Lisa & Dave's PJ: Home Wedding 8/2/09-MORE WEDDING PHOTOS!!

[LeesyUD]

Lisa & Dave's "When You Wish Upon a Star" Home Wedding - August 2, 2009

Hello, My name is Lisa. I am not having a WDW wedding as my fiancé and I had once hoped, however, we are just as happy if not happier with having a Disney Themed wedding at home. But I would still love to share my planning experiences here :) I would love any feedback or suggestions to help with my Disney/Wish upon a Star theme. Some general info on us and our events:

The Bride and Groom:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/3556867865_6845670885.jpg

About Us:
The Bride: Lisa, 28
The Groom: Dave, 32

I (Lisa) am a really big dork as is my fiance Dave, and we will be the first ones to admit it!! But we love being dorks together! I have always loved Disney and WDW and I did the WDW College Program back in 2000. Within the first year of being together, I got Dave hooked on WDW as well. Ok, maybe not to the extreme that I am hooked, but he is a close second to me.

DF proposed on December 12, 2006 at Cinderella’s Royal Table at MK and it was very romantic! (You can read all about it, if you like, on our wedding website – link under wedding info) So we have been trying to plan a wedding for 2 ½ years now. We were going to plan for this October but we got tired of planning and waiting and got some great deals, so we are doing it in August. But we just decided this about 6 to 7 weeks ago so we only left ourselves a total of 4 months to pull it off!

We wanted to actually get married in WDW, but for us, we find that even the escape weddings are too expensive at $4500 to only have about 10 people that would actually be able to come. Instead our budget is about $9000 and we will be having around 80 people.


About the Wedding:
Main Theme: When You Wish Upon A Star
Budget: Approx. $9000 for 80 people
When: Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
Where: Boothwyn, PA ( We live in Media, PA about 15 minutes outside of Philly); Cermony and reception are booth going to be in the same ballroom. It is technically a “fire hall” for those who know what that is :) (For those that don’t it is a hall that is attached to local fire house that the fire house uses for their events and rents out) Fire hall wedding receptions and parties, etc., are very big in this area. A lot of them are old or a very very basic hall but are known for renting out for very very cheap. But the facility we are getting married at is actually a full ballroom facility attached to the fire house and their own catering company.

Our Wedding Website:
www.daveandlisaswedding.com

About the Honeymoon:

What we are doing: A two week Disneymoon – 7 nights at a Disney Resort in WDW & 7 nights on the Disney Magic
When: October 17-31, 2009 – We decided to spread this apart from our wedding to allow ourselves more time to plan out trip after the wedding and also so that any monetary gifts we receive will lessen the blow of paying for our honeymoon. (We have also registered with the Disney Honeymoon registry to help as well).
Our Accomodations:
October 17-24: Currently planning to stay in WDW at AKL for 7 nights (resort or length may change if budget doesn’t allow) w/ park hoppers & dining plan
October 24 – 31: Disney Magic for 7 nights - Category 6 Verandah Stateroom on Deck 5, Stateroom 5622'

Next: More on our Ceremony and Reception

[LeesyUD]

Ceremony and Reception

So as I mentioned, we are having the ceremony and reception in as the same location, in fact in the same ballroom. We were a little hesitant about that, but there is no outdoor area to be married there, and we are able to have the ceremony there for free. We will have all the tables set up as they will be for the reception. However, our sweetheart table will be removed and arch will be in its place. We haven’t decided on whether we will have a runner or not since it would have to go over the dance floor and might be slippery.
We got a great 5 hour package that includes the time for the ceremony, a full cocktail hour, and reception, and also open bar. It also includes our wedding cake, a dessert pastry table, and use of centerpieces they already have. They even have an arch for us to use which is already decorated with white silk flowers. We have decided on the buffet rather than the sitdown because we felt you get more for your money with the buffet. Because we are doing it on a Sunday we are getting 15% off and will be paying around $72pp for the whole reception as well as use of the room for ceremony, set up and arch.
Here are some photos of the facility:

The Outside Entrance (You would never guess it is attached to a fire station)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3553386286_f1f85377b4.jpg


The Inside Entrance:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3552576679_fe38733955.jpg


The Ballroom:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3570/3553383570_5900352418_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3553382734_2a3e6ffa10.jpg


The Included Centerpieces:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/3552577495_cfa5726cb1_b.jpg

Some of the pictures don't show it off as well as I like bc it was rainy and gloomy that day as you can see. Our wedding colors are going to be cornflower blue and deep pinks so it kinda stinks that the centerpieces won't match, but at least they are neutral colors so they won't stick out like a sore thumb.

Next: Wish Upon a Star Theme and Invitations

[LeesyUD]

Wish Upon a Star Theme and Invitations

We want to try to incorporate our Disney/Wish Upon a Star Theme as much as possible without it being too cheesy. To start, we are having a DJ do the music to our ceremony and use the Disney Fairytale Weddings CD. I am going to be walking in to the instrumental “When You Wish Upon a Star”and we will be walking out to the instrumental “ A Whole New World”. I don’t know what we will have the wedding party walk into yet. Maybe Beauty and the Beast? Any suggestions?

Invitations
I have been looking around like crazy to find reasonably priced wedding invitations that could go with a when you wish upon a star theme. But everything I saw was either too expensive or I didn’t like. I found out about www.vistaprint.com when I was looking into doing postcards for our save the dates. I designed the front of the postcard myself in photoshop and uploaded it as an image onto the postcard. The back was a generic template they already had that I modified a bit to fit as a save the date.

I really loved how our post cards turned out and started looking at their invitations. I found a design I really liked and it was perfect for a wish upon a star theme! I was worried about the quality of the card stock, but because I really liked them and my save the dates turned out so good, I thought I would take a risk. I paid a total of about $85 for 60 invitations (including plain envelopes), response cards, & matching return address labels with a special promotion (they have a ton of promotions if you look google it). I actually realize later I could have gotten them even a bit cheaper.

When I got the invitations in the mail I was very happy! I love the look of them and I think the quality is pretty good. We got them printed on linen card stock. It is not the thickest card stock ever but I am definitely happy with them.

I must have proofread everything a million times before I order and double checked everything….or so I thought. My fiancé pointed out to me within a few minutes that there was a typo on the Response card. We have decided to do online and phone RSVP only since basically everyone we know is internet savvy, with very few exceptions. The response card was supposed to say or “Or call us at XXX-XXX”, however it says “Or calls us at XXX-XXX”. On top of that I realize the RSVP by date was wrong. I had made a few updates on the card before I had ordered, but apparently I saved it as a new sample/design on their website and ordered the wrong one. I ordered the initial one I did when I put in a mock date. Anyway, we will need to spend another $20 plus shipping to order new ones, but oh well. What can I do at this point?

Here are some photos of the save the dates, invitations, and (incorrect) response cards:

Save the Date:

Front
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3116/3552971922_7e202d6c58.jpg

Back
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3563/3552163447_6b44252e1c.jpg


Invitations - It is a stand alone card stock sheet:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3306/3552969636_b3d18ba2d3.jpg


Well, I think I am done posting for the night. Will update more tommorrow night.

Next: The Dresses & Accessories

[Tink&PirateMama]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!!
We are doing a disney/non-disney vow renewal, and I'm always appreciative of ideas to bring a little more magic in to it! I look forward to reading more!

[LeesyUD]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!!
We are doing a disney/non-disney vow renewal, and I'm always appreciative of ideas to bring a little more magic in to it! I look forward to reading more!

Thanks I am really excited! We have been trying to get married for so long, I can't believe it is only a little over 2 months away!!

[CinderelliT]

Awesome! Congratulations and welcome! I can't wait to read more. That hall is gorgeous! I wish we had something like that around where we live. We got nothing. Barns are in abundance though.

Everything looks fantastic so far.

[LeesyUD]

The Bride's Attire

So I kept saying for a while that I wanted a dress with color in it, particularly pink and had been saying that for a long time. I am pooh sized so my selection is limited to a few stores or ordering online. I had my eye on a few david's bridal & alfred angelo dresses for a while. After a while and watching many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC, I kept thinking about how I would love to have just a simple dress - like a lacey or flowy one. But I thought being pooh sized I would not be able to find something like that unless I wanted to order online. Most of the dresses I had seen from initial browsing in stores seemed poofier or at least alot more dress than I wanted. I figured I would just try to do the best I could and find something with color in it bc I thought at least I would really like some color even if it is a bit of a bigger dress. I changed up my color to blue because I thought it would look better on my bridesmaids and plus I love blue too.

So my mom and I went a few weeks ago to local boutique that we knew sold alfred angelo. (Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid couldn't make it that day since it was such short notice). The selection was much smaller than we had anticipated but I did pull two dresses that I really liked. Both had color and were very beautiful, although they were still a bit poofier than I wanted. However, I really like one of the dresses. It had a blue color band at the top and had a blue design at the bottom-center of the dress. Both my mom and I thought it was really pretty and thought it would look great once it was fitted right (the sample was much too small but was able to get it on enough to see what it would look like on me). My mom tried one a few mother of the bride dresses while we were there and we told them we were pretty much certain that we were going to buy the dress but I wanted to leave and think about it a bit to make sure that was what I wanted.

When we left, my mom said she wanted me to go to at least one more store to make sure that was what I wanted. Normally I would just say no, I just want that dress and ignore her suggestion if it was something I really wanted. But for some reason there was something in the back of my head telling me as well to go to another store to make sure.

So we decided to go to David's Bridal to look although I wasn't really expecting to find anything much better. However, there were a few dresses that caught my eye. One in particular was an ivory burnout floral chiffon with spaghetti straps and empire waist. It really caught my attention because it was flowy but not poofy. I tried another simple dress on first but it was almost too simple. Then I put the ivory burnout chiffon dress on. I never thought I would cry when I found my wedding dress like you see on all the wedding shows on tv, but I was wrong! :sad: As soon as I walked out and looked in the mirror I felt so pretty in the dress and like an actual bride that I started welling up. And my mom loved the dress on me two so she started crying a bit as well!. My mother whispered to me that she like this dress alot better than the alfred angelo and she asked what I thought. I immediately said I loved this dress and she said she loved it too, so we were definitely not going to be going back to get the other dress.

So we put our deposit down and I am very happy with my dress!! We got the dress on a small $50 off sale so it was $495 plus tax. For me having a dress that I feel special in totally trumps having some color in a dress that I am just fond of!! Plus the only alterations I need are a small hem and the straps!


Here are some photos of my wedding dress from David's Bridal website:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3374/3555878180_29dae238e1_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3632/3555067029_751df8aeea_o.jpg


I have been going back and forth on whether to wear a veil or just a hairpiece, but my mom found a great floral comb from Jo-Ann fabrics for $5.00 that matches the dresses perfectly and does not look like a $5 comb! So I think for now I am planning to just wear the comb on one side of my hair and wear my hair down with a bit of a wave (will post a picture after my hair trial). I also got a cute pair of ballet-type flats for $40.00 which I am having dyed ivory. And for a purse I saw a cute ivory pouch purse for $15.00 to match. I also found the perfect necklace and earrings for$45 at a boutique while shopping for my mother dress a week later. They really compliment my dress but they shouldn't overpower it.

Here are pics of my accessories so far:

The Hair Comb
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3625/3552970990_e3b846e22b.jpg

The Necklace & Earrings
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/3552968302_5a40073261.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2474/3552159835_8cbb51cd02.jpg

The Shoes
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3555147505_3640743110.jpg

The Purse
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/3552163713_1cf7598d1a.jpg


Next: Bridesmaids Dresses and "When You Wish Upon A Star" gifts

[LeesyUD]

Awesome! Congratulations and welcome! I can't wait to read more. That hall is gorgeous! I wish we had something like that around where we live. We got nothing. Barns are in abundance though.

Everything looks fantastic so far.

Thanks, there are a few ballrooms around here like that which are technically fire halls but look nothing like one, but usually they are pretty bare and look more like a high school gymnasium with the basketball hoop.

Actually I was looking at the fire company website today and I got a kick out of the header on their web page:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2108/3556804901_3844f68240.jpg

From that you wouldn't exactly expect them to own a nice ballroom :):rotfl:

Actually though, it is great fire company. There was an explosion in the area at a refinery in the area last week. And it could have been a devastating issue bc there were toxins that, if spread, could cause instantaneous death (abortion) and other severe health issues and injury. But they go through special simulations and training because of the refineries nearby, and were quickly able to determine that the toxins had all burned up and lost their toxicity. Other was their could have been widespread panic. I was afraid to open the windows in our apartment when I heard about it but bc of their training they were able to eliminate the threat not long after.

This has nothing to do with my wedding but oh well :)

[LeesyUD]

The Bridesmaids Dresses

By the way, I am having a very small bridal party because of us getting married so last minute. We are having just one bridesmaid & groomsman besides the maid of honor and best man and two flower girls (they are sisters).

Maid of Honor: Rene - Longtime friend of Bride
Bridesmaid: Jen - 16 year old cousin of Bride

We are doing cornflower blue for the dress because the color looked beautiful next to my ivory dress. We will probably do pink, blue and purple flowers.

We had such a frustrating time at David's Bridal when picking out the dresses!! I knew there might be some issues with the tight timeline but I figured they have my wedding date so they know when we need it so there shouldn't be a problem right? Wrong! When I had picked out my dress I explained that I had been there before but the we postponed my wedding from October 2008 to August 2, 2009 - so I figured they change the date in the system with my other info they already had. They actually had my wedding dress in stock in my size so I they didn't have to order it. I found out when we went back a week later to pick out the bridemaids dresses that they still had the date as October 2008. The same wedding consultant that we had when I picked out my dress asked me what the new date was and I told her again August 2nd. I repeated August 2nd at least twice.

So we had them try on a few dresses, all chiffon material because we wanted something light and casual. There were two dresses in particular that caught our eye that had beading on them looked great against my dresses. There were two dresses we liked for my maid of honor Rene. The one without beading we like slightly better on her but the other one looked great two and the beading was so pretty! So we decided on the beaded dresses, picked out shoes and headed to the register. They paid for there dresses and after the associate rung up Rene, she said that dress will be in August 10th!! :scared1: WHHHAAAATTTT? It turns out she had written down August 22nd even though I had told her several times August 2nd. They checked there computers and said there was no way they could get it in earlier. They needed 16 weeks to get that dress in because none were currently made and they need to make a certain amount to ship them! I couldn't pay to expedite or anything - no options!! I know it may take up to 12 weeks but 16 weeks is crazy! So they said we needed to pick another dress, however, there are no other dresses that match with the beading!

My mom and I were really mad but we had to calm down to get this done. We had Rene try on the other dress which we really liked, but were concerned with the bridesmaid having beading and her not. So we were thinking of switching the other dress to a non-beading one, but at that point we were so disappointed it was hard to decide what to do. The associate suggested that we take the beading pack from the bridesmaid's dress and and some beads to the maid of honor dress when it comes in. We all thought that was a good suggestion and I decided that if it doesn't work out, the dresses will still look beautiful and we do not have to have the beading on the Rene's dress. So we went up to the register to do the exchange since we had already paid and the manager doing the exchange said that because this dress was cheaper she needed to spend $10 more!:eek: WHHHAAATTT? I got really frustrated again but tried to be polite. I said " the dress is going to be in in time and we have to spend more money because of that?" The manager said it had to be any even exchange.

So my maid of honor went to look at purses and found one that she liked, but it really was making my mother and I mad that they messed up and were going to make my maid of honor spend more money for their mistake. So I went back up to the manager bc I realized that she might not know the whole story. I politely explained that we just bought the dress just now, which the associate did not bother to tell her, and that it was rung up and then we were told it would not be in on time. The manager apologized and said she didn't need to spend more money. Rene ending up buying the purse anyway because it was really cute and it was only $15 dollars but it was the whole point of them trying to make her pay more money for her mistake. They told us there dresses would be in beginning and end of June. Well they were both in within 3 weeks! I wonder if the other dress would had gotten in on time as well. But oh well, what's done is done and I am just glad I am done with David's bridal until I have to pick up my shoes.

we may have the beads added to the spaghetti straps on the dress or I may try to make a broach/pin with some similar cheap beads as a trial one to see if maybe just a beaded pin would look nice somewhere on the dress to tie in with the look. We decided because of the beading that dyed to match shoes would look better:

Here are the dresses that we picked out:

Maid of Honor: pic from David's Bridal website
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/3560243904_b4d34973e4_o.png

Actual Bridesmaid's dress:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3610/3552161339_7ef04c2913.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/3552158913_46b7c9e715.jpg

Next: Flowers

[Scouter]

How exciting! I'll be following your wedding plans, I just love looking at all the photos:thumbsup2
Nice wedding hall!

[LeesyUD]

So we have been lucky so far in the fact that everything mostly seems to be falling into place. The only thing is that I am having such a hard time with deciding on flowers and I really need help!! I am really not good with colors! The only thing I know is that I love pink and I love blue and I trying to make sure it doesn't look like a baby shower. I found a really reputable florist in my area who gave me a really good price. I am trying to figure out the best way to work in pink flowers so that it it looks good with the bridesmaid dresses and my ivory dress. If all else fails I will abandon the pink flowers and do something else. Here are some options I have come up with:

Option 1:

Light to Medium pink flowers with blue hydrangea for the bridesmaids and perhaps just some pinks for me:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467/3567619471_f1aea7907b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3568430916_c49e4691d8.jpg


Option 2:

Mixed light and dark pinks for the bridemaids:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3557/3568431004_43981ffb12.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/3567620551_c56052db08.jpg

Light pinks & ivory or creams for me:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/3568431076_e220677927_o.png

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3568431830_9e63f3d152.jpg


Option 3:

Hot pinks & magentas with a few gerbera daisies and a few cornflowers. (I mentioned to the florist that I liked gerbera daises and hot pinks or magenta and he made this suggestion as to what they could do) So maybe something like this color palette:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3310/3568537760_5abc4ebcbe.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3366/3568467728_1f061ef1c8_o.jpg

Gebera Daises:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/3567620667_6f49bff89a.jpg

Cornflower:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3567620647_3c4dc82001.jpg



Option 4: Throw pink out the window and stick to blues and purples

I would really appreciate any feedback on these options or any other suggestions!! I could really use the help!!! I have added a poll at the top :)

[lthiesfeld07]

I voted for option 1! I love the blue accents! I think those shades are beautiful and elegant!! :thumbsup2

[LeesyUD]

How exciting! I'll be following your wedding plans, I just love looking at all the photos:thumbsup2
Nice wedding hall!

Thanks...I love taking and posting the photos of everything so there will be lots more to come!!

[MomlvsGoofy]

Lisa I love the plans for your wedding. Your dress is beautiful! I really like your colors.
Sharon

[LeesyUD]

Lisa I love the plans for your wedding. Your dress is beautiful! I really like your colors.
Sharon

Thanks - the colors are the thing I have been stressing over the most so far - everything else seems to be coming along well! I think the dress actually looks prettier in person so I am hoping I will have a better picture of it when I try it on for alterations in another week or two.

[Ann117]

Everything looks beautiful. You are doing a wonderful job getting everything together is such a short time.

[auntpunkin]

Lisa, I just read through your PJ. I loved that you got teary eyed when you found 'your' dress! Everything looks wonderful so far! I am doing the same colors you are! My bridesmaid are wearing black dresses though. But I know your problems with the blue and pink flowers, I'm having the same issue right now; I don't want a baby shower and there are just no photos out there of what I have in mind. Here are a couple photos I've found that may help...


http://i520.photobucket.com/albums/w325/auntpunkin/47240-1.jpg
http://i520.photobucket.com/albums/w325/auntpunkin/0237.jpg
http://i520.photobucket.com/albums/w325/auntpunkin/2694988387_18511f4ff2.jpg

I'm thinking of doing that last bouquet with dark pink roses instead of the white...

I can't wait to hear more of your plans!

[LeesyUD]

Lisa, I just read through your PJ. I loved that you got teary eyed when you found 'your' dress! Everything looks wonderful so far! I am doing the same colors you are! My bridesmaid are wearing black dresses though. But I know your problems with the blue and pink flowers, I'm having the same issue right now; I don't want a baby shower and there are just no photos out there of what I have in mind. Here are a couple photos I've found that may help...

I'm thinking of doing that last bouquet with dark pink roses instead of the white...

I can't wait to hear more of your plans!

Thanks! Love your PJ! (Glad your son is ok!) I actually just happened to find that first photo the other day too!! Also, I have been considering pink roses with hydrangeas as well. It is such a hard decision. My mother also found this photo which I really like the colors in:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3318/3581473587_2f1450bdeb.jpg

I am so bad with flowers and colors! The good thing is that the florist we are using has a really great reputation in our area and they do tons of weddings! I called to give our deposit yesterday and the guy was so nice! He said they would take really good care of me :) I feel good that I have a florist that knows what they are doing! I feel confident that they can figure out something that will work to what I want and still look great with all the dresses!

We went to one florist that gave us a price of $200 for just the brides bouquet! That was with some stephanotis and a few jewels - but the rest of the bouquet would have been hydrangea and roses which are definitely not worth an extra $100 - they wanted $800 for the bridal party flowers and the lady was absolutely no help and all of the flowers in their store looked lie they were dying! (Plus we had heard afterwards that a few people got flowers that were dying from them) The florist we are using has a much better reputation and they are only charging us $400 for all the bridal party flowers. Seriously, that is half of what the other place wanted!!!

The florist we are using actually has videos on you tube of their work:

http://www.youtube.com/user/BelvedereFlowers!

Their flowers are so beautiful!!

[auntpunkin]

Oh, that's such a pretty bouquet! I'm so glad you found such a great florist! My Disney florist keeps talking about blue delphinium, that may be an option for you too. I can't wait to see how your flowers turn out, you have to make sure to keep us posted. :flower3:

[Pirate's Princess]

OOh Lisa, I like that last bouquet! Those colors are gorgeous!

[LeesyUD]

Ok so I think I have decided to leave the blue out of the flowers and do all pinks bc I found a bouquet on my florists' website that I absolutely love! The funny part is I looked at it several times but I was so focused on having blue in the flowers I didn't pay much attention. They did these for a small sunday wedding recently. So I think I will have him do this or something just like it:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/3583405744_e238d89a5e_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3582596349_eafc0755fa_o.jpg


Here is what the colors look like photoshopped next to the cornflower blue:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3583439656_487dae1fec.jpg

And here is a video of the flowers on you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjoyPhBF_Ag&feature=channel


The only catch is that I may have to leave out the calla lilies if they are going to make the bouquet cost more. But I will be talking with the florist in a few weeks and i can see then if he can do the bouquet like this or if we would need to make modifications to fit my budget.

[pink_tink8i8]

your flower choice is so beautiful :goodvibes

[LeesyUD]

your flower choice is so beautiful :goodvibes

Thanks - I loooooove pink!!

[LeesyUD]

So as I mentioned before, we have been wanting to get married for a few years now. And pretty much from the get go I had decided I wanted a 'when you wish upon a star theme'. Of course, the crazy planner I am, I started looking into star themed stuff for the wedding almost right away.

I was looking online at things remembered and I saw these beautiful star shaped boxes for about $40 each that would be great as bridesmaids gifts. I kept wanting to get theme but money was tight and we had to postpone our wedding bc of finances. I knew I was not going to be able to ge them so I figured I would just need to find something later on. Well about 7 or 8 months ago I saw that they had new star boxes that were just as beautiful. However at the time I was working as a temp and so we couldn't shell out the $200 bucks for them.

I kept checking back to see if they were still selling them bc I knew I really wanted them. Well about 2 months ago I got hired on full time and got a great pay increase. So I checked back up on the boxes and I was shocked!! They had them on clearance for $10 each!! On top of that, I got a discount shipping code and in the end I paid $45 for 4 of these boxes!! I could not believe it! What luck is that?! I was originally going to have 4 bridesmaids in my wedding but we have made it a much smaller wedding than originally planned and moved the date up so now I just have 2. However, since I have 2 flower girls, I will make those the flower girl gifts as well.

The boxes have some light blue crystals on them (which is perfect since blue is one of my colors) and they come with a little pouch of silver stones that say "Make a wish", "Love", "Hope", "Peace", and "Dreams". (The boxes were sponsored by the Make a Wish Foundation and some of the proceeds from teh purchase of the boxes went to the foundation). The center has a silver star which I will have engraved with their names. Here are the boxes and the stones:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3411/3552968970_03d52fb3ee.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2484/3552969270_8d863f4e2d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3583113285_dd53be8720.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2430/3583921392_0b75f1659e.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3315/3583113551_02d7505b47.jpg



Since I got the boxes so inexpensively, I wanted to get them a nice necklace to go with it. I decided to stop in Macy's one day when I was at the mall with my mother and we found these beautiful star necklaces. They are sterling silver with Cubic Zirconia. They were originally $80 each and I got them for around $30 each! I was going to try to put them in the boxes some how. However, the sales women gave me two really nice black velor boxes to put them in. So I have to decide if I want to try to find something really small to put the necklaces in to put them in the boxes or if I should give the boxes and necklaces separate. If I do them separate I thought I could put the black box in one of those mesh pouches and put some star confetti in with the box and mesh bag. I do like the way they look in the black boxes. I think it shows the necklaces off very nicely.

Here are pictures of the necklaces and how they look in the black box:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3552971450_45a0b9e190.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3354/3552971722_5d88a2496e.jpg


Any thoughts on whether I should give the box and necklace separately or try to work them into the boxes some how so everything is together?

[LeesyUD]

So a quick update - I decided that I hate my invitations and I should have done my own to begin with. So after much time and money wasted I have created by own design and I am getting prices from a local printer. If all else fails I will print them myself. For some reason the color is coming out aqua in the jpeg file of my invitation but it should be close to cornflower blue. Here is the design I did:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3611372023_94f38fbf79.jpg

You can't see the edges on the white part but basically the bottom portion will be all white

[auntpunkin]

I love those star boxes!!! I wish I would've caught those on sale! I think I'd give the boxes and necklaces separately if the necklace came with such a nice box.

And your invites are awesome! I've become a big cheerleader for "if you do it yourself, you get exactly what you want!" Everything your doing is coming out so nicely, I can't wait for your wedding! :hug:

[princess22]

Just read through your PJ so far. Everything looks great! You are getting married the day after me!!!! It's coming up fast!!! OH, and by the way, we have the same shoes!!! :thumbsup2

Can't wait to read more!!!:surfweb:

[LeesyUD]

I love those star boxes!!! I wish I would've caught those on sale! I think I'd give the boxes and necklaces separately if the necklace came with such a nice box.

And your invites are awesome! I've become a big cheerleader for "if you do it yourself, you get exactly what you want!" Everything your doing is coming out so nicely, I can't wait for your wedding! :hug:

I actually meant to post the deal I got on the wedding boards as a suggestion to other brides, but but I totally forgot bc I was so busy at the time!

I love your invitations by the way! I saw yours and a few others and I was decided to just go for it and make my own, and unfortunately will toss the other ones.

[disnut1149]

Hi Lisa,
I love the flowers and the star boxes!!! You're doing a great job with everything!! When Kori gets married, I'll have to get you to help me with her wedding. When Wendi got married, we also threw out the first invitations and reordered new ones that were so much nicer. What a waste of money. But it was worth it to have the invitations that we really wanted. I'll talk to you soon!!
Joan

[LeesyUD]

Hi Lisa,
I love the flowers and the star boxes!!! You're doing a great job with everything!! When Kori gets married, I'll have to get you to help me with her wedding. When Wendi got married, we also threw out the first invitations and reordered new ones that were so much nicer. What a waste of money. But it was worth it to have the invitations that we really wanted. I'll talk to you soon!!
Joan

thanks - I found a printer in Media who is going to print my invitations for a decent price. I really didn't want to be a waste and through out the first ones but I was soooo unhappy with them I realized. I think they should turn out really nice. I should be getting them on Monday and then I will have to quickly mail them out on Tuesday. But I have envelopes so I can start getting those ready in the meantime.

[briarbear]

I love your web page. What a great way to keep friends/family informed. I think your choice on the star boxs was spot on. I would love that as a bridesmaids gift. Your girls are lucky.

[wigdoutdismom]

Hi Lisa!
Just getting caught with my DIS reading. Love your plans so far, what great ideas! Your flower choice is beautiful, and I love the star boxes and star necklaces, what a memorable theme....:goodvibes
Anita

[LeesyUD]

I love your web page. What a great way to keep friends/family informed. I think your choice on the star boxs was spot on. I would love that as a bridesmaids gift. Your girls are lucky.

Thanks, I fell in love with wedding window when I saw all the options they had to customize things! I was just down right lucky to be able to get those boxes on sale too! It just kinda worked out to m advantage :)

Hi Lisa!
Just getting caught with my DIS reading. Love your plans so far, what great ideas! Your flower choice is beautiful, and I love the star boxes and star necklaces, what a memorable theme....:goodvibes
Anita

Thanks :) I am very excited about our theme - I thought it was Disney but in a subdued way. Unfortunately there is only one other person there that shares our great love for Disney so we decided not to go too over the top. But I think it will be great and magical :wizard:

[LLLBelle]

I love your wedding plans, you're getting so close! I think the last flowers look lovely and your dress is gorgeous!

The boxes are really cute. All your plans look great!

[LeesyUD]

Ok so I have some updates this week. Let's start off with the family drama 6 weeks before my wedding.

Let me start by mentioning that my family had the unfortunate experience last year of the death of my aunt Susan (my mother's only sibling) who battled with colon cancer for about 5 years. She was only 50 years old. I have to preface this story by saying that she was a wonderful woman and the nicest person in the world. Unfortunately, her husband (my "uncle") was not. He always bossed her around and then sat on the couch and watched TV when he got home while she cooked, cleaned and took care of the kids. When she passed away he held the funeral on a Friday instead of a Saturday so he could save $300 and get right back to work on Saturday. Well he didn't shed a tear at the funeral, but he did feel sensitive enough to take a whole day off work to "mourn". Oh and did I mentioned that 2 weeks before she died she got in 2 car accidents within a few days and in her poor health he handed her a broom to clean? Also he didn't want to tell his 3 children that their mother was dying so the oldest moved away to Ohio only to be shocked that his mother died not long after.

Fast forward about 7 or 8 months. Uncle Lou gets a girlfriend already in widowed grief group. I am all for moving on, but ugh!

Fast forward a few more months to this past week - it was the one year anniversary of her death last week. And for some reason my cousin her oldest son chose that week to get married - and they did not have a wedding date before my Aunt passed. We thought that was weird but everything just got weirder the day of the wedding. Weird and frustrating stuff that happened:

1. They light a candle and gave cancer bracelets out and made a donation to charity in honor of my aunt - that was very nice.

2. During the ceremony my uncles girlfriend walked down the aisle where it would have been my aunt! (They have only been dating for like 4 months!) After the ceremony she was then gathering the wedding party and the grandmothers for pictures like she was running the show - ugh

3. They had a small wedding of about 50 people and only 6 tables, however it was a long and narrow room. I knew there was going to be drama when I found our table because me & DF, my brother, mother, father and grandmother were all the way in the back of the room at a small table in the corner where we couldn't see anything and were sitting with two of the MOB's friends whom we never met.

That is when the drama really started. My mother was so insulted and upset, I had to take her outside and she was crying more that when my aunt had died probably. She was mainly furious that they put my 80 year old grandmother back there who still lives down the street from my uncle and cooks and cleans for him and my youngest cousin. And of course she was mad for herself because they are my aunt's only family. And finally me and my brother were back there - the only cousins. Meanwhile all my uncles friends and their friends were up front or at least in front of us and his girlfriend was at the table with him up front. I had to keep my mom calm bc she really wanted to go off on someone...but as wrong as it was, we didn't want to ruin their wedding.

Unfortunately, it was hard for any of us to truly have a good time after that. We sucked it up, stayed for a few hours and left (we couldn't see or hear anything anyway). Also my cousin and his now wife stopped by our table for like one minute even though they had been to all the other tables already and their was only 50 people. We didn't see or talk to them the rest of the time. And no one said anything about us being back there. In fact the only person that came up to us was my youngest cousin who kept coming back to hang out with us. My uncle stopped back once and one other person for 2 seconds. No one else bothered to come back and the MOB did not say one word to us or even acknowledge us.

We were so upset because it felt like they were trying to show they cared with the lighting of the candle and the donation, but in the end it seemed all for show because they didn't even put my grandmother at least with them. It was like they forgot about us with the passing of my Aunt. Actually I was so upset that I got physically sick in the middle of the night from all the stress of the day that built up and had to call in sick to work the next day on monday because I was still sick and upset.

The next day my mother called my uncle to see what happened and he said that the seating got messed up - even though he still couldn't explain it after calling the MOB. My mother said some words and expletives that I never thought I would hear come out of her mouth and then she hung up on him.

Now I am concerned about people getting upset at my wedding in 6 weeks. My cousin is on his honeymoon so I don't think he knows how upset my mom is. I mailed all the invitations out this week except for my cousin's and his now wife and my uncle's because we were considering not inviting them after the way my uncle talked to my mother. But the issue is that my youngest cousin of 16 is in my wedding party and we don't want to ruin things for her. Plus Dave and I want to honor my Aunt and do what she would want and invite them. We ultimately want to take the high road and be the better people about it.

I still may call my cousin when he gets back so he knows what happened and perhaps get an answer for my mom on why they were back there to put her at ease a bit more.

Anyway that is my long winded story. I am still upset bc I feel like the memory of my Aunt was tarnished this week and not truly respected.

On a side but related note....Dave and I have decided definitely that we are going to donate to charity instead of favors in honor of my Aunt, probably to give Kids the World since we really like the charity. I was worried about upsetting her husband and kids by doing that but we had considered it for a while and now I just don't care - I am going to make sure that my Aunt is honored in a way that I want and that we keep her memory alive and make sure she is there in spirit.

[LLLBelle]

I'm so sorry to hear about your family. That's awful that they did that on the anniversary of your aunt's death. It sounds like they are all full of themselves and don't care about anyone else. It just sucks. I don't understand why people have to be that way.

I think your plans sound good, hopefully they do not cause any more trouble for you, especially since your cousin is in your wedding. I love that you are doing a donation, that's a great idea and you can honor your aunt, the way she should have been in the first place.

:hug:

[LeesyUD]

I'm so sorry to hear about your family. That's awful that they did that on the anniversary of your aunt's death. It sounds like they are all full of themselves and don't care about anyone else. It just sucks. I don't understand why people have to be that way.

I think your plans sound good, hopefully they do not cause any more trouble for you, especially since your cousin is in your wedding. I love that you are doing a donation, that's a great idea and you can honor your aunt, the way she should have been in the first place.

:hug:

yea it was a yucky situation - they didn't do it on the actual anniversary of her death but they did it like 5 days after - just a weird week to pick

also we had decided early on that rather than toast from champagne glasses, we are toasting from some martini glasses she got us for one of our last Christmases together - they have engagement rings on them - here is the pic i took of them:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2465/3640506650_a6bd6d8e76.jpg


Also we put up a dedication page to her on our wedding website a few weeks ago:

http://daveandlisaswedding.weddingwindow.com/indx.cfm

[wigdoutdismom]

yea it was a yucky situation - they didn't do it on the actual anniversary of her death but they did it like 5 days after - just a weird week to pick

also we had decided early on that rather than toast from champagne glasses, we are toasting from some martini glasses she got us for one of our last Christmases together - they have engagement rings on them - here is the pic i took of them:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2465/3640506650_a6bd6d8e76.jpg


Also we put up a dedication page to her on our wedding website a few weeks ago:

http://daveandlisaswedding.weddingwindow.com/indx.cfm

I love those martini glasses!

[LeesyUD]

I love those martini glasses!

yea they are really beautiful - I still keep them in their boxes because I am so afraid I will break them or something - after the wedding df and I will do some sort of display for them :)

[Ann117]

I am sorry to hear about your family drama. I hope all goes well at your wedding. Also I love the martini glasses they are so cute!!

[LeesyUD]

I am sorry to hear about your family drama. I hope all goes well at your wedding. Also I love the martini glasses they are so cute!!

Thanks - I actually have an update on the family drama. A day or two later my uncle called and profusely apologized to my mother. She said he has never been that nice to her...ever. He said he loves our family and doesn't want to see us hurt...in 28 years my uncle has never said anything like this. Anyway my mother explained why she got so upset and things seem to be ok now. (we still are not fond of him but at least he showed some sort of empathy). We are still kind of bothered that the bride's family hasn't at least tried to apologize considering the fact that my uncle told them how upset my mom was. But oh well. They are family and again I am trying to honor my aunt and act how she would. So time to move on.

However, there is new family drama which is that my grandmother has not been doing well lately. She has had mental problems for as long as I can remember - psychotic depression I believe they diagnosed it as. She has been doing fantastic the last five years though! It seemed like when my aunt got sick she came out of her world she was living in and has been more normal than I think I have seen her in the past 20 years.

Unfortunately, my mother has been getting calls this past week from my grandmother that she is hearing sirens, she is yelling at my mother and calling her 8 times a day at work, forgetting conversations completely, and is calling my uncle the devil (ok so she may have a point with that but she also "heard the devil on the radio" about 10 years ago).

We are hoping she just needs a medication increase and that she is actually still taking her meds. But while we are working on getting her to a doctor I am on pins and needles. It will be hard enough to not have my aunt at my wedding, but my grandmother is my only grand parent left and she was doing so good for so long, that it will be heart breaking if she is not fully "present" at the wedding. I just hope that we can figure it out before anything progresses bc otherwise she could end up having to go to the psychiatric hospital if it gets too bad.

I guess I will just need to wait and see what happens and what we can do to prevent that.:confused3

[LeesyUD]

Only 5 1/2 weeks to go!!! I am sooo excited!! I have some more updates on the planning, particularly the invitations, a wedding website update, and the "engagement" photo session we did.

I had been contemplating throwing out my invitations because I slowly was hating them. Well, I am definitely getting rid of those because I did my own design as I had previously mentioned and got them printed at a local printer. I think they turned out very nicely and I am soooo much happier with them.

We decided we were definitely going to do just online RSVP and calls for those who do not have internet access (which is maybe like 5% of our guests). We sent the invitations last week on June 16 and invited about 95 people. So far we have had 17 responses (not including us, immediate family and bridal party) and 42 attending (including us, immediate family and bridal party). We seem to be getting pretty good responses so far and people are loving the online RSVP!

Our wedding website overall has been a big hit actually and I absolutely love having it! I decided I wanted something to really make people laugh on the website so I came up with the idea of doing fake FAQ's about me and Dave. Here are what we added to the website (they are cracking people up so far):

--------------------------------
FAQs about Lisa
How did Lisa get to be so awesome?
Sometimes people are born with a natural awesomeness that cannot be explained. In the case of Lisa Bulley, scientists and geniuses all over the world have been baffled for years over the awesomeness that lies within her. While we are no closer to understanding where this ever growing awesomeness comes from, experts say it will continue to be present in Lisa for many, many. many years to come.

Is there anyone more awesome than Lisa?
NO.

Where can I get a Lisa of my very own?
Lisa is one of a kind and is not available for retail. However, public cameos can be arranged for a nominal fee. Contact fiance David Walls for details.

How can I be more like Lisa?
We recommend that you do not try being more like Lisa at home. Feedback and testing have showed that those that try to be more like Lisa fail miserably. This can lead to severe mental health problems and feelings of inadequacy. Should you feel the need to be more like Lisa, call the 1-800-NOT-LISA hotline. Operators are there to assist you.

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
Lisa stole the cookie from the cookie jar.


FAQs about Dave
What do I do if I encounter a "Dave"?
If he is sleeping, we recommend you keep your distance. A grumpy Dave can be very dangerous.
If he's mobile, be sure to check his IV of Diet Coke to ensure happiness and proper motivation throughout the day.
Be sure to set all clocks to "D.S.T" (Dave Standard Time), which is the same as regular time, but
always seems to run about 15 minutes late.

How can I learn more about Dave?
To learn more about Dave, go to your public library, and ask the librarian about these classic novels: "The Boy Who Slept Too Much", "Greatest Man Alive", and "Is He STILL Sleeping?".

I want a new pet. Can I take a "Dave" home?
Due to excessive slobbering and need for constant grooming, we do not recommend Dave as a pet.
----------------------------------------

We just love being silly and making people laugh :rotfl:

Also here are pics of the new invitations - not the best pictures ever, but not bad either:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2441/3639417337_9597fd8ee0.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/3640236114_2a7fd17013.jpg



We also had a photo session with DF's best man recently but are still trying to get all the pics from him. Once I do I will share my favorites and my frustration with the photos that I have had :rolleyes1

[wigdoutdismom]

Only 5 1/2 weeks to go!!! I am sooo excited!! I have some more updates on the planning, particularly the invitations, a wedding website update, and the "engagement" photo session we did.

I had been contemplating throwing out my invitations because I slowly was hating them. Well, I am definitely getting rid of those because I did my own design as I had previously mentioned and got them printed at a local printer. I think they turned out very nicely and I am soooo much happier with them.

We decided we were definitely going to do just online RSVP and calls for those who do not have internet access (which is maybe like 5% of our guests). We sent the invitations last week on June 16 and invited about 95 people. So far we have had 17 responses (not including us, immediate family and bridal party) and 42 attending (including us, immediate family and bridal party). We seem to be getting pretty good responses so far and people are loving the online RSVP!

Our wedding website overall has been a big hit actually and I absolutely love having it! I decided I wanted something to really make people laugh on the website so I came up with the idea of doing fake FAQ's about me and Dave. Here are what we added to the website (they are cracking people up so far):

--------------------------------
FAQs about Lisa
How did Lisa get to be so awesome?
Sometimes people are born with a natural awesomeness that cannot be explained. In the case of Lisa Bulley, scientists and geniuses all over the world have been baffled for years over the awesomeness that lies within her. While we are no closer to understanding where this ever growing awesomeness comes from, experts say it will continue to be present in Lisa for many, many. many years to come.

Is there anyone more awesome than Lisa?
NO.

Where can I get a Lisa of my very own?
Lisa is one of a kind and is not available for retail. However, public cameos can be arranged for a nominal fee. Contact fiance David Walls for details.

How can I be more like Lisa?
We recommend that you do not try being more like Lisa at home. Feedback and testing have showed that those that try to be more like Lisa fail miserably. This can lead to severe mental health problems and feelings of inadequacy. Should you feel the need to be more like Lisa, call the 1-800-NOT-LISA hotline. Operators are there to assist you.

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
Lisa stole the cookie from the cookie jar.


FAQs about Dave
What do I do if I encounter a "Dave"?
If he is sleeping, we recommend you keep your distance. A grumpy Dave can be very dangerous.
If he's mobile, be sure to check his IV of Diet Coke to ensure happiness and proper motivation throughout the day.
Be sure to set all clocks to "D.S.T" (Dave Standard Time), which is the same as regular time, but
always seems to run about 15 minutes late.

How can I learn more about Dave?
To learn more about Dave, go to your public library, and ask the librarian about these classic novels: "The Boy Who Slept Too Much", "Greatest Man Alive", and "Is He STILL Sleeping?".

I want a new pet. Can I take a "Dave" home?
Due to excessive slobbering and need for constant grooming, we do not recommend Dave as a pet.
----------------------------------------

We just love being silly and making people laugh :rotfl:

Also here are pics of the new invitations - not the best pictures ever, but not bad either:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2441/3639417337_9597fd8ee0.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/3640236114_2a7fd17013.jpg



We also had a photo session with DF's best man recently but are still trying to get all the pics from him. Once I do I will share my favorites and my frustration with the photos that I have had :rolleyes1

I wondered who stole that last cookie..........

Love, love, love the invitations!

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

oh lisa!!! im terribly sorry about the loss of your aunt. in no way am i sticking up for your cousin or uncle(who sounds like a complete shrew!) but it is possible they havent even a year later mourned the passing of your aunt susan. im sorry if im sounding like a grief councelor! lol we just went through a molar pregnancy and are going through grief councelling rite now. perhaps in some weird way they chose that day to honour her. i did say weird! lol

your wedding plans look fabulous! and dont worry about meeting online and considering it a dark secret!!! dh and i met online over ten years ago in a chat room, our tenth wedding anny is this october! if people roll thier eyes or go eww tell em to buzz off! lol

i love the idea that yorue going to donate to a charity in susans name vs a favour to each guest. im sure all of your guests will be very very touched!

and i promise the family drama will pass...eventually...seems im always in the middle of family drama as well!

[LeesyUD]

oh lisa!!! im terribly sorry about the loss of your aunt. in no way am i sticking up for your cousin or uncle(who sounds like a complete shrew!) but it is possible they havent even a year later mourned the passing of your aunt susan. im sorry if im sounding like a grief councelor! lol we just went through a molar pregnancy and are going through grief councelling rite now. perhaps in some weird way they chose that day to honour her. i did say weird! lol

your wedding plans look fabulous! and dont worry about meeting online and considering it a dark secret!!! dh and i met online over ten years ago in a chat room, our tenth wedding anny is this october! if people roll thier eyes or go eww tell em to buzz off! lol

i love the idea that yorue going to donate to a charity in susans name vs a favour to each guest. im sure all of your guests will be very very touched!

and i promise the family drama will pass...eventually...seems im always in the middle of family drama as well!

I wish it was a delayed mourning, but unfortunately, that side of my family for some reason never really had the emotions that most people do. Everything just always seemed to roll off their shoulders too easily. (to a weird degree) On occasions where most people would be sad, they hardly seem affected. (My aunt was actually even like that to a degree - not much really phased her).

My youngest cousin at 15 years old (now 16) has not even yet had any type of reaction at the passing of my aunt and never says she misses her mom or anything. It has never phased her even in the slightest and at that age it should have had at lease some sort of effect. Only one of my cousins had a really bad reaction to her death, but other than that the other two kids and father had no or very little emotion over it.

I do think that they were trying to honor her at the wedding but it was just that if you know my family, there didn't seem to be any emotion behind it. It's hard to explain. But things have worked out and everyone is different so they will handle the passing of my aunt the way they need to. And everything should be fine at the wedding now thank goodness.

[acomasdiaz]

Only 5 1/2 weeks to go!!! I am sooo excited!! I have some more updates on the planning, particularly the invitations, a wedding website update, and the "engagement" photo session we did.

I had been contemplating throwing out my invitations because I slowly was hating them. Well, I am definitely getting rid of those because I did my own design as I had previously mentioned and got them printed at a local printer. I think they turned out very nicely and I am soooo much happier with them.

We decided we were definitely going to do just online RSVP and calls for those who do not have internet access (which is maybe like 5% of our guests). We sent the invitations last week on June 16 and invited about 95 people. So far we have had 17 responses (not including us, immediate family and bridal party) and 42 attending (including us, immediate family and bridal party). We seem to be getting pretty good responses so far and people are loving the online RSVP!

Our wedding website overall has been a big hit actually and I absolutely love having it! I decided I wanted something to really make people laugh on the website so I came up with the idea of doing fake FAQ's about me and Dave. Here are what we added to the website (they are cracking people up so far):

--------------------------------
FAQs about Lisa
How did Lisa get to be so awesome?
Sometimes people are born with a natural awesomeness that cannot be explained. In the case of Lisa Bulley, scientists and geniuses all over the world have been baffled for years over the awesomeness that lies within her. While we are no closer to understanding where this ever growing awesomeness comes from, experts say it will continue to be present in Lisa for many, many. many years to come.

Is there anyone more awesome than Lisa?
NO.

Where can I get a Lisa of my very own?
Lisa is one of a kind and is not available for retail. However, public cameos can be arranged for a nominal fee. Contact fiance David Walls for details.

How can I be more like Lisa?
We recommend that you do not try being more like Lisa at home. Feedback and testing have showed that those that try to be more like Lisa fail miserably. This can lead to severe mental health problems and feelings of inadequacy. Should you feel the need to be more like Lisa, call the 1-800-NOT-LISA hotline. Operators are there to assist you.

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
Lisa stole the cookie from the cookie jar.


FAQs about Dave
What do I do if I encounter a "Dave"?
If he is sleeping, we recommend you keep your distance. A grumpy Dave can be very dangerous.
If he's mobile, be sure to check his IV of Diet Coke to ensure happiness and proper motivation throughout the day.
Be sure to set all clocks to "D.S.T" (Dave Standard Time), which is the same as regular time, but
always seems to run about 15 minutes late.

How can I learn more about Dave?
To learn more about Dave, go to your public library, and ask the librarian about these classic novels: "The Boy Who Slept Too Much", "Greatest Man Alive", and "Is He STILL Sleeping?".

I want a new pet. Can I take a "Dave" home?
Due to excessive slobbering and need for constant grooming, we do not recommend Dave as a pet.
----------------------------------------

We just love being silly and making people laugh :rotfl:

Also here are pics of the new invitations - not the best pictures ever, but not bad either:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2441/3639417337_9597fd8ee0.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/3640236114_2a7fd17013.jpg



We also had a photo session with DF's best man recently but are still trying to get all the pics from him. Once I do I will share my favorites and my frustration with the photos that I have had :rolleyes1

I love your FAQs and invitations.

Sorry to hear about the family drama but remember this day is about you and Dave. Can't wait to read more...

[LLLBelle]

I love the invitations, they are beautiful! And the FAQ is adorable!

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

well im glad its all "worked out in the wash" so to speak. it will probably hit them some day and itll be an eye opener for them.

cant wait to see some more wedding plans!


I wish it was a delayed mourning, but unfortunately, that side of my family for some reason never really had the emotions that most people do. Everything just always seemed to roll off their shoulders too easily. (to a weird degree) On occasions where most people would be sad, they hardly seem affected. (My aunt was actually even like that to a degree - not much really phased her).

My youngest cousin at 15 years old (now 16) has not even yet had any type of reaction at the passing of my aunt and never says she misses her mom or anything. It has never phased her even in the slightest and at that age it should have had at lease some sort of effect. Only one of my cousins had a really bad reaction to her death, but other than that the other two kids and father had no or very little emotion over it.

I do think that they were trying to honor her at the wedding but it was just that if you know my family, there didn't seem to be any emotion behind it. It's hard to explain. But things have worked out and everyone is different so they will handle the passing of my aunt the way they need to. And everything should be fine at the wedding now thank goodness.

[LeesyUD]

I wondered who stole that last cookie..........

Love, love, love the invitations!

yes it was me sorry....

thanks! I am so glad I changed the invitations!!!

[bonjourfoxylady]

I LOVEEE your star necklaces! Only about a month now, I can't wait to see your wedding pics!

[LeesyUD]

I LOVEEE your star necklaces! Only about a month now, I can't wait to see your wedding pics!

yep a month from this Thursday...I am soo excited!! Actually I had a "surprise" bridal shower this weekend and hope to post some pics and info about it in the next few days - it was alot of fun!:bride:

[wigdoutdismom]

yep a month from this Thursday...I am soo excited!! Actually I had a "surprise" bridal shower this weekend and hope to post some pics and info about it in the next few days - it was alot of fun!:bride:

A surprise bridal shower? How cool is that!?!

Please find and post the pictures!:goodvibes

[disnut1149]

yep a month from this Thursday...I am soo excited!! Actually I had a "surprise" bridal shower this weekend and hope to post some pics and info about it in the next few days - it was alot of fun!:bride:

It wasn't a "surprise". :laughing: Lisa knew about it. I was there. Also, since the restaurant was only open for the party, people coming for lunch didn't know it and said to Lisa and Dave as they were walking in, "they're having a shower in there". We had a really nice time, and of course a few of us had to get Lisa Disney stuff. I can't wait for the wedding.:yay:
Joan

[LeesyUD]

It wasn't a "surprise". :laughing: Lisa knew about it. I was there. Also, since the restaurant was only open for the party, people coming for lunch didn't know it and said to Lisa and Dave as they were walking in, "they're having a shower in there". We had a really nice time, and of course a few of us had to get Lisa Disney stuff. I can't wait for the wedding.:yay:
Joan

The funny part is those two people were the last ones of like four other people to spoil something about the shower for me haha! By the time Sunday rolled around I was telling Dave that I would just drive myself if he would just tell me where it was...that was the last piece of the puzzle! I had a great time though and everyone was so generous! I am still writing my thank you notes and need to get them in the mail.

Joan (disnut1149)got me a really cute mickey and minnie tote and two big beach towels for us to use on our disney cruise, also included were some disney dollars :woohoo: That bag is great bc it is nice and big. Can't wait to use it on the cruise!!

Someone else got me some Disney stuff for our kitchen and a silver mickey head frame. It was all very cute as well :)

[LeesyUD]

A surprise bridal shower? How cool is that!?!

Please find and post the pictures!:goodvibes

I should be posting some pictures this weekend...i kept telling my mom to take some pictures on my camera but she didn't listen, even after her camera died haha...so I have to get the pictures from her and my friends

[LeesyUD]

So I am really getting frustrated this week....the family drama is over with but now I am having much bigger issues this week!

Issue #1 - The best man (DF's "best friend") is being a complete jerk. It took weeks for him to call my fiance back and get his tux measurements and we are a month out from the wedding. They got that done the other day finally but then just two days ago his best man asked my DF if he wanted to do his bachelor party today. Now it would really just be the two of them but still with all the wedding stuff we are doing, he only gave him 2 days notice and it is still a whole month before the wedding. DF said he didn't think it would be a good day bc he was getting back from a business trip the night before. DF let him know yesterday that we had made plans to relax and get some stuff done this weekend. Since then his "friend" has been posting snide remarks on his facebook (this guy is 35 by the way). Also the bachelor party he was planning was to go play with machine guns at a shooting range....DF is not exactly a gun aficionado...but the best man as you can probably guess is and goes to the shooting range all the time...how selfish is that???

What is worse is his friend has a professional camera and started taking pics a few short months ago on the side. He said he would take some couple photos of us for free. We did the session about a month ago. Well, since then he has given 8 over enhanced photos. There were over 100 shots!! Now he is saying that he won't give us the other photos because it is an "artistic thing".:eek:
He isn't even a professional photographer!! (though he likes to think he is).

Now I haven't even gotten to his wife yet....She is a snob....plain and simple. We asked their daughter to be a flower girl two years ago but had postponed the wedding. However, the best man's wife kept asking about her daughter still being in the wedding. Although we weren't going to have a flower girl in the end we said fine just to get her off our back. And then she had the guts to suggest that her younger daughter be a flower girl too. Fine, I thought, let her pay for two dresses I don't care. Well after all that, her and her daughters were invited to my bridal shower and she never called my mother to say she wasn't going!!! She mentioned it briefly to my DF two nights before the shower and lied about why she couldn't go. This family is just a bunch of jerks.

Anyway, DF has tried to talk to his best man about things but apparently it is not getting through to him and things just keep getting worse and we are a month out from the wedding. Df is going to try to talk to him again tommorrow I think... but at this point we don't know if we should just take him and his kids out of the wedding?? I hate for him to do that bc we may not have a best man for him then bc it is a very small wedding party, but how are we supposed to enjoy our wedding day with those attitudes?? We have no idea what to do at this point....

Any suggestions?? Would you take them out of the wedding if you were DF? Or any ideas on what to say to them?? We could really use some advice :(

Issue #2 - Got some very upsetting news this week. I can't post the full details, but a friend of mine from work was almost killed by her abusive husband. Luckily, someone stepped in to save her. If they hadn't she would not be with us. She had recently confided in I and another co worker of the problems with her husband and we were being supportive in her leaving him. Unfortunately, she had not yet found her own place yet and he attacked her. She has been recovering in the hospital for a few days. I went to see her today and she was doing pretty well but she is in alot of pain. I just have to say she is one of the bravest women I have ever met. I am really worried about her safety though. She has no family at all to help her and I am one of her only friends. I am trying to help her find an apartment and she asked I speak to our manager to inform him of what is going on. It is hard because I am trying to help her as much as I can but need to be careful not to get too involved I think. I feel bad not offering her to stay with us but even with a two bedroom apartmetn and all our stuff there isn't much room and I don't even know if that would be a safe place for her right now. Luckily she does have a social worker helping her though.

I just feel really overwhelmed this week. I feel really helpless and feel like I have so much stress right now :( Don't know what to do about everything :sad2:

[acomasdiaz]

Lisa,

I am so sorry to hear about your issues this week.

As for your best man, I truly believe that you need to be surrounded by people who care about you on your wedding day. It doesn't seem to me that that family truly cares about you. You need to do what will you and DF happy. Will he be ok with not having his "friend" in the wedding and possibly losing the "friend" alltogether? This might sound harsh, but I would take them out the wedding. If they are not true friends, they don't deserve to have such an important role in your wedding day.

[LeesyUD]

Lisa,

I am so sorry to hear about your issues this week.

As for your best man, I truly believe that you need to be surrounded by people who care about you on your wedding day. It doesn't seem to me that that family truly cares about you. You need to do what will you and DF happy. Will he be ok with not having his "friend" in the wedding and possibly losing the "friend" alltogether? This might sound harsh, but I would take them out the wedding. If they are not true friends, they don't deserve to have such an important role in your wedding day.

I know that it will be hard for my DF bc they have been friends for 15 years. However, my DF knows that his best man has not been a very good friend in the last few years and I think this has been the last straw for him. At this point we have decided that we will be taking him and his family out of the wedding (and univited unfortunately). His best man has not responded to his phone calls the last two days even though DF has made it clear that it is important and that he needs to talk to him right away. At this point, DF will be writing an email and leaving a voicemail to let him know they are out if he doesn't hear back from him tonight. It is really unfortunate and I feel really bad that it is coming down to this.:sad1:

To be honest I have never been crazy about his friend bc I have always know him to be a very self centered guy. But I never let that on and did my best to make him my friend as well. At this point he and his family not only slapped my DF in the face but they offended me as well. :mad:

DF has talked to his family and even his own mother says to dump his "friend" (she also wondered if the guy was sniffing glue :rotfl:) I did express my feelings to DF that I was concerned about them making the next 4 weeks and the wedding miserable. However, I also let him know that it was his decision and I would stand by it as long as things got worked out with his best man (bc there is no way we could leave things as is and enjoy our wedding). Unfortunately, his best man has made no attempt to do anything and we just don't see any chance of this being repaired before the wedding (especially with this guy's attitude). :sad2:


DF's father is 72 and has heart problems, so we think since it is so last minute we will have my father stand in as best man bc my DF and him get along great, and we think he could do a great speech.

[wigdoutdismom]

Gosh Lisa, this is really awful. Do you think that the best man's mother might have spilled the beans to him and that is why he isn't responding to phone calls? I can't imagine what would cause him to treat you guys this way. You are getting married very soon and he had an important role in the wedding! What the heck?!?

[Pirate's Princess]

Sorry about your DF's best man and your co-worker. That is definitely a scary story.

[acomasdiaz]

I know that it will be hard for my DF bc they have been friends for 15 years. However, my DF knows that his best man has not been a very good friend in the last few years and I think this has been the last straw for him. At this point we have decided that we will be taking him and his family out of the wedding (and univited unfortunately). His best man has not responded to his phone calls the last two days even though DF has made it clear that it is important and that he needs to talk to him right away. At this point, DF will be writing an email and leaving a voicemail to let him know they are out if he doesn't hear back from him tonight. It is really unfortunate and I feel really bad that it is coming down to this.:sad1:

To be honest I have never been crazy about his friend bc I have always know him to be a very self centered guy. But I never let that on and did my best to make him my friend as well. At this point he and his family not only slapped my DF in the face but they offended me as well. :mad:

DF has talked to his family and even his own mother says to dump his "friend" (she also wondered if the guy was sniffing glue :rotfl:) I did express my feelings to DF that I was concerned about them making the next 4 weeks and the wedding miserable. However, I also let him know that it was his decision and I would stand by it as long as things got worked out with his best man (bc there is no way we could leave things as is and enjoy our wedding). Unfortunately, his best man has made no attempt to do anything and we just don't see any chance of this being repaired before the wedding (especially with this guy's attitude). :sad2:


DF's father is 72 and has heart problems, so we think since it is so last minute we will have my father stand in as best man bc my DF and him get along great, and we think he could do a great speech.

I think you have made the right decision by letting your DF make the final decision and supporting whatever that decision is. I think having his dad as the best man is a great idea. It will definitely be more meaningful for both of you. Please let us know how it goes...

[LLLBelle]

I know that it will be hard for my DF bc they have been friends for 15 years. However, my DF knows that his best man has not been a very good friend in the last few years and I think this has been the last straw for him. At this point we have decided that we will be taking him and his family out of the wedding (and univited unfortunately). His best man has not responded to his phone calls the last two days even though DF has made it clear that it is important and that he needs to talk to him right away. At this point, DF will be writing an email and leaving a voicemail to let him know they are out if he doesn't hear back from him tonight. It is really unfortunate and I feel really bad that it is coming down to this.:sad1:

To be honest I have never been crazy about his friend bc I have always know him to be a very self centered guy. But I never let that on and did my best to make him my friend as well. At this point he and his family not only slapped my DF in the face but they offended me as well. :mad:

DF has talked to his family and even his own mother says to dump his "friend" (she also wondered if the guy was sniffing glue :rotfl:) I did express my feelings to DF that I was concerned about them making the next 4 weeks and the wedding miserable. However, I also let him know that it was his decision and I would stand by it as long as things got worked out with his best man (bc there is no way we could leave things as is and enjoy our wedding). Unfortunately, his best man has made no attempt to do anything and we just don't see any chance of this being repaired before the wedding (especially with this guy's attitude). :sad2:


DF's father is 72 and has heart problems, so we think since it is so last minute we will have my father stand in as best man bc my DF and him get along great, and we think he could do a great speech.

That is very similar to what my DFi has been going through. His ex-best man wouldn't return his calls, texts, anything, so we had to cut him. The worst part was that he was splitting the villa we are staying at, so we are having to dig up money to cover that portion. But I do have to say that since we have cut him, and he is having his dad stand for him, it just makes things easier and just takes the stress away. It sucks to have to do it, but it all works out in the end. I totally feel for you :hug: and wish weddings didn't bring out these things.

[LeesyUD]

Gosh Lisa, this is really awful. Do you think that the best man's mother might have spilled the beans to him and that is why he isn't responding to phone calls? I can't imagine what would cause him to treat you guys this way. You are getting married very soon and he had an important role in the wedding! What the heck?!?

sorry for the confusion, I meant DF talked to DF's mother...not best man's mother....i think he is bitter bc DF did not want to do the bachelor party on the day that he wanted to....i don't know maybe he doesn't like me...but if he doesn't he should say something to me and not act that way towards DF

[LeesyUD]

That is very similar to what my DFi has been going through. His ex-best man wouldn't return his calls, texts, anything, so we had to cut him. The worst part was that he was splitting the villa we are staying at, so we are having to dig up money to cover that portion. But I do have to say that since we have cut him, and he is having his dad stand for him, it just makes things easier and just takes the stress away. It sucks to have to do it, but it all works out in the end. I totally feel for you :hug: and wish weddings didn't bring out these things.

i read on your thread that you had to do that and felt bad that you were dealing with that and now we are in the same boat...hopefully this will just make things easier:confused3

[LeesyUD]

I have an update on the best man situation....DF emailed his best man after no response to his phone calls. DF let him have it (more that i thought he would...but all deserved). Anyway, best man's response to DF's hurt feelings was to defend his artistic reasons for not giving us the photos and of course to show of his oh so extensive knowledge of photography that he was gained in one short year. He also blamed it on the fact that, because we were late that day (due to bad traffic) he wasn't able to shoot us as much as he would have like (bc apparently 100-150 shots and an hour in a park is not enough?) He actually makes me sick...he is really cocky and thinks that in like 6 months he is a professional??? wow is he up for a rude awakening. i found out that he even let his own sister pay for his airfare and hotel room for taking pics of her wedding in florida!! what lack of class!!

Anyway, best man and flowers girls (his 2 daughters) are officially out and univited to the wedding. All our friends and family are supporting us in this and in fact encouraged us when they heard what was going on. Best man is upset because he is out $500 for dresses and other stuff. He just doesn't get that it is about friendship....arrggg.

On a brighter note, we both feel relieved and best man confirmed with his uncaring email that we were making the right move. :thumbsup2

I now feel like alot weight has come off our shoulders from this!!

[wigdoutdismom]

Good job taking care of a crummy situation!

[LLLBelle]

I'm glad everything worked out. It just allows you to focus on what matters and let all that other stuff go.

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

oh lisa! im so sorry you gus have went through this!!! im glad your df has dealth with it...as if weddings arent stressful enough!!! i went through a very similar situaltion. actually with two different bridesmaids!!!

my moh who i grew up with agreed to do our flowers and charges us only for the flowers not labour....then three months before the wedding- she up and moved and didnt tell us!!!! so i had to replace her....then my former coworker was going to stand with me, went off work(was then fired for shop lifting!) and wouldnt return our calls etc much like you guys....one of my other bridesmaids steped in and called her and said wth? get your butt in gear and stand up or back out... thankfully she backed out then proceeded to give us a hard time over her deposit. oy! it was so stressful! i think that was 1 month before we got married. thankfully another dear friend stepped in and when she was married i served as her bm. shes now godmother of my kids!

keep your chin up! surround yourself with those that love you and want to be part of your lives! those are the friendships that count and last!

[LeesyUD]

thanks guys for all the support...we both feel really relieved

I do have an additional update regarding my friend...she is still in the hospital since last wednesday...i have seen here 3 times this week...it has been really stressful because we thought we were going to have to get her to a shelter bc there was a mix up with the police and we were told her husband was released but we were just told 2 days ago that he is actually still in jail and so she will not need to go to a shelter right now. I was so mad bc she was in such distress about going to a shelter and him coming after her ugh. Physically she is doing better but not mentally she is not doing very well. Unfortunately, she has been through 15 years of control and different forms of abuse by her husband. (alot the male dominance comes from their culture, but he is just absolutely crazy)

I have been trying to help her cope through things and have been helping deal with some things at work for her. I have talked to her almost everyday this week on the phone. I would go see her more but it takes me almost hour to get there between driving, parking an getting to her room. In fact I left early from work two days this week so I could get down there at a reasonable time before visting hours ended. My manager was very understanding since he knew I have been helping her.

Anyway it has been a very stressful week but things are starting to calm down...we are still waiting to see when my friend gets out of the hospital.

[LeesyUD]

Well, I thought the drama couldn't get any worse, but I was wrong! Before I share the new drama..let's quickly recap drama in recent weeks and the updates:

1. Major Family spat over cousins wedding -family made up & issue resolved (for now anyway)


2. My friend in the hospital for a week bc her abusive husband tried to kill her - she is home now and doing a bit better - trying to help her out as much as I can.

3. Best Man (DF's best friend of 15 years), Wife & two kids (the flower girls) removed from wedding party and uninvited from the wedding.


So what could be more drama than that you ask? Here it is, number 4:

4. DF had to give his two week resignation to his job this week!

DF has been working at his job (as a tech for audience response) for almost two years now. When he was hired he was told that he would be in the office most days checking equipment and planning jobs etc.; that he would be on the road maybe once or twice a month for one or two nights each, maybe a three night mixed in there. Boy was that a big lie (we quickly learned). They have sent DF out on jobs that were anywhere from 1 to 6 nights long, back to back, no time to rest. Sometimes he would come home at late at night and have to fly the next morning to somewhere else with no rest. He was often working 10 to 16 hour days. And then they expected him to be in the office the next morning after his trip many times.

In addition they expected him to be on call 24/7 because they pay for half of his cell phone bill. His manager is crazy and would call him while he was on an airplane or in a conference doing his job, and leave voicemails dropping the F bomb; screaming at DF bc he didn't have his phone on. Um hello? How is he supposed to answer at those times.

To add to everything they only give the techs 10 days vacation which they can only use within 3 months in the summer, or if jobs are slow over Christmas. Also recently, it has become worse and worse bc they would give him less than 24 hours notice for alot of jobs, and when we had made plans for the weekend or he thought he was going to relax, he now had to fly on another job somewhere on the other side of the country. Df had to leave on jobs when his father was in the hospital with heart problems. They didn't have any expectations of their tech's having any sort of personal life. They also asked him to do ridiculous things like paint walls in the office and go to walmart and buy one of the managers a vaccuum cleaner "because he needed one"(no joke...DF told him to go to hell)

So you would think from this description that DF makes alot of money right? Wrong. He was making $35,000 a year for this. Other jobs with these requirements would normally pay at least twice this much around here.

Well the company crossed the line this week. First his manager scheduled him coming back the night before the wedding! DF said he would quit if he was not taken off that job, and so they did. However, they scheduled him on a 5 night job this week last minute (probably to punish him bc there were other people available to do the job). He left early Monday morning and isn't getting back late tonight (Saturday night). Three days ago DF looked at his schedule again while he was away. We new at that point they were trying to screw him over purposely, because they took one tech off a job (who already had the corporate travel agent book $800 nonrefundable airfare) and put him in the office for the week, and put DF on the job instead which leaves Sunday (tomorrow) and doesn't get back until Thursday night...they even booked his airfare for him which they never do...the techs always book their travel through the corporate travel agent or the client books it. We are sure they did that so he couldn't get a replacement.

When we realized all the traveling involved in this job early on, I told DF that it was not worth the salary he was getting and expressed my frustration with the job and the whole situation. Unfornately, DF didn't listen for a while and waited too long to look for another job. Now he has been trying to get another job for a while and has been having a tough time.

While talking to DF the other night, and having a big fight over everything, we came to the realization that he didn't have any other choice but to quit. We knew it was going to be him quitting his job, or postponing the wedding (which you really can't realistically do 2 weeks out). Last year they screwed with a tech and had him come home on a job the night before his wedding and now his wife has been talking divorce.

We knew they were going to try to do the same thing. I do suffer from major anxiety and have been diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder. We knew that we wouldn't be able to go into a wedding under these conditions and that his job had some sort of agenda in doing this to him (perhaps to make him quit). So DF let his company know the other day that he is resigning and needed to stay locally for his two weeks notice. They agreed to let him take his two weeks vacation as his last two weeks and he will be giving the official resignation letter on Monday.

If we had any question whether he was doing the right thing, we were assured we did a few hours later. Df rcvd a call from a coworker not long after he made his resignation phone call. He coworker informed him that just a few hours before he called about his resignation, his manager put him on a job that came back the day of our wedding and there would be no way for DF to be at the wedding. The coworker also actually inquired to their manager why he was trying to screw Dave over. The manager apparently said "that is none of your concern"!! They are such slime balls ugh!

The positives of all this; DF has a part time radio offer that should be coming through this week that will get us through for now. Even better though is that he has a phone interview on Monday with a research company that is two builidngs over from where I work and would be a supervisory position. He said the woman on the phone said the work his doing right now seems like it would be a great fit for their company. She also told him they believe in family first, job second and having a well balanced life, not all work!! MUSIC TO OUR EARS!! We are trying not to get our hopes up but they seem very interested and it would be at least a little bit more than what his making now.

I have been through so much stress the last few weeks, I thought that I was going to be pushed over the edge and lose control of my emotions (bc I have before bc of my bipolar). Df realized that both he and I were not going to be able to handle this job any longer and be able to start our life together as a Happily married couple. Now we have two weeks to regroup, finish everything up, and have a wonderful wedding!! At least now we can enjoy this part together!!

Sorry for the long rant! I am done now - DF is coming home tonight and last night was the last night, for at least a long while, that I had to be in what felt like an empty and lonely apartment without him!! It will be a very happy homecoming this time!!

Ok ok one more thing - what goes around comes around. Since DF has quit everything is apparently going crazy at the company. There is only 4 techs now to cover what 11 techs used to cover and 2 of them are definitely quitting very soon as well, which will leave them with 2 techs - can't wait to hear what happens once that takes place!

Writing all that wore me out!

[Sarah <3 Disney]

Wow... just wow! I wouldn't have even told them I was quitting, I would have just stopped showing up! I hope that company implodes... for your sake! :rotfl: Glad to hear that situation is all over and done with however. Good luck! :goodvibes

[Pirate's Princess]

So sorry about the drama. I only hope that after these lows you'll get some great highs!

[LeesyUD]

Wow... just wow! I wouldn't have even told them I was quitting, I would have just stopped showing up! I hope that company implodes... for your sake! :rotfl: Glad to hear that situation is all over and done with however. Good luck! :goodvibes

DF was so tempted to walk out in the middle of the job he was on and I think he would have if it weren't for the fact that we need his next pay check for some last minute stuff for the wedding!

People probably think I am making this stuff up from reading it- but there has been 2 years worth of stuff just like that! They are some real wackos there!!:scared1:

I hope the company implodes too - oh what sweet joy would that bring us!! :rotfl: I am evil :laughing:

So sorry about the drama. I only hope that after these lows you'll get some great highs!

We think with all the crap of the last few weeks off our shoulders now...the wedding is going to be awesome....and we can't wait to have a life together without someone telling us when we were aloud to have that life!! Even if it means ramen noodles for a little while:woohoo:

[Pumbaa_]

ok, i am all caught up with the drama. Lots of drama!

So gald you booted the BM. Do not need that kind of friend on your special day.

SO glad he has given his notice. Nothing can replace time together.

So now smooth sailing to the big day Lisa! :bride:

[LeesyUD]

ok, i am all caught up with the drama. Lots of drama!

So gald you booted the BM. Do not need that kind of friend on your special day.

SO glad he has given his notice. Nothing can replace time together.

So now smooth sailing to the big day Lisa! :bride:

we are doing everything we can to ensure that the next two weeks are as stress free as possible! :cloud9:

[princess22]

Just caught up with your PJ! Can you believe your wedding is 2 weeks away!? Isn't that crazy!? It's going to be here before you know it!

Alright, first of all, I'm very sorry to hear about your co worker. She will be in my thoughts and prayers as she transitions in to a new phase of her life. :grouphug: I'm very glad that it wasn't as bad as it could have been and she is physically okay now. It breaks my heart to hear what happened to her, I was almost in tears. :sad1:

Next, I'm glad you took care of the BM. He sounds like a real jerk and I think it was a good decision. You don't need people like that around on the happiest day of your life!

And last, I'm sorry about the drama at DF's work. It doesn't sound like a good place to work. But by the sounds of it, you two work through stuff very well. I think it is great how you two worked through the issues and realized how his job was effecting you and your lives. This proves that you two will have a strong marriage! Good luck with the prospects of new jobs. I wish him the best!!!

[LeesyUD]

Hello again folks! I haven't posted anything recently because I have been so busy and we got a nasty (and very smart) Trojan virus on my home computer that took DF over 3 days to get rid of!

I have one week left til the wedding and I am nervous and excited all at the same time! Thank goodness all the drama is over!!

I have some photos to share on recent purchases/happenings! I will probably separate it in a few posts back to back.

First up: The Bridal Shower

My DM & DMIL have most of the pictures on their cameras but I did take pics of a few things. My mom held the shower at a cute little Italian restaurant in the town I grew up in called Giampinos.

My mother is so cute and wanted to carry my when you wish upon a star theme and my main color (cornflower blue) through to the bridal shower. She asked the bakery where she got her cake to try to do the star design from my invitations. We were laughing about it because it came out like a birthday/4th of july cake...but it was still cute:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/3754444691_0abde6dc24.jpg


Centerpieces:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2545/3755245008_d63a2c15a5.jpg


Favors:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/3754444897_f08df2dbfa.jpg


Pic of me and Future MIL:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2552/3755244826_b141ab8106.jpg

[princess22]

I think that cake is cute!!!!

Can you believe we only have 1 week left!!!! I know how excited you must be because I AM TOO!!!!! It's almost here!!!!!:banana::woohoo:

[LeesyUD]

Alright Next up is some items for the wedding ceremony and reception I will be using for decor etc..

Ceremony Decor

1. Originally I had planned on using and arch that the venue had for ceremonies. However we recently got upgraded to the bigger ballroom! This is great because now we can set up and actual isle instead of everyone sitting at their tables. So I wanted to have something a little nicer for the ceremony than the arch with artificial flowers. We found two cute white pedestals at AC Moore for $6+ each! (don't have a pic right now of them). On top of them we are going to use the vases below (AC Moore - $7 each with coupon) and my florist will do arrangements in them that will go with my flowers. Here are the vases:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/3755350414_796cf0940a.jpg

And I have confirmed that this is what I will be doing for my bouquet bc I just love it!!!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/3583405744_5685c01894.jpg


2. Bows for the parents rows will be made from this ribbon:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2565/3755349774_86a263fac0.jpg



Reception Items

Cake topper - In the end we decided to go with something simple and contemporary for our cake topper. Our caked is going to be 3 tiers - rasberry swirl on bottom, and chocloate chip on middle and top tiers. It will be an all ivory cake and the design will have diamond etching with white dots (pin cushion look) on the top and bottom tiers. The middle tier will have just bigger white dots, no etching. We also will have white icing roses all around the bottom of the cake and about 6 or 7 of the roses spaced on the top edge of the cake. Here is the topper we are putting in the middle:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2475/3755350446_662186b34c.jpg


Guestbook (Engravable Frame) - I had been going back and forth with a few ideas for a guest book. My mom was helping me and I showed her an engravable frame I saw at www.idoengravables.com. It was more expensive than I really wanted to pay for a guestbook type of thing (about $150 with some extra stuff)...but I thought it was so cool. Plus DF and I really don't have any frames and I thought it would be put to better use than a normal guestbook. I had pretty much decided that I was going to get that. My mom said she would chip in a bit for it to help me and to wait a few days to order it til she could get me the money for it. Well she ended up paying for it herself and suprised me with it at the shower. As I had planned to, she had them professional engrave it with our names, wedding date, and "wishes do come true". She also got me the extra engraving pen I wanted (in case one got lost) and a practice mat (so guests can practice using the special pen before they engrave into the actual frame). It also comes with a special cloth used to clean the engravable mat part. She also got me the cake topper and a cake serving set. Here is the engravable frame I will be using as my guestbook at the wedding:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/3755350170_4ff533ea6f.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/3755350232_c67781c4bb.jpg

It also came with a nice instruction card that you can display in a frame. At the shower, a friend of mine got me some Disney stuff including a cute 4x6 silver mickey head frame. The card was meant for a 5x7 frame, but I was able to cut it down to fit in that frame and will be using it like this at the wedding:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2632/3754549435_dfcf4e1c7d.jpg

Finally we knew we wanted to display the slipper I got when DF proposed in WDW at the wedding somewhere. I forgot I had this cute blue pillow from years ago that says "looking for prince charming!" and has Cinderella's coach on it. So as long as we can make the slipper stay on the pillow ok, we will probably display it like this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/3755349972_d652b6c06d.jpg

We are also brining our nice flat screen monitor from home and hooking it up to DF's laptop so we can have a powerpoint slide show of us, when gets walk in. We will probably put the slipper and pillow next to the screen.

[LeesyUD]

I think that cake is cute!!!!

Can you believe we only have 1 week left!!!! I know how excited you must be because I AM TOO!!!!! It's almost here!!!!!:banana::woohoo:

I know I am sooo excited...I am so jealous you are going on a cruise first...I could use that right now haha! I am also about to post some pics of my hair and makeup trial to get some opinions bc I am sooo confused right now ugh!

[LeesyUD]

New Wedding Dress Photos:

Here are some photos I took of me in my dress at my last fitting. We eneded up adding sheer straps/sleeves to the dress. Please excuse the belly...I will be wearing some good spanks and bettter bra so it should look alot better the day of. Also the necklace i had bought does not seem to show well in pictures so I will probably be just wearing a drop pearl that my mother has to go with the earings I bought. Unfortuantely I can't do anything about my flabby arms. But I think everything will look better once I am all put together:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2524/3755248574_668a930ddf.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3467/3754448033_1f4c5f34f2.jpg


And here are some pics of the dress on its own:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2460/3755553316_f7f7f4cbd3.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2639/3754500899_3bca370e8a.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3456/3754501073_e5f3befb37.jpg

[LeesyUD]

Hair and Makeup Trial - Need Opinions

A casual friend of mine who is a hair dresser said she would do my hair and makeup for the wedding as her wedding gift to me, which is awesome of her!

Here is the hair and makeup from the trial (ignore the lipstick...I am picking out a new shade this weekend to wear the day of):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2624/3754446845_52ca632cf8.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/3755468922_9bdf7636a2.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2570/3754446441_912cd16c70.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3449/3754446687_9d2a6dacbc.jpg

Makeup up close (excuse the unwaxed eyebrows - they will be done):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/3754447315_ab09e5362b.jpg


I loved everything when I was there when I looked in the mirror - I thought it was perfect! But then I got home and looked at the pictures and had some concerns and delayed thoughts. So I could use some honest opinions on these things:

1. Eye Makeup - I think it looks great but I am concerned the colors might be too dark or too bold - should I have her do more neutral colors or leave as is?

2. Hair - I realized two things after I got home. The first is that I realized that I had told her to do low curls and the veil on top. But for some reason it just hit me that I will be covering up all those beautiful curls for the ceremony. Do you think it would be horrible if I ask her if she can put the curls higher for the veil to go underneath? I expressed some of my concerns about the hair already to her but not this in particular. She said she can always change my hair and that is was up to me. So I think it would be ok but I jsut feel bad being a pain in the butt. Also I realized that the way the hair is pulled back is giving me a major widows peak and making my face look a bit too round. So I think I going to have her pull my hair back across and curls higher up, kind of like this (played with it myself to get a general idea):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/3755246608_30c4936da0.jpg


What do you guys think? Need some honest opinions - and I am being too difficult?

[LLLBelle]

The cake was so cute for the bridal shower.

I like the cake topper and the engraveable frame is the same one I have been looking at getting, good choice :thumbsup2

Okay, if you want honest, I don't care for the makeup (the eye makeup that is). I do agree with you that the eye makeup is a little much. You should has something that makes your eyes glow, I just think it is too dark. And if you are questioning it, that should tell you something. You could do a nice shimmery pink, or gold/silver, something more neutral I think something in the pink family would look nice.

Your hair looks cute, I love the curls (I'm thinking of doing something similar, just higher on my head) and if it would make you feel better putting it higher, then tell her, it may be her gift, but it's your wedding day.

[LeesyUD]

The cake was so cute for the bridal shower.

I like the cake topper and the engraveable frame is the same one I have been looking at getting, good choice :thumbsup2

Okay, if you want honest, I don't care for the makeup (the eye makeup that is). I do agree with you that the eye makeup is a little much. You should has something that makes your eyes glow, I just think it is too dark. And if you are questioning it, that should tell you something. You could do a nice shimmery pink, or gold/silver, something more neutral I think something in the pink family would look nice.

Your hair looks cute, I love the curls (I'm thinking of doing something similar, just higher on my head) and if it would make you feel better putting it higher, then tell her, it may be her gift, but it's your wedding day.

Thank you, I do appreciate your honesty. I am having difficulties with the makeup thing, bc the girl that is doing it likes to wear dark eyeshadow and likes to do makeup that way...but I don't normally wear it that dark...I was thinking about pink and playing around with it...it is just tough because I don't want to offend her or be too difficult...but your right it is my day. I will have to talk to her again. Thanks!

[Pumbaa_]

Lisa - wanting something done a specific way is ok :)

I am with you on the eye shadow - it would be great for an evening out, but i agree it is a tad heavy on the dark side.

If you don't like how the makeup came out, go to a MAC counter at MACYs and see if they can give you colirs for your eyes. The dark eyes and pink lips and blush are contrasting for me. I like the lip color and the blush color, just not loving the eyes

i really like the hair higher - i agree with you 100%. your stylist should be able to accomodate that easily and make suggestions for what fits YOU best. If she doesn't or can't do what you really want, thank her nicely for the gift and go elsewhere. You don't want to have a lot of I wish I hads when you look at your pics for the next 50 years

you are the bride, it is your day :bride: (ok, and a tiny bit dave's too)

[LeesyUD]

Lisa - wanting something done a specific way is ok :)

I am with you on the eye shadow - it would be great for an evening out, but i agree it is a tad heavy on the dark side.

If you don't like how the makeup came out, go to a MAC counter at MACYs and see if they can give you colirs for your eyes. The dark eyes and pink lips and blush are contrasting for me. I like the lip color and the blush color, just not loving the eyes

i really like the hair higher - i agree with you 100%. your stylist should be able to accomodate that easily and make suggestions for what fits YOU best. If she doesn't or can't do what you really want, thank her nicely for the gift and go elsewhere. You don't want to have a lot of I wish I hads when you look at your pics for the next 50 years

you are the bride, it is your day :bride: (ok, and a tiny bit dave's too)

Thanks you for the advice, Jody. In fact, I normally use MAC makeup and I need to get a lipstick anyway so I was planning on going this week. My friend doing the hair and makeup actually gets a really good discount at MAC so she said she could get me some makeup if I wanted. So I meeting up with her on Tuesday to get lipstick and I am going to talk to her then and pick out some different eye shadows.

[Pumbaa_]

oh good! that is an excellant discount they receive.

I am sure you will find some awesome colors :bride:

[CDNTech]

Checking in late... but another vote for the changes you made to your hair and lighter eyes.

I love the higher curls and hair swept off to the side of your face... it looks gorgeous on you and you'll be able to wear your veil under your curls and show them off.

I also agree that a softer pink (with maybe purple accents?) on your eyes would look much better... not a huge fan of the dark eyes. The lips/cheeks look awesome though... love the dewey look of your lips. :)

[tiggerrifficheidi]

Lisa-I agree with Pumbaa_ that the eyes and lipcolor seem to contrast each other. I'd also add that I think the larger problem with the eye color is its redness (I know it's not actually RED). It just seems to make your eyes look red instead of highlighting them. There may be a more neutral/cooler color that would work better.

And a trip to MAC a couple times to try on the colors would definitely help firm it up in your mind.

But, I really love the hair!

[LeesyUD]

Thanks guys!! I really needed honest opinions bc I liked the eye makeup when I saw it in the mirror at her place, but in pictures it has a totally different effect. I think it will be easier when I meet her at MAC bc I can show her exactly what I want. And I agree....I think the pink/purlpish eyes would look really good....I tried doing some of that myself but couldn't get it to show right...but I just realized I didn't have any coverup or foundation on at the time so it wouldn't have stood out as much. I am going to try some different colors with her there so she can see what it is I want.

Regarding the hair, I am also going to let her know that I want the bangs across (I just feel like that is more me) and that I would like the curls on top so I can show them off with the veil underneath.:bride:

Thank you sooooo much again!! You are all a very big help!! :goodvibes

[Pumbaa_]

i love the idea of bangs across too, with the bangs and the curls nice coss between your regular day look and dressy with the curls.

lighter lips too will show less smudging with the kissing you will be doing :hug: and less on dave :rotfl:

it will be nice too for you to own the colors you are using for touch ups and to recreate the look on your honeymoon :)

[LeesyUD]

i love the idea of bangs across too, with the bangs and the curls nice coss between your regular day look and dressy with the curls.

lighter lips too will show less smudging with the kissing you will be doing :hug: and less on dave :rotfl:

it will be nice too for you to own the colors you are using for touch ups and to recreate the look on your honeymoon :)

I agree with owning the colors...and actually the girl that is doing my hair and makeup had been invited to my wedding before she even offered to do everything, so coincidentally she will be there to help touch up anything that may need it! Her mother and my mother are longtime friends and we have all gone to New York to see broadway shows together several times, bc me and her have that same love for musical theatre.

[DasBeast]

Hello there!

Dave, the DF here. Don't worry, I'm not reading any of the pages unless Lisa has told me it's safe. I don't need to get beaten up! :rolleyes1

Just wanted to say thanks for the support with the issues with the best man and job. Much more drama than certainly either of us wanted leading up to this wedding, but I think it'll all work out, for sure! I'm not as active in the DIS community as Lisa is, but I certainly love Disney and the people we have met because of it!

Keep us in your thoughts this week! Still plenty to do, including a job interview for me tomorrow! :woohoo:

All the best,
Dave

[Pumbaa_]

Hi Daave :yay: it is getting close! You guys had much more drama then you needed, but you handled it so well. Bodes well for your future if you can handle the crisis that you have during this time

counting down!!:thumbsup2

[disnut1149]

Hi Lisa (and Dave)
Just getting caught up with your plans. I'm real excited about your wedding!! I think you look great with the bangs. And I agree that the eye shadow is a little on the dark side. You're going to look great!! I talked to your mom and she's surprised that I know so much about your wedding. I'll see you on Sunday!!!
Joan

[LeesyUD]

Only day left until my wedding!! Woohooo! Still have a few things to run around and do today....going to the nail salon for tips and a peticure (I could use a bit of pampering after this week!).

By the way, we had one last bit of drama with Dave's job.... we have been very tight on money recently and were going to need his whole last pay check to pay for a few last minute things for the wedding and also to cover the DJ. (BC my next pay isn't until next week) Well his former employer took several hundred dollars out of his paycheck to charge him for a non-refundable plane ticket to Chicago, bc he didn't go on his last job! We were really pissed. However, legally, I don't believe they can do that. He did not book the ticket, the company did (so it was their stupid fault for not booking a refundable ticket) and it was for their company trade show, not a client.

In any case, Dave's uncle is actually a work dispute judge in another state, so Dave will talk to him this weekend about it to see what he says. How crazy can people be? Thank goodness he is out of there! And Dave's mother was wonderful bc she saved the day and is loaning us the money for the DJ until next week. Phew...that was a close one!

BTW, I don't know if I mentioned our wedding music....

for the Ceremony, we are using 3 songs from the Disney Fairtyale Instrumental CD- the bridesmaids will come into Can You Feel the Love Tonight...I will walk into When You Wish Upon a Star....and we will walk out to A Whole New World.

I was listening to the music yesterday and I unknowingly started to cry!! I am getting sappy these last few days!:love:

[Pumbaa_]

:bride: Congratulations!! Hope everything went off without a hitch. :bride:

[LLLBelle]

Happy Wedding Day!!

[LeesyUD]

:bride: Congratulations!! Hope everything went off without a hitch. :bride:

Happy Wedding Day!!

Thanks!!! The wedding went great!! I can't believe it is over already!! It is going to take some time to call my fiance my husband and be a Mrs.!! Things all went very smoothly...very few hiccups!! I should get pics back fairly quickly so I will be posting those soon. The venue where we had our wedding did a fantastic job on the set up, the timing, the catering and just overall running of the event. All of our vendorws were fantastic as well....can't wait to see the pics...love our photographer...he really seemed to know what he was doing and we never felt akward taking pictures with him behind the camera. He is actually from Africa and I loved his accent...I wish I could have talked to him more actually haha!!

I will have some pics soon!!

[disnut1149]

Hi
I just wanted to let everyone know that Lisa had the most beautiful wedding. She looked fantastic and the place was beautiful. Our tables had silver stars on them and also place cards with the names of Disney characters. My DH and I were at the Alladin and Princess Jasmine table. Everyone seemed to have a really good time. I'm anxious to see the pictures.

[LeesyUD]

I am still waiting to get my professional photos back, but I thought I would share some of the shots friends and family took at the wedding in the meantime:

ME AND MY NEW HUBBY:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3596/3795959361_919d108d71.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/3795959351_9f4e826325.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/3796777656_0ac6f98070.jpg

ME AND MY GIRLS:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3528/3795959317_dfd196ffc5.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3553/3795959333_329ae26454.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/3795959325_10cbb27d12_o.jpg

A Shot of the Ballroom:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3796777714_a3b8073887.jpg


Some of these turned out really good...I can't wait to see what the professional ones looked like. I will post more photos soon.

[LLLBelle]

You looked beautiful Lisa! So cute with your new hubby :goodvibes

Everything looked lovely. Can't wait to see more pictures.

[LeesyUD]

You looked beautiful Lisa! So cute with your new hubby :goodvibes

Everything looked lovely. Can't wait to see more pictures.

Thanks! I am so anxious to see our pics and video!!

[LeesyUD]

I am still waiting for my fully professional photographs, however, I wanted to share some really nice photos in the meantime that my husband's cousin took. We didn't know this until the day of but she has a very nice, high end digital camera. Here are some of the photos as a preview of what the professional ones will look like (I am so happy I changed up my hair and makeup for the wedding):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2613/3812296783_4847ed8c30.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/3812296441_80f9ca13c0.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2481/3813120756_28c1e0d04b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3813114636_46ddf3f070.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2647/3813113568_a9ea5c7085.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3434/3812326453_be20dbf0ba.jpg


More to come when I get the professional ones...

[camara381]

beautiful pictures! Congrats!

[LLLBelle]

The pictures are beautiful Lisa!

[MegKate]

Congratulations! Wow for the cousin with the awesome camera - got some great shots! You two looked awesome together! :goodvibes

[pezaddict231]

Congrats! Your make-up turned out great! There were some great pics in there, your happiness really shines through!

[TheDisneyGirl02]

You looked so beautiful! Your first day of your honeymoon is the day I'm getting married! We leave for WDW the next day! Maybe we will see you there! :)