An Awesomely Awesome Fairy Tale Wedding - Oct 7th, 2011!

[jshora]

The Basics: 30 guests

10am ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion
11am brunch reception at Hollywood Hideaway in Hollywood Studios
All afternoon to enjoy the Food & Wine Festival
8:30pm Dessert Party at UK Lochside for Illuminations

 

[lnh'smom]

How exciting for you! Congrats and best wishes

 

[brer rabbit 28]

Congratulations. I get married on the 5th October

 

[jshora]

That's so funny! We just changed our date from the 5th to 7th on Monday! We were originally going to go with an Evening Escape wedding, but the guest list grew and we decided we wanted to celebrate the entire day together (plus, the lowered Wishes minimum for a morning wedding was also a nice perk).

 

[brer rabbit 28]

Spooky!

We are getting married at DTD on Fultons boat, then later in the evening I hope to book a Wishes cruise.

Will be great planning along with you

 

[jshora]

I thought I would post a little bit about Court and myself.

The beginning:

Court and I met through an online dating service. Our first date was on June 10th, 2009 and consisted of going to a little restaurant and sharing french fries and a bottle of wine. We hit it off instantly! The conversation started out along the lines of us talking about our favorite places to visit. We knew we were meant to be when we both answered "Disney World!". So, of course we discussed our favorite things about Disney World. Not wanting to scare him, but knowing it was an important part of my dreams, I tentatively brought up the notion that I have always wanted a Disney World wedding. We spent the next two hours talking about Disney, the Food and Wine Festival, and Disney weddings.

The proposal:

On July 8th, 2010, Court and I decided to go for a walk around a near-by lake. We stopped along the way for dinner at a cute cafe at the Lake Calhoun Beach Club. We finished our walk around the lake and decided to wander up and through a local Rose Garden and Bird Sanctuary. Being the smart alec that I tend to be, I made the comment that the Rose Garden would be a wonderful place for wedding photos if one were to get married in the area. He reached around and pulled out a box as he said, "It would also be a great place for a proposal.". Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yet. A few moments later a small boy on a tricycle came peddling up and sheepishly said, "Congratulations!" (his father was in the background giving us a big thumbs up). It was totally adorable.

 

[jshora]

It's amazing how the subconscious works. Shortly after Court proposed, I wanted to pick out "official" wedding colors. After a short discussion, because he and I tend to think alike, we decided to go with fall colors (since we are getting married in October) and more specifically, Eggplant and Burnt Orange.

Last night I had my first dream about wedding planning. Court and I were meeting with the baker for the first time to discuss what kind of cake we wanted. We went in there determined to have a three tiered cake with a castle topper. The baker patiently listened to us, nodding the whole time. When we were done describing what we wanted she said to us, "Let's see... I was thinking for you two something along the lines of Journey Into Imagination.". Shortly there after I woke up. It was also at that time that I realized, without previously knowing, that I had chosen wedding colors in the same scheme of one of my favorite Disney character... FIGMENT!!

 

[jshora]

Wow! It's crazy how time flies! Here is an update to our wedding planning:

I HAVE MY DRESS!! I'm so excited. I will definitely post pictures when I get a chance.

Here are the stock photos for the dress, but I don't think it really does it justice:

http://www.essensedesigns.com/dress-D584

Definitely read the description. There are beautiful crystals all over the organza skirt that are kind of hidden, but just make the entire dress light up and sparkle when the light hits them. It's sooo pretty.

We've also booked Randy Chapman for photography. It should be really fun to work with him and I'm very excited for that.

We're still working on videography. I know STVS video has been recommended by some on the boards, but in talking with Stan my confidence in him has been shaken. He doesn't really seem to want to work with me or listen to what my needs and wants are. He tries to pigeon hole me into his pre-set packages. His videos look great and his pricing is comparable to other vendors out there. So, we'll wee.

Lastly, we have our reception venue booked for our reception back in Minnesota. We will be having our reception at the Minnesota Zoo, in their dolphin and shark tank area called Discovery Bay. Here is a link for more information on that:

http://www.mnzoo.org/animals/animals_discoveryBay.asp

http://www.mnzoo.org/planEvent/planEvent_venues.asp

 

[jshora]

Oh! I forgot to mention that we are heading down to Disney in about a week and a half. I'm running in the Disney Wine & Dine Half marathon and we are also taking the opportunity to check out the Wedding Pavilion and Hollywood Hideaway!

I'm so excited!!!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

I thought I would post a little bit about Court and myself.

The beginning:

Court and I met through an online dating service. Our first date was on June 10th, 2009 and consisted of going to a little restaurant and sharing french fries and a bottle of wine. We hit it off instantly! The conversation started out along the lines of us talking about our favorite places to visit. We knew we were meant to be when we both answered "Disney World!". So, of course we discussed our favorite things about Disney World. Not wanting to scare him, but knowing it was an important part of my dreams, I tentatively brought up the notion that I have always wanted a Disney World wedding. We spent the next two hours talking about Disney, the Food and Wine Festival, and Disney weddings.

The proposal:

On July 8th, 2010, Court and I decided to go for a walk around a near-by lake. We stopped along the way for dinner at a cute cafe at the Lake Calhoun Beach Club. We finished our walk around the lake and decided to wander up and through a local Rose Garden and Bird Sanctuary. Being the smart alec that I tend to be, I made the comment that the Rose Garden would be a wonderful place for wedding photos if one were to get married in the area. He reached around and pulled out a box as he said, "It would also be a great place for a proposal.". Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yet. A few moments later a small boy on a tricycle came peddling up and sheepishly said, "Congratulations!" (his father was in the background giving us a big thumbs up). It was totally adorable.

OMG - got to this post and had to interrupt with a question - do you live in Minneapolis? If so, I have said the exact same thing about that Rose Garden (if we are talking about the same one!). Anyway...reading on...

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Wow! It's crazy how time flies! Here is an update to our wedding planning:

I HAVE MY DRESS!! I'm so excited. I will definitely post pictures when I get a chance.

Here are the stock photos for the dress, but I don't think it really does it justice:

http://www.essensedesigns.com/dress-D584

Definitely read the description. There are beautiful crystals all over the organza skirt that are kind of hidden, but just make the entire dress light up and sparkle when the light hits them. It's sooo pretty.

We've also booked Randy Chapman for photography. It should be really fun to work with him and I'm very excited for that.

We're still working on videography. I know STVS video has been recommended by some on the boards, but in talking with Stan my confidence in him has been shaken. He doesn't really seem to want to work with me or listen to what my needs and wants are. He tries to pigeon hole me into his pre-set packages. His videos look great and his pricing is comparable to other vendors out there. So, we'll wee.

Lastly, we have our reception venue booked for our reception back in Minnesota. We will be having our reception at the Minnesota Zoo, in their dolphin and shark tank area called Discovery Bay. Here is a link for more information on that:

http://www.mnzoo.org/animals/animals_discoveryBay.asp

http://www.mnzoo.org/planEvent/planEvent_venues.asp

LOL patience is not something I am known for! Love your dress and your choice of home reception venues. Oh and belated congrats and welcome!

 

[FutureMrs.B]

Just found your post so I'm joining in. I love the engagement story. Really sweet. You're dress looks nice in the pictures so I'm sure it's going to look even nicer on you. We also hired Randy I've heard such great things about him. I know what you mean about Stan. It took me about 2 weeks to hear back from him. However I ended up going with the package him and Randy offered. It was the most affordable DF and I found and plus the video of his work was great. Oh well keeping fingers crossed that everything works out.

 

[DisneyDiva84]

Congrats and welcome to the boards! I can't wait to read more! YAY for another October bride!!!! It's a great Month after all

 

[jshora]

Right now I'm between two videographers. I contacted at least nine videographers in the Orlando area, only five have gotten back to me. These two have come back with the most reasonable pricing for what we are looking for:

M&L VideoPhoto
Quote: $495
Ceremony Only Coverage - Up to 1 hr
Two Cameras
3 DVDs or Blu-ray
All filming done in High Def
Wireless Microphone
Guest interviews
Shipping

PD Videography
Quote: $400
Ceremony Only Coverage - Up to 1 hr
Two Cameras
1 DVD or Blu-ray (additionals at $20/each)
Filming done in High Def
Wireless Microphone

Well, I found another videographer in contention:

Moon-Night Productions
Quote: $470
Unlimited Ceremony coverage
2 HD cameras
Full editing
3 Dvds
Guest interviews
Wedding Day Recap montage

 

[jshora]

Oh! So I posted that I have my dress but totally forgot to tell the story behind it!!!

About a month ago, my mother and I went shopping at the great, little Bridal Shop. We knew about it as I bought my bridesmaid's dress there for my sister's wedding. I found a dress there that I absolutely loved, but my mother talked me out of it because it didn't have a lot of detailed beading on the dress. She thought I wouldn't be happy with it because it was pretty very plain (but very sparkle-ly). So, I left without the dress.

Last Monday I got a flier in the mail stating that the Bridal Shop was relocating. They were selling all merchandise for 50% off so they didn't have to move it. So, my mother and I went on a treasure hunt for tiaras and all sorts of accessories (since I was planning on waiting for the new Disney dresses to come out before resuming my dress shopping). We found the most gorgeous tiara (will post pictures later), gorgeous necklace, shoes, and crinoline. We decided just to throw on a dress and put everything on to make sure it all went together nicely.

Well, I found the dress that I had tried on previously and loved. Both my mother and I started crying. It was the dress!! even my mother agreed that it was the dress. Not only did I look just stunning (at least half a dozen customers stopped to turn and look at me), but my mother agreed that having a simpler dress was better. A dress with tons of detail and then a really sparkle-ly necklace and tiara would just be too overstimulating. This was the perfect mix of simplicity with all over sparkle to tie it all together. Having the really sparkle-ly tiara and necklace really drew attention up towards my face. It was just perfect!

 

[jshora]

I found a stock photo of my tiara! Now, I just have to figure out a way to put it up here.

 

[2nd Time Bride]

I found a stock photo of my tiara! Now, I just have to figure out a way to put it up here.

I used the tutorial I found under Technical Support at the main page of this board - http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/video-tutorials/

You need to have an account at PhotoBucket and then can post away! Oh - also - you will want to resize your pics in PhotoBucket to something like "Medium" or they will be GIGANTIC!!

HTH!

 

[jshora]

Reading another PJ made me realize that I totally forgot to tell about the start of my at home reception plans.

I started out with a Fairy Tale/Cinderella theme, due to the Disney wedding. However, then I realized how much I love the fall and really wanted to incorporate that as well. I didn't want to give up the Fairy Tale entirely though. We decide to incorporate the two by purchasing the real looking craft pumpkins and using those as the main ingredient in our centerpieces. We're going to carve each one (because we can start now and have plenty of time) with a different Disney character on each of them. Then table assignments for people will be by character and they can located their table by the glowing pumpkins.

Then we were thinking of Disney Trick-or-Treat bags filled with something for favors.

That's about as far as we have gotten though.

 

[KitKat5]

Just wanted to stop in and say hi and congratulations! Ive just started reading your pj and cant wait to read more! I love your dress by the way!! Its beautiful!

 

[jshora]

Wow, I'm glad a lot of people have had wonderful experiences with Stan of STVS video. I'm extremely happy though that I did not choose to go with him. Once I decided he was out of the running, I emailed him to let him know that we decided on another vendor. I thought that was the polite thing to do so I didn't leave him hanging. I didn't want to pay him for 3 hours of coverage when we only wanted ceremony only. So, I wrote him to tell him that I decided to go with another vendor as I am not interested in 3 hours of coverage. He wrote me back and stating that he has longer packages if I am interested in him. I wrote him back to explain that 3 hours was too much. He wrote me back and said that that's fine because he booked my date two days ago anyway. His whole attitude through out this was just rude. I'm sure he does a wonderful job, but his attitude sucks.

We've got it narrowed down to two vendors that have been fantastic to work with and are Disney approved vendors. They are also around $300 cheaper than Stan.