Lets start with the shoes...
So excited about them and seriously had a mini freak out (of excitement) when they arrived. They are the Disney Glass Slipper Collection from DSW. The princess sandal. . . very fitting for a princess like myself
- LOL
Anyway, I first saw them online and they were beautiful. I loved everything about them. They had the perfect amount of bling and bridal. The cobalt color looked more of a purple color online, which I thought may be cool to match my BM colors. But the actual reviews said they were more of a cobalt blue, so I went with the ivory. They were on sale online for $29.00
!!! I went to my local DSW because I wanted to try them on. 1. to see what size I needed to order and 2. to make sure they were comfy.
My local DSW had them in black. I wear heels occasionally for work, but usually keep it a smaller heel to be more comfy. Not to mention the fact that shoeless, Brian is only about 2-3 inches taller than me. So I do not want to be towering over him. THEY WERE PERFECT! So comfy, which was hard to believe since the heel is 4 1/4 inches. But I was seriously like running around the store in them and wasnt at all slightly uncomfortable. People in the store probably thought I was nuts. In store they were only on sale for $43, so im glad I actually had to order them online.
Here they are . . . .
I also love that when you put your feet together, they make a heart.
My something blue . . .
And they came with this cute little note
Onto the Save the Dates. . .
Since we could not decide whether or not to use our AoA photos or our Boardwalk photos. We decided to order half and half. We originally wanted to do a magnet save the date. But when I saw this design I fell in love with it. It was nice to incorporate a bunch of our favorite photos.
The first one is our AoA photos-mostly from the Lion King section. The front is the top photo and the back is the bottom photo. We put our wedding website on here as well. .
The second one is with our Boardwalk photos. Front and back. .
Which do you guys like better? I cant decide which is my favorite. Im glad we did decide to get both.
We will just randomly send them out and I will keep one of each to put into a shadowbox with our wedding stuff.
I also decided to send a pre RSVP card with the save the dates. That way we can get a better idea of how many of our guests are actually coming to the wedding.
We are also having an at home celebration/ joint wedding shower in July. Since we had already put a $1,000.00 deposit down on a venue up home that was non refundable, we were able to apply it towards having our shower here. The golf club is very nice and I came up with the idea to incorporate an at home celebration at the same time, that way our family and friends that cannot come to Disney can still be apart of our wedding.
At first, some people thought it was tacky for me to invite people to our shower that were not coming to Disney. But after talking with a few of my friends (who know that they cannot afford to go or miss work) they were pretty bummed about me NOT inviting them to the shower. Even though they could not make it to Disney they wanted to still celebrate with us. So I think the fact that we are having it as an at home celebration/wedding shower, makes it more socially acceptable.
As a side note, we really arent expecting gifts at the shower, or the wedding for that matter. Its more of an excuse to get together and celebrate and get more excited about the wedding ! I know some people will be bringing gifts so we decided to register at Macys, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target and the Disney Honeymoon registry. That way our guests do have some options if they want to give a gift.
Since I want to incorporate more of a celebration aspect vs. a shower. I decided to copy an idea that alot of women are using for baby showers. And thats having my guests bring the gifts unwrapped or in clear wrapping. That way we can just display the items around the room or on a gift table and Brian and I can spend time mingling with our guests. We will probably have an ipod set up with music and I might splurge for a photobooth that way I can have some photos with guests that cannot make it to Disney for my scrapbook.
My BMs are getting a little frustrated that I am pretty much planning my own shower, lol but I just cant help it-- I LOVE planning. I decided that since I already booked the venue, chosen the menu, and set the rules of having the gifts not be wrapped, id let my girls take over the rest.. I should also mention that our shower/home celebration is in July and the wedding is in October. I know most people have the at home celebration after the actual wedding, but I like my alternative idea. I plan on sending Just Married announcements to our guests that couldnt make it to Disney after we get our wedding photos back that way they can see how we looked on our wedding day.
Back to the pre RSVP cards. . .
I decided to not include a decline options on my pre RSVPs. Instead I put two options; 1. See you in Disney and 2. Will celebrate at home. That way I also have a guest count for how many people will be joining us at home to help my BMs budget for the total cost of the shower/home reception. I figured if people cannot make it to either, they will decline when the actual shower invite or wedding RSVP is sent out.
Here is a photo of my pre- rsvp cards . . .
I made the pre RSVP cards my self and decided to include an option for my guests that are traveling to WDW to include their email address so I can email them more planning information. I do plan on sending out newsletters in the mail, simply because I cannot wait to make them -- but I thought having the option to email would alleviate excess postage costs and allow me to have more interactions with my guests. I also plan on sending them a Specials email when Disney announces new booking specials; 30% off room bookings, Free Dining, etc.
I have already gotten a few texts from family members asking for help with booking so im hoping everyone likes the email option I want to incorporate.
Up Next: The out of control guest list and reception options