B&P's VR 11/10/2012 UK/AAP/UKDP Day 1 Arrival & Epcot 6/10

[LuvLuvLuv]

I'm ashamed to be so far behind--I'm very sorry!!

I love the pin and lanyard idea!! I mean I LOVE it!! As long as we've been going, we just got into pins on this trip and I think it sound fantastic!!

As for the +1's.... they should understand that this costs big $$ and should go with your wishes. If they want to bring them and they can tour while your wedding stuff is going on--that's up to them!! They probably won't even be together then

The next year is going to fly and it will all be amazing!!!

 

[BethieTink]

Wow! I am so impressed with the pin plan...I totally want to be a guest, you can just add me to the list like all normal people, right??!? LOL, sorry though--it really isn't fun to have to deal with stuff like that. But it sounds like your plans are moving right along. I think its so fun that you have so many different events planned!

Thanks, Justine. The pins have been a labor of love. It feels good to be done with it. I think I drove Paul crazy on our cruises and our last trip because it was all about finding pins. Sure, come on down and since we met Adam too, I guess you can have a plus 1! We have so many events planned that we are also doing a t-shirt that says "I Survived Paulie & Bethie's Vow Renewal Weekend" with a list of the events on the back with check boxes.

Your pin plan sounds wonderful!!! I am sure that your guests will be so appreciative of all the hard work you've put into planning!!!!

Thanks, Lacey. The couple of guests who know all the plans with the pins love it, so I think we are on to something. Now, I just have to design the character cards and the years of significance cards so that everyone has an idea what they are getting.

I'm ashamed to be so far behind--I'm very sorry!!

I love the pin and lanyard idea!! I mean I LOVE it!! As long as we've been going, we just got into pins on this trip and I think it sound fantastic!!

As for the +1's.... they should understand that this costs big $$ and should go with your wishes. If they want to bring them and they can tour while your wedding stuff is going on--that's up to them!! They probably won't even be together then

The next year is going to fly and it will all be amazing!!!

Deena, Don't worry about being behind. You had a really good excuse! The pin idea has totally gotten Paul and I to buy more pins for ourselves now too. Since I bought so many of them on ebay, my mailman kept thanking me for the business. He must miss all the padded envelopes.

For +1s, I am pretty much banking on at least one of them not being together. I asked another single friend of ours if she was upset about us not inviting her and a guest and she said if we had, she's not sure she would have brought someone. She feels that it is an intimate gathering that a stranger would feel uncomfortable in. That made me feel a lot better.

I kind of want the year to go by quickly, but since I have so many DIY projects in various stages, I really want it to slooowwwly.

Thanks to everyone for reading and/or commenting. I have several updates in my head and just need the time to get them to my fingertips.

 

[BethieTink]

Well, with our LOA signed and deposit processed we are moving right along. We have received our AP's and been assigned our planner and we have Kathy Terry and her assistant Sarah. They both seem very nice, easy to work with, and fast responders.

We have already scheduled our PS for June 29th!!!! We are going down late on June 27th and coming home on July 1st.

Here is our tentative plan for the trip.

June 27th -

Leave Boston on a 6:45pm flight, so that Paul doesn't have to take off work or leave early. Arrive in Orlando around 9:45. Pick up a rental car (and maybe some food) and head to Wilderness Lodge.

June 28th -

Have an early morning trial run for hair and make-up scheduled with Janet Mednick. Time TBD, but has to be done since at...
10 - We are meeting (hopefully, Regina or Amy) at Wilderness for a photo shoot. When we figured out that we wanted to do the Photopass book for our guest book, we (I) decided that I wanted to have nice pictures for it. Not just the park pictures where we look like we are having fun, but not necessarily good.

After the photo session, hop in the car and head out of Disney for some lunch and then an appt. at 2 with Carolyn Allen's to pick out Paul's outfit. It shouldn't take too long, since he has a very specific look in mind and CA's has one that seems to be perfect.

When we are done with CA's, we plan to head to DTD and do whatever shopping we need to get done that trip. Mainly some stuff at the Christmas store since we plan on giving some ornaments to the participants in our ceremony.

Head back to the resort, maybe swim, maybe nap. Dinner will be at Whispering Canyon that night.

June 29th -

Planning on an early breakfast at GF Cafe before our PS.

PS from 9-1. We have an hour break before our tasting and may try to meet with Shelley from Impressions to wrap up our invites and other stuff. Or we might just try to absorb everything.

At 2:15 we head off with Kathy to the Epcot Central Kitchen for our tasting. We are so excited about this!

After our tasting, maybe we meet with Shelley at that point, since it would be less rushed. Head back to the resort for a rest. I will make a late reservation at Ohana (if not Ohana, maybe head to Trails End at FW) and then MK has EMH till 1, so if we feel up to it, head over there for the night.

June 30th -

If we don't go to MK the night before, we might head over in the morning and have breakfast at Crystal Palace. Stay in the park for the morning and then head back to the resort. Or we will go to Chef Mickey's for breakfast and hang out at resort all day. Dinner that night will be at Artist Point, one of my favorites. Hopefully, we can relax on Saturday and not have anything to do.

July 1st -

Early breakfast at Whispering Canyon and then head to the airport to head home on a 1:30 flight. I will be sad, since we won't be back until our VR, but we will be well on our way.

Any and all comments or suggestions are welcome! Thanks everyone!

 

[BethieTink]

Not a huge update, but tomorrow I have 2 VR things to do.

Tomorrow is our 11 month window for DVC, so I will be making our reservation at the Beach Club Villas for at least the first 5 days of our trip. We have my brother and sister in law staying with us in a 2 bedroom and that is sadly all that I have points available for. We would like to stay in a one bedroom for the remaining 5 days, so if there is a way we can do it without moving, it would be ideal. Hopefully, member services can figure something out for me. If not, we will take rooms in our block.

After reading all of the problems with Disney Videography regarding music selections, I asked for a contact person, so I could discuss this and see if we could a custom package between the lower and middle selection. I emailed her on November 17th and finally heard back from her last Friday. We have a call set up for tomorrow at noon. I will report back what I learn.

I am more nervous about the videography call than member services, but with any luck both of them will be successful.

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

All of your plans sound great! I cannot WAIT to read about them.

Also, fingers crossed for calling Member Services tomorrow!

 

[BethieTink]

Thanks, Jackie!!!

About to start dialing! **Fingers crossed**

 

[BethieTink]

Well, this day was not as successful as I had hoped.

I called DVC Member Services right at 9 and got right in. Gave my information to the rep and started to explain what I needed and was suddenly disconnected.

Called back and went through it all again. I explained that we needed a 2 bedroom villa for the first 5 nights that we have DVC points for and then we need a 1 bedroom for the second 5 nights that we need the member rate for. I also would prefer if we could have the 2 bedroom that has the studio lockoff, so hopefully, we won't have to move rooms.

The CM tells me they need to be separate reservations, which is fine, but that since the second reservation wouldn't begin until the 12th, I can't make it until at least then. Ggrr...Okay, fine, let's make the important one so that we have a place to sleep for the actual VR date.

So, we make that and move on to the next topic - a room for our friends for the same dates as our first reservation. Turns out that the cash reservations aren't even in the system yet and they are not sure when they will be or what the rates will be! Wow, I am really striking out all over the place today. So 1 for 3 with DVC. I really just want this done, but I will try again next week.

I had a call set up with Kirsten (who does the Disney weddings) from Bruno White about videography at noon. At 12:15, no call, no email. I send her an email to see if I was supposed to call her and then I called the number in her signature and got her voicemail. Left a message and went about my day. Finally, at 2 o'clock she called me. I guess it was noon somewhere.

I had 2 main issues that I wanted to talk about before deciding on having a friend do it (again!). I had seen the Disney packages (8 hours, 6 hours and ceremony only) and really was hoping to get something less than 6, but the ceremony plus the important stuff at the reception (toasts, dance, etc.). Well, it turns out, they have a new custom package that they have put together, which covers the ceremony and the first hour of the reception. Score!!! That sounds perfect for us!

My second and main issue was the music. We have gotten really nervous about using Disney videography based on some of the music issues that brides have posted here. It turns out for the custom package we would pick, it really isn't an issue. There is only 1 montage and they pick an instrumental piece and that is fine with me. I just didn't want Hey Soul Sister on it.

Sorry this wasn't the most exciting update, but I had to vent a little. Wish I had gotten more done, but oh well, what can you do.

 

[virtuous girl]

well at least u have a place 2 stay for the actual VR!
How much do they charge 4 the ceremony plus 1 hr of reception video package? everything sounds great

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Well, I'm glad you have a place to stay! I hope you get your other ressies though. At least you own at BCV: my grandparents own at Vero Beach, so we always just take what we can get at 7 months!

The video package sounds fabulous. (and OMG I hate "Hey Soul Sister" LOL)

 

[BethieTink]

well at least u have a place 2 stay for the actual VR!
How much do they charge 4 the ceremony plus 1 hr of reception video package? everything sounds great

Thanks for reading along. I have been reading your, too, just never seem to comment. My bad! I will try to be better about that. Yours looks fabulous as well.

Video explanation is below. We always have our room block, but I promised my brother and SIL that they could stay with us in a 2 BRM, and really wanted to cross it off my ever growing to do list.

Well, I'm glad you have a place to stay! I hope you get your other ressies though. At least you own at BCV: my grandparents own at Vero Beach, so we always just take what we can get at 7 months!

The video package sounds fabulous. (and OMG I hate "Hey Soul Sister" LOL)

Thanks, Jackie. When we bought our DVC in 2006, they were pushing Saratoga really hard, which we didn't want. We told our consultant that we wanted Beach Club or nothing. Got lucky that some points came along in about a month. It is one of the best decisions we ever made.

I would love to stay at Vero sometime, but never get around to it.

As I mentioned above, I knew we wouldn't be homeless, but wanted to secure what I really wanted. Now, I just need to get the rest hopefully next week or the week after.

I have an even better update on the video coming up right now....
___________________________________________

I received an email from Kirsten at Disney Video confirming what we had talked about and she also gave me a breakdown time was of what it would look like. As I looked at it, I realized that it's not just an 1 of the reception, BUT 2!!! It covers the pre-reception and the first full hour. Woohoo!!! This makes me feel even better, since I was starting to think how would we get everything done in that hour. I won't be as worried now. We get 3 cameras covering the ceremony and 2 for the reception. All of this for only $2000! Not too bad, plus I believe there might be a small discount if using Disney both photography and videography.

One less thing to worry about. Whew!

 

[tric8783]

Hi there!! Not sure how I missed all this until just now! I might lose my head if it weren't attached I swear!

Love that you're in Boston, since it's my favorite city!! We are coming up for my bachelorette weekend in February!

Love all of your plans, your story, everything! Your pin idea sounds so fun, I'm sure your guests will really like collecting all the different pins!

My parents are DVC owners too (owners on steroids really, they own at BW, BC, OKW, SSR, AKV, & BLT) haha. Yes, obsessed I know! My mom has a connection within DVC, all I know is his name is Travis. She contacted him as soon as we knew our date and he put us down for everything we wanted for the wedding and booked our HM to Aulani before the booking window somehow! He is amazing! I'll ask her for his contact info for you, see if he can spread a little magic for you too! DF always laughs when she says she'll just call Travis. Who is on a first-name basis with their DVC rep? lol... only my mom!

STILL haven't heard back from Laura on my floral mad I'm starting to get irritated, but I'll post it as soon as I get it, I promise!! I'll also try to come back and check your plans more often!!
I love that you're doing a ladies luncheon/men's event and a farewell breakfast. I'm still trying to work the wheels to see if we can do a farewell breakfast too, and I love the space you're using too! Is there a minimum to use the patio for a farewell breakfast?

 

[BethieTink]

Hi there!! Not sure how I missed all this until just now! I might lose my head if it weren't attached I swear!

Love that you're in Boston, since it's my favorite city!! We are coming up for my bachelorette weekend in February!

Love all of your plans, your story, everything! Your pin idea sounds so fun, I'm sure your guests will really like collecting all the different pins!

My parents are DVC owners too (owners on steroids really, they own at BW, BC, OKW, SSR, AKV, & BLT) haha. Yes, obsessed I know! My mom has a connection within DVC, all I know is his name is Travis. She contacted him as soon as we knew our date and he put us down for everything we wanted for the wedding and booked our HM to Aulani before the booking window somehow! He is amazing! I'll ask her for his contact info for you, see if he can spread a little magic for you too! DF always laughs when she says she'll just call Travis. Who is on a first-name basis with their DVC rep? lol... only my mom!

STILL haven't heard back from Laura on my floral mad I'm starting to get irritated, but I'll post it as soon as I get it, I promise!! I'll also try to come back and check your plans more often!!
I love that you're doing a ladies luncheon/men's event and a farewell breakfast. I'm still trying to work the wheels to see if we can do a farewell breakfast too, and I love the space you're using too! Is there a minimum to use the patio for a farewell breakfast?

Hi Tricia!

Thanks for finding me! I totally understand about your head being all over the place. I have a million projects, lists, etc. in various states of completion. I can't seem to finish one thing before dreaming up the next one or two. I really need to focus before the holidays. Paul is off that week, so I am hoping he can help with a few.

I love that you picked Boston for your bachelorette. That will be a lot of fun. I have always loved Boston and wanted to live here. Just didn't think I would have to marry someone to do it.

Thank you for your kind thoughts. I hope our guests like the pins as much as we have enjoyed finding them for them.

I can't believe your parents own so much DVC! Wow!!! It would be easier to list where they don't own than where they do. Thanks for the offer of the contact. If I don't get this resolved resolved soon, I may need all the help I can get. Thanks again for the offer, I truly appreciate it.

Well, piffle on Laura. Doesn't she realize that someone else is waiting for this too!

I can't believe we ended up with so many events. It seems crazy, but we figured if everyone was going to come this far to see us renew our vows, we better make it a good time. Due to the number of events, we are doing a t-shirt for everyone that says "I Survived Bethie & Paulie's Vow Renewal" with all the events listed on it with check boxes next to each one.

There is a $1000 food and beverage minimum for the Asbury Patio. I was kind of surprised by it, but I love the space , so what am I going to do. I am not too worried about hitting that for our breakfast, but it could turn out to be a very elaborate tea (with alcohol, which I wasn't planning on doing). Again, I think the space is perfect, so it will be what it will be. I hope you get to do something there.

Thanks again for stopping by! Come back soon!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Woohoo! So glad to hear about the video!!! That doesn't sound like a bad price at ALL!!!

Your VR is going to be the best. I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, Bethie!

 

[BethieTink]

Woohoo! So glad to hear about the video!!! That doesn't sound like a bad price at ALL!!!

Your VR is going to be the best. I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, Bethie!

Jackie,

Thank you so much for say this! If you can sneak down, maybe I could sneak you in?

I am really thrilled about the video. We didn't get that done professionally the first time and had a friend did it. It was okay, but he decided to move the camera during one of the best moments of our ceremony (my best friend, John, sang a beautiful song "I Chose Right"). I was so ticked! Very happy I won't have to deal with that this time.

Have a very random update to do, but need dinner first.

 

[BethieTink]

I can't believe we are under a year. It seems to be going very quickly. I really need to start getting some stuff crossed off the list while I have time.

I realized that I have been a bad furmommy and have never posted a photo of our babies. So, I need to correct that. I blame them all the time for deleting posts and other things, so it's only fair that everyone knows that they look like and their story.

The cat on left who is dark gray, is Ozzie. He is named for Ozzie Smith, my favorite baseball player. The middle guy is Yaz, named for Carl Yazstremski, Paul's favorite baseball player. The white pawed big guy on the right is Rocket, named for Roger Clemens (named before the whole steroids thing came out)

In December 2002, I decided that we needed a pet. I had always had dogs and Paul had always had cats. I decided that since we have a small house, no fence and we travel alot that we should get a kitten. It quickly evolved to 2 kittens, since they really need friends. We waited till the spring to start looking.

In May of 2003, the shelter we were working with had a litter of 3 kittens in a foster home. I was told that we could just pick the 2 we wanted and they would find a buddy for the one we didn't take. I suddenly got it in my head that what difference would one more kitten make! Paul had the same thought, too, but didn't say anything.

We made arrangements to go see them one night after work. As we were walking up to the front door, I said to Paul "We're taking all three, right?" He looked at me and said "Absolutely!" We have had more indepth discussion about what to have for dinner most nights. We met them and knew we could never leave one behind. We made plans to pick them up as soon as they could leave their mama and were so excited.

Fast forward almost 9 years and it is still the best decision we ever made. They cuddle and groom each other, chase each other through the house all the time and snuggle up with us at night. We couldn't have been more blessed. They all have very different personalities, but they are all amazingly loving and fabulous felines.

Sorry, I had to brag a bit. I know lots of us on here are fur parents and feel this way about our babies and decided to finally share my kittens with everyone.

On to VR stuff...

I forgot to post a picture of the decks of cards I ordered from knot.com for our welcome baqs. We have a lot of poker and cribbage players, so I know these will get some use. It's not a great photo, but you can get the idea. I have sent them to Shelley at Impressions so she can design a label for the box (which I didn't take a photo of).

All You Need Is Love was our intro song the first time around and we both love The Beatles. Helps tie it all together.

With our reception at American Adventure Parlor, we mercifully get private bathrooms. I am so excited about this. I plan on doing an amenity basket in both. I have already purchased the baskets and recently sent the linings to Amanda to be embroidered. They will have Donald and Daisy on each end with The Landry's in between. I will post them when I get them. I am so thankful to Amanda for doing these and excited to see them.

I figured since we were in a private space, I ordered towels too. They were having a sale on knot.com and I got one box of 80 towels for less than $20. I thought that was a good deal. The flash makes the foil stamp look gold, but it is actually silver.

I think they are cute. I wouldn't have done them if they were much more expensive, but for $20, seemed like something I wanted to have.

The girls and I also picked out their acessories last night, except for shoes (have to wait until September for those) and I will post photos of those tomorrow.

 

[librarygeek]

I have read through your whole PJ and I'm joining in now! Hope you don't mind if I share some of my thoughts

* I love your story, and it is inspiring to see how much the two of you have been through. You really do deserve this vow renewal!
* Your dress is just gorgeous, and I think it's perfect for a vow renewal!
* Your locations are so beautiful. You picked some places that I don't see very often on these boards, but they are stunning! If I had a Disney wedding I would definitely be looking into some similar spots.
* I love the lanyard Save the Dates idea! And especially assigning each guest a character, that sounds like so much fun!
* I love your jewelry! Especially the tiara, that is going to look so pretty.
* Ugh, sorry you have guest drama. I feel like it is inevitable, no matter how small your wedding or how reasonable your guests/friends/family usually are! My sister went through about 6 guys from Match.com in the time period from when invites were sent to my wedding, and up until the week before the wedding she was thinking she would bring her current guy (she'd only been with him for about a month), but finally decided it probably wasn't a good idea. Thank goodness, because they broke up a week after our wedding! I probably had about 5 people tell me they were bringing a guest when I hadn't given a plus 1. I'm afraid I don't have any good advice on how to deal with it though - we let it go since we ended up having less guests RSVP yes than we expected, so we had the budget for it anyway. The only person I confronted was my brother, because he was doing that thing where he was dating a girl but they kept breaking up and getting back together a week later. When they were temporarily broken up he was all ready to invite some other girl to the wedding (about three weeks before), which I wasn't happy about for multiple reasons (I knew he'd inevitably get back together with his girlfriend and that would be a mess, I didn't know the girl he wanted to bring, and we have tons of mutual friends so it's not like he wouldn't know anyone). I tried to talk to him about it but that didn't go over well, he got really mad and kept saying that I didn't care about him or his relationship troubles, just my "stupid wedding." Sorry for such a long story and I know this doesn't really help! But at least I can show you that you're not alone?
* Okay, I now REALLY love your pin idea after hearing it explained! I wish I had an excuse to do something like this... maybe I can!! DH and I are planning a trip in 2013 with my parents and my brother, and they haven't been to Disney in ages. Maybe to make it special I could do something similar and give them a pin each day that has some sort of significance... hmm, I will have to give this some more thought!!
* Your kitties are so beautiful. I can totally relate to your story about getting three. We were originally looking for just one, mostly because we wanted to see how our budget would look what with the typical care (food, litter, etc)., check-ups, and the additional rental fee our apartment charges per cat. But when they said we had to take two it wasn't really a question, we just got two! I'm glad, it makes me feel less guilty about leaving them alone when I have to go out somewhere.

Sorry for writing a mini-essay on your PJ here! Being done with my semester until January gives me lots of free time to comment on PJs! But I love all of your ideas and I'm eager to keep following along!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Awww. Your kittens are so cute and loved. I couldn't imagine adopting two puppies at a time though. Smokey was such a handful when we adopted him--- and he still is! (He really is.) It's our fault because we baby him though. (Many nights, he sleeps in between Chris and me, laying like a person and with his on a pillow. Oh yes!)

Anyway, as for your VR stuff: I love the cards! Very cute. And the napkins are awesome. I must say... I am now biased against napkins though. Chris works for a company that designs napkins, and whenever we are in a store that sells them we have to go and look at them.

And Amanda does fabulous embroidery. You won't be unhappy.

 

[BethieTink]

I have read through your whole PJ and I'm joining in now! Hope you don't mind if I share some of my thoughts

* I love your story, and it is inspiring to see how much the two of you have been through. You really do deserve this vow renewal!
* Your dress is just gorgeous, and I think it's perfect for a vow renewal!
* Your locations are so beautiful. You picked some places that I don't see very often on these boards, but they are stunning! If I had a Disney wedding I would definitely be looking into some similar spots.
* I love the lanyard Save the Dates idea! And especially assigning each guest a character, that sounds like so much fun!
* I love your jewelry! Especially the tiara, that is going to look so pretty.
* Ugh, sorry you have guest drama. I feel like it is inevitable, no matter how small your wedding or how reasonable your guests/friends/family usually are! My sister went through about 6 guys from Match.com in the time period from when invites were sent to my wedding, and up until the week before the wedding she was thinking she would bring her current guy (she'd only been with him for about a month), but finally decided it probably wasn't a good idea. Thank goodness, because they broke up a week after our wedding! I probably had about 5 people tell me they were bringing a guest when I hadn't given a plus 1. I'm afraid I don't have any good advice on how to deal with it though - we let it go since we ended up having less guests RSVP yes than we expected, so we had the budget for it anyway. The only person I confronted was my brother, because he was doing that thing where he was dating a girl but they kept breaking up and getting back together a week later. When they were temporarily broken up he was all ready to invite some other girl to the wedding (about three weeks before), which I wasn't happy about for multiple reasons (I knew he'd inevitably get back together with his girlfriend and that would be a mess, I didn't know the girl he wanted to bring, and we have tons of mutual friends so it's not like he wouldn't know anyone). I tried to talk to him about it but that didn't go over well, he got really mad and kept saying that I didn't care about him or his relationship troubles, just my "stupid wedding." Sorry for such a long story and I know this doesn't really help! But at least I can show you that you're not alone?
* Okay, I now REALLY love your pin idea after hearing it explained! I wish I had an excuse to do something like this... maybe I can!! DH and I are planning a trip in 2013 with my parents and my brother, and they haven't been to Disney in ages. Maybe to make it special I could do something similar and give them a pin each day that has some sort of significance... hmm, I will have to give this some more thought!!
* Your kitties are so beautiful. I can totally relate to your story about getting three. We were originally looking for just one, mostly because we wanted to see how our budget would look what with the typical care (food, litter, etc)., check-ups, and the additional rental fee our apartment charges per cat. But when they said we had to take two it wasn't really a question, we just got two! I'm glad, it makes me feel less guilty about leaving them alone when I have to go out somewhere.

Sorry for writing a mini-essay on your PJ here! Being done with my semester until January gives me lots of free time to comment on PJs! But I love all of your ideas and I'm eager to keep following along!

Becky,

Nice to have you here! I love the mini essay. I just love comments!

Thank you for all nice thoughts about all our plans. We are really excited.

Glad you like our venues. We definitely wanted something different and we also want to totally max out the Disney for our guests. I know alot of brides try to keep the Disney to a minimum, but we are going all Duck, all the time.

It also helps that we can tie all of venues into our Rockin All Over the World theme. Bruce Springsteen got his start in Asbury Park,NJ. We are using the Asbury Patio. The Boardwalk is definitely Bruce related and our welcome dinner is there. For the ceremony and the reception, since we are starting in the UK and then going to America, we are saying it's the British Invasion. It's amazing how we got it all to fit.

Thanks for understanding about the plus 1s. I will probably give in on John, if he is still dating Charlie when the invites go out. We are meeting him in January, so that will determine it. John did send me a picture of Charlie's tree topper and it was a rotating Mickey, so maybe there is hope for him!

I will continue to stick my head in the sand regarding my other friend. No point in either one of us getting angry at this point. Real mature and adult, I know, but probably best. I see this getting ugly and due to other issues with her, if it is friendship busting, it may be time. Hopefully, it won't come to that, but I am prepared.

Sorry you had your own issues. It seems like we all do, don't we. Stinks that yours were your siblings. Ugh. Your brother was the funniest. I had one of my brothers ask me the first time "Do you think this day is all about you?" And he was married! What do they not get!

We have loved doing the pins. It has been so much fun. And some of guests who know about the character pins are loving it. If we have chosen a character they hadn't thought of, they suddenly love why we chose it for them. Some of our friends have told us not to tell them and ruin the surprise.

Funny story about this, I was out in Arizona in September visiting my Dad and Stepmom. They are invited, but don't travel anymore, so won't be coming. I am still sending them everything though, so they feel included. My stepmom asked what characters they would have been, so I told her. My father has an obsession with time and looking at his watch, so he would be The White Rabbit from Alice (she howled!). Then, I told her that I was going to go totally opposite for her and make her the Wicked Stepmother. She has been in my life for over 20 years and has been great to me, so she knows it's totally a joke and she LOVED IT!!!

I totally understand about the cost of the extra kitten, but (from our experience) it is not that much extra for the most part. Vet bills aren't great, but hopefully it's only once a year or so. And they totally pay it back to you in love. I am so glad you got two and can't wait to watch them on facebook grow up. They seem to have gotten very lucky and gotten a good home. Just remember this saying when they do something bad "Kittens are cute, so we don't kill them." It really has worked for 9 years in my house.

I hope I can keep everyone who is following along entertained until the big day.

Awww. Your kittens are so cute and loved. I couldn't imagine adopting two puppies at a time though. Smokey was such a handful when we adopted him--- and he still is! (He really is.) It's our fault because we baby him though. (Many nights, he sleeps in between Chris and me, laying like a person and with his on a pillow. Oh yes!)

Anyway, as for your VR stuff: I love the cards! Very cute. And the napkins are awesome. I must say... I am now biased against napkins though. Chris works for a company that designs napkins, and whenever we are in a store that sells them we have to go and look at them.

And Amanda does fabulous embroidery. You won't be unhappy.

Thanks, Jackie. I agree, not sure I would take on 2 puppies, either. I totally could not tell that Smokey was spoiled. Never. Our boys typically sleep on my side of the bed at the bottom. I sometimes get some freedom or space, but usually never both at the same time. It always feels weird when we go away and I can move! Ozzie is the worst, you try to move him and he just dead weights you. He's only 10 pounds, but still tough to move!

Thanks for the comments on my cards and towels. Loved the comment about Chris and the napkins. Men are funny sometimes.

I can't wait to see what Amanda does for me. I also bought 2 small Lands' End bags for the girls and Amanda is embroidering their names on them with their favorite princess (Ariel and Jasmine). She is also doing handkerchiefs for me to give the girls too. I am starting to make a list of other items for her to make me too, when I get closer. Yay!!

 

[BethieTink]

With our theme being Rockin' All Over the World, music is very important to us. We need a DJ who is going to be okay with not taking requests (for the most part) and a very limited play list - lots of Springsteen, Beatles, Kinks, Beach Boys (these are our table names too) and anything 80s or earlier. We did the same thing for our first wedding and everyone had a blast and since almost everyone coming to the VR was at the wedding, shouldn't be a big deal.

I had listened to DJ Chuck's podcast with Carrie and thought I would give him a shot. I looked at his website and liked what I saw, so I called him today to find out how to make sure I got him for our event. He told me to call my planner and they would book him, since he was open on our date. Seems a no brainer.

So, I call our assistant, Sarah, and explain all this to her, especially how important this is to us. She seemed a little surprised that this was such a big deal, so early in our planning. I told her again that with a music based theme, we need to make sure that we get the music we want and feel comfortable with our entertainment.

She tells me that she can put in the request, but that we won't know until, at the earliest, September. I guess I started to sound angry and panicked, because she kept asking me if I was okay. I kept telling her no. That this could make or break our event and that for me to have stress over it for 9 months, is crazy!!!! She told me she would note it and see what happens.

I also told her that if we can't guarantee Chuck now, that we need to be assigned earlier than normal because we are away and unreachable for over 2weeks in October on the Disney Fantasy. I told her I was not going to pay for internet everyday so that I could sit there and refresh my email to see who we got. I really need the bulk of all this done before I set foot on the Fantasy. She said she would note that too, but didn't seem to sway her much in our needs. I hung up really angry and vented at poor Paul. I was also writing my rant for here too, but decided I needed lunch instead. Good thing.

I sent Chuck and email explaining the jist of what happened and that hopefully it would all work out. Not 20 minutes later, I got an email back from him that WE WERE CONFIRMED ALREADY! I emailed him back to make sure and he told me we were all set. I couldn't believe it. All that anger and frustration for absolutely nothing. I was so happy and relieved, I was dancing around the house.

I quickly wrote an email to Sarah thanking her for the pixie dust and getting this done for me. I also copied my planner, so she knew what was going on. So, the rant got cancelled. Why does Disney do this to people??

I guess alls well that ends well. And one less thing huge thing I have to stress about!

 

[librarygeek]

I totally understand about the cost of the extra kitten, but (from our experience) it is not that much extra for the most part. Vet bills aren't great, but hopefully it's only once a year or so. And they totally pay it back to you in love. I am so glad you got two and can't wait to watch them on facebook grow up. They seem to have gotten very lucky and gotten a good home. Just remember this saying when they do something bad "Kittens are cute, so we don't kill them." It really has worked for 9 years in my house.

That's what we figured, that the extra cost wouldn't be too terrible. Basically, instead of upgrading to smart phones like we were going to, we're using that money for the kittens, and that pretty much covers their "rent."

And that's a saying I'll have to remember! Definitely kept it in my mind yesterday, when we found one of them had peed on the bed...

I may be sending you a PM later with some general kitten related questions

With our theme being Rockin' All Over the World, music is very important to us. We need a DJ who is going to be okay with not taking requests (for the most part) and a very limited play list - lots of Springsteen, Beatles, Kinks, Beach Boys (these are our table names too) and anything 80s or earlier. We did the same thing for our first wedding and everyone had a blast and since almost everyone coming to the VR was at the wedding, shouldn't be a big deal.

I had listened to DJ Chuck's podcast with Carrie and thought I would give him a shot. I looked at his website and liked what I saw, so I called him today to find out how to make sure I got him for our event. He told me to call my planner and they would book him, since he was open on our date. Seems a no brainer.

So, I call our assistant, Sarah, and explain all this to her, especially how important this is to us. She seemed a little surprised that this was such a big deal, so early in our planning. I told her again that with a music based theme, we need to make sure that we get the music we want and feel comfortable with our entertainment.

She tells me that she can put in the request, but that we won't know until, at the earliest, September. I guess I started to sound angry and panicked, because she kept asking me if I was okay. I kept telling her no. That this could make or break our event and that for me to have stress over it for 9 months, is crazy!!!! She told me she would note it and see what happens.

I also told her that if we can't guarantee Chuck now, that we need to be assigned earlier than normal because we are away and unreachable for over 2weeks in October on the Disney Fantasy. I told her I was not going to pay for internet everyday so that I could sit there and refresh my email to see who we got. I really need the bulk of all this done before I set foot on the Fantasy. She said she would note that too, but didn't seem to sway her much in our needs. I hung up really angry and vented at poor Paul. I was also writing my rant for here too, but decided I needed lunch instead. Good thing.

I sent Chuck and email explaining the jist of what happened and that hopefully it would all work out. Not 20 minutes later, I got an email back from him that WE WERE CONFIRMED ALREADY! I emailed him back to make sure and he told me we were all set. I couldn't believe it. All that anger and frustration for absolutely nothing. I was so happy and relieved, I was dancing around the house.

I quickly wrote an email to Sarah thanking her for the pixie dust and getting this done for me. I also copied my planner, so she knew what was going on. So, the rant got cancelled. Why does Disney do this to people??

I guess alls well that ends well. And one less thing huge thing I have to stress about!

I'm so glad this worked out for you! It seems absolutely crazy that they would normally make you wait until September. I don't understand that at all. I mean, the DJ is one of your vendors, of course you want that confirmed a good deal ahead of time!