my wedding ceremony | "With this ring I promise to learn how to cook" (pic heavy)

This was the moment I had been waiting for after a year and a half long engagement - the wedding ceremony. This was the most important part of the whole day, because well...this is when we officially became "man and wife". I held it together pretty well, after dropping a few tears on my way up the aisle, I wipped them away and I was fine. For some reason I always pictured myself crying the entire time - not because I didn't want to get married - but I cry whenever I watch weddings on tv...like the whole time. For some reason however, now that it was my time to step up to the plate, I was cool, calm and collected...for the most part.

I was a little ticked off during the beginning of the ceremony because my husband was standing like 2 feet away from me - here's the evidence:

I kept looking at him like "Damn, could you move a little closer to me, we're kind of getting married here." But his focus was dead set on the pastor and not at me at all. Later I asked him why he did that, he said he  was trying his hardest not to cry, so he couldn't look at me. Plus his big brothers were there, and if he shed one tear they would have gave him grief about it, lol. To top if off, a bunch of us had a $100 bet going on that he would cry, lol...poor guy.

Baby Sis and Cousin Kim both performed readings + during the candle lighting ceremony, Cousin Mory played the saxophone while Cousin Shellyse sang "At Last" by Etta James.

Finally came my favorite part - the vows. We chose to do the traditional vows, however our pastor included a fun twist. While we were slipping the rings on each others fingers, she told us to say something from the heart. Husband was first, he told me he loved me and all that good stuff ::blushing:: There were lots of "aaawwwww" from the guests at this point, lol.

Then came my my turn. Always feeling the need to be the comedian, I thought this would be an appropriate time to insert some wit into this whole thing. The scene was getting a bit too mushy for me, so I felt the need to make everyone laugh:

:: crowd bursts into laughter ::

:: I mentally high-five myself (1 point for me) ::

Yes everyone in attendance knew that I at that point I only skilled with the microwave - but the joke is on them! Who knew that in just 4 months, I'd teach myself how to cook and bake up a storm (sticks out tounge)...but I love my family. Now they'll just make fun of me about something else...the height jokes never go away, so I guess they'll just continue with that.

Anyway - I did cry (a very ugly cry) at some point in the ceremony, but I'll save that for another time. I don't know how long the ceremony was. I remember telling everyone that I didn't want it to be more than a half an hour, but while I was standing up there I had no concept of time, so I really have no idea. But before I knew it, it was time for the big kiss:

The song for the recessional of the wedding was "One Love" by Bob Marley.

(Big Sis doing her matron of honor duty of fixing my train)

And so, we made our exit as Husband + Wife...

The rest of the bridal party making their exit...

Oh yea, everyone was supposed to blow bubbles during our exit, but instead everyone was snapping pictures - except my mom, God bless her, lol - she knew we paid money for those things, lol!

Cousin Kim + Cousin Jan...if you can't tell, Cousin Jan is very extra, lol

It was a beautiful ceremony! The weather was perfect...the sun began to set...love was in the air...I couldn't have asked for anything more.

These are all non-pro pictures I stole as usual

+

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in the kitchen: French Toast

I love french toast for breakfast. Although this is not condusive my diet, I needed it in my life this morning! I searched online to see if there was some fancy recipe for french toast but they were a little too fancy and not the french toast that I was use to - so I skipped that and stuck to my simple little recipe that I know.

In a bowl, mix the milk and egg together. I know most people sprinkle on sugar once the french toast is done, but I mixed it in the milk. I searched the fridge and pantry for something else to throw in there, but that's all I could come up with. After soaking the slices in the mixture and a couple minutes in the frying pan - breakfast was complete. I topped it with maple syrup and whipped cream - because if I was going to go there...I was going to all the way! Plus, I like to find as many opportunities as possible to use whipped cream - it just makes life better...mine atleast!

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a quick trip to the "crackhouse"...

The "Crack House" is what most people refer to as a happy place called Ikea.

I'm addicted to the place! Even if I don't intend to buy anything, sometimes I just like to go, hang out and picture myself living in these rooms - especially the little mock apartments that they have in there. What can I say? I have a problem! I've been to Ikea a million times and have only made a purchase once.

I don't think I'm alone though - I feel like 90% of the people walking around in Ikea don't plan on buying anything either.I always see couples browsing and being just as corny as me and my husband...in the grand scheme of life, we're all a little lame.

Anyway, for my future livingroom, I'm planning on decorating it in black, white and gray - more like obsessed. It's the first color scheme that my husband and I have ever agreed on, so I'm gonna run with it. While strolling through Ikea today, I felt like who ever staged the rooms were reading my mind - there were so many things that we both liked...and that never happens! There must've been a full moon outside...because that was really strange.

We liked this room - of course we would add our personality and make it better, but this is the foundation of what we want - gray walls, black seating and white accents...

My husband is obsessed with this ...

He needs this in his life! I actually really like it too...

I didn't like the decor of this room that much, but the color scheme peeked my interest:

I've been eyeing this set for a while, but after the Mr spotted that black set he wasn't impressed. This table is a little cheaper than the black one, so I'm still going to keep this on the list.

I've always loved this kind of seating - the chairs + benches, I love it:

I saw this Marilyn Monroe photo at Home Goods today but I left without it - I have no where to put it. I think I'm going to need my own room (lol) that I can paint pink and put all my girly stuff in there. I'm hoping that where ever we move to, I'll have a big enough walk in closet that I can turn it into a dressing room and even put a vanity in there...a girl can dream can't she?

These photos were taken with my Blackberry, not my

DSLR, so please excuse the quality.

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the balacing act...

At the top of your game as a makeup artist, life is fast paced + lucretive. You may be traveling around the country or perhaps around the world. Clients may include celebrities, your work will be splashed across the pages of magazines - a cover if you're lucky! It's a fabulous life, but what does it mean when you're married?

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to assist two of Miami's top celebrity makeup artists - one of them being a friend of my mine that I met during a previous work experience while the other I met on Friday and we clicked right away. Besides our love of makeup, another thing we had in common was that we were married at the same age. She told me that she has been doing makeup for 15 years and has been married for 10. When we were alone, I asked her if it was ok if I asked her something personal - being the open person she is, she told me I could ask her whatever I wanted.

"How do you balance being a makeup artist with being married?"

Her response:

"The only reason I'm not divorced is because of my husbands line of work!"

Her husband has his own business and has offices around the country. If she has to travel to New York or Las Vegas for example, he has offices there, so he will travel with her. Projects can keep her away from home for anywhere from 1 to 4 days...shoots can last 12-16 hours.

When then went down a list of the industries top makeup artists, they were either gay man or women who weren't married and didn't have children. She told me that none of her other makeup artist friends were married or had children...none of the makeup artists I know are married and/or had children either. Kinda scary for a newlywed to hear who is trying to make a name for herself in this field. She also says that she knows if she should ever choose to have children, she won't have that freedom to fly out of town and work on a whim. In reality this career choice is not condusive to marriage - you travel alot and work long hours...if you're trying to get work in Print media, which is what I would love to do.

When I was in high school I was having a conversation with one of the librarians and we somehow got on the topic of what college she attended. She had been a student at one of the top fashion schools in New York - a school that I would still love to attend if ever given the chance. I asked her how she went from there to being a high school librarion. She told me that although she had dreams of working in the fashion industry, when she had children she decided to put those dreams aside so that she could spend time with them. By working with a school, she was able to be home when they were home on weekends and holidays, and could spend time with them over the summer. I looked at her as if she had lost her mind! However, now as a married woman, I understand where she is coming from.

...but what does this mean for me?

At 22 years old, I don't have the pressure on me to have children right this second &  I'm not at a point in my career where my marriage is suffering. But because I am very ambitious, I know that at some point these things will clash and I will be at that crossroad. I want to be able to raise my child(ren) when that day comes, but I'm also trying to land a cover of Vogue magazine.

So what do I do? Do I cut my losses from now and pursue something else? Or do I ride the train until I get to that crossroad? I think I'll go with the second option...why would I want to sell myself short? My plan is to hustle now, so that in a few years I'll be more comfortable financially and will have more options on balancing career, marriage and eventually motherhood.

Maybe one day I'll be able to be like Kelly Cutrone, who has her high powered PR Firm and apartment in the same building. Although she has a demanding career, she takes her daughter to school everyday, take an elevator to see her in between breaks and is able to tuck her in bed every night - talk about super woman!

Woman struggling to balance career and family is nothing new. I'm blessed to have a husband who is very supportive of my career and I try to include him as much as I can. For example, most of the time he will accompany me to certain gigs to set up my equipment...this week he came to pick me up early from a magazine shoot and the photographer told him to come on over and help. It won't always be like this simple, but for now we find ways to make it work.

I shot with two major magazines this week (I'll tell you about it when I can) and today I have 2 jobs back to back - a trial run and wedding, wish me luck...

(photos from MAC | behind the scenes of Liberty of London shoot)