Amanda & Robby PJ . 10/25/2011 SBP, LSS,UK DP *Invitations*

[DisneyBride1207]

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture50.png
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture51.png

Planning Index of Photos:
The Proposal (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=40531373&postcount=26)
The Dress! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=40530755&postcount=22)
Dress #2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41590409&postcount=60)
Invitations, Passports (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2503210)
Invitations, Version 2! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2503210&page=3)
Planning Session Report (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41528373&postcount=56)
Inspiration Images (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41535214&postcount=58)

about us

me :artist:
I have a BFA of Interior Design from JMU (just graduated last summer) and own my own flower shop. Somehow in my job search I ended up being offered a free standing building by my best friends dad that was vacant, and BAM -- I own a flower shop! I work so hard and absolutely love what I do -- even though that means I don't have much personal/free time. There's nothing like being your own boss. It's very hard and definitely makes me appreciate small business owners even more.

him :drive:
Robby is a Ford Diesel technician and his hobbies include being obsessed with the Dallas Cowboys, fishing, golfing and everything in between. We both have always had a thing for mustangs, four wheelers and anything that has wheels basically. It actually was one of our first common interests - I was a tomboy that rode four wheelers and dirt bikes with all his buddies and we easily had something fun to do together. He's so perfect for me -- he really does compliment me, he's patient (opposite of ME!), he would give a stranger the shirt of his back, he's so caring and sweet and he's just my best friend. I'm sure we can all agree that no amount or choice of words can ever fully describe the love/bond that you have with the love of your life.

how we met :love2:
We met when we were in middle school and had the same best friends. We always each had someone else we were dating, but always had the hots for each other (yes, even when we were very YOUNG:scared1:) Finally in high school we both ended up single at the same time and quickly started dating. We have been together eight and a half years now and have NEVER broken up (can you believe that?!). We have grown up together and yet have GROWN together, surprisingly never apart :love: I am looking forward to learning and growing more with him and love him to death!! I've always felt there is a perfect someone out there for everyone, and I am so lucky I found him so early in life. I had severe depression when I was a teen, and he really helped get me through it. So, our relationship really started with a great loving, trusting friendship (well more than friends lol) -- and over time just keeps getting better. *am I getting to cheesy yet???*

how we got engaged
For my graduation my family (mom, dad, three sisters) were all planning to take a trip down to WDW as we do every few years as a family. Except, this time I wanted to take Robby. This was his first trip as an adult and he wasn't too enthused.... I was looking forward to him experiencing that Disney magic!! :wizard: We normally take the family RV down (yes, we all fit comfortably) to Fort Wilderness to stay. Half way into the vacation, we went to Magic Kingdom for some evening festivities. I should've known they all had a motive because we all got dressed up in nicer clothes after dinner and made the trek back to the park at 5 - I'm such a goober - I should've seen that coming! :laughing: We walked up to the castle and my parents said "Can you take a picture of us in front of the castle?" Then I handed them the camera so they could take a picture of Robby and I. As we were walking to pose, he seemed very nervous (excessive gum chewing, shaking). Then he started with his proposal speech that I can barely remember because of how shocked and nervous I was as well! It was so nice because in our pictures there are no people around us, so the pics are very cool that we are 'alone'....kinda... hehe!

I told him one time that I DIDN'T want to be asked in front of the castle, I thought it was cliche. But, now I think it is cute how he saw that as the iconic Disney World symbol and that's why he chose it :goodvibes - so, it makes it more thoughtful :thumbsup2 heheh!

wedding day plans
When we were planning our wedding we kept an open mind about all possible venues - The Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Florida, etc. Anything except Disney World (for him) -- he felt it was too ME and didn't feel like it fit him really (again, he didn't know much about the different things available for their weddings). We then agreed on a cruise wedding on DCL in the Bahamas in December of 2010. Everything was going as planned..UNTIL, my sister go pregnant :eek: The only reason this is a problem is because they don't allow women in their third trimester to cruise. So, in thinking long and hard about the re-planning of the wedding we realized it was easy (and my DREAM) to have a WDW Wishes wedding :woohoo: of course I was OVER THE MOON!!!!! MUAHAHAHA, my evil plan! lol I just opened my own flower shop and I really don't have the time to be planning a wedding - so they fact they give you a planner and you pretty much just SHOW UP made it seem like a very wise decision. I had to call DFTW to get details about exact locations in order to convince Robby that spending $12,000+ was worth it. We are both water-lovers (water signs, love the beach, grew up at our parents lake houses, he loves to fish, I love to swim, yadda yadda). So, I told the DFTW consultant about our personalities and she gave me the idea of the Yacht Club beach wedding, Living Seas Reception in the aquarium with the fish and dessert party illuminations viewing. He LOVED the ideas! :banana: He really feels now like it's fit for his personality too! I guess he just doesn't like the princessy types of weddings he has seen on those shows sometimes with all the glitz and glam that just isn't 'us' (while pretty, isn't our thing). I had to show him that there are personalization options! so, that's the start of it all -- HERE WE GO!!! :)

[DisneyBride1207]

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/4478_119918676216_736301216_3241745.jpg

and of course we had to go get some bride ears!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/4478_119919311216_736301216_3241769.jpg

Our pictures we had done the following day at the Polynesian:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/4478_119919266216_736301216_3241760.jpg

[Disney9.9.10]

Congratulations on your engagement and welcome! It is really sweet that you guys have been together so long, you will have a really secure and loving marriage. I wish you the best with your planning and look forward to reading more!

[DisneyBride1207]

:goodvibes thank you!! I'm trying to figure out how to post everything...I have to figure out how everyone else does their PJ's...I'm guessing just posting it into the thread - like a comment, but include pics of things I'm planning...??

[Disney9.9.10]

That is pretty much it! Just post a comment, write whatever you have done lately, add pictures if you want, etc. Some pj's also have an index on the first page - I did this to mine to keep it organized. You should take a look at some other pj's to get a better idea of how it works. Good luck with everything! How is your planning going?

[pixiegirl]

Congrats and welcome!!! You guys are such a cute couple. My DF and I have been together for 8 years so we also have been together for a long time. Can't wait to hear all of your plans!!!

[DisneyBride1207]

thank you!! : )

Update: So, we think we might try to do a PS sometime this winter in WDW so we can mainly try food. We are wanting a mixture of seafood/island types of flavors and some other foods that non-seafood people will like - chicken and steak with nice island sauces...does this make sense? hehehe! Since we are going with the whole tropical type of theme (Yacht Club Beach ceremony, Living Seas Reception, Lochside). We love Ohana (mainly the salad hahah) - although the only part that sticks out is the salad and not so much the steak, etc...which makes me think there might be better options out there for food flavorings. We went to WAVE at the Contemporary and had the best steak of our lives! If I could only find out what type or how it was prepared so we can request it!!! Anybody know what steak I'm talking about? hehehe! it was on a bed of like shredded sweet potato or something?! :confused3. Any recommendations for polynesian/tropical types of foods - I'm all "ears" pirate: ahhah!

[DisneyBride1207]

We haven't been assigned our planner yet - I'm so excited! I can't wait to see who it will be! If anyone has any comments about theirs, let me know!

We have to send out new invites since we completely changed from a DCL wedding in December, to a more formal - larger wedding in WDW. I will be uploading all of my images of past invited (they were passports I hand made!). I also had sent out a flyer to give people an update, but I don't think people understood the whole process since the update was sent out in June and wedding isn't until next May! :scared1: So, we are making new ones to send out in like December :)

Also, I have decided I will be making my bouquet with Vanda Orchids and Phalaeonopsis Orchids.

Still deciding on the length of the veil and what type of headpiece to do, if any.:confused3

[DisneyBride1207]

So, I'm in the process of trying to come up with something fun for our NEW invites. I made passport invites when we were originally doing a DCL wedding in Castaway Cay. I bought cardstock and also used a thick printer paper for the inner pages. I ran everything through my printer and used a sewing machine for the binding (surprisingly easy!). I then made my own postcards for the response cards that had a collection of DCL Castaway Cay images and the postage was cheaper ;) But now we have to make new invites since the wedding has changed to a Wishes wedding in WDW (sister couldn't cruise because of pregnancy) - But everyone LOVED the passport invites! :thumbsup2

Our wedding is all about water, lake, ocean, etc. Since it is YCB, Living Seas and Lochside for DP we are going with the water theme since we both love water. We both love blue mainly, but accented with tropical colors. So, we have to nail down the invite idea since I will be making them myself I have to just come up with something as cool or cooler than the last invites we sent! haha :thumbsup2

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/21947_346663896216_736301216_5353095_3010392_n.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/21947_346663906216_736301216_5353096_1799890_n.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/21947_346663891216_736301216_5353094_5970103_n.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/21947_346663881216_736301216_5353093_7763305_n.jpg

[DisneyBride1207]

So I got an email from Meri today that our planner is Pamela....I haven't heard of her on the boards? I have heard alot about Meri being good, so I was bummed when she said "I am filling in for her for the next few weeks"... :lmao: - But I'm hoping Pamela is just as wonderful! :goodvibes Please God, if anyone has any bad reviews PM me! :thumbsup2 haha

[DisneyBride1207]

My dress is by Rivini and I bought it June '09 (a month after my engagement). We went dress shopping thinking that I would just get an idea of what I might want in future - so I wasn't really even ready to buy. We were planning on getting married in May 2010 (which has now been pushed back to May 2011 because of the fact I couldn't get a job when I graduated college). So, by now I have had the dress for over a year and it's still the most fabulous dress I could've ever found! I always see other dresses that I like, but there's always that one that JUUUUST right for your bridal style,...ya know? :goodvibes

I purchased it as a sample when it was discounted at my local bridal shop from $6,000 :scared1: to 3,000 because it was from the '08 collection and it was a sample THAT FIT ME PERFECTLY (with a little wiggle room of course since I've lost 20 pounds since I bought it)!--- I went way over what I wanted my budget to be. I put the dress on because my future mother-in-law thought it looked so weird and different on the hanger and to try it sort of as a joke...well you know what they say! Don't come to by a Honda and test drive the Lamborghini!!! But, it was THE dress and my mom wouldn't let me leave without buying it :lovestruc I wanted to take it off and not even consider it because of price and even went on to try other dresses, but my family was plotting to pay for the dress themselves just to make sure I got it :lovestruc

I didn't know very much about designers and which designer I wanted to look for when trying dresses, so it's funny that after choosing the dress I now am obsessed with Rivini's dresses because of how well the dresses fit my personality.

Here is the stock photo from Rivini, and other images of me in the dress (being silly in one of them :rotfl2:)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/wd_ss08_riv_br_8882_xl.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/P8050428.jpg
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http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/P8050426.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/P6020218.jpg

this image is one a photographer (Stephen Gosling Photography) took of me in my dress holding a bridal bouquet for images for my flower shop. So, it's cool to have a professional image of me in my dress before the wedding! It helps show the detail of the top :thumbsup2

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture1.png

[FutureMrs.B]

Hi I just found your PJ. I loved your story it was really cute. The pics were really cute as well. Great idea for the invitations. DF and I were thinking of doing something similar except more like a classic book. Also you look really great in your wedding dress. It's very different..the pattern. It's really nice. Looking forward to reading more. :surfweb:

[DisneyBride1207]

awww thank you! :goodvibes I was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading it! :lmao:

The passport invites were super easy to make as long as you have a word processing program! I sewed them (also easier than you would expect!) - good luck with your book invites - that is a great idea :thumbsup2

[DisneyBride1207]

So, advice please?

We have the Shipwreck Beach (at the Yacht Club) booked as our ceremony location...and we are having second thoughts.

2:30 in the middle of May is PROBABLY going to be hot - and in considering the fact Shipwreck Beach has no shade, we are a bit turned off. Kristi told me 'well, you could hurry the ceremony like other brides have done'...but I don't want to rush...I want to have a nice, SHADED, but yet still-outside ceremony. I don't want DF or myself squinting in our wedding pics! I am thinking we should switch to Sea Breeze Point. We originally were going to be married on Castaway Cay on the DCL, so we waned something along that theme (water/beachy). I thought I didn't like SBP...but, now that I've seen more pictures it seems like it might be a smart decision to switch :confused3

I know we wanted to get married in the sand an all, but I don't think it's going to really work out how we want it if the sun is blaring in our eyes (not to mention my black hair being super hot from the sun!), and no protection from a light afternoon sprinkle! Plus - I really like how the images of being at the altar are of the Yacht Club from the SBP, as opposed to a backdrop of the Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin from the SRB location. I think SBP is a bit more formal of a ceremony location too.... :confused3

I guess I know what we need to do - just a nudge in the right direction or some hopeful thoughts that SBP will still be available for Friday May 13th at 2:30! If it's not available, then we will have to explore other options!

Any thoughts? Past brides? Brides that have had a similar dilemma?

[tinkerbell 766]

Have you thought about the beach at the S and D? They do weddings there.

[FutureMrs.B]

I know what you mean about wondering if people read it. I feel like that sometimes..:lmao:

Are you definately set on the hour? I was just thinking maybe if you have it a little later in the day it would be slightly cooler and you would still have sunlight for your pictures. Maybe the 5:00 pm slot. When I was in Orlando in July DF and I noticed that it was a bit more bearable like around 5ish 6 ish. And since it's still not summer I'm assuming maybe it might be ok. Just an idea. :goodvibes

[DisneyBride1207]

Thanks for the ideas y'all!! :thumbsup2 :goodvibes

buuuuuuut, our reception is from 3:30-8, and if we pushed it to 5 the whole issue of sunset comes in to play (based on what Kristi Davis said) and that would make our reception super short....so...hopefully we have a good alternate!

We have been to Disney multiple times in May and 2:30 is fine as long as you are in the shade :thumbsup2 .... so I'm not worried about the heat as long as we are shaded...I'm just wondering what my options are for another location as an alternative - in this case, thinking Sea Breeze Point.

I am waiting for a call from my 'stand in' planner, while my planner Pamela is out of the office (Meri is her sub), in the morning and I will ask her about location options. So keep your fingers crossed that SBP will be available for my 40-50 guests and that time slot!

Can you use SBP if you have 50 guests???

[DisneyBride1207]

So we changed our ceremony location to Sea Breeze Point - PHEW! Thank God it was still available for our time slot! WAHOO! :goodvibes

Other info we are working out for our reception: Streetmosphere! We want to have uninvited guests for the reception to confuse guests and make them wonder "Who are they?" They will also MC the reception parts like the entrance, the dances, etc. If anyone has any experience with Streetmosphere people, I would love to hear! :happytv:

[FutureMrs.B]

Oh yey! I'm so glad that you were able to change your location but still keep your same time slot. Gratz!

[DisneyBride1207]

thank you!! huge relief!! :cool1: p.s. - how do I change the title of the thread? .....to note updates?

[DisneyBride1207]

So, I haven't posted in a long time! :scared1: I have been super overwhelmed with running the flower shop, being a new home owner, saving for the wedding and just being busy with...LIFE! :) I have been still playing around on the disboards though -- just haven't gotten to posting about OUR wedding!

Update on wedding plans:

1. We changed the wedding to October 25th, 2011! :thumbsup2 It definitely helps with our wedding payments. I was upset about this at first, too concentrated on what people would think rescheduling it for the THIRD time, but I quickly got over that!
2. Wedding music - Pretty sure we are doing a ukulele for ceremony and cocktail hour and dueling pianos for our reception. Our wedding theme is a mix of tropical/ocean/nature....whatever that is! :rotfl2:
3. In realizing that next year we may hopefully be starting a family, I realized we might not be able to use our Annual Passes -- so we are taking advantage of them by doing a planning session/vacation in May to WDW!!! :banana: We are waiting to hear back about the planning session. I'm curious as to what goes on in PS! :)
4. I will be bringing my own flowers for my bouquet and my BMs. I own a flower shop and I regularly do wedding florals for brides, so it makes sense cost-wise for me to just do them myself...especially since I'm so darn picky about florals! :rotfl: I am having my flowers shipped to our resort and I will just whip up my bouquet there! :thumbsup2
5. I am still working on picking bridesmaid color dresses, flower colors. I have narrowed it down to maybe doing blue dresses for our ocean theme (I made invitations in green and blue with coral in the invites). I LOVE phalaenopsis orchids in fuschia so maybe MY bouquet will be all shades of fuschia/purple/lavender. I was thinking to have the girls bouquets be all green. I am all about the monochromatic color schemes for bridal bouquets. It always looks classy/not messy. I see so many bouquets and in person monochromatic just ALWAYS gets a WOW :)
6. Shoes: OHHH THE DREADED SHOES! I am about the same heigh as Robby (fiance), and I normally am very comfortable in a platform shoe because of my foot issues...but I can really wear anything that is higher than like 3.5" :( :confused3 I am also unsure what color shoes to do...I think maybe I should just get whatever color I want. I love ALL colors ... tough
7. Flowers/decor: So, I am only going to do probably just petals for the ceremony and then bring orchids to scatter orchid blooms - green cymbidiums and fuschia vanda's on tables, etc. I am hoping to bring small glass cylinders with floating candles and orchids :) I have to talk to DFTW about this one as I have heard mixed reviews on the boards about what they allow/what they will setup. :confused3 So I will report back about this.

I hope someone will be following this to help lend some advice :D:surfweb: So I'd love to hear back! I should probably start posting some pics, right?! LOL!

[DisneyBride1207]

Here is a pic with the original alterations (that weren't actually done, only pinned back, we ended up postponing the wedding the following week). This was a pic with the 'bustle' done up. It actually has a 4' train. I have lost about 20 pounds since I originally bought the dress!!! (as you can hopefully tell, I'm skinner in this image than the rest!!!)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/photo.jpg


This image was taken by a local photographer friend of mine -- it was me wearing the dress holding a bouquet that I designed for some promotional images for my flower shop:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture1.png

Here is an image of me in June 2009 when I bought the dress (before alterations of course). I was being silly and wearing a different veil and hair piece then I will at the actual wedding.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/P8050428.jpg

a bit closer:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/P8050426.jpg

and of course the image from Rivini:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/wd_ss08_riv_br_8882_xl.jpg

[DisneyBride1207]

So the old invites that I made for our original DCL wedding are these ones...

It sucks because I had to make totally new ones...it is a pain doing them twice! grr! hehe

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/21947_346663906216_736301216_5353096_1799890_n.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/21947_346663896216_736301216_5353095_3010392_n.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/21947_346663881216_736301216_5353093_7763305_n.jpg

I have actually made new ones that are underwater theme - I will post those as soon as I take a pic!

[LuvLuvLuv]

i just love the picture of you in your dress with the bouquet!!! sooooo pretty!! i think it was a good move to go to SBP instead of the beach. we always go in may and the sand can get hot hot hot!! you don't want to melt during your ceremony!! good luck with the rest of your planning!!! can't wait to read more!!

[kslo69]

I love love love the flower bouquet you are holding.

[DisneyBride1207]

So, picture it, May 2009. I was graduating from college and had been dating Robby for a little over 7 years. We took a trip to WDW for a family vacation (as we normally did) and Disney is my favorite place in the whole wide world! and OF COURSE I always hinted that he needed to propose when we went :thumbsup2 haha....but I didn't think he would actually do it! :lmao:

So it was the middle of the week, and I figured there was no way he was going to...well, we all got dressed up to go up to the Magic Kingdom for the evening and I had NO IDEA what was awaiting me!

We walked up to the castle and my mom asked if I would take a pic of her and my dad. Then she said 'would you like a picture with Robby?" I still didn't see it coming :lmao:

Then, he started the whole, "babe, you know I love you..." and I just got so nervous!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/4478_119918676216_736301216_3241745.jpg

[DisneyBride1207]

thank you both! :goodvibes

[DisneyBride1207]

(just now realized I posted some stuff TWICE! I'm so silly...)

So, When we postponed they had to re-write everything and basically start the whole process over on the Disney end. We are still waiting to get our LOA so we can sign it and send it back. This means I also have NO PLANNER right now :sad1: We did have Pamela, and she seemed fine. I really liked her assistant Jen Flores who seemed very helpful.

We also changed our minds about the types of rooms in the room block - - we wanted to add some suites, so that took time for the redo of that! We started this process way back in like July '10, and now here we are in (almost April) 2011 and still not yet to a planner. But, that's okay -- normally you don't plan much until the Planning Session anyhow from how I take it from all the other PJ's :thumbsup2 We are going to WDW in May for a romantic getaway and we will do our PS in person then! YAY! :banana: I just want to taste food! ...and see the locations in person of course :rotfl2:

[PinkSleepingBeauty]

We get married the same day! :goodvibes your plans are looking great so far! Very pretty dress! :)

[donald&daisy]

I can't wait to hear about your planning session! I would love to see your new invites too!!!

[KristiLyn]

I LOVE that pic of the dress/bouquet!
And awesome engagement pic!! I really love it that it's just you two in the pic! Usually Disney pics have lots of people in them (or atleast mine do...ha)

[02AggieGirl]

What a beautiful bride!! Congratulations! Love your dress :)

[DisneyBride1207]

We get married the same day! :goodvibes your plans are looking great so far! Very pretty dress! :)

really?! I will check out your PJ if you have one! :thumbsup2

[DisneyBride1207]

I LOVE that pic of the dress/bouquet!
And awesome engagement pic!! I really love it that it's just you two in the pic! Usually Disney pics have lots of people in them (or atleast mine do...ha)

ya it was weird that only a few people were around!! :woohoo: i always tell people how weird it was, which made it more obvious to people what was happening and people cheered!! :wizard::goodvibes

What a beautiful bride!! Congratulations! Love your dress :) :lovestruc thank you :cutie:

I can't wait to hear about your planning session! I would love to see your new invites too!!! I will post those pics asap and take LOTS at the PS to share!!

[DisneyBride1207]

I am glad some fellow brides are following along -- I love advice and being an art major and used to constructive criticism -- so any input (as long as it's helpful and not downright mean) would be appreciated regarding aspects of the wedding I have thoughts about, etc!

Happy planning to all -- this makes me excited to have people to share my planning with!!! I really do appreciate being able to share thoughts on the disboards with fellow disney loving brides :lovestruc :grouphug:

[DisneyBride1207]

i just love the picture of you in your dress with the bouquet!!! sooooo pretty!! i think it was a good move to go to SBP instead of the beach. we always go in may and the sand can get hot hot hot!! you don't want to melt during your ceremony!! good luck with the rest of your planning!!! can't wait to read more!!

I just saw in your siggie that you will be in Disney the same week! how cool! :D you meeting with planners at all?

[PinkSleepingBeauty]

really?! I will check out your PJ if you have one! :thumbsup2

I do have a PJ :) Feel free to check it out :thumbsup2

[SerpentQueenClaire]

Just wanted to say that you look really beautiful in your dress and I'm sure that you are going to have a gorgeous wedding. The flowers in your promotional pic are incredible-you're very talented.
We don't fly out for our wedding trip until 28 Oct which is a shame as I won't be able to 'stalk' your big day!!

[DisneyBride1207]

so, I spent much hard work on my last passport invitations and had to change the wedding from DCL to WDW --- but that's okay with me! :)

I made these new ones that were a little more traditional style invitation, but still fit our underwater/ocean theme :)

I used a 'glimmer mist' from a scrapbook store and used a reverse stencil type of technique. I had so much trouble finding a paper type, stamps, etc. that I ended up finding a stencil type of thing that looked like coral - :banana: So I bought some shimmery/wedding-ish paper and used the glimmer mist to fancy up the plan paper. I used shimmery ivory paper for some parts and the other mixed in blues and greens for our wedding 'colors'. We have accents of other colors in our wedding -- for example I want fuschia flowers and to add touches of maybe yellow and orange somewhere in the reception :confused3 -- I love all colors, so I thought "well the ocean has lots of colors with coral and fishies, so why not make it a mixture" :confused3 hehe

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/invites.jpg

I used a little cutting board from michaels for all my straight edges and bought their envelopes and cardstock and pieced together the colors I wanted. You can't tell but the green part is shimmery and looks really pretty and is appropriate for wedding invites IMO. :woohoo:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/photo1.jpg

[goodmorningirl]

Just thought I'd jump in and tell you that your ideas so far are great. Your dress is really beautiful! This may sound weird but we are actually pretty similar lol. My boyfriend and I started dating freshman year of high school and are together 7 years now without ever breaking up and I work in a florist and hope to own my own shop one day. What a small world! lol I can't wait to hear more about your wedding. :)

[irishwishes]

Love the invites and all your plans!!

[DisneyBride1207]

thanks all for joining in! :grouphug:

so, any advice on wording for the invites? I feel like I keep filling it up with text... Did you just let your wedding website have all the info? Just the basics about accomodations, wedding day itinerary, etc.?

If you can copy and paste your wedding invite text, that would even be awesome! :thumbsup2

So far for the ACCOMODATIONS page I made (and remember it is a draft, so it may sounds sloppy and silly lol):


Disney’s fort wilderness cabins - 286/night - sleeps 6
$48/PER PERSON
includes a kitchen, private outdoor seating area, etc.
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge - 238/night - sleeps 4
$59/PER PERSON
Disney’s Port Orleans, Riverside - 139/night - sleeps 4
$35/PER PERSON
As a Disney Wedding Guest, you can take advantage of these discounted rates for these three hotels we have selected. If Disney happens to be offering a discount or promotion that is greater than the price listed, please take advantage and book that rate via regular disney hotline. A limited number of each of these have been blocked for our guests, they will be no longer held after August 31st. Robby and Amanda will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge Resort (which is also walking distance to the Fort Wilderness Cabins). Port Orleans is a 5 minute drive from Wilderness Resorts. If you would like to be in closest proximity to Wilderness Lodge and most wedding guests, but would like to stay at another Disney resort, simply call the number below.
To Book Your Resort Stay
please call the disney wedding group booking hotline
407-827-6799, option 1
you may also purchase discounted theme parks
through this number
Airport Transportation
For your convenience, Walt Disney World offers a complimentary shuttle and luggage delivery service to and from the Orlando International Airport resort guests. You can book Disney’s Magical Express reservations by visiting www.********.com or call (407) ***-**** with flight information after your hotel reservation has been entered into the system.

Does this seem okay? too much, too little? I feel like my guests all keep telling me (before having sent out invites) " Ohh, we're just staying at Holiday Inn (for example) -- it's way cheaper" .... well, I don't know about y'all, but I'm an ON PROPERTY kinda gal...I feel there's no other way! :confused3 hahaha - how do I word it to talk them into staying on property? Not only do I want to help fill my room block, but I want my guests to experience why I love Disney so much -- the whole Disney experience 24/7!!! :3dglasses (glad I found a place to use 3D glasses icon! haha)

how did you other DisBrides word your invites/accomodations to tempt your guests to stay on property? perks about being a resort guest?? list them?

[irishwishes]

There is a invitation thread on here somewhere that everyone has posted pics off all their invites so that may be helpful to you.

I think all that text may be a bit too much for the invites. I have all of the lodging, transportation and ticket info on my website. We also sent out newsletters explaining all the details and pros of staying on property. For the invites we included a brief itinerary of the wedding day events, including ceremony, reception, transportation and drinking around the world that night. We only included that wedding day event on the actual invite.

[DisneyBride1207]

that's helpful, thank you :) Did you use a Disney wedding website/Facebook app? or did you create one through another site? I don't particularly like the Disney Facebook one, but it seems like it may be easier to setup/for people to use since it has all the appropriate info already in it... :confused3

I will try to find a thread dedicated to both topics, thanks! :thumbsup2

[LuvLuvLuv]

I just saw in your siggie that you will be in Disney the same week! how cool! :D you meeting with planners at all?

Well we've been in talks with our coordinator since Spring of 2010, but some mishaps prevented us from having our sitevisit until November 2010. At that point we were set on the Wedding Pavilion and the Napa Room so that's all we went to. Now I'm having major 2nd thoughts about the Napa Room so I have a call with my coordinator on Wednesday and with any luck I'll be able to visit a few new options when I'm down there... even if it's on my own. July is my 16 month window so I'm desperate to lock a decision down. I'm going crazy!!

We get to Saratoga Springs the night of the 5th, then move over to Kidani Village on the 7th thru the 14th. I can't wait!! I'm so ready!! Maybe we'll see you around :)

[irishwishes]

Im using the Disney Facebook app. It was an easy setup and feel like it's more catered to having a Disney wedding. I've gotten good feedback from my guests about it and haven't gotten a lot of questions from them.

[Fay]

Hey Amanda, (Congratulations to you both)

I know im late joining in... But I am now up to date! 1st of all your engagement sounded beautiful.... I think its very brave for your DF to propose infront of family! :) Well done him! And Disney... he gets brownie points!

Your dress is FANTASTIC! I absolutly love it... Very modern and looks beautiful on you!

Loving your invites and the coral idea... look brilliant!

Hmm... what else... Oh yeah! Have a quick look through our PJ as I have posted our invites on there too. and our wedding website might give you some Ideas also. (Although we are from the UK and do things slightly different - but kind of the same)

Any way... Cant wait to see more stuff!

Faye xx:dance3:

[donald&daisy]

Love the new look of the invites! Its really funny to read about your color choices because mine are really similar--blue and green because of how the LSS is done and then I'm going for a whole tropical vibe so I threw in some purple, red, and orange, lol. It seems like most of the tropical flowers I like come in those colors (birds of paradise, ginger flower, etc). My mom keeps teasing me that it looks like a Mardi Gras party threw up on everything (thanks Mom!). It will all come together though...

I haven't gotten around to doing my invites yet since we are still a bit over a year out, but I'm focusing a lot of the info on the website, which I made through weddingwire.com. I felt like trying to include all of the info in the invite would just be overwhelming and costly. We are sending out STDs probably mid to late May so I plan on having the website totally done so they can see most of the booking info, etc then.

Making the website was beyond easy...like fill in the blank easy. I was turned off of the facebook app because of all the negative feedback here on the boards. But maybe they've fixed that stuff by now? Plus it seems like brides always say their guests do their own thing when it comes to booking no matter how much effort they put into making it easy for them00not that it will stop me from trying :)

Can't wait to see more!

[DisneyBride1207]

Well we've been in talks with our coordinator since Spring of 2010, but some mishaps prevented us from having our sitevisit until November 2010. At that point we were set on the Wedding Pavilion and the Napa Room so that's all we went to. Now I'm having major 2nd thoughts about the Napa Room so I have a call with my coordinator on Wednesday and with any luck I'll be able to visit a few new options when I'm down there... even if it's on my own. July is my 16 month window so I'm desperate to lock a decision down. I'm going crazy!!

We get to Saratoga Springs the night of the 5th, then move over to Kidani Village on the 7th thru the 14th. I can't wait!! I'm so ready!! Maybe we'll see you around :)

I have changed so many times, don't feel bad about it -- you have plenty of time! We will be in AKL the 8th-11th! :) Maybe we might run into each other one of those days!!

Im using the Disney Facebook app. It was an easy setup and feel like it's more catered to having a Disney wedding. I've gotten good feedback from my guests about it and haven't gotten a lot of questions from them.

agreed! Thank you for your feedback :thumbsup2 After much deliberation the other day I went ahead and started a free website with theknot.com (I was sorta throwing in the towel really because I was afraid the Facebook thing would be a hassle).... I kinda did a hybrid of the two by just taking the same info and links and putting it on my wedding website -- that way I don't have to worry about people not 'being on facebook'. :goodvibes

Hey Amanda, (Congratulations to you both)

I know im late joining in... But I am now up to date! 1st of all your engagement sounded beautiful.... I think its very brave for your DF to propose infront of family! :) Well done him! And Disney... he gets brownie points!

Your dress is FANTASTIC! I absolutly love it... Very modern and looks beautiful on you!

Loving your invites and the coral idea... look brilliant!

Hmm... what else... Oh yeah! Have a quick look through our PJ as I have posted our invites on there too. and our wedding website might give you some Ideas also. (Although we are from the UK and do things slightly different - but kind of the same)

Any way... Cant wait to see more stuff!

Faye xx:dance3:

I will definitely check it out! thanks for joining in!!!! :cutie:

Love the new look of the invites! Its really funny to read about your color choices because mine are really similar--blue and green because of how the LSS is done and then I'm going for a whole tropical vibe so I threw in some purple, red, and orange, lol. It seems like most of the tropical flowers I like come in those colors (birds of paradise, ginger flower, etc). My mom keeps teasing me that it looks like a Mardi Gras party threw up on everything (thanks Mom!). It will all come together though...

I haven't gotten around to doing my invites yet since we are still a bit over a year out, but I'm focusing a lot of the info on the website, which I made through weddingwire.com. I felt like trying to include all of the info in the invite would just be overwhelming and costly. We are sending out STDs probably mid to late May so I plan on having the website totally done so they can see most of the booking info, etc then.

Making the website was beyond easy...like fill in the blank easy. I was turned off of the facebook app because of all the negative feedback here on the boards. But maybe they've fixed that stuff by now? Plus it seems like brides always say their guests do their own thing when it comes to booking no matter how much effort they put into making it easy for them00not that it will stop me from trying :)

Can't wait to see more!

Yea, it's interesting that those tropical-style brides use LSS and have trouble deciding on colors! Orchids are my favorite -- so they are along the same lines!! :banana:

[DisneyBride1207]

Unfortunately our Planner, Pamela Mattack, will be on maternity leave starting this weekend and not returning until August. So, we will be meeting with her 'sub' planner :)

I am so excited for the tasting as well, we have asked for the chefs to create something that will blow our mind with a few bits of info like: We LOVE a good steak -- I told them we prefer a teenie AMAZING steak to a big 'slab' of an average wedding steak. I also told them to have free artistic license to just make something that tastes amazing. Pamela said the chefs would be excited to hear this since that is what the Epcot chefs enjoy doing -- being cutting edge and creative. So, we will see how our artistic license pays off! I know I love it when brides tell me I have free expression with their basic set of likes/dislikes. We want to have food that will be unlike any other wedding they have ever been to. When in Rome, right?! In my opinion, your wedding should be a way to introduce your guests to YOUR world of things you enjoy. I want our guests to see why we love Disney so much....from the unusual/amazing/experimental food, the entertainment, and the scenery! (the magic too...:wizard: HAH! :) So, I will post reviews of the sampled food and hopefully photos too for you all to see!!!

Wish me luck at my Planning Session next Monday May 9th! :D

[FlamingoAllie]

Hi Amanda!
Just joining in, and I have to say I love everything so far. The new invites are amazing. I love living vicariously through other people's DIY projects (since mine usually look like an elementary school art project! :lmao:) and I have a feeling I will enjoy reading all your updates!

I know that I'm joining in a little late, and so I'm not sure if you've resolved all of your problems with getting all of your info to your guests, but here is what we did.

First off, so glad you found a different website than the FB one that Disney provides. It never works for us and we gave up!
We had a website on the knot, but DF found another free hosting site that we like better. weddingwire.com Might be worth checking out.

We also included a little info card in the invite to direct our guests to the wedding website and let them know that they would be receiving a newsletter as well. We designed an awesome newsletter, and originally were going to mail them to all the guests. But after we got our quote from the printer (and picked our jaws up off the floor :scared1:) we decided to send them via email. Hope this helps!

Can't wait to see how your planning session went! :yay:

[Ellie_N_Carl]

Your dress is beautiful, and I love the story about your engagement!
I am planning our wedding from October of 2012, and I am just trying to reach out to other Disney Brides to get a sense of things.
You must be up to the planning session at this point... have you done it yet? If so, how was it?!!

[donald&daisy]

Yes, we want to know how the PS went!

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Awesome! How did it go?

[Tanners]

Congratulations on your engagement, it sounds like its going to be a beautiful wedding. I am also getting married in october!! october 4th!! best of luck with all your planning!

[DisneyBride1207]

Thank you all for following along - I apologize for the delay in the update! I have pictures from the Planning Session which I will have to upload at a later time when I have a moment to do so:

Here goes:

Planning Session 5/9/11

Met with Pamela Mattack and her temporary replacement/planner that would be helping us over the next few months with anything we need. Pamela was cool and so was Jamie, it was nice to be able to 'hang out' with them for nearly 7 hours and also hear about their own weddings and husbands and get to know them a little better!

Cake:
We tasted cake, I never thought I would LOVE the almond cake! YUMMY! We chose almond w/buttercream and marble/chocolate mousse (I think) and something else like chocolate cake with buttercream I think :D They were all pretty good.

Food:
We told Pamela that we wanted the chefs to create a custom menu based on our love of southern/comfort foods and the whole under the sea vibe of the Living Seas. When we arrived we had no idea what we would be tasting! We got to meet with Epcot/Disney Head Chefs - which supposedly on that particular day, Pamela said it just so happened that the Disney Catering 'Dream Team' was there and we got to meet them! Which was fun! They were all so cool! The kitchen staff will treat you like GOLD! They always asked if we needed anything - even if I needed a jacket (since I was dressed for the 90' heat and we were in the a/c!) take a little sweater to your PS. We had the lobster tail on a macaroni and cheese truffle that was TO DIE FOR! Also, the beef short ribs were wonderful. Pineapple bread like at Ohana YUM! We asked them for a duo plate so our guests have two choices on their plate. I don't like the idea of them having to choose before hand (since they might change their mind on the day-of) and food was important to us. I told my planner I would rather have a tiny AMAZING meal than a large run-of-the-mill wedding food. But, even with that direction the portions were plenty! We chose plated because we wanted to help our wedding feel formal since it's already pretty casual. But, mainly because I think it's tacky to get in line and wait for food at a wedding like you are at a cheap buffet restaurant...sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, it's just my opinion! I wanted our guests to experience the feel WE enjoy about Disney World where you feel like you are pampered...so this helped with that!) I will have to post a link to the video later, but they had this floating magnetic THING-a-ma-bob that was levatating (sp?) our salad plate like 12" off the table! Then, they had some things made with liquid nitrogen! Our lemoncillo sorbet with (get this) raspberry caviar (fake caviar of course since it's raspberry) in a hollow bowl that was 'smoking' SO COOL! Then, for our dessert foods we had cheesecakes in little bowls that they lit on fire to be as an action station for the DP that will add some ambience with the fire! So fun! It was great how all we told them was that we wanted our guests to have a very magical Disney experience (minus all the mickey/minnie stuff). We wanted our guests to be entertained with every aspect of the wedding and I think they hit the nail on the head!

Living Seas Site Visit:
Pictures just don't do it justice. When you stand in the room and see the tanks it really takes your breath away is so awesome -- the stingrays, the fishies! :) The lighting is dark but I was told you can make is brighter or darker. We want it very dim with candlelight. Another rule about candles with Disney is you can't have more than 4 open flames per table...BOO! I was hoping for like 5 or 6! hehe!

Entertainment/Music:
At the PS we gave them our ideas about what vibe we wanted, but since then I had an epiphone...Originally we wanted the 'Uninvited Guests'...along with dueling pianos with a fun piano bar vibe. But, this didn't feel personalized enough...and ever since the new Pirates movie came out, I've been in Pirate mode.... it just clicked that I should ask them to be pirates characters! :rotfl2: I am borderline freakishly-obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean. I just love it! So, I told her last time we talked that we wanted Adventurer's Club type obnoxious/adult humor mixed with pirates and the piano (just one, not to). I figure one was plenty for 40 guests (and MUCH cheaper!). So, Jamie talked to the Disney Entertainment team and she said they were so excited to come up with some characters/a story for the pirates. So I HIGHLY recommend if you want actors, to give them a theme or idea and they will run with it. We originally thought maybe we would have them be british women (my mom is from England), that were very obnoxious/silly, but then the whole pirates idea popped into my head. They also said the pianist could even dress up as a pirate and play in to the whole gig! I requested Sheila (but of course, there's no guarantee of that!), she has done the Adventurer's Club and she's a hoot! So, we will see. I don't want to give them any other direction, I believe in letting the artist do their thing. I just gave them some ideas I had like maybe they are lost pirates that stumble upon the wedding or something -- :thumbsup2


Bringing Decorations/Floral:
So, I bugged them pretty well to let me bring in my own things since I have a flower shop and can get flowers at wholesale cost, but that of course is a non-negotiable topic! LOL! (Which I figured, but I had to ask)

Getting to the WP: We had to take the bus from Animal Kingdom Lodge to the Epcot, then the monorail to GF, THEN walk all the way over which was annoying. I wish as a DFTW Bride they would have given us a lift! But, maybe that's asking a bit much?! I donno...well, we wouldn't have been late if they did! ;)

Overall, I was glad we went. Before the PS my fiance (Robby) wasn't too involved in the planning. But after the PS he is all up-in-my-biness' about the wedding. He has his opinions now!!!

If you have any questions, let me know! :D I will try to get some pics up soon!!!

[Fay]

Hey,

Sorry its been a while on me looking in... Your PS sounded so cool! :banana: You cake sounds beautiful, what will it be decorated like?

The food will be amazing! Its all sounds gorgeous... and I agree with you on the less is more senario, definatley a sit down meal girl. All the added magical stuff for the desserts are you having? hehe :cloud9: I especially like the sound of the smoke and fire!!!

Cant wait to see photos! And i think its really lovely that your DF is more involved now... bless them! My DF at the moment thinks its too early to plan things... So I am arranging meetings for our trip in october, and dropping them into convo! :dance3: lol

Any way, get the pics!

Faye xx

[DisneyBride1207]

Here are some pictures to help give a visual about the vibe of the wedding! :)

My veil I purchased with my dress (just for a visual) :D hahah!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture44.png

some floral decor inspirations, the vibe I want with floating blooms, candles, orchids only

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture43.png

cake inspirations -- we want the textured buttercream look with a few pops of color with green cymbidiums, fuschia phalaenopsis orchids

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture42-2.png

My bouquet inspiration, fuschias, eggplant, some black ti leaves to darken the bouquet, a tiny bit of purple and lavender to add some depth of color

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture41.png

Bridesmaid inspirations, one yellow, one magenta one cobalt-ish. I want them to pick dresses that are fashionable, beautiful and that they would wear again. They are my three sisters, so I trust their judgement in picking a dress.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/Picture40.png

[DisneyBride1207]

Did anyone else laugh when they got their BEO? :happytv:

I saw the total for EVERYTHING and was like 'uh, yea, THATs not happening!' I set up an appointment to go over everything with her. I have made notes on everything to go over with her item by item to ask about cheaper alternatives, etc. and cut a lot of things that we just don't care too much about to blow our budget.

It all boils down to what is most important to you and your hubby/wife. For us, the fact that we are having a Disney wedding is the cool part - so it's just a matter of figuring out what is most important to us.

[DisneyBride1207]

So, I've never even once thought about having a second dress for my wedding. I think you should buy THE ONE and unless it's too big to dance in, you should only have the one. Well, I needed to buy a dress to wear for some promotional images for my flower shop (a 'Styleshoot'). I went to David's Bridal to see if there was something cheap just to use for photos and I ended up trying on this dress that looked like a poofy cupcake.... and I LOVED IT. So, we bought it for the shoot and I decided I would try to wear it for the dessert party if possible. I love it and wanted to share! David's Bridal has some cute dresses at affordable prices!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/photo-13.jpg

[KristiLyn]

That dress is gorgeous!!! I'm going to have to make a trip to Davids Bridal. I need to look for another dress, and one that doesn't cost much!

[donald&daisy]

Did anyone else laugh when they got their BEO? :happytv:

I saw the total for EVERYTHING and was like 'uh, yea, THATs not happening!' I set up an appointment to go over everything with her. I have made notes on everything to go over with her item by item to ask about cheaper alternatives, etc. and cut a lot of things that we just don't care too much about to blow our budget.

It all boils down to what is most important to you and your hubby/wife. For us, the fact that we are having a Disney wedding is the cool part - so it's just a matter of figuring out what is most important to us.

I'm sure we will go through that phase too, but that's why its important to remember what's really important you---just like you said! Please do share your BEO when you get it finalized (if you don't mind). I figure ours will be fairly similar.

So, I've never even once thought about having a second dress for my wedding. I think you should buy THE ONE and unless it's too big to dance in, you should only have the one. Well, I needed to buy a dress to wear for some promotional images for my flower shop (a 'Styleshoot'). I went to David's Bridal to see if there was something cheap just to use for photos and I ended up trying on this dress that looked like a poofy cupcake.... and I LOVED IT. So, we bought it for the shoot and I decided I would try to wear it for the dessert party if possible. I love it and wanted to share! David's Bridal has some cute dresses at affordable prices!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/photo-13.jpg

Um, cute!! I bought a reception dress because my ceremony dress is too much dress to have as much fun as I want to have at my reception, lol.

and really, why have one when you can have two??

[DisneyBride1207]

I'm sure we will go through that phase too, but that's why its important to remember what's really important you---just like you said! Please do share your BEO when you get it finalized (if you don't mind). I figure ours will be fairly similar.



Um, cute!! I bought a reception dress because my ceremony dress is too much dress to have as much fun as I want to have at my reception, lol.

and really, why have one when you can have two??

I will definitely share it once it's more 'realistic' based on our budget...it came to a ridiculously high amount! hahah -- It will help others see what current prices for certain things are, etc.!

Yea, reception dresses make sense when the ceremony dress is too restrictive! But, the weird thing for me is, the dress I got from David's is the opposite -- poofy! So, I may just wear it for the dessert party :rotfl2:

Thanks for following along!

[DisneyBride1207]

That dress is gorgeous!!! I'm going to have to make a trip to Davids Bridal. I need to look for another dress, and one that doesn't cost much!

Thank you! Yea, I have always been anti-David's bridal until recently when I've seen some really cute designer-like dresses. Of course, the fabrics aren't AS high quality as the designer couture gowns, but they are still beautiful!

(I'm not shy about revealing prices), this dress what only $550 after a $50 discount! I bought it just two days ago and it was one of their current line dresses. They even had some Vera Wang ones that were only $900! I will however say that I got my couture 'Rivini' gown at a 50% off sale from a designer boutique, so shopping the sale racks at the smaller shops can even be a great way to find a gorgeous dress at a discount!!! :thumbsup2

Thanks for following along!

[KristiLyn]

Thank you! Yea, I have always been anti-David's bridal until recently when I've seen some really cute designer-like dresses. Of course, the fabrics aren't AS high quality as the designer couture gowns, but they are still beautiful!

(I'm not shy about revealing prices), this dress what only $550 after a $50 discount! I bought it just two days ago and it was one of their current line dresses. They even had some Vera Wang ones that were only $900! I will however say that I got my couture 'Rivini' gown at a 50% off sale from a designer boutique, so shopping the sale racks at the smaller shops can even be a great way to find a gorgeous dress at a discount!!! :thumbsup2

Thanks for following along!

Yay thanks for the tip!!! :goodvibes

[DisneyBride1207]

THREE MORE MONTHS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! :dance3:

So I've been going over everything that was on our BEO and trying to downsize from the original proposed $40,000 price tag. I was surprisingly able to trim it down to $20,000 by making some pretty minor changes, believe it or not! :thumbsup2

The entertainment value of our wedding is VERY important to us. More important than floral, small details like a tulle canopy, colored napkins and specialty linens or chair covers (don't mean to offend those that feel this is important -- just my opinion! do what makes YOU happy).

My thoughts so far in our planning:

1. I would rather spend money on entertainment (actors) than any elaborate floral

The flower aspect: (I guess being a flower shop owner I just can't justify spending what they charge for flowers considering I can normally get them at wholesale cost, which is WELL under their markup). I guess my piece of advice for others would be that maybe you could make your own bouquet if you are into alternative bouquets like buttons, feathers, etc. I am bringing my own bouquets for myself and my bridesmaids and I am having Disney provide a few centerpieces that are made with submerged orchids and floating candles. Whenever I do wedding consultations here with any brides 'on a budget', it is the first thing I recommend because of the wow factor and beauty they still have while being a fraction of the cost of a large centerpiece densely packed with flowers. Candles, Rose Petals, and submerged orchids gives an automatic ambience that is just beautiful. The water helps to magnify the flower that is submerged *in this case, orchids* and you really 'see' the flower for its detail and beauty. So, this is why I am totally cool with doing submerged orchids -- cymbidiums and mokaras. I think I live vicariously through other brides, so I'm just not that bothered by needing centerpieces when I do two weddings per weekend in my flower shop! I hope that explains why I'm so non-flower-needy for MY own personal wedding...

p.s. -- I was noted on theknot.com as 'tips from the pros' - I was very excited about this: http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-flowers/articles/top-11-wedding-flower-tips-from-the-pros.aspx?page=5&MsdVisit=1

the entertainment aspect: We love Disney because of the atmosphere. The entertainers create this atmosphere. A favorite part for us is the 'Streetmosphere' performers from Hollywood Studios (and any other park for that matter). They really give you a sense of 'scene'. They can make you feel like you are part of a movie. We also love the old Adventurer's Club. We wanted our guests (most which have never even been to Disney), to have that DISNEY experience that you just can't get really anywhere else! So, why not have our wedding give them that feeling. They have been to other weddings, why spend our money on traditionally expected elements, why not give them surprises that will knock their socks off that they will remember forever?!

2. spending an extra $600 for a spanish style guitarist to place during our ceremony and pre-reception is a better idea than paying for an ipod setup (that I have to deal with loading and making sure gets to FL okay - I DO have an iPhone, but I'm not comfortable passing my phone over and hoping I get it back okay). A regular guitarist is only $600(ish), but to have a spanish style guitar it is about $1200....this is key in giving our guests the romantic spanish ambience that only a 'spanish' guitar can provide. I just don't like the idea of someone timing out the songs on a player. I would rather have a guitarist just naturally play and be able to stop or start in a way that just SOUNDS better. I remember one time I went to a wedding and the person playing the music on a cd player was playing specific songs when certain people walked, etc. and it was just unnatural and weird.

3. I'm not booking the darned rehearsal dinner, my DF's family can do that...I"M NOT GETTING STUCK WITH THE BILL! :lmao: ....long story...

4. I was asked which kind of napkin fold I want. :eek: hahaha! Okay,....If I start obsessing over a friggin' napkin fold, I'm going to pay attention to it on the day of the wedding and if it's the wrong one I'll be upset....I'd rather be surprised about little details like that! (I would prefer a square fold though :lmao:)

5. We are going to have our ceremony seating sorta 'in the round'...this is more 'interactive'...and as long as those seating sorta 'behind us' are set back a bit, the images should be just fine! This also gives an intimate feel and everyone can hear us as we are not doing the AV setup.

6. I'm still not sure who to have do our photography and I'm still not sure what length of time to do...there is a HUGE jump in price difference for just a few hours...:confused3 any recommendations welcome!!!

7. random: ESPN club is right new SBP....is groom going to get distracted?!!!! LOL!

8. Do SBP rose petals blow away? My planner keeps telling me 'well if they blow away that's not our fault'...how windy does it get there?! thoughts?!

9. Where do you store your second dress if you have a dress just for the DP?

10. I'm NOT getting rid of the $15 smoking sorbet thing on our menu,...talk about WOW factor!

11. I was starting to get a little 'down' about the fact that many people have started backing out of coming to the wedding, bringing the total to probably about 35 guests. This helped out budget amazingly, so I guess now I don't mind hahaha! :woohoo: more money for videography/photography!!! haha - it's sad, but, really - on my wedding day it will be all about my new husband and I. Our closest family will be there (and DF and I have lots of brothers and sisters, and in-laws etc.), so it will still be lots of fun! We originally wanted an intimate wedding in the Caribbean, so this is still going to have that intimate vibe :)

12. I CANT WAIT to show pictures from the reception about our actors we have requested. They are a 'customized' type of selection (kinda, sorta), based on our wedding theme. I think it will be fun to keep this aspect a secret for three more months just in case family stumbles upon this thread in a google search for our wedding website!:surfweb: ;) We have chosen two actors for a total of two hours and the piano player will also be dressed in this same character. (It may be hard to keep this aspect a secret because it is a huge part of our theme). My invites might give it away... hahaha

13. I have finally decided on a 'theme'. I might just reveal this in pieces as it might sound cheesy if I just tell it. It's not necessarily a 'theme', but more a sense of ambience for the evening based on the actors and small details.

14. We aren't exactly going to have obvious wedding 'colors', moreso a theme. It will be an oceany/nautical/sea-faring vibe with pops of blue, green, magenta and yellow to add some color. Our reception is in the Living Seas, so our vibe is just underwater! The blue tablecloths in LSS go perfectly with our theme, we will just accent with pops of green flowers, etc. :)

15. I finally have my dress fitting next week!

16. Is it okay to wait until I get to Disney to go to the Polynesian to purchase some fancy jewelry for the wedding? I saw the perfect jewelry when I was there in May and want it SO BAD! I have looked and looked since then and cannot find anything better suited...and how awesome would that be to have DISNEY jewelry from your wedding to wear for other special occasions? This jewelry was gorgeous, I highly recommend any of you stopping in to the Polynesian to see the gorgeous jewelry there. I went to all other jewelry stores in the parks AND at GF and didn't see as beautiful of jewelry (or at least as many options).

17. still can't decide on shoes! AHHHHHHHH :scared1: white, color? eek!

18. I hope my veil will look okay! I bought a tulle veil that is cathedral length, but it is all folded up....should I do a trial run by steaming it out, etc. ?

19. does anyone else ever feel like they have forgotten someone on the guest list?!? I feel like there is someone missing! :laughing:

20. will a 6 night stay feel like enough of a honeymoon (three days before and three days after the wedding)

21. I'm worried about a flight there and back. I have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and I have issues with lightheadness, headaches, etc. that really are bothered by flying and I worry that the whole first day there will be shot due to my body being all out of wack! I feel at this point it would be more relaxed to drive... ?

any feedback or thoughts would be awesome! :hug: HAPPY PLANNING FELLOW DISBRIDES!!!!!

[DisneyBride1207]

anyone else having entertainment as a huge theme or focus for their wedding?

[DisneyBride1207]

So, I've made like 100 trips to Michaels just to try and sort out what to do for my new invites. Over the course of our wedding planning, we have postponed our wedding twice. The cruise wedding I made hand-sewn passports, the second I made some other blue invites...but now, with our new theme, we came up with a fun, more theme-y invites :) I am planning to do a wax seal on the folded map folded invite. I am also thinking to wrap a small twine *smaller than the one in the photo* that I seal with the wax. BUT, I can't seem to find a V to do the wax seal with...:confused3 grrrr... So, we will see! I think I may use our 'colors' of fuschia, blue and apple green for the fonts. I am going to use a font that resembles a spanish calligraphy type font. I got Kraft paper envelopes and little cards to use either for registry info or for the additional accomodations or wedding website info. :thumbsup2

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h290/aapple16/photo-1.jpg

[Mindyjoy]

Wow, your new invitations sound like they will be great! By the looks of the picture you seem to be off to a good start! :thumbsup2

As far as entertainment, we decided that having M&M would be enough "Disney" for us ... the majority of our guests are NOT as obsessed with Disneyland as we are so we don't want to overwhelm anybody. We are doing the normal DJ and dancing thing.

Your list made me :lmao:!

[kmg148]

Love the planning so far. Can't wait to hear more!

[DisneyBride1207]

Wow, your new invitations sound like they will be great! By the looks of the picture you seem to be off to a good start! :thumbsup2

As far as entertainment, we decided that having M&M would be enough "Disney" for us ... the majority of our guests are NOT as obsessed with Disneyland as we are so we don't want to overwhelm anybody. We are doing the normal DJ and dancing thing.

Your list made me :lmao:!

thank you! :rotfl:

Love the planning so far. Can't wait to hear more!

Thank you :) [glad someone out there is reading this! I hope I can somehow share ideas with others, like how I made my invites, etc...]. I hope my PJ can help others as other PJs have help me!! :thumbsup2

[DisneyBride'03]

HI!!! You LOOK amazing!!! Love the dress...I got my gown from Davids too....long time ago! You must be SO excited....look at your ticker!

And Look ...I have a link in my signature...we are doing a VR! Hope you come back! Sure you are so busy!!!!

[donald&daisy]

I don't know how I missed this huge post! My thoughts are below in red.

THREE MORE MONTHS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! :dance3:

So I've been going over everything that was on our BEO and trying to downsize from the original proposed $40,000 price tag. I was surprisingly able to trim it down to $20,000 by making some pretty minor changes, believe it or not! :thumbsup2

I have a feeling our initial BEO is going to be pretty insane. I really don't want to pay Disney more than 30k and I know that its totally do-able. I'm glad to hear that trimming it down was relatively painless!

The entertainment value of our wedding is VERY important to us. More important than floral, small details like a tulle canopy, colored napkins and specialty linens or chair covers (don't mean to offend those that feel this is important -- just my opinion! do what makes YOU happy).

I agree with this thinking especially for LSS because the linens are already colored and the whole room is color coordinated. Its not an empty ballroom that I feel the need to dress up.

My thoughts so far in our planning:

1. I would rather spend money on entertainment (actors) than any elaborate floral

We're having at least two characters....I don't know if we'll do actors. Maybe reading your trip report will change my mind! I really love the idea...where else could you do something like that? Nowhere!

The flower aspect: (I guess being a flower shop owner I just can't justify spending what they charge for flowers considering I can normally get them at wholesale cost, which is WELL under their markup). I guess my piece of advice for others would be that maybe you could make your own bouquet if you are into alternative bouquets like buttons, feathers, etc. I am bringing my own bouquets for myself and my bridesmaids and I am having Disney provide a few centerpieces that are made with submerged orchids and floating candles. Whenever I do wedding consultations here with any brides 'on a budget', it is the first thing I recommend because of the wow factor and beauty they still have while being a fraction of the cost of a large centerpiece densely packed with flowers. Candles, Rose Petals, and submerged orchids gives an automatic ambience that is just beautiful. The water helps to magnify the flower that is submerged *in this case, orchids* and you really 'see' the flower for its detail and beauty. So, this is why I am totally cool with doing submerged orchids -- cymbidiums and mokaras. I think I live vicariously through other brides, so I'm just not that bothered by needing centerpieces when I do two weddings per weekend in my flower shop! I hope that explains why I'm so non-flower-needy for MY own personal wedding...

p.s. -- I was noted on theknot.com as 'tips from the pros' - I was very excited about this: http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-flowers/articles/top-11-wedding-flower-tips-from-the-pros.aspx?page=5&MsdVisit=1

A month or so ago after seeing Irishwishes bouquets, I decided to use an online vendor for all my person floral. Her work is awesome and I get to have flowers I couldn't otherwise (plumeria and orchids), plus I won't have to pay for a floral refresh since our photo shoot isn't until two days after the wedding. I'm still undecided on what to do decor wise at SBP and LSS, so once again, I can't wait to see how yours turns out!

the entertainment aspect: We love Disney because of the atmosphere. The entertainers create this atmosphere. A favorite part for us is the 'Streetmosphere' performers from Hollywood Studios (and any other park for that matter). They really give you a sense of 'scene'. They can make you feel like you are part of a movie. We also love the old Adventurer's Club. We wanted our guests (most which have never even been to Disney), to have that DISNEY experience that you just can't get really anywhere else! So, why not have our wedding give them that feeling. They have been to other weddings, why spend our money on traditionally expected elements, why not give them surprises that will knock their socks off that they will remember forever?!

fun!

2. spending an extra $600 for a spanish style guitarist to place during our ceremony and pre-reception is a better idea than paying for an ipod setup (that I have to deal with loading and making sure gets to FL okay - I DO have an iPhone, but I'm not comfortable passing my phone over and hoping I get it back okay). A regular guitarist is only $600(ish), but to have a spanish style guitar it is about $1200....this is key in giving our guests the romantic spanish ambience that only a 'spanish' guitar can provide. I just don't like the idea of someone timing out the songs on a player. I would rather have a guitarist just naturally play and be able to stop or start in a way that just SOUNDS better. I remember one time I went to a wedding and the person playing the music on a cd player was playing specific songs when certain people walked, etc. and it was just unnatural and weird.

I am still on the fence here. Part of me really wants the calypso trio, but then part of me is really stuck on using certain original music. I guess it will depend in our budget and whether or not mics are needed for the videographer, etc. I LOVE the idea of spanish style guitarist, it will really set the mood!

3. I'm not booking the darned rehearsal dinner, my DF's family can do that...I"M NOT GETTING STUCK WITH THE BILL! :lmao: ....long story...

LOL! Seems like the rehearsal dinners have been an issue with a lot of disbrides recently. Sometimes its easier to just wave the white flag...its just one meal after all

4. I was asked which kind of napkin fold I want. :eek: hahaha! Okay,....If I start obsessing over a friggin' napkin fold, I'm going to pay attention to it on the day of the wedding and if it's the wrong one I'll be upset....I'd rather be surprised about little details like that! (I would prefer a square fold though :lmao:)
Maybe I'll let DF decide this one....

5. We are going to have our ceremony seating sorta 'in the round'...this is more 'interactive'...and as long as those seating sorta 'behind us' are set back a bit, the images should be just fine! This also gives an intimate feel and everyone can hear us as we are not doing the AV setup.

I was looking at pics on line last night and that set up looks really pretty in pics. Are you using existing chairs? The pics I saw had chiavari chairs, but I'm not sure its worth the cost to upgrade.

6. I'm still not sure who to have do our photography and I'm still not sure what length of time to do...there is a HUGE jump in price difference for just a few hours...:confused3 any recommendations welcome!!!

I'll be honest, I have budgeted for the enchanted rose 10 hour package. I'm using them for videography too so I can get the 10% discount...in for a penny in for a pound! Also, I read that if you have the enchanted rose package you can break up the time over the course of two days...so you could have pro pics at your rehearsal dinner, etc.

7. random: ESPN club is right new SBP....is groom going to get distracted?!!!! LOL!

8. Do SBP rose petals blow away? My planner keeps telling me 'well if they blow away that's not our fault'...how windy does it get there?! thoughts?!

No idea on this one! Will they let you provide your own? If so, I would just find a trusted guest and have them sprinkle them right before the ceremony is set to begin.

9. Where do you store your second dress if you have a dress just for the DP?

Also no idea, but good question! I would think your planner could stash it somewhere....I have a dress just for the reception, not sure if I will change during the cocktail hour or after the first dance....hhmmm I will need to ponder this, lol. We ended up switching our DP to the night before the wedding as a welcome party to avoid food overload and so we can have more time to spend with guests.

10. I'm NOT getting rid of the $15 smoking sorbet thing on our menu,...talk about WOW factor!


Go for it!

11. I was starting to get a little 'down' about the fact that many people have started backing out of coming to the wedding, bringing the total to probably about 35 guests. This helped out budget amazingly, so I guess now I don't mind hahaha! :woohoo: more money for videography/photography!!! haha - it's sad, but, really - on my wedding day it will be all about my new husband and I. Our closest family will be there (and DF and I have lots of brothers and sisters, and in-laws etc.), so it will still be lots of fun! We originally wanted an intimate wedding in the Caribbean, so this is still going to have that intimate vibe :)

The people you really love will be there and at the end of the day, thats all that counts! I think we will end up between 30 and 40 guests.

12. I CANT WAIT to show pictures from the reception about our actors we have requested. They are a 'customized' type of selection (kinda, sorta), based on our wedding theme. I think it will be fun to keep this aspect a secret for three more months just in case family stumbles upon this thread in a google search for our wedding website!:surfweb: ;) We have chosen two actors for a total of two hours and the piano player will also be dressed in this same character. (It may be hard to keep this aspect a secret because it is a huge part of our theme). My invites might give it away... hahaha

Can't wait!!!

13. I have finally decided on a 'theme'. I might just reveal this in pieces as it might sound cheesy if I just tell it. It's not necessarily a 'theme', but more a sense of ambience for the evening based on the actors and small details.

Don't worry about it! I have gotten over the fact that our tropical/under the sea vibe sounds like a prom theme, I know it will be beautiful!

14. We aren't exactly going to have obvious wedding 'colors', moreso a theme. It will be an oceany/nautical/sea-faring vibe with pops of blue, green, magenta and yellow to add some color. Our reception is in the Living Seas, so our vibe is just underwater! The blue tablecloths in LSS go perfectly with our theme, we will just accent with pops of green flowers, etc. :)

15. I finally have my dress fitting next week!

16. Is it okay to wait until I get to Disney to go to the Polynesian to purchase some fancy jewelry for the wedding? I saw the perfect jewelry when I was there in May and want it SO BAD! I have looked and looked since then and cannot find anything better suited...and how awesome would that be to have DISNEY jewelry from your wedding to wear for other special occasions? This jewelry was gorgeous, I highly recommend any of you stopping in to the Polynesian to see the gorgeous jewelry there. I went to all other jewelry stores in the parks AND at GF and didn't see as beautiful of jewelry (or at least as many options).

I might call and see if you could order it over the phone in case it sells out.

17. still can't decide on shoes! AHHHHHHHH :scared1: white, color? eek!

Why not have both? Lol, you have two dresses after all....

18. I hope my veil will look okay! I bought a tulle veil that is cathedral length, but it is all folded up....should I do a trial run by steaming it out, etc. ?

I'm not having a veil so I don't know, but I can't imagine steaming it would hurt in any way.

19. does anyone else ever feel like they have forgotten someone on the guest list?!? I feel like there is someone missing! :laughing:

Yes, except we actually did! Df's parents told us they never got a STD so we thought it just got lost in the mail, but it turns out when we went to mail the newsletter we noticed they weren't on the list1 OOPS!!!

20. will a 6 night stay feel like enough of a honeymoon (three days before and three days after the wedding)

We're taking a full week after the wedding, but I think as long as you have private time and your guests know its your honeymoon, you should be fine.

21. I'm worried about a flight there and back. I have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and I have issues with lightheadness, headaches, etc. that really are bothered by flying and I worry that the whole first day there will be shot due to my body being all out of wack! I feel at this point it would be more relaxed to drive... ?

any feedback or thoughts would be awesome! :hug: HAPPY PLANNING FELLOW DISBRIDES!!!!!

wow that was a big post! I hope you don't mind all my comments! You must be getting soooooo excited!:banana: