**Ashley & Brian's 10/26/13 Swan Wedding**

[xAshleyx]

Love your engagement pictures. Awaiting your dress!!

Thank you. Almost getting there. !

 

[xAshleyx]

Hi! I've enjoyed reading your pj so far! It seems like you've had a lot of hard decisions to make so far but it looks like you're doing a great job! I am glad you decided to be flexible with your date so you could still have your DISNEY wedding Your wedding is the day after ours!!! I will definitely be following along

Yes ! Definitely have had some tough decisions. Thanks for the support
Oh cool your the second person I know getting married that weekend. Must be a lucky time of year

 

[MickeysStarTrader]

I LOVE your engagement pictures!! I would never have known Brian's shirt was soaked! This picture is one of my favorites:

You have the pretty scenery of the Boardwalk (and how much it means to you) and you're both looking out at the Swan like you're dreaming about your wedding

I'm sorry you had such an upsetting time when you first got your date thankfully you didn't lose as much money as you could have and you can still get married in October and have the Swan as your venue your floral inspiration picture is GORGEOUS!!!! And so unique, I've not seen anything like it. We've gone for some bright, cheery, fun colors for our floral too. Will the guys definitely be wearing orange and you're just torn between the flower?

 

[xAshleyx]

I LOVE your engagement pictures!! I would never have known Brian's shirt was soaked! This picture is one of my favorites:

You have the pretty scenery of the Boardwalk (and how much it means to you) and you're both looking out at the Swan like you're dreaming about your wedding

I'm sorry you had such an upsetting time when you first got your date thankfully you didn't lose as much money as you could have and you can still get married in October and have the Swan as your venue your floral inspiration picture is GORGEOUS!!!! And so unique, I've not seen anything like it. We've gone for some bright, cheery, fun colors for our floral too. Will the guys definitely be wearing orange and you're just torn between the flower?

Chloe-
Thanks ! Yes that's one of our favorites too. It's great foreshadowing since we are getting married at the swan.
I'm glad you can't tell about his shirt lol I was so upset when it happened
I found the inspiration photo on Pinterest. I knew I wanted to incorporate orchids. Since they are really the only flower I do like.
Hmmm. . I'm torn between the color and flower
I'm thinking if they wear the roses- ill go with orange
Orchids- purple ?
Or maybe I'll have them wear purple roses
Since Brian is wearing the purple orchid- so he can stand out a little ?

 

[tinydancr06]

I totally forgot to mention this before but that whole wet shirt thing...you are a genius! I neeeever would have known his shirt was wet at all. Had I been in your situation I probably would have just freaked out and been totally useless. Way to go!

 

[xAshleyx]

First Dress Shopping Experience

When I thought about my wedding dress- I envisioned something in a mermaid/trumpet fit. I wanted something with lace or a sheer one shoulder of some sort. With some beading and bling. When I started looking at dresses I was really into Maggie Sottero. LOVE her dresses !!! and of course, the Disney Fairytale Wedding Collection through Alfred Angelo. The closest Alfred Angelo Signature store was about an hour away !! so,for convenience sake I decided to make an appointment at David’s to try on some dresses to see what fit actually looked nice on me and what was most comfortable.

The first few dresses were horrible- they did nothing for my shape and it felt like I was wearing a curtain. I refused to even take photos in these they were so bad. Lol
It was really discouraging and I was starting to feel like I would never find a dress. .

I tried on a couple more and was slowly starting to feel better about the whole experience. I wasn’t really happy with my consultant. She wasn’t really helping me get a good look of the dresses. I kept asking her to use pins and pull the backs closer together so I could get an idea on how the dresses would fit once they were altered. Plus everytime I asked to look at a certain dress that she didn’t like she would say something like “your too good for that dress.. “ or something along those lines- and go pull something that was like $300+ more.

By the end of the appointment I had it narrowed down to about three dresses:

The first was a mermaid fit like I had envisioned- it was Oleg Cassini

The second was WHITE by Vera Wang- and was a huge ballgown. I loved how comfortable this dress was. It felt very Disney princess and it was fun to spin around in.

The third was a David’s Bridal signature dress. It was kindof a mix of the other two. I liked the beading on the first one- but I wasn’t sure if it looked okay in my hip area- so I did like the fullness of the second one. So this one seemed like good compromise. Plus it was only $500.00

I decided I wasn’t going to move forward with a dress at this point. I wasn’t really in LOVE with any of them- but it felt nice to finally go look at dresses !!


The Guestbook

I started messing around on Shutterfly one night and making up a few different options for a guest book. Brian and I both decided we wanted to have a photobook as our guest book to make it more fun and personal. I think it will be a great keepsake once the wedding is over. Im also going to make another “Disney Book” to have our guest sign. Im going to make that one very fun and bright- filled with our all of our favorite Disney stuff; characters, rides, dining, etc. and have each of our guests write down their favorite Disney memory. I thought this would be cool to look back on in a few years once we have more Disney memories and a cool way to learn more about our guests.

You can view our guestbook here:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasWjhi0cNmT8w


Up Next: The start of my bridesmaids gifts

 

[xAshleyx]

I totally forgot to mention this before but that whole wet shirt thing...you are a genius! I neeeever would have known his shirt was wet at all. Had I been in your situation I probably would have just freaked out and been totally useless. Way to go!

Thanks !
I did freak out a bit. But luckily was able to think fast. I was freaking out the whole time we were shooting wondering if we would be able to tell in the photos. My biggest fear was that the sun would start to dry his shirt and make blots ! Glad everything worked out tho

 

[xAshleyx]

The start of the bridesmaids gifts..

I definitely want to do something that all of my girls will be able to use in Disney. So I wanted to do something travel oriented. I found these really cute tote bags from theknot store and had them ordered with each girls initial, and of course one for myself

I had them done with hot pink and orange trim- to go with the colors in my bouquet. I want to order things for their gift bags as I find them- that way im not spending a TON of money on their gifts when it gets closer to the wedding.

These bags were perfect ! the colors go with my wedding colors and its still something they can use after the wedding. Plus we will all now have matching carry on bags while we are traveling.

TheKnot has matching cosmetic bags, which I thought would be cute to include- but they didn’t really seem to be that cool to me, so I decided to pass.

A few days later I came across these gems – and they were on sale ! I got them in black with pink writing. I plan on putting a pair of either purple, orange, or pink flip flops in each bag. That way the girls will have something cute to wear while we get ready and for when they want to change out of their heels.

I need some help thinking of ideas on what else to include in their bags. I think I am going to get tank tops and order the rhinestone iron ons in the Disney font that says “Bridesmaid” and “Maid of Honor” and make those myself. I think they will be fun getting ready shirts. And cool to wear during the week. Or I was trying to find “Team Bride” shirts that are Disney related and maybe have the girls wear them? That way I can get Brian and the groomsmen “Team Groom” shirts too.

Since Sephora started the Cinderella collection- I will probably pick up some lip gloss to put in their bags. Im waiting to see if they run any good sales. I also really like something like these- I know etsy sells a ton of different options. This may be cool to use for our mimosas the morning of the wedding !

And lastly- I was thinking about getting personalized glass slippers from Aribba Brothers on Main Street. With each girls name and “Bridesmaid” that way they can have a really cool keepsake from the wedding. Its totally Disney and I am making Brian get me the big glass slipper with our names and wedding date as my wedding present from him. I know they sell the small slippers in store for around $16 ? Their website is now linked directly with disneystore.com and I cant find the small ones on there, just the medium sized ones for $60.00; does anyone know if I can order them from home ? ?

Up Next: Bridesmaid Dress Shopping & Celebrating Pins

 

[celerystalker]

Great ideas so far!
And I'm still angry for you about the stupid date change! Grr!

For finding the slippers:
contact Disney Parks and Resorts Merchandise Guest Services at 1-877-560-6477 or send an email to: merchandiseguestservices@disney.go.com

I've never used them myself, but supposedly they can get you anything in the parks and ship it to you.

 

[xAshleyx]

Great ideas so far!
And I'm still angry for you about the stupid date change! Grr!

For finding the slippers:
contact Disney Parks and Resorts Merchandise Guest Services at 1-877-560-6477 or send an email to: merchandiseguestservices@disney.go.com

I've never used them myself, but supposedly they can get you anything in the parks and ship it to you.

The date change was absolutely horrible. I'm so glad it's over and hope no one has to deal with that !!
Thanks for the info, I'll give them a call. I'll let you know what they say

 

[xAshleyx]

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

So I had planned on having long bridesmaids dresses. I wanted my girls to wear a dark purple, like an eggplant color. I had picked out a bunch of bridesmaids dresses online from David’s Bridal and took my MOH and one of my bridesmaids to try them on. I didn’t really like too many of the long ones, and my girls really wanted to wear short dresses so that they weren’t hot. So I agreed to let them try short dresses on. I was actually surprised by how much I liked the short dress.

This is the dress they tried on:

It looked nice especially when they put the sash around the middle. I had even considering letting them get the dresses in hot pink and wearing an orange sash, to match my bouquet!

I was pretty excited about the dresses and LOVED the one shoulder. When I showed my mom and my grandmom, they hated them. They thought they were too short, and they didn’t like the bow on the shoulder.

I know I shouldn’t let their opinion influence my final decision, but lets face it- it made me second guess myself. . .

Celebrating Pins !!

I had saw another DIS bride who had custom celebrating pins made for her wedding. I contacted Victoria from Something Printable on etsy and had her customize pins for our wedding

They are so cute and I cant wait to share. She didn’t watermark the image that was sent, so ill wait to post until I get my finished product in. I ordered the buttons through justbuttons.org – I ordered 50 of them and it was only around $30.00 and it was FREE SHIPPING !

Since there seems to be a lack of Just Married pins around WDW. I decided to make our own ! Brian and I love Rapunzel and Flynn, so I incorporated them into our Just Married pins and ordered those through Justbuttons.org as well.

I cannot wait to post pictures of everything when they come in !!

Up next: T H E D R E S S

 

[redlight]

I love the first dress you posted - also the BM's dresses.

 

[xAshleyx]

I love the first dress you posted - also the BM's dresses.

Thank you. I like the BM dresses too
I think I want to try on some more long ones to keep our options open

 

[xAshleyx]

T H E D R E S S

After my so-so attempt at dress shopping at David’s. I decided to make an appointment to go try on the Alfred Angelo dresses !!
I decided to go to an authorized retailer since it was closer to my house, and because they also carried Maggie Sottero

The first dress I tried on was simple. It was so light weight and comfortable. I liked it, but didn’t necessarily love it. I wasn’t a fan of how the fabric looked on me. It was really shiny. It was on sale though, for $400.00 !! which made it quite a contender . . .

The next dress was Alfred Angelo Sleeping Beauty. I super liked this dress. It was poufy and one shoulder and I felt like a princess in it ! But I didn’t get that “moment” and I wanted to keep looking

Dress three was Maggie Sottero. I LOVED it ! I loved the lace straps and the beaded appliqué on the side. It had the right amount of poof too and I absolutely loved it. My consultant put the veil on and some accessories and I stared at myself in the mirror for a while. I still didn’t get that feeling. At this point- I thought maybe I just wouldn’t have my “moment” and that this WAS my dress.

By nan convinced me to try another one on and I went back into the dressing room to see what other dresses we had pulled.

And that’s when I fell in love. . .

It seriously was the prettiest thing I have ever tried on in my life. I LOVE everything about this dress. Pictures seriously do not do it justice. The beading on the front of the dress is gorgeous. I love the way it pulls to the sides and crosses from side to side. I absolutely love the lace along the bottom of the dress and the way the front bunches up. I tried the dress back on with a mermaid slip (but forgot to take pictures of it, of course) and it looks even better when its properly puffed out at the bottom. The back of this dress seriously takes my breath away. I cant wait to see it properly laced up in the back though with the strings completely tucked in. It looks like a real mermaid the way the back of the dress bunches. I don’t even want it bustled up, its so pretty ! I had that moment when I looked in the mirror. I couldn’t stop smiling and I had that happy-butterfly feeling in my stomach. I had found T H E D R E S S

Up next: The new engagement album, more BM shopping & Flower Girl Dresses

 

[djsmith]

Catchin up on ur updates!

such a shame about thing 1 an thing 2 i'd b especially after spending all that money on the desposits for the at home wedding they talked u into so pleased ur family was supportive the whole way through. It always helps to have the support an the people who truely support u an brian gettin married will be there no matter where u have it.

I had no idea u went back an forward so many times in the planning stages! ur right about all the restrictions etc with DFTW compared to justmarry it completely put me off DFTWs. that an the crappy view of the castle u get from the wedding pavillion(which was gonna b our venue when we first decided on a disney wedding) the restrictions, the view, the minimums, the customer service an the overall price majorly put me off DFTWs

love ur disney trip/engagement photos! especially the one where ur lookin over towards the swan

i like the idea of the pillars better than the archway as well, thats jus from other peoples pictures tho i'v been a little lazy in some budget areas an havnt thought about how much we can spend on floral yet

that must'v been heartbreakin hearing ur wedding would not be very private with the hotel being busy with the food an wine expo! its a shame ur party is too large for the west courtyard(i'm having my wedding there although we only have 12 guests lol) glad u finally got a date u were happy with tho seems u'v fallen in love wi the swan an nothin else will do lol

i know what its like wi the dress hunting just keep at it an u will find THE DRESS i must'v tried on atleast 30 different dresses before i found mine an i never believed all that stuff people said about buterflies an it jus feels right etc. i'd resigned myself to jus findin a dress that would do, until i found the on an that was that i had to hav it regardless of price lol

the flipflop bags r cute its a gr8 idea an somehin they can use after the wedding even if they buy new flip flops for future holidays etc they can keep the bag another for the rhinestone iron ons i'm gonna do them as well havnt decided on tank tops or on hoodies yet tho : again being a little slack on the planning but i only have 1 bridesmaid to think of so its not too bad

the bridesmaids dresses look great, i know what its like to doubt a decision when someone disagrees, i'd have done exactly the same if i picked somethin an my mum didnt like it, but if u an ur bridesmaids like them i'd say stick wi them

i must look in2 making some i'mm celebrating badges from the vendors u used, its on my wedding to do list lol good thinking making ur own just married badges i'd never have thought of that! i'v asked a friend of mine to hunt some down when she goes to WDW in the summer. if she cant find some think i'l follow u in makin my own, i'm not fussed with cinderella too much anywayz lol

I LOVE UR DRESS!!!!! u look amazin in it an its gorgeous! (ps i write this as i read so i dont forget anythin so sorry if its long/doesnt completely make sense as u read it lol when i read the first bit about the dresses i wrote bout the butterflies etc *** i didnt know there was a later update still to read where u'v found ur dress) Anywayz SO GLAD U FOUND IT!!! an u love it an had all the right feelings ur meant 2 hav

So now i'm all caught up lookin forward to the next update

Debra
xXx

 

[MickeysStarTrader]

I love the tote bags and flip flop bags, so cute! I think your girls will love them and they can use them after the wedding which is always a plus. I think it's a good idea to space out when you buy stuff and get things when you see them. It's certainly helped me so far! I think the tank tops are a great idea to add to their bags, I've had some made for my girls Makeup is another good idea of something else to add. Maybe some jewelry? I can't really think of anything else, I think it depends on the girl and what they like. You've had some great ideas so far. I love the idea of the Arribas glass slipper, that's such a beautiful and appropriate keepsake! That's cute that you're going to have one engraved for yourself too

I like the dresses your bridesmaids tried on. My girls are wearing short dresses If your girls love their dresses and you do I would say don't worry about anyone else your buttons sound adorable! I can't wait to see them! I love Flynn and Rapunzel! You got a pretty sweet deal on those also.

I think you did right to keep dress shopping. None of those dresses looked bad on you at all, but the one you chose definitely looked more special and you really do have to love it. I didn't have a "the one" moment and I didn't cry or anything, I just loved how the dress looked and felt and I kept thinking about it. I compared all other dresses I tried on to that one and never thought I looked as good. I'm glad you love it so much, it looks so pretty and princessy

 

[redlight]

Excellent choice for the dress! How are you planning to wear your hair?

 

[xAshleyx]

Catchin up on ur updates!

such a shame about thing 1 an thing 2 i'd b especially after spending all that money on the desposits for the at home wedding they talked u into so pleased ur family was supportive the whole way through. It always helps to have the support an the people who truely support u an brian gettin married will be there no matter where u have it.

I had no idea u went back an forward so many times in the planning stages! ur right about all the restrictions etc with DFTW compared to justmarry it completely put me off DFTWs. that an the crappy view of the castle u get from the wedding pavillion(which was gonna b our venue when we first decided on a disney wedding) the restrictions, the view, the minimums, the customer service an the overall price majorly put me off DFTWs

love ur disney trip/engagement photos! especially the one where ur lookin over towards the swan

i like the idea of the pillars better than the archway as well, thats jus from other peoples pictures tho i'v been a little lazy in some budget areas an havnt thought about how much we can spend on floral yet

that must'v been heartbreakin hearing ur wedding would not be very private with the hotel being busy with the food an wine expo! its a shame ur party is too large for the west courtyard(i'm having my wedding there although we only have 12 guests lol) glad u finally got a date u were happy with tho seems u'v fallen in love wi the swan an nothin else will do lol

i know what its like wi the dress hunting just keep at it an u will find THE DRESS i must'v tried on atleast 30 different dresses before i found mine an i never believed all that stuff people said about buterflies an it jus feels right etc. i'd resigned myself to jus findin a dress that would do, until i found the on an that was that i had to hav it regardless of price lol

the flipflop bags r cute its a gr8 idea an somehin they can use after the wedding even if they buy new flip flops for future holidays etc they can keep the bag another for the rhinestone iron ons i'm gonna do them as well havnt decided on tank tops or on hoodies yet tho : again being a little slack on the planning but i only have 1 bridesmaid to think of so its not too bad

the bridesmaids dresses look great, i know what its like to doubt a decision when someone disagrees, i'd have done exactly the same if i picked somethin an my mum didnt like it, but if u an ur bridesmaids like them i'd say stick wi them

i must look in2 making some i'mm celebrating badges from the vendors u used, its on my wedding to do list lol good thinking making ur own just married badges i'd never have thought of that! i'v asked a friend of mine to hunt some down when she goes to WDW in the summer. if she cant find some think i'l follow u in makin my own, i'm not fussed with cinderella too much anywayz lol

I LOVE UR DRESS!!!!! u look amazin in it an its gorgeous! (ps i write this as i read so i dont forget anythin so sorry if its long/doesnt completely make sense as u read it lol when i read the first bit about the dresses i wrote bout the butterflies etc *** i didnt know there was a later update still to read where u'v found ur dress) Anywayz SO GLAD U FOUND IT!!! an u love it an had all the right feelings ur meant 2 hav

So now i'm all caught up lookin forward to the next update

Debra
xXx

Debra
I love your insanely long post lol
I figured you were probably writing as you were reading it, so no worries there
I cannot wait to share how my just married pins turn out, so as soon as they come in I will post pictures !!
I've decided I'm officially over all of the drama with thing 1 and thing 2... Too many positives to look forward to with the wedding.
Thanks for following along. I hope to have another update soon

 

[xAshleyx]

I love the tote bags and flip flop bags, so cute! I think your girls will love them and they can use them after the wedding which is always a plus. I think it's a good idea to space out when you buy stuff and get things when you see them. It's certainly helped me so far! I think the tank tops are a great idea to add to their bags, I've had some made for my girls Makeup is another good idea of something else to add. Maybe some jewelry? I can't really think of anything else, I think it depends on the girl and what they like. You've had some great ideas so far. I love the idea of the Arribas glass slipper, that's such a beautiful and appropriate keepsake! That's cute that you're going to have one engraved for yourself too

I like the dresses your bridesmaids tried on. My girls are wearing short dresses If your girls love their dresses and you do I would say don't worry about anyone else your buttons sound adorable! I can't wait to see them! I love Flynn and Rapunzel! You got a pretty sweet deal on those also.

I think you did right to keep dress shopping. None of those dresses looked bad on you at all, but the one you chose definitely looked more special and you really do have to love it. I didn't have a "the one" moment and I didn't cry or anything, I just loved how the dress looked and felt and I kept thinking about it. I compared all other dresses I tried on to that one and never thought I looked as good. I'm glad you love it so much, it looks so pretty and princessy

Chloe
Love the jewelry suggestion for the girls. Disney store.com had a cute pink glass slipper necklace. Or rhinestone glass slipper earrings that may be a good idea ?
I can't post the links since I'm on my DIS app, but trust me they were cute !
Either way I'm still getting my glass slipper
Thanks for the compliments on the dress. Can't wait to show you guys picture with the mermaid slip on

 

[xAshleyx]

Excellent choice for the dress! How are you planning to wear your hair?

Glad you like the dress too !!
Haven't decided yet .. Any suggestions ?!
I originally wanted a low loose bun with a few curls down in front.
Now I'm thinking half up half down ?
Or possibly all down to one side ?!
Ahh to many decisions, I just don't want to feel naked with the strapless dress if my hair is all up ....