Courtney & Darrell's (Princess110607) Planning Journal - Marriage License ?

[princess110607]

I haven’t posted much on the DIS site…but I’ve done a lot of reading and noticed lots of brides posting planning reports. I figure it’s my turn!

The big difference btwn this report and others is that I’m not actually engaged quite yet. My boyfriend and I have been in contact with a Disney Rep for months now. Our date is picked (November 6, 2007), location, and a lot of other details are confirmed. On March 6th our contract will be sent to us. Though there isn’t a ring yet…we are both extremely excited!

There is a reason to our madness. We wanted to have things planned before it is announced b/c we have certain family members who would start and run the “show” without us. We figure this way, if most of it is planned…they don’t have much room to run But now that a chunk of the planning is done…anytime now for the question would be great

Why did we pick Disney? Last October was our first trip together to Disney. We went with both of our families. We had an awesome time! It was so relaxing and fun. My daughter and my boyfriend got to bond…it was all over great! When we returned we started talking about marriage. I think my boyfriend brought up the whole Disney Wedding idea. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would get married in Disney. But when I thought about it…it couldn’t be more perfect! From day one our relationship has been like a fairytale…unreal at times. We have a connection that I’ve never felt…we always talk about our “Fantasyland”. And now it’s time for that dream to come true!

Ok so this is what we have so far.
Date: November 6, 2007
Ceremony: Wedding Pavilion
Reception: Grand Floridian White Hall Room
Dessert Party: Epcot Morocco Terrace

Oh…Mickey & Minnie and of course Cinderella’s Coach. My daughter is going to be sooo very surprised when she sees this one!

The best man and matron of honor are the only ones that know about anything! We had to tell them b/c we wanted to see if it was going to be even possible for them to come. If they couldn’t have come, then we’d prbly consider an at-home wedding more. But they said YES! The best man is my boyfriend’s good friend he’s known for years. And the matron of honor is my sister. They are both very excited for us…and excited to go on a vacation as well.

My daughter is going to be the flower girl…she’s 7 years old. I contemplated btwn a junior bridesmaid or a flower girl. But I settled on a flower girl b/c it would look more evenly. My nephew is going to be the ring bearer…and since he adores her they will be a cute pair walking up the aisle.

We booked our room block at the Caribbean Beach Resort. We had such a great time there last October that we couldn’t see staying anywhere else with our families. My boyfriend talked me into staying at the Polynesian for our honeymoon. My big concern was money. I finally realized this is our honeymoon...it’s worth it!

Let’s see what else. We plan to have the rehearsal dinner at Ohana’s. We booked Randy Chapman for photography (Thanks to all of Maggnimus’s comments). I’ve decided on black and white for our wedding colors. We are only inviting family to the wedding. We plan to have an at-home reception sometime in January once our pics are back.

I think that’s it for now. Like I said our contract comes next week, so once that’s underway I’m sure A LOT more planning will continue. I can’t wait!!

 

[PrincessBride07]

Wow, you really have thought this one out. I really like the idea of planning before the announcement. An interesting way to keep people from telling you what you "have" to do for your wedding. It all sounds so wonderful. I can't wait to hear more.

 

[Maggimus]

I promise your decision to book Randy will be well worth it. You have no idea how wonderful he is, seriously. I love seeing brides make great decisions such as this-- it truely makes for magical days. Everything sound so great-- congratulations on being such a good planner!

 

[DisneyFairy19]

Great planning.. you sound like me planning things before the engagement I just contacted DFTW for the first time 3 weeks after I got engaged and I was so excited... we are planning to get married a year and a day later after you both.. How cool. Please keep us posted.... Good Luck and Happy Planning

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Congratulations! It sounds wonderful!

Good idea-- getting the bulk of the planning out of the way before making the announcement. You'll be able to enjoy your engagement that much more with less to plan and worry about.

 

[princess110607]

Thanks all for the encouragement! One more day till we get the contract...I can't wait! I'll keep you all posted...

Hey..untill then...here's some two questions I have. Maybe one of you can answer them

- how far in advance can you make ADR's for restaurants (like CA Grill, or Ohanas)
- how many days do you need for a planning session?

 

[McBeck83]

I like how you're doing the planning ahead of time. I think I'll be doing the same - mainly cause we're scared of telling my parents without some sort of plan.

Congrats! Everything seems like its going great!

 

[princessdisneybelle]

I agree planning early is a good idea. There are so many small details. It's good to get the big things out of the way. By the way. You can book ADR's 180 days in advance. I have heard that some brides have there WP do it and they can earlier. Happy planning

 

[princess110607]

We got our contract!!! I'm so excited D (my boyrfriend) got to look at it first b/c Joe sent it while D was still at work. He called me right away. I wasn't able to look at it until this morning b/c I don't have internet at home...yeah I know it's impossible to live without the internet these days. I was going crazy that I couldn't view it. But as soon as I got in this morning I printed it all out and read every part of it. Pretty overwhelming but very very exciting!

No new updates besides that. I have a lot of ideas running through my head. Hopefully once this contract is signed I'll really be able to start planning

 

[princess110607]

We're engaged!!! Yay! D proposed to me last night after we signed our DFTW contract! I had my suspicisions that last night might be the night...but he threw a couple moves that made me think it wasn't going to happen last night. I also tried to make myself believe that it wasn't goint to happen...so when it did I was quite surprised and happy!

I came home after work and noticed that the table he bought months ago was finally put together. And the table was set for dinner. I still didn't get my hopes up...I just thought well he wants to make it special for our contract signing event. We then made dinner together, while listening to the Disney Wedding CD. Towards the end of dinner he started to repeat himself...talking about how far we've come in our realtionship. I'm still thinking in my head....well this could be the night...but then again maybe he's just trying to make the signing of the contract a special night. After we were finished dinner we sat back at the table (very nice table I might add....its nice to actually have dinner at a table rather then on a couch). He got up and said that he almost forgot to give me something. He pulls a long box out from under the couch. It was a computer box from his work. So I'm thinking ok...now really do we have to think about work? He then pulls a rose out of the box...and continues to pull three more one at a time. Each time he pulled a rose out he told me what they symbolized. He pulled them out in order of how he gave them to me in the past during our relationship.

Yellow Rose - Promise of a new beginning, joy, & delight
Purple Rose - Enchantment & love at first sight
Orange Carnation (The florist didn't have a rose...lol)- Enthusiasm & desire to persue a new relationship further
Red and White Rose Entwined - Engagement

So he pulls the last rose out, which is the red and white rose entwined. He tells me that it means engagement. And then he asked me to marry him! After that it's a total blur. Actually the whole night was a blur. I had him retell me everything over again today.

So needless to say I couldn't sleep at all last night. Constantly looking at the ring. I'd love to post a pic of the ring....but everyone I took it didn't turn out that great. I'll try taking a few more and post some.

We have a busy night ahead of us. We've arranged to meet with both parents so that we can tell them about our BIG plan. They both know we are engaged and are very happy for us. Let's HOPE that they LOVE the idea of a DFTW!!!! Wish us luck!

 

[princessdisneybelle]

Congratulations! What a great proposal. I'm sure your parents will be thrilled for you.

 

[princess110607]

Update: We survived the parent talk! Not quite what we expected...the DMIL definately gave us heartburn by the end of night. My DF just finished his rant about her Basically she's focused on the at-home reception then on the important part...the wedding itself! She wants to throw this huge back home reception when we return...she wants to be completely in charge of it (doesn't even want me to make my own invites). DF doesn't want a big reception...nor do i...that's one of the whole reasons we are going somewhere to get married. We knew that she would be a tough one to handle...we thought she would be the most focused on the fact that we weren't inviting many people. We'd rather her contribute her resources towards the wedding itself...if you know what i mean. Oh boy...I'm sure I'll have lots of interesting DMIL updates to follow.

On the other hand my parents were pretty accepting of our idea. As we continued to talk about it (btwn his mom blurting out things about the at home reception) their smiles got bigger. They know this is what we want and are very happy that we are very excited about it.

I don't know whether to be happy or upset about the talk. In one way I'm totally excited but in another I'm a bit worried of what will follow. AND there's always the money factor.

 

[DVCGirl49]

Wow. It sounds like you really may have your hands full!

It's nice that she wants to put all that time/effort into doing a big at home reception. Hopefully you can steer her toward something closer to what you and DF would like without hurting her feelings.

 

[Kashmir104]

if it makes you feel any better... DF and I haven't even told his parents that we are having a DFTW!!! They thought his proposal in Disneyland was horrid and not romantic (grrr!!!!!! what do they know?!), so I can't wait to see their response when we tell them about the wedding itself! I can completely relate... we are going to pay for everything ourselves so no one can tell us what to do, where to have it, and what to have. It's annoying how close relatives tend to forget that really the day is JUST about the bride and the groom!!!

I wish you lots of luck!!!

 

[princess110607]

Last night DF and I sent our contract! I even took pictures:

So let’s see since I last wrote DF and I have been stressing over the whole at-home reception. DF doesn’t like big crowds and he doesn’t like being the center of attention…total opposite of his mom. And because his mom is planning it…we KNOW its not going to be small. I too don’t want something huge. This is my second marriage and personally I’ve been there done that. I knew I wanted to go away to get married and when DF suggested Disney I couldn’t have thought of a better fit for us! I would like to have a small gathering/party to share our pics and stories with close relatives and friends. I totally understand why DF is stressing out over this b/c anything that is left in his mom’s hand will turn into something BIG. DF and I sat yesterday and talked about it. We both agree we don’t want anything big. We both agree that right now we want the focus to be on our Wedding Day…not the after party. He said he’d be ok with something after the wedding, but he doesn’t want it planned until after the wedding. He doesn’t want to start planning it until we return…and when we do plan it…he doesn’t want it BIG. I told him I agree…and I do. Now the fun starts with…how do we tell his mom?

Now…a tiny lil part of the time she really does mean well. But it’s the other 80% or so of the time that she does odd/crazy things that makes you go what???? She’s also one of those people where you tell them and yet they don’t listen….meaning she’ll just say its going to be small but hire a huge band to play or something…u know? He’s afraid that we are going to have to say “ok plan…but we’re not coming”. I don’t want to be mean…I just don’t know how to talk to her about it.

One of the things I try to consider is that it’s her only child. And that she means well. But its so hard to consider those things when the majority of the time she…well she’s just weird. I knew this was going to be a problem the night we told them about our DFTW. She barely had any comments about it…all she could talk about was a at home reception.
Any thoughts???

 

[princess110607]

Well DF and I finally bit the bullet and talked to his mom last night. I was very nervous beforehand...i just wasn't sure how we should present our concerns to her without hurting her but getting the point across.

I let DF do all the talking. For one it's his mom. And two....I'm really really trying not to get on her bad side. Plus...DF is more upset/concerned about the whole at home reception then I am. She started talking about the reception, saying how she wants it right after we get back and that it we should not wait until January. She expected the videography and photos to be back right away. Now before this we have told her that the photos will take some time to get back. So then she decided she wanted a video (go ahead if ur paying for it). I think the reason she wanted the video was so that she could have the party as soon as we returned. But what about the pictures...I still want the pictures. How many times do we have to tell her this??? Another thing that really erked me during our conversation was that she keeps saying how she's 'great' at wording things and that she's going to make the invites for the reception. That's just not ok with me. Before she even knew this was a thought...the wedding itself...i had been planning out all that kind of stuff. I'm really into scrapbooking...and I already have ideas of what kind of invites and announcements i want to make. Again...we both have told her multiple times that I would like to make all that kind of stuff. If she would like to help, great! But that's something that I like to do...and ...it's OUR wedding. I kept my mouth shut for most of the talk. Sometimes it was hard b/c I don't understand why she doesn't listen to us. This is our special day...she had hers...why can't she let us plan and do some of the things? I'd rather DF and I pay for the at home reception if it means that she's not going to listen to us.

So to make a long story shorter...we told her that right now we want our main focus to be on the wedding day itself. And that we haven't quite decided what we want. We told her that we would make some type of decision on when and where during the summer. It wasn't easy telling her...she pretty much tried to get us to agree with her thoughts on it. Let's hope that she respects our wishes.

Oh...and we can't forget the best part of the night! His mom pulled me into a corner...lol...no not really a corner. But she pulled me aside to show me something. I immediately got this sick feeling in my stomach. She's a big jewelry fan....and I just knew that this was something for me to wear on my wedding day. Now you all know I'm already erked by her....so it didn't help that she was going to tell me what I'm wearing. (Earlier that day she called me for my shoe size!) So she showed me what she said every bride has to wear. Ok..nice gesture...but so not me! It was a pearl pendant with gold. Well one...I don't' wear pearls...and two I don't wear gold. I have never worn gold in front of her. Even my engagement ring isn't gold. Doesn't she get that? So I tried my best at not flipping out. I told her that i haven't even bought my dress yet...so I can't say that I can accept that. Her friend was over too...who just so happened to buy me earrings that matched. I just don't understand....I would think by looking at me you would know my taste. And if not...asking my DF what he thought.

I'm done rambling now. I hope I gave some of you a good laugh...I know I'm not the only one out there with MIL problems....

 

[princess110607]

My mom and I decided to go out and look in Davids Bridal on Sunday b/c they were having a sale. I wasn't planning on buying anything...I just thought I should look in case I found a good deal. I had a style in mind...but was open to many. My main thing was that I wanted to be able to find a flower girl dress that matched up very good with my dress. My daughter is 7 and I am so excited to have her a part of my big day! When I told her she was going to be a flower girl she looked at me and gave me a mean look. She then told me she wanted to be a junior bridesmaid...look at her already telling me what to do! LOL. Yesterday we decided that she'd be both

So I picked out 4 dresses to try on. Chloe and I both tried on the first dress. We matched...but it didn't hit the spot if you know what I mean. We then tried on the second dress and the moment I saw us in the mirror....I said this is it! I look at my mom...she's smiling...and says...that's it...let's go buy it. It was that easy! I'm soooo happy I found a dress...what a weight off my shoulder.

I can't post the actual pics here. My DF reads these posts all the time...he prbly reads the posts more then me! So click on the links below to check out our pics. And another thought...in case he's really reading into this...if you have a dress similar to mine...act like you don't...he'll put two and two together...yes I'm talking about you hunny

Chloe and I
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/7710/cimg2194db8.jpg

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6510/cimg2195la2.jpg

Just ME
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7307/cimg2198uv9.jpg

Just Chloe
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7963/cimg2200it4.jpg

http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/3491/cimg2201vt4.jpg

 

[TheSawas]

You both look so pretty. I love the matching tiaras too (my favorite accessory). Great planning journal. Sorry to see you're having some of the same issues I am but remember to just enjoy your engagement as much as possible. You will be marrying your prince after all.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Jenny

 

[j_lehr]

You guys are absolutely adorable. My daughter is walking me down the aisle so I know what it means to have your daughter in your wedding. She is wearing the same thing as the bridesmaids though - she is 14. She of course has her own ideas as well. She told me from the moment I got married she wanted to walk me down the aisle because I was hers to give away.

Good Luck with your FMIL and have fun!!!

 

[MickeyAnne]

Reading your engagment story I was completely reminded of the way I felt when I got engaged - "this could be it, don't get your hopes up though, but THIS COULD BE IT!!!" It was so exciting - I got excited again reading yours! Congrats!

And your dress is very beautiful. I love that you will be matching your daughter so well.