Hello! Welcome to New Generation Bride!
We are Rupa and Shivani, a mother-daughter duo, with a passion for multicultural, mixed-tradition weddings! Thanks for stopping by – we hope you will grab a drink, take a look around and stay for a while! Be sure to join in on the conversation – leave us some comments or email us and tell us what you think! We are here to inspire YOU – we welcome any and all feedback as we begin this journey with New Generation Bride!
Get to know us a little bit more here.
Andrew + Bethany: “God blessed the broken road, that led me straight to you.”
Bethany and Andrew gave us such a beautiful story in their own words, and is only made that much more beautiful by the amazing pictures captured by Andres Valenzuela. Andres tells us, “By far the best moment for me was when they pronounced them man and wife at the altar and just after Andrew kissed his bride he turns to the congregation and starts jumping up and down, hands in the air like he just won the lottery! Such joy from a man realizing this woman he just kissed was now his wife! “
Andrew was born and raised in Jamaica, West Indies and came to America when he was 15 years old.
Bethany says, “He is a wonderul, fun-loving, caring person. He is passionate about all he does, loves his family, and is always looking to help others in anyway he can.”
Bethany was born and raised in New York. She has found a career she is passionate about as a registered nurse, but her favorite job in life is being a mother to her wonderful 4 year old son, Brandon. “We are very involved in our church, and believe that in order for us to have a successful relationship, Jesus must be at the center of everything we do.”
November 20, 2011 started out as a normal Sunday… Bethany was sitting down preparing to hear a Sunday sermon and the Pastor began speaking as if she was going to be preaching about love. She started reading from Song of Solomon, and talking about love as being a “friendship set on fire”. She then proceeded to tell the church that one of the member’s heart had been set on fire. Before Bethany knew what was happening, Andrew came walking from the back of the room, came on the stage with a bouquet of roses, got down on his knee, and pulled out a the most beautiful ring! (By that point I don’t think anyone could tell the difference between Bethany’s face and the red shirt she was wearing!) He told her “It would be an honor to have you as my wife” and asked her to marry him. Bethany said yes to the proposal, then proceeded to turn around and run back to her seat! Friends had to remind her she should go back and give him a hug!
“Our pastor then prayed for us that our engagement would be to the glory of God as we prepared for marriage, and then the church then took a moment to all come and greet and congratulate us.”
Bethany would have never wanted to get engaged in a public setting, but it ended up being a wonderful experience and a great memory. And…both families knew what was going to happen, they all kept it a secret from the bride!
Bethany stuck to American tradition by choosing “Here Comes the Bride” as the song she walked down the aisle to as she saw her husband-to-be waiting for her at the altar!
Bethany and Andrew talk about the planning process of their big day: “The experience of planning our wedding was what I could describe as a whirlwind. Neither of us had very much knowledge when it came to planning a big event like this, and we made a decision at the beginning that we wanted to keep our wedding fairly simple. Bethany would have been ok with a backyard barbecue for a reception, whereas Andrew had dreams of something a bit more formal. We both come from large families, as well as have a lot of friends – so we had to expand our original ideas substantially once we really started planning and writing everything down. It took cooperation with each other in that we had to come together to plan and create a day that would never be forgotten, and would be a dream come true for both of us. I think our biggest challenge along the way was organization. We left a few too many things for last minute, and that caused some very chaotic moments in the days leading up to the wedding. Another challenge was allowing ourselves to ask for help. Bethany had a very hard time asking for help, but in the end her bridesmaids and friends pulled through in such an extraordinary way with decorating and centerpieces, etc.”
“We had such an awesome time with our families. We had ton’s of fun joking with family and friends in our bridal party at the rehearsal the night before the wedding. Most of Andrew’s family lives out of state, so this was actually the first time I got to meet them as well as my family. On our wedding day, it was nothing but joy and laughter.”
“We served food that was traditional to both cultures for dinner (i.e. Jamaican jerk chicken and rice and peas for the groom’s culture, chicken marsala, salmon, pasta – more traditional American dishes for the bride’s culture). We had two wedding cakes – one was a red velvet bakery cake, and the other a traditional Jamaican black rum cake. The music was a mix of cultural preferences as well.”
For their first dance, Bethany and Andrew chose “God Bless the Broken Road” by the Rascall Flats because they felt their stories resonated with it and that it is a beautiful love song.
Their photographer, Andres, gave us his insightful observations of the day:
” I saw Bethany a beautiful woman in love with a man who was so excited to marry her. I saw such excitement in Bethany’s eyes as she saw herself in her wedding dress for the first time and the reality of the day sank in. I saw Andrew a handsome man – nervous – but with the excitement of a kid on the morning of Christmas Day as he prepares to marry the love of his life. I saw the love and support of community enveloping them both and welcoming each other and their respective backgrounds into a new life together. I saw the joy and love between two people coming together brigning everything and making a commitment to each other and God for the rest of their lives. It was beautiful, innocent and pure love that struck me and influenced the way I documented this special day for them.”
Andrew and Bethany’s advice to other New Generation Couples planning their big day: “Of course you have to be concerned with planning of the actual wedding day, but remain focused on the real reason for this so anxiously awaited day, to celebrate the beginning of a LIFETIME together! The best advice we were given about marriage was In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27).”
ceremony venue: House of Refuge Apostolic Church // reception venue & caterer: The Mansion at Colonial Terrace // photographer: Andres Valenzuela // decorator: Anne Marie Wint // dress: David's Bridal // hair stylist: Carla's Hair Salon // cake: Scarsdale Pastry Center // DJ/musician: Bryan Whittaker // florist: The Country Florist
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To the Best Mom in the World: Happy Mother’s Day!
Photo by Alternative Life Photography.
When we first started this blog, the question or remark I got most was “You and your mom are able to work together this closely? That is so cool! I wish I was able to do that.” And it truly is so cool. I think I take it for granted sometimes, but I am truly so lucky that I have such an amazing relationship with my mom. Yes there are arguments and tears from time to time, but then there are always the hugs, kisses and laughs right after.
Photo by Alternative Life Photography.
My stepdad always jokes that I am my mother’s daughter and we are exactly the same… and every day I see it more and more, and could not be happier. I can full heartedly say she is not only my best friend, but my biggest hero and person I adoringly look up to. She works so hard towards all of her dreams and kicks ass at them. Seriously. She has amazing talent and she takes on so many projects and responsibilities – which sometimes might make people think she is crazy for doing so – but then she excels at them and always knows the next step of what she wants to do. This is something I have always aspired to and hope I can come even somewhat close to emulating in my life.
And it’s not just with work. It’s how she treats family and makes sure they come first no matter what. From raising my brother and I … Giving us surprise snow days even when school wasn’t closed (those were the best, and some of my favorite memories growing up!)… Having the best advice during the toughest times… To helping and constantly being by my grandma’s side when she got sick… To recently taking on a foster pup in terrible condition and nursing her back to health… To making sure no matter how busy her work life is, that she always maintains that time she spends with her family.
Photo by Alternative Life Photography.
My mom has taught me the most important thing… and that is to love and to be compassionate and to love more! And because of that she is seriously the most amazing, supportive, smart and attractive woman I know… And the best mom in the world. I love you! I am so happy we have started this journey together and can’t wait for everything that is to come. Happy Mothers Day!
xoxo
Shivani
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Moms & the Great Memories
For this Mother’s Day, I wanted to reflect on some of the fun things that I remembered with my mom and the moments we went through! Many of you know the sadness that life has brought on over the many years as my mom got older but instead of all of that, I wanted to focus on the good stuff and the fun times.
When I am with my mom today, she still has that crazy, amazing “spark” of life and laughter and joy and even though she lost her speech in a major stroke a while ago, she always laughs and has a powerful way about her that just makes me know that all is good in my world! I love her and she has also taught me how to be the mom I am today – close to my daughter, love her for who she is, allow her to grow, make mistakes and become the woman that I am proud of every day!
So the funniest story that I, still to THIS day, remember and it always makes me laugh right out loud when I think of it is when I was about 10 years old and we were driving in my mom’s Gran Torino (70′s girls must remember these!?) – gigantic, light blue monster with an itty bitty 5′ nothing driver behind the wheel and a crazy driver at that!! My mom used to love playing American music loud and she was all into the ’70′s music – The Bee Gee’s, Michael Jackson, Captain & Tennille…and that brings me to that song…this Captain & Tennille song came on – ‘Muskrat Love’ and it has this part in it where the muskrats are “talking” to each other and they make this funny squeaky sound. Anyway, my mom starts laughing and we ask her why she’s laughing and she says, “It sounds like they are on the toilet with diarrhea!!!” Well, we just fell apart laughing so hard in the car that my mom had to pull over ’cause tears were streaming down her eyes from laughing so hard.
And yes, I know ‘you had to be there’ for this moment but let me tell you, it is moments like these – filled with loud laughter and happy tears that just make so much ok when life just isn’t sometimes. I write this with a huge smile on my face and am so glad that for the first time in many years of talking about my mom on a post that it isn’t full of tears and sadness. For it is the smiles and love for which we should always be grateful and I am, truly am. I hope that I have created some with my own kids over time and that these will be what they remember as well as the years move on.
Have a great Mother’s Day everyone. Take a minute and laugh, smile and enjoy the memories or the now moments.
Leave us some love below and share with us your favorite, fun ‘Mom memory’ -we’d love it if you did!!
xo
Rupa
