Friday, January 30, 2009

Which Wedding Favor Is Your Flava?

Hey You!  I wanted to try something a little different by sharing some Wedding Favor advice via podcast.  Since I am a unemployed radio personality, I figured I'd use my voice doing something before it gets rusty. If you don't use it, you'll lose it.  Turn your speakers up and enjoy!

Wedding Favors Podcast - Kesha Monk

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Throwback Thursday

Mr & Mrs. Azell Monk
Oct 1, 1968

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Eva & Lance School Us On Keeping it Spicy!


Don't you just love them? Check out Eva Pickford & her chocolatey hunk of a fiance Lance Gross are being featured in the Valentine's Day edition of Rolling Out Magazine. Eva & Lance reveal how having a stripper pole at home can definitely keep things nice and spicy in your relationship. We definitely could have schooled them on that. Chocolate Brides have been tearin' the pole up for quite some time. As a matter of fact, here are few suggested 'SCRIPPA' songs courtesy of your friends at ChocolateBrides.Com
So Excited-Janet Jackson
Slow Wind-R.Kelly
Teach you a lesson-Robin Thicke
Meeting in my Bedroom-Silk
Anywhere- 112
Rock Ya Hips- Crime Mobb
Pop, Lock & Drop It- Huey
On & Poppin- Chris Brown
Money Maker- LudacrisIgnition (remix)
Sex Me 1 & 2
Slow Motion- Juvenile
Visit RollingOut.com for more exclusive photo and video footage from the Lance and Eva Valentine’s cover shoot, set to hit newsstands on 2.12.09.


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Juanita Bynum's Sweet 50th

Prophetess Juanita Bynum celebrated her 50th birthday in grand fashion recently. During the integral part of her bash she wore the same wedding dress that she marched down the aisle to marry Rev. Beat Em Up before donning a special casket sharp skirt made out of photos that celebrate her life.

“One of the greatest moments of my life was the day that I married. That day was supposed to be the defining moment of my life when I would show the world that I had stepped into my womanhood”, Bynum tells Essence.com. “It was always the original intention of my dress and I refused to let it not be because it was made for me. So I wore it because I felt like someone had robbed me of that right.”

source

Steve Harvey - The Relationship Expert?


Hey Ladies!


For the low price of $23.99, you (yes, YOU!) can own the manual of how to "Act Like a Lady & Think Like a Man". Steve Harvey took a brief break from telling jokes to give us all some insight on the male pysche. Inside this hard cover, 238 page publication, you will be able to learn how to "find a man and keep a man."


I shall reserve my comments for a later time...but in the meantime, feel free to do a quick Amazon search for Steve Harvey's latest venture. Good luck!


*sigh*

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Another Chocolate Groom In Our Midst...

R&B crooner Mario Winans wed his longtime girlfriend Joy in a private ceremony the weekend of Jan. 10 in New Jersey.

The 34-year-old singer, who is the son of gospel great Vickie Winans and Bishop Ronald E. Brown, had been dating Joy on an off for more than a decade.

The couple, whom most mistakenly believed were already married, has a daughter together named Skylar, 8.

"He called 1-800-Dial-A-Minister and just up and got married," his mother said of the impromptu ceremony during The Stellar Awards. "But I'm so proud of him!"

Winans came under scrutiny in March of 2008 after Janel Bennett, the mother of his son Jordan, 3, claimed she was evicted from her home in Miami because of the lack of child support.

Bennett told the 'New York Post' thaJoy & Mario Winanst after having to get on welfare and Medicaid in order to have the baby; she was now living with friends on the South Side of Chicago and working as a cocktail waitress.

Winans' management company Czar Entertainment refused to comment on the matter.

In music news, the Bad Boy Entertainment artist will release his third album this summer.

The singer has released two other albums, 2004's 'Hurt No More' (Bad Boy Entertainment) and 1997's 'Story of My Heart' (Motown).

-Jawn Murray

Friday, January 16, 2009

Répondez s'il vous plaît




The RSVP. How many times before beginning to plan a wedding did you even think about these things? Most of us never even thought about response cards and RSVP wording before we started ogling invitation sets. But this little card means the WORLD in the land of wedding receptions and overall wedding etiquette.

Why is it important? Money and Respect, plain and simple. Ignoring the RSVP card is both disrespectful and very expensive for the newlyweds and guests should consider it when letting the card sit on their kitchen counter for twelve weeks.

The average wedding has anywhere from 150 to 300 guests. A typical price per plate for a wedding reception can range from $28-$52. PER PLATE. A possible $15,000! About a month prior to the event, most reception sites will request a final head count and payment. The final price the bride and groom pay is directly related to this count and how many CONFIRMED guests they are expecting. People who attend your wedding without you adding them to the count, basically cause you to breach the contract you've set with your venue.

This makes it more than a crisis when a guest doesn't RSVP but shows up anyway. I have seen this happen, and I have SEEN with my own eyes brides who've had to stop their reception to tear open wishing wells trying to pay for extra seating, which sorry to tell you, reception halls will then want in CASH. I've seen actual RSVP'd guests standing out in the foyer while dedicated hostesses scour to find the cheat who has taken a reserved seat. Wedding day chaos! Just because Shonda is your cousin, doesn't mean she should KNOW you're going to show up.

Another monetary thing that drives up the sheer annoyance about people who don't send the RSVP's in, is the fact that a bride of etiquette has mailed the RSVP card with PREPAID return postage. So its absolutely infuriating that guests refuse to check a box and drop the tiny card in a mailbox. The absent-minded or inconsiderate guest has already cost the bride and groom at least .36!

A well-worded response card also informs the guest of who exactly is invited by listing the names on the card or how many seats are reserved for them. Most guests who don't RSVP take this as their opportunity to either ignore or add to the listed information. Brides who give you this information aren't being rude, they're counting their $. Just because you think its rude that they didn't list your best friend Laquanda, doesn't mean they are trying to insult you. It's also not rude for them to not list your 3 children. Think about it, you're their parent, do YOU spend $36 on your kid to eat? I thought not.

There are many ways that guests choose to get stupid regarding response cards but the key for the efficient bride is to have three very important things in her arsenal:
1. Explicit and direct wording that informs the guest of what is reserved for them, when you expect the card returned, and what will happen if you don't receive it.
2. A LIST! At your place-card table, provide your hosts and hostesses with an accurate listing of who has RSVP'd. This is imperative!
2. Proficient hosts and hostesses manning your reception place-card table. You do NOT want anyone at that door who is going to let people slip in who are not on your list. If your cousin Carol is going to be letting the whole family in, regardless of the list, you don't want Carol at the door unless she's going to come out of pocket for those extra plates.

Basic RSVP wording:

The favor of a reply is requested by July 00, 2009
M __________________
# of guests _______

____ # of Children 11 & under
____ # of Adults

______ Yes, I / we will be attending.
______ No, but will be thinking of you.


Your RSVP wording is something you can entirely write yourself, but because of the great success of them, I've decided to provide some examples of CB wording. Gotta love those ChocolateBrides. Is there anything they haven't thought of?


MrsMelton08's wording:

We have reserved two seats in your honor for our
Black and White Celebration
The favor of a reply is required by
July 18, 2008to reserve these seats

For your convenience, you may also reserve your seating by
Phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx,
E-mail: xxxxx@yahoo.com, or
Website: www.xxxxwedding.weddingannouncer.com
When replying at our website please use provided pin number: «RSVP ID»


For my own response cards I used the basic wording but also politley stated that guests were invited to join us for an "Adult Reception" and also ended with this:

"Please respond on or before May 29, 2005 for if you do not do so we regret there may not be a place for you."


But MochaWifey, you say, what happens if they don't RSVP and I don't want to give them the boot at the door? Here's what one CB sent to her Un-RSVP'd guests. I LOVE IT!

Davesgirl:

July 23, 2007

To our Family and Friends,
We hope that you have received our heartfelt invitation to our wedding. We were very excited to share our day with you and are saddened to find you won’t be joining us, but we are sure you will be with us in spirit as we are united as one in Christ and celebrate our union.
As you are aware, our wedding was open to family and friends, however we can no longer hold reservations for our ceremony and reception due to lack of response, it being a plated dinner and limited seating.
Even if you do not plan to attend a function, it is etiquette to return the self addressed, stamped RSVP noting that the invitation has been declined.. Please do so as soon as possible.
Although we are no longer taking reservations for our ceremony and reception due to our RSVP period which ended June 30, 2007, we would still like to extend a heartfelt thank you for considering us.
Thank you for your prayers and thoughts throughout the coming weeks and on our special day.
Sincerely,
The Bride and Groom

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

YES, we're late....

Congratulations to Lance Gross and Eva Marcille! The TopModel winner/actress and the NAACP award-winning actor were engaged during a family ski vacation on Christmas Eve! Gross presented Marcille with the 3.36-carat 1895 Pave Cartier ring after using a pillow he'd wrapped as her Christmas present to ask her hand. I hear that the plans are hinting towards the summer of next year. Hey Eva....CB has ALLL the ideas, for every budget, on how to turn your party out! We know you're a TopModel, but Tyra got nothing on us when it comes to brides! Congratulations!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

ChocolateBrides Love

The Heart and Soul of ChocolateBrides.com is the Message Board and the bonds created by the members who participate and share there! In genuine love of the board and the great love found there, one of our members, LilSpyce created this video for our founders Kesha and Eugene! Enjoy!