Love has remained the greatest influence in every area of my life. I’ve watched countless couples live in love; bask in love and in some cases fall out of love. We women are emotional beings and wear our hearts on our sleeves. Women work hard! Women nurture hard! Women hate hard. Women love hard! We tend to experience the full gamut of emotions throughout our lives. However, men are trained to be robust, tough and unemotional. In fact, I get the impression they cheat themselves of the expressive journey of life because when we live fully, experience pain fully, love fully and laugh often – then are we living. Although my life’s work and passion is comprised of one of the most emotional moments in a man’s life it is not always expressed as such. But oh baby when it is – the world stops and takes notice.
I’ve often contemplated the reasoning behind the bridal bouquet! Women spend a small fortune on the finest couture gown of her life and then chooses an accessory that may cover the most beautiful and intricate details on this fashion masterpiece! Quite a dilemma wouldn’t you agree? In my quest to protect the integrity that designers bestow into these gorgeous wedding gowns, I have strived to design complementary bouquets that avoid covering up the best assets on a gown…unless of course covering up is precisely what is needed!
February 14, 2012 – 10:48 am
Early Medieval Legends tell us that St. Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by the Roman Emperor. The Roman Emperor was so impressed by Valentine because he attempted to convert him to Roman paganism in order to save his life but he steadfast refused; and in fact tried to convert the Emperor to Christianity hence causing his execution. There is no evidence of romantic connotations tied to St. Valentine so when did it start? Red roses, chocolate treats, sexy lingerie and pink hearts dance across our TV screens leading up to what has become known as the national day of love. Men feel the pressure to the deliver the perfect mind-blowing gift to their lady loves. And women build their expectations sometimes to unreachable highs over fantasies about how their perfect love story should unfold. Valentine is my birth name, not a stage name as many would like to believe after realizing that I am in the business of love.
January 16, 2012 – 10:42 pm
The popularity of candy bars has every bride asking for apothecary jars filled with miniature snicker bars and color-coordinated jelly bellies. I empathize with bride’s enthusiasm as I designed my first candy bar with the help of Dylan’s Candy Bar at Nas and Kelis’ 2005 nuptials. Lauren Dylan created custom chocolate molds of music inspired that included musical notes, miniature microphones and CD’s. In addition, she brought in white chocolate and milk chocolate fountains along with a few classic childhood favorites consisting of milk chocolate and almond candy bars, chocolate kisses and yes personalized M&M’s. As I’ve watched this trend grow in popularity and become more conventional, I have been eagerly anticipating its next incarnation.
December 31, 2011 – 4:11 pm
This year has passed faster than any other year in my career. Maybe it was because I traveled more this year than any previous years or maybe it was because I finally reached the goal of hosting my own show? I’m not sure but I’m absolutely certain that I worked harder this year with more focus and tenacity than ever before. I once believed that success meant conquering some far off goal or arriving at a magical destination. However, this year has taught me that success lies only in the journey of living my dreams and what a journey it has been. From the very early morning call times to the hysterical crying spells I experienced some morning while riding to the set of I Do Over to traveling the world with my husband and daughter because I begged them to experience every moment with me…this is called enjoying the journey. The time has come for me to review the goals I set for last year and identify new goals for the coming year but it would be blasphemous not to acknowledge all the good works that God has completed in my life and my immense gratitude. So as this year ends, I share with you my most memorable moments of 2011 with hopes that you may catch a glimpse of yourself inside my journey because I believe that we are all more alike than not -different paths but all taking the same ride!
