Briarprincess' PJ- August 18, 2008-- Updated! (3/3)

[Briarprincess]

Hi everyone! I tried doing a PJ a while ago (middle of August), but never updated it because of student teaching. For those who are interested, it went well but there was some unpleasant events during that made it more interesting, and a major problem with my grade and supervisor after it all ended. But with the help of some amazing people, it was fixed. So now that I have just one semester left (of fluff courses), I decided it was time to actually follow through with the PJ, and then eventually a TR!
So on with the show!!

Who we are:
Matt & Mal

How we met-
You know that movie Sweet Home Alabama? When Jake says, "Nobody finds their soul mate when they're 10 years old."?
Well we did. We met when we were ten years old in the fifth grade. Went to the same school from fifth grade until we graduated high school. Started dating (officially) when we were 16. And now we're both 21.

The proposal:
Matt had never been to Disney before. So it was hard for him to understand how my family could go practically every year since 1989. We had taken Matt to Disney before and he got hooked. March of 2007, we went for Spring Break and stayed at Pop Century. Now, my family has done almost everything in Disney. Except eat at Cinderella's Royal Table. So Matt booked us the last dinner seating on March 11, treating me and my parents to a great dinner. We had spent the day hanging out in a few of the parks, and then headed back to get ready for dinner. When we got to Magic Kingdom, we all went on It's A Small World before the fireworks. My parents said they would meet up with us after Spectromagic because they wanted to get a few more rides in, while I wanted to watch my favorite part of Disney. So Matt and I found a bench on the bridge to Cosmic Rays and sat down. We couldn't really see anything, but could hear the music and had a great view of the castle. About halfway through Spectro, he leaned over and told me he loved me. Me, immersed in the fact that we were in Disney, said "I love you too." He replied, "I love you more." I responded, "I love you most," to which he said, "In that case, will you marry me?" and slipped the ring on my finger.
After saying yes and crying, we called my parents, who it turned out, had been a few yards behind us but had never realized. As Spectro finished, we called all the families before heading into the castle for dinner.

The Wedding:
10:00 AM ceremony at Yacht Club Rose Garden Gazebo
11:00 AM pre-reception
12:00 PM reception at Ariel's

The Wedding Party
So far we only have my side of the wedding party figured out.
Stef- MOH, bride's sister
Katie- BM, groom's sister
Karin- BM, bride's cousin/wishful sister
Since all of our friends are in college, and he has no brothers or close male family members, we're not sure yet who he'll have. There are a group of guys we're friends with from high school that we still see, but because everyone will be graduating just 3 months before, we don't know where everyone will be in August.


What's already done:
I've already contacted Randy Chapman and paid a deposit for our date with him. He's been great so far and if for some reason we can't get our date, he said he'll either refund or switch our date if possible. Also, I contacted STVS video and they have me penciled in for the date as well. Once I have it set in stone, I just have to pay that deposit.
We did a site visit in August with Kristi. She's amazing and has been a great help. Our first pick was Sea Breeze Pointe, but we were told that it wouldn't be available. She showed us the Gazebo and we fell in love with it. The whole atmosphere was perfect for us, and having everything so close will be really helpful. We are having the reception at Ariel's, and have been told that it will most likely be the last reception there because the DDP has been an overwhelming success and they are starting to run short on dining locations. But then again, I've been hearing for years that they were turning it back into a public dining location.

I got a dress! This probably should have been the very first thing "done" as I bought it back in September. I mentioned before that I had found a dress that I was in love with, the very first dress I tried on. My cousin and I went a month after I tried it on, and I didn't want to take it off. It fits like a dream.

It's at my grandmother's right now, since we don't have anywhere to store it at the moment. But I miss it! I keep wanting to put it on!
I also got a "matching" headband. Same story- saw it, wanted it but didn't get it, then went back and got it.
Here's a picture- it's not me in the picture obviously. I won't be wearing a veil, just the headband.

Who's Coming?
We've invited all of our "immediate" family members-- 50. That's just parents, grandparents, sisters/their families, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And then I'm inviting a few of my friends from school (about 4) and who knows how many he'll invite.

Important Notes
Matt's father passed away while we were in high school, and in honor of him, and two of my grandparents, the bridesmaids are going to each have one white rose in their boquets. His sister will carry one for their dad, my sister will carry one for our grandmother, and my cousin will carry one for our grandfather.



So that's it for now. We still have a lot to do, and it's going to be a long 8 months. But I can now say-- I'm getting married this year!!

 

[BayouPrincess]

Great start Mal! Sounds like you had an interesting, yet stressful, semester. Congrats on getting the trouble squared away. I love the dress, it looks great on you. And, your ring is gorgeous, marquise is my favorite diamond cut.

I'm very suprised to hear that about Ariels...I'm scheduled for our reception for our VR in November 2008. Hopefully that's just a nasty rumor.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your planning.

 

[caryndisneydiva]

aaahhhh, the last semester of college. i remember it well. i took fluff too, it made it so wonderfully relaxing for me! planning a wedding is a class in itself though...

i love your dress it looks fantastic! can't wait to read more! have fun during your last few months in college!

 

[lov2b@disney]

Congratulations! Your dress is beautiful, looking forward to hearing more!

 

[Keira1387]

Everything sounds great so far! Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[Briarprincess]

Thanks everyone!
I am so in love with the dress! It was amazingly affordable and exactly what I wanted.
My mom and I sat down tonight and went over the budget (my parents are paying for the wedding ). It was hard to watch a couple of thousand dollars disappear into deposits and stuff. But now I have a much better idea of what I am willing to spend money on.
I spent the day researching Cosmotology, DJ's, and Officiants.
Any recommendations??
Cosmo-I'm completely lost. I think I'll contact Beaute Speciale because I've heard great things about them, but I won't be able to get a trial run in before August.
DJ-I'll probably use the Disney DJ, but I don't know how that works, anyone know?
Officiant-This is really difficult as Matt is Jewish, I'm Catholic, but neither of us want a religious wedding. Again, any recommendations?

I have to decide which package we're going to get for STVS Video, we're torn between two. So that's what I'll be doing tomorrow while I start working on Mickey Fan Programs!

 

[MissMichelle]

awwww..i love that you 2 have known each other so long....ESPECIALLY since me and TC met in the 5th grade, were friends through school and started dating our sophmore year---at 16 We are now 27 and though we still aren't married, we feel like we are. It has been long enough hehe

Very pretty dress!

 

[Briarprincess]

Hi everyone!
So I received the letter of agreement on Friday afternoon, and we sat down and went through the everything. It went out in the mail today!
Within minutes of sending Kristi an email saying it was sent, she called to make sure I had my questions answered, which thanks to all you lovely ladies, I have!
She also mentioned that she's waiting to hear back from the YC Convention Center if/when I can do a menu tasting while we're down for Spring Break/Planning session in March (which is only 59 days away! )

After dinner tonight, I was talking to my mom and she's really interested in the Dessert Slippers. But I told her how much they cost ($17/person, correct?), and she's not sure we can spend that much with 60 people. That'd be over $1,000 for just that...
So I'm going to have to talk to her and see what she wants to do. I would love to have them, but I don't want to spend that much out of my budget on a dessert when we'll have cake.

Also, I found out that FMIL wants to contribute money towards the wedding in someway. DF didn't ask in what way she wanted to use the money, so I'll have to call in the next couple of days and offer her some options- general wedding fund, bar package, or welcome party (the Beach BBQ, or maybe I can finally get someone to agree that a DP at Illuminations would be amazing, as she loves fireworks as much as I do!). But that will be her decision.

Other than that, I'm still working on the Bridesmaid's dresses. It's so hard! My three girls are SO different in size, style, and personality that I can't find anything they would all like. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the two dresses I'm considering. But what I'm really looking for is a sundress that isn't completely casual.

I'll post more tomorrow. Time for me to go relax and watch "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" while I pour over more wedding magazines!

 

[lpizzuro123]

As far as your girls go - why don't you let them pick their own dress. This is what I am doing. I will be wearing an Alfred Angelo gown and I am letting them pick what ever Alfred Angelo bridesmaid dress they want as long as it is in the same color. We are using his claret color. There are tons of dresses in his collection and he even has a separates collection - they choose the skirt and then they choose the top. There are I believe 9 different skirts (some short some long) and probably over 25 different tops - some strapless, some halter, some with wider straps and some with sleeves.

I am having 3 girls and they are also very different styles and bodytypes and hopefully this should make it easier for them. We are going dress shopping this Saturday (unless we get snow) so I will let you know what we find.

Linda

 

[lpizzuro123]

Briarprincess - I just realized that you live in NJ. I live in Kendall Park - which is part of South Brunswick and work in Hightstown. My DF works in North Brunswick. I have found quite a few NJ brides on these boards lately.

Linda

 

[Briarprincess]

lpizzuro123- I'm from Ewing. I have some family in South Brunswick too.

As for letting the girls pick the dresses, I'm not sure it would work well for them. Or my budget. Their dresses are being paid for out of my budget because none of them could really afford to be a part of the wedding, so I'm trying to stay fairly cheap.

Here's what I've had in mind:

First choice:

Second choice:

Third choice:

Each dress has it's qualities that I love, and some that I'm "iffy" about.
The first dress is perfect, but the girls all think it's not sun-dressy enough because it's satin. But they would have the option of straps or no straps.
The second dress is great, but it's a stretchy material and one of the girls said she'd be self conscience about wearing it.
The third I like the pattern, and the cut/style, but there is a buckle on the strap that is just weird for me.

 

[KitKatarina]

I like dress #2. Maybe the tailor can do something to the dress to make anyone who is uncomfortable; comfortable?

 

[caryndisneydiva]

i'm all for dress #1! i'm originally from south brunswick! my parents still live in dayton!

 

[calla28]

I think 1 is very pretty.

 

[Briarprincess]

Hi everyone!
Wanted to fill you in on everything. A lot has happened in a the past few days.
We ordered one of the bridesmaids dresses online- number 2 from the last post. Here it is again.

It's the Stretch piqué short sundress from Talbots in Pea Pod.
It's much better in person than online! It's a heavy cotton, very plain cut, with broad straps so the girls can wear whatever kind of bra they want. My sister (MOH) will be coming down on Friday to try it on. If it looks as good on her as it does on the hanger, it'll be perfect for all of them.
We also ordered the matching shoes! Again, in Pea Pod, they're patent leather thongs.

When we order the other two (possibly...) dresses, I want to order a different style/different color for myself for the rehearsal/welcome dinner.

In other news!
We've contacted Ron Rosenzweig (I think that's how it's spelled) as an officiant. We have changes we want to make, which we're going to do tonight, and see what he says.
I emailed Impressions and should be getting a bunch of samples soon. I'm not sure if we'll use them or not, but it'll be nice to get an idea.
And we received our Planning Questionnaire the other day, and Matt and I will be sitting down tonight after dinner to go over it.

Now that my last semester of classes has started, I'll be able to post more since I know my schedule. So watch for updates!!

 

[Briarprincess]

Hi again!

Planner-- I received a call from Jennifer yesterday that she is our planner! I'm so excited! And I've already been in contact with her several times (that sounds worse than it is...), and she seems so nice! I can't wait to meet her in March for the planning session!!

Bridesmaids'-- My sister came down on Friday to try the bridemaids' dress on. I wasn't able to be here to see it on her, but my mom said it looked good. My cousin also tried the dress on and loves it, as well as the shoes. Also, Matt's sister came to look at the dress on Sunday and since she liked it so much we ordered the other two! Yay!!

Flowers-- I've been looking at a lot of flowers lately, trying to get an idea of what I like for myself and the girls. I would love to have blue in the flowers for me, but everything seems to be green now, which is fine. Anyone have any pictures of flowers with both blue and green accents?


Here's where I need help!!!
Music--

• We received the planning packet in the mail late last week. My mom was sitting on my bed basically bawling her eyes out listening to all the choices. However, nothing seemed to jump out at me. I know we'll use "Some Day My Prince Will Come" for the guys, and the Disney Medley (SPECTRO!!! ) for the recessional, but other than that, they didn't have some of the things I'm thinking of.

• I LOVE Sleeping Beauty and was thinking of using "Once Upon A Dream" as the song I walk down the aisle to, but I don't know if they can do that. Anyone know? I thought they said that if they didn't list it, as long as I could provide the sheet music or a cd, they could work it out possibly.

• Our ceremony is at the YC Gazebo and we have NO idea what to do for music! We were thinking violin, but it wasn't listed and we're not so sure anyway. What do you guys think? What would be the perfect single instrument to use at the Gazebo in August??

• We've joked around (and talked semi-seriously as well) about using the song "He Makes Me Happy" from the end of The Muppets Take Manhatten as our first dance. My whole family thinks I'm crazy, and his family will too. But it's always been one of "our" songs since I've always seem us exactly like Kermit and Piggy However, there are other songs that would be fitting. Do you think it might be a little "childish" or just flat out ridiculous?

I've been working on the Mickey Head Fans. I never got the samples from Impressions even though they sent them a while ago (at least two weeks). So I'm pretty sure they're out of the picture at this point. I found invitations I like online anyway, so other than a few little things, I'm not sure I would really need Impressions at this point anyway.

We leave in 37 days for our Planning Session on March 19th. There's so much I want to have done by then, including that MASSIVE planning questionnaire packet, so as I finish that stuff I'll post more!!

 

[mla1977]

• I LOVE Sleeping Beauty and was thinking of using "Once Upon A Dream" as the song I walk down the aisle to, but I don't know if they can do that. Anyone know? I thought they said that if they didn't list it, as long as I could provide the sheet music or a cd, they could work it out possibly.

This shouldn't be very difficult for them. And the sheet music should be easy for you to find. It is actually from Tchaikovsky's Sleep Beauty (in case you didn't know). I would ask you planner if they already have it before you search for the sheet music.

 

[curemoods]

I love that song from The Muppets....I would definitely go for that one because it's so sweet and not childish!!!

 

[Briarprincess]

mla1977- Thanks for the advice. I'm going to email Jennifer in the morning and see if they might have the sheet music. I just HAVE to have that song when I walk down the aisle. Sleeping Beauty is my movie and I love the music, even convinced my high school orchestra director to let us play it my senior year

curemoods- Thanks! I needed to hear from someone else that it wasn't childish. That song is just too cute and so perfect for us. Now I just have to convince my parents that it really is ok to use.


And another update- we are sending our deposit to Ron in the morning. I'm excited to have that portion done. We also looked through the sample invitations and now I'm not so sure which ones I like. Matt will finally have to help make a decision not about food!
Over the weekend, Matt and I are going to fill out the application for the application for the marriage license (we're doing it through the mail).

 

[Briarprincess]

Update!!

We booked our room finally! Yacht Club for 7 nights (before and after the wedding).

Our annual passes finally came and Matt is far more excited about this that I thought he would be. He never could understand why my family went to Disney so often, and now he can't wait to use the passes for the first time next month!

I'm going on Friday to pick my dress up from my grandmother's house (where it's been kept since September since I had no room at home). I'm very excited!! Then next weekend I'm going to a couple of the local shops and talking to the owners about alterations. There are three places all in the same complex (which has 10 stores total). They all get great reviews around town, so now I just need to see who I feel comfortable with.

Groomsmen- After talking it over, Matt and I came to the conclusion that college guys REALLY have no idea where they're going to be tomorrow, let alone 6 months from now. So Matt came up with an idea that he wasn't sure would work, but I'm set on making it happen-- his three nephews are going to be his groomsmen. They'll be 8, 6, and 5 at the time of the wedding. They are the best behaved children I have ever met. This is going to be adorable I think.
I went to the Disney Store and found these:

I can't believe they finally had both boys and mens ties in store. And the fact that blue and green are our colors!!!

So I bought one for each of the children coming (which is only five boys total, his nephews and my two cousins), one for my dad to wear, and one for Matt.
I'm thinking white polos/short sleeve dress shirt, khaki shorts and (if I can get my dad to wear them), crocs, and then the ties for all of them.

We leave for our planning session in 23 days. I have no clue how Matt and my dad are going to sit through a four hour planning session when they're in Disney. Hopefully we'll be able to get the tasting session (can't confirm until two weeks out??) which they are REALLY looking forward to.

Other than that, I'll have another update when I get my dress on Friday and see if the Curves exercise and diet have been working. Wish me luck!