Sungela's PJ & TR Merged! Finally an Update! Faux Disneymoon Time

[sungela]

After one year of lurking, and less than five months to go before our nuptials, I figured it's high time I begin my own planning journal. (The fact that I need lots of help and advice on everything from people-of-honor clothing to cosmetology is purely coincidental).

Angela and I (Sunny) met on my first day of freshman year at the Univ. of Pennsylvania (NOT Penn State). We're the same age, but I'd taken a year off to volunteer in NYC, so she was already a wise and savvy sophomore. I sat in the front row of our legal studies class, as I always do, and attempted to answer every question (I'm the Tracy Flick type). Angela, all the way in the back row, knew instantly that I'd make a great study buddy, and accosted me on the way out. Of course, she got way more than she bargained for. Word of advice to anyone attempting to mix romance with academics: don't. That grade is by far the worst on my transcript.

We've been planning our wedding almost since the beginning (it didn't hurt that we lived right on Philly's diamond row and therefore had to pass windows full of engagement rings every day). When I spotted the Tiffany blossom ring, though, the wait was over. I wanted it, needed it, I craved it. I'd always wanted a ring that resembled a flower, and this was it. (Well, I'd show it to you if I could figure out how to post links or pictures, but it does look like a small, diamond flower). On October 6, 2006, Angela and I were supposed to be on a trip to my parents' house in Connecticut, and we stopped at my favorite rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. (Yes, I have a favorite rest stop--it's the first one you encounter after leaving Conn. and going all the way through NY, which means that I'm usually desperate by the time I get there.) She asked me for a piece of gum, as she continuously does (I'm the big purse person in the relationship), and there was my pretty blue box. Instead of going to my parents, she had booked a lovely hotel in Greenwich, CT, and we enjoyed Champagne and being engaged. The next morning, we continued home so that I could show off my perfect ring and my perfect fiancee (I mean, they'd met her before, but it was still special).

Angela's ring waited about nine months while she deliberated. Ultimately, she chose the Etoile, which has a thicker band, perfect for her big hands (she's 6'1", by the way, and a classical pianist). I used our Lite Brite to spell out "Will you marry me?" on the day before her birthday (engagement on b-day = too cliche, day before = unexpected).

We originally intended to have our wedding (ceremony + civil union) in CT, but when Disney announced its new policy last year, there was no question. Angela's from FL, and we are both huge Disney World fans. Plus, neither of us can coordinate a dinner party for ten, let alone a wedding, and the possibility of a wedding planner was too good to pass up. We'll be the first lesbian couple to marry at Disney World on June 22, 2008!

We've already bought our dresses: I'm going to be the first Disney bride to wear one of the Disney dresses. When I tried on the Belle dress, it was like a chorus of angels singing. Angela's wearing a very pretty Nicole Miller, very simple and straight-forward for my very statuesque bride-to-be. We've also done our planning session with Jennifer (could there be anything yummier than Disney food?), so the cake is set (Mad Hatter) and we have a basic color scheme (very bright and sunny without being overly Rainbow Pride). We've booked the rabbi (Angela's in the process of converting to Judaism), and we've more or less solidified the wedding party (I'll save the soap opera for another post). Other than that, though, we've got lots to do!

[Tabetha]

How great! I love the dual engagements.

I can't wait to see what else you have planned...

[M&M126]

Congrats and welcome to the boards! :)

PS I use photobucket.com to upload my pictures and then you can copy a link (for message boards) there and paste it here to post your pics!

[Starr W.]

Congrats! :yay: Can't wait to see what you have planned and when you get some pictures I would love to see if you have one of that Nicole Miller dress(she's one of my faves).

(Covertly trying to convince DH to do a VR for our 20th in 2014 at WDW, plus I love reading everyones PJ and TR).

[mla1977]

Congrats! What part of CT are you from? I grew up there, but I went to Temple for law school and now live near KoP

[lov2b@disney]

Congratulations! Our wedding is just a few days before yours! Where is your ceremony going to be?

Looking forward to reading more!

[padisneyfour]

plans sound great.... enjoy and welcome

[Desnik]

Welcome! How great is that that you will be the first lesbian couple to be married at WDW?!! I can't wait to hear more details and see some pics! Congrats on your engagement!

[keenercam]

Everything sounds wonderful! What a romantic story! Can't wait to hear about all your plans. :sunny:

[twiu]

congratulations!!! You're so funny about U. Penn and not Penn State. My sister went to UPenn and she would always say that. Hey, if you went to an ivy league, I'd be all about that too. You go UPENN!!!! :rotfl: (I wish I went to an Ivy league school, but I studied at a conservatory)

Anyway, good luck with planning your wedding! can't wait to hear your plans. It's going to be beautiful!!!

Excuse my ignorance... but do you both walk down the aisle together or how does that work?

[Princess_Amanda]

Congratulations to the both of you. Looking forward to reading your planning journal.

[caryndisneydiva]

congrats! i can't wait for you to get your post count up and post pics! which belle dress are you wearing? i had the mad hatter as well and it was fantastic! welcome to the boards!

[sungela]

Thanks to M&M126, I can actually put names to faces, and pretty pictures to boring descriptions. Here's the best pic I have of us: http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Sungela.jpg(I'm the short one with the messy hair),
my dress:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Belledress.jpg,
Angela's dress:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/NicoleMillerdress.jpg,
my ring:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Blossomring.jpg,
and last, but certainly not least, Angela's ring:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Etoilering.jpg.
Lot of photos for one post, but I love learning new technological tricks.

In answer to all of your questions, I'm from Norwich, CT, which used to be famous because of its proximity to Mystic, of Mystic Pizza fame. Now we're known for being close to two Indian casinos, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. Norwich, incidentally, was the birthplace of Benedict Arnold and at one point the seventh largest city in the British Empire. I was, incidentally, a docent at a Norwich historical museum, and I am thus filled with fun Norwichian trivia. It helps on days like today, when the loss of my beloved Patriots fills me with despair. Seriously, 18-1? Angela, transplanted to New Jersey, happily rooted for the Giants. Meh. (Another side note, of which I am obviously fond: I still go to school in Philly, Angela works on Wall Street, so we split the commute and live with our very clingy cat in Princeton, NJ).

In terms of Disney wedding stuff, we're walking down the aisle separately (Ange first, because my dress demands belle of the ball attention) at the Wedding Pavilion, 10 AM. Then we're doing our reception at the Grand Floridian. We're vegetarians, so we figured people would miss meat less at a brunch. That, and according to Jewish custom, you're not supposed to eat before your wedding, and Angela couldn't make it without food more than a few hours. We also get the rest of the day to enjoy each other, and a dessert buffet as the perfect nightcap.

First important question: does anyone have advice on cosmetologists? We need someone to do makeup and hair for the two of us and both of our mothers (obv. in separate rooms). My wedding to do list is six feet long, but I want to get this one squared away.

[keenercam]

Sunny - the gowns are just exquisite! And what a lovely picture of the two of you! Your plans for your ceremony and reception sound great. Looking forward to hearing all about the planning!

[mla1977]

Sunny,

I grew up in Colchester and used to work at the Papa Gino's in Norwich!

I usually make it to the casinos when I go home too. (Mohegan, not Foxwoods). I would still be living in the area if I had been accepted to the Coast Guard Academy, but alas, I didn't get in so I looked for a good second option. The twisted path led me to live here near Philly now.

I love both of the rings. I'm usually into simple stuff, but WOW! you're ring is gorgeous. Gets me thinking...

[meelee514]

Congrats! What part of CT are you from? I grew up there, but I went to Temple for law school and now live near KoP

I live right by KoP too! I work like 2 minutes from the mall. Small world.

[mla1977]

Me too! I work on First Ave and used to live across the street from the mall.

[hmgolden]

I just wanted to pop in and say I love your dress and I absolutely adore both of your rings - gorgeous. I myself am a sucker for the blue box ;)

[Beep]

Hi, congratulations to you both!

Ooohh, pick-up skirt! Big big fan here - I've gone for the Maggie Sottero Capri Royale and love it.

We're not getting married until December 2009 but I've picked up so much info from here that it feels like it's just round the corner. Good job it's not when I look at my wallet though...:scared1:

A lot of brides on here recommend Ana at Beaute Speciale and the website is here: http://www.beautespeciale.com/

Another one recommended is Patricia Le Jeune: http://www.lejeune-pca.com/

I found another hair and make up artist that does really nice looking photo-shoot type make up which is what I want. I can't find the link at the mo but I'll post it on later.

Keep us updated with all the planning :goodvibes

[caryndisneydiva]

i grew up in dayton, nj, like 3 minutes from princeton. there are lots of brides from that area on here! my parents still live there!

i used ana from beaute speciale and I LOVED HER. i'm a tough crowd when it comes to hair/make up and she was amazing. truly amazing.

your rings are gorgeous, i just love tiffany's (my "clingy cat's" name is tiffany, after the store of course)!

i LOVE LOVE LOVE your dress. it is amazing! it's the one i wanted to seriously look at, but there wasn't anywhere in houston (where i currently reside) to try it on :rolleyes1 .

things look great so far, we can all help with your wedding laundry list!

happy planning!

[stitchlet]

Congratulations! Both of your rings are beautiful - can't wait to hear details & see more pics.

[mermaidbride1108]

Hiya Neighbor! Congrats on your wedding planning! Ok so I'm asking everyone this who lives remotely near me - Which bridal shops did you get your dresses? The only bridal shop I found that is near Philly that stocks the Disney Line is Bridaltown - did you go there?

Looking forward to reading more!

[curiouser]

Congrats!! Wow, a two-Tiffany couple, I'd be awestruck by the bling ;) I can't wait to see photos of both of you in your dresses. I love how Angela's is simplistic in contrast to your princess-y one. They'll look gorgeous together!

[mla1977]

Hiya Neighbor! Congrats on your wedding planning! Ok so I'm asking everyone this who lives remotely near me - Which bridal shops did you get your dresses? The only bridal shop I found that is near Philly that stocks the Disney Line is Bridaltown - did you go there?

Looking forward to reading more!

They just had a trunk show a few weeks ago. They don't actually have the dresses in the store. They might, but they didn't when I was there two months ago. Keep checking their website for when they are having trunk shows. (I just checked earlier today and they don't have one scheduled yet)

[quidam373]

Congrats!! I LOVE your dress! I'm not engaged, but was looking through wedding dresses anyway (it's never too early to plan!:goodvibes ) and fell completely in love with that one. I'm sure you'll look gorgeous in it!!

[hope1826]

Congrats and welcome!! Your dresses are gorgeous!! Are you having a wishes wedding?

I vote for Patricia LeJeune for hair and makeup. I haven't met her yet, but I've talked to her a number of times and she's very sweet. You should look at her website www.lejeune-pca.com.

[helloirishkitty]

Congratulations and :welcome:!

Your rings are absolutely beautiful and your dresses are stunning! You're definitely right about yours commanding attention, and I love how they're both different but compliment each other.

I can't wait to hear more about your plans! :cloud9:

[mermaidbride1108]

They just had a trunk show a few weeks ago. They don't actually have the dresses in the store. They might, but they didn't when I was there two months ago. Keep checking their website for when they are having trunk shows. (I just checked earlier today and they don't have one scheduled yet)

Wow that's good to know. I thought they actually had them in stock. I'll keep checking back for trunk shows. Did you like BridalTowns service?

[Fantasia Sam]

I'm soooo happy that Disney changed their policy because otherwise we'd never have gotten to know you - yay for Disney!

I love your rings, I would love a blue box with something just for me in it - we got a couple as wedding presents and not to sound ungrateful but candlestick holders just don't hang well from my ear.

Your dresses are stunning, oh to have either of your figures.

My MoH and her wife had a commitment here in the UK not long after Paul and I were married and they were walked down the aisle in their gorge dresses by their Best Men, LOL there was much discussion as to who was going to come down the aisle first ;) They each had a Best Man and Best Woman, the Best Women had to do a reading each. I actually took care of their make-up and I gave them a trial run, I was also in their Wedding co-ordinator but I was upset that I did not get a "Monica" clipboard and headset ;) Not long after they had their ceremony the Government changed their policy LOL could have been timed better but they did end up having a civil ceremony to rubber stamp it and make it official.

Anyway not sure what your plans are but I can't wait to read more. Congratulations to you both :)

[Desnik]

I absolutely love both dresses and both rings! Everything is beautiful! That's a great picture of the 2 of you! As for a cosmetologist, well my vow renewal isn't until June 2009 but I already know I will use Ana of Beaute Speciale. She has gotten great reviews from Disney brides.

[mla1977]

Wow that's good to know. I thought they actually had them in stock. I'll keep checking back for trunk shows. Did you like BridalTowns service?

I worked with Gail and she was really helpful. They actually sold the dress I wanted before I went in with my mom, but I was able to get the same one brand new for the same price as the stock one. :banana: My BFF actually picked out the dress and said "humor me". Since I only live about 5 minutes from them, alterations should be no problem when the time comes.

[myprincessgirlisa]

CONGRATS TO YOU BOTH....what aa awsome event for you both...getting married at WDW & to be the 1st lesbian couple...how NEAT!!!!! CONGRATS!!!

your rings & dresses are beautiful!!!!! you 2 are gonna look amazing!!!

cant wait to read more details!!!!

[sungela]

Thanks for all your lovely comments and suggestions! I got my dress during the first trunk show at Exquisite Bride in Princeton (I work right across the street, which makes it very easy). I kind of miss wedding dress shopping--I'm not actually that princessy, but I love being surrounded by layers of taffeta.

Being a two Tiffany couple has its pluses (all that shininess), but it is a little too easy to spend $$$ on diamonds. We just got our wedding bands there (with Sungela engraved, of course, to represent the perfection of our union/have something that is totally uniquely us) and I got my "something new"--earrings that match my engagement ring. It's going to be really hard to refrain from wearing them before June 22... Angela has her eye on the Gehry orchid earrings and necklace:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Orchidearrings.jpg

Speaking of extravagant sums, we just got our budget in. Boy does it add up fast. A few questions for Disney bridal vets:
1. Do we have to estimate so much for liquor? I mean, they budgeted 5 drinks per person for a morning wedding, not counting champagne. Even if we get it back, that's a lot of extra cash to lay out.
2. Is the video worth it? I go back and forth--will we ever watch it? How likely is it that our kids can even watch it, given how fast technology changes? For those who purchased it (or didn't), do you regret it?
3. How much (approx.) were your flowers? We haven't gotten that part of the budget yet, but I want to have a range. I don't want a whole bunch of flowers (primarily due to my hyper-allergenic Jewish family), but I'm worried that we'll get an estimate for $20K worth of disposable decorations.

(By the way, I think it's hilarious how many people are from NJ, PA, or CT. Either this is a very skewed sample or I've found myself in Disney wedding territory.)

[caryndisneydiva]

1. Do we have to estimate so much for liquor? I mean, they budgeted 5 drinks per person for a morning wedding, not counting champagne. Even if we get it back, that's a lot of extra cash to lay out.

i thought the exact same thing and had them cut my bar budget in half per person. they had estimated 6 drinks per for me, so i had them cut it to three.

2. Is the video worth it? I go back and forth--will we ever watch it? How likely is it that our kids can even watch it, given how fast technology changes? For those who purchased it (or didn't), do you regret it?

i am excited to get my video back. you don't know how much you miss on that day, everyone tells me stories now and i'm like, "i didn't know that happened!" so yes, i think it's worth it.

3. How much (approx.) were your flowers? We haven't gotten that part of the budget yet, but I want to have a range. I don't want a whole bunch of flowers (primarily due to my hyper-allergenic Jewish family), but I'm worried that we'll get an estimate for $20K worth of disposable decorations.


my bouquet was 350 and my sisters rose wands were 40 each. i shouldn't have done centerpieces which were the bulk of my budget, still under a thousand dollars...but i shouldn't have done them. oh well! the only reason my bouquet was so expensive was because i told her i wanted to biggest bouquet that she had ever made and that's what i got!
hth!

[sungela]

That's much better than I was thinking, although I'm still a little nervous to see the floral budget. Cutting out a few people from the dessert party and halving the estimated liquor really helped, though...

[caryndisneydiva]

when it comes to centerpieces, i think carrie (lurkyloo's) advice was the best...when have you EVER remembered a centerpiece from any wedding you have ever gone to? i know i haven't. i barely remember my own! depending on where you are having your reception, i wouldn't do them at all. many disney locations have enough added scenery, so unless you're in a ballroomish type place, you shouldn't need the added expense. thats just my 2 cents though...

[DisBride2007]

Hi!

First, congratulations!!

About the floral budget - this is definitely the place where your money can get spent quickly. If you don't do floral centerpieces, you'll be fine. Yes, the bouquets are in the neighborhood of $300 each, but the centerpieces are what can really add up. You can do something nice for each table at a reasonable price without the really expensive floral.

About the video, we did not have a professional videographer, so it may not be the same, but we feel kind of awkward noticing it. A lot of people don't like to look at themselves in pictures because they start nitpicking themselves - I find it's even worse on video. Most people will tell you to go ahead and do it. It's definitely worth it if there are important people who aren't able to attend.

[mermaidbride1108]

Did you get your dress at Bridaltown or Exquistie Bride? I made an appt for Bridaltown for 2/16. It says on there website the trunk show is 2/1-3/31. But the woman on the phone couldn't give me an answer so I'll be calling again.

I vote for Video, I know I'll miss a ton of stuff at my wedding and no matter how much I always made fun of myself at my old teenage dance recitals, I watch them over and over again and remember just how fun they were!

I know someone did centerpieces for like $35 a table but that was in 2005. They were a glass bowl with water and a couples lilies in it with blue sea glass. I'm thinking of something like that for mine but with seashells. I already bought sandcastles but I have to figure out how to get them there!!!

For liquor sorry, I'm clueless!

[Wazzo]

First of all, congratulations to you both!! :goodvibes

my ring:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Blossomring.jpg

Wow! This ring is SO beautiful!! Do you happen to have a picture of you wearing it? I'd love to see how big the flower is in proportion to your hand.

Your dresses are gorgeous too! And congratulations again! :wizard:

[PrincessBride010103]

how do you know you're the first bride to wear a disney gown??

[BethanyMouse]

Congrats to you! I just starting reading your pj and I love your rings! Beautiful. Your gown is gorgeous too! Cant wait to read more!

[Fantasia Sam]

My Floral budget was $2100 back in 2004 that included chair covers and ribbons and rose cones for the staged exit :) My centerpieces were $82 a pop for 3 Various height cylinders filled with water with a white floating candle, and shells with 1 floralyte at bottom. Placed on a glass mirror with scattered Sea Shells and mixed rose petals - I thought that was a fair price back then :)


Video - there are some companies out there who offer really good value for their incredible work. I couldn't have not had the video and even though I only ever really watch my slo-mo montage it was still worth it to me :)



Love those Gehry orchid earrings :)

[sungela]

You all are sooo helpful! I'm going to wait and see what the flower budget is, and then go from there. I agree that centerpieces are usually a waste, which is why I really want edible ones (that way we don't have to have individual favors too). I love the look of one flower for bridesmaids (orange daisy, turquoise dress, perhaps?), and that shouldn't cost too much.

Sorry, no pics yet of the ring on my hand; we have a digital camera, I just don't know how to use it. Someday I will join the 21st century, but for now I'm happy with my walkman and VCR.

My WP, Jennifer, told me that I'm the first DB to wear one of the dresses, although I will happily rescind my right to the title if informed otherwise. I got it at Exquisite Bridal at the trunk show in August, although I still haven't gone in for my second fitting--should I be worried about that? I haven't picked out shoes, yet, either, although it's not that easy to find attractive vegetarian shoes. (Shoe dilemma: I'm eight inches shorter than Angela, but I can't walk in heels. Oy vey! But since my dress is huge, how bad would it be if I just wore sneakers? I am sorely tempted...)

Next advice question: for people who have had or are having dessert parties, did you pay for the bus/viewing fee, or did most people purchase their own park tickets anyway? It saves a lot of $ to have people meet up at Epcot, but I don't want my family and friends to think that we're being cheap by making them pay their own admission.

[hope1826]

(Shoe dilemma: I'm eight inches shorter than Angela, but I can't walk in heels. Oy vey! But since my dress is huge, how bad would it be if I just wore sneakers? I am sorely tempted...)

Next advice question: for people who have had or are having dessert parties, did you pay for the bus/viewing fee, or did most people purchase their own park tickets anyway? It saves a lot of $ to have people meet up at Epcot, but I don't want my family and friends to think that we're being cheap by making them pay their own admission.

Are crocs vegetarian? I would love to see pics of a bride in a DFTW dress with crocs!!! pink crocs!

As for the Dessert parties. Many of my guests are going to have passes into Epcot that day, but my planner said that they charge the viewing fee for the whole party and will give us a refund for the guests who did have tickets, after the wedding. I don't know if that is what they do with everyone. The viewing fee is only $13. If you have any guests who are not going to be buying multi day tickets or parkhopper tickets, they will have to pay $71 to get into Epcot for your Dessert Party.

We are paying $385 for a round trip bus. Boardwalk to Epcot to Boardwalk. Our ceremony and reception are both at the Boardwalk Inn. Our guests will have to get to and from the Boardwalk on their own.

Oh and I think you are REQUIRED to use the bus and an escort if you are going to be wearing your gowns.

[caryndisneydiva]

my rabbi wore crocs when he officiated our ceremony!

[disprincessatheart]

First, congratulations! Now to answering questions

SInce you're doing the DP the day of the wedding, and your guests will be tied up until at least early afternoon with the wedding and reception, I'd say most won't plan on a day's park admission that day, so just go ahead and do the viewing fee for them. The transportation is different though. If everyone is splitting up for the late afternoon and early evening and they're all staying on property or have good transportation anyway, just have them all meet back at epcot at a set time (tell them 30 minutes earlier than they need to be for those that do not understand the slowness of Disney transportation and the maze of navigating Disney roads). This way too they can all be in more causal clothes and really relax and enjoy the party!

[hope1826]

my rabbi wore crocs when he officiated our ceremony!

:rotfl2: That is HILARIOUS!! :rotfl: I remember you wrote that in your TR. Do you have any pics?!! I am seriously considering wearing them with my gown. Maybe just during the pics and the dessert party. I have a chipped bone in my right foot and I am dreading having to stand and run around for so many hours sans crocs/flip flops or sneakers.

[sungela]

I think my mother would kill me if I wore crocs, although the mickey ones would be hilariously appropriate. I'm thinking I might go with flip flops, although I don't want to make the clipping sound when I walk down the aisle... I have a feeling I'll put off shoes until the last possible second and end up walking down in $5 shoes from the Orlando Wal-Mart (at least they have an extensive non-leather collection).

In honor of Sungela Romance Day, I figured I'd give a little primer on our cast of characters. SR Day, by the way, is so named because it is sandwiched between V-Day and our 40 month anniversary (we still celebrate month anniversaries), and it is the day when all the excellent chocolate/cherry candy goes on sale.

My folks: My sister is two years older than me, and when I was born, my father's enlightened comment was "Another wedding to pay for." Naturally, this means my parents are footing the entire bill. My father's birthday is June 22, our wedding day. We got a vanilla cake in his honor (he is, horribly enough, allergic to chocolate).

April: My older sister. She lives near the army base in Fayetteville, NC, because she married a soldier she'd known for about two months right before he deployed to Iraq. No one in my family has ever met him, so I will refrain from passing judgment. She's one of our people of honor.

Noah: My little brother. He's about to graduate high school, and next year he's going to college to learn how to be a paramedic. His goal is to be financially supported by my parents/me and Angela for the rest of his life so that he can save lives. Sucks that we don't pay emergency personnel more, but I'm proud of him. He's another person of honor, mostly because I think he's going to look so cute in a suit. His birthday is also June 22, our wedding day and my father's b-day. Hell of a present that year.

Cliff: Angela's person of highest honor. He's like her twin, except that he's very white and midwestern. He was her best friend during college, and I think of him like a son (in that he needs to be fed and cared for, but he's so cute!). When we have kids, he's going to be the donor.

Eileen: my person of highest honor. Other than me, she's the most neurotic and organized person I know. Perfect balance for Cliff's ADD. Whenever she annoys me, I tell her that I'm demanding my bridesmaids wear a rainbow of bright orange, blue, and green.

Jess: funny story with this one. We originally had Jess H. in our wedding party because she was one of our best friends, but then she flaked out, stained our carpet while staying at our place, and hijacked our keys. Needless to say, out as an invite. Ironically enough, I have another friend Jess B., who is even prettier and will happily take up person of honor duties.

Michal: Cliff's best friend and one of our closest. Another good lucking guy for the pics.

Sam: Massive saga. One of our closest friends, started dating a girl a few months after we fell in love. They got engaged after us, and announced (after us, of course) that their wedding date was June 21, the day before ours, in CA. We were bummed, because we wanted Sam in our wedding party and of course we wanted to attend their nuptials. But two weeks ago, Sam and his fiancee broke up. So now we're waiting a few weeks, but I think we're going to ask him to round out the wedding party. I don't know if that will take his mind of his heartbreak or make it worse.

Hannah, Rachel, Emma: Junior bridesmaids and flower girl. My cousins. I feel badly that my aunts and uncles have to pay so much to schlep everyone to Disney and shell out for a beautiful, never rewearable dress, but I'm not ready to concede that they can wear whatever they want. Emma, 3, is particularly set on wearing a dark blue, Japanese-print dress, which matches nothing in our wedding. Because I distinctly recall crying my eyes out when forced into a white organza number for my aunt's wedding, I feel some sympathy.

Angela's family: can be summed up in one short paragraph. They're fundamental Protestants, so a Jewish lesbian wedding is usually something to protest rather than attend. Her parents have been wonderfully supportive, though, and her older sister (15 years older) is coming (although I don't think she's bringing her three boys). Grandma, who lives in Orlando, might come, but that's it for the fam. Luckily, I have a giant family, so we've got plenty of people on the list. And all of Angela's previous bosses are coming too, and many of them have been significant parental figures for her.

Now the big challenge is to keep the guest list down... A few people have decided to invite themselves. Has anyone else had the problem where people think that describing your grand Disney wedding equals an invitation? It's really awkward to say, "Actually, um, we really are at our max." I'm hoping that most of the non-invites will note the sum required to fly to Disney and stay at a Disney hotel, and opt to celebrate us at a shower in the northeast instead.

[sungela]

So the floral budget is in... It's definitely more than I expected, given that I didn't really want flowers. I'm hoping to trim out a few things, which leads me to a few questions:

1. Does anyone know what the Grand Floridian chairs look like without covers? I've read other posts that say that the Epcot ones are black, and it costs more to have white chairs brought in, but $8.50 for some rented fabric is an awful lot.

2. Favors... We were thinking of doing caramel apples, which ended up at $7.25 a piece. Do most guests really appreciate the favors? For Disney brides who did favors, was it worth it? We are doing a candy buffet; is that enough?

3. Do grandmothers and grandfathers really need their own corsages? We're having 75 of our nearest and dearest--it's not too hard to figure out who our grandparents are.

4. The quotation for our flowers is $250 per bride, but $95 for bridesmaids. I told Laura I really wanted a small bouquet (my dress + tiara + diamonds is enough decoration), and that seems a little excessive. How weird would it be to have Angela and I both just hold small, bridesmaid-like bouquets?

Thanks for all your help!

[orangetiggs]

the grand chairs are pink and gold gold fram and pink fabric its a dull dark pink

[Keira1387]

We cut out corsages for the mothers/grandmothers. We are also having about 75 people. Just thought that would be a good place to trim down the cost. Plus, like you said, everyone knows who they are anyways!

[mermaidbride1108]

I don't think it's weird to carry a small bouquet, I plan on having a small one because I just dont want to lug a heavy one around and I'll probably destroy it by the end of the night:lmao:

It's up to each bride's preference

[pink_tink8i8]

Firstly, Congratulations and :welcome: to the boards!

Everything sounds great so far. I absolutely love :lovestruc your wedding dress choice. Gorgeous!

Secondly, you have amazing taste in jewelry because those rings are to die for!

I'm trying to find a picture of the chairs for you but so far no luck.

Also, I'm so happy for you that you a close friend who will be a donor for you when you have children. That brought a tear to my eye :sad1:

[sungela]

the grand chairs are pink and gold gold fram and pink fabric its a dull dark pink

Thanks! I looked up the GF pics on Disney's conference website, so I think I know what they look like. I'm torn, because they don't match my color scheme at all, but chair covers are expensive. I'm looking at cutting down other costs, so maybe they can stay in (disney photos vs. outside vendor, bringing our own favors, etc.)

I'm going to go with Keira1387's suggestion, and nix the corsages for moms and grandmoms (my mother didn't want to wear one anyway), and I agree with mermaidbride1108 that I'll probably destroy my flowers by the end anyway. That, and we have two brides, so two bouquets (put them together and it looks like we had a big bouquet!). It just seems weird that there's such a price jump between bridesmaids' flowers and brides' flowers.

Thank you, pink_tink8i8! I've never been much of a girly-girl, but I am in love with floral jewelry and big, giant, poofy dresses. Weird. We're very lucky to have supportive friends and family. And of course, all of you! :flower3:

[caryndisneydiva]

there are many different favors that you can get for less than half that cost. i had mini bottles of wine and they came out to about $3 apiece. i also think that you can cut down on the bouquets and the corsages. what flowers are you planning?

[Gillian]

I'm late to the party but wanted to join the Jersey girl fun! We're not far from Princeton and my son goes to private school there (I can ask people where to find dressy veggie shoes, it's that kind of place). Do you go to a local synagogue?

Congratulations! I love both of the gowns and rings. You make a beautiful couple!

Caryn, if you're reading, we got our car in Dayton. :)

[sunsh1ne]

i definalty think you can cut it down!!
suggestions in red
1. Does anyone know what the Grand Floridian chairs look like without covers? I've read other posts that say that the Epcot ones are black, and it costs more to have white chairs brought in, but $8.50 for some rented fabric is an awful lot.i do not know about the chair colors sorry!

2. Favors... We were thinking of doing caramel apples, which ended up at $7.25 a piece. Do most guests really appreciate the favors? For Disney brides who did favors, was it worth it? We are doing a candy buffet; is that enough? i was also going to do the apples but it was just too much. i think that the candy buffet is enough. just have bags for them to put it all in and whalla a favor hehe. save that money girl
3. Do grandmothers and grandfathers really need their own corsages? We're having 75 of our nearest and dearest--it's not too hard to figure out who our grandparents are. i dont think that they "need" them but i think it is nice. maybe a rose wand, instead??4. The quotation for our flowers is $250 per bride, but $95 for bridesmaids. I told Laura I really wanted a small bouquet (my dress + tiara + diamonds is enough decoration), and that seems a little excessive. How weird would it be to have Angela and I both just hold small, bridesmaid-like bouquets? i think makind yours bridsmaid size is a great way to cut cost. i had the mom bouquets made bridsmaid size and even those are big!

i hope this little changes can add up for you
Thanks for all your help![/QUOTE]

[hope1826]

So the floral budget is in... It's definitely more than I expected, given that I didn't really want flowers. I'm hoping to trim out a few things, which leads me to a few questions:

1. Does anyone know what the Grand Floridian chairs look like without covers? I've read other posts that say that the Epcot ones are black, and it costs more to have white chairs brought in, but $8.50 for some rented fabric is an awful lot.

2. Favors... We were thinking of doing caramel apples, which ended up at $7.25 a piece. Do most guests really appreciate the favors? For Disney brides who did favors, was it worth it? We are doing a candy buffet; is that enough?

3. Do grandmothers and grandfathers really need their own corsages? We're having 75 of our nearest and dearest--it's not too hard to figure out who our grandparents are.

4. The quotation for our flowers is $250 per bride, but $95 for bridesmaids. I told Laura I really wanted a small bouquet (my dress + tiara + diamonds is enough decoration), and that seems a little excessive. How weird would it be to have Angela and I both just hold small, bridesmaid-like bouquets?

Thanks for all your help!

I think shrinking your bouquets is a great option, they will still be gorgeous, just smaller.

I am giving my bridesmaids smaller bouquets at $40 -$50 each to save money.
They are going to have small nosegays with 5-7 roses each. I have one MOH and four bridesmaids and was really not prepared to pay almost $500 for their bouquets.

I think my mother would kill me if I wore crocs, although the mickey ones would be hilariously appropriate. I'm thinking I might go with flip flops, although I don't want to make the clipping sound when I walk down the aisle... I have a feeling I'll put off shoes until the last possible second and end up walking down in $5 shoes from the Orlando Wal-Mart (at least they have an extensive non-leather collection).

In honor of Sungela Romance Day, I figured I'd give a little primer on our cast of characters. SR Day, by the way, is so named because it is sandwiched between V-Day and our 40 month anniversary (we still celebrate month anniversaries), and it is the day when all the excellent chocolate/cherry candy goes on sale.

My folks: My sister is two years older than me, and when I was born, my father's enlightened comment was "Another wedding to pay for." Naturally, this means my parents are footing the entire bill. My father's birthday is June 22, our wedding day. We got a vanilla cake in his honor (he is, horribly enough, allergic to chocolate).

April: My older sister. She lives near the army base in Fayetteville, NC, because she married a soldier she'd known for about two months right before he deployed to Iraq. No one in my family has ever met him, so I will refrain from passing judgment. She's one of our people of honor.

Noah: My little brother. He's about to graduate high school, and next year he's going to college to learn how to be a paramedic. His goal is to be financially supported by my parents/me and Angela for the rest of his life so that he can save lives. Sucks that we don't pay emergency personnel more, but I'm proud of him. He's another person of honor, mostly because I think he's going to look so cute in a suit. His birthday is also June 22, our wedding day and my father's b-day. Hell of a present that year.

Cliff: Angela's person of highest honor. He's like her twin, except that he's very white and midwestern. He was her best friend during college, and I think of him like a son (in that he needs to be fed and cared for, but he's so cute!). When we have kids, he's going to be the donor.

Eileen: my person of highest honor. Other than me, she's the most neurotic and organized person I know. Perfect balance for Cliff's ADD. Whenever she annoys me, I tell her that I'm demanding my bridesmaids wear a rainbow of bright orange, blue, and green.

Jess: funny story with this one. We originally had Jess H. in our wedding party because she was one of our best friends, but then she flaked out, stained our carpet while staying at our place, and hijacked our keys. Needless to say, out as an invite. Ironically enough, I have another friend Jess B., who is even prettier and will happily take up person of honor duties.

Michal: Cliff's best friend and one of our closest. Another good lucking guy for the pics.

Sam: Massive saga. One of our closest friends, started dating a girl a few months after we fell in love. They got engaged after us, and announced (after us, of course) that their wedding date was June 21, the day before ours, in CA. We were bummed, because we wanted Sam in our wedding party and of course we wanted to attend their nuptials. But two weeks ago, Sam and his fiancee broke up. So now we're waiting a few weeks, but I think we're going to ask him to round out the wedding party. I don't know if that will take his mind of his heartbreak or make it worse.

Hannah, Rachel, Emma: Junior bridesmaids and flower girl. My cousins. I feel badly that my aunts and uncles have to pay so much to schlep everyone to Disney and shell out for a beautiful, never rewearable dress, but I'm not ready to concede that they can wear whatever they want. Emma, 3, is particularly set on wearing a dark blue, Japanese-print dress, which matches nothing in our wedding. Because I distinctly recall crying my eyes out when forced into a white organza number for my aunt's wedding, I feel some sympathy.

Angela's family: can be summed up in one short paragraph. They're fundamental Protestants, so a Jewish lesbian wedding is usually something to protest rather than attend. Her parents have been wonderfully supportive, though, and her older sister (15 years older) is coming (although I don't think she's bringing her three boys). Grandma, who lives in Orlando, might come, but that's it for the fam. Luckily, I have a giant family, so we've got plenty of people on the list. And all of Angela's previous bosses are coming too, and many of them have been significant parental figures for her.

Now the big challenge is to keep the guest list down... A few people have decided to invite themselves. Has anyone else had the problem where people think that describing your grand Disney wedding equals an invitation? It's really awkward to say, "Actually, um, we really are at our max." I'm hoping that most of the non-invites will note the sum required to fly to Disney and stay at a Disney hotel, and opt to celebrate us at a shower in the northeast instead.

I missed your whole Sungela Romance Day post before!
I can't wait to see what all of your people of honor will be wearing. Maybe you can just wear your fancy last minute $5 walmart shoes for pics and change into mickey crocs or flip flops for everything else. :confused3 I think it would be hilarious.

Good luck with the Sam Drama. :sad2: Two of my Bridesmaids will be newly divorced at the time of my wedding. I was nervous about asking them to be in the wedding , but they are actually the two most helpful people in our bridal party so far. I think it is hard for them, but they've both said that it is actually helping them to heal.

I am having the same "non-invited guest" problem. We have 46 invited guest and about 12 additional non-invited guests. They are family too, we love them and they are invited to our Bon Voyage huge party the week before, but they invited themselves to tag along with their sons or mothers, who actually are invited guests. We are planning to invite them to the Welcome/Rehearsal breakfast and they are welcome to join us in MK and at any other meals, just not the wedding. Hopefully that will work out.

[pink_tink8i8]

wear the shoes that make you the most comfortable since you will be wearing them for the entire day. If you are worried about the height issue maybe wear something that is comfortable and will elevate your height for the ceremony and pictures??? and then change into something else afterwards??

[OceanGdss]

I agree that centerpieces are usually a waste, which is why I really want edible ones (that way we don't have to have individual favors too).


I think this is a great idea! We're not using floral centerpieces. We're going to get M&M's in our wedding colors and put them in bowls in the center with little bags (really haven't figured out the exact vessel here) for people to scoop them up and put them in, or they can just munch on them during the reception!! :) HTH!

PS~~ Caught up reading your PJ, I think the whole thing is fantastic!! You both are going to look amazing!

[Starr W.]

One of my friends from school wore big heels during the ceremony(she's 5ft and her DH is 6'4") as soon as the picture were done, she put on a pair of white keds that were decorated with sequins and had lacey laces. You couldn't see them under her dress. And she had fun and was in comfort at her reception.

Shoes would be a good thing to go bridezilla over, I'm one that I can't enjoy myself with sore feet.


I'm so glad to hear how supportive your family is. One of my best friends from college fell in love with my roomate. Her family were the liberal hippie types even lived in a commune during the late 60's. My roomate conservative midwesterner. Guess who's family were not happy campers? My best friends, it was like everything they believed in was okay for everone else but their daughter.:sad2:

[curiouser]

I haven't picked out shoes, yet, either, although it's not that easy to find attractive vegetarian shoes. (Shoe dilemma: I'm eight inches shorter than Angela, but I can't walk in heels. Oy vey! But since my dress is huge, how bad would it be if I just wore sneakers? I am sorely tempted...)

I would wear flats... but personally I think height differences are too cute in photos! I've been told that Dyeables are vegetarian friendly and they have a wide variety of flat/heel height ranges.

[sungela]

Thanks to all of you, I had a very productive day...

Based on the suggestion of people in the threads, I contacted Misty Miotto, and she said she's free... I can't believe that you get the number of hours plus the CD for $1000 cheaper than Disney. I might spend a lot of working hours lurking around, but it paid off!

I bought a really cute pair of Cinderella looking shoes for $6 at DSW(!!!!), which I think I'm going to wear to the ceremony and pictures, and then switch into Keds or comfy shoes. My soon-to-be MIL is an artist (she designed our wedding invitations--more on that later), and I think she can decorate shoes to look a little prettier in case they peek out from under my dress. And since, miracle of miracles, I learned how to use our digital camera, I can even post pics of the shoes:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/SungelaPictures1007.jpg

Flowers: I love all of your suggestions, although slight bone of contention. Angela actually wants a big bouquet. Sigh. She really wants a string trio too, so I'm trying to negotiate with her to stay on budget so she can get what she really cares about. With her dress, though, I think a few flowers (one or two lillies, perhaps?) would be lovely. Sunsh1ne, what are rose wands? We were going mostly with tropical flowers (orchids) because our colors our very bright (lime green, aqua/turquoise, bright orange, sunshine yellow, hot pink), but I think orange and yellow roses are gorgeous.

Caryndisneydiva, I LOVE the idea of mini bottles of wine. Where did you get them?

Other big task of the last 24 hours: wedding invitations. We never found ones we liked (everything cutesy is boy/girl, and the same-sex invitations that do exist are a little too cheesy), so we asked Angela's mom to design a picture for us. She normally does pastel beach scenes which are very pretty, but not quite us. So we sent her names of our favorite artists, all really funky (cubism meets pop art), and here's what she created:

Our invitation: http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/SungelaPictures1001.jpg

Our RSVP card (which is going to be a postcard to save postage):
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/SungelaPictures1002.jpg

Our thank you note:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/SungelaPictures1003.jpg

The colors are a little more vibrant in real life, but you get the idea. And we finally decided on the wording last night. Let me know what you think:

From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven. And when two souls that are destined to be together find each other, their streams of light flow together, and a single brighter light goes forth from their united being.

—Baal Shem Tov

Sonia & Angela
Invite you to laugh, dance, and celebrate with us
As we unite under the chuppah on
Sunday, June 22, 2008
19 Sivan, 5768
Ten o’clock in the morning

Disney World Wedding Pavilion
Lake Buena Vista, Florida

The magic continues…

Please join us for food and fun at the
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa following the ceremony

RSVP Card:
Please RSVP by May 1, 2008.

Name(s): __________________________

__ accepts with pleasure

__ declines with regret

__ accepts with regret

__ declines with pleasure

I'm generally known as a punster, and I thought it would be fun to do something a little off-beat for the RSVP. Surprisingly, my mom approved. And even though my parents are paying, we really wanted the invitation to come from us. It also needed to be very Jewishy (oddly enough, I have relatives who would come to a lesbian wedding, but not to an interfaith one, and for some reason, Angela Marie doesn't come off as Jewish.) We do go to a temple around here, in Hillsborough, and we're flying down the Rabbi to do the ceremony. (He's helping Angela convert, and this will be his first same-sex wedding). Next step: going to Kinko's.

[mla1977]

Those invites are so nice! Very unique too. I love the colors.

[sungela]

So here's the problem: Kinko's scanned in the paintings, and they came out horribly--too much red and not enough of the fine details. The picture I took on my crappy digital camera came out better! We went to a Papery, and they said it costs $80 PER COLOR to have the painting laser scanned. I have no desire to pay $800 just to have one painting scanned, let alone the printing, stamps, etc.

Have any of you ever tried to scan a painting/piece of artwork? Where would you go? The colors are fairly bright, but they are watercolors...

[Gillian]

I will ask around, but the photo thing got me thinking - can you actually do something with a photograph? You can certainly get photo postcards made online. With a matte finish it might work for the response cards.

If you could get prints of the invite painting and use them somehow, it might look very nice. It won't look like a painting, but could still be pretty. Maybe as a cover to the pocket style invitation a few people have done? Get the photos printed the right size, layer it with some paper in your colors, attach to the front of the folder?

Which Disney bride did the castle on the shimmery paper?

[sungela]

Thanks for that idea! Taking a picture of the painting was also my FMIL's suggestion. We called around today, and there's a place near our house that does digital photos and high-quality scans, so we're going to try that. We're also tempted to use the giclee process to really keep color integrity, but that might be too expensive.

[caryndisneydiva]

i could have sworn that i posted in here the other day...

i got my wine bottles from murielle winery in clearwater florida. they have a wedding special. i can't find any pics of them right now though...i'll locate one tomorrow and post in here...

here are a picture of rose wands that were put in my pj by someone a few months ago.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q184/caryncraig/Flowers3.jpg

[lurkyloo]

Love the invite artwork! I was going to recommend you find a place that does digital photos and high-quality scans - let us know how it turns out! :thumbsup2

[WithDisneySpirit]

What a gorgeous couple you are! Can't wait to read more of your plans and hope you will write a trip report with pics at the end! Your plans sound great :goodvibes

[pink_tink8i8]

love the invitations. I'm also a fan of cubism and pop art. Excellent choice. It's so nice too that you had them made by a family member. It's extra special

[sungela]

What a gorgeous couple you are! Can't wait to read more of your plans and hope you will write a trip report with pics at the end! Your plans sound great :goodvibes

Thank you! I think my DF is super-cute, but I might be biased...

Several updates, given that I've done nothing but wedding stuff over the past few days. (Btw, has any one ever been fired from work for constantly trolling old DIS posts? What happened to my work ethic in the past few weeks? I blame all of you.)

1. Photos: amazingly enough, both Randy and Misty Miotto were available--we really lucked out with a Sunday wedding. Ultimately, though, I went with Misty. I was torn until I saw a picture from Emily and Ben, where all their bridesmaids were holding candy lollipops. Everything was black and white except for the candy. That's exactly the kind of picture I love. So we're booked and ready to go!

2. Flowers: I *think* my new plan is to have the bridesmaids hold orange rosewands, and we'll hold modified versions of the bridesmaids' previous bouquets (Petite handtied bouquet of orange roses and yellow mini calla lilies, with green cymbidium orchids.) I can't make any final decisions until Laura gets back from her extended vacation, but I also think I'm going to keep the chair covers and instead use white napkins tied with cool ribbons.

3. Food: thanks to lurkyloo, I'm moving some of my reception food and nixing the pre-reception food. I'm thinking that fruit and pastries is a good switch, because we're talking hungry people at 11 AM.

4. Cosmetology: we booked Ana from Beaute Speciale, and she is supposed to come at 4:30 AM. I don't exactly understand why we have to be awake this early, or how I am going to function at this time. Angela and I are going back and forth about who is better suited to take the early shift (sample argument: S: you wake up at 5:30 AM everyday anyway; A: you're not going to sleep before the night before the wedding anyway; S: my mom is paying; A: your mom can sleep standing up in the middle of a rock concert, so she'll just take a nap later on; etc.). Eventually, we will decide, as we often do, based on the most fair method possible: rock, paper, scissors.

Given that we've mostly figured out the invitation drama (I go to the scanner today!), we're back to our most pressing problem: bridesmaids' dresses. We have two blonde/blue-eyed/busty girls, one thin/flat/black-haired Asian, and two 14 year old tan/brown hair and -eyed junior bridesmaids, spread across five states. Since our colors are bright, we were thinking we'd go with turquoise/aqua or possibly apple green, and I would love it if we could find something that some of them would wear again. (I also don't want to make them wear something that my children will someday laugh at, a la my mother's 1980s poof dresses). But I don't like anything remotely reasonably priced... the Ann Taylor dresses are pretty, but not the right color, and the J. Crew dresses that we did like are too expensive for what you get. We've gone shopping for off-the-rack dresses, but a) we haven't found anything and b) it would be hard to find one dress that would look good on everybody. I'm not that impressed with David's Bridal (bc it screams: "Hide me in the back of the closet when this is all over!"). And of course, there's the formality issue: my dress is ultra-formal, Angela's is casual chic, and our wedding time invites business casual. :confused:

Jersey/NYC brides, where did you do your bridesmaids' dress shopping? Everyone else, are there cheaper brands I'm overlooking? Good places to search online that don't require me to sift through thousands of similar dresses? Don't get me started on the Knot website--half of their pictured dresses don't identify the designer, and many of them feature dresses that are no longer being made (like last season's absolutely perfect J. Crew apple green tea length dresses).

[keenercam]

Believe it or not, my friend found super-cute skirt & top separates on the Target website -- I think they were taffeta. Would you consider checking there? They are only available on-line and would have to be shipped back if they don't work, but she said the quality was very good and the prices ultra-reasonable. Good luck in your quest!

[thatdisneygirl]

I love the wording for your RSVPs and I'm totally stealing it! (I love the blossom ring too, but I'd better hold off from stealing that...)


Hooray for being obsessed with Disney wedding planning!

[pink_tink8i8]

check out the "separates" collection from impressions. We were 5 girls in my SIL/brother's wedding with different hair color/eye color, height etc. not easy to find dresses. We all chose different separates that worked for each girl and each body type but they were all from the same collection and the same color AND you can definitely reuse them since they are separates. The tops can be worn with jeans or the bottom with a different top. http://www.impressionbridal.com/index.php
warning: the website doesn't do the separates justice.

[hope1826]

YAY!!! Another Misty bride!

I had a similar bridesmaid dress problem. One fair skinned/blond hair/blue eyed cousin in TN, one dark skinned/dark hair and eyed cousin at the tip of Long Island, one latte skinned/dark hair and eyed niece in the Bronx and a fair skinned Black hair/brown eyed MOH in NJ.

I know this is exactly what you don't want to hear, but David's Bridal ended up being the most convenient for all, they got a short strapless (with optional straps) dress in crinkle chiffon that they all say they would love to wear again mainly because of the color TRUFFLE. I gave them a choice of a cloudy blue, bright blue, midnight blue or chocolate brown and they all chose the chocolate. And since they only paid $115 for it they all agree that even if they didn't wear it again, it wouldn't be a big deal for the price.

I tried several other Central Jersey shops before going to David's Bridal. I was very disappointed with the bridal shops. Kathy's Bridal in Highland Park, one in Princeton that I can't remember the name of, and two in Matawan, Cinderella Bridal and True Love, were the worst. I was very pleasantly surprised by the service I got at David's Bridal in East Brunswick.

To be honest, i hated David's Bridal's bridesmaid dresses until I went with one of my bridesmaids and had her try several on. The dresses look AWFUL :scared1: on the David's Bridal models and even worse on the racks, but in person, on my BM they actually looked really elegant and very post wedding wearable.

Would you be open to getting swatches of the color you want, giving it to your Bridesmaids and telling them to find their own lovely gowns that they love in the color you want? I've seen pics of wedding parties where the brides did that and it can be done beautifully.

Good luck with whatever you end up choosing! I can't wait to see it!

[sungela]

I love the wording for your RSVPs and I'm totally stealing it! (I love the blossom ring too, but I'd better hold off from stealing that...)

Feel free to steal away! I lifted it from an Indie Brides forum. I'm hoping that I get a few "accepts with regrets." And I wish Tiffany love unto everyone... but you will have to get your own.

I did look at Target, but they don't have the right color *yet.* I'm torn because I want to get the dresses now to set my mind at ease, but Spring fashion hasn't hit the shelves yet. I like Impressions, but I was hoping to avoid traditional bridesmaids' dresses; guess that's not going to happen. And David's is always my last resort. I figure if I don't find anything I like by April 15 (tax day!), then I'll bite the bullet and go with their pool color.

This is actually going to sound really weird, but the dresses I like best so far are from Victoria's Secret. I think it would be hilariously, ironically us if I wore a couture gown and our bridesmaids had on $38 sundresses. Even if we don't use them, this is definitely the right color:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Dress3.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Dress2.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Dress1.jpg

Now tell me that they wouldn't wear those dresses again!

I'm off to compete in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, my yearly nerd-fest. Hopefully, I'll be able to post a pic of me with Will Shortz (the god of puzzling) when I get back!

[lurkyloo]

Dude, I buy almost ALL my dresses from Vickie's :rotfl: And it's the only place I can get jeans that are long enough, too. And - great sales! :thumbsup2

P.S. Love the color!

[lpizzuro123]

We are going with Alfred Angelo separates collection. I am having three bridesmaids - all different body types. I am letting them pick out their own dress or separates as long as it is in the claret color.

I remember you are in the Princeton area - I am in South Brunswick - Kendall Park - about 9 miles north of you. I found the AA dresses in a bridal shop in Linden - about 30 minutes north of me. There is also a bridal shop that I went to in Trenton that had a very large selection. My dress is also Alfred Angelo and I am purchasing it at the shop in Linden. There is also a very little bridal shop in East Brunswick on Rt 18 right next to Davids Bridal. They carry the AA bridesmaids dresses and gowns.

As far a photographers go, we are also going with Misty. I agree that Emily and Ben's photos made me chose her also. I love the dress with the lollypops but my favorite is the one of her and her husband on the surry bikes on the Boardwalk. Our reception is at ADH so I am definately asking for that picture along with the one outside the photobooth.

Not sure if you have gone to any Bridal Showcases but my DF and I went to one last weekend at Foresgate Country Club. Of course we will not be using any vendor from the show but it gave us some really good ideas of what we are interested in. There is another Showcase this coming Sunday up at the Raritan Convention Center that we are going to. They are great places to check out photo styles and album styles and video styles. They have fashion shows and syles of invitation (even though you are making your own) it is really interesting and eye opening to see all that is out there.

Let us know your plans as you go along.

Linda

[caryndisneydiva]

i buy the majority of my dresses from vickies...LOVE THEM! i have the two that you show there, though i can't seem to find them at the moment...one thing to know though, those two particular dresses are cotton and look it. they're super comfy though!

[Gillian]

There is also a bridal shop that I went to in Trenton that had a very large selection.
Linda, which one was this? Did they have bridesmaids dresses too?

[lpizzuro123]

The shop in Trenton is Fantasy Weddings on Washington Blvd. (actually are we allowed to write this) it was in a shopping center but I do not remember the name of the center. I will PM you with their phone number. Yes, they had Alfred Angelo bridal and bridesmaids gowns and dresses - along with alot of other designers. They also had beautiful tiaras. The one I loved was $300.00 but I just might have to go back and look at it.

Linda

Linda

[sungela]

I remember you are in the Princeton area - I am in South Brunswick - Kendall Park - about 9 miles north of you. I found the AA dresses in a bridal shop in Linden - about 30 minutes north of me. There is also a bridal shop that I went to in Trenton that had a very large selection. My dress is also Alfred Angelo and I am purchasing it at the shop in Linden. There is also a very little bridal shop in East Brunswick on Rt 18 right next to Davids Bridal. They carry the AA bridesmaids dresses and gowns.

Thank you--that is very helpful! My person of highest honor is on vacation, and I'm waiting til she gets back, but then we'll have to go check it out. I love the VS dresses, especially the color, but they do look too much like cotton sundressess.... I was thinking maybe we could have them wear nicer pashmina-type orange shawls to dress it up, but it's a little hot in Orlando in late June. Back to the beginning.... but that is definitely the right blue.

Dude, I buy almost ALL my dresses from Vickie's And it's the only place I can get jeans that are long enough, too. And - great sales!
They have longer pants? DF will flip--she usually has to buy guys' pants because women's don't extend far enough. That or she wears a pair of jeans once or twice, then she shrinks them and they become mine. :banana:

Oy vey, today is the first day where I've gotten kind of frustrated at Disney. I understand that they do the whole package, and it's what I like about them--I am not a DIY-er. But the price for a string trio is $1365, on top of the "free" organist that we pay for in the $2500 to the Wedding Pavilion. An outside trio (likely the same one hired by Disney) costs $650-700. But Disney doesn't let outside musicians play with the organist or play at the pre-reception. So we either pay $700 for a ceremony trio sans organ (which is way too expensive) or $1365 for everything (ditto). It's not that much cheaper to go with a duo (around $990), and the musical among us think a strolling violin isn't enough.

Let me mention that I am tone-deaf, and I would be totally happy with either an organist or a choir of cats mewing. I don't care about music one bit. BUT DF is a classical pianist, and even though she never gave a second's thought to her wedding, she has always envisioned a string quartet escorting her down the aisle. And let me also mention that my parents are footing the bill for everything, including the rehearsal dinner, after shelling out lots of $$$ for college tuition. My future in-laws, who are now retired, did not pay for DF's schooling, and aren't paying anything for the wedding. I thought *maybe* this would be a good expense for them, because they do care about music (my parents are similarly musically-challenged, while FMIL was the demanding stage mom) and it's a good discrete expense. I don't want to ask my mother to pay for something I think is superfluous on top of everything else they're paying for, but Angela doesn't want to ask her parents because she doesn't think they have the money. So looks like we're footing the bill for it.... :eek:

Any advice? Has anyone used the trio and absolutely loved it? Or gone with an outside vendor and somehow figured out a way that Disney would allow it? Figured out how to ask non-paying relatives to pick up the tab for something that by all means they should pay even if you are pretty certain they would just put it on the credit card and go into debt? Spent all of their savings on the Disney wedding of their dreams when they should have saved up for a down-payment?

[Gillian]

I'm sorry I can't help with the music! It's very thoughtful of you to look for something affordable & meaningful for your FIL's, even if it isn't working out. My MIL paid for the rehearsal dinner. My parents covered the rest, and it was a bit of a mess since it was all separate.

The shop in Trenton is Fantasy Weddings on Washington Blvd. (actually are we allowed to write this) it was in a shopping center but I do not remember the name of the center. I will PM you with their phone number. Yes, they had Alfred Angelo bridal and bridesmaids gowns and dresses - along with alot of other designers. They also had beautiful tiaras. The one I loved was $300.00 but I just might have to go back and look at it.

LindaThis is in Robbinsville/Washington Twp in the Foxmoore (sp?)shopping center off Route 33. It's easy to get to from Rt 130, Rt 1 would be trickier.

Another bridal shop that looks nice & is close to Fantasy Weddings is Bridal Suite in Hamilton (also just off rt 33 but closer to Princeton/rt 1) http://www.thebridalsuiteofhamilton.com/

[sungela]

Thank God for my mom! :love: She said, "If Angela's life-long dream has been to have this type of music at her wedding, than she should have it. You only get one wedding!" So Angela's going to ask her parents if they want to chip in, but if not, my mom will cover it! I am so relieved I could cry.

I've got to figure out something nice to do for my mom at the end of this...

[mla1977]

What a great mom! My mom is cool with a lot of the things I want to do, but she seems to be pushing me toward an Escape wedding, but then wanting to invite everybody in the family. I am trying to convince her that a Wishes wedding would still be cheaper than something here. Can I borrow your mom for a bit?

[lpizzuro123]

Just wanted to let you know that I found a bridal shop much closer to Princeton (in Lawrenceville) right on Rt 1 that carries the Alfred Angelo line. The name is Bridals by Micheel Renee (they used to be in Trenton but recently - not sure how recently) moved to Lawrenceville.

I went there Thursday and Friday at lunch - I work about 15 minutes away and am going there this Saturday with one of my bridesmaids. I was all set to order an AA dress (one with some color in it) but found another designer with a beautiful dress - they are all beautiful. Anyway this store carries both bridal dresses that I am deciding between and the full AA bridesmaids dress. This way I can try on my dress along with the bridesmaids and see how they look together.

I can pm you the address and phone number.

Linda

[sungela]

What a great mom! My mom is cool with a lot of the things I want to do, but she seems to be pushing me toward an Escape wedding, but then wanting to invite everybody in the family. I am trying to convince her that a Wishes wedding would still be cheaper than something here. Can I borrow your mom for a bit?

Maybe I should consider renting her out to earn extra $ for the wedding... Seriously, though, she is amazing! I thought that she might try to plan me the big pink wedding of her dreams, but instead, she's been so helpful and basically goes with whatever I want. It's funny, too, because I read about all the drama everyone goes through, and I keep thinking, "that's odd--everyone has been so nice to me." And then I remember that my mom is probably blocking out all the Disney haters so that no one ruins my perfect planning process.

Thanks, Gillian and Linda! We might go this weekend to check out the dresses. I also found Aria Bridesmaids, and I love their stuff: http://www.ariadress.com/. Unfortunately my @#$%# MOH is too busy every weekend from now until June to shop for a dress, so we're going without her. I have the same body type as my sister (another BM), so I figure whatever looks good on me will fit her. And too bad for MOH. She's had since October 6, 2006, to find a dress, and she hasn't been at all helpful. I've tried really hard to find a cute, inexpensive dress that she could wear again (and she does wear dresses often), but she's got to do her part too.

And onto the next planning dilemma: I was absolutely positive that our first dance was going to be to Sarah McLachlan's Angel. It is the song we wake up to every morning (our alarm clock is a CD player), and I always melt when I hear it (because Angela's my Angel, duh). But then we decided, on a lark, to look up more about it, and it turns out it's about someone who OD-ed on heroin. So not a good wedding song at all. I made a spreadsheet of many possible songs (I LOVE Excel), going through the soundtracks of our favorite movies, songs with sunny/sunshine or Angel in the title, songs that expressed our feelings, etc. And of course, Angela's favorite is It Is You (I Have Loved) by Dana Glover, aka the Shrek theme song. Let me explain: Angela is a six-year-old in an adult body. We watch Shrek (1, 2, or 3) every weekend. We own every Shrek game ever made (Monopoly, Operation, game castle, you name it, we own it). We have multiple Shrek stuffed animals and other assorted merchandise. I think it would be pretty hilarious if our wedding song was the Shrek motif (if you watch Shrek, listen for the repeated melody). But the words are sooo cheesy; let me know what you think:

There is something that I see
In the way you look at me
There's a smile, there's a truth in your eyes

But an unexpected way
On this unexpected day
Could it mean this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

There were times I ran to hide
Afraid to show the other side
Alone in the night without you

But now I know just who you are
And I know you hold my heart
Finally this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

Over and over
I'm filled with emotion
Your love, it rushes through my veins

And I am filled
With the sweetest devotion
As I, I look into your perfect face

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved
It is you I have loved
It is you I have loved all along

[keenercam]

The words are beautiful! What a wonderful sentiment! I'm sorry I don't know the melody, but if you don't use this for your song, maybe you could use part of the lyrics on your programs or something like that!

[caryndisneydiva]

i love that sarah mc. song. i didn't know it was about someone who od'd...i agree, not the sentiment needed at a wedding. i think shrek is fabulous!

[mermaidbride1108]

IMO....and I mean no offense when i say this.... Songs are meant to be interpreted in different ways. So what if your Angel song was intially written for an someone who OD'ed. It sounds like to me it has really special meaning to both of you so I'd use it anyway. I can't recall anything that says specially overdosing in the song that would rule it out as a wedding song. I'd so go with it because it means something to you both. And it's an absolutely gorgeous song! No one else has to know it's original meaning;)

[mla1977]

Sunny,

Is Angel the song from City of Angels (or whatever it was called with Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage)? If so, I've always thought that it was a very pretty song.

[twiu]

Shrek at Disney? Isn't that kinda weird though. Hey, I love shrek too but it is a universal studios character - I don't know if Disney will let you do that.

[Gillian]

I also found Aria Bridesmaids, and I love their stuff: http://www.ariadress.com/.My friends who got married in Princeton last year used Aria. It's a great way to outfit a bunch of different bodies, but yeah, they're pricey!

The Shrek movies are very romantic!

[Beep]

Love the Shrek idea! We want You Belong To Me from Shrek 1 and as it isn't a Shrek song we will be ok. I've found the sheet music so I'm going to get that. We're going to have that played during the sand ceremony.

Go with what you want - so what if the Angel song is to do with OD-ing? Unless it has some direct reference to it I think it is brilliant if it is what you want and it means something to you. Some of the most beautiful words in songs have been written about a tragedy and make no reference to it, just feelings. Go for it!

We are going for Vivaldi's Four Seasons (not the whole lot lol) as it is music we 'sing' along to and generally have a really good laugh to. I'm sure Vivaldi would love us for that. We are going to have the theme to The Godfather when we cut the cake to represent Tim coming into 'The Family' and it will be a good laugh for our guests.

[Lynn5700]

use whatever song you want:) Iwaouldn't worry about the Angel song,nobody will ever know that it's about somebody having an overdose,I would never know.

[sungela]

Shrek at Disney? Isn't that kinda weird though. Hey, I love shrek too but it is a universal studios character - I don't know if Disney will let you do that.

We joke about doing our Vow Renewal at Universal so we can have a Shrek theme--although I don't know if either of us wants to dress up as an ogre. :rotfl:

I ascribe to the belief that interpretation is more important than artistic intention, but "Angel" is kind of a depressing song, and it doesn't have the cute, quirky feel that we're trying for/represents us. And after our Shrek marathon this weekend (Fri-1; Sat-2 and 3), I think we're convinced that we want the theme song, in spite of--or perhaps because of--its extreme cheesiness. Angel will just be my private song for Angela. I definitely plan to play a few Sarah Mc songs at the wedding, especially the one that goes, "Your love is better than ice cream." That's a high bar to set, but of course, DF surpasses it. :love:

We had a VERY productive weekend, which almost never happens. We finally picked out the BM dresses! We found our invitations! And we finalized a ton of details!

First things first, we went to the Bridal Suites of Hamilton on Saturday, and tried on dozens of dresses. I represented our bustier maids, and Angela represented our flatter ones. After going through all the color swatches, we picked Watters & Watters, Wtoo line, voile in Pacifico. I can't copy the dresses to post them, but here are the links:

For my sister:
http://watters.com/product.php?coll=wtoo&style=390

Jess: http://watters.com/product.php?coll=wtoo&showid=760&style=193

And Eileen, my MOH:
http://watters.com/product.php?coll=wtoo&showid=643&style=197

We let them pick their own out of the four possibilities, and they each chose a different one. All of them will be in the same color as the second dress, and Eileen's will have a tangerine (orange) sash. I can't express how relieved I am--they kept reminding us how last-minute we were, and how we couldn't wait another week to get the dresses. (They need an OY smilie, imo).

We also found a perfect flower girl dress at Target:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Flowergirl.jpg
We're going to get her a sash to match the bridesmaids' dresses, so she'll look coordinated. This dress is $23, compared to the $100-ish range I've been seeing for dresses that look exactly the same elsewhere.

We originally were going to have my two 14 year-old cousins as my junior bridesmaids, but one of them is going through a rough patch of teenager stupidity, so it looks like they're out. (Can't invite one without the other, according to the powers that be in my family). Saves us on flowers and BM jewelry, so I'm not too upset.

We got our paintings scanned in at a digital design studio, and they did a much better job than Kinko's, so we took the CD to Blue Tulip on Saturday. We went through a number of those lovely invitation books, and found this one by Carlson Craft:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Invite.gif

Instead of the picture of the couple, we'll have our beachy scene, with blue words instead of grey, and the three bigger words will be Laugh, Dance, and Celebrate to match our invitation text. (On the sample it says Live, Laugh, Love). We're also making the text much more readable (I hate invitations where I have to squint and say, "Who is this again?" and I have a good number of older relatives). The saleswoman is supposed to call me today to make sure that we're good to go.

Last week I had my mini "Holy God, we have three months go" meltdown, but I feel much better now. Next step: tomorrow's phone call with Laura, our florist, aka how little can I pay and still have the most beautiful wedding ever?

[mla1977]

I love the dresses! That color is great too.

[Briarrose09]

I am doing something very similar with my bridesmaid. I have picked out 9 dresses from the Jordan line and they are each going to pick their own dress from those. I have 6 maids with 6 very different styles and I want them each to be beautiful and look like themselves. All of the dresses will be the same length and have rhinestone accents. And of course will be the same colors... Did you post the new invites or did I miss them?

[Briarrose09]

Opps.. Just noticed your invites were already in the post.

[keenercam]

The dresses are gorgeous -- love the color! And the invites will be exquisite! How wonderful that you can insert your own artwork. What a beautiful touch! Congrats on getting so much done this weekend. :thumbsup2

[newyearsbride]

I love all the dresses, but especially the first one! I really like your invites as well! My favorite part is the "Laugh, Dance, Celebrate"

[DisneyFairy19]

What a cute flower girl dress

[lpizzuro123]

Great choices - glad you found something - love the color.

Looking forward to reading more.

Linda

[jnale]

Pretty BM dresses - with that style they can definitely re-wear them!:woohoo:

[sungela]

Last year, I figured that I would have tons of free time this last semester of college. After all, I was only writing two thesis papers, working, and planning a wedding. No exams, no homework, and a bare minimum of club activities. How wrong I was... Both of my thesis advisors required first drafts in these past couple of weeks, so I put myself on a PJ hiatus. My self-imposed rule was look/lurk, but don't post. But I handed the second one in yesterday morning, so I'm back! :yay:

Since my last post we've: undergone massive invitation drama, passed our three month mark, and changed our minds about three dozen times. To wit:

1. The invitations we picked, which we supposedly could use with our own pic, didn't work. And the woman from the store we were using was incredibly unhelpful; she wouldn't help us identify any other possibilities, and when we went in and made a list of other options, she looked it over and said that none would work. So we went to a new store, where the staff was amazingly helpful, and they worked with us to find a company that could make the invitations we wanted. Basically, William Arthur is going to print our text on the inside of a fold-over card, then send it to the Papery, who will flat print the picture on the front. And while we were there, we spotted a gorgeous note card with a green-blue-orange rainbow (our fave three colors) on two beach chairs. PERFECT for our thank-you note. They don't charge very much to print "Thank You" on each card either, so we're going to do that. We used zazzle.com to create a cool postcard from Angela's mother's picture, and it came out great. Now we have to wait for the invitations, copy our invitation insert (with a short reminder about how to book hotels), and buy stamps. I'd like to use the Disney stamps for the invitation, and makethe third of FMIL's paintings into our postcard stamp.

2. Slight grumble about BM dress shopping. When we went to pick out the dresses, they told us we were fine, so long as we ordered right away. Well, we did, but they called back the next day and said, "Sorry, fork over an extra $20 a pop for rush delivery." In terms of wedding expenses, $60 isn't a huge amount, but to my BMs, there's a big difference between $180 and $200. And I don't think they should have to pay... My mom thinks we should complain and see if the store will eat the difference. I don't know if I am bold enough to do that, though.

3. We booked our rehearsal dinner! Because our wedding isn't very Disney-fied, we wanted to do a very cheesy, very Disney dinner. :tink: So we picked 1900 Park Fare. I'm excited: the price is fixed, so we know what to expect, there's a wide variety of food for all our picky eaters, and we get to dine with characters! We had to go with the early reservation (4:30), which will give us a good amount of time to explore the Grand Floridian and mosey over to the WP for our 8 PM rehearsal. I went through a whole bunch of options with my parents (including an outdoor BBQ, a fixed menu at Citrico's, and the Rainforest Cafe), but they both insisted on the characters. Our count is somewhere between 16 and 34; we're still not sure if we want a big family dinner or just people who need to be there. It's really up to my mom, because she's paying, but she goes back and forth. Can we have an event with most of our family, but not all? Should we include my cousins, who aren't technically in the wedding, but are passing out yarmulkes and bubbles and programs, and who want to be involved? My mom really wants her mother and sister there, even if they aren't in the wedding, but then how do we leave out my dad's family? Oy vey! :headache:

Actually, related quick question--I know that the DDE card only works for the first ten people. Can we split the bill, and use a different DDE card on each? Angela's parents and my aunt are FL residents, so we could potentially have three DDE cards, which would cut down on the cost of a 30 person event significantly.

4. We also booked Victoria and Albert's for the night after our wedding--hopefully, we can use our honeymoon bucks to pay for it! We're looking at other reservation options too... So far, I'm leaning towards California Grill, Spoodles, and the private dinner thing at the Grand Floridian. I also want to dine with an imagineer, because I think it sounds fun, but we can't book until closer to the time.

5. Thanks to the person that created the "to see DF or not to see DF" thread, I think I've finally made up my mind. I was dead-set against it, but our rabbi was really not happy about the 8 AM Ketubah signing that would have been required to take pics and avoid each other. Then I started thinking, and I realized it's not a big deal. There's nothing in Jewish law or custom about the can't see each other superstition. It dates from arranged marriages, and our wedding is pretty far from that. :rotfl2: I really want the staged first look (I LOVED lurkyloo's pic), and I think it will be nice to have fun and take pics together before the ceremony. I'm sure it will still be special and exciting when we're at the chuppah. It also gives us more time in the morning--5:30 with Ana instead of 4:30, which is a good thing. Angela wakes up at 5 AM everyday normally, so it won't be a big deal for her; 4:30 just sounds bad, even if we'll probably be up anyway. (Of course, I want the first look shot to be Angela's face when she sees me. Not narcissistic at all... :rolleyes1 )

6. We're still on the hunt for ties. We originally wanted bright orange ties (dream tie: turquoise background, with bright orange tropical flowers), so we could get away with orange yarmulkes (the beanies that Jews wear). But we didn't find anything, so we're leaning toward lime green ties, and orange yarmulkes anyway. The guys will all of green bouts, which explains why we'd want green ties. The girls are wearing blue, but one will have an orange tie around her waist, and they'll all be carrying orange roses (in rose wands, yay!). Is that too Mad Hatter? My favorite color is lime green, Angela's fave is bright orange, and our mutual close second is bright blue.

I'm sure I've missed a whole bunch of details, but baring any unforeseen thesis emergencies, I'm back to writing! My dress fitting is on April 20 (right time of month + my entire family and Angela's mom are coming to town for Angela's conversion/the first seder of Passover). I can't wait to post pics. In the meantime, though, I realized that we have very few pics on here, and I love to see what everyone looks like on their PJs. Here's me trying on BM dresses that we didn't get:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/DressShopping2.jpg
Excuse the fact that the dress is way too big for me, and you can totally see my bra:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/DressShopping9.jpg
And here's Angela, in her wedding dress:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/SungelaPictures1168.jpg
And the dress I almost got, but it was $6000!! Notice my "God, I'm gorgeous, but $6000?" expression.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/SungelaPictures1178.jpg

[mla1977]

I love the last picture! I'm glad you put up more pictures of yourself. From your first picture of the two of you, I had it in my mind that you were my old roommates twin (she's also Jewish and from CT - but she prefers men :) ). Same color hair, etc. Now I only think you guys look like cousins!

[sungela]

I have a doppelganger! I guess having dark hair/eyes and ghostly pale skin isn't that uncommon, even if it makes dressing in white a horrible proposition. :laughing:

And the revised floral budget is in! Our original was close to $6K, but now we're safely at $3000-ish. I'm still torn between the chair covers and rented white chairs... with over 51 people, the rental chairs are cheaper, but don't look as pretty. Still, though, what guests ever look at their seats?

Our bouquets: Island bouquet (designed bridesmaid size) to include yellow mini calla lilies in place of burgundy mini calla lilies, brighter orange rose replacing the orange unique roses, green cymbidium orchids and tropical greenery. Angela's will have 75% ribbon wrap the faux stems in antique white satin ribbon, and mine will have 75% ribbon wrap the faux stems in TBD champagne gold ribbon. Price: $165 each. I was hoping it would be a little cheaper, considering the quoted bridesmaid bouquet price was $95, but I guess the orchids are more expensive.

Bridesmaids' bouquets: Triple orange rose wand with orange ribbon accents to match flower. Price: $35 each. Either rose wand prices went up or orange roses are more expensive.

Bridesmen's bouts: Green dendrobium orchid, orange spray rose, lily grass and tropical greenery. Price: $15 each. Too bad bridesmaids couldn't carry these!

Fathers' bouts: Light green dendrobium orchids, yellow spray rose, lily grass and tropical greenery. Price: $15 each. Just in case people think that our dads are actually in the bridal party, their flowers will set them apart.

Angela's mom's corsage: Pin on corsage of light green dendrobium orchids, yellow spray roses, lily grass, tropical. Price: $25. My mother is very tiny, and I think she's worried that the corsage will weight down her hand. Or she doesn't want to spend the extra $25. Either way, she's not into the corsage. Because A) we look enough alike that it would be easy to guess she's my mom; B) she's walking me down the aisle with my dad; and C) most of the guests at the wedding know she's my mom, I'm not worried that she won't have the all-important floral identifier.

Chuppah: Accent the chuppah with a mixed tropical greenery and floral arrangement in the front/center and (2) smaller clusters at the sides (curtain tie backs). Price: $255, plus $250 to rent the chuppah. A little on the high side, but we have to have it. And I'm sure it will be very pretty.

Pre-reception: Hexagon bowls with a single floating bloom in bright colors (alternate colors throughout room). Pedestal bowls on cocktail tables and non-pedestal bowls on high-boy tables. Price: $5 a pop. Not bad at all. I wish our reception centerpieces were that cheap...

Reception centerpieces: Multi-colored terra cotta pots with mixed bright colored mylar and lollipops: Mickey swirlpops, unicorn pops, Mickey pops and assorted other candy pops. Price: $65 each! I am very excited about these centerpieces. I love edible centerpieces--at my bat mitzvah, we had hand-painted (not by me, of course) pots filled with decorated cookies and candies. Every took home the sweets, and we gave the pretty pots to select people, who mostly used them for plants. I really wanted the same thing for the wedding. Our original floral budget included floral centerpieces with candy accents at twice the price, but I really just wanted the candy sans flowers. We have very few Disney-ish things, so I'm wicked excited about the Mickey pops.

Tables, continued: Accent each guest table with (6) large votive cups filled with gel in bright colors and LED. Price: $5 each. Too cool. And they're going to sprinkle wrapped hard candy on all tables for $50. Originally, I really wanted a candy buffet. Then I started thinking about the cost of said candy buffet, and realized that I was spending a ton of $ on guests who would probably not care. They already get so much food, and they're in Disney World, for goodness sakes! But sprinkled candies makes the table look so pretty, and they are much cheaper.

Head Table: The chuppah floral (at least the price includes two uses), two centerpieces, and 12 votive cups. I have an enduring vision of our best person, Cliff, playing with the gel, our other best person, Eileen, eating all the lollipops (she and I both share a preference for sugar over "real food") and Angela knocking over the centerpieces. I can't wait for the pics.

Linens: 90 x 90 poly-cotton overlays in hot pink, orange, canary, neon green, tangerine, plum, aqua and turquoise. Head table - orange (6), one of each other couple. $11 each. We're treading the fine line between incorporating our favorite assortment of bright colors, and throwing an upscale gay pride parade.
White resort napkins tied with hibiscus ribbons in aqua, hot pink, royal blue, tangerine and turquoise. $2.50 Another potential dilemma: do we use colored napkins ($2 each), or white napkins? If we use white napkins, do we pay $2.50 to have them tied with pretty ribbons? For guests who use napkins as tissues, does it matter? Would it look weird to have plain white napkins on colored overlays?

Dessert party: 9" cylinder vase filled with gel in yellow, aqua and light green, LED lights and tropical confetti mixed throughout. Price: $10 each. I love DP pics with the light-up vases. (HAHA--the "party" smiley added itself because I wrote party with a colon after it.)

I don't know how that all adds up to $3K, but it does. We nixed all guest favors (isn't our company favorable enough?), and pared down the flowers to a minimum, but I think it will still be very colorful and most importantly, very us.

Up next, as worries go: guest book. I like the idea of a picture guest book, but our engagement photos were laughably horrific (thank you, Sears), and we don't have very many pics of us together that aren't, shall we say, risque. But regular guest books are a little bland against our rainbow-hued reception, and I can see us breaking any plate or glass we used for guest sign-ins (we have an "Homage to Human Error" sculpture containing all the broken dishes from our time together). Any ideas?

[keenercam]

Sunny -- Your floral sounds absolutely gorgeous! LOVE the idea of the edible centerpieces! :thumbsup2

As for your guestbook -- I think we have pretty much decided that we don't want a guestbook full of pix of us. What I am planning, instead, is a book chronicling our relationship from the weekend we met and including pix of our family with all of our friends and family who will be at our VR. I think it will be so much fun to have pix of our dear friends in a coffee table book that those very same people have signed. If you can't gather up enough pix of you and Angela together, you may want to consider more of a "through the years" photo book.

[sungela]

That sounds perfect! Are you using one of the printing services to make a book with binding, or are you making your own scrap book? I'm a total pack rat, so I have a lot of our souvenirs (the program for the performance we went to on our first date, the room cards from our first trip to Disney, etc.)--I'd love to be able to use those too.

[keenercam]

I was planning to do it on shutterfly or blurb. My project right now is to locate all the photos I want to use and upload them to whichever site we use. The real problem has been finding a cover I like. I don't want black or brown or white leather. I thought something in silver satin or linen would be pretty and not so formal. There are so many layouts available and I want to be sure there is plenty of white space on each page so that each member of any given family or both people in a couple will have room to write on the page that has their picture on it. :sunny:

[Gillian]

Up next, as worries go: guest book. I like the idea of a picture guest book, but our engagement photos were laughably horrific (thank you, Sears), and we don't have very many pics of us together that aren't, shall we say, risque. But regular guest books are a little bland against our rainbow-hued reception, and I can see us breaking any plate or glass we used for guest sign-ins (we have an "Homage to Human Error" sculpture containing all the broken dishes from our time together). Any ideas? I just double checked your wedding date but I was going to suggest gettting someone to take photos at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton. I'm biased, because we got married there, but it's really cool. It doesn't look like you have time for that though, and the flowers aren't in bloom yet.

You could check the scrapbooking section of Michaels and maybe do something with 12x12 cardstock (comes in every color you can think of) and fun markers. You can buy a book and clear page protectors in 8x8 or 12x12. It should last. You also could choose background pages (printed) and have pre-cut shapes of different solid colors for people to write on & then assemble it at home.

I've seen things like that done for baby books, where people who come to visit in the hospital write a message to the family.

[lpizzuro123]

Hello fellow NJ bride - we also love the coffee table guest book style and as of now I think this is what we are going with. Our other option - which I really like also - is a guest book from the guest book store. Not sure if you have seen these yet but you order a binder style book from them and you get inserts - one per couple or person. You can get them personalized at the top and there is room on the page for a picture of the person filling out the page that you can take at the wedding. There are a bunch of questions on each page also like - how do you know the couple - what are your wishes for the couple - how far did you travel - etc. We did this for a 50th birthday for a friend of mine and everyone had a lot of fun filling out the pages. What they did was leave a bunch of pages on each table along with a few pens and all the guests filled out the pages during the reception (yes, this was a birthday party like a wedding). I was official photographer and made sure to get a picture of everyone entering the reception or if I missed them I went around the party taking photos. Once the book gets put together it looks great and you get a photo of everyone at your wedding.

Check out their website www.guestbookstore.com.

Linda

[Beep]

Hi, the floral sound gorgeous and it will be worth every penny when you see it I'm sure!

We've only got 9 guests so decided, rather than a guest book, to have cards made up (bit like a table setting but bigger) where they can write a message for us. We are going to do a scrapbook for us and my parents as well as a photo album and these will be great to add in. We are going to photo the message cards and print them separately to put in one of the scrapbooks.

[pink_tink8i8]

Why are the most expensive wedding dresses always the most gorgeous argh!I LOVE Angela's dress. It looks so light and airy. It's nice :goodvibes OHHH I can't wait to see a picture of the floral arrangements for your Chuppah it sounds so beautiful.

[DisneyFairy19]

I know a dress i tried on was $8,000 and I couldny believe it.. I said 'Ok thats it, not bad'

I left the boutique laughing with my mom

[sungela]

I just double checked your wedding date but I was going to suggest gettting someone to take photos at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton. I'm biased, because we got married there, but it's really cool. It doesn't look like you have time for that though, and the flowers aren't in bloom yet.


The Grounds for Sculpture is gorgeous--I pass by it on the train all the time! If we were getting married in NJ, that would definitely have been on our list.

I know a dress i tried on was $8,000 and I couldny believe it.. I said 'Ok thats it, not bad'

I left the boutique laughing with my mom

:rotfl2: I love it when bridal stores try to convince you that $6000 is a bargain for a dress! I'm usually not shy about being cheap, but I was so afraid that they wouldn't let me keep shopping if I totally balked at the prices. It's at least fun to try on an incredibly expensive gown...

Thanks for all the help and advice about the guest book! At first, I kept thinking, "But we don't have enough digital pics to make a book. What are we going to do?" Then I remembered: someone invented something called a scanner. :rolleyes1 I'm not always the brightest crayon in the box... I've been going through our photos and mementos, and I'm really excited to make a book. I think I like the blurb model the best--I want something that looks professionally done that our grandchildren can appreciate. Plus, I don't like watching videos about other people at weddings or bar mitzvahs. Most of the stuff isn't funny unless you're in on the jokes, and I'd prefer for our guests to talk amongst themselves. With a blurb book, we can show off our pics without making a big deal out of it. I'm sold!

Few updates from this weekend: we picked our Father/Daughter dance song. I asked my dad if he had any ideas, and about two secs later, he said, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole'. It's a medley of What a Wonderful World and Somewhere Over the Rainbow; the former is one of my dad's favorites, and the latter is one of mine. It's really beautiful: http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/i/israelkamakawiwoole6157/somewhereovertherainbow239745.html

We also decided on favors: lottery tickets. I mentioned this in the favors thread, but I'll repost. I was really nervous about skipping favors, but I also didn't want to waste $$$ on items people would chuck before they went home. I figured we were feeding them enough, so edible favors (other than those they can take from our centerpieces) were out. I hate candles, and most of my family is allergic to scents anyway, so there went that idea. Mini soaps have the same problem. I like Caryn's wine bottles, but we're not really winos, and I am the world's worst gardener, so seeds didn't seem appropriate. But lottery tickets, at $1 each, are cheap, and they may potentially lead to more money (I figure at least one person will win, and they may be too busy to cash in their ticket and decide to give it us instead.:yay: ) Plus, if someone doesn't win, they don't have to worry about carrying the ticket back home. We're going to make little envelopes that say, "We hope you're as lucky as us," or something along those lines. DF and I often talk about how lucky we are, and I think it's a cute message. I'm sure that the FL lottery will have summer-themed tix close to our date, which will fit in with our sunshiney theme.

But the most important update: our invitations are in!!! The wonderful lady at the Papery stayed late yesterday so that we could pick them up, and they are perfect. I don't regret making custom invitations, although I will advise anyone starting out that it's much easier and cheaper to go the usual route. Sorry if the pix aren't very good--I'm not that great with the camera.

Here's the front:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Invitations001.jpg

The inside text (thermography print):
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Invitations002.jpg

Our insert:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Invitations003-1.jpg

The invitation lining (which was so worth it):
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Invitations005.jpg

And the RSVP postcard, made by Zazzle:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Invitations004.jpg

We went with the Disney stamps that so many people here have used, and they definitely fit well with the colors. Of course, as we went to drop off the invitations at the postal box yesterday, it occurred to us that they might be too heavy for the 41 cent stamp. We figured one day waiting wouldn't matter, so this morning, Angela measured the envelopes. Sure enough, we need to plunk on another stamp. :headache: I ordered the old style Disney stamps from USPS, so now we have to wait another few days to send them out. But at least the invitation saga is (mostly) done! :dance3:

[DisneyFairy19]

Love the invites, and Zazzle is the best isnt it

[Lynn5700]

Your invitation's are very neat!!!! Very original :)

[sungela]

Love the invites, and Zazzle is the best isnt it

I was skeptical at first, but they are amazing! I am seriously tempted to make ties with our pictures and give them to our men of honor...

Your invitation's are very neat!!!! Very original

Thanks! What a hassle, but in the end, it was all totally worth it (I'm sure I will be able to say the same thing about the whole wedding experience).

Quick budgeting update: inspired by Carrie's minimum expenditure regimen, I decided to calculate my total without service and taxes. And I am happy to report, for 75 people, I am only $1071 over my minimum! :banana: If we got rid of Angela's string trio ($1365), we'd actually be under our minimum. Of course, tax and tip add up to a whopping $2547.78, and we still have to pay for photography separately. But even with Disney videography, the Wedding Pavilion and Grand Floridian in high season, and a DJ, we're doing really well budget-wise. :dance3:

[sungela]

I've decided my posts are a little long, so I'm splitting up today's notes. Now that the invitation crisis is managed, we can move on to the next dilemma: bridesmen's suits. We had picked out a beautiful suit at Men's Wearhouse, and we were scheduled to have most of our guys go in on April 19 for the fittings. BUT when I called MW yesterday to see if they had measurements on file for one of our gents, they informed me that the suit we picked is now $100 more expensive, and they haven't kept any of the info we've given them. :eek: We figured that buying suits would be a good way to go, as four of our boys have professional jobs that require suits every day. And for a morning wedding, tuxes are optional/inadvisable.

Now, though, we're thinking about renting tuxes from Carolyn Allen's. They have to come to Disney to steam our dresses anyway, and their rates are very reasonable. $350 for a suit might be okay for our two Wall Street people of honor, but for Angela's dad (now retired) and my parents (who have to buy a suit for my dad and my little brother), that's a lot. $150 to rent a really nice tux, including shoes and cufflinks? Much nicer. Plus, Carolyn Allen's has been very helpful and responsive; MW, not so much. You'd think the salesperson would call to tell us that the suits were going up in price lest he lose the commission generated from 6 suit purchases... Anyway, what do you think of this one?
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Suit.jpg

We're debating between the Mickey vest and something more plain. Their bouts will be green, but the girls are all wearing turquoise. I think the turquoise vests are a little much, though. We've already ordered bright orange yarmulkes too: http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Kippot.jpg.
FMIL's suggestion was that we have everyone wear a main color with an orange accent, so for the girls it will be blue with orange, and for the guys, green with orange. But does that mean a plain-colored vest and a green tie? A bright green vest? The Mickey vest with a tie? HELP!

[lurkyloo]

Quick budgeting update: inspired by Carrie's minimum expenditure regimen, I decided to calculate my total without service and taxes. And I am happy to report, for 75 people, I am only $1071 over my minimum! :banana: If we got rid of Angela's string trio ($1365), we'd actually be under our minimum. Of course, tax and tip add up to a whopping $2547.78, and we still have to pay for photography separately. But even with Disney videography, the Wedding Pavilion and Grand Floridian in high season, and a DJ, we're doing really well budget-wise. :dance3:

Right on, sister! :thumbsup2 :rotfl:

[IndyBride]

That is great news about the budget! I know it is constantly looming over my head!

[Mama of Indybride]

We're treading the fine line between incorporating our favorite assortment of bright colors, and throwing an upscale gay pride parade.

OMG...Hilarious! :lmao: You are tooo funny!

Loving your PJ, and still reading through it, but had to stop and catch my breath!! Snort, gasp, chuckle!!!

Congratulations, and can't wait to hear about the wedding!!!

[Mama of Indybride]

That is great news about the budget! I know it is constantly looming over my head!

Who's head? ;)

[DisneyFairy19]

Love the suit:goodvibes

[sungela]

Who's head? ;)

I can totally understand--I'm not exactly footing the bill, but I think I'm more budget-obsessed than my mother, who is paying for it.

Sorry I haven't posted in a very long time, but this week was a little crazy. We had 10 people (family and some of the bridal party) over to celebrate Passover and the fact that DF is now officially Jewish! :yay:

My FMIL got along better with my parents than I could ever have expected (she's met them before, but they really bonded on this trip). Unfortunately, FFIL couldn't come (too busy fishing), but I think his absence enabled MIL to get a chance to relax more than she would have otherwise. And everyone was really excited about Disney and the wedding, which is making it feel more real. Scary, actually, that today is our 2 month mark... :eek:

Since I last posted, we have: received several RSVPs, a few more nos than we expected, but we're still waiting on a number of them. My mom wants to throw us a small reception in CT after the wedding, and I have a feeling that many of my northeastern relatives will come to that instead. As long as we get the gifts. :rotfl2:

I also went for my first dress fitting! I enjoyed it, and of course I had an entourage: my MOH, Eileen, her mom (she was visiting from Cali for the weekend), and my mom. I'm not known as a style expert (ok, if they had worst dressed as a superlative in the yearbook, I probably would have won it), whereas Eileen is the very essence of chic. So she thought that my dress was going to be bright gold and costumey. But I proved her wrong! She actually loved it. I'm pretty sure my mom barely noticed the details of the gown, because she was so busy gasping that her very tomboyish daughter had picked out such a princess outfit. She was quite pleased as well. I don't have pics yet, because Eileen took them all on her camera, but I will either post them when I get them or wait for my second fitting on May 17 (luckily, my parents will again be in town for my graduation). Only one slight mishap: they didn't have my bra size for the long, fancy wedding undergarments (34DD), so they have to special order it for next time. I have to admit that I was terrified that something would go wrong and I would end up walking down the aisle in jeans, but now I feel much more confident.

And we picked out the vests. Carolyn Allen's recommended we go with peach, so that's what we're going to do. I'm not sure about cufflinks; the Mickey ones are cute, but a little expensive. I liked the ones used by JJClemson, but how often are they going to wear Mickey shaped cufflinks? Whatev. As long as the boys are clothed, I am relatively unconcerned.

Up next: RSVP deadline (we'll see if anyone observes it) on May 1, wedding shower (BBQ at our place) on May 3, second dress fitting on May 17, major freak-out we have one month left session on May 22, and bachelorette party (NYC hotel) on June 6. OY VEY!!!

[WithDisneySpirit]

Don't worry, just plan on many guests ignoring the RSVP deadline :rotfl: I am looking forward to pics of you in your dress :goodvibes

[IndyBride]

I know you're busy the next few weeks with lots of fun but I saw a post of yours on another thread and realized I hadn't read anything from you in a while.

[sungela]

Thanks for asking! Sometimes, I really want to scrap most of my family and friends, and replace them with disboard people. :disrocks: I'm sure you would all respond, as opposed to my lousy invitees...

Where are we in the process? We still have to:
- Make the guest book (I'm going with Blurb, but I want to wait until I get pics from our shower this Saturday).
- Get the ketubah (Jewish wedding certificate, usually pretty fancy, in the $200-400 range). I'm also (shhh!) buying one for my parents as their "thank you for giving me the best wedding ever" because they lost their original one. Sometimes I am so glad that my parents are not technologically savvy and they thus can't look on here.
- Get Angela's dress fitted. We're kind of lost on this one because we don't know what she should wear under the dress. A slip? Where do you buy slips these days?
- Make ADRs for our faux Disneymoon. So far, we have V&A's and Dining with an Imagineer, but I want to make sure that I get free dessert for every meal. I'm getting so toned for the wedding, but as soon as June 23 rolls around, it's back to cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And snacks. :rotfl2:
- Pick our music. We've decided on the fathers/daughters song (Somewhere over the rainbow), our first dance song (Shrek theme), our cake-cutting song (Your love is better than chocolate), and my special dance with my brother songs (Rainbow Connection and If I Could Turn Back Time--don't ask; we're playing it during our "Everyone's trashed--time for bad music" 2-3 hour) but we haven't decided much about the ceremony music. We want to use yet another Shrek song, True Love's First Kiss (at the end of 1 and 2, the song played when they go back to being ogres), but I've only found piano music for it. We'll have to find out if we can translate that to string/flute music.
- Programs and welcome letters. I'm a competitive crossword-puzzler, so I really want to create a NY Times standard-issue puzzle for our welcome packet. So what if only I can solve it?

The best thing is that I stop working tomorrow! I originally planned to give myself a little summer vacation before I start my real, post-college job on July 28, but then I started panicking about not working. Luckily, my old boss emailed and asked if I wanted to do free-lance work this summer (I'm a grantwriter). I will be gainfully employed, but able to do all my work whilst I laze poolside. :banana: Come next week, I'll have plenty of time to wrap up last-minute wedding details, harass non-RSVPing guests, and post on here.

[Mama of Indybride]

Yay for lazing by the pool!

Can't wait to see what happens! :surfweb:

[sungela]

The wedding dress pics are in! This was only my first fitting, so I figure it will look even better the second time around. Not that I'm complaining--I LOVE my dress, not least of all because it's so soft and light and doesn't require me to spend my whole wedding day sucking in my stomach. :love:

Dress unbustled:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/MyDress1.jpg

Dress bustled (which I think looks weird):
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/MyDress3.jpg

My back:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/MyDress6.jpg

Bottom of dress (look at all those pick-ups!):
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/MyDress5.jpg

We also had our bridal shower this weekend. Our bridespeople did a lovely job, although I think it ended up being less shower and more regular party. Might have been the ten bottles of wine consumed... and the fact that all our friends are 21-23 years old, and we're the first to get married. I am terribly unphotogenic (thank God for professional photographers), but here are a few shots:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Shower007.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Shower026-1.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Shower016-1.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Shower015.jpg

And yes, of course, we did coordinate our shirts. We also gave out little orange goodie bags, so that all of our wedding colors would be represented.

[IndyBride]

Your dress looks WONDERFUL!!! It looks like you two had a great party!

[pink_tink8i8]

aww..your shower looked like so much fun! I LOVE your dress!!!!

[Goldeelox9]

I love your dress! It is so princessy!

[lurkyloo]

It looks like they're doing a French bustle on your (lurvly!) gown, and I'm not crazy about it either.

Check out this site - they invented something called the "Tufted Bustle" especially for a gown with pickups, and it looks fabulous. However, if your seamstress is charging the standard $10 per connection point, it could be really pricey... :sad2:

http://www.leanna.com/Bridal/Bustles.htm

However, there are some other bustle styles on there that might work better :thumbsup2

[caryndisneydiva]

that tufted bustle is gorgeous!


love your dress, it's beautiful!

[Lindsay22]

Love that tufted bustle that Carrie posted!! (Yes, I've stolen it for my bustle) Is your dress the Disney Belle dress??? IT'S LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEELLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYY

[sungela]

Your dress looks WONDERFUL!!! It looks like you two had a great party!

aww..your shower looked like so much fun! I LOVE your dress!!!!

I love your dress! It is so princessy!

love your dress, it's beautiful!

Is your dress the Disney Belle dress??? IT'S LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEELLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYY

Thank you all so much! I know not everyone was thrilled with the Disney collection, but I absolutely fell in love with this dress (to be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of some of the other Disney ones...) I do feel like a princess, what with all that swishy taffeta. I'm also a huge fan of the color; I look like Casperetta, the friendly bridal ghost, in white, but the light gold sets off my reddish/blondish highlights and brings out the gold in my eyes (which you can't see because I squint in all my pictures). I still get the "I'm too young for this/dressing up in my mother's clothes" feeling sometimes (as if my mom owned anything like this dress), but I have to remember that my mom got married at this age too.

It looks like they're doing a French bustle on your (lurvly!) gown, and I'm not crazy about it either.

Check out this site - they invented something called the "Tufted Bustle" especially for a gown with pickups, and it looks fabulous. However, if your seamstress is charging the standard $10 per connection point, it could be really pricey...

Carrie, you are my new hero! I figured I would just go without bustling rather than have my dress look weird, but the tufted bustle is perfect. The cost *should* be included in my obscenely high dress purchase price, but I'll ask at my second fitting next week. Yay for Disboards, and all your help/support!

[lurkyloo]

Hooray! I can't wait to see how it turns out! :banana:

[DecemberBride]

Love your dress! It is gorgeous! You guys look so happy at your party. Aren't friends and wine a great combo? Lol

[newyearsbride]

Your dress is gorgeous! You guys look so in love, I love it!

[lov2b@disney]

Beautiful dress, love the color! your shower looks like it was alot of fun!

[WithDisneySpirit]

The color of your dress is wonderful - I love it :lovestruc Your colors in the wedding are gonna be great -definitely very appealing:goodvibes

Can't wait to hear more !!!

[DisneyFairy19]

Your dress is BEAUTIFUL

[29apr00]

Wow that is a beautiful dress!! Your shower looks like it was a lot of fun! Congrats!

Jennifer

[keenercam]

Your dress is absolutely gorgeous on you! I love the color, too. Your party looks like a lot of fun! Very clever of you to incorporate your colors!

[jennifaerie]

Wow! I just love the dress! I get so excited when I see someone in pick-ups. It looks so soft and full. It's beautiful, beautiful! I also love the shade of it.

[sungela]

Wow! I just love the dress! I get so excited when I see someone in pick-ups. It looks so soft and full. It's beautiful, beautiful! I also love the shade of it.

Your dress is absolutely gorgeous on you! I love the color, too. Your party looks like a lot of fun! Very clever of you to incorporate your colors!

Wow that is a beautiful dress!! Your shower looks like it was a lot of fun! Congrats!

Jennifer

Your dress is BEAUTIFUL

The color of your dress is wonderful - I love it :lovestruc Your colors in the wedding are gonna be great -definitely very appealing:goodvibes

Can't wait to hear more !!!

Beautiful dress, love the color! your shower looks like it was alot of fun!

Your dress is gorgeous! You guys look so in love, I love it!

Love your dress! It is gorgeous! You guys look so happy at your party. Aren't friends and wine a great combo? Lol

Hooray! I can't wait to see how it turns out! :banana:

Haha! I just figured out how to multiquote. :banana: Took me long enough... Thank you all sooo much. I wanted to respond the other day, but I figured I'd let the whole craziness boil over without adding to the problem. Sometimes I really do think it would be better to ditch everyone I actually know and have a disbrides-only affair. You are all so sweet. I have to admit, I really like looking at the pics of me in the dress. I can't wait until I get the wedding photos.

I got a call from our assigned DJ, JR Silva. I searched him, and it seems a few people have had him on here. I'm happy with whomever; as long as he remembers the important songs (our first dance, the hora), my family is usually crazy enough to take care of the rest. What we lack in talent (in singing or dancing), we make up for in spirit!

Today's dilemma, which I would be happy if anyone had any suggestions on. We're looking to buy our ketubah, the Jewish wedding contract. We've found a number online that we like, around $200. However, the cantor at our temple is also a ketubah designer. He does lovely work, and we love him as a person, but it costs around $400, plus more if we get one in the colors we like. :scared1: Is it worth that much extra just because we know the guy? And if we don't go with him (I like the cheaper designs better), how do we explain why we didn't (and we will have to explain)? Why does everything have to be such a drama? Oy vey! I keep thinking that we should have just done the escape option...

[IndyBride]

You could always fib and tell him Disney made you get one through them if he asks. I'm not familiar with Jewish wedding traditions, is it something in the actual ceremony?

[LilJen2001]

I would just let them know that a family member got it for you as a gift....we ordered our Ketubah online and it's beautiful... :o)

[sungela]

You could always fib and tell him Disney made you get one through them if he asks. I'm not familiar with Jewish wedding traditions, is it something in the actual ceremony?

The ketubah is a contract that is usually signed right before the ceremony, and often read aloud during it.

I would just let them know that a family member got it for you as a gift....we ordered our Ketubah online and it's beautiful... )

Thanks for both of your suggestions. In the end, I didn't want to lie (not least of all because our rabbi helped us pick the text and he's going to see it on the day of, so he could rat us out). I just told our cantor the truth--we found something that was closer to our price range. And it is lovely:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Ketubah.jpg

The text (in Hebrew and in English) is so perfect for us:
I promise to stand by you always; to be joy to your heart and food to your soul; to bring out the best in you always, and for you, to be the most that I can; to laugh with you in the good times and struggle with you through the bad. May we strive to bring to fruition both our shared and our individual hopes and dreams. Let us build our home on a foundation of trust, respect and generosity of spirit, guided by Torah values and traditions. May our lives be embraced by warmth, peace and love. And when we grow old may we walk together hand in hand, still feeling the sweetness of our devotion. I give myself without reservation to our union and welcome you as my partner in life.

Angela especially loves the "food to your soul" part. :rotfl2:

I'm sorry that I've been a bad Disbride, but I'm very distracted. We have a new baby!
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Kitty004.jpg

His name is Ari (short for Aristotle, to compliment our older cat, Jackie--as in Jackie and Ari Onassis. Yes, I'm a dork.), and he is the cutest kitty ever.

Despite the fact that I spend all my time with him, I have gotten a lot of wedding stuff accomplished. We finally picked our ceremony music (mostly Jewish tunes) and switched the guys' vests to Platinum (the peach didn't match the orange yarmulkes). Oh, and our guest count dropped by 25 :scared1: Most of the people who we accounted for in that 25 originally said they were coming, but then gas prices (and flights) shot up, and now a short Disney vaca is out of budget. It's mostly families too--anyone with kids can't go to Disney without going to the parks, stay for a few days, and with 4 or 5 air plane tix to buy, that adds up. We also had a few more "objectors" than I figured (most of whom have not RSVP-ed, by the way; they've just informed other members of my family that they won't come). As my mother says, we're better off having only people who love and support us--I don't want to have to censor myself at my wedding because kissing makes my great-aunt and uncle upset.

At first, I was bummed that my 75 person wedding extravaganza was turning into a 50 person intimate affair. But then I thought about it and realized that at 75, I wanted to try and be classy, prove to the haters that a Disney commitment ceremony was every inch the respectable wedding that I would have had if I'd married a hypothetical guy in a New England wedding. Now, though, respectability be darned! We're having a Sungela wedding, baby! :banana:

What does that mean? Ping pong table at the reception (that's right!), open bar and mimosas, my candy buffet is back in, and Disney crayons and markers to sign our guest book. :dance3: This will be a wedding to remember.

[29apr00]

Ping Pong and Mimosa's!! That sounds like my kind of reception!! I'm glad you're getting the kind of wedding that is going to make you happy!! It's going to be even more magical than before!! Congrats!!

Jennifer

[DecemberBride]

You've got the right attitude. Do it your way and have a blast. I'm all about the mimosas as well, but saving them for the farewell breakfast. You'll have a great time and I love the ping pong table and candy bar!

[lpizzuro123]

Sounds like a great amount of fun. Love your Ketubah. Not sure if my DF and I are going to do this or not. He is Jewish and I am Catholic and I am not sure of the rules of signing one. I believe Rev. Knox will be our officient (we are going to meet with him when go down for our planning session in May).

I have a question about the corking fee that I thought I had seen in your journal but can't seem to find it now. We are really trying to decide between open bar or BOC. I thought you had written something about bringing your own wine and being charged a corking fee. If so, if you don't mind, how much is this charge?

Thanks,
Linda

[sungela]

Ping Pong and Mimosa's!! That sounds like my kind of reception!! I'm glad you're getting the kind of wedding that is going to make you happy!! It's going to be even more magical than before!! Congrats!!

Jennifer

You've got the right attitude. Do it your way and have a blast. I'm all about the mimosas as well, but saving them for the farewell breakfast. You'll have a great time and I love the ping pong table and candy bar!

Thank you! I am so excited to get photos of me and Ange playing ping pong in our wedding dresses. :rotfl:

Sounds like a great amount of fun. Love your Ketubah. Not sure if my DF and I are going to do this or not. He is Jewish and I am Catholic and I am not sure of the rules of signing one. I believe Rev. Knox will be our officient (we are going to meet with him when go down for our planning session in May).

I have a question about the corking fee that I thought I had seen in your journal but can't seem to find it now. We are really trying to decide between open bar or BOC. I thought you had written something about bringing your own wine and being charged a corking fee. If so, if you don't mind, how much is this charge?

Thanks,
Linda

A lot of the ketubah websites offer interfaith ketubot. I think it's nice to have it as a reminder of our vows, although you could also just write down the actual vows you say to each other and have it framed.

If you bring your own wine, you have to pay gratuity on what Disney charges for the wine (plus tax), and the corkage fee is $15 (plus tax). For 12 bottles of Rosa Regale, we're paying $191.70 for corkage and $148.25 for gratuity. Because Disney charges $58 per bottle, though, and the wine retails for $16, we're saving almost $600!

[Goldeelox9]

OMG Disney charges that much for Rosa? Where can you get it for cheaper? What a great way to save. Your reception sounds wonderful. I can not wait to see the pictures! You two will be so pretty! :bride: :bride: Are you guys doing viels?

[sungela]

OMG Disney charges that much for Rosa? Where can you get it for cheaper? What a great way to save. Your reception sounds wonderful. I can not wait to see the pictures! You two will be so pretty! :bride: :bride: Are you guys doing viels?

Well, we were going to get it from a Florida seller, B21, but it looks like they sold out (I can understand that... it's so yummy!). Some of the online discounters have it for $18 a bottle, and I'll probably have Angela's parents look around to see if they can find it for that price so we don't have to pay for shipping.

And thanks for the lovely comments! I'll be wearing a veil, but Angela opted not to. No big objection to the symbolism; she's just too lazy to look for one. :rotfl2: I'm lucky--when I bought my dress, they had the tiara, veil, fitting and undergarments all in one place.

[IndyBride]

I LOVE mismosas! You should try a mismosa float: put ice, oj, and champagne in a blender. Pour into glasses ( I use martini glasses for fun) and top with more champagne! Oh it's wonderful.

[Goldeelox9]

So it will be like this: :lovestruc :bride:

[lurkyloo]

Love the ping-pong table - are you getting that from Disney?

[lpizzuro123]

Thanks so much for the suggestion of the interfaith Ketubot. I went online and found quite a few and I will definately bring this up to my DF.

As far as the price of the wine goes - that is a great savings. Are you guys doing the beer and wine package or just wine alone? My DF's father lives in Orlando so the first week are down in November for our wedding we will be staying with him. We could easily go purchase wine - just not sure if we want to do this or not.

Linda

[sungela]

I LOVE mismosas! You should try a mismosa float: put ice, oj, and champagne in a blender. Pour into glasses ( I use martini glasses for fun) and top with more champagne! Oh it's wonderful.

Wow, that sounds yummy. I would never have thought to put champagne in the blender... excellent idea for Sunday morning!

So it will be like this:

I love it!

Love the ping-pong table - are you getting that from Disney?

Yes, indeedy! $270, almost the cost of buying our own table. But totally worth it because it will makes ours the coolest wedding EVER.

Thanks so much for the suggestion of the interfaith Ketubot. I went online and found quite a few and I will definately bring this up to my DF.

As far as the price of the wine goes - that is a great savings. Are you guys doing the beer and wine package or just wine alone? My DF's father lives in Orlando so the first week are down in November for our wedding we will be staying with him. We could easily go purchase wine - just not sure if we want to do this or not.

Linda

Beer and wine and liquor. There are two people who drink beer who will be in attendance: my dad's best friend and Angela's father. They are ecstatic. We're just bringing our own champagne, which is not included in the open bar package. Good luck ketubah shopping!

[lpizzuro123]

Good idea for bringing your own champagne. I will definately look into this.

As we doing a brunch we were also thinking about a champagne punch. The price we got from Disney is $75.00 per gallion. I have no idea how many gallions 50 people would drink at a brunch but they Disney is estimating 5 gallions.

Linda

[sungela]

Hmm... that's not terrible. $7.50 a person is cheaper than most of the signature drinks (in the $9 range). They charge an arm and a leg for most of their bottles, though, particularly compared to retail price.

[lpizzuro123]

I think at a brunch most people would like the punch - and then maybe do BOC for beer and wine. As our pre-reception is starting at 10:00 I don't think we will start serving alcohol until the reception starts at 11:00.

I think most women would like the punch but not too sure about the men. We really need to review our guest list.

Linda

[jnale]

I'm just now reading about the ping pong table - I love it!

Maybe you could setup beer pong but with mimosas instead!:rotfl2:

[Gillian]

that ketubah is beautiful! Perfect for your special day. :)

I can tell you that as a family with young kids, we have to think long & hard about attending destination weddings. The good thing for our friends is that we usually give a better gift if we can't attend! I might be the only one who thinks this way, but if I'm saving thousands on food, hotel, transportation for 4, babysitting, etc, I can come up with a nice check or something big from the registry.

We have one coming up in November in FL. The choices are drive & take the kids to visit family or Disney (or Universal!) or fly down for the weekend without them. DH wants to take a cruise beforehand! The wedding couple will be lucky to get $5 if we do that.

I am sending you a PM about your invitation printing.

[sungela]

I'm just now reading about the ping pong table - I love it!

Maybe you could setup beer pong but with mimosas instead!

Wow, that would be a wedding to remember! I never quite got the hang of beer pong, and now than I am an official college graduate, I guess I never will. :rotfl2:

that ketubah is beautiful! Perfect for your special day.

I can tell you that as a family with young kids, we have to think long & hard about attending destination weddings. The good thing for our friends is that we usually give a better gift if we can't attend! I might be the only one who thinks this way, but if I'm saving thousands on food, hotel, transportation for 4, babysitting, etc, I can come up with a nice check or something big from the registry.

We have one coming up in November in FL. The choices are drive & take the kids to visit family or Disney (or Universal!) or fly down for the weekend without them. DH wants to take a cruise beforehand! The wedding couple will be lucky to get $5 if we do that.

I hope you're right, and we start getting good gifts. My parents are putting together a small luncheon in CT, so hopefully anyone who can't afford to fly down will celebrate (and gift) us there.

Updates: I had my second/final dress fitting! Good news and bad news. The bad news is that it was too late to change the bustle, so weird French bustle it is for me! The good news is it looks a lot better now that it's actually bustled instead of just pinned. I wish I had known to ask (or that they had asked me) about bustle styles, but it's not really a big deal. All the formal pics will be of me and my absurdly long train, and after that, who cares?

I think it finally hit my mom that I'm actually getting married. I guess the dress didn't do it, but this did:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Tiara.jpg

Oh, I can't wait to waltz around the house in it. I didn't want to give it back. It's so perfect... :love:

Now I just have to wait until the correct bra comes in and they steam the dress, and then it's all mine. I actually want to leave the dress at the shop as long as possible. They don't have kitties that might scratch my precious couture gown. And I think I've finally succumbed to the idea of shipping my dress down, rather than schlepping it from NJ. I'm going to be a nervous wreck until I know it gets to Carolyn Allen's, though.

I also bought my rehearsal dinner dress. Look at the mature and elegant wonder that is me:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Graduation029.jpg

I might have it taken in a little, but we'll see how lazy I am.

I also realized I never posted important wedding-related stuff:

My shoes:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/WeddingStuff001.jpg
I have to practice not clip-clopping. The wedding dress shop people thought it was funny that I was wearing flip flops under my gown. Glad that they won't see my blue undies...

Angela's shoes:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/WeddingStuff003.jpg
Not even a hint of a heel. Thank God!

Thank you notes:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/WeddingStuff002.jpg
The Papery printed the thank you, and the cards are William Arthur--same as our invitations.

Our bubbles:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/WeddingStuff004.jpg
Angela's mom made them, using all kinds of pretty ribbons.

We had a very productive weekend: Angela finally went to get her dress fitted, and we decided on our guest book. In lieu of a book (we really didn't have enough photos), we're doing a cool "Love Notes" box. We're going to put out little cards with prompts (Favorite Sungela Memory, How You Know Sunny and Angela are Perfect for Each Other, Advice, Draw a Picture, etc.) that people will fill out (with Disney crayons and markers, duh) and put in the box. My mom already decorated it, and I'm psyched to see it. I have a box fetish (weird, I know), and I like the idea of chucking--er, I mean gently placing--all kinds of wedding mementos in one place.

We also switched to the two-tier Mad Hatter cake (thanks, cesca!), saving ourselves a pretty penny. I was going to do ice cream with it, a la Carrie, but $6 per person?!? With three kinds of chocolate fondue and cookies on every table, I think we're set.

[29apr00]

I love all your favors and invites and all that stuff! It's so bright and original!! Very you two!!

Only 1 month left!! WOO HOO I'm sure you're excited!!

Jennifer

[Swmhc]

Okay, I have to add that the socks really make your rehearsal dress !!!! :rotfl2: Can't wait to see your wedding photos !!!!

[IndyBride]

I really like the way the bubbles turned out. Very nice!! Also, I LOVE Angela's shoes. I can't beleive that you are a month out. It's gonna start going really fast! Enjoy your last month of being engaged.

[DisneyBrideToni]

I just read your entire PJ and I love everything. Your dresses are stunning. You and your DF are going to look like two beautiful princesses! Can't wait to see pics!

[sungela]

I love all your favors and invites and all that stuff! It's so bright and original!! Very you two!!

Only 1 month left!! WOO HOO I'm sure you're excited!!

Jennifer

Thank you! I think we've tried to incorprate Sungela-ness into every aspect of our wedding. We want a wedding people will talk about. I'm not that worried about it, though. ;p

Okay, I have to add that the socks really make your rehearsal dress !!!! Can't wait to see your wedding photos !!!!

At least they match! I am so glad I'm wearing flip flops to the wedding; otherwise, I'd be tempted to wear rainbow Mickey knee-highs. :rotfl2:

I really like the way the bubbles turned out. Very nice!! Also, I LOVE Angela's shoes. I can't beleive that you are a month out. It's gonna start going really fast! Enjoy your last month of being engaged.

Angela's shoes are even prettier and shinier in person. She's a shoe queen, and I forbade any heel, so these were a great find. I can't believe, after nearly two years of being engaged, that we have only one month left. :scared1:

I just read your entire PJ and I love everything. Your dresses are stunning. You and your DF are going to look like two beautiful princesses! Can't wait to see pics!

Thanks! I can't wait to see the pics either... Although I think I will be sad when all this planning funness is over.

So today's the big pay day, even though we are still waiting on my final BEO. We've made so many last-minute changes. I don't know what I will do with myself now that we can't change anything anymore. I still have to find bridesmen gifts (I think it would be hilarious if we bought them Wall Street buy/sell cufflinks, Angela doesn't agree), but I'm mostly done otherwise. I'll post my final budget when I get it, because I thought it was helpful to read other people's. In the meantime, though, this is me: :surfweb:

[lpizzuro123]

We got our guys the duffle bag from the Disney Shopping website. We got them in red with Mickey on them and had them each personalized in white.

We also got them the personalized watches from the same site. We got the square watch with the small Mickey on the face along with their names. I got the same for my girls only in the smaller face but the same design. For the guys we got the black watchband and red for the girls. I also got a watch for both our dads and a watch for my DF and myself.

We are getting them other things but these are the "Disney" things.

I am getting my DF Mickey Mouse Club cufflinks. I found them on ebay and they are about $25.00. He NEVER wears cufflinks but wears a Mickey Mouse earing every day and is planning on wearing it to the wedding so I though this would be appropriate. Since the cufflinks are not that expensive I figured he would like this for our wedding day.

Linda

[shezfrombermuda]

Your tiara is really pretty. I love your rehearsal dress picture, especially with the socks! :lmao: One month to go, you must be so excited!

[keenercam]

Oh, Sunny! Everything is so beautiful & clever! That Ketubah is stunning and absolutely perfect! LOVE the bubbles. You are so adorable in the rehearsal dress pic. I am so glad your families are having so much fun helping with the planning. It will make them feel so special to look around and see the bits and pieces they contributed all going to make everything so special for you and Angela! :hug:

[lpizzuro123]

Sunny, love the tiara. Did you get it locally and is it from the Disney line? I have tried to find Disney wedding things here locally in NJ but have not had any luck. I would love to try it on before buying it so I would really love to find it around here. We are heading to Disney for our planning session tomorrow so I will look for the tiara when we get home.

Linda

[jennifaerie]

I know I gushed about the dress (how could I not... hello?!), but I finally started from the beginning and read it all, and I have to say, Wow, that's just wonderful. That = everything!

The story, the rings, the plans. I love how you're all about thinking outside the box, and I love that you're sharing it together in one of the greatest places.

I have to say, I cannot wait until I see the pictures, because I really wish I could see it all up close.

:flower3:

[sungela]

Your tiara is really pretty. I love your rehearsal dress picture, especially with the socks! One month to go, you must be so excited!

Sunny, love the tiara. Did you get it locally and is it from the Disney line? I have tried to find Disney wedding things here locally in NJ but have not had any luck. I would love to try it on before buying it so I would really love to find it around here. We are heading to Disney for our planning session tomorrow so I will look for the tiara when we get home.

Linda

Thank you! In real life, it is super shiny. I can't wait to wear it with my new Tiffany blossom earrings. :lovestruc It is part of the Disney line, and I got it at Exquisite Bridal in Princeton, the same place where I bought my dress. They were really nice, although very expensive. Linda, where in NJ are you?

Oh, Sunny! Everything is so beautiful & clever! That Ketubah is stunning and absolutely perfect! LOVE the bubbles. You are so adorable in the rehearsal dress pic. I am so glad your families are having so much fun helping with the planning. It will make them feel so special to look around and see the bits and pieces they contributed all going to make everything so special for you and Angela!

Cam, you are so sweet! I can't wait for your wedding either! I have agonized over so many of these choices, but now, I'm really happy with how everything's coming together.

I know I gushed about the dress (how could I not... hello?!), but I finally started from the beginning and read it all, and I have to say, Wow, that's just wonderful. That = everything!

The story, the rings, the plans. I love how you're all about thinking outside the box, and I love that you're sharing it together in one of the greatest places.

I have to say, I cannot wait until I see the pictures, because I really wish I could see it all up close.


Thank you so much! My dress is definitely gush-worthy. I love to look at pictures of it... in fact, I do little else these days except look at pics. I'm glad I decided on the wedding video; I have a feeling I'll watch it a few thousand times.

It's funny, but we started out planning a very traditional wedding (and our ceremony, for the most part, still is). But we are not fans of pink or pastels, and we wanted to make our wedding very fun for our guests, so voila! We wound up with an out-of-the-box wedding. I should have known... we are both a little out-of-the-box anyway :rotfl:

We finally found the guys' cufflinks. We debated back and forth about the Mickey ones, but we wanted to get them something they'd wear again (and oddly enough, some of our guys actually wear cufflinks on a regular basis).
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Cufflinks.jpg

Only $20! Down from $65, so I hope they don't look cheap. We want to get them Disney socks to wear, but we've had a hard time finding men's formal socks. Other than ebay, any suggestions?

With 30 days to go, I have to: make my welcome packet (and crossword puzzle), buy the guys' socks and the girls' jewelry (I'm thinking cool beads from 10,000 Villages), and find a cat sitter for our babies. Wow--we're almost there!

[keenercam]

Thank you so much! My dress is definitely gush-worthy. I love to look at pictures of it... in fact, I do little else these days except look at pics. I'm glad I decided on the wedding video; I have a feeling I'll watch it a few thousand times.

Sunny, I just had to comment on this. I know exactly how you feel! :lovestruc I just this week found an image of my dress on a foreign website and I set it as my desktop and I keep minimizing all my screens to look at it. It is so stunning and it makes my heart smile to think of it. I am SOOOOO glad you feel that way about your gown. Every :bride: should feel that way. :cloud9:

[lov2b@disney]

I have a picture in my pocketbook:lmao:

had to come back and edit- after I posted that it was like therapy--HI, I'm sandy, I carry around a picture of my wedding dress!:rotfl: What will I ever do when it is over!

[Goldeelox9]

I have a picture on my Camera (which goes everywhere with me) and I look at it all the time. I just love it.

I just want to add that I am so happy that you guys are having a Wedding. I have a few friends who are in same sex relationships and none of them would consider an actual wedding. They all have rings and live like they are married, but never made it offical. I have been talking about you girls and your wedding all the time and now I am ---> <--- This Close to convinsing my one friend to start planning a wedding.

[sungela]

Sunny, I just had to comment on this. I know exactly how you feel! I just this week found an image of my dress on a foreign website and I set it as my desktop and I keep minimizing all my screens to look at it. It is so stunning and it makes my heart smile to think of it. I am SOOOOO glad you feel that way about your gown. Every should feel that way.

I have a picture in my pocketbook
had to come back and edit- after I posted that it was like therapy--HI, I'm sandy, I carry around a picture of my wedding dress! What will I ever do when it is over!

:rotfl: Alright, now I don't feel so bad! Probably the most embarassing thing I did was create paper dolls out of Angela's and my dresses (printed out pics of the dresses, cut out pics of our heads and glued them on, then glued them together to a chopstick) so that they could play together. It's hilarious, because Angela's dress pic is much smaller than mine, so it looks like I'm twice as tall as her!

I have a picture on my Camera (which goes everywhere with me) and I look at it all the time. I just love it.

I just want to add that I am so happy that you guys are having a Wedding. I have a few friends who are in same sex relationships and none of them would consider an actual wedding. They all have rings and live like they are married, but never made it offical. I have been talking about you girls and your wedding all the time and now I am ---> <--- This Close to convinsing my one friend to start planning a wedding.

That is so sweet; thank you so much! I have to say, I think I would have wanted to give up the idea of a Disney wedding if it wasn't for the support of these boards. I love my coordinator, and I have nothing but good things to say about her, but everytime I've freaked out or been totally confused, you have all been there to help. I know a lot of older same-sex couples are wary of the whole marriage/non-legal commitment ceremony thing, but I want to wear my big princess dress and do the chicken dance and swush cake in Angela's face. I imagine it would be a lot harder if we were two gay men: when I go try on my dress or pick up wedding stuff, no one even asks about the person I'm marrying. Poor grooms...

[Beep]

[QUOTE=sungela;25286931I imagine it would be a lot harder if we were two gay men: when I go try on my dress or pick up wedding stuff, no one even asks about the person I'm marrying. Poor grooms...[/QUOTE]

Hiya,

My friend and his DF are getting married in September this year (UK) and have had nothing but adverse experiences with tux's. Once the shop realises they are a couple they go really frosty with them - my friend said he really envies us girls being able to try dresses on with no question or judgement. It has gotten that bad they they are going to order them online and have them delivered, or go to a mainstream store that has different branches. They have had the same problem getting wedding bands too.

I think it is really sad.

I have another friend who married her long-time partner and they both decided to have tux's and the shop couldn't have been more helpful and accommodating.

I don't see it makes any difference. If you love someone and want to marry them then it should be the same experience for everyone.

I'm really glad you have found solace on the boards - we're not a bad bunch really! :goodvibes

[Lynn5700]

HAHA I love the picture of you in your rehearsal dress...I love the color of it btw!!!!!!!!

Your almost there!!!!!!!!

[Gillian]

That blue looks great on you!

The paper dolls? Too funny! I never did that but did carry a magazine photo of my dress around with me for months.

Did you find anything at 10,000 villages? What about a cat sitter? One of our guys needs a shot daily, so it's hard to leave him.

[PrincessBride010103]

:rotfl: Alright, now I don't feel so bad! Probably the most embarassing thing I did was create paper dolls out of Angela's and my dresses (printed out pics of the dresses, cut out pics of our heads and glued them on, then glued them together to a chopstick) so that they could play together. It's hilarious, because Angela's dress pic is much smaller than mine, so it looks like I'm twice as tall as her!


Paper dolls sound like so much fun to me right now! It's too hot to do anything around here & I'm bored! I'm gonna make a paper doll of me wearing my dress before I was pregnant! That should cheer me up :rotfl2:

[DisneyFairy19]

Beautiful rehearsal dress, I love the color too:thumbsup2

[sungela]

Hiya,

My friend and his DF are getting married in September this year (UK) and have had nothing but adverse experiences with tux's. Once the shop realises they are a couple they go really frosty with them - my friend said he really envies us girls being able to try dresses on with no question or judgement. It has gotten that bad they they are going to order them online and have them delivered, or go to a mainstream store that has different branches. They have had the same problem getting wedding bands too.

I think it is really sad.

I have another friend who married her long-time partner and they both decided to have tux's and the shop couldn't have been more helpful and accommodating.

I don't see it makes any difference. If you love someone and want to marry them then it should be the same experience for everyone.

I'm really glad you have found solace on the boards - we're not a bad bunch really!

You're definitely an awesome bunch! :disrocks: It's funny; I think there are three types of responses: people like my parents, who feel so bad about the rest of society that they overcompensate in their excitement for our wedding; people who don't think of our wedding as any different than any other; and people who are nasty or negative. Sounds similar to most people's experiences with having a Disney wedding, doesn't it!

HAHA I love the picture of you in your rehearsal dress...I love the color of it btw!!!!!!!!

Your almost there!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Lynn! I figured I wouldn't panic until after your wedding, because then I knew I'd still have time. But you're married and back to posting, so now it's time to get excited. :hyper: I'm loving your TR!

Paper dolls sound like so much fun to me right now! It's too hot to do anything around here & I'm bored! I'm gonna make a paper doll of me wearing my dress before I was pregnant! That should cheer me up

You totally should! I would make a pre-pregnant paper doll of you in the wedding dress, then a pregnant you paper doll so that your two selves can play together. Or you could have one paper doll, and make cut out stomachs to show your belly growing. :rotfl2:

Beautiful rehearsal dress, I love the color too

Thanks! It has such twirlability. I love the color too, although I didn't want to try it on at first. My white as snow skin doesn't always look good in brighter colors, but surprisingly, it looks good. I got a necklace to match, too, so I can't wait to wear it.

That blue looks great on you!

The paper dolls? Too funny! I never did that but did carry a magazine photo of my dress around with me for months.

Did you find anything at 10,000 villages? What about a cat sitter? One of our guys needs a shot daily, so it's hard to leave him.

Indeed I did find BM jewelry! The sales ladies at 10,000 Villages were super helpful (in the overcompensation category, see above). The colors are much brighter in person, because I clearly cannot use our camera properly.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/WeddingJewelry.jpg
The dresses finally all came in, so when we pick them up on Saturday, we'll see if the beads match. If not, back to the drawing board. I wouldn't have minded going with an accent color instead of blue, but there wasn't anything bright enough at the store.

As for cat sitters, I have to start calling around. I would be so sad to leave a sick kitty, but hopefully ours will just stick to destroying our house in their anger that we've left them.

Hair inspiration pics time! I have a basic idea of what I want: loose waves/curls with the top part pulled back and fastened with my tiara. Everything very loose and easy, not tight or poufy. Fairy-tale princess meets summer casual. Like these, without the flowers:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Weddinghair1.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Weddinghair2.jpg

Maybe with curls like this:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Weddinghair4.jpg

This without the poufiness:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Weddinghair6.jpg

Kind of like this, but with wavier curls:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/Weddinghair3.jpg

My hair goes down to my midback, and is naturally a little wavy. I really want to leave it down because Angela so much prefers it that way, and I look much better in pictures if my hair is down. What do you think?

[lov2b@disney]

I think loose curls down is very romantic!

:yay: to 25 days! :yay:

[jennifaerie]

Oh, the jewelry is so beautiful (and funky)! I love it!

I also love the 'dos! I'm very anti-updo because of the way it pulls on my scalp (migraines), so I'm always partial to the down'do. They're all very romantic. And even in the one where you mentioned pouf, I didn't really see it.

[Goldeelox9]

Loose and down sounds so pretty! Ekkk You guys are getting so close!

[newyearsbride]

The jewelry is amazing! I love the colors. I love wedding hair down and loose curls, very classic beauty! Oh my gosh, you're getting sooo close! The countdown is on!

[sungela]

I think loose curls down is very romantic!

:yay: to 25 days! :yay:

Oh, the jewelry is so beautiful (and funky)! I love it!

I also love the 'dos! I'm very anti-updo because of the way it pulls on my scalp (migraines), so I'm always partial to the down'do. They're all very romantic. And even in the one where you mentioned pouf, I didn't really see it.

Loose and down sounds so pretty! Ekkk You guys are getting so close!

The jewelry is amazing! I love the colors. I love wedding hair down and loose curls, very classic beauty! Oh my gosh, you're getting sooo close! The countdown is on!

Thanks, everyone! We have the official countdown calendar posted: 19 days! Holy crap... I'm working hard on making my arms look rock solid, whitening my teeth, and practicing my breathing for those Bridezilla moments.

The big exciting news for today: our final BEO! It's a wonder to behold, at a mere fraction of it's original price, with so many more fun things put in (believe me, a smaller wedding is the way to go!). So without further ado, my budget:

Wedding Pavilion, $2500, plus tax... $2662.50
Videography...$1600
String trio... $1365
Limo... $448
Motorcoach... $748
8 soft drink packages @ $20/guest, plus tax + tip... 204.48
40 Mimosas (BOC) @ $9 each, plus tax + tip... 460.08
43 drink packages (open bar) @35.50/guest, plus tax + tip... $1950.87
Bartender fee, $100, plus tax... $106.50
Wedding cake, $450, plus tax + tip... $575.10
Celebration cake (b-day cake for dad and bro), $35, plus tax + tip... $44.73
3 vendor meals @ $20/guest, plus tax + tip... $76.68
51 buffet meals (Tinkerbell Brunch, modified) @ $48/guest, plus tax + tip... $3128.54
Corkage fee on 12 bottles of Rosa Regale @ $15 each, plus tax... $191.70
Gratuity on Rosa Regale @ $11.60 each, plus tax... $148.25
2 Saute chefs @ $75 each, plus tax... $159.75
DJ... $1500
Ping pong table... $270 :hyper:

Dessert party:
39 Viewing fees $12.50/guest, plus tax... $519.19
Italy Isola West @ $250, plus tax... $266.25
DP food @ $30/guest, plus tax + tip... $1495.26
Outdoor set up fee, $75, plus tax... $79.88
Motorcoach... $467.50

Floral:
2 Island bouquets (designed bridesmaid size) to include yellow mini calla lilies in place of burgundy mini calla lilies, brighter orange rose replacing the orange unique roses, green cymbidium orchids and tropical greenery. 75% ribbon wrap the faux stems in antique white satin ribbon, $165 each... $330

3 Triple orange rose wands with orange ribbon accents to match flower, $35 each... $105

4 (bridesmen's) bouts with green dendrobium orchid, orange spray rose, lily grass and tropical greenery, $15 each... $60

2 (fathers') bouts with light green dendrobium orchids, yellow spray rose, lily grass and tropical greenery, $15 each... $30

1 pin on corsage (Angela's mom) of light green dendrobium orchids, yellow spray roses, lily grass, tropical greenery and sheer cream ribbons... $25

Chuppah rental... $250

Chuppah flowers: Accent the chuppah with a mixed tropical greenery and floral arrangement in the front/center and (2) smaller clusters at the sides (curtain tie backs)... $255

Pre-reception: 10 Hexagon bowls with a single floating bloom in bright colors (alternate colors throughout room). Pedestal bowls on cocktail tables and non-pedestal bowls on high-boy tables, rental $5/bowl, floral $5/bowl, total... $100

Centerpieces: 5 Multi-colored terra cotta pots with mixed bright colored mylar and lollipops (Mickey swirlpops, unicorn pops, Mickey pops and assorted other candy pops.), $65 each... $325

Accent the sweetheart table with (4) large votives filled with gel in bright colors and LED lights, $5 each... $20

Accent each guest table with (6) large votive cups filled with gel in bright colors and LED lights, $5 each... $150

Sprinkle wrapped hard candy on all tables... $50

White poly-cotton chair covers with sashes in hot pink, orange, canary, neon green, plum and turquoise. Orange for the sweetheart table, $8.50 each... $442

90 x 90 poly-cotton overlays in hot pink, orange, canary, neon green, plum, and turquoise. Head table - orange, one of each other for remaining tables., $11 each... $66

Poly-cotton napkins in hot pink, orange, canary, neon green, plum and turquoise. Resort to pocket fold. Orange for the sweetheart table, $1 each... $52

Candy for candy buffet (jelly beans, gumballs, rock candy, Air Heads, Now & Later's, Sweet Tarts, candy lipstick, and licorice).. $295.95

Rental of 8 glass jars... $40

Rental of 3 candy scoops... $7.50

Candy labels - one per jar - designed on a clear stick, $5 each... $40

Chinese to-go boxes - (5) packs of 12 - frosted with dots in hot pink, orange, lime green, $15.25 each... $76.25

DP vases: 9" cylinder vase filled with gel in yellow, aqua and light green, LED lights and tropical confetti mixed throughout, $10 each... $80

DP vases, rental of 8 vases... $40

Total floral: $2839.70, plus tax + $50 movie fee... $3074.28

So the grand total is... $21,542.54 :thumbsup2

[DecemberBride]

Wow, you did great on your BEO! It looks like it's going to be an awesome wedding... I love everything you've done! I want pics of people playing the ping pong table! :rotfl: Awesome idea!

[Keira1387]

I can't believe how close you are! Can you save me a glass of Rosa Regale!?:rotfl2: Such a smart idea to bring your own! Disney wanted to charge something like $58 dollarsa bottle, and you can buy it at Publix for $20!!

[DisneyBrideToni]

How cool are you two having a ping pong table!!!!! That is great!!! My DF would probably like having his Wii there. :rotfl2:

Your BEO looks great!!!! It sounds like you are having a ton of stuff and the cost isn't bad at all!

I can't wait to see pictures!! You two will be beautiful I am sure ;)

[accountingbabe08]

I can't wait to see all the wedding pictures. Your gowns are absolutely gorgeous.

[29apr00]

WOW everything sounds so lovely!! I can't wait to hear about your guests reaction to the ping-pong table!! That would be soooo cool!

Can't wait!

[sungela]

Wow, you did great on your BEO! It looks like it's going to be an awesome wedding... I love everything you've done! I want pics of people playing the ping pong table! :rotfl: Awesome idea!

I know--I can't wait to see pics when the people who don't know about the ping pong table see it! Like, "What is that doing there?" :rotfl2:

I can't believe how close you are! Can you save me a glass of Rosa Regale!?:rotfl2: Such a smart idea to bring your own! Disney wanted to charge something like $58 dollarsa bottle, and you can buy it at Publix for $20!!

Seriously, I can't believe that they charge $58 per bottle, plus tax and tip. And if you're in the area, feel free to stop by, and play a game or two of ping pong. I'd love to have a table of disbrides at the wedding.

How cool are you two having a ping pong table!!!!! That is great!!! My DF would probably like having his Wii there. :rotfl2:

Your BEO looks great!!!! It sounds like you are having a ton of stuff and the cost isn't bad at all!

I can't wait to see pictures!! You two will be beautiful I am sure ;)

A Wii would have been cool! Unfortunately, I'd probably rip my dress to shreds trying to do Wii yoga. My other idea was a bouncy castle, but that wouldn't have worked at Disney. :lmao: I'm surprised at the cost--our original budget was closer to $30K, but we cut out a lot of flowers, went with an outside photographer, and voila! We're right at the minimum. Having 25 less people also helped tremendously...

I can't wait to see all the wedding pictures. Your gowns are absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you! I love the pic of your daughter in your signature. She's so cute!

WOW everything sounds so lovely!! I can't wait to hear about your guests reaction to the ping-pong table!! That would be soooo cool!

Can't wait!

Thanks! I can't wait either. Angela and I are planning to break in the table, so we'll have a first dance and a first game. Hehehe.

I realized that I've made a ton of ADRs and special romantic arrangements that I haven't posted. This way, if you happen to be in the area, you'll know where to find us. I'll be in the Minnie ears, and Angela's thinking about doctoring the Goofy hat...

We check in on Thursday, and I've gotten the floral package with Rosa Regale to greet us. We're going to have dinner at Wolfgang Puck (I love the fondue), and go to Downtown Disney.

On Friday, we're taking Angela's 4 year old nephew to Magic Kingdom for his first trip (I am SOOO excited), and eating lunch at Crystal Palace (characters + 4 yr old = happiness). I made Angela a tank top on Zazzle to give to her that day. The front has a picture of Tigger and the back says, "Being a Disney bride is Tiggerific! I got married at the most magical place on earth, 6/22/08."

Saturday, we have a couple's massage at the Grand Floridian spa, and mani/pedis. Our rehearsal dinner will be at 1900 Park Faire. For Saturday night, I'm having flowers delivered to Angela's room (we're staying apart the night of the wedding).

Sunday is the wedding and dessert party, so no biggie. On Monday, we're having an immediate-family-only breakfast at the GF Cafe, and Angela and I are having dinner at Victoria and Albert's.

Tuesday, I'm trying to arrange the personalized menu and diver at Coral Reef, and we have ADRs for Tokyo Dining for dinner. I'm also arranging to have a special cake made back at the room (we both love peanut butter, but my mom is deathly allergic, even to the smell, so we couldn't use it as our cake flavor. I'm hoping we can get a small PB mousse cake made. Yummy....).

I know we're going to be at MGM on Wednesday: we have lunch with an imagineer at the Brown Derby, and dinner ADRs at the Sci Fine Dine In, but I don't know what special surprise to do for our last full day. And on Thursday, 1900 Park Faire is totally full for breakfast, so we can't do that as our send-off. Any ideas for either Wednesday or Thursday? Romantic things to do at MGM? We won't have a car, and it's not a good idea to make Angela schlep anywhere before she's eaten, so most of the breakfast places are out for Thursday.

[IndyBride]

Sonds like you are going to have a fabulous time!!!!

[WithDisneySpirit]

If I wanted to be somewhere romantic at Disney, I'd pick the Polynesian to go with all your other great plans. They have a wonderful restaurant there called Kona and it usually can be had pretty late in the game for an ADR! Its a hop and skip away from GF by monorail for breakfast lunch or dinner! Think tropical and romance!!!! :goodvibes :love:

[lov2b@disney]

We had a nice dinner at Kona too!

your plans sound great! We may be at MK that friday too! I'll be on the look out!:thumbsup2

[Lisacope]

Hey Sunny - I bet our trips overlap!!! We are arriving on June 24th - I bet you are going to be honeymooning away by then! I will have my laptop with me - please post pics so I can see them from the Boardwalk Villas!

About your catsitter: Try calling your vet's office - many times they can give a referral for a cat sitter. Also - sometimes the techs will do housesitting as a side job.

[sungela]

Thanks for the suggestion, WithDisneySpirit and lov2b@disney. Unfortunately, Angela is very allergic to bananas (go figure?), so I think Kona is out. She can't so much as smell a :banana: and I'm pretty sure the horde of people with Tonga toast would generate a bad allergic reaction.

Chef Mickey's is also full, so no buffets that morning (much as I'd like to stuff myself to blunt the pain of leaving). Maybe we'll just to do room service. I wonder if I could arrange secret chocolate covered strawberries through private dining...

And lisacope and lov2b, if you see two girls wearing Minnie bridal ears, one who is extremely tall (and will probably be very tan), and the other short and very pale, say hello! What are the odds that there will be another lesbian couple honeymooning at Disney at the same time? :rotfl2:

[WithDisneySpirit]

I am almost certain you can arrange chocolate covered strawberries through delivery to your room, yum:lovestruc You could even ask for all bride strawberries... :cutie:

[29apr00]

only 9 days left!!! :cool1:

[Mama of Indybride]

:rotfl: Alright, now I don't feel so bad! Probably the most embarassing thing I did was create paper dolls out of Angela's and my dresses (printed out pics of the dresses, cut out pics of our heads and glued them on, then glued them together to a chopstick) so that they could play together. It's hilarious, because Angela's dress pic is much smaller than mine, so it looks like I'm twice as tall as her!



That is so sweet; thank you so much! I have to say, I think I would have wanted to give up the idea of a Disney wedding if it wasn't for the support of these boards. I love my coordinator, and I have nothing but good things to say about her, but everytime I've freaked out or been totally confused, you have all been there to help. I know a lot of older same-sex couples are wary of the whole marriage/non-legal commitment ceremony thing, but I want to wear my big princess dress and do the chicken dance and swush cake in Angela's face. I imagine it would be a lot harder if we were two gay men: when I go try on my dress or pick up wedding stuff, no one even asks about the person I'm marrying. Poor grooms...

I agree! It's crazy how people are more judgemental about male same sex marriages than female!

My sweet Val's male friends got married last year, (Not at Disney, but hopefully are coming to her wedding) and I was just as excited to see their rings as I was hers (well, maybe I was a LITTLE more excited to see hers ;) she is my own precious, after all!)

It just shouldn't matter... ....

[sungela]

You know in Toy Story (God, this sounds so Disney-phile), when the little space aliens at Pizza Planet are looking to get sucked up through the machine? I think posting on this site is sorta like that... we're all waiting until it's our turn to go toward the mechanized arm/head to Disney to get hitched. And now, with my wedding three days away, I'm off! I'm sorry I haven't posted much in the last few weeks; I thought I'd have everything set and then realized, crap, I have 163,482 things left to do. But today, I will be on a plane to Orlando, and if something didn't get done, too bad. Couldn't have been that important anyway.

I want to thank you all for your help and support through the planning process. (Wow, that sounds depressing). But seriously, I would never have thought of half the fabulous ideas that will now make my wedding that much better if it weren't for all of you. I can't imagine planning a wedding, let alone a DFTW, without insight from so many experts. :worship:

I can't wait to start my TR as soon as I get back! (I'll try for at least some vegetarian food porn). TTFN!

[WithDisneySpirit]

I am so glad it all came together for you and I know your day will be perfect and fun! I am looking forward to your TR - have lots of fun showing everyone how to play ping pong too :goodvibes Happy, happy wedding day :lovestruc

[jennifaerie]

Aww... you don't worry about us! You need to do what you need to do! I can't believe you'll be married in just three days!

Have an amazing wedding, and we cannot wait until you get back!

:hug:

[Gillian]

Have a wonderful wedding! I am so happy for you -- the whole thing is so much fun and when are you ever going to wear a big dress like that again?

Can't wait to read the report and see the pics! :yay:

[29apr00]

Have a great wedding and a wonderful time!! I can't wait to hear about Ping Pong!!

[pink_tink8i8]

Good luck with everything :goodvibes Can't wait for the TR!

[PrincessBride010103]

Take lots of pics!!!!!! Good luck & enjoy these days, sunny! They go by sooooo fast! :hyper:

[Lisacope]

Congratulations!!! I'll see you (maybe) in a few days at Disney!!!

[DisneyBrideToni]

YAY!!!! I actually went looking for your PJ last night to see when you were getting married because I knew it was soon and I didn't want to miss saying Happy wedding day!

[DecemberBride]

yay for your wedding day!!!!! I hope you have an awesome day and we can't wait to read about it when you return... Personally I'm looking forward to the ping pong table pics!

[keenercam]

Sunny -- Wishing you and Angela a gorgeous wedding! May it be just the first of many perfect days you'll spend together. And may it be the first of many dreams come true for both of you! :hug: :sunny: :goodvibes

[Wazzo]

I can't wait to start my TR as soon as I get back! (I'll try for at least some vegetarian food porn). TTFN!

Hooray for TRs!! Congratulations, good luck, and have fun!! :goodvibes

[alissa2008]

:banana: I don't know how I only just now found your PJ, but woo hoo! :banana: Everything looks phenomenal, you're going to have a wonderful time! Congratulations to both of you!! And, now that California has ruled in favor of same sex marriages, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the country follows suit! I love that you decided on WDW to share your special day and I can't wait for your TR!! :goodvibes

[Mama of Indybride]

Safe Travel and I can't wait to see pics and read all about it!! :surfweb:

[newyearsbride]

Yay! Congrats! Have an amazing time! I'll probably see ya there! :banana:

[IndyBride]

Have a safe trip! And have a fabulous time!

[MariaLovesJon<3]

HAPPY WEDDING DAY! :cool1:

[keenercam]

Wishing you both all the best, Sunny! :hug:

[jennifaerie]

Sunny and Angela, have an AMAZING day! We're all thinking about you!!

:hug:

[BayouPrincess]

HAPPY WEDDING DAY
SUNNY & ANGELA!
:dance3: :bride: :bride: :dance3:

[Wazzo]

Hooray! Happy wedding day! I hope your day nothing but magical! :wizard:

(And full of ping pong! :hyper: )

[DisneyBrideToni]

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :yay: :yay: :yay:

[IndyBride]

Happy Wedding Day Sunny & Angela!!!!!!

:dance3: :banana: :banana: :cool1: :banana: :banana: :dance3:

[DecemberBride]

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! We all wish you all the happiness and of course we can't wait to hear the details! ::yes::

[Mama of Indybride]

:cloud9:

Happy Happy Wedding Day! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[dolPhinlovEr83]

Happy Wedding Day Sunny and Angela!!! Best Wishes and have a wonderful time together!!

[caryndisneydiva]

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!!!

can't wait to see pics!!!

[Keira1387]

Happy Wedding Day!!!!

[Goldeelox9]

I am so Happy for you girls!

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!

[29apr00]

HAPPY WEDDIND DAY!!!!

Hope it was magical for you both.

[lpizzuro123]

Any info on how the wedding went?

Linda

[OceanGdss]

hurry back! we want to hear about it!! :)

[DisneyFairy19]

YEY I cant wait to hear all about it:bride: :bride:

[sungela]

We're back! Thank you all for your kind words and wishes. I thought about all of you when we were in Disney World, and how I couldn't wait to report back on the craziness of our trip.

We had the most beautiful, most fun, and most... memorable wedding ever. Disney did an amazing job--the attention to detail was unparalleled, and every inch of the wedding, from flowers to prop placement, was perfect. Everyone absolutely loved Misty. Carolyn Allen's was prompt and professional. Lilli and Lorena did beautiful work. Most importantly, I got to marry my bestest friend and then party like a rock star with my closest friends and family.

Of course, we're still waiting on Misty's photos (I am so excited to see them), but here's one pic of the new wives to keep you sated:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/n602805_35278369_2427.jpg

I promise to post many more in the TR that I'm starting in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

[lpizzuro123]

Yahhhhhhhhhh - you're back and posting. Can't wait to read more (and see more pictures). We have Misty also and I am so excited to see your pictures.

Linda

[jennifaerie]

Yay Sunny! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see more pictures (though from what you've shown, I already know they're going to be fantastic and beautiful).

[WithDisneySpirit]

I am settling in to read the coolest TR ever, Sunny!!!! :goodvibes Can't wait to hear about your rock star day :wizard: :bride:

[Goldeelox9]

YAY! Your back! I can not wait to hear ALL ABOUT it!

[mla1977]

Yay! You're back! Congratulations!!!!!

I love your dresses and I can't wait to see the Misty photos and hear about the whole trip.

[sungela]

Angela (my new wife!) and I have a weekly tradition: we go through a series of questions about the past week, and the week to come, spending a little time on reflection and setting out our goals. In that spirit, I'm going to use our questions to report on the highs (and few lows) of our Disney wedding journey.

Highlight of our trip:

Goodness, too many to recount! Number one, though, is marrying Angela. I know that most people think that a wedding is just a formality (and in our case, it was, because the legal civil union part didn't occur until a week later), but I do feel differently now as a married spud. Our ceremony was short, but exactly what we wanted. After all the rabbi drama, flying down an officiant who knows us and has seen us together so many times was worth every penny.

Lowlight of our trip:

I'm going to save the whole story for the Saturday night section of the TR, but suffice it to say, some crazy man unleashed a homophobic tirade during our rehearsal dinner. Disney handled it really well (that is to say, they escourted the man out and profusely apologized), but I was pretty shaken. After a day of tightly wound nerves, I lost it and sobbed in front of everyone I know and love. And I spent the rest of our trip just a wee bit paranoid, afraid to hold hands or show any other affection.

Regret of our trip:

Staying at the All Star Movies before the wedding. Being out in Disney hinterland wasn't that big a deal--Angela's parents had their car, so we got everywhere we needed to fine (not exactly on time, but that's my family's natural m.o.). However, ASM put us in four different buildings (even though I called twice to ensure that we'd all be in the same place), the rooms were very small (considering my dress took up half the room), and the staff was not exactly helpful. The ambience was also a little off--lot of cognitive dissonance required to be the princess bride walking out of a motel. But we made it work (Bridezilla tears in front of the reservation lady helped).

What we learned:

That it is far more important to be surrounded by people who love and support us than just people we know. Some of the wedding shenanigans (to be described) were heart attack-worthy for the people that did not show up, but everyone in attendance managed just fine.
Pictorial hint of said shenanigan:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/sungela/n602805_35278384_7188.jpg

What we're looking forward to next time:

Okay, so we don't really get another shot at a first wedding (of course, vow renewals are totally in the picture, but we'll probably wait until all of our guests save up for another round of gifts). But I am looking forward to going back to Disney and doing everything we didn't have time for. I was so excited to have my caramel apple and my giant Ghirardelli sundae, and I never got either (serious food overload for the past ten days). We didn't do any of the water sports or even go to a water park. And our Magic Kingdom tour was truncated; how can you go to MK without riding the tea cups or the carousel?

Up next: vendor ratings, and Day -1: Attack of the Queen of Color.

[DisneyFairy19]

WOOO HOOO you started, I cant wait to read more...:surfweb: