want to get my dress from the typical wedding dress store such as David’s Bridal or Tiffany’s. After seeing the dresses that Ava Laurenne had to offer I was like hmm these are different and I love different so my mom was like let’s go check them out. I made my appointment and literally upon arriving it was love at first sight. The boutique is so beautiful!!!! It gives off a vintage feel. The owner, Wendy, was so friendly and down to earth. Just the way she greets you makes you feel welcomed. My mom and I were welcomed with a pretty smile by Wendy and some lemonade!! Ava Laurenne has a variety of style dresses ranging from mermaid to vintage to lace. The boutique features a spiral staircase and it’s nice and cozy to provide you with that intimate one on one feeling during your consultation and dress fitting. I am so glad that I went with Ava Laurenne Bride. I highly recommend them!!!!

Also, look out for Ava Laurenne Bride to be featured on a bridal boutique wedding show. They were selected by www.theknot.com to be 1 of 3 boutiques to be featured on the show. How amazing is that!!!!!! I can’t wait for the show to air and trust and believe I will be tuned in for each episode!

Father's Day Weekend Recap

Hey Ya’ll!!!

Happy Belated Father’s Day! I hope everybody had a great Father’s Day weekend. Mine was an eventful one. I’m not going to elaborate on how great of a father my dad is because he already knows it!! He raised two little girls into beautiful, successful women. My sis and I adore my dad to the fullest. We are spoiled like no other at the ages of 25 (me) and 28 (sis) and we wouldn't have it no other way..hehe!

my daddy!

Friday after work three of my old co-workers and I hit up this spot in Downtown Richmond called C’est Le Vin. There was a charity art event going on and we were there to support the organizer, Tamir Rock. There was a live band and beautiful artwork everywhere on the walls. The environment was very inviting. It was good to just sit down, relax to some great music, sip on some wine, and enjoy the company of great friends.

Saturday, I spent time with my fiance’ then headed to a 30^th birthday party that night at Studio 418. The party was for my good friend Darius. Hunny, we had a ball at that party!!!! The venue was sooooooo nice and the food was excellent. I really had a good time there!!! Go Darius boo! LoL

was waiting on my car to get washed. Quick Pic!

The birthday boy and I!

my outfit!

Sunday, I went to church and spent the whole day with my family! We cooked out at my grandma’s like always and just enjoyed each other’s company. It’s nothing like good food, crazy and funny conversations with family, and some daiquiris lol.

Wedding Shoe Dilemma

Hey Ya’ll!!!!

   This post is going to be about my wedding shoe dilemma. For a person that love shoes I didn’t realize it would be so hard to pick a freaking wedding shoe! I didn’t want the heel to be too high where I would look like a giant and I didn’t want the shoe to be to plain and/or boring because that is not my personality at all. When I thought I found the right shoe there was always a flaw that came about which caused me not to purchase the shoe. Also, since my wedding dress is white (yea I know lol) I was opting for a white shoe but I was on tons of websites looking for a statement silver shoe. 

 

   The first pair of shoes I ran across was on Macy’s website. I found “Yvonne” by Michael Kors. I absolutely fell in love with this shoe. It was the perfect heel height and the perfect look. They had the right amount of sparkle and the look I was going for. I didn’t want to go over $100 for my wedding shoes and the “Yvonne” shoe was $165.00. A couple of weeks went by and I could not stop thinking about these Michael Kors so I made the choice that I was going to purchase them. When I went to go order them they was sold out of my size!!! I went to every shoe site I could think of and I could not find my size :(. I was sooo upset so the hunt continued.

   The next pair of shoes I ran across was by Badgley Mischka and the shoe was called "Wynter". When I saw these babies my eyes lit up. They were not the average traditional wedding shoe and I’m so not traditional. The heel on the shoe was what really caught my attention. I’m a sucker for a chunky heel and these shoes had just that! I knew I was going to be comfortable in these shoes because of the heel and that the shoe was everything I was looking for. They were white, satin, and had the right amount of sparkle. I found the shoes on www.6pm.com and they had them on sale for $64.99. If you know me then you know I love a great deal! If you were to look for the shoe now they went up to $121.99. The time came for me to order them and guess what…they didn’t have my size!!!! I was sooo upset. I went to other websites and they had them for over $200. I was definitely not paying $200 for a pair of shoes I’ll probably only wear once so once again the hunt continued. 

 

  While on Dillard's website I went to browse some good ole' Steve Madden shoes. I ran across Steve Madden's "Realove Rhinestone" Sandal. I thought they were really cute. The heel height was 4 inches and they had the amount of sparkle I wanted. They were $100 so I ordered them. When I received them and tried them on I was like WHOA because them thangs hurt like heck. There was no platform which I'm used to and the heel was extra skinny and like I said before I'm a chunky heel girl. I kept them for almost a month. I was walking around the house in them trying to break them in but it was a no go. There was no way that I could last through the wedding ceremony and at least the first half of the reception. It was hard to let them go but I had to return them. 

 

 

   About a month went by and I was still on the hunt for my perfect wedding shoes. Last week I was just browsing on Nordstrom website and I ran across some shoes that I really liked but I kept browsing. I ran across the shoe 3 more times after that. The 4^th time I was like hmmmmmm. They were not my style at all because for one they are sling backs and then the color of the shoes has nothing to do with my wedding. But again I’m not traditional so I thought I'd give the shoes a try. I ordered them and they arrived at my house yesterday. When I tried those shoes on hunny my eyes lit up!!!! They are soooooo cute!!!! Whoever thought that I would be wearing some sling backs lol. The heel height is perfect, the color is perfect, the design of the shoe is perfect…the shoes are just perfect for ME!!

   I’m so relieved that my wedding shoe hunt is over. I couldn’t be happier about my choice. They are perfect for ME and my Ryan and that’s all that matters. I can’t wait until my wedding day so I can finally reveal them but until then they will remain deep in the back of my closet lol!

   Although we all have different styles, give me your feedback on the shoes I posted. Do you like them? Would you wear them? Are they ugly to you? LoL. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

Weekend Recap

Hey Ya’ll!!!

So it’s been a couple of weeks since my last blog post so I was like let me make an appearance lol. Hopefully, everybody had a great weekend. Mine was good.

Friday I met with my bridesmaids! I wanted to have a meeting to discuss the do’s and do not’s of the Anderson Cary wedding or the “Rynica” wedding. I made them all folders and we had food and games. I didn’t have time to cook so we had pizza hut, subway, chips, cupcakes, cheesecake, and wine! The turnout was great! Before I got to the serious stuff all the girls played a game called “How well do you know Ryan & Monica”. Basically I asked questions and they had to unscramble the answers. The winner got a gift card to Target! That was really fun.

Saturday was extra chill. My fiance’ and I went looking at different apartments. We are in no rush to buy a house right now and we are both practically fine with that. We both want to relocate so once we figure out where we’re going to be long term then that’s when we will focus on a house. After going apartment hunting for a few hours we went out to dinner then chilled for the rest of the night. It was a rainy day so it was the perfect time to cuddle and watch the playoffs! Sunday consisted of football. My fiancé coaches rec football so I was out there on the field supporting him today.

That pretty much sums up my weekend. It was pretty chill but I got a lot of things accomplished! But….talk to yall later!!!!