Will your wedding feature $90,000 flowers (“with crystals—the good ones!”) or two $25,000 wedding dresses? Um, probably not. And those were only two of the outrageous expenses Mendeecees Harris and Yandy Smith accounted for in Love & Hip Hop Live: The Wedding. And still, their over-the-top nuptials—broadcast on VH1 last night—were surprisingly relatable for the average bride. No, really. Here are seven lessons shared as the wedding unfolded on live TV, with flashbacks to their sometimes bumpy road to marriage.
LOVE & HIP HOP SAYS:“We gotta get a venue, or everything else will fall to pieces.” —bride, to her wedding planner/best friend
LESSON FOR YOU: Venue first, everything else later. I don’t know if Yandy’s best friend/maid of honor was qualified to do double duty as a wedding planner, but based on the fact that she was checking out flowers before securing a venue, I’m guessing no. The size, decor, and style of your wedding venue will dictate everything from your guest list to to your wedding date to your color palette. Choosing a venue is the very first task to cross off your to-do list—no matter how badly you want to go flower or dress shopping.
LOVE & HIP HOP SAYS:“Mothers-in-law come looking for wedding dresses? Oh, they do? Well not mine.” —bride, on not inviting her future MIL dress shopping
LESSON FOR YOU: Throw your future mother-in-law a bone. Plenty of brides clash with their future mothers-in-law as they’re wedding planning—and Yandy’s future MIL seemed to have an unlimited pass on the crazy train. And still, the process will be easier for everyone if your parents feel included. If you don’t want to take your future MIL dress shopping (and I don’t blame you) ask her to organize guest bags or share her opinions on centerpieces—even if you wind up dismissing them entirely.
![2-love-and-hip-hop-wedding-yandy-mendeecees-0526-instagram]()
Side note: Speaking of wedding dresses, Yandy’s were designed by Pnina Tornai, whose designs are sold at Kleinfeld in New York. Here’s what Pnina had to say about the bride: “When I met Yandy for the first time, I was so impressed with how down-to-earth, genuine, and sweet she is. To me she is a real-life Cinderella. During our meeting, I was lucky to meet her mother and friends. It always says so much to me when I meet the bride’s family because it helps me understand where she comes from. And it’s also important to me to know what they like.”
LOVE & HIP HOP SAYS:“It doesn’t make sense for her to have the day she dreamed of and me live in a cardboard box.” —groom, on those $90,000 flowers
LESSON FOR YOU: Remember, your wedding is one day—your bank accounts need to get you beyond that day. If you can’t afford your dream dress (or flowers or venue or anything) head back to square one. Don’t go into credit card debt when you’re wedding planning.
LOVE & HIP HOP SAYS:“I’m going to google these vows, then probably remix it and put it to my own words.” —groom, on writing his own vows
LESSON FOR YOU: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel for your wedding. Yandy wasn’t impressed with the idea of her groom googling his vows, but there’s some merit to it. People have been getting married for thousands of years, after all, so it can’t hurt to get some inspiration from the brides and grooms who have made down the aisle ahead of you.
LOVE & HIP HOP SAYS:“Don’t make the same mistakes.” —Ray J, on marriage
LESSON FOR YOU: Um, don’t make the same mistakes. I don’t often cite Brandy’s kid brother when I’m doling out marriage advice, but when asked to share his wise words for the bride and groom, the Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star basically said that if you’re having the same fight over and over again without resolving it, either figure out a solution, or figure out how to get over it. Not too shabby, Ray J.
LOVE & HIP HOP SAYS:“The show must go on.” —host Nina Parker, on AWOL bridesmaid Kimbella {Don’t worry—she made it.}
LESSON FOR YOU: Everything won’t go as planned on your wedding day—and that’s OK. As Leah reminded us, one big thing will go wrong on your wedding day. Here’s how to move past it.
LOVE & HIP HOP SAYS:“I’m so in love with being in love that nothing else matters now.” —bride, on letting go of drama her wedding day
LESSON FOR YOU: Your wedding will last five or six hours, so enjoy them. Maybe you still haven’t filed your taxes {Oops!}, you’re pissed at your boss, or you have to pack for your honeymoon
which is tomorrow. Whatever’s nagging you, let it go—at least until tomorrow.
The wedding also included an important fashion lesson: Tearaway skirts on the bridesmaid dresses are always a DO. Yandy’s 15 bridesmaids wore dresses with removable high-low skirts, which they took off for the reception. Here’s the before—although this pic doesn’t do it justice because you can’t see the high-low.
And the after:
![]()
