Hey Fab Brides,
I'm back again with more expert advice. Recently I met with Sheree Brown. Sheree was raised in Prince George's County in Maryland. She currently works for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (UPSTO). Sheree attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. She was also very active in campus activities such as the Student Government Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. After college she married her high school sweetheart, Chris. They are proud parents of their beautiful Christian Marie.
After Sheree and Chris were married they started Happily Married Entertainment, which is a social networking and event planning company. Sheree's creative flare has inspired her to venture into the wedding planning industry. In October 2007, she became a certified wedding planner and HME Weddings was born!
Here's what Sheree had to say about planning a wedding!
1. What is your favorite part of planning a wedding?
I have two favorites. My first favorite would have to be the dress selection aspect. This is a special part of the planning process because it is most important to the bride. To see the look on the Bride face, when they see the dress that they want, is absolutely breathtaking. My second favorite, is the transformation process of the reception site. I love to see the room come to life with simply just the help of candles, lighting and floral arrangements ... you can really transform a room.
2. Other than jumping the broom, what other African American traditions do you like to incorporate?
Jumping the broom is my favorite and is the most popular! Jumping the broom represent the sweeping away of the past and the welcoming of the future. I have heard of some brides to incorporate cowrie shells. The bride wears a cowrie shell necklace. Also, another tradition is the Tasting of the Four elements, in which, the bride and groom taste lemons as representing the sour, vinegar as representing the bitter, cayenne pepper as representing the hot and honey as representing the sweet and delicious times of marriage.
3.What is a good resource for couples looking for African American traditions to add to their wedding?
eHow.com offers 13 steps on How to Plan an African American Wedding. Forblackweddings.com is a good resource as well.
4. What are your favorite money saving tips?
Instead of an open bar, have a signature drink, such as wine, that will be used in place of an open bar. Another tip is to have your wedding on a weeknight or Sunday. This will save the bride and groom a lot of money!
5. Why did you decide to join the bridal industry?
I was a Do-It-Yourself bride! I thought I could plan my entire wedding without any assistance. Well when it was time to line everyone up and walk down the aisle, I did not have anyone to guide us down the aisle and no one to take care of what was to come during the reception. Thankfully, my cousin stepped in to guide and cue-in my bridal party. Then, during the reception, my caterers failed to serve our head table. My mother and aunts had to go back to the kitchen and serve the head table. I was heated! So, from that day on, I always wanted to get into the wedding planning spectrum so that what had happened to me on my wedding day, would not ever happen to anyone else. After my husband and I married we noticed that most of our friends were single and living the single life. So, we were inspired to build a company that will allow young married couples to network with other young married couples and provide them with innovative entertainment options such as Live Jazz, Weekend Getaways, and Fine Dining. In addition, we were inspired to focus on educating the community, by providing enriching seminars on topics such as "Improving you Credit Score", "The Steps to Homeownership" & "How to be a Better Spouse". In May 2006, we launched, Happily Married Entertainment, LLC (HME), a social network & event planning company, in which HME Weddings is an umbrella company of Happily Married Entertainment.
If you would like to hear more from Sheree, visit HME Weddings and Happily Married Entertainment. You can contact Sheree by emailing hmeweddings@gmail.com or calling (301) 257-3615.
Thank you Sheree for being a part of Fabulous Black Bride!
xoxo,
Ayana
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