Dreams do come true! My official pj / Sept 2009!

[cavecricket]

The Story of us. An introduction.

Jennifer grew up in Riverside, RI surrounded by a very loving family of Disney fanatics!

Joe has lived in Warwick, RI most of his life and comes from a large close knit family.

Both Jenn and Joe are HUGE RED SOX FANS!!!!

******GO SOX****** GOOD LUCK IN THE WORLD SERIES......AGAIN! WOOT

Joe is an amazing guitar player who taught for several years before landing a programming job at a well known medical software company out of Boston.

Jennifer works as an exectutive assistant, and part time accountant in Warwick, RI. She continues to dream of one day having a job at Disney World!
________________________________________________________________
I have been going to WDW my entire life. I lost track of the number of times I have been but treasure each and every second I have had on property. When I met Joe, he was filled in about my passion for all things Disney. Within 6 months of dating we were off to WDW for the first time as a couple. The tradition stuck. He was hooked. The following years served up a 2 week trip every October as we climbed the luxury ladder Disney style. Before we knew it, we were staying at AKL, and WL!

Knowing full well this was going to be tough to do every year, we decided to buy into the DVC. We have our very own contract with 200pts at Saratoga but have managed to use our pts at the WL, and AKL thus far. Joe likes to think we are the youngest "did it all by ourselves" owners. When we purchased I was 24 he was 25.

Like many Disney brides, I decided on a wedding in WDW long before they offered DFTW! lol I could not be more happy about planning a Disney Wedding!

*****NEXT UP, THE PROPOSAL!*****

 

[cavecricket]

What could be better then being proposed to?

Being proposed to in Walt Disney World of course!

Every girls dream is to find her handsome prince and to ride into the sunset to their castle where they will live happily ever after.

Well, I hooked my prince and was patiently (well maybe not so patiently but discreetly) waiting for a proposal. Having been together for just shy of 5 years my time was sure to come.

On our last visit to WDW, September 28th - October 13th 2007 we stayed at both the Wilderness Lodge Villas and the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. We are very fortunate to have the ability to take these long yearly vacations and they are much needed!

The entire trip was great. Some minor snags but overall a magical time as usual. As perfect opportunities for a proposal came and went thru the 2 weeks my hopes faded for a WDW proposal

Until our last night.

We had reservations at The California Grill for 7:40pm on Friday October 12th.
After an initial upset of Wishes being cancelled we decided to keep the reservation and go out with a bang <sans the fireworks>

But then alas! We were told there would be MNSSHP fireworks! YAY!

My eyes sparkled like the fireworks as they trickled down beside Cinderella Castle. About mid way thru, Joe moved his seat next to mine for a better view "lovebird" style! lol

He opened the case on the table while I was caught up in the show. He grabbed my hand and said "Jennifer, Will you marry me?" 5 words never meant so much!

I turned to face my fiance' and put on my ring. Somehow, I managed to keep the camera on the fireworks the entire time! I even caught my ring in the video during the finale with the castle behind my hand! It came out very nice!

I was walking on Florida Sunshine after that and still am!

My fisrt encounter of the CG was a fantastic, romantic, and enchanting one. It will hold a very special place in my heart.

********NEXT UP*********
CASTING CALL!

 

[cavecricket]

The Cast!

Maids
_____
Heather- Best Friend, and Cousin
Tiffany- Sister and dear friend
Madison-God daughter (4 yrs)

Groomsmen
_________
Nolan- DF Best friend
Dan - DF Brother
Anthony - My brother

Hopefully I can get pictures at some point!

**********NEXT UP***********
First planning stages / Step by step

 

[cavecricket]

Ok so I, like so many others, am having problems with which size wedding to have.

As both our families live in New England it may be quite the chore and headache to do a custom wedding inviting everyone.

On the flipside, you have so many more choices w/ the custom then the escape...

I always envisioned a very small intimate group of people at our wedding which would free up extra money to personalize the experiance for our closest family and friends.

The big issue right now is people showing interest that would not be invited if we do the intimate.

I really am leaning towards the escape with many extras for our closest family and friends that would attend. Not to mention, I know for certain all 18 will show for sure.

I am open to suggestions, tips, etc on this topic. (Please!!!!)

 

[cavecricket]

Talk about curb appeal!

Does anyone offer "How to choose a site group therapy" on the boards?!

I love the looks of the WP but worry about feeling "lost" if we go w/ the escape as I have heard it is very big inside. Add the upcharge for the site rental and I have almost talked myself out of it! lol

I think what I need to do is decide where we would have our dinner party then choose a site from there based on convinience as ALL of the locations are stunning and I would be happy saying I DO at any one of them!

More on this post later on!

 

[BaBeeCee14]

Hi Jennifer!

You posted on my thread earlier and I just wanted to stop in and say congrats!

Its all starting to feel real now because I can officially start planning. In the beginning I couldn't decide whether I wanted a custom or intimate wedding either, but DF's (feels so weird saying that now) family is so big that only being able to invite 18 people would not work out. Plus I just feel like, the more the merrier. Anyway, I do agree with you, the less people you invite, the more $$ you have to make the wedding more special.

I'm loving your PJ so far and looking forward to sharing ideas with you! Happy planning!

 

[oneyodafan]

Congrats! Looking forward to reading more about your plans!

 

[cavecricket]

Some of my friends call me "El Cheapo" ! lol

I am very picky about spending money on material things and becasue of this disorder, I am really concerend about a DFTW as I know there are lots of minimums and extras that can add up really quickly.

Im looking for tips to keep my costs down.

So far, from reading through other posts I have found these money saving tips:

1) Do your own hair/makeup when possible.
*I should be ok with this as I do my own hair and makeup now and always get compliments (fancy updo's for weddings i have attended)...a few rhinestones and a tiara and I will be a princess for a day.

2) For-go the video
*I really dont think it is important to have video footage, especially since guests will be taking video. I may end up regretting this a little bit.

3) Simple favors
*I really would love to give everyone a fantastic little favor with Disney flare but cant justify the costs that keep climbing. Im leaning towards Mickey Mints in tulle with a basic tag (not personalized ) to personalize, the price skyrockets from 2.95 for 50 thank you tags that have a really cute note to 14.99 for 20 with our names on them. Everyone knows who we are, I see no real need to personalize favor tags. Maybe I will get the plain Mickey profile stickers and stick one on each.

4) Early meals
*I am 99.9% sure we will make sure our "reception"/party will be early in the day to save on costs.

5) Silk flowers
*As real flowers tend to be pricey and die anyway, I have decided to go silk. I would imagine, if done right, they can end up being a much cheaper alternative. and cheap = good when it comes to Disney.

6) Skipping the "Couture" dress
*This will be easy for me as I never really cared much for 18 layers of fluff and enough swarofsky to blind the guests anyway. Actually, some of my favorite dresses just browsing online have been 300.00 or less / closer to 100.00 mostly! Not interested in a veil but would like a tiara, figured I can pick that up from Claires Accessories for much cheaper then a bridal shop, sure it wont be real crystal but for one day, who cares!

7) Plain shoes.
*obviously I want them to be nice incase they show in any pics but some "bridal shoes" have been really really pricey. Again, not worth it in my book.

8) If my wedding is untraditional then I really don't have to send traditional invitiations right?
*Here is the dilemma on this one. With a destination wedding, SO MANY newsletters and info notes will be going out anyway I dont feel over the top wedding invites are called for. Has anyone else reacted in this way?

9) Wedding party gifts.
*Forget jewelry, Im thinking fun stuff instead like personalized Mickey ears and a keepsake Disney pin or something like that. Should keeps the costs down but have not decided yet.

10) Basic photo package
*While I would LOVE the MK photos (who wouldnt) I dont know if it will be very cost effective for us in the end. Kinda like, would I rather have pics at the castle or food for guests....hmmmm.....let em' starve lol

If any brides can tell me where things started getting "out of control" for them I would appreciate it so I can be prepared in advance! Or any other ways/tips/secrets to cut costs that would be great.

Feel free to pick apart my list with opinions too!

Thanks!