Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust! Jenn & Kevin 10/12/14 Italy/ADH/France - The End (7/2016 New TR Link!)

[Aschenputtel]

Ok, I try it again (the last post was deleted by my mobile and I didn't notice it).

To answer your question: we went to DLP and I'm planning on a TR, but I have to write an exam first and prepare for DF's 30th birthday…

To you music selections:
I love them! Especially 'the book of love' with which I had the exact this has to be in my someday wedding- moment as you (and yes, it was at the ending of Scrubs when I sobbed like a little baby ;-)).

Already eager to see how your reception shoes turn out and fingers crossed that you get everything done soon!

 

[elphie101]

I've read your whole PJ in the past couple days. Everything sounds like it's coming together awesomely! I looooove the idea of the Princess Diaries Waltz. I might have to steal that one for a processional, it's such a beautiful song.

I think it would be simply beautiful as a processional. It's just a beautiful song period! Thanks for commenting and glad to have you along for the end of the ride

Ok, I try it again (the last post was deleted by my mobile and I didn't notice it).

To answer your question: we went to DLP and I'm planning on a TR, but I have to write an exam first and prepare for DF's 30th birthday…

To you music selections:
I love them! Especially 'the book of love' with which I had the exact this has to be in my someday wedding- moment as you (and yes, it was at the ending of Scrubs when I sobbed like a little baby ;-)).

Already eager to see how your reception shoes turn out and fingers crossed that you get everything done soon!

Stupid post deletions

Oh boy you are busy right now! I can't believe you have time to DIS, I always evaporate from the boards when I get busy! The Book of Love is definitely a classic song and I'm sure will be beautiful in your someday wedding

I've only got 30 days left to get things done (well really 29! EEEEP )

 

[elphie101]

19 full work days left. 28 days until we've left for the trip. 32 days until I am a married woman!

You know, just in case you were interested on where we're at right now

In case you were wondering, our final guest count landed at 72 (including us and one infant - so 71 in terms of all budgeting). A cousin of my dad's RSVP'd for her kids at the last minute and he caved in for them, as we see them regularly and they went to high school with my brothers and she said they were "far too young to be left in the hotel room!" (for the record, they're 19 and 16.....I'm sure they'd be fine). I would've put my foot down and said no way Jose but it's their call, so they're coming. At least we're over and done with!

We also finally figured out the favor conundrum - Mickey Rice Krispy Treats on a stick. After much thinking we decided edible was the way to go. I love the idea of M&Ms but since both of us are known for not eating chocolate we picked rice krispy treats. The nice thing is we're doing them through Disney (one less thing to worry about getting) and we're looking into making a sticker with our name & date for the packaging. Disney said if we mail them the stickers a week beforehand they'll be stuck to all our treats.

Last Friday we sat down and figured out our next big debacle: the first dance. Originally, I had my heart set on 'It Only Takes a Moment' from Hello Dolly (though most of you may know it from Wall-E!). I heard this cover by John Barrowman and I fell in love. The lyrics seemed to perfectly describe our instantaneous relationship and the fact that it was John Barrowman made me really excited (Doctor Who!!!). The more I listened too it though, the more I realized it wasn't a good version to dance to - it really didn't have a steady beat and kept changing around a lot.

So we went looking for more versions and hit dead ends everywhere. All other versions were super Broadway or FROM recordings of the show - including the female solo and full cast chorus that comes in at the end - or more of a uptempo, coffee shop jazz that really didn't fit us at all. After months of agonizing, we finally threw the song out

This left us with no first dance song, and multiple vendors (videography and DJ) who needed to know what our song was before we could proceed with them. So much like selecting our ceremony music, we sat down with iTunes and YouTube and every Google result of "First Dance Songs" we could find and went through the list. We narrowed it down to one that I thought was just ok, and that Kevin liked, and I decided we could settle on it as the one if we did practice dancing to it first.

So Kevin played the song from his iTunes, and we got up to dance, and in about one second flat I burst into tears. I don't know how much I've mentioned it before, but I am NOT a crier. Not at movies, shows, nothing. So this to me was the strongest indication of all that we had found our song.

Behold: The Luckiest - Ben Folds

Another thing down I'm told both Kevin's mother and my father are in the final rounds of selecting their songs, and then we'll be able to finish filling out our DJ questionnaire.

This Weekend

Saturday I went shopping with my MOH Vanessa to pick out a white dress for my bachelorette party & possibly rehearsal dinner. She had been dropping hints all week that the party would be this upcoming weekend, so I was glad we were able to go shopping together and she could steer me towards a dress that would fit the occasion (whatever it would be - it was all still a surprise!). As we were leaving the mall, Kevin texted me that he was at our best man's apartment for pizza and did we want to join him, so we drove over.

Well this was a lie. It was actually my bachelorette party

They actually surprised me, I couldn't believe it. I was totally shocked. All my girls were there (my 2 bridesmaid cousins Sam and Amanda, our best man's girlfriend Suzanna and our friend Amanda) as well as Kevin and our best man & his roommate (Amanda's boyfriend). The two guys are both amateur photographers and they were in full paparazzi mode capturing my reaction as I walked in the door. (Sadly I don't have their pictures yet, as they've been prepping for Kevin's bachelor party this weekend.) The whole place had been decorated and they let me know that they were giving the apartment to us girls tonight and going to mine & Kevin's place for a guy's night. And I thought that was it for the surprises.

Until my bridesmaid Sinclaire, who you remember lives in Orlando, walked out of the bedroom.

When I had told Vanessa that Sinclaire didn't have the money for a plane ticket to Boston, she and Kevin rounded up the group of girls who would be coming to my bachelorette party and chipped in to get her round trip tickets for this weekend. Needless to say I completely freaked out and started screaming and hugging her, and the boys got pictures of that moment too!

The boys left, I changed into the dress I had just bought and my friends got to work doing my hair and make-up while filling me into the plan: originally we were going to go on a sunset cruise in Boston Harbor, followed by dinner and then hitting up a few (surprise) bars. As it happened, a freak thunderstorm was making it's way through the area and due to the weather the cruise was canceled. It ended up being for the best, as we were late getting to the apartment from the mall and this way we could leisurely sip champagne and not get soaked by the hurricane-like rain coming through the state. (Sorry in advance if these pictures are enormous!!)

Thank god I had a dress to wear!

They had made a scavenger hunt for the night

Getting crowned for the night (my only requests were these two: a) A portion of it be under-21 for my bridesmaid/cousin Amanda, and b) a tiara & sash that screamed to the world I'M A BRIDE THIS IS MY PARTY)


The tattoos made for the occasion


We piled into the car and headed to dinner at Fire and Ice - a local place where all the food is raw and on ice and then you load up whatever you want and it's cooked right in front of you. It was here that we ran into 2 bachelorette parties and one bachelor party (and they wouldn't be our last!)

My cousin Sam and Vanessa

The group after dinner (my friend Catherine joined us for dinner but couldn't stay for the night).

After dinner my aunt came to pick up my cousin and we continued on to.........THE ICE BAR.

This is an actual bar made of ice. They cover you with parka-ponchos and give you gloves, and all the glasses & furniture was made of ice. It was SO COOL.

If I may pat myself on the back here......I was the only bride who thought to wear her sash outside her parka (there were 2 more bachelorette parties at The Ice Bar) but the other girls soon copied

As ice is occasionally known to do, it breaks (this was after we played table hockey with our empty drink cups)

We continued to another favorite bar of ours down the street, where we got to cut the line for being in a bachelorette party and my cover charge was waived - it pays to be the bride!

All in all it was an amazing night. I've only just recovered a few days later (and not even from drinking - just from being so tired!!)

The best part was that Sinclaire got to stay with us for another day, so we took her around Boston and Salem MA and had a blast. I'm so shocked and thankful that she was able to visit for my party in the first place, and I'm glad she had a chance to meet all the other girls (and they all got along so well!).

It's all downhill from here everyone - 4 weeks from right now we'll be on the road!

 

[gummybear091]

Such a great choice for a first song! The Luckiest is one of my favorites!

 

[andeesings]

That's funny, two of my friends used "The Luckiest", it's actually on my list as well. What a beautiful song.

I love "It Only Takes a Moment" myself, and wondered where I would fit it in at my wedding-- I actually thought of something, you could definitely steal- I like the tag best, so I would start there, the actual part from Wall-E, "And that is all that love's about..." For the cake cutting! If you don't have anything else there, it could be cute!

 

[Aschenputtel]

Wow, so glad that you could spend your bachelorette with all of your girls - and the bar seemed awesome!

It's getting closer…;-)

 

[elphie101]

Such a great choice for a first song! The Luckiest is one of my favorites!

I love it! It's so perfect for us and I can't wait to dance to it.

That's funny, two of my friends used "The Luckiest", it's actually on my list as well. What a beautiful song.

I love "It Only Takes a Moment" myself, and wondered where I would fit it in at my wedding-- I actually thought of something, you could definitely steal- I like the tag best, so I would start there, the actual part from Wall-E, "And that is all that love's about..." For the cake cutting! If you don't have anything else there, it could be cute!

I thought at the very least we can play the song later on in our hotel room - it doesn't need to be in front of everyone else for it to still be a part of our day. The Luckiest is just perfect for us now!

Wow, so glad that you could spend your bachelorette with all of your girls - and the bar seemed awesome!

It's getting closer…;-)

SO CLOSE!!! Under a month now

 

[elphie101]

28 days to go, 24 days till we leave for the airport. I started packing last night, I simply couldn't wait any longer! I thought it would be a good chance to pack some of the things Kevin can't see (like my accessories) while he was away at his bachelor party.

In other news, last week was a flurry of Etsy deliveries. Firstly and MOST importantly I finally got my cups! They took 5 weeks exactly and it was the longest 5 weeks of my life, but I love them to bits and I think they came out perfectly:





I got my bridal bracelet, which it a bit small (it barely closes on my wrist). Since we are going to take it to a jeweler anyway to get my mom's sapphire professionally put on, we figured we can ask them to make it a little bit loser.



I also got my ring bearer gifts; since my cousin is 9 he's a bit older than I think the traditional ring bearer is, and I felt like a lot of the suggested gifts on The Knot etc were too childish for him, so I ordered these:





Finally, we got a pocketwatch for my brother, since he's our officiant. If you can't read the engraving well (I couldn't get it to photograph nicely) it says: "Thank you for bringing us together forever/ Love Jenn and Kevin" My brother is the kind of person that would actually use a pocketwatch in daily life so I know he'll love it.



Kevin's gift has also been ordered, a little bit late, but I've been assured it will arrive before we leave in 3 1/2 weeks. (3 1/2 WEEKS. WE LEAVE IN 3 1/2 WEEKS.)

Yesterday I went to what ended up being my final fitting. I'm sorry in advance, I didn't get a full picture in my dress! My MOH came and picked me up and since we were running late we took the toll highway through Boston to get to the shop. We were due to arrive right on time and when we were about five minutes away I got a call from my mother, who was driving in with my aunt and Kevin's mother. They were stuck in gridlock traffic on a different highway - a gasoline truck had tipped over from the southbound side into the northbound side - and they would be a minimum of 30 minutes late. I tried not to panic, as the seamstress we went to is a bit of a scary Eastern European woman and I didn't want her to snap at me if I asked her to wait like my mom wanted.

It ended up working out perfectly. I showed up and put my dress on (after the seamstress said she wouldn't ask me to take it off till the rest of our party arrived) and it turned out she had done an under bustle on my dress vs the over bustle we originally agreed on. I took it off and she gave it to her team to redo the bustle, and during that time she finished up with two different brides. My mom/aunt/FMIL walked in an hour after the appointment technically had started, but I had just put my dress back on for my MOH to learn the new bustle. I walked around the room a bit and we decided it needed to be taken in along the neckline so that my chest wouldn't pop up if I lifted my arms. (I guess DisBoards doesn't like b00bs?) She told us to go get a cup of coffee and come back in an hour, and we could take the dress home that day!

We ended up walking 15 minutes down the road to the place where I had bought my dress, since the original garment bag had ripped and the seamstress said we could go ask them for a new one. We visited Starbucks and then walked back to the shop where my dress was ready to go. We made one final alteration of adding cups in, and then the dress was released back to us. We left the shop and piled into the car, and Kevin's mother said "Who has the dress?"

My dear mother, who had taken it upon herself months ago to be the official keeper of my dress, had left it in the shop. We gave her plenty of crap about that!

This is the only picture I remembered to take - my accessories all together!

I can't believe there's only a few more updates to go (well, probably more than a few) before the looooong hiatus

 

[Aschenputtel]

The cups turned out really great! And the bracelet is beautiful - I'm eager to see it with the sapphire.
Also your gifts are really thoughtful!

I'm already looking forward to your wedding pics!

 

[NeeNeeBell25]

It's so soon until the wedding! I am so excited for you, it's going to be great!


the cups are ADORABLE! I want one! Bright and cute! Beautiful pocketwatch, he will love it!

It'll be more fun to see the dress on you on the day of anyway

Woohoo!!!

 

[elphie101]

The cups turned out really great! And the bracelet is beautiful - I'm eager to see it with the sapphire.
Also your gifts are really thoughtful!

I'm already looking forward to your wedding pics!

You and me both, in every respect! We're supposed to get the bracelet back next week so hopefully I'll have a picture to post.

It's so soon until the wedding! I am so excited for you, it's going to be great!


the cups are ADORABLE! I want one! Bright and cute! Beautiful pocketwatch, he will love it!

It'll be more fun to see the dress on you on the day of anyway

Woohoo!!!

I can't believe how soon it is!! 20 days from now I'll be in Orlando

I just can't wait to see my whole ensemble all together - here's hoping everything looks good!

 

[elphie101]

Now just 20 DAYS to go!! We've had a few more things come in the mail lately - most importantly we got our MARRIAGE LICENSE back today!! Can't believe it'll be official in 2ish weeks (well, 3 weeks from yesterday. I'm rounding here). Being able to say that next week we'll be in the TEENS, countdown wise really makes things feel like they're moving even faster. I got my hanger for my wedding dress, and my wine box (which I kept wrapped up, so no pictures!!)

Also my reception flip flops arrived (from Amazon) and they are incredibly comfy! They're about half an inch shorter than my wedding heels, but I don't mind, since they're really only meant for inside anyway. I'm honestly hoping I won't wear them at all, but I don't want to be naive


I also got to visit my almost-completed brooch bouquet and ladies, this thing is stunning. Seriously took my breath away. It wasn't that heavy at all, not like I was expecting, and it was almost exactly like I envisioned it. My aunt is going to add about 15 more brooches and wrap the 'stems' in blue ribbon, and then it'll be mine again!

I got my bracelet back today and it fits a lot better now, plus my mother's sapphire is nice and secure on it. I also got a second pair of earrings from my mother, because I'm having some earring indecision :/ In terms of mani/pedi, I'll be getting a gel manicure up here in MA before we leave (4 days before the wedding). I've heard shellac is better but the salon my mom and I are going to (gift certificate!) only does gel. I've only ever had one manicure in my life, so I'm not familiar with doing any of this, but my mom got a gel manicure last week just to try it out and it's been 4 days and it looks great, so I'm all for it! I'll be doing regular polish on my toes, because it's only toes This is what I plan on doing for my manicure:

What else what else......everything else is coming along I guess! Tomorrow is our 4-year dating anniversary, the last big milestone we have before the wedding. Time is ticking...

 

[Serendipityblah]

Everything is coming together so great! I looooove your glitter nails idea

 

[edeneye]

The brooch bouquet is incredible! I don't think I've ever seen one before - though granted bouquets aren't really my department - and yours is coming along beautifully. I like seeing the blue and green in your pictures as well, every time I see them I'm struck by how unique it looks and how well they go together. The cups too, they look so worth the 5 week wait - which is now way more than the time left until it's all happening! Little things like that really drive it home for me how soon all this is, all the best for the next 2ish weeks!

 

[Seia]

Happy anniversary!

Your bouquet is STUNNING!! It's going to look so beautiful in your photographs. Your manicure inspiration is fun and unique, too. Less than 20 days to go now.

 

[elphie101]

Everything is coming together so great! I looooove your glitter nails idea

Thank you!! I love the idea of sparkly nails so much more than colored nails, so it fits very well

The brooch bouquet is incredible! I don't think I've ever seen one before - though granted bouquets aren't really my department - and yours is coming along beautifully. I like seeing the blue and green in your pictures as well, every time I see them I'm struck by how unique it looks and how well they go together. The cups too, they look so worth the 5 week wait - which is now way more than the time left until it's all happening! Little things like that really drive it home for me how soon all this is, all the best for the next 2ish weeks!

I don't know whether I should apologize or say you're welcome for being a marker for how much time you guys have left! The cups were definitely worth the wait, that's for sure, and I am so stinkin excited about that bouquet!! I know the next two weeks are going to skyrocket by

Happy anniversary!

Your bouquet is STUNNING!! It's going to look so beautiful in your photographs. Your manicure inspiration is fun and unique, too. Less than 20 days to go now.

Thank you!! I can't wait to see how it pops against my dress, that's what I'm looking forward to most (bouquet-wise; I'm looking forward to a LOT of other things more, like actually getting married!!)

 

[LadyD]

Your aunt did a fantastic job with the brooch bouquet!!! It looks absolutely gorgeous.

 

[TiffinyKaye]

Oh sigh! That bouquet!

I love looking through all the stuff you've done and planned. I can't wait to see your wedding pictures. And now that we're so close to your wedding too--i can't wait to hear how it goes!

Tiffiny

 

[elphie101]

Your aunt did a fantastic job with the brooch bouquet!!! It looks absolutely gorgeous.

Oh sigh! That bouquet!

I love looking through all the stuff you've done and planned. I can't wait to see your wedding pictures. And now that we're so close to your wedding too--i can't wait to hear how it goes!

Tiffiny

Thank you both!! I'm truly blown away by how the brooch bouquet looks and I just know the pictures are going to be radiant. It's all happening so quickly now!

 

[elphie101]

2 WEEKS TO GO!!!! 2 weeks from right now I'll be a married woman! Let's see, where will we be......probably splitting a cheeseburger and fries from Beach Club room service or one from the pool bar I'll make Kevin go get (I don't know why, but I am bound and determined to have a cheeseburger be our wedding "dinner". God only knows....)

We've just been crossing things off the list now, and strangely not adding any more. All the vendors have been paid in full, except for Carolyn Allen's and Patricia LeJeune (which I'll be doing when I visit her salon 3 days before) and we got a big round of packing done last night. I also had a lengthy phone conference with Trinity over the timeline and the finer points of our day, videography-speaking. It was great to chat with him a bit and get to know him before the big day!

Some of our odds and ends that finally came - handkerchiefs for the moms (from aprettystitch on Etsy):



(I'm expecting tears upon tears from both ladies)

Picture frames for the dads, which I only opened to check the engraving but look like these, with Father of the Bride/Groom on them:

Our wine box!! Still need to get the bottle of wine though (part of me is half tempted to just leave the wine up here and not tell anyone....)



And the Disney Vera Bradley cosemtic bags I got for my bridesmaids. They're really nice and plastic-lined inside, and really perfect. I was going to get them in the parks with the AP discount we'll have, but they Disneystore.com ran a promotion last week where you got free shipping with any parks item, so I used Kevin's Disney Visa discount to get them for the same price I would at the parks. It feels awesome because now I don't have to worry that they'll be sold out anywhere or that someone in my bridal party will spy me buying 4!



Today we went on a massive wedding errand trip, plus a small detour to the premium outlets where I burned off a few gift cards on some work clothes for me and something nice to wear on our honeymoon for both of us. We also picked up a tie clip for Kevin on the wedding day, and a bunch of picture frames at Ikea to display our attraction posters in lieu of table numbers. I wanted to get something I can reuse in our home someday, and I think they'll make an excellent wedding collage later!





We got 16 frames for just around $15! Whoooo

Tomorrow starts the last full work week for both of us. We have a bunch of little things left to do:

• 
  
  
  • Buy bottle of wine
  • Buy cards & something to write our wine box letters on
  • Buy masks & accessories for our Halloween Party costumes
  • Call DCL to track down our luggage bag tags (yeah....still waiting on those)
  • Prepay Carolyn Allen's
  • Print escort cards & attraction posters

Oh, and one more thing - it's still missing confetti around the ends BUT here are our buttons! I'm head over heels for them:

I cannot wait to wear these round the world!!!