Christie and Nick- 9/1/13- WP, Italy Isola, AAR- Change of Venue

[Cmdbuddy]

I finally get to start one of these! Yay! I've been lurking on here for forever, and seriously since January knowing that Nick and I would be getting married at Disney. Now that the engagement has happened and initial contact has been made with Disney, it's time for the PJ!

PS I edited the thread around so that this post could be a table of contents... sorry if replies seem out of place! I also found when reading other people's PJ's that having the text of the OP a different color helped... so from here on out, I will have COLOR!

Table of Contents

About Us

The Engagement

The Plans

We have a date!

Pre RSVPs

Asked My Bridesmaids

Honeymoon Details

Engagement Photos Sneak Peak

Initial BEO

PLANNING SESSION TRIP REPORT

Day 1 and 2- Arrival and Candlelight Processional

Day 3- Hair and Makeup Trial, Engagement Photos, and Victoria and Albert's

Day 4- Planning Session, Hollywood Studios, and Downtown Disney

Day 5- Also Known as The Best Day of My Life

 

[ShanaMouse]

What a lovely story!
I love your ring and I cant wait to read more!!

Happy planning!!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Welcome!

 

[CinderALLIE]

Congratulations!! I lobe your ring. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Nick is an Information Security Officer at the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. I am Christie, and I am a chiropractor. I just moved to College Station a few months ago, and am just starting construction on my own chiropractic office. We "met" in 2008 through mutual friends while Nick was serving in the Air Force in Iraq. Our friend, Kirt, thought that we would be a good fit and said we should be pen pals while Nick was away. This started an instant friendship- we would basically write novels back and forth to each other. We had so much in common, and I would wake up excited every day to see what new emails I had from Nick. Unfortunately, I have since lost that email address (it was my college one), and don't have any of our emails back and forth. When Nick returned home to the United States, he settled back in his life in TX while I was starting chiropractic school in Daytona Beach, FL. We would say hi every now and then, but basically fell out of touch for a few years.

Fast forward a few years, and I was about to leave for a chiropractic mission trip in Fiji. I received a message from Nick saying that the Air Force was sending him to some training in Orlando and wanted to know if we wanted to meet up. He knew I had a thing for Disney and asked if I wanted to go to Disney for the day immediately following a 15 hour flight back from Fiji. I knew I would be exhausted but was excited to finally meet him and of course, it was an excuse to go to Disney! We were excited planning where we would go, and I assured him he would have the best Disney tour guide ever. One morning in Fiji before leaving for our clinic, I checked my email and got bad news- the Air Force had made budget cuts for the trip and he was no longer able to go! While I was thankful he wasn't going to see me looking hot after 15 hours of travel , I was said that we weren't going to meet up. However, talking about the potential trip to Disney got us both so excited that he decided to come down on his own in Jan 2011 so we could see if there was anything between us.

I have been to Disney probably over 50 times... growing up, my family would go every year during the Mardi Gras season. I went for spring break when I was in undergraduate. And when I started school in Daytona Beach, I made full use of that Annual Pass! Nick, however, had only been once when he was 10. I knew it was going to be a blast showing him around Disney. The first day we went to Animal Kingdom and then EPCOT. We had our first kiss right after Illuminations in EPCOT. The next day we went to Hollywood Studios and finished the trip with Wishes at Magic Kingdom (my favorite). He had his arm around me during the fireworks, and I looked at him and he was teary eyed- I asked him what was wrong... he said he just felt so lucky and blessed. I think that was the moment I fell in love with him.

He left the next day and we had no idea what to make of everything. I was finishing up chiropractic school in a few months with plans to move to Denver and Chicago to work with my chiropractic heroes. I had plans of opening an office in Birmingham, AL. But we decided to stick with it and see what happened- we did long distance for all of 2011. The great news was that I was living in super cool places and we got to do really awesome things when we visited each other.

In Jan 2012, I moved to Houston, TX- an hour away from Nick. We loved being so close to each other as I took one more job learning from one of the most successful doctors in the profession. We continued discussing where we would begin our life together, and we made the decision to leave Nick right where he was and I would open my office in College Station. I moved here at the end of June to finish up design of the office, and every day has been better than the last now that we are in the same city.

We had plans to go to Disney in August in conjunction with a chiropractic seminar I had to attend. I had a feeling that we would be getting engaged during this trip. At one point I had teased Nick and said "You better not use any of the pre-planned Disney engagements because I know them all!"... he didn't really respond and I said "like the one where you eat at Cinderella's Royal Table and they bring out the ring on a glass slipper for dessert." Poor Nick! He started laughing and goes "that's awfully specific." Apparently that was EXACTLY his plan and I just uncovered it. He had paid for the dinner already and everything. I told him that it's hard to surprise someone that knows so much about Disney!

 

[Freckledginger]

Hi Christie!!
Yay!! I found your PJ! I've so enjoyed reading it

You and Nick have such a lovely 'how we met' story! I completely melted while reading it Pen pals, reconnecting after losing touch briefly, first kiss at WDW, long distance relationship, and then moving to be together... It's the stuff of a great romance novel!

Congratulations on your engagement!! How exciting! It sounds like such a wonderful engagement! I love that Nick was still able to surprise you eventhough your were anticipating it happening. Your ring is absolutely stunning!!

WP, ADH & a DP are fantastic choices for a wedding! September is such a lovely time of year in FL also, especially in WDW. Will cross my fingers that you get the date you want!! Do you also request the venues at the same time?

I feel for your family having to weather Isaac. I'm glad to hear that your family is okay, and hopefully they won't have any serious property damage. I couldn't believe what happened to your mom!! Thank goodness she is okay. I can't imagine why someone would be flying into a parking lot at that kind of speed

Congratulations on your lease!! That's so exciting you'll be staring your own practice!

Subscribed and looking forward to following along with your plans

 

[enchantedream88]

Following along! Looking forward to hearing about your plans!

 

[Cmdbuddy]

We left our house at 4:30 AM on Wednesday, and landed at MCO at 1. We checked in at Old Key West, had lunch at Olivia's, and decided to head over to EPCOT. I thought for sure if Nick was going to propose, it was going to be Friday night at Magic Kingdom. Hence, the God-awful outfit I'm wearing. We walked around just enjoying (or in the case of Captain EO- NOT enjoying) doing things that weren't the popular rides. We headed to the back to see the Voices of Liberty (one of my favorites) and watch the American Adventure. I normally love that show, but fell asleep due to the long day of travel. I jolted awake during one of my favorite songs of all time, though- Golden Dream. We watched the Oh Canada! Circle Vision and stopped by Club Cool. We rode Journey into Imagination, and at some point I mentioned the Universe of Energy ride and how it was the perfect napping ride because nobody rode it, it was dark, and took a long time to go through the ride. He felt bad that nobody rides it and wanted to check it out. We walked through mouse gears so I could shop, and went out the back side towards Universe of Energy. There was this little garden spot to the left, and I walked through it (like I normally do on the side paths in EPCOT.) We stopped and were being lovey dovey and started dancing in the circle. He asked me if I was sure I wanted to spend my life with him. We've talked about marriage plenty of times, so I joked with him and said "I can't answer that yet." He said "Oh, I need to ask you for real?" I said yep, and he said "Ok then..." and got down on one knee. I freaked out and said "Seriously?" and so much went through my head- what am I wearing? are there photopass people around? oh there's the ring, do I like it? Oh yes, I love it! What cute thing do I say?... all of this in a matter of 2 seconds. I told him of course I would marry him! We soaked in the moment for a while and then jetted off to get our "Just Engaged" pins.

Here is a picture of where it happened:

I made him go back later and take a staged photo. Yes, I realize it looks like he is flicking off the camera haha

Here are two pictures of the ring:

I had dinner reservations set for San Angel Inn, but couldn't imagine eating Mexican just after getting engaged for some reason. So we walked back to Tutto Italia to see if they could take us and they got us in! It was the first time I had been there. I used to love Alfredo's, but TI was pretty good too! I had some polenta dish and gobbled it all up! We stopped by our first kiss spot right before Illuminations and decided to beat the crowd out of EPCOT because we were so beat. We finished up the night relaxing in a hot tub in OKW while watching our phones explode from all the facebook notifications. I told him this was better than a birthday and we should get engaged every year

We did manage to get one pic on the way out of the park:

Up Next: The rest of the trip and some of the plans (I've been planning for a while now!)

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Well, it's been a crazy few days around here. Let's see what has happened since we got home from Orlando:

Nick and I barely escaped the outer bands of Tropical Storm Isaac on Sunday as we flew back to College Station. All of my immediate family, however, lives in the New Orleans area. So they started batting down the hatches over there. All out efforts to make sure that everyone in the family was safe and had to relocate some people and things. As of right now, everyone and everything is ok that we can tell, but we are worried about my grandfather's house in Diamondhead, MS- where we are supposed to be going on Sunday for a Labor Day celebration. We will see about that. I talked to him on the phone about it earlier and reminded him that those are just things, and at least we will all be together this weekend- no matter where it is. My mom and dad had to go outside earlier to check on some things... mom couldn't find a rain jacket, but luckily all the trips to Disney paid off for her

On Monday, I was talking to my mom on her way home from work. She was telling me that the gas stations had run out of gas so she stopped at one place that still had some to top off her tank (only needed about 2 gallons). While she was typing in her zip code into the machine for her credit card, this truck came out of nowhere and slammed into her car. Thank God she is short, so she was standing on the little ledge for the machine. If she wasn't, she probably would have been seriously injured. The truck hit so hard that both of the airbags in the truck deployed, and you can see how far it moved my mom's car in the picture. I was so thankful that she wasn't hurt. (Once again, even a 2 month old mercedes is just a thing).

Today is my sweet daddy's birthday, so he gets a fun day of hurricane (his birthday was also the day Katrina hit). I also signed the lease for my chiropractic office today and construction starts later this week.

Here's what Nick and I have discussed so far:
- We want to do WP and ADH with a DP either that night or the night before as a welcome party.
- We are looking at Sept 1, 2013. That means we have to call on MONDAY!!
- We will probably stick around WDW a few days to give time for a MK photo shoot. We will do a small 3 night cruise that sets sail on Sept 5. Would love to do something longer, but need to get back to my practice.

I also pretty much have something put together to ask my girls to be my bridesmaids, but I can't post about it yet... I gave my sister the link to this board, and since she will be MOH, I don't want to spoil the surprise until she gets hers.

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Hey guys!

We have a date! Sunday, September 1 at 2:30 at the Wedding Pavilion followed by a reception at Atlantic Dance Hall! It's the day before Labor Day, so we figure that gives people Monday to travel home (and Saturday to travel in if they don't want to miss any work). Plus, our anniversary will always be around a holiday, which will make for nice little getaways!

We are still toying around with the idea of doing the ceremony at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration and then the reception at ADH. This whole Catholic business makes the planning fun!

Looking at Dessert Parties- do you guys think we should do it the night of the reception in EPCOT or the night before as a Welcome Party... probably at the GF Marina?? The night of the wedding would cut into the reception some, but we would probably have less people the night before. Not sure what to do!

PS Sorry about all the changes in the post flow... I wanted to add a table of contents and break up that original post, so everything got moved around...should be good to go now!

 

[CinderALLIE]

I personally like the idea of the DP on wedding night but that's because I'd rather have wedding dress firework photos then a nice dress fireworks photo.

Whatever you decide will be right for you.

 

[enchantedream88]

Hey guys!

We have a date! Sunday, September 1 at 2:30 at the Wedding Pavilion followed by a reception at Atlantic Dance Hall! It's the day before Labor Day, so we figure that gives people Monday to travel home (and Saturday to travel in if they don't want to miss any work). Plus, our anniversary will always be around a holiday, which will make for nice little getaways!

We are still toying around with the idea of doing the ceremony at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration and then the reception at ADH. This whole Catholic business makes the planning fun!

Looking at Dessert Parties- do you guys think we should do it the night of the reception in EPCOT or the night before as a Welcome Party... probably at the GF Marina?? The night of the wedding would cut into the reception some, but we would probably have less people the night before. Not sure what to do!

PS Sorry about all the changes in the post flow... I wanted to add a table of contents and break up that original post, so everything got moved around...should be good to go now!

Yay for having a date!!

With the 2:30pm time, a dessert party the night of the wedding will really cut into your reception time (like shortening it by over an hour and a half). But if that's what you want to do then it's all good. Plus who doesn't love Illuminations??

You can also do the dessert party the night before as a welcome party or a rehearsal dinner replacement. Just keep in mind though that if the dessert party is on the night before, none of those costs count toward your minimum expenditure. If that doesn't matter then you should be set.

 

[MickeysStarTrader]

Hi Christie! Love what you've posted so far, I never knew that little hideaway existed next to the Universe of Energy. What an adorable proposal! And he caught you completely off guard now you two have your own special place in Epcot!

I'm subbing and can't wait to hear more! I'm a 2013 bride too (October)

Yay for having a date!!

With the 2:30pm time, a dessert party the night of the wedding will really cut into your reception time (like shortening it by over an hour and a half). But if that's what you want to do then it's all good. Plus who doesn't love Illuminations??

You can also do the dessert party the night before as a welcome party or a rehearsal dinner replacement. Just keep in mind though that if the dessert party is on the night before, none of those costs count toward your minimum expenditure. If that doesn't matter then you should be set.

This is a really good point about the minimum. If you were to have your ceremony at Corpus Christi and needed to make up your minimums, you'd need to have the DP on the day of your wedding. Obviously the choice is yours! Would you like a smaller number? Would you like to build up the wedding day excitement? If you really wanted your DP on the day of your wedding, maybe you could move your wedding time a little earlier, say noon if it's available, so as not to cut into your reception time. I think that would be a shame personally if you had to cut it short

 

[Freckledginger]

Hi Christie!

You got your date!! That's fantastic news!! You must be so excited! It all starts to feel a bit more real when you have the date, eh?

I can imagine that it's a bit challenging to decide between having the ceremony in WP or in a Catholic Church... I guess it depends on personal preference. Did you always picture yourself getting married in a Church? No matter what you decide, the wedding will be gorgeous. I've seen photos of brides who elected to get married in a church and then hold their reception on WDW property, and those weddings looked lovely. So I think you'll be a winner with either venue

Yay for adding a DP! I think they're so fun! Selecting between Illuminations and Wishes is a difficult choice... Because the Food and Wine Festival is going on during my wedding, Illuminations was out for me. I was looking at either Wishes or Fantasmic. I prefer Fantasmic as a show, but the location where the party is held is at the back of the theatre and not as picturesque (in my opinion) as the GF.
As far as Illuminations versus Wishes: a lot of brides seem to choose Illuminations because it allows for the wedding party to go into a theme park, and you're really close to the action. Wishes is a fantastic show, and you don't have to pay venue or viewing fees for your guests, but may have a bit more of a removed feel since you're not actually in the park. I'm not too worried about this... I think the experience will be fabulous, but I guess it depends on what you envision the DP being like.

I can't really comment on whether it's better to have the DP on the night of the wedding or not, since as a DCL bride, mine is going to be a separate event. We're doing it as a welcome party the night before the cruise departs. I thought it'd be a good way to get people excited about the wedding. If it helps with your minimum though, as the other brides mentioned, may be helpful to have it on your wedding night. For your guests, it would be the cherry on top of an amazing day!

Good luck with your planning! I'm looking forward to hearing more!

 

[enchantedream88]

This is a really good point about the minimum. If you were to have your ceremony at Corpus Christi and needed to make up your minimums, you'd need to have the DP on the day of your wedding. Obviously the choice is yours! Would you like a smaller number? Would you like to build up the wedding day excitement? If you really wanted your DP on the day of your wedding, maybe you could move your wedding time a little earlier, say noon if it's available, so as not to cut into your reception time. I think that would be a shame personally if you had to cut it short

Thanks! I made sure to keep track of those little details. I'm a 2013 bride too (August), and I'm actually doing the 12pm wedding so I could have my DP the night of. It was easier, since I wanted a full reception in addition the DP.

Also Christie, I went to a wedding at Corpus Christi back in January - it is such a beautiful church!!!!

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Wow... I have a lot to respond to

I personally like the idea of the DP on wedding night but that's because I'd rather have wedding dress firework photos then a nice dress fireworks photo.

Whatever you decide will be right for you.

Yea, I feel you on that... I just didn't know if it was too much on one day. Plus, I know this is probably really dorky, but I always envisioned our reception ending with the Jiminy Cricket line from after Wishes... "Thanks folks for making this little gathering of ours so extra magical..." That wouldn't really work if we were heading off to the DP after. I guess that means that we couldn't do Wishes DP on the night before because they would hear it twice and it would kind of lose its effect! Or I could tell them to make sure they cut the feed off right before it. Those 2-3 minutes right after Wishes with the slower music in the background with the warm Florida night and headed for an ice cream cone on Main Street is my absolute favorite moment ever... it's my most favorite time and place ever. Ok I'm getting sappy now lol.. moving on.

PS When you first posted on this thread, I had just told my sister, Allie, about the thread on the phone and then saw that "CinderALLIE" had just posted. I assumed it was her!! I called her up and told her how cute I thought her login name was and she had no idea what I was talking about! I thought it was funny. Does "Melb, Australia" mean Melbourne? I spent 2 weeks on the around Melbourne and the Gold Coast back in 2004 and LOVED it!!

Yay for having a date!!

With the 2:30pm time, a dessert party the night of the wedding will really cut into your reception time (like shortening it by over an hour and a half). But if that's what you want to do then it's all good. Plus who doesn't love Illuminations??

You can also do the dessert party the night before as a welcome party or a rehearsal dinner replacement. Just keep in mind though that if the dessert party is on the night before, none of those costs count toward your minimum expenditure. If that doesn't matter then you should be set.

...Thanks! I made sure to keep track of those little details. I'm a 2013 bride too (August), and I'm actually doing the 12pm wedding so I could have my DP the night of. It was easier, since I wanted a full reception in addition the DP.

Also Christie, I went to a wedding at Corpus Christi back in January - it is such a beautiful church!!!!

I'm thinking we might have to up the ceremony time to 12 then... Is it really too early to do a dinner reception after? Can you still count it as a lunch if the reception starts at 1? Yay for lower minimums for lunch!!

Did Corpus Christi need many decorations? I really don't want to pay for floral and decorations twice!

Hi Christie! Love what you've posted so far, I never knew that little hideaway existed next to the Universe of Energy. What an adorable proposal! And he caught you completely off guard now you two have your own special place in Epcot!

I'm subbing and can't wait to hear more! I'm a 2013 bride too (October)



This is a really good point about the minimum. If you were to have your ceremony at Corpus Christi and needed to make up your minimums, you'd need to have the DP on the day of your wedding. Obviously the choice is yours! Would you like a smaller number? Would you like to build up the wedding day excitement? If you really wanted your DP on the day of your wedding, maybe you could move your wedding time a little earlier, say noon if it's available, so as not to cut into your reception time. I think that would be a shame personally if you had to cut it short

Thanks for following along! October will be such a nice time in Disney. I don't think we are going to have any problems meeting minimums... too many people want to come! I think you're right... if we are paying for the full time at ADH, I should use it up!

Hi Christie!

You got your date!! That's fantastic news!! You must be so excited! It all starts to feel a bit more real when you have the date, eh?

I can imagine that it's a bit challenging to decide between having the ceremony in WP or in a Catholic Church... I guess it depends on personal preference. Did you always picture yourself getting married in a Church? No matter what you decide, the wedding will be gorgeous. I've seen photos of brides who elected to get married in a church and then hold their reception on WDW property, and those weddings looked lovely. So I think you'll be a winner with either venue

Yay for adding a DP! I think they're so fun! Selecting between Illuminations and Wishes is a difficult choice... Because the Food and Wine Festival is going on during my wedding, Illuminations was out for me. I was looking at either Wishes or Fantasmic. I prefer Fantasmic as a show, but the location where the party is held is at the back of the theatre and not as picturesque (in my opinion) as the GF.
As far as Illuminations versus Wishes: a lot of brides seem to choose Illuminations because it allows for the wedding party to go into a theme park, and you're really close to the action. Wishes is a fantastic show, and you don't have to pay venue or viewing fees for your guests, but may have a bit more of a removed feel since you're not actually in the park. I'm not too worried about this... I think the experience will be fabulous, but I guess it depends on what you envision the DP being like.

I can't really comment on whether it's better to have the DP on the night of the wedding or not, since as a DCL bride, mine is going to be a separate event. We're doing it as a welcome party the night before the cruise departs. I thought it'd be a good way to get people excited about the wedding. If it helps with your minimum though, as the other brides mentioned, may be helpful to have it on your wedding night. For your guests, it would be the cherry on top of an amazing day!

Good luck with your planning! I'm looking forward to hearing more!

It's a tough call. I would love it either way, but I know my dad really wants us to get married in the church. Diane, the wedding planner I've been talking to, says some people get married officially in a Catholic church before they come and use the ceremony at the WP as a "vow renewal" of sorts. I'm excited about seeing pictures from your DP at the GF. Are you doing Sago Cay or the Marina? Diane said my group would probably be too big for Sago Cay and would have to go to the Marina. Are you having photography for your DP?

And I know this might be blasphemy to even ask such a question on the Disboards (Especially in this section), but have you girls ever had second thoughts about being married at Disney and the cost? I know you can definitely do it at the minimum, but not with the number of people that want to come for me. Part of me thinks we should do it at home and put the rest of the money towards a DVC membership. The thing is, I know somewhere deep down that if I do it at home because I think it will be cheaper, we will wind up spending the same because of all of the extra people (probably over 200 as opposed to 75 or so).

 

[Cmdbuddy]

And now I'm sitting here watching youtube videos of Wishes (as if I haven't seen it 50+ times and used to listen to it on repeat while I was studying)... I think Nick is going to lose out on this battle. Man, I love that show.

"We're all just children reaching for our dreams, shining high above us... and even though it seems so far... we put our faith and hope on a shooting staaaaaar..." (why isn't there a singing smiley??)

 

[enchantedream88]

I'm thinking we might have to up the ceremony time to 12 then... Is it really too early to do a dinner reception after? Can you still count it as a lunch if the reception starts at 1? Yay for lower minimums for lunch!!

Did Corpus Christi need many decorations? I really don't want to pay for floral and decorations twice!

Nope, not too early! Food won't be served (realistically) until 3-3:30pm anyway, so you should be okay. And if your pre-reception is starting at 1, you will still get lunch pricing.

I don't remember if Corpus Christi needed much decoration. I think you may want a little floral, but not a ton.

And, if your consultant is the same Diane I had, she is amazing! I loved working with her! I hope my planner is just as good as she was.

 

[CinderALLIE]

PS When you first posted on this thread, I had just told my sister, Allie, about the thread on the phone and then saw that "CinderALLIE" had just posted. I assumed it was her!! I called her up and told her how cute I thought her login name was and she had no idea what I was talking about! I thought it was funny. Does "Melb, Australia" mean Melbourne? I spent 2 weeks on the around Melbourne and the Gold Coast back in 2004 and LOVED it!!

That's too funny with your sister.

Yes Melb is my abbreviation for Melbourne as they wouldn't let me put the whole thing and Australia. I'm actually 30 minutes from Melbourne but it's easier to say that then people going "where?" LOL.

Glad to hear you loved your Aussie holiday.

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Well not much going on here. I think we decided on the Arndt's for photography. They will do a engagement session for us when we are down in December. I am also 100% sure we are going to do the 12:00 ceremony instead of 2:30. Waiting for a call back from Diane on that one.

I went to my first bridal show the other day. Let me just say, I'm not the most girly girly person, and I really stepped out and went to this scared to death. I didn't have anyone with me, and honestly most of it was local vendors. This creepy videographer tried to convince me to fly him down to Disney. No thank you. I tried a piece of cake and then got incredibly uncomfortable when these people tried to convince me to do boudoir photos for Nick. Not that I'm against it or anything, just didn't want to talk about it. So I got all embarrassed and left. It was kind of a waste of $20... I could have gotten a whole cake for that much from the grocery store I had tried to get Nick to go with me and he goes "it's not a bridal and groomal show" *sigh*