Carly and Kyle's PJ: (01/08/09) WP + GF

[thatdisneygirl]

I keep losing my PJ in the other forum so I thought I'd just start a new one in here. To be fair, I'm not very far along with the other one (since I can never find it!) so there isn't a lot to move over...

 

[thatdisneygirl]

Introduction:

Hi! I've been lurking around these boards for quite a while, so I thought it was time to start my own PJ. I really appreciate all of the other brides that have kept theirs up and given us pictures. I've gotten a lot of great ideas and tips from you!!

Quick stats:

Wedding date - January 8, 2009

We picked the 8th (a Thursday) for two reasons. One is that 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture and I'm half Chinese. The other is that we're running the WDW marathon on Jan 11th, so we're sort of killing two birds with one stone. Plus, the weather should be pretty nice down there and the parks won't be too crowded.

Guest List: 60? (We're inviting 72...we wanted 40 originally...hopefully a whole lot of them will be busy that day...)
Ceremony - Wedding Pavillion (Wishes wedding)
Cocktails - Grand Floridian, Whitehall Room
Dinner/Dancing - Grand Floridian, St. Augustine ballrooms

I actually wasn't crazy about the GF ballrooms at first, since they're sort of square and boring, but my grandparents will be attending our wedding and they're both in their 80s. We wanted to make sure that they would be able to get around as easily as possible, and with wheelchairs provided by DFTW we'll be able to move them over easily from the ceremony to the reception. Plus, the lobby is going to make for some fantastic pictures!

Photographer - Root Photography
Hotels we picked for our guests - Polynesian Resort, Coronado Springs, Pop Century


That's all that's planned so far! I can't believe I have almost a year to wait. I don't know if I'm going to make it...

Us:

Kyle and I met while we were working at WDW in the college program. I was a busser at the All-Star Music cafeteria and he was an attendant at Pleasure Island. We actually met because he was the roommate of my (then) boyfriend, who worked at Animal Kingdom. No funny business, we were both in committed relationships at the time. We became great friends and over time - and through two hard breakups - we became best friends. 3 years after we met I moved to Ohio to go to law school and be near him and now 2.5 years later, we're engaged!

We're both Disney fanatics and we have a most impressive collection of Disney junk. His family and friends are pretty into the Disney thing, but it's foreign for my family and friends so a big part of the wedding is going to be making sure that people have a good time during their first (and possibly only) trip to WDW.

 

[thatdisneygirl]

The dress:

I went to the Running of the Brides at Filene's Basement today and I found my dress!!! I was actually worried before I went because I've been really sick for the last couple of days and needed to stay in bed. I'm so glad I went, though, because I found my dress and I LOVE it! First time dress shopping and I'm done. Woohoo!!!

It's a 2be bridal style #233601. These pictures were taken with my cell phone and totally don't do it justice. It's fairly plain, except for a large jewel accent on the waist. It's gorgeous on, though, and it has a built-in corset, which is nice. Here is a picture of the jewel accent:

I'm thinking about sewing the hidden mickeys into the pick-ups on the back of the skirt...

 

[thatdisneygirl]

Newsletters:

I finished the first round of newsletters. I'm sending them out so that they get to the guests around Valentines Day. Sorry the pics are a little blurry. We included a short message explaining that we hoped that people would be able to make it down for our WDW reception, but we understood if they couldn't and wanted to let them know that we were having 2 other receptions.

We also included information about our resort choices, when to expect the Disney save-the-date, and general info about the wedding. The last part is an invitation to anyone who wants to run the WDW marathon with us a few days after we get married. I did the newsletter in Microsoft Word, using one of the templates for a family holiday newsletter. It was pretty easy, but I had to add an extra page and delete a bunch of snowflakes.

I'm hoping that my guests aren't freaked out by the fact that they're already getting a newsletter when we still have a little over 11 months until our wedding. I don't want to look like a Disney bridezilla!

 

[thatdisneygirl]

(insert major break from PJ posting here...)

Ok, so I have a ton of planning to catch up on, obviously, so I think I'll just do some of the highlights:

Blue Book

LOVE the blue book. Don't know how I'd survive without the blue book. The blue book is a large blank journal I bought at B&N (the company who makes them is called Working Class Studio). It has hard covers and big blank pages that are perforated for easy tear out. I use it as a general idea/inspiration/design journal. It's also where I put the torn out magazine pages. The great thing is that anything can be taped into the book, so I have engagement cards, magazine articles, advertisements, magnet samples, fabric samples, receipts, and other little things all mixed in with my lists, doodles, and notes. I've almost filled it up, but I'm hoping it lasts me to my wedding day because it's so fantastic! I highly, highly recommend it.

Wedding Webpage
We're still doing our wedding webpage through blogger, which was challenging but also free. I ended up changing from the original version and added some slideshows a la Photobucket. It actually came out pretty cute!

The Dress + Veil
I am still so glad I did the Running of the Brides. Even though I loved my dress when I got it, I was nervous because there was still about a year left until my wedding and I didn't know if I'd still like it later on. I still love it, though, and I have the veil and shoes (Target flip-flops), so once I buy the earrings I'll be done. I am going to be putting little crystal Mickey heads on the veil, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I need to decide on whether they'll be clear or light blue.

Hair and Makeup
I did a trial run with Anna from Makeover Majic last month and I was happy with the results. There's been an ongoing debate over whether or not I should add lipcolor, but the jury is still out.

Our Reception Space
I've really warmed up to the fact that we're having our reception in one of the GF ballrooms. Originally I was disappointed because they sort of look like every other hotel ballroom on earth, but after walking around GF and seeing the Whitehall Room, I'm happy about it. It will be nice to have the privacy and location is really convenient for the guests. I just have to figure out how to decorate it on a budget...

Our Rings
Kyle and I both already wear our wedding rings as engagement rings. I got his last March and he liked it so much he didn't want to wait to wear it.

My ring is a Paloma Picasso puzzle ring from Tiffany and Co. and I couldn't love it more. We went in originally to get the Tiffany solitaire, because I wanted a classic looking ring, but I didn't like the way it looked when I put it on. I'm not really into wearing a lot of jewelry and the fact that the diamonds stood out from my hand so much really bothered me. It was actually a really negative, frustrating experience until I saw my ring in one of the cases. Perfect!

That's sort of the highlights tour. Our wedding party is bringing their own black suit or black dress to the wedding and we'll be providing jewelry and matching ties. Our officiant is Rev. Kevin Knox, but we haven't even started to think about our vows so there's nothing to report there. Our coordinator is Marion Stewart and I adore her. I'm having a bridal tea at GF the day before the wedding, but my mom is hosting and I'm not invloved in the planning. We decided against the dessert party at Epcot because it's a noon wedding and that's a really long day for our wedding guests. Hmmm...I think I might actually be semi-caught up now. Hopefully I can keep it up!

 

[thatdisneygirl]

Flowers + crafts:

I thought I'd post some more pics of the craft stuff that I'm working on. Project one is flowers. I bought all of our flowers from another disney bride for $150, which included a bridal bouquet, a toss bouquet, 5 bridesmaid bouquets, 9 boutonnieres, 6 corsages, and 5 bags of flower petals. She even threw in some jewels for the flowers because she's a doll face.

I love them and the color is perfect, but unfortunately our bridal parties didn't exactly match up. I need 4 bridesmaid bouquets, 16 boutonnieres, and 3 corsages. I'm assuming that it's easier to turn bouquets into boutonnieres than it would be to go the other direction, so I'm not too worried. Still, since I've never done anything with flowers (fake or otherwise) it's probably going to take me a while to figure out what I'm doing. I'm also thinking about "pixie dusting" the flowers when I'm finished, but Kyle's worried that it will only emphasize the fake.

The other project is tote bags. I'm making bags out of canvas and embroidering our wedding logo onto them.

I'm making a tote bag for each of the moms for sure...past that I don't know. I bought some canvas and cut it up and I ended up with 15 tote bags to embroider. I think I might just do them and see where I end up. I figure that whatever I don't use I'll just toss up on etsy and get rid of after the wedding.

Anyway, these are the things that are keeping me occupied while we're in front of the tv. My new diet is called I-will-work-on-my-wedding-so-much-I-won't-have-time-to-eat.

 

[thatdisneygirl]

Bridal Party Newsletter:

I'm finally getting a newsletter out to our bridal party. It doesn't have much in it - just contact information and what we're having everyone wear.

 

[thatdisneygirl]

There, all of my planning on one page...hmm, I've been a bad little DISbride, haven't I? I'm working hard on the invitations, so hopefully I'll have new stuff to share son.

 

[Disneylove1228]

There, all of my planning on one page...hmm, I've been a bad little DISbride, haven't I? I'm working hard on the invitations, so hopefully I'll have new stuff to share son.

Carly,
OMG! Your stuff is all so freaken cute!!! I LOVE your newsletter, your dress, your hair and makeup is beautiful! I can't wait to see more!!!
Subscribing!

 

[thatdisneygirl]

Carly,
OMG! Your stuff is all so freaken cute!!! I LOVE your newsletter, your dress, your hair and makeup is beautiful! I can't wait to see more!!!
Subscribing!

thanks!

 

[camara381]

Hi there, I have been following your closely, but I am so glad you updated your PJ!!!! Everything looks awesome.

 

[padisneyfour]

everything looks wonderful... the flowers are beautiful congrats and getting them...your dress and veil looks great. I love the detail at the waist.... looking forward to hearing more....

 

[thatdisneygirl]

thank you!

I've been working slowly but surely on the invitations. It's such a massive process because we have so many pieces! I decided to do some of the inserts before I tackled the actual invitation itself - kind of a walk before you run approach.

The RSVPs for the two off-property receptions are vintage Disney postcards that I got off of eBay. I ended up hand-writing the RSVP information. I was worried that it was going to make the whole thing informal, but I also wanted to keep that whole "postcard vibe".

I'm still going to have to put labels on the back of some of the postcards because they had writing on them when we got them, but at the moment I have about 60 RSVP cards finished. The RSVPs for the Disney wedding are different and I haven't done them yet. (Like I said, soooo many pieces!)

I also stamped the back of our engagement pictures. I got our pics from mpix.com, which I highly recommend. They were a great price and they came quickly. It's nice to have them on professional paper, too, instead of the typical glossy supermarket prints. I stamped the back of each one with an address stamp that I had set to our wedding date.

It's from VistaPrint and it was free, actually. Little known fact: VistaPrint will send you a free sample of a customized item in the hopes of getting you to buy a bunch of them. I have this stamp, a stack of post-its that say "Carly and Kyle", and a t-shirt with our wedding date that I use to work out in.


All for now. I should be getting more done tonight. Kyle and I are having our "night in" which used to mean a bottle of wine, an old movie, and a lot of cuddling. Then we found out that we actually wanted to spend our nights in doing our own thing (him = xbox, me = wedding). We were just doing the other thing to make the other person happy! (don't worry, we still cuddle with old movies...but now it's more like a monthly event)

 

[alexandra enchanted]

I think your ring is so beautiful and unique. It's nice to have a ring that you don't see on everyone else's finger. I'm with you though on wearing the bands early, only I can't right now as it came with my e-ring and only my engagement ring was the right size

 

[adisneygal]

Everything looks awesome! I want to thank you. My BFF is going to get ordained and be our officiant. I got the idea off your blog.

 

[thatdisneygirl]

I think your ring is so beautiful and unique. It's nice to have a ring that you don't see on everyone else's finger. I'm with you though on wearing the bands early, only I can't right now as it came with my e-ring and only my engagement ring was the right size

thank you! I love it. What were they thinking when they sent you yours?... Kyle does get comments on his ring when people realize that we aren't married yet, but he absolutely loves wearing it (and showing it off!)

Everything looks awesome! I want to thank you. My BFF is going to get ordained and be our officiant. I got the idea off your blog.

That's so cool! I desperately wanted one of Kyle's groomsmen to get ordained and marry us because I wanted to save the money AND the guy is a theater-type person, so I thought he'd be perfect. All of our parents balked at the idea, though. Not getting married in a church was one thing, but...

Of course, when you think about it, you get to share this special, amazing thing with your BFF and I get to share it with Rev. Kev, who I wouldn't know from Adam!

 

[thatdisneygirl]

hmm...small update to warn other brides - that vistaprint stamp I used was super easy and convenient, but the ink is still wet! I did them around 6PM...so let's see...that was about 16 hours ago...can't use my table until they're finished...hmm...

 

[alexandra enchanted]

thank you! I love it. What were they thinking when they sent you yours?... Kyle does get comments on his ring when people realize that we aren't married yet, but he absolutely loves wearing it (and showing it off!)

Well apparently DF bought them, and after speaking with my mom realized it was the wrong size. He went back to the store and only resized the e-ring and not the band to make sure that the size really did fit me.

What kind of comments does he receive? I told Jon today, "you know there's this couple on the disboards that wear their rings already... I think that's so cute, we should too!" haha but I figured there would be people giving him/us negative comments I guess.

 

[thatdisneygirl]

Actually Kyle hasn't had negative comments, as far as I know. When he first started wearing it, I thought that the guys would give him crap for being "whipped" or something, but everyone thinks it's really cool. The married guys like to compare rings, the single guys like to try it on, and all the girls think Kyle's a sweetheart for wearing it early. The only problems he's had is when he tells people that he's going to get married and they're confused because they assume that we've already had the wedding.

I would totally recommend getting your guy to wear the ring! Not only will he get used to it faster, but it's such a good way to feel connected when we aren't together. Plus, when we are together we do this thing where we put our rings together and say "ring powers unite" like superheroes and then we...oh, wait...did I say that out loud?...

 

[thatdisneygirl]

Ok, more headway on the invitations. I have some sort of weird killer cold that only started this morning, so I was pretty much housebound all day. That led to me getting things done on the invitations...so, good for colds, I guess?...

I've been trying to figure out how to dress my invitations up. I have blue pocket folds from Envelopments and I know that a lot of people add ribbon that wraps around or have square cards on the front of them. I tried both of those, but I didn't come up with anything I like. I really wanted to have a belly band when I originally was picturing my invitations, so I decided to just do belly bands on the outside of the pocket fold, even though they don't really need them. I have ribbon that I bought at Costco last January...probably within a week of our deciding to have a Disney wedding. I thought this ribbon was so pretty, it ended up being the catalyst for choosing Cinderella blue as our wedding color.

Of course, at the time I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I figured that if I did belly bands I could at least incorporate it into something. So I was messing around with the ribbon and the pocket fold today, trying to figure out what I was doing, when I noticed something. The ribbon has three different sizes of glittery blue circles on it and it's probably a Disney thing, but when I see circles in different sizes, I just want to do this:

And then I loved it. Of course, I had to cut three circles out of the ribbon (which was kind of a pain in the butt) just to do this one invitation and I have a 100 invitations to do, so clearly that was a silly idea...

A silly idea I so went with:

I just have to figure out where to put them now. I kind of like them in the corner of the pocket part, but I could center them if that would be more aesthetic. Of course, I could have saved myself a lot of time (right about three hours) if I had just used my large Mickey punch and punched some shapes out of glittery blue paper, but I was happy as a clam in front of the couch watching DVDs and cutting circles. I'm glad I spent three years getting a law degree so I could hang out on a Wednesday and do this kind of stuff. :roll: Plus, I had a ton of ribbon because I got it from Costco and there's still plenty left for the belly bands.

So, what do you think? Where should I put them? I think it's going to be strictly a one mickey head per invitation situation, because I am not about to cut out another 300 circles.