Brett and Britt's Swan & Dolphin Wedding Honeymoon PJ

[bluedevilinaz]

Hey guys!

So I know it's kinda unconventional that the groom posts a PJ on here but I'm no stranger to unconventional since our whole relationship is kinda... well unconventional. haha.

Little back story for ya. We met online and chatted through email and text messages for a few weeks before deciding to meet up. I was living in Las Vegas and she was living/working at the Grand Canyon North Rim. We decided that the nearest thing to a halfway point would be St. George Utah at the outlet malls. Both of us hated the idea of a stereotypical first date of dinner and a movie; but guess what? We wound up doing just that! haha. We had sushi and then went and saw Friends With Benefits(not the wisest idea for a first date movie but hey! It worked!). We hit it off really well and decided we'd definitely meet up again. After dating and switching off who went to see who for two months she asked if she could move in with me when her contract ended in October. Of course I said yes! I had a month an a half to prepare myself mentally for it. Then, a couple days later on September 15th (her birthday nonetheless) I get a call while I'm on my way to work "Hey, some crap went down, I'll be there tonight" Needless to say I freaked out a bit. haha. It went really smooth though and our relationship grew exponentially from there.

Here's a picture of us from August 2011 on my first trip up to the Grand Canyon North Rim

We had been talking about getting married and had even looked at engagement/wedding rings. Little did she know I put one of the one's she fell in love with on layaway 4 days later. She found out about it when the receipt fell out of my wallet and she picked it up. (do'oh ) She was exited but I told her it'd take me awhile to pay it off so we won't be getting engaged until at least January

Fast forward a month. We've moved to Tucson together and are living in my parents house. I decided to take her out to dinner at Applebee's on October 14th and then go up to one of my favorite look out points on Mt. Lemmon with her and show her the amazing views of Tucson and the spot I usually go to clear my head when I'm in town. It's 10:30pm when we get up there. I had grabbed our sweatshirts before we left the house because I knew It'd be chilly (and much to her surprise later, the engagement ring). After walking around and talking for awhile, watching the moonrise over the mountains I finally decided it was the right time. I dropped to one knee and proposed to her. The funniest part is as I'm asking her all she's saying is "Are you kidding me?!" and as I'm putting the ring on her finger she says "you know you never ACTUALLY asked me right?" I retorted with "Yes I did but I'll do it again!" So I took the ring back off and got back down on my knee and asked again. She of course said yes!

Her engagement ring

Fast forward 4 more months and now we're living in Southern California. We had been going back and forth for months over a date, location, costs and all of that and finally settled on having a small ceremony at my cousin's house in Somis, Ca on September 1st, 2012. The venue is free(score 1! more money for the Disneymoon!) and her friend volunteered to cater the wedding for FREE if we buy the food( Score 2! Even MORE money! ). To top off the whole thing we found my wedding band on Amazon.com for $50 instead of the $500 the jewelry stores wanted!!(Score 3! )

My wedding band

We're headed down to Somis this weekend to do a cake tasting and have another one scheduled on March 17th. After that we'll have to sit down and figure out which one to go with.

She's picked out some DIY invitations/rsvp cards from Michael's which look great and are relatively cheap!

Now to nail down our menu, minister, decide whether we want to do a photographer or not since it's going to be a very informal wedding, and a few other things.

We're planning on hitting WDW December 3rd-10th so we're there for the Christmas season and renting DVC points so we can stay at BLT. I LOVE Disney's Christmas decorations and she's never beenscared1 to DL or WDW. I convinced her that we should take a mini-honeymoon to DL in October so the Halloween decorations are up and so we can avoid the crowds

That's all for now! I'll keep this up to date as often as I can. Any tips for saving money is welcome as we are paying for everything out of pocket. If you guys see anything we might be missing please speak up!

-Brett

 

[TabZ]

So great to hear the grooms perspective!

Beautiful proposal and a gorgeous unusual ring, love your wedding band as well

I think you should have a photographer, even if it's just a small basic package with a few prints, you'll want every memory possible of the day as it will just fly by, and as many pictures as possible of your beautiful bride!! xx

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Welcome and congrats!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

So great to hear the grooms perspective!

Beautiful proposal and a gorgeous unusual ring, love your wedding band as well

I think you should have a photographer, even if it's just a small basic package with a few prints, you'll want every memory possible of the day as it will just fly by, and as many pictures as possible of your beautiful bride!! xx

I figured it'd be a nice change of pace haha.

Thanks. She picked out her ring though so I can't take credit for anything but buying it. I'd been looking at rings for months and when I saw that one I fell in love with it but not for the price the jewelry store wanted thats for sure! I was ecstatic when I found it for so cheap!

We're definitely looking around and pricing them out but we're on a very tight budget and don't have a lot of room to play sadly so we'll see what happens. If anyone has any recommendations for good photographers that charge by the hour and not just package rates in So Cal I'm open to suggestions!

Welcome and congrats!

Thanks!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

The cake tasting went really well yesterday and we deided that we're going to stick with this bakery! Their cakes tasted wonderful and some of the customers who came in chatted with us and gave rave reviews of them! If we have to do 3 tier's the cake is going to be ~$450 ! The bottom tier is going to be white cake with strawberry puree & cream cheese filling, the middle tier is a lemon poppy seed cake with creamy lemon curd filling and the top tier(if we have it) is going to be chocolate cake with a cookie and cream filling. All of them are iced with vanilla buttercream instead of doing fondant(since it's MUCH more expensive and we both hate the taste of it.

I didn't realize cakes cost so much! That's planning for 90 people though and we may only get 50 so we'll most likely lose the top tier and save some money there.

Britt is going out to a wedding supply store today to look for invitations and some other things.

We started working on our reception playlist and oh wow is it long. haha. We've only gone through my iPod so far. We still have to go through hers as well. It's a very eclectic mix of music that's for sure! I've been thinking about having her make some of the food she want's her caterer friend to prepare for the reception that way I can get an idea of what everything tastes like.

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Here's our Budget so far:

Rings: $1,000
Wedding/Reception venue: $0!
Caterer:$0!
Food/drinks:$750
My Suit:$0 (Already own it XD)
Britt's Dress: $500
Best Man's Suit:$100
Best Man's hotel/travel:$250
Minister:$300
Cake:$450
Floral:$500 (Probably Less)
Invitations and postage: $75

Target budget: $4,500
Total Expenses Budgeted as of 2/26/12: $3,925
Total Spent as of 2/26/12(Bolded): $1,000
Total Left in Target Budget: $3,500
Total Expenses Left as of 2/26/12: $2,925
As of right now we are $575 under our target budget! I'm VERY excited about that!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Hey guys!

Not too much to update. We just moved into a new place closer to my work so we haven't had much time to do anything wedding related lately. Once our tax returns come in she's going to order her dress and we're going to put the deposit down on the cake. Here's a couple pictures of the venue:

Looking across the dance floor towards the main seating area:

View of the dance floor:

Another view of the dance floor:

As you can see the ballroom is fairly large. I'll get some pictures of the ceremony location next weekend when we go back to visit again.

Here's a picture of me wearing my ring:

It is a very bright blue in the sunlight. I love it!

My mom is on invitation making detail so I'll post pictures when she sends me some. Our colors are black and red and we're just doing a very simple backyard ceremony. We're going to have everyone gather in a circle around us as we do the ceremony since it shouldn't be more than 10 or 15 minutes. Then we'll go inside the ballroom and do the sand/unity candle(haven't decided which one yet) ceremony. After that we'll have our first dance, eat and do the toasts.

Edit: Oh! I forgot to add that we're also going to be taking dance lessons since neither of us knows how to dance. haha.

 

[elleinad16]

Hello and welcome! I'm always up for reading a groom's pov.
Love the engagement story--both rings are fabulous.

I know you said you are having a very informal wedding, but I think it would be very special if you could have some sort of a photographer there, at least at the ceremony. To me, pictures of my wedding day are priceless and I find myself looking at them at least once a day! Even if it's just designating a guest to take some pictures--I think you'll like having those memories.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Hello and welcome! I'm always up for reading a groom's pov.
Love the engagement story--both rings are fabulous.

I know you said you are having a very informal wedding, but I think it would be very special if you could have some sort of a photographer there, at least at the ceremony. To me, pictures of my wedding day are priceless and I find myself looking at them at least once a day! Even if it's just designating a guest to take some pictures--I think you'll like having those memories.

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks
We're both happy with them that's for sure!

There will be a lot of personal camera's I'm sure but we're trying to budget in a photographer but the cheapest I've found is a friend of mine and she's quoted me $1,000 and lives in Dallas. I know it's a REALLY good price but it's like 1/4 the cost of the whole wedding. We don't know if we really want to spend THAT much on a photographer or just spend $500 or $600 on a REALLY nice camera and hand it to someone we trust. Upside to buying a camera is we'll be able to use it for years to come I guess.

 

[PinkLemonade7503]

Get a photographer!

Trust me, you will regret it. Let's just say we cheaped out on a photographer for our wedding, and the friend who was to take our pictures messed them up, and we have nothing. Not even random photos other people were taking so many of.

It is the only thing that remains after the wedding. You will want those memories, plus your kids will want to see your out of style clothes and haircuts!

If you absolutely don't want to pay for it, maybe find a deal at a studio. You might do them before the actual wedding, and could get pictures of you and your fiancé in your wedding garb.

PS I wish I had spent less on my dress and more on the photos. The dress gets worn one day, and they get really dirty dragging on the floor, and outside. You think it is something you want forever, but it becomes clutter very quickly!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Get a photographer!

Trust me, you will regret it. Let's just say we cheaped out on a photographer for our wedding, and the friend who was to take our pictures messed them up, and we have nothing. Not even random photos other people were taking so many of.

It is the only thing that remains after the wedding. You will want those memories, plus your kids will want to see your out of style clothes and haircuts!

If you absolutely don't want to pay for it, maybe find a deal at a studio. You might do them before the actual wedding, and could get pictures of you and your fiancé in your wedding garb.

PS I wish I had spent less on my dress and more on the photos. The dress gets worn one day, and they get really dirty dragging on the floor, and outside. You think it is something you want forever, but it becomes clutter very quickly!

Haha ok. We've got some time to find one so it's not a pressing issue at the moment. We've got to save up for it anyways(which is harder to do than we'd planned on since I'm the only one working at the moment.)

That's horrible! I'm sorry to hear that happened to you!

Haha yeah, I'm sure they will.

Thats a thought too but we'll see where it goes I guess.

She's not even spending $300 on hers and shes getting exactly what she want's which is even better so the cost of her dress is rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things.


Had to reschedule a cake tasting that was supposed to be Saturday to the 30th due to some conflicting things we had scheduled. I may need to get another ring by the time the wedding rolls around. I bought a size 15 and it's now gotten loose on me due to weight loss. I guess that's a good thing though! haha. We're going to start getting dance lessons on the 30th as well. Definitely excited to start that. Let's hope my knee holds out though. I can't afford another 2 weeks off work.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Love your update, but I absolutely agree about the photographer. You will absolutely regret not getting a proper one. Try and see if you can find a new one or a student who's willing to work for cheap.

 

[DisneyBrideCKB]

ohhhh.. Love the grooms perspective!
Your story is sweet, expecially the part when you had to ask again!
I triple, quadruple, and centupple, the photographer! There are some places out there where you can get someone cheap. I like the idea of hiring a student. Also look into Studio Blue
They have bargain prices and will give you at least some professional photos! Like someone told me when I said I didn't' care about the photos, it will be the one way you'll remember your day in 15 years, so make 'em good!
Can't wait to read more about your planning and your cake tasting! YUM!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Love your update, but I absolutely agree about the photographer. You will absolutely regret not getting a proper one. Try and see if you can find a new one or a student who's willing to work for cheap.

Thanks! We've definitely decided to go with a photographer and are seriously leaning towards my friend still since she does amazing work!

ohhhh.. Love the grooms perspective!
Your story is sweet, expecially the part when you had to ask again!
I triple, quadruple, and centupple, the photographer! There are some places out there where you can get someone cheap. I like the idea of hiring a student. Also look into Studio Blue
They have bargain prices and will give you at least some professional photos! Like someone told me when I said I didn't' care about the photos, it will be the one way you'll remember your day in 15 years, so make 'em good!
Can't wait to read more about your planning and your cake tasting! YUM!

Thanks!

I still tease her about that one!

Thanks for the link! Did some browsing around and they're very close to what my friend is charging(though for $200 more she'll do the whole day and go to DL with us on Sunday. haha)
We've decided on going with the first place we tried because we both fell in love with the flavors and the owner was very nice and helpful during the whole process. We're just doing the second one for free cake.

So on a whim I took Britt to Disneyland for her first trip 2 weeks ago and she had an absolute blast!! She was like a little kid in a candy store! She loved Pirates and we got to see F! and Wishes(I had never seen it from behind the castle in Fantasyland so that was a really neat experience for both of us, although, I do prefer seeing it in front of the castle). I finally got to see Murphy in all her glory as well and I was amazed! Everytime I'd gone before she was down but this time she worked perfectly! Only bad part is the Mark Twain was down so the characters came out on the island. She had a blast on Soarin', ToT, California Screamin' and SM. I even tackled my last mountain which was BTMRR! We did it at night! That was an absolute blast and I have a new favorite coaster! haha. We got to see the Aladdin musical at DCA and she thought it was great! I have officially convinced her to get AP's for both of us in the fall as well!(I refuse to go in the summer due to crowd levels so no use in getting them now and wasting May-Aug.) I'll post some pictures as soon as I get them off my camera(I misplaced my cable. OOPS!)

Britt in front of the Mickey Topiary at Disneyland on her first time in the park! (she wasn't happy I make her take a picture. haha)

Following the end of the parade down Main Street USA.

Britt and I in front of the Mickey Topiary at Disneyland on our way out of the park.

Sorry for the crappy picture quality! It was taken with my phone's camera!

My cousins have booked a dance instructor for us and paid for it as part of our wedding gift on top of everything else they've done for us! I am at a loss for words. They have been so generous to us already and then they throw that in the mix. My parent's on the other hand.... Yeah, we won't go there. The only reason we decided to let my mom do the invitations is she offered to do them for free. I have limited contact with my mom and brother due to a falling out a couple months ago. *sigh* oh well. Some people just never grow up.

 

[virtuous girl]

Awww sweet story everything sounds great I love your ring definitely get a photographer!! But you also have to stay within your budget because yo don't want to start married life broke keep the updates coming

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Awww sweet story everything sounds great I love your ring definitely get a photographer!! But you also have to stay within your budget because yo don't want to start married life broke keep the updates coming

Thanks for the nice comments! We'll definitely be getting a photographer. We just have to wait until next month to figure out how much we can afford. Hahaha We started off our relationship broke, unemployed and living at my parents house, anything is an improvement over that situation! hahaha I will keep them coming as they hit me.

We're still adding to our reception playlist. It keeps growing by the day. haha. we have almost 4 hours of music so far. We're aiming for the reception to only go until 9pm because we're driving down to DL that night to do a mini-honeymoon. I've been debating putting this off though because it's going to be STUPIDLY crowded due to it being Labor Day weekend but we'll see what happens I guess.


We've started talking about our real Disney-moon to WDW in December and we're debating between renting a DVC studio at BLT or OKW. I like BLT because of the possibility of getting a MK view and being able to order room service and watch the fireworks from our room; plus it's right on the monorail. I guess we'll see what's available closer to the date when we have more money. haha. We definitely want to check out Jellyrolls and B&C and if I can get some of my friends who live down there to join us maybe try the kitchen sink. Any suggestions for restaurants to go to? We're going to purchase the DDP through a friend of mine who works for DCL and has graciously offered us her discount.

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Hey guys! Finally got a picture of the outside of the invitations from my mom!

They'll be going out as soon as DF gets a job. haha. Gotta figure out where she'll be working before we can make the date final. Other than that no real news yet. Once she gets a start date for a job we'll put the deposit down on the cake and figure out the hotel situation for our caterer, minister and my best man. Might be putting them up at like a motel 6 though since some of the hotels are kinda pricey and selection is very limited in that area.

 

[DisneyBrideCKB]

YAY for invites! And here's my fingers crossed for your DF's job!
Post the pic of the invites! Don't keep us in suspense!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Ooops! I thought I posted it. Guess the picture didn't show up. Lets try this one!

 

[bluedevilinaz]

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I updated but we've hit a few snags and have had to change the date. It's going to be sometime in October now. Life just got in the way. Typical. haha.