Wishes in Catsablanca: 7.22.13 Epcot Wedding PJ&TR! Updated 03/09/15

[Disneymoon2013]

I fell soooo behind, so I have so much to say!

Anyway really? I don't think at our 40 guest wedding, where probably only one person hasn't met DF (yet), there would be any risk of someone confusing the BM and Groom based on who had the vest. Seriously, is this a thing? Whatever. Just to end the consultant's stupefaction the BM agreed to do a cummerbund. It's probably for the best in the long run.

I've never heard of this, but I didn't even know what a "cummerbund" was and had to Google it. Oppa and I haven't gone yet for his tux rental. We're planning that a few months out; that's about the right time, right?

I picked up a couple dresses from Old Navy to use at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. They pretty simple cotton dresses which I think fits my requirements: white and comfortable enough to wear at Magic Kingdom and on rides. One is very white and one is off-white. I think I'll probably wear the off-white one on Rehearsal day and the white one the next day for the meet & greet/welcome party. (I will get back to this later!)

It's such a cute idea to use the dresses for the rehearsal and at Disney! I'm going to have to steal that idea! I keep putting off outfit shopping for our trip because I'm hoping to slim down a little over the summer. I gained some since I bought the dress in 2011, and I'm a bit nervous about it fitting I told myself I would work out every day over the summer, but I've been really bad about it so far.

After a lot of debating and some guilt-tripping from various family members we aren't going to spend our time at WDW totally alone. On Wednesday we are going to have a family dinner at O'hana with my parents, DF's parents and FBIL, FSIL and his two year-old niece. And on Thursday I've agreed to a park day at Hollywood Studios with my parents and my aunt, uncle, cousin and his girlfriend. And whoever else is around and plans on joining. We may or may not have a park day with some of DF's family, I'm leaving that up to him to set up if he chooses.

I was nervous about this happening to us. MIL had already mentioned that we could meet up a few times during the trip, and I didn't want to upset her... but it will be my first-ever time to WDW, and I want to share it only with Oppa. It makes me glad we switched our plans around.

So I am planning a subtly themed Mary Poppins welcome party, emphasis on the Jolly Holiday/Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious sequences. And the look is going to be more or less inspired by Mary Poppins and Bert's costumes: white and red (white and pink, white and orange, white and yellow) stripes, umbrellas, parasols, carousel poles/horses and a couple quotes here and there. And I've even got a bunch of Mary Poppins instrumental music and Main Street USA music for a background soundtrack.

Oooo, did you get Jim Brickman's music? I have a lot of music and variations of it from Mary Poppins... I even have the Disney DDR soundtrack with the techno remixes from Mary Poppins. If you're looking for more, let me know; I could send you the mp3s! I can't believe you found those table coverings at the dollar store; they practically match Bert's outfit to a T. I guess it was meant to be!

We made about 90. So if we run out of all 90 umbrella toothpicks, people can start using their fingers! I will not cut out another little paper umbrella ever again!

Did you seriously cut out the tiny shape of an umbrella? If so, you did a brilliant job! They're so minuscule.

Basically I want the cake itself to look like champagne. The actual cake is going to be a peachy-pink colour - I brought paint chips - and the "bubbles" will be white fondant/icing. And I want the bubbles to be more dense at the bottom. (That being said if I show to the reception and the bubbles are dense at the top instead, I don't think I'm going to sweat it too much.)

This is bloody brilliant and perfect for the whole theme! I wouldn't have even though of flipping that design.

This is a gorgeous look. Do you plan on doing a bright red lip like that? I love the cat eye effect of the eyeliner. I'd like something similar myself! I can't wait to see your pictures from the big day!

My cake topper is finally all settled. Well, it was settled before... but we made a slight modification. We got our cute little cat figures and were going to put them in one of the Casablanca champagne glasses perched on some flower petals or candies or something. Well, we came up with the idea of using resin in a champagne glass to simulate the actual look of champagne. If anyone isn't familiar with resin you can use the synthetic/craft kind to basically make plastic with the use of molds. I've used it before to make costume props. The clear kind that we typically use actual hardens with a subtle yellow tinge very similar to champagne, and it usually creates tons of tiny little bubbles if you pour it quickly -- usually that's not a good thing, but for fake champagne it is beyond perfect! And as an extra bonus we actually found a very similar champagne glass for $2 in a kitchen supply store so we didn't even need to break up our set of Casablanca glasses to make this happen!

This is awesome! Again you show a stunning amount of creativity. The resin really does look like champagne, and the kitties look perfect in the glass.

The pins are really cute, too! The nice thing about pins is that they don't have to be used as pins on a blouse or lanyard. Folks could use them on bulletin boards at home, which makes them a bit more utilitarian.

And speaking of ebay nightmares (the segues are getting out of hand today!) I decided to order two "Just Married" buttons off of ebay. I really wanted them, so I sucked up the $20 cost (shipping pricing to Canada is so unfair sometimes) and ordered two. They're Disneyland ones - I think I mentioned this earlier? - but since we are actually going to Disneyland too, I don't mind as much. Well two weeks later my package arrives annnnd there's only one button. And I ordered and paid for two. I really hate having to deal with confrontation, so I was actually more angry the guy was forcing me to demand my other button or my money back than the fact that the button was missing. Although, don't get me wrong, overall I was still very upset. I message him and he says he'll send one right away. Days pass, no word. I'm nervous because his account says he only has a couple left, and I'm afraid he'll sell the button I already paid for! So I message him again and request a tracking number - I am still be very civil, giving the guy the benefit of the doubt, it was a mistake, whatever. A few days later he sends one. The date stamp is from after my second message. Whatever, I have the number, right? A week and a half later and my package has been delivered? In Kentucky? What?! He sent a "fake" tracking number. I was about ready to have a meltdown. Still being waaay too kind I send him another message to inform him that the number was not for my package and, well basically, what's the deal? Luckily - that is, lucky for him - my button arrived in the mail the next day. Ugh. Just ugh. The whole thing wasn't that big of a deal, but it could have been handled so much better so that I wouldn't be total mess wondering if I would have to file some report with ebay or paypal or whatever. Did I say: Ugh yet?

I'm so sorry to hear you had this kind of an experience. Was this a powerseller? You could have easily reported the seller to eBay and to PayPal (eBay owns PayPal anyway...) because he gave you a fake tracking number. Also, just for future reference... You probably already know this, but just in case: You have a 30-day window on PayPal to file a dispute, so whatever you do, don't let anything linger past that window (such as if someone keeps saying they shipped it out and weeks go by)...

I'm all caught up finally! What projects do you have left before the big day? Now that it's coming up so soon, there shouldn't be too much left to do... right?

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Love the cakes. The darker one is actually my favorite. And if they make it dense at the top instead of the bottom, I don't think that would be too terrible. I feel like it would kind of look like the champagne is spilling out onto the cake...and I think that looks cool. I can totally see your topper on that cake with the lighter color.

For someone who is supposed to be a virgo and like things orderly, I certainly do enjoy purposefully messy and unorganized things.

Anyway, I love the first photo, but agree that it would probably be pretty expensive for Disney to recreate.

That is a very good point about the champagne spilling out! That is a very good idea. Yeah, it probably be cheaper to cover a cake in the $800 garden roses than have Disney make all those individual roses out of fondant. I'm sure it would be stunning though.

I love your champagne bubbles idea! I think it will look great either way

All of the cakes look great - the first cake is AMAZING! I wouldn't want to cut into that thing!

Thank you! I know, that first cake is a showstopper, I almost wish I hadn't seen it because it has such a wow factor it makes other cakes look less impressive by comparison.

I fell soooo behind, so I have so much to say!

I've never heard of this, but I didn't even know what a "cummerbund" was and had to Google it. Oppa and I haven't gone yet for his tux rental. We're planning that a few months out; that's about the right time, right?

Cummerbunds are one of those things that don't come up too often in everyday dress, haha. I think a few months out is right. We went in February/March for July (4-5 months out) and probably three months would still have been fine. We were looking for something pretty specific, so I didn't want to leave it in case we couldn't find a place.

It's such a cute idea to use the dresses for the rehearsal and at Disney! I'm going to have to steal that idea! I keep putting off outfit shopping for our trip because I'm hoping to slim down a little over the summer. I gained some since I bought the dress in 2011, and I'm a bit nervous about it fitting I told myself I would work out every day over the summer, but I've been really bad about it so far.

I have become completely obsessed with buying little white dresses for my honeymoon, it feels like such a perfect opportunity to wear white, which I rarely do! I hear you about losing the weight too. I lost some, gained a bit back, and now I'd like to lose more but I don't want to affect my dress's fit now that it's all taken in. I'll just have to watch out for stress eating next month!

I was nervous about this happening to us. MIL had already mentioned that we could meet up a few times during the trip, and I didn't want to upset her... but it will be my first-ever time to WDW, and I want to share it only with Oppa. It makes me glad we switched our plans around.

It's so tough to balance the honeymoon and family. So far only my family has been mentioning us spending time together there, because none of them have ever been to Disney and they think I'm some kind of expert. I guess I am after planning this wedding. I know it's a little selfish, but I hope everything stays as is and we don't need to add too many more family days at the parks.

Oooo, did you get Jim Brickman's music? I have a lot of music and variations of it from Mary Poppins... I even have the Disney DDR soundtrack with the techno remixes from Mary Poppins. If you're looking for more, let me know; I could send you the mp3s! I can't believe you found those table coverings at the dollar store; they practically match Bert's outfit to a T. I guess it was meant to be!

I confess I had to look up Jim Brickman, and I wish I'd looked him up before I printed my programs, because I want to change some music now! How beautiful! Techno remixes of Mary Poppins music, that sounds awesome! haha!

Did you seriously cut out the tiny shape of an umbrella? If so, you did a brilliant job! They're so minuscule.

Yes, we did. My MoH will never let me forget it either, let me tell you... But thank you!

This is bloody brilliant and perfect for the whole theme! I wouldn't have even though of flipping that design.

Thank you!

This is a gorgeous look. Do you plan on doing a bright red lip like that? I love the cat eye effect of the eyeliner. I'd like something similar myself! I can't wait to see your pictures from the big day!

I am definitely set on the eye look, but I am still debating the lip look. The bright red lip definitely is dramatic and I think appropriate for the theme, but red sometimes makes my lips look quite thin. I'll probably tell my stylist my concern and then leave it up to her to pick something that works with my face and my theme.

This is awesome! Again you show a stunning amount of creativity. The resin really does look like champagne, and the kitties look perfect in the glass.

The pins are really cute, too! The nice thing about pins is that they don't have to be used as pins on a blouse or lanyard. Folks could use them on bulletin boards at home, which makes them a bit more utilitarian.

Thank you, thank you! I've pulled out all the stops in creativity department these past two years. Sometimes I can barely string a coherant sentence together because I've used up all my faculties with my projects.

I'm so sorry to hear you had this kind of an experience. Was this a powerseller? You could have easily reported the seller to eBay and to PayPal (eBay owns PayPal anyway...) because he gave you a fake tracking number. Also, just for future reference... You probably already know this, but just in case: You have a 30-day window on PayPal to file a dispute, so whatever you do, don't let anything linger past that window (such as if someone keeps saying they shipped it out and weeks go by)...

I'm pretty sure it was a power seller. I was really worried about how he was being unresponsive and trying to push the whole thing out of my window for filing a dispute. I was definitely getting down to the wire to make a complaint. Eugh, the whole situation still makes me upset, I haven't made any ebay or etsy purchases since, and it's going to be awhile before I work up to it again.

I'm all caught up finally! What projects do you have left before the big day? Now that it's coming up so soon, there shouldn't be too much left to do... right?

Thank you so much for all your comments! It feels so nice to know that things I'm doing look good to others (DF, my MoHs and parents are somewhat obligated to tell me things look good after all, ). As for projects, I think I'm finally at the finishing touches phase. Finishing up programs, table names and my newsletter. And some honeymoon touches, like matching t-shirts if I can manage to find somewhere reasonable to have them made. Thank you again!

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

We are 39 days out! Oh, the pressure is on now! Next week is our deadline for our BEO, so we are really pushing ourselves to get the emails out and settle everything. But I feel like we are doing very well with no issues!

I mentioned earlier that we are using Trinity for videography, but we are sticking with Disney Photography for our photography. It was a long hard decision, I was seriously considering making a switch to Misty Miotto, because I love her work. But as long as I got my first choice I would be equally happy with DFAP. And they pulled through and got our first choice of Crickett! I am so thrilled. DF and I had a phone conversation with her on Monday and she sounds so sweet and I'm even more excited! She will also be doing our MK and DHS shoots, so we will be seeing a lot of each other during our wedding week!

I had my second dress fitting this week, so I just want to post a couple photos of the work that's been done. Technically it was my final fitting, but there are two small little touch ups that need to be made, so I scheduled a new final fitting for July 10, the week before we leave (not necessary given the minor fixes that are going to be made, but better to make sure everything is good before I make the journey to Florida with no one to help make alterations!).

Here's the first fitting:

And at the second fitting:

And my mom trying to learn how to bustle it up. I hope everyone can manage, because I sure won't be able to do it!

And it's not clear, but in the photo I'm wearing the bracelet my mom gave me to wear during the wedding. It's my "something new".

For my "something old", my mom found a box of my grandmother's jewellery (my dad's mom, who passed away when he was nine). And inside was a pair of crystal drop earrings. I did a little research online and given the style of closure they are most likely vintage from the actual 1930s-40s period. Perfect, serendipity! And I love getting to incorporate some family history into the day.

Now I just need something borrowed and something blue!

Shoes:

I never thought I'd end up with shoes like these, but DF and I got quite a generous gift last Christmas from some relatives, and DF convinced me I should use it to get whatever shoes I want. I was really agonizing over the shoe decision when I last posted about it. So, I went against the theme a little and got my absolute dream shoes.

I still need to make the veil part of my veil. I'm having trouble figuring out how I should attach it to my head since there are a lot of pins and loops on the underside of my hat that I can't block with the veil. I will work it out eventually!

And that is about it for my wedding day look!

 

[charliegirl76]

You are going to look absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to see everything all together...dress, hair, makeup. 39 days! Wow, so exciting.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Summer Daydream]

I can't believe your day is so close! Your dress looks beautiful. I love the detail on the back. Your something old is so sweet and sentimental. And those shoes, jealous!!!!!

 

[Mel*Pie]

I love the dress! I can't wait to see the veil with it.

The shoes And hopefully, you can wear those for many years to come and think of your wedding day.

Those earrings are perfect. How great that they are genuinely vintage and from a family member.

The day is getting so close! I can't wait to see everything together.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

You are going to look absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to see everything all together...dress, hair, makeup. 39 days! Wow, so exciting.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Aw, thank you so much!

I can't believe your day is so close! Your dress looks beautiful. I love the detail on the back. Your something old is so sweet and sentimental. And those shoes, jealous!!!!!

Thank you! I am so happy about the earrings, I don't have a lot of opportunities to do too much with my dad's family (I've been to one family reunion, and I've never met his brother, and that's about it in my whole life), so I'm really pleased I get to have something in there.

I love the dress! I can't wait to see the veil with it.

The shoes And hopefully, you can wear those for many years to come and think of your wedding day.

Those earrings are perfect. How great that they are genuinely vintage and from a family member.

The day is getting so close! I can't wait to see everything together.

Thank you! I am very psyched that I'll get to wear my shoes on many anniversaries to come and I'll have that piece of my wedding with me. And I am so amazed at my luck with the earrings, they're such a perfect fit.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

I feel the pressure to get a bunch of updates out before I get so bogged down I run out of time.

Guestbook:

This is one of the things I agonized over A LOT. I had many different ideas about what we could do. Needless to say, this post will be a bunch of my failed ideas.

First I wanted to do a photobook guestbook. I love this idea. Originally I had a plan for us to do a couple DIY engagement shots to recreate some of our favourite (or romantic) movie scenes.

You guys have probably seen all of these before, but here are a couple of the inspirations:

Disney: http://www.bridalguide.com/blogs/bridal-buzz/disney-theme-engagement-photos
The Notebook: http://www.bridalguide.com/planning/engagement/the-notebook-inspired-engagement-photos
Lady and the Tramp: http://greenweddingshoes.com/lady-the-tramp-inspired-anniversary-dinner/

And probably countless others that I've lost track of at this point. I figured we could get one good photo in a couple of different movie themes. In the end (yes I'm going to full on blame this one on DF ), DF just wasn't committed enough to the idea. He would have gone along with me if I wanted to do it, but logistically I needed a little more help from him than just showing up. Also, we realistically wouldn't be able to get enough photos for a whole book without a huge time commitment and again, I was the only one really interested in doing this.

So, that's okay. That photobook was out because without engagement photos we just wouldn't have enough photos to put anything together. (I may still use this idea for our at-home reception though, if I can get enough wedding photos in time to actually order a book that is, if not... I better start thinking of a backup plan! Maybe a photo book of us from baby photos to the present.)

Next idea I loved was the fingerprint guestbook. I love the tree a lot. It's our families coming together and forming a new family tree, and if we designed our own we could put our little logo kitties sitting together in the tree or under the tree. That would be cute. DF really liked the Up! house version of this idea with the fingerprints as balloons. I loved the Up! idea too, except I didn't think the design really worked with our theme. But I was quite taken with the idea of something Disney related. I wanted to think of something that would work with this overall concept, be unique and Disney. It took awhile but I came up with this:

Please excuse my yellow paper sketchy-ness. I wanted recreate the lantern scene from Tangled with our kitties in the boat and our guests fingerprints would be the lights in the lanterns. We'd paint the scene, and leave lantern outlines to be filled in by the guests. And as this idea progressed (I actually got my DF to start painting the sketch) we even considered omitting the fingerprint aspect and just having the guests sign a lantern.

Well at this point the plan had strayed very far from the original idea. We had a Disney scene not particularly relevant to our wedding and the cool fingerprint aspect had been eliminated. It seemed like we were going through a lot of work to create something we weren't even that keen on anymore.

There may have been a few more ideas in between. Every time I went anywhere (especially the Disney store) I would keep my eyes open for some idea. I did A TON of searches on etsy. I'm sure you ladies all know how difficult it is trying to make every aspect of your wedding unique or original, and I was running low on the creativity for this one thing. This story doesn't really have a miraculous turn around where I finally think of something amazingly imaginative. I decided when we went to Disney for our Planning Session I would try very hard to find something. Specifically, I wanted to get one of the art pieces you can get the Disney artist to draw for you while you wait. For some reason, I seemed to remember an option of Robin Hood and Maid Marian in wedding outfits, which I was keeping in the back of my mind.

Well we went to Art of Disney and there was no wedding Robin Hood and Maid Marian. And I checked every Art of Disney we could find. Finally we went to the Magic of Disney Animation store in DHS. And behind the counter they had a cel of Mickey and Minnie dressed as Beast and Belle in front of the Be Our Guest restaurant. It was very beautiful. We could get the cel and have our guests sign a mat. So, I asked the CM about the cel and she said it was being released on Saturday only at Magic of Disney Animation. And we were leaving Thursday. Siiiiiiigh.

The CM said we could try calling and ordering it from home. We decided to think on it. Luckily we didn't just leave, because wandering around the store again (third time at least) I spotted something I hadn't noticed before. It was another cel, similar theme with Mickey and Minnie, but it was inspired by the short "Mickey's Gala Premiere". For anyone whose not immediately familiar with that short (I've been binge watching Disney old shorts since February, which started because I was reading a Walt Disney biography): In the beginning of the short Mickey, Minnie, his pals and an entourage of famous 1930s Hollywood movie stars show up to the premiere of Mickey's latest cartoon short in all their 1930s finery. The time period is perfect match and it's literally old Hollywood, which ties in with the Casablanca, silverscreen movie thing ... I am continually surprised by how lucky we have been with stumbling into things that are perfect for our wedding.

And here it is on top of the mat, I didn't want to take it all apart to set it up, so this is just the gist of what it will look like:

And our guestbook pens, which I bought almost two years ago on the trip when we got engaged.

 

[charliegirl76]

I am totally with you on not doing a traditional guest book. I told DF my idea and he had to think about it. I told him I just didn't want people to sign a book that I'll put in a closet and never look at again. So, much like you, I've been mulling over ideas....I've finally figured it out.

I love your initial ideas. I think the Tangled scene sketch is adorable! Your kitties in the boat.... so cute! But I agree, it doesn't fit too much with your theme. The cel is perfect!

 

[Disneymoon2013]

Yes, we did (cut out the umbrellas). My MoH will never let me forget it either, let me tell you... But thank you!

That's some serious talent. You couldn't find a punch in the shape of an umbrella?! LOL

I confess I had to look up Jim Brickman, and I wish I'd looked him up before I printed my programs, because I want to change some music now! How beautiful! Techno remixes of Mary Poppins music, that sounds awesome! haha!

Yeah, the techno is from Disney Dance Dance Revolution for the Playstation. I have the game, a metal dance pad that I haven't used in like 2 years... and the soundtrack. I heard Jim Brickman for the first time through Pandora. I thought some of his stuff might work for your tea party.

I am definitely set on the eye look, but I am still debating the lip look. The bright red lip definitely is dramatic and I think appropriate for the theme, but red sometimes makes my lips look quite thin. I'll probably tell my stylist my concern and then leave it up to her to pick something that works with my face and my theme.

The shade of red will probably make all the difference in the world. I can't do ruby red lipstick; it makes my face look washed out and brings out the underlying rosacea.

I've pulled out all the stops in creativity department these past two years

Have you been wedding planning for two years?! I must have missed that somehow.

I'm pretty sure it was a power seller. I was really worried about how he was being unresponsive and trying to push the whole thing out of my window for filing a dispute. I was definitely getting down to the wire to make a complaint. Eugh, the whole situation still makes me upset, I haven't made any ebay or etsy purchases since, and it's going to be awhile before I work up to it again.

I understand this, but don't let it keep you down. Just watch out for the powersellers on eBay, and always check through the feedback. Unfortunately, there are evil buyers out there, too; PayPal makes it SO SO easy for people to rip-off online sellers. I've had to deal with it only twice so far -- and both on Etsy, of all places! I've been selling online since 2001... but of course PayPal didn't come around until the mid 2000s. So when you see a seller who only has one or two negatives out of 100+ positive, those are probably the crazies. The powersellers are hard to judge. I usually look at the volume of neutrals and negatives. The problem is that they become so giant that they no longer care about individual disputes. On Etsy, if someone leaves a negative comment for any seller, you can click on the item link and read the description for yourself and determine whether the person's comment was legitimate or inane...

It feels so nice to know that things I'm doing look good to others (DF, my MoHs and parents are somewhat obligated to tell me things look good after all, ).

I wish my relatives had the same sense of obligations... Several have been vocal about my choices in a not-so-friendly way. This whole wedding planning process seems to be bringing the worst out of so many of them, and it's creating rifts with family members that I had never had any issues with before. Isn't that crazy? My mom is sad for me, and she said she can't believe how selfish so many of our relatives have been. Sigh.

For my "something old", my mom found a box of my grandmother's jewellery (my dad's mom, who passed away when he was nine). And inside was a pair of crystal drop earrings. I did a little research online and given the style of closure they are most likely vintage from the actual 1930s-40s period. Perfect, serendipity! And I love getting to incorporate some family history into the day.

Are they signed on the back or on the screw top? They're screw-backs.. A lot of the time they're signed to show the maker. They're quite pretty! I have a couple pairs of screw-backs, but I always do a bad job of aligning them up well on both sides. Yours could be as late as the 50s, too, because they were still popular then. Coro made a lot at the time.

I never thought I'd end up with shoes like these, but DF and I got quite a generous gift last Christmas from some relatives, and DF convinced me I should use it to get whatever shoes I want. I was really agonizing over the shoe decision when I last posted about it. So, I went against the theme a little and got my absolute dream shoes.

OH SNAP! Those are Christian Louboutin! The famous red sole! Rock it girlfriend! Good call! They're well made and you'll use them for years. I know I'm always posting about frugality this and frugality that, but I can definitely appreciate craftsmanship and the value inherent in that.

Next idea I loved was the fingerprint guestbook. I love the tree a lot. It's our families coming together and forming a new family tree, and if we designed our own we could put our little logo kitties sitting together in the tree or under the tree. That would be cute. DF really liked the Up! house version of this idea with the fingerprints as balloons. I loved the Up! idea too, except I didn't think the design really worked with our theme.

I had also seriously considered the fingerprint tree! It became seriously popular, yeah? I decided against it because I didn't think people would like inking their fingers, and I wanted something that required a bit more thought (on their part).

Your sketch is so pretty!!!!!

There may have been a few more ideas in between. Every time I went anywhere (especially the Disney store) I would keep my eyes open for some idea. I did A TON of searches on etsy. I'm sure you ladies all know how difficult it is trying to make every aspect of your wedding unique or original, and I was running low on the creativity for this one thing.

I'm in the same boat for our guest book. I have the concept, but it's not quite settled yet... I keep tinkering with it too. I think the second Mickey/Minnie b&w art worked out much better than the Beauty & the Beast version. B&TB really wouldn't tie into your them at all, you know?

I know you already got your pens, but I would highly recommend looking into getting Sakura's Pigma Micron pens. I've been journaling for more than 16 years, and I can attest that ink pens change color and also fade with time, regardless of whether they're rollerball, gel pen, or ballpoint. In my middle school journals, the black ink took on a greenish tinge, for example. The Sakura pens are archival quality, so they shouldn't fade or change color. So when you're 80 years old and looking fondly at your guest book frame on the wall, it will look as fresh as if it had been signed just the day before.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

I am totally with you on not doing a traditional guest book. I told DF my idea and he had to think about it. I told him I just didn't want people to sign a book that I'll put in a closet and never look at again. So, much like you, I've been mulling over ideas....I've finally figured it out.

I love your initial ideas. I think the Tangled scene sketch is adorable! Your kitties in the boat.... so cute! But I agree, it doesn't fit too much with your theme. The cel is perfect!

My thoughts exactly. I think my parents have a book from their wedding and that's exactly what's happened. It's in the closet, yellowing.

That's some serious talent. You couldn't find a punch in the shape of an umbrella?! LOL

That's what my MoH said and everyone who walked through the room while we were doing it.

The shade of red will probably make all the difference in the world. I can't do ruby red lipstick; it makes my face look washed out and brings out the underlying rosacea.

I have the same problem with the rosacea too. I'm hoping the red can work, because it definitely makes the look.

Have you been wedding planning for two years?! I must have missed that somehow.

Well... I've been working on this PJ for about two years, because yes... I started writing it before I was even engaged. And I started writing it officially on the DIS in September 2011... I've been doing this so long it's starting to feel like my job.

I understand this, but don't let it keep you down. Just watch out for the powersellers on eBay, and always check through the feedback. Unfortunately, there are evil buyers out there, too; PayPal makes it SO SO easy for people to rip-off online sellers. I've had to deal with it only twice so far -- and both on Etsy, of all places! I've been selling online since 2001... but of course PayPal didn't come around until the mid 2000s. So when you see a seller who only has one or two negatives out of 100+ positive, those are probably the crazies. The powersellers are hard to judge. I usually look at the volume of neutrals and negatives. The problem is that they become so giant that they no longer care about individual disputes. On Etsy, if someone leaves a negative comment for any seller, you can click on the item link and read the description for yourself and determine whether the person's comment was legitimate or inane...

Thank you for your advice here. It is nice to hear an opinion from a seller, as I've only ever been on the buyer side. It never occurred to me to be wary of powersellers because of the volumes of sales they do, but that makes total sense.

I wish my relatives had the same sense of obligations... Several have been vocal about my choices in a not-so-friendly way. This whole wedding planning process seems to be bringing the worst out of so many of them, and it's creating rifts with family members that I had never had any issues with before. Isn't that crazy? My mom is sad for me, and she said she can't believe how selfish so many of our relatives have been. Sigh.

I am so sorry to hear this. I don't know what it is about weddings that bring out the crazy in some people. Suddenly jealousies you never knew about are abounds, and everyone thinks that they're entitled to some say. My family unfortunately is the opposite of vocal, they give us the silent treatment and then talk amongst themselves behind our backs. At first, my mom told me I was being very selfish having a Disney wedding, because I know there are certain family members that would never go. Oh, and she even asked if I was doing this because I didn't want her there, because I know she hates flying. It's all ridiculous. Now that we're getting closer they've all cooled off thankfully, but really, no one ever warned me about all the crazy I would have to deal with from selfish family and friends.

Are they signed on the back or on the screw top? They're screw-backs.. A lot of the time they're signed to show the maker. They're quite pretty! I have a couple pairs of screw-backs, but I always do a bad job of aligning them up well on both sides. Yours could be as late as the 50s, too, because they were still popular then. Coro made a lot at the time.

Unfortunately there is no maker's seal. I spent a lot of time trying to do some research on earrings from that period once I found them and also because I was originally looking for a pair to purchase online. True, screw-backs were popular in the 1950s, so could be 1950s too. That would still be awesome. I'm more hoping they're 30s/40s, and I saw a pair on etsy (not that I'm taking their appraisal as a certainty) that were very similar and from the 1940s.

OH SNAP! Those are Christian Louboutin! The famous red sole! Rock it girlfriend! Good call! They're well made and you'll use them for years. I know I'm always posting about frugality this and frugality that, but I can definitely appreciate craftsmanship and the value inherent in that.

I love it!

I had also seriously considered the fingerprint tree! It became seriously popular, yeah? I decided against it because I didn't think people would like inking their fingers, and I wanted something that required a bit more thought (on their part).

It really did... Seems like the popularity has cooled off a little. And I agree, I was worried certain people would just not do it, rather than stick their fingers in ink, or that certain people might even be reluctant to put their fingerprint on anything.

Your sketch is so pretty!!!!!

Thank you!

I'm in the same boat for our guest book. I have the concept, but it's not quite settled yet... I keep tinkering with it too. I think the second Mickey/Minnie b&w art worked out much better than the Beauty & the Beast version. B&TB really wouldn't tie into your them at all, you know?

I totally agree and I am so glad we found that Gala Premiere cel. The B&tB is nice, but before we got to the wedding I'd probably be second-guessing it.

I know you already got your pens, but I would highly recommend looking into getting Sakura's Pigma Micron pens. I've been journaling for more than 16 years, and I can attest that ink pens change color and also fade with time, regardless of whether they're rollerball, gel pen, or ballpoint. In my middle school journals, the black ink took on a greenish tinge, for example. The Sakura pens are archival quality, so they shouldn't fade or change color. So when you're 80 years old and looking fondly at your guest book frame on the wall, it will look as fresh as if it had been signed just the day before.

Thanks for this tip! We are going through a lot of trouble to get archival matting and everything for the cel, so I never really thought about getting archival pens as well. I will definitely look into this! And our Mickey and Minnie pens can be decoration or something.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Last night I made an impromptu visit to the bridal dress shop. I had a little freak-out the past couple days about not liking my dress. Well, specifically the way my dress looks with my new crinoline. I was filling out a questionnaire from Trinity for our videography and one of the questions was what is your favourite part of your dress. I realized I didn't know what to write. When I bought the dress I had been adamant about getting a very specific kind of flowy skirt, but with the crinoline it wasn't right anymore. It looked to me like I was a bell on the end of a long handle, and that small hint of je ne sais quoi that been present to link my dress to the vintage theme felt eliminated by this cursed crinoline. Eugh. And I may or may not have had my freak out in front of DF. He told me forget about it, I should go back, tell them I'm unhappy and fix it. This is supposed to be my dream dress, I only get this one chance, I should make it right. My mom agreed. So we went back yesterday. I didn't even put the crinoline on, and unfortunately had to wait for the seamstress to mark it for a hem job. Sigh, I don't want to even think about how much the alterations for this dress have cost because it is starting to feel astronomical. But my parents have very generously agreed to cover all this and at least it's getting fixed.

Anyway with that over, here are a bunch of things for our reception.

Table names:

I had a lot of ideas for this and none were really working, and I'm still not even totally pleased with what we are going with, but one needs to settle eventually.

First idea: Paris street/ Arrondissement signs. Paris is divided into twenty Arrondissements or districts. We'd name each table one of the Arrondissements and we could even have a little sign with info about which sites were located in that Arrondissement. It was a not bad idea, but some of the Arrondissement are more interesting than others. For example Arrondissement 2 doesn't have that many interesting spots (e.g. home of the former stock exchange), so do we skip 2?

Second idea: Disney related. Disney movies, Disney couples, Disney characters, Disney songs, Disney shorts. You name it, I probably considered it.

Third idea: Movies that take place in France or Paris.

Fourth idea: Classic romantic movie couples.

Fifth idea: Period appropriate movies. Anything made in the 1930s or 1940s, takes place in 1940s or is somehow related to the period or our wedding theme as a whole. And this is what we're going with.

Here are the names we settled on:
Casablanca (head table/sweetheart table)
Sabrina (bridal party table)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (DF's parents)
It's a Wonderful Life (My parents)
It Happened One Night (DF's family)
Shop Around the Corner (DF's family)
Top Hat (My family)
Fantasia (My family)

As an aside, we invited around 80 people to this wedding, with significantly more people from DF's side. In our final count, we actually have an even fifteen adults from each side attending (plus DF's 2 year old niece). Even though I would actually have liked it if a few more people could have attended (like my aunt who is a Disney FANATIC whose job won't let her off even though she's been working there 30+ years! Ack!), I like that it's so even between our families.

Table names will go in frames I picked up from Michael's clearance section. There's a lot because I am hoping to reuse this idea for the at-home reception.

I primed and painted them all silver and cut out the cheap plastic that's supposed to look like "glass". I have a whole box of overhead transparencies I bought in grade 12 for a history project that I may cut to make a new sleeker "glass" to protect the table name image. Or I may not, haven't gotten that far yet.

I made all the table name images in photoshop using poster art (mostly international posters). Some required more work than others (had to paint in Clark Gable's hair in one, for example, because the poster didn't extend up far enough for me).

And because we are doing the movie themed tables the escort cards are made to look like old fashioned movie tickets.

Originally they were all going to be silver with the black lettering and frame. But since we are doing a plated meal where each guest can choose their own entree, the escort cards are printed on coloured card stock for the servers to easily see who gets what. Not as sleek as I'd like, but that's okay. (Pink represents the Beef selection, and is the overwhelming favourite as the pick of half our guests.)

And because this seems relevant, here is a mock-up I did of how I requested the room to be set up. The stairs/entrance is located in the lower left-hand corner. And I assume the tables will not be cleared out in the pre-reception area, I just didn't bother drawing them all in.

(My apologies this one is a little bigger than usual because the font is pretty small when resized.)

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Time for food! If anyone's curious Monsieur Paul's food options come directly from their menu, which means if they change their menu during your planning process you will also have to change with them. We got our first menu from them in December. I was pretty set on what I wanted. They changed their menu in April and the thing I wanted was no longer being offered. You are at their mercy in that regard. Luckily we hadn't asked our guests what they wanted yet!

Pre-Reception:
Fruit display and our BOC bar options.

I think the fruit display is $9.75 per person. I don't know if that's typical, but we have to go through the restaurant for all our food. And the fruit display seemed like the most appropriate choice given the time of day and us not wanting our guests to fill up too much before our lunch.

Reception Lunch Menu:

First course
Soupe aux truffes V.G.E.
Beef broth, oxtail, vegetables, black winter truffle, puff pastry

Second course
Salade au Roquefort à la poire et aux noix de pécan caramélisées
Mixed greens with Roquefort cheese, pear and caramelized walnuts

Choice of Main Course
Rouget Atlantique en écailles de pommes de terre, fenouil, sauce romarin
Red snapper in potato “scales”, braised fennel, rosemary sauce

Pot-au-Feu de St Jacques, crème de choux fleur, consommé de homard au gingembre
Seared scallops with vegetables, cream of cauliflower, ginger lobster consommé,

Ballotine de poulet, purée de carottes et de topinambour, cassolette d’épinards
Free-range chicken ballotine, carrot and sun choke puree, creamy spinach

Magret de canard à l’orange, pommes paillasson, jeune carottes
Roasted duck breast a l’orange, grated potatoes & baby carrots

Filet de bœuf grillé forestier, purée de pomme de terre, sauce Bordelaise
Grilled beef tenderloin with mushroom crust, mashed potatoes, Bordelaise sauce

Wedding cake for dessert and pink champagne for the toast (DF's idea because he knows how much I love it). Cheers!

Dessert Party Menu:

For our dessert party we did a completely custom menu. (This is from our BEO because I love how our planner wrote it up! )

Bread Pudding with Banana Foster Sauce
Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
FRENCH Chocolate Caramel Macaroons (not the coconut one please make sure French ones)
Fresh Popped Popcorn Boxes
Fruit Display
Hand Scooped Vanilla Ice Cream
Coffee, Teas, and SWEET TEA

Our custom dessert party menu comes to $32 per person.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Centerpieces:

From the beginning I wanted to keep this more restaurant-y and less wedding-y. Flowers were pretty much out. My inspiration was from Casablanca and actually the Bistro de Paris restaurant itself, pre-renovation. It feels strange, but all my decor choices are basically making Monsieur Paul back into the more formal Bistro de Paris look. Well, we did fall in love with Bistro de Paris after all, that's why we chose it!

From Casablanca I decided I wanted lamps on the tables. Perhaps something a little smaller and less ornate.

Bistro de Paris:

And here's what we are going to get: (the silver one on the far right)

I think there are going to be two per table, except for the sweetheart table, since I'll just be using my bouquet. The rental is $15.00 each, which is pretty good when you think about how much centerpieces usually cost and contextualize it within the scope of DFTW decor pricing. I wasn't necessarily trying to save a bunch of money here, this is just the look that I wanted. Saving is a bonus!

 

[Bewitch324]

I love your table themes with the old movies, and I think your little framed movie posters are brilliant and beautiful. I think you are on track with your centerpieces too...much more "Restaurant-y" than wedding-y, so perfect!! And the escort cards are so perfect too. LOVE!!!

I think your dress is lovely on you and perfect with your theme, I can't wait to see how everything looks together. I'm glad you trusted your instincts and went back when you weren't 100% in love with the way it was looking...it's so important that you love the way you look that day, so I think it was so important that you honored your feelings!

Those earrings are perfect and I love that they are vintage, and full of family history, too... love the shoes. I would fall over or break an ankle as I am not good with heels that high, but I love them and so wish I could wear shoes like that!

It's getting so close now! I'm so excited to see how everything turns out for you! We're in the very early planning stages of our wedding (Nov 2014) and I haven't started a PJ yet, but I've been reading on here for years and it is so much fun to see everything come together and hearing about the actual events!!!

Take care of yourself and make sure you don't let yourself get too stressed out!

It's all going to be beautiful and so much fun!

Brooke

 

[LindsayHD]

Hi Nicole!

I just sat here and read your entire planning journal. It was beyond fantastic. I absolutely love your vintage movie/Casablanca theme. It reminds me of The Great Movie Ride, which is my favorite ride at Disney.

My two most favorite things:

Your Cake Topper is simply divine. I have never been super interested in the cake topper, but yours makes me want to care and have mine as perfect as yours. Plus Champagne is my fav. drink.

Your invitations the bomb. I couldn't even come up with a better way of describing them. I cannot put into words how absolutely wonderful they are. I am super jealous.

I cannot wait to read more as it gets closer and closer to your wedding day.

 

[1000HappyWishes]

That. Sounds. AWESOME.

 

[alyaki]

I love what you're doing with the tables (both names and centerpieces). It's simple but elegant, and I think it'll be awesome with your theme. And really, at $15 a centerpiece, that's a steal.


I'm a bit jealous of your spray painting btw - last time I tried that with something, it came out looking a bit....comical.

 

[charliegirl76]

You're so detail oriented, I love it! The centerpieces are perfect. I love that they take you back to that era and set the scene of Casablanca. The table names are great! As I started reading the idea, I thought, "That's the one!" The movie tickets. Love.

Your dress, it's so beautiful, but the crinoline can definitely make a huge difference. You'll have to take photos when you have it all fixed and love it again. Alterations are expensive! I haven't even had a fitting and I'm nervous about how much it will cost. Sounds like you have awesome parents to help you out, but really you should love the way you look on your wedding day, so it's definitely necessary!