We have a little over six months until the wedding, and I'm already paranoid about forgetting something. As a result, the other night, I pulled up a bunch of different wedding timelines and made one master list, breaking every task down by month.
For example, here are some of the big things on the list:
May: Complete planning and menu tasting kit
June: Go to menu tasting and planning session, book rehearsal dinner (we want to do Hoop Dee Doo the night before the wedding)
July: Write ceremony, get suit for Jeff, order groomsmen ties (and maybe vests)
August: Make final honeymoon cruise payment (we need to do it before the booking window opens for gold
Castaway Club members), purchase wedding rings, figure out shoes/jewelry, figure out wedding party gifts
September: Make favors (I'm going to try to DIY ornaments as favors, but I'm leaving a lot of time in case I fail and we need to buy something haha), send out invitations
October: Ceremony programs, figure out toasting flutes, etc (we think want to get engraved flutes from the Crystal Arts store in Magic Kingdom)
November: Gown alterations, seating chart, write vows
December: Finalize everything, get marriage license, GET MARRIED
So most recently, we've been working on the planning and menu tasting kits. We've got most of the planning kit done, other than the menu parts. I definitely understand why they offer the pre-planned menus because figuring out your own menu is daunting. Right now the only things I know for sure that we are going to be tasting are the macaroni and cheese and mashed potato bars. We also are interested in doing the french onion soup shooters that they had at the DFTW showcase in February, but I don't think we're going to add that to our tasting. As far as the cake tasting, the only thing I know for sure I want to taste is the chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse. I think Jeff will probably also want to see if we could taste the Grey Stuff (from Be Our Guest Restaurant) filling also.
For the bar, we are looking into doing a package bar instead of BOC, against pretty much every Disney bride's recommendations. My parents think people are going to drink a lot, especially since a bunch of her friends are staying in the Beach Club/Boardwalk area specifically so they don't have to drive. So package bar it is. I'd love to do a bar for the dessert party also, even if it's just BOC Rosa Regale or one BOC cocktail or something. But I just don't think it'll fit into the budget, unfortunately. I might ask to add just BOC coffee and hot chocolate to the dessert party, since I'm paranoid it will be cold. Although now that I say that, I'd love to add stuff like Bailey's and Kahlua for people to spike their hot drinks with...
For the dessert party menu, we haven't talked a ton about it yet, but I have a feeling that we're going to end up with the milk and cookies bar (our planner said we could use the selections they had at the DFTW showcase or we could choose our own milk and cookie combos), chocolate fondue, and cronuts. I've seen a lot of brides have nacho bars at their dessert parties, which I LOVE, but we'll have to see what the menu price comes out to be before we consider adding things. I also like the idea of adding Mickey ice cream bars to the dessert party, but I'm afraid people won't eat them if it's cold out.
Doing the planning kit also made us focus on the processional details of the ceremony. Originally, Jeff wanted him and his groomsmen to walk in to Come and Get Your Love, then my bridesmaids would walk in to a different song, and then I would walk in to the instrumental version of Spectromagic. But once we laid it all out, we realized that with only seven total groups walking down the aisle (our officiant, Jeff's groomsman, his best man, him with his parents, my bridesmaid, my maid of honor, and me), we probably wouldn't have enough time for three songs in that short amount of time. So now we're not sure what to do. Jeff isn't sure if he wants to stick with Come and Get Your Love, or if we should choose another song for everyone to walk down to. The planning kit has space for a song for each different group of people, but I just don't think we would have enough time.
The other big thing that has happened is that we booked professional videography! If you've read my whole planning journal, you might remember that we had decided to do our own videography to save money. Well, a week or two ago, I had a small breakdown and realized that I really, really wanted professional videography. I know it can be expensive, but I wanted every single memory possible captured on video! Since we're already trying to stay as close to minimums as possible, it had to be very affordable. But at the same time, I didn't want to compromise on style, since I don't want to spend money on something that I don't want to watch because I don't love the style. I contacted many videographers, including Beyond Videography (very affordable and I like his style) and Trinity (who we contacted before we were even officially booked with Disney, but then we decided we couldn't afford it).
In the end, Beyond Videography was booked, but we were able to work with Trinity to get a six hour package, which was more affordable than their eight hour package. We also added the documentary reception edit, since I want as much footage as possible. David and Kristina assured me that I could add additional hours later, if we are able to fit it into the budget. I want to add more hours with the Roots too, if we can, since we only have six hours booked with them right now as well.
So hooray! We now have photo, video, and hair and makeup booked! Hopefully that's all the outside vendor's we'll need. When I'm doing the contracts with all these different vendors, it really makes me glad that I know Disney will take care of everything else!
That, and the Roots do a level of color correction in editing that I certainly can't tell that Kevin's and our BM's ties are not the same shade of blue as the rest of the groomsmen. Also, the swatches AA will give you will be satin (they told me it was "the truest representation of the color") but they will naturally be bolder then the color of your dresses in chiffon, just because of the fabric differences.
I'm going to check out solidcolorneckties.com now too. Thanks!
) but is your DP immediately following your reception, or is there a break? If your guests aren't immediately going to your DP, you could always serve Mickey bars BOC at your reception or with your wedding cake if you really want to have them - I think most of us skimp on desserts because hi, wedding cake, but it's absolutely an option. I wouldn't do it if you're going straight to the DP after (because what if your guests fill up on Mickey bars and then don't enjoy the treats you paid for in Epcot) but that might be a solution if you're really bummed about not having Mickey bars on your wedding day! Especially if people are dancing up a storm they might really like ice cream.
) and entertainment is in the moment, but only photo and video last forever. I'm so happy for you that you were able to swing it, and fingers triple crossed you get more time with both the Roots and Trinity! Great call on the documentary reception, you'll definitely want that.
). I suppose what it comes down to is how you feel about music fading out in the middle of the song, long gaps while you wait for someone to appear/a song to finish, or everyone coming in to the same song. I settled on the last one and that worked for us, but you'll figure out what's good for you.
We're doing it the night before the wedding, so we picked the 4:00 pm show in case people need the rest of the evening to recover, if they over-indulge. 
