Lindsay & Ryan's Wishes PJ 10/25/13 **Planning Session TR Pt 4! 5/21/13**

[redlight]

Love your engagement pics!

[tinydancr06]

Originally Posted by sleepydog25

Enjoyed all the pics from your trip! We just got back a couple of days ago where we hit the F&W festival that first evening--it was quite chilly as anyone there could attest. Our first park the next morning was AK, and we did EE five times straight. Gotta love the ride! Congrats on getting your date!

I am so jealous it was cold when you were there! I live in south Florida so I get excited when it gets cold! At least all that delicious food (and drinks?!) could keep you warm.

Everest is one of my favorite rides to repeat, for sure. We head straight there when we get to the park so we can get as many as possible. How were you feeling after five times?!

Thank you! We're so excited about our date!

Originally Posted by redlight

Love your engagement pics!

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

[sleepydog25]

Originally Posted by tinydancr06

I am so jealous it was cold when you were there! I live in south Florida so I get excited when it gets cold! At least all that delicious food (and drinks?!) could keep you warm.

Everest is one of my favorite rides to repeat, for sure. We head straight there when we get to the park so we can get as many as possible. How were you feeling after five times?!

Thank you! We're so excited about our date!

In truth, we live where there are four distinct seasons, and none of them is too extreme, so we are lucky. Still, we prefer warmth in FL when we visit during late fall or winter. Just sayin'. We felt fine after the five times; in fact, we had arrived just after rope drop for EMH hoping to set a new record for us--five was our old record which we did last F&W at night just before the park closed. Due to technical glitches, we managed only five consecutive rides this time, too, though we did spy the hidden Mickey at the top of the first climb, something that had eluded us before. We'll set a new record some day.

[Tinkerkell007]

I just started reading your PJ and I'm all caught up!

Hello from a fellow SoFLA girl!

I love that you and your friends all dress up for MNSSHP, it looks like you had a blast.

Also, I Love LOVE your E-pics, they are gorgeous!
Oh yeah, congrats on getting your first pick on the date and time! Wooo!

[tinydancr06]

Originally Posted by Tinkerkell007

I just started reading your PJ and I'm all caught up!

Hello from a fellow SoFLA girl!

I love that you and your friends all dress up for MNSSHP, it looks like you had a blast.

Also, I Love LOVE your E-pics, they are gorgeous!
Oh yeah, congrats on getting your first pick on the date and time! Wooo!

Thank you so much for reading! Yay for SoFla people! Thank you for all the kind words

[tinydancr06]

Hi, everyone!!! Ok, so the holidays got me way off track from wedding planning but my holiday break is almost over which means everything will be back to normal. I promise I'll be updating soon with the whole dress shopping story (late, I know!) and then I'll get caught up with everything else that's been going on. In the meantime I hope everyone has had a fantastic holiday! Can't wait to get back in the swing of wedding planning! We can finally say we're getting married THIS YEAR!!!

[Summer Daydream]

I just caught up with your PJ. I love all your plans. I was so excited to see you got your date and time! Your engagement pictures were amazing. Can't wait to read more. Your day is getting so close!!

[tinydancr06]

Hi, again! So I’m finally getting round to telling you guys all about my dress shopping experience. Yes, I am a month or two late but better late than never, right?
Just to preface all of this, I did A LOT of research and preparation to find my dress. I even organized a Pinterest page with specifically which dresses I wanted to try on and which shops would possibly have them! In the end, I was very happy to be as prepared as I was BUT I ended up falling in love with a dress I had never even seen! That’s truly an amazing thing seeing as I would have sworn I had seen every possible dress currently available. My dress does have every. single. thing. I was looking for though and now I can honestly say I have experienced love at first sight!
I won’t be posting any pictures of me in any of the dresses as I may have a nosey fiancé but please feel free to message or contact me on facebook if you’re curious as to what the final dress looks like. I did post a picture of it a while back on the DisBrides Facebook page if you feel like digging. Ok, so here goes…

On the Friday of that weekend everyone flew/drove down to South Florida. That night we barbequed and drank wine and basically just got excited for the next day!
The next morning we all got up early and got ready because the limo would be picking us up soon!
My mom and I right before heading out! Side note: I put way too much thought into the outfit that I would wear to shop for the dress but I loved it!



Courtney (MOH) and I with the limo!



All the girls before getting in and heading down to Miami!



We arrived at the Westin Colonnade about an hour later.



We checked into the rooms, got situated, and basically needed to head right back out if we wanted to grab a bite before the first dress appointment. We ended up eating at this really super cute little French café which is actually the place we got the macarons for later from.



The food was delicious but it ended up taking way too long. It got me all nervous so I couldn’t really eat and then we had to push the first appointment back a bit. In the moment I was freaking out but it was totally not a problem. Here are some pics 

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After we finally finished eating it was time for the first appointment! I was
nervous at first but I was so excited. The first shop definitely looked the part of what I had imagined but the service was just ok and it was a little crowded. They carried 3 of the dresses I had specifically wanted to try. I had expected them to suggest more outside of those three but they only showed me those which I was actually ok with.
I really liked the first dress but didn’t get “that feeling” so we moved on to the second. The second has an a-line silhouette but it actually had this sort of narrow slip underneath that did not fit AT ALL. Now, I totally understand they only carry certain sample sizes but I really don’t get how they can only accommodate such a small range of size. I am definitely not thin but I’m not plus sized either and I just don’t understand not carrying sizes at least somewhat doable for the “average” woman. There was absolutely no way to even tell what that dress COULD have looked like on me without the slip fitting at all. ANYWAY, all of that to say the second dress was a no go but I wasn’t crazy about it anyway. Prior to shopping I thought that I may freak out or get upset if a dress didn’t fit or something like that but in the moment I was totally calm and really nothing got to me. That is SO unlike me but I really hope it carries over to the rest of the planning and the big day! The last dress in that shop was actually very nice. We even tried it with a veil and got the price quote. I totally intended on that being the dress if we didn’t find anything at the later shops and I would have been totally happy with it but we decided to move on to the next shop for the moment.
The next shop was Merlili Bridal.



This shop was about the same size as the first but I swear we were treated like the only people in there. We even got to work with the owner! I showed her my Pinterest board with all the dresses I liked and she liked that I was so prepared which was a good sign from the get go. They carried 5 or so of the dresses I chose so I was very excited. Some of those dresses were like Pinterest stars so it was exciting to get to try them on. Lilly (the owner) mentioned to me that she was going to pull one dress that I didn’t mention but she thought it really had everything I wanted so I was happy to try it. I tried on one dress before that one that I liked but wasn’t for me and then we moved on to Lilly’s suggestion, a tulle ball gown by Enzoani. I remember putting it on and it feeling totally different than the others. I knew I that I LOVED it but I wanted everyone else’s opinions, too. When I came out everyone oohed and ahed and pretty much every single person just loved it. After that I tried on the next few that I had picked and while I really did like each and every one they just didn’t even hold a candle to the Enzoani. It makes me feel like even more than a princess and it is so much better than I’d ever dreamed. We decided that was THE dress but we would still go to the last appointment just in case. The sample I tried on was actually in a beige/champagne sort of color so we will be going back soon to try on an ivory sample but the dress has already been ordered in ivory.
After finding my dress we decided to use the extra time we had to try out some bridesmaids dresses. This shop just happened to carry 2 dresses I had specifically chosen as well. They both have bow details which, as you all know, I love! So I had the maid of honor be our model  Here are the first 2 we tried.







I loved them both but I decided that my dress is just way too formal for short dresses like these. Right after we decided on that, of course, Lilly comes out and suggests a dress I hadn’t seen and guess what…it was it!



It still has the bow detail on the shoulder, just in a less obvious way. Of course, this won’t be the color. We’ll be doing it in blush and adding a brooch at the waistline. Lilly is holding one up to give the idea but the brooches are actually bow shaped and they still give that bit of “bling” look. Here’s the dress in the right color.



I think the dresses will be really beautiful and flattering to everyone. I still can’t believe Lilly, for all intents and purposes, chose both my wedding dress AND my bridesmaids dresses! She’s very talented 
Once we had chosen the bridesmaids dress I decided I needed to put my dress on one more time so that’s what I did. I felt SO good in it and I am so excited for Ryan to see me walk down the aisle in it!
From there I announced that I had changed my mind and I had absolutely NO interest in going to the last appointment so we cancelled that one and wrapped things up at Merlili.
After finishing up with shopping we grabbed some Starbucks and hung around until it was time for dinner at Benihana which is always fun!







Then we headed back to the hotel. My mom and I had all the girls hang out in one room while we prepared our little surprise for them in the other. I had to take a minute for a picture on the spiral stairs!



We put out champagne and gave everyone little vintage boxes with M&Ms in our
colors and macarons with little boxes to take some home. Also, after taking our engagement pictures Ryan and I went to Basin White and I put together little tubes of bath salts for each person as a thank you for coming gift. We tied little ribbons with Cinderella carriages on them to add a little Disney touch.







Everyone loved their gifts and after enjoying some macarons and champagne we all decided to grab some drinks and bring them up to the rooftop pool and lounge area. We hung out on their amazing loungey furniture and put our feet in the hot tub. We even all got to talk about the room block and other wedding stuff which ended up helping me a lot (more on that later!).



After that we were all exhausted so it was time for bed. Funny side note: I guess because someone mentioned wedding dresses on our reservation, the hotel decided to decorate both our suites like we were on our honeymoon! It’s funny to have kissing swans and rose petals on a bed you’re going to sleep in with your mother! Here are Courtney and my mom cuddling with the honeymoon swans!



In the morning we headed back home and spent the rest of the weekend just hanging out with everyone. It was a super fun weekend and it was so cool to have all these important women in one place for the first time! It gets me so excited for wedding events in the future!
UP NEXT: I’ll try to get you all caught up on everything wedding related that has happened since the dress shopping which is A LOT! Let’s see if I can do it without writing a book! Thanks so much if you actually read all this!

[bradleyjess]

Looks like you had a blast shopping for your dress! Enzoani has beautiful dresses.

I love the bridesmaid dresses! I think they're a great choice

[tinydancr06]

Originally Posted by Summer Daydream

I just caught up with your PJ. I love all your plans. I was so excited to see you got your date and time! Your engagement pictures were amazing. Can't wait to read more. Your day is getting so close!!

Thank you so much! I am glad someone could share our excitement over the date! It seriously is getting close which freaks me out. I need to get going!

Originally Posted by bradleyjess

Looks like you had a blast shopping for your dress! Enzoani has beautiful dresses.

I love the bridesmaid dresses! I think they're a great choice

We definitely did have a blast. I don't know how I missed the Enzoani gowns but they all really are beautiful.

I love the bridesmaid dresses, too! Thanks so much!

[redlight]

Looks like you all had a fun time. Love the dresses. BTW, you look like your mom.

[tinydancr06]

Originally Posted by redlight

Looks like you all had a fun time. Love the dresses. BTW, you look like your mom.

Thank you!

Haha, I get that a lot but I don't see it that much. I guess that's what everyone says, though!

[redlight]

It's not just the look, but also in how you carry yourself. It comes through in the pics.

[tinydancr06]

Originally Posted by redlight

It's not just the look, but also in how you carry yourself. It comes through in the pics.

Oooh, cool! We are very much alike for sure

[LTinlove]

Hey girl! I just wanted to drop by and say I love everythingggg about this wedding! DF and I were thinking about doing our engagement photos at Port Orleans as well, since we went to school and met in NOLA. Can't wait to hear more updates, and I'm super excited for you! Congrats on everything!!