Amanda & Terrance, 1/4/2011, S/D & ADH - I am a Wishes Bride Now!

[DisneyCookie24]

Hi everyone,

This is kind of exciting. I have been lurking through the boards the last month or so and LOVE reading what everyone posts about their weddings. It is so exciting and you all have been soooo extremely helpful already! So thanks!

I have finally worked up the guts to make my very own planning journal. I tend to change my mind, A LOT, so hopefully my PJ doesn't get too scatterbrained in the process.

I think I am going to try and keep an index in this first post to help me stay organized and that way in the future if I end up with a ton of stuff, we wont have to page through all the posts to find something. Here goes:



About Us
Just an Intro to Us - #2
How we met - #8
The Proposal - #11

Stuff to Make me Look Gooood!
Dressss! -
Bling - #30
Hair -
Makeup -
Shoooes -


Vendors and the Like
Randy Chapman (Photographer) - #41
Randy Chapman E-pics Downtown Disney - #46

Venues
Il mulino - #48
Fulton's - #53
S/D Ballrooms - #53
Atlantic Dance Hall - #54

DIY
Save The Dates - #22
Bridesmaids Cards - #33

Other Details
Website - #25
Pre Wedding Trip - #40




More to come as I get more done!


Cookie!

 

[DisneyCookie24]

The Bride:

My name is Amanda, but everyone pretty much calls me Cookie, hence "DisneyCookie24". I was born and raised in Ohio, in the Cleveland area, but now live in Toledo. I am 26 years old and I have been forever obsessed with Disney... especially when it come to Walt Disney World. I am an Electrical Engineering apprentice, but kind of hate it and plan on getting out of this as soon as I can. But for now, I am very thankful that I have a somewhat stable job during this bad economy.

The Groom:

Terrance recently spent about 3 years in Korea in the Army as an MP. He is from all over the place really. He lived most of his childhood in Utah, and later moved to Texas with his family during high school and some of middle school. Then he was in the army, and now he is here in Ohio with me making me the happiest and luckiest girl ever. This past August he decided to go back to school at Bowling Green State University for Athletic Training and so far is loving it. Who wouldn't if your assignments were to go to sporting events... this is definitely a good fit for him.


More on Us:

Like I said, we are together in Toledo, Ohio and have 3 fur babies that we love and spoil to death. We have 2 crazy cats name Peaches and Lucifer and a black lab mix named Maliboo, who we are so sad that we will not be bringing her to Disney for our wedding... but I'm sure that she will appreciate being spared the long trip.


so, that pretty much covers us with out going into how we met. Kind of boring I know, but it's who we are.

When I learn to add images and pics, I will definitley add some, because they make things more fun to read if you ask me!

How we met post coming up next!

~Cookie

 

[Ann117]

Welcome!! I am originally from Erie, PA so not to far from you. I know what you mean about have to leave your dog at home. We have three of them its going to be hard. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[pezaddict231]

Welcome and congrats! Don't worry about changing your mind, you're the bride and you're allowed to change your mind about anything. At least that's what I'm going with! I wish you could bring pets to Disney (and not leave them in a Kennel). We've got one crazy cat that we're going to miss so much, and he's so attached to us and hates to be alone, so we're not sure what we're going to do with him yet.

Looking forward to hearing your plans.

 

[jennjones1]

Wahoo another Swan and Dolphin Bride!!

There isn't many of us around!!

 

[happybratpack]

I'm probably going to be a Swan & Dolphin bride too...working out the details now. Congrats!!

 

[DisneyCookie24]

Oh man, I get so wrapped up in reading everyone elses PJs, that I forget I started my own.... bad cookie.

Welcome!! I am originally from Erie, PA so not to far from you. I know what you mean about have to leave your dog at home. We have three of them its going to be hard. Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks and Howdy Neighbor! I am glad that I am not the only one that doesn't want to leave the pooch at home, but if I brought her, it would just be one more thing to worry about, and worry is exactly what I would do. Not about the wedding, but about her...

Welcome and congrats! Don't worry about changing your mind, you're the bride and you're allowed to change your mind about anything. At least that's what I'm going with! I wish you could bring pets to Disney (and not leave them in a Kennel). We've got one crazy cat that we're going to miss so much, and he's so attached to us and hates to be alone, so we're not sure what we're going to do with him yet.

Looking forward to hearing your plans.

Thank you! I love that mantra.... Im the bride and I can change my mind about anything.... I need to keep chanting that to myself constantly.

It's sooo hard to leave the furr babies at home, I know, but you will figure something out hopefully!

Wahoo another Swan and Dolphin Bride!!

There isn't many of us around!!

True that, it was very hard to find any personal perspectives about the S/D, Im just so glad I did find this site, I don't know what I would have done. It's been my own little personal support group, even before I started posting! haha

I'm probably going to be a Swan & Dolphin bride too...working out the details now. Congrats!!

Thanks, and Congrats to you as well, hope things work out!

 

[DisneyCookie24]

How we meet


We have been dating since March 6th, 2008, but we actually met and have been friends since April of 2003. This is how we met.

I was living in Orlando, Florida, participating in the Walt Disney World College Program . During this time, Terrance had traveled to Florida to visit a really good friend of his. It just so happens, that this friend was also my close friend, and neighbor, that I met while I was there. So Terrance and I were introduced and we hit it off well and became good friends even after his visit ended.

A few months later, Terrance decided to join the Disney program as well, so we had a chance to get to know each other more and become better friends while we were both living in Florida. In August, it was time for me to return to Ohio and then in October, Terrance made his way back to Texas. During my Spring break in 2004, I made a trip to Texas to visit Terrance and my other friends. After that trip, Terrance and I still remained good friends for the next 4 or so years, while he was in Korea in the Army, and I was finishing college.

It wasn't until March of 2008 that we decided it was time to have a another visit, and this time, when I went to Texas, we decided that being just friends, was not enough, and so, from that point on, we were "officially" a couple.

We traveled back and forth between Texas and Ohio for 4 months, but Terrance couldn't wait anymore and decided to move to Ohio so we didn't have to be in a long distance relationship anymore. And we have been together, ever since then, living in good 'ole Toledo, Ohio.

 

[MainStMandy]

Hi and Welcome!! I'm a former CP and an Amanda too
Can't wait to read more!!

 

[DisneyCookie24]

Hi and Welcome!! I'm a former CP and an Amanda too
Can't wait to read more!!

Thanks! When and where did you work? I worked at MK on Main Street at the Strollers... And it surprisingly was the best job ever! I loved it. Great name too! haha!

 

[DisneyCookie24]

The Proposal

WARNING: its a tad long... sorry...

Well, it is clear to many who know us, that not only do we both love Disney (esp. Disney World) but it is also the reason that we ever met.

This is why it was Terrance's original plan to pop the question to me, on a trip to Walt Disney World that was being planned with our friends for October 2009. Well, things came up that prevented many of the group from being able to go on the trip anymore, so we all decided to cancel the trip and maybe try again some other time.

Well, Terrance was getting impatient and decided that he couldn't wait to ask me anymore so he devised a plan that I would be completely clueless about.

First he called my mom to make sure that it would be OK to ask me. Then, he called my closest friends to be in on it. So this is how it went down:

It was Friday, April 17th, 2009 around 5 or 6pm. I had just gotten home from work. Our friend Stephanie called me and asked if we wanted to go with her to see a movie that night. Me, being the lazy person and the penny pincher that I am, was very wishy washy about the idea. Finally, after Stephanie said she has free movie passes and that she needs to use them, and after Terrance became really excited about a trip to the movies, I agreed that it would be fun and we decided to go. We hurried up and got ready and headed up to the mall to meet Stephanie there.

While I had absolutely no clue about what was about to happen, Terrance did have my suspicions up for many reasons. First of all, he had been text messaging an extreme amount (even for him) that day, AND his phone was on vibrate too, which is also a rarity. Turns out he didn't want me to hear the ringer for the people he was texting, because I would become too nosy if I found out that it was my friends. Also, he was very adamant about getting to the mall early so we could shop a little before the movie, even though we have no money, and he is never the one who wants to shop, and of all the stores, he wanted to go into the Disney store (over the sports stores).

So, we get there, and we go to the Disney store, and we shop around a little (I am always happy to go into the Disney Store), we didn't buy anything, and then we head on out. I ask to go into Victoria Secret because I wanted more Coconut body spray and so we go in there. Terrance was acting weird like he was looking for something outside of the store, so I ask him what he is doing... He tells me he is smelling the store... It's Terrance, and not as odd of a response as one might think. So I shrug it off. Then, my phone rings. It's Stephanie, she asks if we would meet her at the Disney Store because she needs to get a gift for her nephew, so we head back over there (apparently, at this time, when Terrance was "smelling" he was looking for some people, because his phone didn't get any service to text them).

OK, so we are back in the Disney Store, and we see Stephanie, and we look around a little to help her shop for her nephew, when next thing I know, Terrance is down on his new looking up at me and asking me some super serious questions. I wish I could repeat what he said, but I was too busy saying "oh my gosh, are you serious? no way, I cant believe this, are you serious this time?" to really listen to the words he was saying. And it's true though, he has gotten down on his knee before, in a very joking manner, and asked me to marry him, but it was never for real, I thought this was the same. Even when he held the ring up to me. It wasn't until I looked around and I saw my friends Kat and Andy and Stephanie all taking pictures, that I realized that he was serious, and that I should probably answer. As you all now know, I said yes, and that is our story of our "Disney" engagement...

 

[MainStMandy]

Thanks! When and where did you work? I worked at MK on Main Street at the Strollers... And it surprisingly was the best job ever! I loved it. Great name too! haha!

I worked at the Markethouse on Main St...which sadly doesn't exist anymore. I think that might have been my all time favorite job!! My second program I worked at GMR at MGM...I have also been a manager at the Disney Stores and a Disney travel agent...it's in my blood!!

Your proposal was sooo sweet!! I love that you got your "disney" proposal. My fiance was also planning on proposing at Disney but got impatient! We have a lot in common!!!

 

[trudy88]

Welcome to the boards! Can wait to hear all of your plans...

 

[happybratpack]

What a sweet proposal story!

 

[DisneyCookie24]

I worked at the Markethouse on Main St...which sadly doesn't exist anymore. I think that might have been my all time favorite job!! My second program I worked at GMR at MGM...I have also been a manager at the Disney Stores and a Disney travel agent...it's in my blood!!

Your proposal was sooo sweet!! I love that you got your "disney" proposal. My fiance was also planning on proposing at Disney but got impatient! We have a lot in common!!!

Haha, you definitely have the disney blood, and I'm sooo jealous for it! We sure do have a lot in common! And they are all such good things. Congrats to you!

Welcome to the boards! Can wait to hear all of your plans...

Thanks so much! Hopefully I will keep up on the postings, I'm a bit of a slacker, and I seem to get so caught up in reading what everyone else writes that I forget to write on my own!

What a sweet proposal story!

It was very sweet, thanks! And I'm glad he got impatient and didn't wait until the trip because we STILL wouldn't be engaged! Ahhh!

 

[pezaddict231]

Your proposal story is so sweet. I love how he found a way to incorporate Disney into it even though you couldn't make the trip. Very creative and sweet! look forward to hearing more about your plans.

 

[DisneyCookie24]

Ok, so nothing is officially booked yet, well kind of, but here are our thoughts and tenative plans so far:

Technically, we are booked to get married on June 2th, 2010, in Medina, Ohio.... we payed the deposit and reserved the hall, buuuuuttt....... I like to change my mind a lot, and decided that is NOT where I want to get married. The guest list for the Ohio wedding was nearing 300, and the greater majority was in fact family (we have big families).

Even though we were booked and everything, I was constantly thinking about other places to get married... and most often about going to Disney for it. So after doing more research (90% of it through here, so thank you guys for the great info!) we decided that a Disney Wedding would still save us money and DF and I would be so much happier there. We are such a Disney couple and we have no idea why we didn't take this road from the very beginning.

So our first thought was to do a wishes wedding and trying to stay at the 10,000$ minimum, and we were ok with that price, it fit our budget... a little higher than we would like, but doable... HOWEVER... after further research, we found the minimum would be raised to 12,000$ for 2011 (at least), soooo, thats when I did some more research and heard about the Swan and Dolphin, and Fulton's Crab House (Thanks ladies for those suggestions! It helped!)

So, long story made just a little shorter (but not much), here are the two options that we have narrowed it down to:

1) Ceremony at the Swan and Dolphin in the Crescent Terrace

with a reception to follow (maybe with a cocktail hour in between, not sure yet, at Il Mulino at the Swan and Dolphin

Or Option 2)

Ceremony and Reception at Fultons Crab House

So far I am leaning for Fulton's, the price for there comes out to be about 1200$ cheaper. Which means more money for something else. I am always for that. However, just 3 days ago, I was dead certain that it was going to be at the Swan and Dolphin... soI may change my mind again yeah, that's what I am best at....


I will leave it at that for today, I hope I can write more tomorrow!

 

[DisneyCookie24]

OK, so it's been a LONG time since I posted on here... I think that it was mostly because I didn't have a very clear vision of how this wedding was going to work out, and I was getting discouraged. But this last month or so, things have been coming together better and I'm back in planning mode! So I will bring this PJ up to speed! I apologize if I repeat anything...

**What's been Booked**

Date: OFFICIALLY January 4th, 2011
Ceremony Location: The Swan and Dolphin, Crescent Terrace

Reception Location: Il Mulino at the Swan and Dolphin

Photographer: Randy Chapman

Officiant: Rev Tim Herring

Wedding Planner: Karen Gingerich

Save The Dates: Made and will be sent this weekend sometime...

Colors: Black, Silver, and Pink (like a deep/hot pink, not the light stuff)

Theme: Snowflakes... although I may change it...

Rooming Block: I have made rooming arrangements with Disney's Magical Gathering's People to block off 10 rooms for 7 nights at All Star Sport, Port Orleans, and the Poly.

Groom's Attire: We bought a Suit at Men Wearhouse, but we still need to pick out a tie and shirt for underneath, but it was exciting to get something done in that aspect.


Website: www.terranceandamanda.com (it's password protected, but if you would like to see it just PM me and I will give it to you) I will have some screen shots up later on.

Bridal Party: We have 5 Groomsmen and 5 Bridesmaids, and 1 Jr. Groomsman/Ring Bearer

**What's in Progress**

Hair & Makeup: Looking into either Patricia LeJune or Beaute Speciale since they both seem to be highly recommended by many of you here, but if you have any other suggestions, I am all ears!

Ceremony/Cocktail Hour Music: I am pretty certain that I will be booking a steel drum player. I feel like that will clash with the whole January and Snowflake thing, but I love how they sound and they seem so fun... so I'm thinking I will just go for it.

Reception Music: since it is a dinner reception, and I don't really think there will be room for any type of dancing to happen, I will probably just let the restaurants music play, or play my IPod...

**Stuff to Work On**

Ahh! Everything Else!

The Dress: Usually this is high on other bride's lists, but I want to lose 12 more pounds before I do any more dress shopping. I have gone and found some potential dresses, but I really want to wait. However, if I don't reach that goal by the end of May, then I am going to go regardless cause I don't want to wait too long and not have a dress in time for the Wedding!

Bridesmaids Dresses: We're thinkin' black and short with pink accessories/sashes



Well, I know there is more, but I will have to post that later. I will also go into details on the stuff above probably as well. Now that I have things booked, it is less stressful, however, the stress is by no means gone! I fear it never will be either...

 

[bunny_pop]

You're wedding sounds exciting! I'm using Just Marry as well...but Karen is my assistant planner. Isn't she just amazing

 

[Bride-to-be]

We had Tim Herring too, you will LOVE him!

We had a really really great experience with Ana from Beaute Speciale but I have read great things about Patricia too.

Looks good! You must feel so much more at ease knowing all of the basics are in place.