Cam & Howard's Vow Renewal PJ -1/12/09 - WP&WH--p.98: TRIP REPORT BEGINS

[Valentine]

Don't worry Cam.. Judy and I will take good care of you

 

[keenercam]

Thank you, Kathy! I am counting on it!

WOW! I can't believe I haven't been here in a while. Lots of stuff to update.

BLING status -- The earrings arrived Friday and they are absolutely beautiful! Howard said they put my diamond studs to shame because the swarovski crystals are so dazzling. Jenn offered to loan me her beautiful swarovski bracelet that family friends gave her. It is really pretty but it is faceted spheres dangling from the bracelet and it has a much more delicate feel to it, PLUS I am worried about catching anything dangly in the skirt of my gown. So, I may keep looking for a bracelet. The one I purchased on ebay for less than $10 is very pretty and matches the gown skirt beautifully, but is also very delicate, so I remain undecided about that too.

CAKE TOPPER -- I had been stessing over the 3+ pound weight of the topper and finally sent Meri an email looking for reassurance or just a heads' up that it would be on the table and not the cake. I was so excited to receive an email from her that the bakery is able to accommodate the weight of the topper. I am so relieved and happy!!

PLANNING SESSION PREPARATION -- I uploaded a bunch of pix and had them developed (rather than printing color copies) to take to the PS. I am hoping this will be helpful for everyone there. I also cut off a piece of the swatch of Jenn's dress material to hand over. I THINK my list of questions is pretty comprehensive but I am keeping a runnning list so that we can address a lot of those questions on Thursday.

We are busy packing for our WDW/DCL vacation and it is so exciting to think that the next time Howard and the kids and I are in WDW together, it will be for marathon weekend and the VR.

Oh, and one last thing. Happy Birthday to Howard, my love and my life!

 

[pjstevens]

I did NOT know it was hubby's bday!!! Tell Howard to have a great one!!

 

[DisneyLaura]

First HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOWARD

Cam when do you go down for your planning session, I forgot. Yeah on the news of the cake topper, that's a relief for you, one less thing you need to worry about.

Laura

 

[keenercam]

Thanks for the good wishes for Howard, Patty & Laura! I will tell him to check in here to gather up all the felicitations!

Laura -- Our planning session is this Thursday. We are doing the tasting session first and then the planning session. We will fly into Orlando with the kids and our friends and they will all take Magical Express to POP while Howard and I rent a car and head to GF. My DMIL arrives late Thursday afternoon.

We are excited about staying at POP for the first time ever, because it is one of our room block hotels for the VR. We'll spend Friday at EPCOT except for a trip to Carolyn Allen's in the afternoon to choose Andrew's tux and to pick shirts & accessories for him and Howard. Saturday is Magic Kingdom day. I and cannot WAIT to be there! Sunday, we board the Wonder for a 4 night cruise with 2 stops at Castaway Cay!

Sooo much to look forward to!

 

[DisneyFairy19]

Happy Birthday to Howard

 

[BayouPrincess]

Great update Cam.

I LOVE the bling!...I think it's a great idea to bring actual photographs to your PS...Your PS is going to be soooooo fantastic! We loved ours, it makes all the planning seem "real"!

Have a wonderful relaxing vacation.

and last, but never least...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOWARD!
​

 

[Kewz1]

Happy Birthday, Howard!

I hope you all have a wonderful time at WDW and on your cruise! Can't wait to hear all about it. And see pics!!

Kristen

 

[figmentfan814]

Happy Birthday to Howard!

I'm so excited to hear about your planning session and cruise. I know once we went for ours it made the work for everything really start to seem real (if that makes any sense).

The cruise will be amazing; we did a 4 day one a few years ago, but we only had one stop on Castaway Cay Do you have any excursions planned?

 

[Lindsay22]

Happy Birthday Howard!!!!

Cam have a WONDERFUL time at your PS!!! I can't wait to see you all at the half!

 

[IndyBride]

Have a fabulous time at the planning sessoin. I can't wait for the TR. I can tell it's going to be great! PS-

Happy Birthday to Howard!!!!
​

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

Happy Birthday, Howard!!!!

I can't wait to read all about your PS and you could tell us a bit about the cruise too (maybe it will help the VR brides, right?)

 

[nucpharm29]

Happy Birthday Howard! Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Cam--have a wonderful trip. Just got back this morning from my girls' weekend, and I'm already dying to go back. Thought about you when we rode the monorail by the GF!

 

[padisneyfour]

Thanks for the good wishes for Howard, Patty & Laura! I will tell him to check in here to gather up all the felicitations!

Laura -- Our planning session is this Thursday. We are doing the tasting session first and then the planning session. We will fly into Orlando with the kids and our friends and they will all take Magical Express to POP while Howard and I rent a car and head to GF. My DMIL arrives late Thursday afternoon.

We are excited about staying at POP for the first time ever, because it is one of our room block hotels for the VR. We'll spend Friday at EPCOT except for a trip to Carolyn Allen's in the afternoon to choose Andrew's tux and to pick shirts & accessories for him and Howard. Saturday is Magic Kingdom day. I and cannot WAIT to be there! Sunday, we board the Wonder for a 4 night cruise with 2 stops at Castaway Cay!

Sooo much to look forward to!

Have a great time at your planning session and on the cruise!wooHOO!!!

 

[Lisacope]

Hey Cam - Happy birthday to Howard and have a great cruise!!!

 

[pixiemama3]

oh my it took me 2 days to read the whole thread and i had such a range of emotions.. i loved reading it and seeing the pics of everything. Everythign is sooooo gorgous.

Happy birthday to you howard may it be magical and memorable for a geat man.

i will keep watching this thread we are hoping to do a VR at disney in feb but im not holding my breath because of short notice. I am rading everything very carefully to try and get details lol we were married 9 yrs ago and it was lets just say awful... i cryed thru it and i cry everytime i think about it not one decision was mine.. so we want ot redo it.

Again everything u have done is wonderful and gourgous...

 

[Dancermomof1]

Your story is so sweet and a tear jerker! I kind of can relate to your story and I am so excited for you!!! I can't wait to read more!!! Keep us updated

 

[keenercam]

Thank you so much for the kind words, everyone.
Buffy and DancerMomof1 -- it so nice to see you here. Thank you for being so kind. I feel so blessed by all the heartwarming posts and everyone's generosity in taking time to post encouragement.

We are really enjoying every minute of planning for our special weekend. It is going to be such a great time since we'll be surrounded by so many wonderful people. I know as it gets closer I'll be hyper-focused on training to run the half marathon, so I am really enjoying the time we have now to plan the DP and the VR.
Howard reminded me the other day that we really have to get started with our dance lessons. How fun! We bid on an "Anyone Can Learn to Dance" package at a charity auction this spring, and we won it. It had a DVD and book of instruction and a gift certificate for 3 group lessons, 3 private lessons & 3 open sessions, or something along those lines. I am hoping that if we start kind of early (like this summer), we can decide when the package is done whether we want to take more lessons. We LOVE to dance together (we danced a slow dance the weekend we met and I have literally LOVED every second of dancing with Howard whenever we had the opportunity since then), so it may be a way of carving some time out of the busyness of everyday life.

I think my Planning Binder is completely up to date now. I have so many pictures to take to the PS and lots of lists. LOL!!! That binder is right at the top of my "do not forget" list right with our passports.

 

[KeenHo]

I wanted to thank everyone who posted Happy Birthday WISHes! It was a great day and part of a truly great week so far. It only gets better from here.

I just confirmed our Carolyn Allen's appointment for this Friday to get our DS's tux ordered and to select our accessories.

Don't let all the flattery fool you all... I am the lucky one in this 23+ year relationship/friendship/marriage.

All the best! Thanks again for the birthday wishes! I appreciate it very much!



Howard

 

[keenercam]

Well, tomorrow is the big day! What an awesome way to start a WDW/DCL vacation, planning a VR!!! The morning will be kind of hectic, arriving MCO ~9:30 and having our tasting at 11 am. We'll have to swing by the resort first to check in so that the kids will be able to get into the room before we get back from TS/PS.

Yesterday, Howard found a picture of a really nice boutonniere -- 2 small pink roses (soft pink, but not pale) with a piece of ivy behind the roses. He would like some other kind of greens, and I want to add a stephanotis, and then I think we are set for the boutonnieres. I also want to ask for a hidden mickey in Andrew's stephanotis, if they can do that.

Howard also took pix of his tux, his cummerbund & his tux shirt, so that we can get similar styles for Andrew.

I think we are all set now. My binder is full and organized and ready.

Oh, I guess I probably should pack the rest of my stuff besides my running outfits, dinner outfits & 2 pairs of crocs. LOL!

Will "see" you all in a week, hopefully with lots of pix to share!