It's almost showtime...12/4/2010!

[dreamer01]

Getting married in a couple of weeks at the Disneyland Hotel's Rose Court Garden. Our reception will be at the Sleeping Beauty Pavilion.
Let's see where to start. Not your typical couple. Tony, my fiance, and I were both previously married at a young age when we first joined the Army. I had a beautiful daughter out of mine. We met while stationed in England. We are both out now and live in California, where we are both from. We were together for two years when we got the news of a new baby that was going to join the family. Although there was much concern of us to rush and get married I decided not to. It wasn't how I wanted it to be so we waited.
We decided to get married at Disneyland because we live in Northern California and all of our close and extended family live down South. I am not associated with any churches down there and I didn't want to pick just some random place. We both are true Disney fans. My youngest who is not even three yet, has been there four times. I guess I should mention what sealed the deal. Tony proposed at Disneyland in front of the castle in May of 2010!!!

http://cdnservice.phanfare.com/imag...mall_2/0_0_af89007df978efe5eebe810a8799f956_1

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Hi! Welcome! Your wedding is soo close! Quick! Post details! I believe you have to have 10'posts before you can post pictures...looking forward to hearing more !

 

[dreamer01]

I went to David's Bridal for all of the dresses.

Here is mine:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/images/product/return/P_8346_1_181901.jpg

Bridesmaids (my 2 sisters, my oldest will be MOH, youngest bridesmaid):
http://www.davidsbridal.com/images/product/return/P_6588_1_127015.jpg

The bridesmaids dresses will be in Marine (dark blue) with a Marine short sleeve jacket.
They will have a sash around the waist in Capri (light blue).

Flower Girls (my 2 daughters 8 yrs and 2 yrs):
http://www.davidsbridal.com/images/product/return/P_6632_1_127059.jpg

The flower girl dress colors are opposite of the bridesmaids. The dress will be in Capri and their sash will be in Marine.

The men's tuxedos are from Mens Warehouse. Tony will be wearing a white vest and tie to match me and the BM, GM, and RB will wear a Midnight Rio vest and tie. My dad's tuxedo will be with a black vest and tie and our usher will be wearing a suit with a tie that matches our Marine blue.

Ring Pillow, Garter, Guest book:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/images/product/detail/I_15149_2_103971.jpg

The flower baskets will be coming from disney. I heard they are a white basket with my accent colors.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Welcome and congratulations!!
I love all your details and the dresses are beautiful!!
It is going to be a stunning wedding!!

 

[KitKat5]

Your wedding is sooo close!! How exciting!! I love all your dresses! I cant wait to read more!!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Beuatiful! More please!

 

[dreamer01]

For the ceremony: we used an outside vendor, Enchanted Carriages, for the horse drawn carriage. We could not afford the Disney ones, but I think this is perfect for me. I definitely did not want to do the Cinderella coach because of price and because I am doing a more Sleeping Beauty theme.

http://www.yourenchantedcarriage.com/files/picturemodule/_thumb.c1.w500.h500/48cffd9c1009c_2.JPG

I am also using an outside vendor for the ceremony music. A harpist named Pamela Brown.

http://pamelabrownharpist.com/images/pam.jpg

If I had more money I would have her play at the pre-reception, but some things had to give.

The only decoration at the ceremony will be a small bouquet of flowers in our colors (dark/light blue) fixed atop the gazebo. This will later be placed at the sweetheart table as our centerpiece.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJEvdbC819-x93F1NDsHdzqD5kso4hpTT3ipJz4J796cYapKleZQ

I made the programs. You will quickly see I am no Martha Stewart, but they will do.

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_36499e870010bbdd76dec36e654f97d3_1

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_0416450ee0f4c3cc626058a46d313c5c_1

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_9af1597d001ec09ffa06c1479f2309e9_1

Accompanied with the programs will be a tube of bubbles. After or right before we are pronounced husband and wife, the guests will line up along the
sidewalk running down the middle and blow bubbles at us as we exit to the horse drawn carriage!

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_b47a69b63fd0b01f25def44fd16ebc29_1

I am doing a unity candle ceremony. I got the normal unity set with candles for the moms and tapers for our 2 girls. Here is a picture of just the main candle. I ordered online from Kat's Candles. They are beautiful!

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_2343a2f906eb6f4ea4a0ddb4508fbce8_1

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_b11b7d599840e11a792c18104ea10ba2_1

Now the reception will just be light appetizers, the Artisan Selection which is a cheese and cracker array with fruits. We will also have the open bar for four hours of sodas, beers, and wines. I do feel bad because like I said there will be no music and I do not have decorations for those tables. I wanted my place cards to be ornaments that I personalized on a small Christmas tree which would sit on the table they provide. I decided to make it easy on myself especially since I do not know how I am going to fit everything in my car. Here is a picture of the simple place cards and the figurine that will be in the middle.

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_5a5c86812bfee605f6e3242d88a1a2a9_1

Let me squeeze this picture of the figurine that is going on the table of the guest book at the ceremony.

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...mall_2/0_0_2d274174bb164f222f35404c7132ced2_1

 

[elleinad16]

I LOVED Kat's Candles and almost ordered from there, but the ones I wanted were way so expensive, so now I'm DIYing it...but I'm so glad you got one you love! It'll make such a good keepsake!

 

[Disney-Chick]

Congrats on the wedding. You will be getting married on my birthday!!

Everything looks so beautiful and I love th colors you chose.

 

[April Elizabeth]

Congratulations! Your wedding is so close!
Everything looks wonderful!

 

[dreamer01]

So I have to take a second for confession. My wedding is a week away and things are not going exactly as planned. It seemed like time was taking forever and the closer it gets time is speeding up. Of course we all try to look our best and that usually means getting fit. Six months out I got my dress. I started working out and watched what I ate. I somehow fell off and am going in the complete opposite direction. I am so stressed I got a cold sore on my lip. This has to go away by Friday!! I thought I knew what I was going to do with my nails, but now I'm not sure. I usually have a decent length so I was just going to get the french manicure painted on my natural nail. As time gets closer, my nails are getting chipped and I am picking at them. Now I think I need the fake nails, but it would only be for the wedding and do I want to ruin my natural nail for one day? Because I live so far from Disneyland and the lady I hired to do hair and make-up I will not be having a preview. I sent some pictures of how I would like my hair to look. I stuck with a 40s theme, hair down. My hair is long and straight. I am going for a trim, but should I get some layers put in or something? Totally confussed!! I am going to start packing today or tomorrow to see how everything is going to fit in the car. With me, Tony, and the two girls I don't see how it is going to happen. Alright next time I right it will be positive!! I am so excited!

 

[Nikisha421]

Welcome Congratulations and just wated to say I love your flower girl dresses...the dress is the same one I chose for my daugter....

 

[dreamer01]

So it finally happened! It came and went so fast, too fast. I was getting minimal sleep the days leading up to the wedding. The day before the wedding we went to Disneyland. I screamed so much I lost my voice so it was hard to talk on the day of. We left the park to go to the rehearsal which was at 5pm. After we went to the ESPN Zone for a rehearsal dinner. Then we went to our hotel room at the Grand Californian to get some rest. I got up early the next day, around 4:30 to gather my stuff. I had to have it at the Disneyland hotel by 7 am. My hair/make-up lady was there right on schedule. My mom and sisters were there too. She set all of our hair, then did our make-up. She was quick and very helpful. I definitely recommend her. Something Blue Stylists (Andrea). Now from my point of view next thing was taking some pictures with our photographer who was a family friend. We took pictures with just the girls and my dad. Then the bridal party was asked to line up and I waited for the carriage (vis-a-vis) to pull up. When I saw it coming I got teary eyed and couldn't talk to anyone because I was trying to stop myself from ruining my make-up. So my dad and I got in. The only thing I could see was the head of the ring bearer through some bushes so I knew it wasn't time yet...then his head was gone. Next, would be my flower girls. The carriage started to go and I couldn't believe it, it was starting. We pulled up and I could hear the guests go "0hhh and Ahhh" because we kept this a secret. I felt like Princess Diana. So I got out just fine and I had a great fear of falling in front of everyone. We used an outside vendor for the carriage because of price. I highly recommend them Enchanted Carriages (Susan). Ok, so I walked down the isle and could see Tony standing in the middle holding the four roses for our mothers. My dad said his part and was seated. Tony and I handed out the roses (we each have step-moms, we got these roses from Avante Gardens outside vendor, rest of flowers came from disney) and then it started. We said our vows, we did the unity candle, Tony broke the glass out of respect for his mom's side of the family. It went by very quickly. I tried to absorb it in. I glanced at the harpist, highly recommend Pamela Brown who was an outside vendor. We could only get the flower cluster at the top of the gazebo and so I tried to look at that. Then the guests started blowing bubbles and we walked back down to the carriage. We took some more pictures. It did sprinkle that morning so as a precaution our pre-reception was moved to the area right outside the sleeping beauty pavilion which was fine. So we took pictures then walked over there. The guests were finding their seats and I was trying to stay hidden. The DJ came out, (outside vendor DJ Anaheim, highly recommend) and lined us up in order. I could hear our entrance song by Taio Cruz Dynamite playing. Tony and I marched in and sat down. Next they did the toasts. We got to borrow the fancy toasting glasses that we saw at our first meeting. Then it was our first dance to the instrumental version of Once Upon a Dream. I made up my own choreography to it and we nailed it. I guess my youngest daughter was out there dancing and everyone was laughing. I was just trying to make sure we weren't going to run her over. Then was the food. The DJ played Be our Guest as the waiters came out with food. The food was delicious. We had the chicken because of price and it was delicious, plus this was a lunch. No regrets with the selection. At the end of lunch Tony and I circled the tables to say hello and thanks for coming. My dad and I had our dance to young at heart and Tony danced with his mom to what a wonderful world. Then we had some group dances like the conga line and a lazy mary dance. The DJ played some games with the guests like winning the centerpiece. Oh and there was the anniversary countdown and they won our flower cluster. I finally went to the bathroom. Then there was the flower toss and garter toss. At this point I was feeling kind of done. There was still 30 minutes left, but I told Tony we should rap it up now so the DJ announced the last dance. Then some of the girls had me go downstairs to the bar next to Goofys kitchen for a shot. That was fun and by the time I got back all of our stuff was packed and we were taken back to the Grand Californian. Everything went right, nothing went wrong, time flew by, and everyone had fun! It was a great experience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_rUZttW6pg

http://gallery.me.com/afmachado1#100759

 

[Mindyjoy]

Thank you for sharing photos and details about your Disneyland wedding. I am dreaming of a Disneyland wedding at the rose garden but I don't see too many posts about it! Do you mind if I ask you if you stayed pretty close to the $10k minimum? We have a tiny budget and I'm worried we won't be able to pull off a Disney wedding. I know some people aren't comfortable talking about budget, so forgive me if it is rude to ask you to share these details. I am especially interested in knowing how much the carriage cost. I didn't know we could use an outside vendor for the carriage and I absolutely love the one you chose, it looks just like the one DF and I rode in at Central Park on our first vacation together.

Congrats, you were a beautiful bride!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Congratulations!!!
Now tell us how it all went!!!