Planning Our Happily Ever After - A Disneymoon PTR! (NEW 7/13 - TR Link!)

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Hi,
I would definitely do something at the GF spa...we tossed around the idea of a massage for our Honeymoon, but I hadn't been to Disney in over 7 years and my Dh had never been so I didn't want to spend too much out of the parks...what was I thinking???

Don't forget about the nightly water pararde that goes by the Poly... very romantic to watch it on the beach!

Oh, I hope you do the Hot Air ballon...it looks like it would be so "magical", especially at night!

Thanks for the updates...looking forward to more!

I think we'll be spending lots of time on the Poly beach for sure! Thanks for reminding me about the water parade - I think it would be neat to watch that and Wishes from the beach on our first night!

I definitely agree the balloon would probably be more romantic during or after sunset. I wonder how long it runs for?

Tokelau--overlooked the quiet pool, close to the GCH, close to the bus stop
Tuvalu--had a deck on the end that overlooked the volcano pool/water/beautiful view of castle/MK/GF/Contemporary, close to GCH, farther walk to bus stop and TTC (Brent's pick over the two--I liked both equally)

Now that I'm FIANLLY done editing all of my Photopass pics, I hope to start my TR very soon!!

Thanks for the list, Becky! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed both longhouses equally. I'm so no matter which one we end up in we will love it! This deck at Tuvalu sounds really neat!

I'm so glad I've got some Poly experts on board to help me plan!

 

[disneybarbie]

we were on the Illuminations Cruise from about 8pm to 9.30pm

when the fireworks had finished.. our boat pulled forward into the lagoon to turn around... that was pretty cool, we were right in the middle of World Showcase!

make sure Disney knows you're on your honeymoon when you book.. they might add some decorations to the boat that say 'Congratulations' ... we did our cruise with a couple who'd just got married (Mrs DisneyB2B on the DIS!) and loads of people around the Boardwalk and Epcot were shouting out 'congratulations!' to them!!


Emma x

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

WEDDING DETAILS PART ONE

* First off, I'd like to say thanks so much for all of the advice, tips and ideas about our resort choice and "special" things"! I really appreciate all of the input! Keep it coming! *

Since we are planning a Disneymoon here, I hope you don’t mind it I share some details of our wedding with you! I’ll be doing this in little installments throughout the next year (and as I get them planned!). Today, I’ll be showing you our venue, cake, and flowers!

THE VENUE
The venue for our wedding was the single most important thing to me. I was about 99% positive I knew exactly where I wanted the wedding to be when we got engaged. I had done a lot of research on line and kept coming up with the same location. When I finally was able to see it in person, I was 100% sure this was the place. I didn’t even look anywhere else! Here it is!

The Ballroom

The thing I love the most about our venue is the ballroom's beautiful ceiling.

And an exterior shot of the building.

I absolutely love our venue. I feel like it perfectly depicts what I want the feel of the wedding to be – romantic, classic, elegant and southern. The ballroom is located in a historic hotel in downtown Atlanta that has been restored to what you see today. The building no longer operates as a hotel, but rather as offices and two ballrooms on the lobby level.

We will have both our ceremony and reception here. We don’t have exact times quite yet, but we are planning on the ceremony starting at 6:00 and lasting for about 30 minutes. At 6:30, the guests will be escorted into the ballroom’s pre-function area for a cocktail hour with passed hors d'œuvres. Meanwhile, the staff will “flip” the space from the ceremony set up to the reception set up. The reception will begin at 7:30, and will consist of full sit down dinner, dancing and of course cake!

Speaking of cake…

THE CAKE
The cake is actually the only thing besides the venue that has been reserved. We have already reserved our baker and have discussed designs and flavors with her. Currently, we are planning on a five tier, round cake with alternating layers of chocolate cake with cookies and cream filling, and lemon cake with raspberry filling. Here is the picture that served as the inspiration for our cake.

We will most likely only have one large bow in the center of the cake with ribbon bands around the base of the other tiers. The ribbon will be pink and the frosting ivory (although I might change my mind on that at some point!) Of course, this design could change throughout the next year!

FLOWERS
The next thing on my list is to meet with a florist next Saturday. I’ve been compiling some pictures of flowers that I like to show her. I should also mention that the colors for the wedding will be blush pink, ivory and gold (mostly accents) with minimal pale green accents (mostly in the floral).

Here is a bouquet I love.

Since our ceremony will be inside the ballroom and we won't have a true aisle, I would like to create one with flowers. I really like this look -

The centerpieces will be alternating tall and short, and I’d like the vases to be an antique gold (nothing shiny!). There is minimal gold accents in the columns and ceilings in the ballroom that I would like to highlight with the vases.

A short idea I like -

And a taller idea I like. (Except not quite so much green).

* Sorry about the odd sizing of the pictures! *

Let me know what you think!

UP NEXT: Other exciting trip news!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

we were on the Illuminations Cruise from about 8pm to 9.30pm

when the fireworks had finished.. our boat pulled forward into the lagoon to turn around... that was pretty cool, we were right in the middle of World Showcase!

make sure Disney knows you're on your honeymoon when you book.. they might add some decorations to the boat that say 'Congratulations' ... we did our cruise with a couple who'd just got married (Mrs DisneyB2B on the DIS!) and loads of people around the Boardwalk and Epcot were shouting out 'congratulations!' to them!!


Emma x

Oh wow! That's a really good amount of time - much longer than I expected. That's really good to know! That would be so cute if they decorated the boat! I'll be sure to let them know it's our honeymoon if we end up doing one! Thanks, Emma!

 

[luvfigment]

Your venue looks amazing! I also like the flowers you have picked including the way you would "make" the aisle. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to reading your new trip plans!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Your venue looks amazing! I also like the flowers you have picked including the way you would "make" the aisle. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to reading your new trip plans!

Thanks! I'm really hoping that the florist says that aisle would be possible. Sometimes I don't know if my ideas are very practical!

 

[luvfigment]

I'm so glad to hear you liked the GF spa! I think it would be so nice and relaxing - maybe about halfway through the trip.

What did you think of Jiko? I've read some great reviews here and it sounds really yummy!

I hadn't thought about a Segway tour! That's a great idea! I'm always saying I'm going to see more of WS - that would be a great way to do it. I bet Miguel would love that too! Something a little more manly. Thanks for idea!

We did ours halfway through the trip and it was perfect!

We love Jiko and do it every trip! I always get the Filet with Mac and Cheese. Plus the service is always good and friendly. If you like wine they have some really good African wines.

The Segway tour is a little more "manly" and my DH loved it. It was so much fun. Plus they will take your picture on the Segways up in Italy with Spaceship earth in the background with your camera.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

We did ours halfway through the trip and it was perfect!

We love Jiko and do it every trip! I always get the Filet with Mac and Cheese. Plus the service is always good and friendly. If you like wine they have some really good African wines.

The Segway tour is a little more "manly" and my DH loved it. It was so much fun. Plus they will take your picture on the Segways up in Italy with Spaceship earth in the background with your camera.

Oh, I'm so glad to hear you liked Jiko! The filet and mac and cheese is exactly what I would want to try there! Plus, I think it would be nice to return to the hotel where we celebrated our engagement for a meal. Does the restaurant have a view of the savannah?

 

[Lady Lallie]

Oh my goodness! You are going to have such a beautiful wedding! That ballroom is GORGEOUS! What a great location.

I love the direction you are going in with the Wedding, keep telling us about your wedding plans!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Oh my goodness! You are going to have such a beautiful wedding! That ballroom is GORGEOUS! What a great location.

I love the direction you are going in with the Wedding, keep telling us about your wedding plans!

Thank you! I really hope I can turn my "vision" into "reality", you know? I'll definitely be sharing more plans with you all!

 

[Joyciemc]

Gorgeous!!!! Every single thing you've picked is lovely.
Your ballroom is amazing. Is that near where you live or will you be traveling?

Love the flower petal aisle. I definitely wish I had some kind of aisle runner for our wedding, never even thought about it at the time!

Can't wait to follow along as you plan!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Thanks, Joyce! I am in love with our ballroom - I've been eyeing it for over a year now and I'm so glad it was available. It's about 30 minutes from where we live. It's in downtown Atlanta and we're in the suburbs, so not a bad drive at all.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

OOOOH the wedding details are GORGEOUS!

The cake is very important. Without sounding all FRONK on you...it does set the tone. That was Randy's favorite part of wedding planning. We had a cake "artist" We had an autumn theme so the cake was ivory fondant and then hand crafted autumn leaves looking like they were falling from it. Problem was they almost threw out all the leaves thinking they were real!!!! Luckily our coordinator walked into the kitchen as they were cutting and told them to stop!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

The venue is breathtaking! I think the flowers down the aisle would be great also! We got married in a church but we had large ribbon bows put on every other pew and I think it really added to the elegance.

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Your venue is breathtaking! WOW, your guests will be in awe that's for sure.
Thanks for sharing all the details!

The cake sounds yummy...I love the idea of different flavors for each layer

Oh, fogot to mention this in my other post...someone (sorry forgot who) mentioned doing the segway tour...I agree!
My Dh and I did the epcot tour when we went for our 10 yr anniversary in 2009.... my DH loved it! I on the other hand, being the wimp I am, was afraid the entire time I would loose control... but, I made it and by the end was really enjoying it! The info you find out about World Showcase from the tour is soooo cool

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

OOOOH the wedding details are GORGEOUS!

The cake is very important. Without sounding all FRONK on you...it does set the tone. That was Randy's favorite part of wedding planning. We had a cake "artist" We had an autumn theme so the cake was ivory fondant and then hand crafted autumn leaves looking like they were falling from it. Problem was they almost threw out all the leaves thinking they were real!!!! Luckily our coordinator walked into the kitchen as they were cutting and told them to stop!

Thanks! I'm feeling pretty good about the vision I have. I think it will end up really beautiful. Now if only I could get to work on accomplishing some things...

Ooohh, your cake sounds amazing! How funny that the leaves were almost thrown away! You must have had an amazing baker, err, artist. My baker said the same thing about it setting the tone!

The venue is breathtaking! I think the flowers down the aisle would be great also! We got married in a church but we had large ribbon bows put on every other pew and I think it really added to the elegance.

Isn't it beautiful?! I just love it. I would love to line our faux aisle with some ribbon as well - I definitely love that look!

Your venue is breathtaking! WOW, your guests will be in awe that's for sure.
Thanks for sharing all the details!

The cake sounds yummy...I love the idea of different flavors for each layer

Oh, fogot to mention this in my other post...someone (sorry forgot who) mentioned doing the segway tour...I agree!
My Dh and I did the epcot tour when we went for our 10 yr anniversary in 2009.... my DH loved it! I on the other hand, being the wimp I am, was afraid the entire time I would loose control... but, I made it and by the end was really enjoying it! The info you find out about World Showcase from the tour is soooo cool

Thank you! When I first stared planning I said one of my main goals was to have my guests leaving saying it was the best wedding they've ever attended. I really hope the venue will set the stage!

I bet the Segway tour would be so interesting. The more I hear about it, the more I like the idea! How long does it last for?

 

[Princess_K]

Courtney---
You have such classic, elegant taste. I can tell after reading this installment how beautiful your wedding will be! First of all, that venue is GORGEOUS! You're right..it is absolutely romantic! And that aisle will look amazing in there. The cake is very cute, and I love your bouquet. The pinks will look fabulous with that venue. I'm a pink girl too.. I'm excited to see how it all comes together

 

[ladybugmom]

WOW!!! Everything is AMAZING!! I love the venue, the cake, and the flowers!! BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

[klacey1]

Your ballroom is GORGEOUS! Here up north, we have mansions in Newport, Rhode Island that were modeled after southern architecture. You venue reminds me of them so much!! I love that it's not cookie-cutter or too "hotel" hall like.
Your colors are just beautiful-- so springy and classy and romantic, all in one!

 

[TokyoDina]

I LOVE your venue! The ballroom is just stunning! I love the cake too! I wanted to do a ceremony some day with DH and I. I think we are just going to do an elopement ceremony. But if I did a wedding I'd do cupcakes! It's something I know I could do myself and they add an air of cuteness.

But I love the cake you choose I hope how every makes it for you does a great job!