Dream Girl Update

Here is an update on Jennifer Hudson. Note that this is also a great example of a real-life scenario for last week’s article  “Should Men Wear Engagement Rings?”

Dream Life Turns to Nightmare

Last September we featured Jennifer Hudson’s engagement in the article ‘Dreamgirls Jennifer Hudson is on her way to her dream wedding’. Tragically, the next month, she lost her mother, brother, and nephew – murdered.

December 2008

William Balfour “estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister, Julia Hudson, and the stepfather of one of the victims, 7-year-old Julian King” is charged for the crimes: three counts of murder and one count of home invasion (cnn.com).

January 2009

Jennifer Hudson makes her first stage appearance after the tragedy when she sings the The Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl (starsjournal.com).

Jennifer Hudson looking wonderful in white

February

Monstersandcritics.com reports that a source has told them that Jennifer Hudson is going to marry her fiance David Otunga “real soon”. There are rumors that they might get married on Valentine’s Day.

Jennifer Hudson wins a grammy for best R&B album and also performs at the event. She also wins the Outstanding New Artist, Best Album, and Best Collaboration awards at the 40th annual NAACP Image Awards (cbc.ca).

March

Still apparently unmarried – Jennifer Hudson talks wedding plans with Access Hollywood. She tells them she wants her 3 dogs (names Oscar, Grammy, and Dreamgirl) to be in the wedding and that she is going to design her own wedding dress. She confirms that a secret wedding date has been set during an interview with Ryan Seacrest (tvwatch.people.com).

April

Hudson reciprocates and proposes to Otunga on his birthday (he originally proposed to her on her 27th birthday). She gives him a 5 carat platinum and diamond engagement ring (People.com).

Here are some examples of platinum and diamond wedding rings that would also work as engagement rings if you’re going to propose to your man!

May

Family and friends throw Hudson a baby shower in Chicago, confirming rumors that the engaged couple are expecting a baby (chicagotribune.com). The baby’s due date has not been confirmed. It makes sense that the wedding might be postponed until after the baby is born…

July

Jennifer Hudson performs at the Michael Jackson memorial service, she can’t hide her pregnancy anymore at this point but has never publicly confirmed it either.

August

Jennifer Hudson gives birth to a 7 lb 14 oz baby boy, named David Otunga Junior after her fiance (binsidetv.net). His birth day indicates that she was approximately 8 weeks pregnant in February (the discovery of this good news may be what delayed the couple’s wedding?!).

September

It’s now September and I predict a Fall or Winter wedding, once the new mama is settled in with baby and ready to wear her wedding dress again! Let me know if you hear anything!

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This post is dedicated to our dog, and the ring bearer at our wedding, Buddy, who passed away last week.

10-4 Good Buddy

Buddy (a.k.a. Budster, Mr. Buddinski, Budders, and Rex) lived the good life for 13  years. He was, cliches aside, my husband’s best friend. I also spooned him many a night when my husband was away on business trips. He was also my running buddy, our daughter’s stinky big brother, and one of the gang when friends gathered in our backyard or on camping trips…

Buddy

A big part of our family unit, Buddy was part of our wedding plans right from the beginning.

Tips for Dog Owners

1. Respect  your dog’s personality – if they are not going to enjoy the event, leave them at home.

2. Keep costumes simple and try them out on the dog in advance so that they can get used to it.

3. Match attire to your dog’s style. For example, our dog would not have been happy wearing a tutu or a big frilly bow. (And, he would have looked ridiculous…)

4. Assign a responsible person to be his primary care during the big day (pick up/drop off dog, walk and water, lead him down aisle). Provide instructions (and perhaps dog treats?!) in case your pet starts barking during the ceremony etc.

5. If you are a control freak and you can’t accept the unexpected, you might want to leave animals out of the proceedings (humans are hard enough to control, after all!).

6. If he’s the ring bearer, perhaps let someone else actually carry the wedding ring.

danforthdiamond.com

Furry Fashions

These Dog Wedding Tuxedos are only $28.95 from Advantagebridal.com. I like how they are designed – they won’t restrict your dog’s movement so they shouldn’t make him feel too weird (particularly if you have a dog that’s already accustomed to wearing clothing…).

advantagebridal.com

This dress is very cute and suits this pretty little dog perfectly. It’s available at sassypup.net for only $39.99.

sassypup.net

For an elegant, more subtle look for your dog, you could buy this satin collar and bow tie from dogdressonline for only $12.00.

Another option would be to place a wreath of flowers around your dog’s neck – simple and natural – matching to the bouquets.

We took the less expensive do-it-yourself option because we had problems finding something suitable for our dog that was durable, the right size, and not too expensive. We went to a thrift store with his neck measurement and purchased a used white dress shirt and bow tie. My mom cut the collar off and hemmed the edges. The existing button on the collar, with the bow tie (elastic neck band) over top, fastened around his neck. We made cuffs from the shirt cuffs, too, but Buddy didn’t like them (he walked around like a show pony when he had them on) so we didn’t use them.

we love you Buddy

For tips about wilder wedding parties, please see my previous article: Wild Weddings: Animals.

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