D&B's Summer Wishes Wedding! 08.03.2013 - How We Met!

[enchantedream88]

Hey DISBrides!

After months of lurking, reading, researching, and absolutely loving the Facebook groups.... I'M STARTING A PLANNING JOURNAL!!!!!!

I've been meaning to start a planning journal for a while, but I don't have a lot of time at the moment, so I'll start with a quick intro for now, and then go from there!

Me: I'm Danielle! Or Dani. Whichever you prefer to call me. I'm 24 years old, and while I'm originally from NJ, I currently reside in VA. I've been in VA for the past two years, and moved here after I graduated from college (Go PSU!). I've been a Disney fan for life, but sadly only got to go to Disney World once when I was a kid... that's not the case anymore, lol!

Fiance: My fiance's name is Bart. He's 34 years old, and is originally from IN. He moved to FL for a few years, then bounced around from VA to MD and now back in VA. He is what you call the biggest Disney fan you know. It's his most favorite place in the whole world, and it is through him that I've gotten to experience so much Disney. He took me on my first "adult" trip to Disney last October (2011), and have been hooked ever since! It's now my favorite place to be, and I'm so happy he's brought that back into my life. How my fiance & I met is an interesting story - that'll be in the next post.

My fiance is my best friend in the whole world I'm so excited to be marrying him! He proposed at Disney World on June 2, 2012. I'll make a separate post for the engagement. It was kinda epic.

In the past two months, we've knocked out our site visit, getting our date, signing our LOA, booking a Planning Session, booked a bunch of our vendors, nailed down colors, and determined the wedding party. Whew!

Some details for now, with some more elaboration later:

Date: Saturday August 3, 2013
Ceremony: 12pm at Wedding Pavilion
Reception: Atlantic Dance Hall
Dessert Party: Epcot @ Terrace de Fleurs immediately following the reception
Estimated guest count: 80-100
Officiant: Rev. Kevin Knox
Hair/makeup: Beaute Speciale
Photography: David & Vicki Arndt
Colors: Cherry red & robin's egg blue (or aqua or teal or whatever the right shade of blue ends up being). I'll post inspiration pics later.

There are the basics for now. Another post to follow later with more details about how Bart & I met, the proposal, and some wedding ideas. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Yay! I'm so excited!

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Hey can you tell me why you chose the 12:00 clock ceremony for a reception at ADH and a desert party? How does the time line work? We are looking to book on Monday and are trying to figure out scheduling. I thought 2:30 would work well, but if you have a better idea, I would love it hear it! Thanks!

Congrats!

 

[ShanaMouse]

Cant wait for the engagement story

love how much you got done in the last two month! i wish i were that productive

Happy planning!

 

[enchantedream88]

Yay! I'm so excited!

Thanks!!!!!

Hey can you tell me why you chose the 12:00 clock ceremony for a reception at ADH and a desert party? How does the time line work? We are looking to book on Monday and are trying to figure out scheduling. I thought 2:30 would work well, but if you have a better idea, I would love it hear it! Thanks!

Congrats!

Sure!

It's a funny story how we ended up at 12pm to begin with. We originally wanted the 10am ceremony time, but when we found out (4 days before the 12mo mark) that another couple wanted the same time slot, we decided to bump to our 2nd choice, which was 12pm. We were the only ones interested so it all worked out in the end! It ended up being a blessing in disguise, if you ask me.

As for the timeline, I guess the biggest question is how long do you want your actual cocktail hour/reception to be?

Ceremonies at WP typically last somewhere between 20-25 minutes (depending on your officiant). So, if you start at 12pm, your ceremony should be over by 12:25pm. With the staged exit & getting everybody lined up, you're looking at another 15ish minutes to get that out of the way, which brings you to 12:40pm-ish. It's about a 15 minute drive from WP to the Boardwalk, and then it's another few minute walk from where the buses drop you off to ADH. We still wanted a 1hr pre-reception & a 4hr reception, so with a 1:15pm-1:30pm start time, the end of the reception would bring us to about 6:15pm-6:30pm. From ADH, the International Gateway is close, so it gives you more than enough time to leave the reception, still mingle for a bit, and then get to the gateway to get wristbands for the DP.

So, in short:

12pm- Ceremony
~12:30pm- Staged Exit prep/execution
~12:45pm- People on buses
~1:15pm- Arrive at ADH for cocktail hour
2:30pm- Reception start
6:30pm- Reception end
~7pm- Head to gateway to DP

For a 2:30 wedding:

2:30pm- Ceremony
~3pm- Staged exit prep/execution
~3:15pm- People on buses
~3:40pm- Arrive at ADH for cocktail hour
~4:45pm- Reception start
~7pm- Reception end to start heading to DP

This is probably a long winded answer, but I hope this helps. I guess it all comes down to what you & your fiance want. If you have any other questions, please let me know!

Cant wait for the engagement story

love how much you got done in the last two month! i wish i were that productive

Happy planning!

Thanks! I'm going out of town for the weekend, but when I get back, the story will be up!

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Thanks for the timeline break down. It certainly helps. Do guests walk from ADH to EPCOT for the DP? I had assumed you would head over around 8. Not questioning you, just trying to figure things out! Thanks a bunch!

 

[enchantedream88]

Thanks for the timeline break down. It certainly helps. Do guests walk from ADH to EPCOT for the DP? I had assumed you would head over around 8. Not questioning you, just trying to figure things out! Thanks a bunch!

No worries - I had all these questions too and just went through figuring this out a few weeks ago.

They can definitely walk. But it'll take about 20min and everybody needs to be at the Gateway at the same time. Disney wristbands the group in one shot and escorts the group to the locale. And if I remember correctly, my consultant said the meet time is around 7:45pm.

Or, the ferry is an option too. But depending on your party, everybody may not fit on one boat.

Just a note: If you plan on going into Epcot in your gown, you and your husband must get driven back there separately while everyone else goes to the Gateway. Epcot will not let you walk into the park in your wedding gown.

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Thanks a bunch for that breakdown. Do they have to walk from ADH to the International Gateway? Or is there other options?

 

[enchantedream88]

Thanks a bunch for that breakdown. Do they have to walk from ADH to the International Gateway? Or is there other options?

They can walk, or take the ferry. I'm sure you can do transportation as well, but it's so close that it seems silly to pay so much for transportation between two close locales. However, it's totally up to you.

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Totally agree. I just wonder how some people will be after a few hours of drinking . Plus my grandfather won't be able to make that walk. Maybe I'll look into one of the friendship boats... I think they are a couple hundred for a one way ride. I appreciate the help!

 

[unbrelievable]

Following along! I can't wait to read all the details.

 

[BethieTink]

Danielle,

Yay! You finally started a pj! Can't wait to read more.

BTW, maybe it depends on your planner or DP location, but we are meeting at the International Gateway and I am wearing my dress. We only have to walk to UK, so there isn't that much difference between backstage and the IG for us. Love the Disney consistency!

 

[enchantedream88]

Following along! I can't wait to read all the details.

Thanks so much!!

Totally agree. I just wonder how some people will be after a few hours of drinking . Plus my grandfather won't be able to make that walk. Maybe I'll look into one of the friendship boats... I think they are a couple hundred for a one way ride. I appreciate the help!

True, true. Lol! The boats from the Boardwalk shouldn't cost you anything. Are you speaking of a different boat??

Danielle,

Yay! You finally started a pj! Can't wait to read more.

BTW, maybe it depends on your planner or DP location, but we are meeting at the International Gateway and I am wearing my dress. We only have to walk to UK, so there isn't that much difference between backstage and the IG for us. Love the Disney consistency!

Thanks Bethie!!! My consultant was the one who said I couldn't wear my gown at the gate. Our DP is going to be in France, so it's super close to the gate. We'll see what the planner says (whenever I finally hear from her!!!).

 

[librarygeek]

Danielle!! I finally found your PJ But you need to update it more! Haha well I hope you do, I'll be looking forward to your plans and following along if you post anything else!

 

[enchantedream88]

Danielle!! I finally found your PJ But you need to update it more! Haha well I hope you do, I'll be looking forward to your plans and following along if you post anything else!

Lol Becky! I'm SO overdue to update in here. I'm so wrapped up in Facebook that I forget about here. I'll definitely start working on some updates!

 

[enchantedream88]

How We Met!!

"Kids... in the winter of 2010..."

I met my fiancé for the first time back in December 2010. Ironically, I was on a date with another guy, and we went to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was my first time ever seeing it (I had been asking people to take me for over 6 years, by the way). The guy was dressed up as Brad Majors, and I went in normal street clothing. Bart was on the shadow cast, and he was a Transylvanian that night. Below is a good idea of what he looked like the first night I met him.

So, true story: the guy I was with & I were waiting in the theater to be let in, and Bart is messing around with the crowd. He basically was obnoxious & a little crazy. I was quite shocked at first, since I had no idea what I was getting into. But looking back on everything now, its actually quite amusing. That was my first interaction with Bart. After that night, I had thought about joining the cast since I love theater and acting, but didnt do anything about it. Fast forward to January 2011, the guy I was seeing & I decided to stop seeing each other, but we remained friends. We went back to see RHPS again, and this time, Bart was playing the Criminologist. So, he was dressed like an old man in his 60s.

So yeah, the first two times I saw Bart were him dressed as a tranny and then an old man& Haha! So anyway, the guy was now interested in joining the production, so we went up to Bart after the show to express interest. Then, he invited us both out to IHOP to grab some late night food and to hang out. We got to IHOP, and about five of us sat at a table until about 7am chatting and playing the Celebrity Name Game (where you name a celebrity, i.e. Kevin Bacon, and the next person would have to say the name of another celebrity, but it had to start with the first letter of the previous selections last name). By the end of the night, the other girl at the table invited us to her place the next night, as they were rehearsing a dance number for the Valentines Day show and they needed more people. I gladly accepted and dragged the guy I was friends with along with me, since I didnt want to go alone. For the next few weeks, I was seeing Bart & that crowd a few nights a week to rehearse our Lady Gaga dance, and just hang out. Our dance came out awesome! We had so much fun. Heres the performance on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jlf0ls5j9k

In that time, my now fiancé and I became friends, and after a few weeks, on February 10, 2011, I actually asked HIM out! I could tell he wanted to ask, but he was being a pansy. Our first date was on February 11, 2011, and we went to a dueling piano bar on the National Harbor near DC. It was actually a double date with one of my best friends/bridesmaids & her husband, as it was his birthday.

Then, the rest was history&

Next up, the ENGAGEMENT!!

 

[librarygeek]

Aww, yay, I love the story of how you met! It was fun to watch your Bad Romance video too

 

[enchantedream88]

Aww, yay, I love the story of how you met! It was fun to watch your Bad Romance video too

Thanks hun! It's crazy that was all about 2 years ago now!

 

[enchantedream88]

Engagement story to come soon; promise! I'm in the midst of writing it up & editing, and finding places to include pictures & a link of the video a friend of ours took.


For as little as I update in here, I actually do have a lot of planning done. Well, a lot of the big stuff anyway. A lot of info is in the first post. I've also gotten engagement pictures taken (more to come about that & the features I got from it later), had my planner assigned, chosen colors, picked out bridal party & bridesmaid dresses, purchased my dress, etc.

Posts will come about all of this, I promise! I'm hoping my schedule dies down soon, so I can fill all you lovely ladies in!

 

[disneyido2015]

Congratulations on your engagement and starting you PJ!

Love the way you met, you just never know when the the right person will enter your life do you?

We will be renewing our vows on the the day after your wedding so I will be following you to see how you are getting along with your plans since we will both be celebrating ( hopefully not suffering ) in the August heat LOL.