Our Love Story

The day I met Kenny Owens, will be a day I will NEVER forget! It was in June of 2004; June 19th to be exact! I was going through a tough time in my life & needed to just get out! So...a couple of my friends/cousins & I decided to ride to, what was then, Gametime to "parking lot pimp" LOL! "Parking lot pimp" is what we did when we decided to just "chill" in the parking lot of the club and not go in! I know...sounds a little crazy...but that's what we did when I was 19 years old LOL!! First of all, I have never been the type of girl to “holla” at a dude, but this particular night, I was in rare form & was having so much fun! So, I spotted this SUPER CUTE, light-skinned dude with braids that had on a green jersey! I was determined to get “the boy in the green jersey” phone number & was not leaving Greenville until I got it!! Long story short, I got his number in the parking lot of Gametime & we became friends. We went on one date & that was it! We were just what I said…friends...no more, no less! We carried on this friendship for about three years off & on...I thought he was one of the best friends I’d ever had! We talked about EVERYTHING! In October of 2007, I ran into Kenny in his uncle’s club, Alley Gator’s. We had not talked or seen each other in a long time! I agreed to go visit him one Saturday night after that just to “chill” & that “chill” turned into something serious! I never expected it to go as far as it did, but you cannot run from true love when it finds you. We started out “talking” & made it “official” on January 18, 2008. A couple of weeks shy of our 4 year anniversary, Kenny asked me to be his wife! Another day I will NEVER forget…December 25, 2011…a very special Christmas Day!!! I wrote the following words in a poem to Kenny ("Kay") for Valentine’s Day in 2008 that sums up the love I have for the Love of My Life, my fiance: “…The key to my heart,I thought I threw away. Some how, some way you got it, And now I’m here to stay. I almost missed out…The thought brings chills over me. But timing and patience,I learned is the key. One last time, I’ve fallen in love. But this time I truly believe You’re my angel sent from above.”
Enjoy our Love Story!!!















Monday, March 19, 2012

Introducing My Lovely Ladies...

Since the last time I posted, a lot more things have been checked off…yay!!!  On last Saturday (March 10th), the girls and I went for their fitting!  I had so much fun!  Before I post about that…I want to introduce each and every one of my lovely ladies (the Maids, Matrons, & Bridesmaids)!  Every one of them that I picked has played a very special part in my life; they are really near and dear to my heart & nobody can take away the love I have for each and every one of these ladies!!


Starting with my Sisters; Angela Burnside, Faye Brown, Faith Thomas, & Tabitha Curenton (in order by age)!  I don't have one sister that means more to me than the other; I LOVE them all so very very much & equally!  Tab & I are probably closer because of the age difference; Tab is only 4 years older than me, but Angela aka Mutt is 15 years older than me & Faye & Faith aka Litbit are 13 years older than me.  Ok y'all..."I ain't gon' tell nobody else" (in Ezell's voice) hahahahaha!!!  All of my sisters mean the world to me & NOBODY can change that; I'll jump off a bridge for those girls!!!  Angela & Faith are my Honorary Maids of Honor, Faye is my Honorary Matron of Honor, and Tab is my Matron of Honor.


Next...my newest Sister that I feel like has been my sister all of my life....Shanell Owens Sullivan!  Shanell will be my sister-in-law "officially" in September, but I feel like she's been that since day 1!  A couple of months after being introduced to the family by Kay...oh my bad she would say Jr. LOL...Shanell & I became very close.  I can't say she's the brother I never had; ugh I am still not getting a brother out of this marriage, but she's definitely a sister that's one of kind!! :-) I am so looking forward to sharing the rest of our lives together as sisters!!  Shanell is my Maid of Honor.


Ms. Kayla Shaw...my dear cousin/friend/ace boon coon/right hand (wo)Man/psychologist/comedian...I could go on and on!  I have taught this girl everything she needs to know about life...ok maybe not everything, but the basics, like how to walk and ride a bike LOL!  She needed to know how to walk before she accomplished everything else in life, right?!  I thought so...so I've taught her a lot if I must say so myself!  Not only do I feel like I have taught her some things in life, but she has definitely taught me some things.  Kayla is a year younger than I am...we grew up together!  We have been together since her birth....even went to college together; Columbia College in Columbia, SC...home of the Koalas (don't you dare laugh Kayla) LOL!  Kayla is my Maid of Honor as well.


Ok...who's next?!  My BFF Joquetta Burnside; aka Jackie!!!  Jackie & I have been best of friends since our 9th grade year; so that's 13 long years...woo...Jackie you getting old hahaha!  Guess what everybody?! I did not like Jackie my 8th grade year...at least I thought I didn't LOL!  She ended up being the bestest friend ever!  About 3 years ago, Jack & I hit a hard rock in our friendship.  We fell off of our golden road of friendship for a sec, got back on, & fell off again. :-(  That last fall out was a big one & it took us a while to get back right.  FINALLY...I feel like I have my best friend from 9th grade back & I am loving each and every minute of it.  MY BEST FRIEND FOREVER is a Bridesmaid.


Introducing Ms. Keunna Thomas....my "lil' big sister"!!!!!!!!  Keunna is my cousin as well & is a year younger than me.  This has been my lil’ sister since she was born!  At one point in my life, I felt like I had lost my lil' big sister & thought I was never going to get her back.  (Sigh of relief) We were just being hard-headed teenagers & got over that stage!  She reminded me on Saturday, at the fitting, that we used to tell dudes that "we don't go on dates; we from Gray Court" & now I'm doing a lot more than going on a date...I'm getting married!  Bahahaha....I think that's the funniest thing ever!  Moo Moo + Asha Kate = always and forever!!! :-)  Keunna is a bridesmaid also.


Next...Ms. Whitney Young...who is also one of my cousins!  Whitney, actually, is the only one of my cousins that is a bridesmaid that's my first cousin!  We have bunches and bunches of first cousins, but Whitney & I are two of the youngest of my grandmother's grandkids...which really makes her very unique & special to me! :-)  We grew up together as well & have done SO many things together throughout life...I can go back as far as taking pictures together as little girls in our big dresses, our tights, our big frill socks, & our many ponytails...you have to know our mothers to know that they wouldn't have it any different than that LOL!  As said above, Whitney is one of my bridesmaids.


Kristi "Sha Na Na/Koon" Abrams....my baby girl!  Kristi is truly what I said before...my baby girl.  She is one of my cousins as well, but is the youngest out of "our group."  She was raised with us also & is like a little sister to me.  I recently had a reality check & realized that I am very protective over her.  The more that I think about it, the more I realize I've been this way about her since day one.  She has a little girl (who is my god-daughter by the way).  When I found out she was pregnant, I couldn't believe "the baby" was having a baby regardless of how old she was LOL!  My baby girl/little sister is one of my bridesmaids too.


Kendra Snipe…my college classmate & roomie!  Kendra & I became friends our Freshman year in college…I thought she was one of the sweetest girls I had ever met!  We were suitemates our Sophomore year and roommates our Senior year.  I don’t know if I have ever told Kendra before, but she has made a major impact on my life.  She used to give me the BEST advice (which would explain the fact that she majored in Psychology LOL) ever when we were in school & she also was a spiritual leader for me.  Regardless of the situation, she stayed rooted in GOD’s word & that helped me to stay rooted as well!  She is one of the strongest females that I know & I feel honored that she’s sharing a very special day with me!!!  Kendra is a bridesmaid.


Mrs. Loren Oyervides…a young lady I wish I could have met a LONG time ago!  I met Loren a little over 3 years ago when I transferred from Sealed Air Corporation’s Customer Service Department to their Information Service Department.  I had the opportunity to work with her for a short period of time & then she moved to another department, but we still stayed close.  I say I wish I could have met her a long time ago, but GOD knows when and who to put in your life at what time & I am so thankful he put her in my life at the time that he did!  I could not have asked for a better friend than LO…she’s so special to me!  Poor thing…she probably catches the most “bridezilla” out of me than the rest of my girls because she has the pleasure of sitting in the same office area as me.  Sorry LO….I love you & thanks for listening!!! 


Last, but certainly not least, Ms. Ronisha Mayes…soon to be Mrs. Terry!  Nisha is Kay’s (I meant Jr. LOL) first cousin, with whom he’s very close to.  If my memory serves me correctly, Nisha was the last person in the family that I met; she was living in Charleston when Jr. & I started dating!  Jr. had shared so much about her to me & I could not wait to meet her, but I did not get to meet her until a little while after I met the rest of the family.  I talked to her for about one minute when I finally got the chance to meet her LOL, but we immediately clicked!  Nisha and I share something very special together this year…we are both getting married!!! Nisha is a bridesmaid as well.


I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all of these girls ‘til death…they are so special to me!  Ok girls…stop crying & save your tears until September 8th!  Y’all are going to be all cried out when the wedding gets here (most of them have been crying since Dec. 25th LOL)…but that’s fine because that means we won’t have to redo our makeup before the pictures!  I’m just kidding…y’all cry a river if you’d like!  I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU & THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for agreeing to be a part of my special day…it means the world to me!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO!!!


Since this post is super long…I will introduce my “little ladies” in the next one!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Dresses, Dresses, & More Dresses

Finding the "right" dress was one of the hardest things that I have done so far since I started this wedding planning.  I have been to stores from Greenville, SC to Atlanta, GA, to Spartanburg, SC to....oh I think that includes all of the different cities and states that I've traveled to and from looking for my girls' dresses LOL!    After several "try-on sessions" by some of my girls & several dollars spent in gas...I finally made a final decision on a store.  Please note that I said a store...not a dress LOL!  So now that I've decided on a store (that happens to be 10 minutes from my job)...of course I have to spend several hours, days, & lunch breaks in the store still trying to make a final decision on the "right" dress.  Poor Brooke (the sweetest Bridal Consultant ever)...I have worked her so hard!!!  Shout out to Brooke & Robin at The Castle in Spartanburg, SC for being so helpful and patient with me because I know I drove them crazy!!!  Man...was this a long process!!!  To give everyone a "slight" idea of what I was looking for...here are some of the dresses that were tried on by some of my girls or me LOL!


Dress # 1 by Alfred Angelo @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (Faye)


Dress # 2 by Alfred Angelo @ Alfred Angelo in Atlanta, GA (Tab, Kayla, Shanell)


Dress # 3 by Alfred Angelo @ Alfred Angelo in Atlanta, GA (Tab, Kayla, Shanell)


This is the real # 3 by Alfred Angelo @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (Loren)


Dress # 4 by Alfred Angelo @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (me!)


Dress # 5 by Alfred Angelo @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (me!)


Dress # 5 (the baby blue one) by Alfred Angelo @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (me!)


Dress # 6, 7, & 8 by Allure Bridals @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (Alicia, Tab, & Khadijah)



Dress # 9 (the yellow one) & 10 (the green one) by Alfred Angelo @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (Loren, Jackie, & Kayla)


Same dresses, just put together differently! (Kayla, Jackie, & Loren)


 Same dresses, just put together differently again LOL! (Jackie, Loren, & me)


Dress # 11 by Alfred Angelo @ The Castle in Spartanburg, SC (me!)

As you can see...I was in love with Alfred Angelo...at least I thought I was anyway!  After all of those dresses, I changed designers and went in a  completely different direction!  So...what dresses did I FINALLY decide on?!  Hmmmm....sorry, but you have to patiently wait until September 8th to find out...just know that it is NEITHER of the above dresses LOL!!! I am VERY content & happy with my final decision!  It'll definitely be final & locked in place on this Saturday, March 10th; my girls go fit & pay for their dresses!  Woo Hoo...I'm so excited!!!  A special thanks to all of my models for taking the time to meet me at the Bridal Shop on random days to try on these dresses for me...they never knew when I was going to ask..."Can you meet me at the Bridal Shop?"  I love each and every one of you....thank you thank you thank you!!! :-)

Monday, March 5, 2012

Making Accomplishments...

Since the last time I posted, I have accomplished a lot!  These last couple of weeks have been so exciting!  On Friday, February 24th, Vernice Hammett brought me a disc with all of our edited Engagement Photos!  I could not wait to get to Kay so that we could open it & look at the pictures!  The night before I received the disc, they posted our E-Session on their blog...enjoy some of our pics below!!!



They had the disc wrapped so cute!!

Also, on that day, Kay & I went to Men's Wearhouse in Haywood Mall to pick out the tuxedos...fun, fun, fun day!!  We did get all of the tuxedos & colors picked out for all of the guys that are in the wedding.  That makes two things checked off of our long list!  Woo Hoo...finally getting some checks!!!





Kay Getting Fitted for his Tux!!



After a long day...I was in much need of a date with my Future...luckily he had planned a date night & I did not know it!  We went to Hollywood 20 Regal Cinemas to see Good Deeds (a Tyler Perry Movie).  A surprise date...makes our dates that much more special!!! :-)