I'm back!!!!
We were only gone for 3 nights, but I feel like it was one of the longest Disney trips we've ever taken.
We managed to fit a lot of activities and planned quite a bit during our time: We did 2 special dinners and 1 breakfast, we had our planning session and menu tasting, I had my hair and make up trial and then we did engagement photos, and celebrated Chris' birthday. (Phew! What a wallop!)
Ok, so...
5/11/11-We arrived at Wilderness Lodge about noon. Chris' family was lucky enough to be upgraded to club level
, so we went to the concierge to enjoy some snacks. By 3 o'clock we had all gotten our rooms and started to get ready for our dinner at California Grill. We all ended up having a blast at dinner! The food is to die for and we timed it correctly to watch Wishes while we ate. It was really a wonderful experience to share together with both of our families.
5/12/11-Planning Session Day!!!
Chris and myself, along with our mothers, went over to Franck's and met with Carol for our planning session. Oh my gosh, Carol is such a sweetheart!
She made us feel right at home as we planned. We talked about our wedding day, I told her what I wanted/did not want...pretty easy stuff, but now it's all sort of a blur. After going over the little odds 'n' ends, we did the cake tasting!
Top layer: Lemon cake + raspberry mousse
Middle layer: Chocolate cake + Bailey's
Bottom: Lemon cake + raspberry mousse
And here is a digital sketch of what it's going to look like (far right image):
So by this point we had finished the actual planning session part with Carol (it only took 2 hours), so we went over to the wedding pavilion to show Chris and his mom before we met with the florist. They both loved it, and that just reassured me that I am so happy we are getting married at the Wedding Pavilion. At noon, we met with Elizabeth and talked about bouquets, table arrangements, color schemes, etc.
We chose the truffle taffeta for the table cloths and the blue organza for the napkins/chiavari chair sashes.
And here is our seating diagram for Atlantic Dance Hall:
As you can see, our bridal party is HUGE so our head table starts to wrap around the room
Intimidate family only will be seated at the large rounds on the dance floor and then friends and additional family will be seated around the perimeter of the upper level.
By this time we had wrapped up around 1 o'clock and decided to head over to the Boardwalk Resort for our menu tasting!
It was my first time going inside the Boardwalk Resort and it was so pretty, but it is rather large and intimidating. I think I'd like to stay here in the future, though. Maybe for an anniversary trip?!
We headed down to the convention center and they had our names in the daily events board, which we thought was pretty cool.
And then we went inside the St. James room and found our table set up.
We had Chef Charles, who was also amazing! He really has a true gift--he copied almost every recipe exactly. So good!
We are keeping the above:
Beef tenderloin with tomato hollandaise sauce - Amazing flavor! We loved that it was cooked medium, very tender and juicy.
Bacon-apple Chicken - One of the best chicken dishes I've had! Loved the sides with it.
Smoky Portobello Soup - The ONE dish I was nervous about Chef Charles recreating. Well, rest assured, he NAILED it...it tasted just like the soup from Artist Point.
Mashed potato martini bar (just 2 choices: Purple Peruvian and Gold Yukon.) - Purple Peruvian is great just for the 'wow' factor...I thought it tasted closer to a sweet potato, which isn't my favorite. The Gold Yukon is just like a baked potato with all the trimmings, yummm!!!
We also tried the gnocchi for our vegetarian dish, but it was a little dry, so we chose the veggie lasagna instead...and we also tried the chocolate slipper dessert just for fun.
After everything was over, it was about 4 o'clock so we decided to look at The Attic as a potential rehearsal dinner space. We're not going to use it, but I would love to do something there in the future!
Overall, it was a very fun day and I am getting so excited!
5/13/11-So today was Chris' Birthday! We started out by having some Tonga Toast for breakfast--mmmmm!
And then we rushed back to Wilderness Lodge so I could have my hair and makeup trial with Beaute Speciale! Laine arrived promptly at my resort room and we immediately made a great connection. My mom and myself thought she was just adorable. I showed her some wedding plans and then I showed her some hair pictures and she began her magic!
The whole process took 2 1/2 hours, but it was very fun to get pampered.
Hair for ceremony:
Hair for reception:
My makeup:
After the hair/makeup trial, Chris and I had our engagement photos taken with David and Vicki Arndt! They were such sweethearts too! We really loved them. We had a blast going through the bushes and rocks of Wilderness Lodge...Then we headed over to the Grand Floridian and took a few more pictures there. I can't wait to get a sneak peek and post them on here...Just keep an eye out!
Then we ended the night by having dinner at Hoop-dee-Doo, which none of us had ever done, but it was hilarious!
Overall, it was a wonderful trip...I'm so glad we got to go to Disney and have our planning session in person. It makes one feel more at ease and helps visualize what your wedding is actually going to be like.
I hope you get everything straightened out!!
I'm trying to print out as many pictures to support my vision at the planning session because I really don't wanna take my computer to Disney. (Too much luggage going with us already!) So I'm frantic about that. It's also hard because I haven't actually decided what kind of decor I want! 
