G&B- Life's a Happy Song :) - 3/24/2013 WP/GF PJ

[Fay]

Hey Gina,

Congratulations to you both! You were obviously meant to be together! I believe that there are 2 people that are destined to meet... and finally you guys met!

I absolutely love love your dress and all your choices so far! They all look amazing together, I think which ever BM dress you choose for the girls it will look beautiful!

The flower mood board you did is also very elegant... but i really like the brooch idea, one of my friends is in the process of making one at the moment for her wedding!

Cant wait to hear more!

Happy Planning! (2013 will fly by)

XXX

 

[jessiegirl84]

Hello congratulations on your engagement! All your plans look so beautiful. I can't wait to hear more about your wedding. Your dress is so beautiful I love it and I have to ask what brand and style is it? Thankyou

 

[iloisfra]

Joining in!

I loved your inspiration boards; I really need to get started on one of those!

I'm hoping to be a May 2013 bride, so I'll be dropping by your PJ once in a while to see how your planning is going.

 

[enchantedream88]

Hey Gina! Joining in for the fun. First off, congrats on your engagement & getting your preferred date! I'm very excited for you!

Also, your dress is stunning!! I grew up near NYC and I knew a girl from high school who bought her dress there. So glad it was a great experience!! And I love your inspiration pictures!

Question time: how exactly does the room block work? How much detail did you need? How did you decide which resorts? How complicated was it?? I still don't need to do this for a bit, but since you just completed this recently, I wanted to get your insight. (thanks in advanced for your help!)

I look forward to reading more about your planning journey!! Happy planning!

 

[tinydancr06]

Hey, there! I loooove the inspiration boards! I'm probably biased though seeing as we have similar tastes. Even if you can't give your theme a "title" the boards definitely give a good idea of the aesthetic you're going for.

Thanks for posting the room block document. That's actually very helpful! I'm a little worried about having that much detailed info so soon but our consultant wants to have a phone conference a month or two before our official booking date to discuss it so hopefully we'll get it all sorted out then.

Can't wait for more!

 

[itsmebabygi]

I am so glad people are following along!
Everyone is so nice on these boards, I love sharing

Hello congratulations on your engagement! All your plans look so beautiful. I can't wait to hear more about your wedding. Your dress is so beautiful I love it and I have to ask what brand and style is it?

Lazaro style 3108 - Spring 2011

Question time: how exactly does the room block work? How much detail did you need? How did you decide which resorts? How complicated was it?? I still don't need to do this for a bit, but since you just completed this recently, I wanted to get your insight. (thanks in advanced for your help!)

It needs to be pretty detailed, as in you need to know how many rooms you need each specific night in each hotel. You can slide the room from one hotel to another and one night to another later on, but its probably good to try to get the numbers a close a possible. I felt really overwhelmed when I first started thinking about it, but Michelle (our wedding planner) and our families really helped us out with estimates. Just try to talk to as many people as you can, and I think that would help. I've stayed at all 3 of my choices before, and I enjoyed all of them, so I didn't put much more thought into it than that

We got our LOA today! Very excited, everything feels more official now that we are paying for stuff

I also ordered shoes. I really like them in theory, so I hope I like them as much in person.

Badgley Mischka Humbie II

I ordered silver-silver

and gold-silver

I like the gold-silver better, but I really needed to both colors in person to make the decision. Plus Zappos has a 365 day return policy, so it shouldn't be an issue returning them.

Not much else to update right now.

 

[Wshs0127]

We got our room block last Thursday and you were right, our rates are cheaper than yours being 3 weeks after. it's been a difficult task though!! I've been trying to email or talk to everyone but I'm nervous about it. How long did it take to get your LOA after the room block was completed?

On another note, I love love love those shoes. I'm actually thinking about going with an aqua blue glittery shoe to match my blue color but I haven't found them yet. Would that look funny with a wedding dress? Lol I've seen so many brides with colored shoes and I love it!

 

[iloisfra]

I just took a better look at your inspiration boards. I think we have a lot of the same ideas on your last board as far as pictures as concerned. I "pinned" a lot of those pictures on my Pinterest account! Good taste!

How are things going? Have you started to narrow down color schemes yet?

 

[DisneyBrideCKB]

Welcome and Congrats! Just joining in. I love your cut and paste idea to see how it will all come together! Too cool! I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out for you!

 

[tinydancr06]

Awesome shoes!!! I prefer the gold-silver too but you're smart to order both to make sure. Congrats on getting your LOA! We're counting down to the day we get ours

 

[itsmebabygi]

How long did it take to get your LOA after the room block was completed?

It took about a week.

On another note, I love love love those shoes. I'm actually thinking about going with an aqua blue glittery shoe to match my blue color but I haven't found them yet. Would that look funny with a wedding dress? Lol I've seen so many brides with colored shoes and I love it!

I love the color shoes idea too! I definitely would have gotten colored shoes if my dress was white.

I just took a better look at your inspiration boards. I think we have a lot of the same ideas on your last board as far as pictures as concerned. I "pinned" a lot of those pictures on my Pinterest account! Good taste!

How are things going? Have you started to narrow down color schemes yet?

I love pinterest! Its so addicting. If anything it is making it harder to narrow things down though There are just so many awesome ideas out there!

I did end up deciding on the gold-silver. They are even prettier in person. Unformtunately they make me a giant! Haha. O well. I'm not going to let that stop me... Bobby will still have ~2" on me. I will just tower over my father.

I have gotten a couple of things done since my last post. I order my bridesmaids spa robes with their name on them for getting ready. They were on sale, so I jumped on it.

I also saw someone go through the steps to make those custom hangers, and I was a lot less intimated by them! So I ordered the supplies, and I am going to give it a try, and hopefully make them for my girls. We'll see how successful I am at this venture. I always feel way more confident than I should about DIY-ing.

I spent last weekend working on our website! After testing out several different wedding dedicated website makers and used blogpot instead. But, I spent $3 on a personalized url, so I can change my mind to a different site later if I want.
bobbyandgina.info
I took some text from other sites, but I referenced where I got the info from. I still always feel like I might be breaking copyright laws or something . I hope its ok.

We also stared planning out planning session! We are going to stay in Old Key West this August for 5 nights. I haven't stayed there before, so I wanted to try something different. (We'll I actually wanted to try something that I've done before, but Poly is a little out of budget right now.... ). We still haven't confirmed our actually PS date, but Michelle said that since I haven't been assigned a coordinator yet, they can just assign me someone that is available on my requested dates. Both of our mothers are planning to join us for the actual planning session, so that should be fun!

I made all the important arrangements though, like reservation are Le Cellier and California Grill.

You girls must take notes while on your trips, right? I would never be able to go into the detail all of you guys go into for your TR's just from just memory. I'm worried about being able to recall the day after it just happened! I should get a special notebook for a wedding journal. I've never been the type to write in a journal, but I think this whole experience is worth remembering.

 

[Wshs0127]

It took about a week.



I love the color shoes idea too! I definitely would have gotten colored shoes if my dress was white.



I love pinterest! Its so addicting. If anything it is making it harder to narrow things down though There are just so many awesome ideas out there!

I did end up deciding on the gold-silver. They are even prettier in person. Unformtunately they make me a giant! Haha. O well. I'm not going to let that stop me... Bobby will still have ~2" on me. I will just tower over my father.

I have gotten a couple of things done since my last post. I order my bridesmaids spa robes with their name on them for getting ready. They were on sale, so I jumped on it.

I also saw someone go through the steps to make those custom hangers, and I was a lot less intimated by them! So I ordered the supplies, and I am going to give it a try, and hopefully make them for my girls. We'll see how successful I am at this venture. I always feel way more confident than I should about DIY-ing.

I spent last weekend working on our website! After testing out several different wedding dedicated website makers and used blogpot instead. But, I spent $3 on a personalized url, so I can change my mind to a different site later if I want.
bobbyandgina.info
I took some text from other sites, but I referenced where I got the info from. I still always feel like I might be breaking copyright laws or something . I hope its ok.

We also stared planning out planning session! We are going to stay in Old Key West this August for 5 nights. I haven't stayed there before, so I wanted to try something different. (We'll I actually wanted to try something that I've done before, but Poly is a little out of budget right now.... ). We still haven't confirmed our actually PS date, but Michelle said that since I haven't been assigned a coordinator yet, they can just assign me someone that is available on my requested dates. Both of our mothers are planning to join us for the actual planning session, so that should be fun!

I made all the important arrangements though, like reservation are Le Cellier and California Grill.

You girls must take notes while on your trips, right? I would never be able to go into the detail all of you guys go into for your TR's just from just memory. I'm worried about being able to recall the day after it just happened! I should get a special notebook for a wedding journal. I've never been the type to write in a journal, but I think this whole experience is worth remembering.

The robes are such a cute idea Gina! Can I ask where you ordered them from?

I was going to try the hangers too but I haven't had a chance to get the supplies yet. When you try, let me know how it works out. I'm a little nervous about it being too difficult lol.

Did you use the website through the Disney Facebook app? There are so many different options out there for wedding websites!! I started to create the Facebook one but then realized that it sucks for the people who don't have Facebook!! I also started on my Disney honeymoon registry and you can create a site on there too. Too many options!!!

Wow, it's taking a little while to get the planner. how long ago did you guys sign the LOA? I love Michelle, I wish we could keep her lol! If your PS is in August, I'm guessing ours will be September. That's a good idea to start making dinner reservations now. But as you said, that's hard to do when you don't have a PS date!

Here's what I suggest to help you remember things for your TR; take a picture of significant things that you might want to write about so that your pictures can help you remember things once you get home. That's my plan for my site visit. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[itsmebabygi]

The robes are such a cute idea Gina! Can I ask where you ordered them from?

I was going to try the hangers too but I haven't had a chance to get the supplies yet. When you try, let me know how it works out. I'm a little nervous about it being too difficult lol.

Did you use the website through the Disney Facebook app? There are so many different options out there for wedding websites!! I started to create the Facebook one but then realized that it sucks for the people who don't have Facebook!! I also started on my Disney honeymoon registry and you can create a site on there too. Too many options!!!

Wow, it's taking a little while to get the planner. how long ago did you guys sign the LOA? I love Michelle, I wish we could keep her lol! If your PS is in August, I'm guessing ours will be September. That's a good idea to start making dinner reservations now. But as you said, that's hard to do when you don't have a PS date!

Here's what I suggest to help you remember things for your TR; take a picture of significant things that you might want to write about so that your pictures can help you remember things once you get home. That's my plan for my site visit. I'll let you know how it works out.

I ordered the robes from theknotshop.

I kinda got distracted from the hangers, so they are still a very much "work in progress". But the part I thought would be the hardest (actually writing the name) was a lot more manageable than I thought it would be.

I just need to remember to actually take the pictures on my PS trip

 

[itsmebabygi]

So... I've gotten some stuff done.

Its still a year away, but we booked our flights for next March! Everytime I do something, I say "ok, now it feels real", but the list of things that make it feel real keep getting longer and longer.

I was surprised that the flight prices were so reasonable this far out. We had to jump on it. I don't have plans to get a separate seat for my dress, but I did get a United credit card, so that I would be upgraded to priority boarding. I'm hoping that will be enough to definitely get room in that closet. The people I've spoken to at United seem to think that will be fine. Is this too risky?

We were bridesmaid dress shopping! I thought it would be kinda difficult to go for the first time with the whole group (8 is a lot of opinions), so I brought my two extreme sized bridesmaids (4'-11" & 5'-11") and we looked for dresses that looked nice on both of them.

This dress looked pretty on both of them:

This dress too:

That gray/slate color is actually that we are going with.

We ended up going with 5 choices, and everyone can pick out their favorite:

Its difficult to tell what they look like hanging up, so once everyone get a chance to try it on and choose, I will definitely post more pictures

They are all Bill Levkoff btw.

I love this:

I think it will look so cute with the shoe. I hope someone pick this one.

Now we are on the hunt to find this dress for my mom to try on:

I loooovvve it. It was on an episode of "My Fair Wedding" (the Candice chic episode, for those that follow). I think it looks so fun.

All my Save the Dates are set up and addressed:

I just need to get some stamps and ship them! I'm a little concerned that people won't realize that it is a magnet, but I am not sure what to do about that. I bet most people figure it out. The color of the envelopes coordinates with the color paper the magnet is mounted on. I figured the rainbow colors would be fine since most people wouldn’t even realize that everyone got different colors. Plus I got the set of cards and envelopes on sale, so I couldn’t pass it up

Bobby's mother sent out the engagement party invitations. They are cute and mickey

The party is coming up June 16th! I am excited about that.

Wow, just realized I haven't mentioned that I GOT MY PLANNER!

Lisa Smith! I haven't actually spoken to her yet becaue she has been on vacation, but I have already bugged her assistant (Sarah Herold) with a bunch of questions and she has been absolutely awesome so far. I am very excited.

Hmmm... I think that's all my updates for now! I'll just keep chipping away...

 

[itsmebabygi]

Since I have a little more time this weekend to update, I figured I might as well update what happened in the last 24 hours that I couldn't include yesterday.

We decided on and confirmed with Rev. Kevin Knox for our officiant. He just seemed really enthusiastic and like he would be able to keep it light and fun instead of strictly serious (which isn't really our style). So we are pumped to have him.

I made some serious progress on the hangers:

I think they all look pretty good.
I definitely think there are a lot of people on etsy way more talented with this stuff that would have done a better job, but for $4-5 each compared to $30, this was really the only option. My sister has sneaked a peak already (so much for it being a surprise, haha) and she is impressed! I plan on either putting a little ribbon or some bling on the actual hanger at some point too to jazz it up a little bit.

So yesterday, we ventured into Manhattan to go ring shopping. What really initiated the adventure was that my ring was too large and needed to be resized; and I dropped it about a month ago and one of the side stones fell out. Both of those issues were fixed, and they cleaned it up so it looks brand new again!

(I just realized I hadn't posted a picture before).

We actually were in the diamond district in Manhattan, and that was quite an interesting experience. We were both saying it was just the right amount of sketchy, but I think it would be quite an intimidating area if you didn't have some guidance. Before he went shopping for my ring, the only thing I said to him was that I didn't want him to pay some huge mark-up in a store that was going to take advantage of him just because he was a jewelry-clueless guy. Just get a bargain! haha. Bobby was actually brought to the specific store by his father's friend (or friend of a friend) that was in the jewelry business. So, the bargain objective was accomplished.
The owners wife was the one to help us and she was super sweet. First, we were taken down the block to get the ring resized by the guy that seems to do that for most of the shops in the area. He looked straight off a construction site, but he definitely knew what he was doing. There were lots of sketchy sellers in that area, so I was glad we had guidance about who to actually talk to. After my ring was all fixed up, we sat down to look at wedding bands.
I ended up choosing a band to match the side of my ring. Its very pretty, I am very excited about it
Bobby actually found a ring that he liked. I am totally blanking if he ended up choosing titanium or tungsten (all I remember is that it wasn't gold.) It definitely seems like more his style.

I will definitely share pictures once the rings are ready and we pick them up!

 

[tinydancr06]

Oh my gosh I LOVE the one with the bow!!! I hope someone chooses that one, too! We definitely have similar tastes. You did a GREAT job on the hangers! I wouldn't know you made them yourself!

 

[pkdang]

omg i thought you did an awesome job on the hangers!! I must now google DIY personal hangers! lol

 

[fireofmarajade]

Nicely done on the hangers! I will now be trying this since there are not enough purple ones out there on etsy! When in august is your PS?

 

[itsmebabygi]

If any of you are hesitating about trying the hangers, you guys should go and get the wire and play around with it. The major cost is the actual hanger, so its a cheap and easy way to give it a try!

94 days until our Planning Trip!

We are heading down on Thursday August 16th and the PS is on that Monday. It's going to be a busy week because we FINALLY got confirmed for our engagement photo shoot with the Root in NYC! (It was up in the air for a while). We get back from Disney Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, we'll going to meet them for a photo shoot. I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the pictures or the trip! I'm sure August will be here before I know it.

I actually have some planning updates!

I was sad that we weren't going to make a dessert party happen because it didn't really work out with the budget and the wedding day timeline.
But... we are doing a rehearsal dinner DP. We haven't figured out if its going to be the rehearsal dinner after party, or if it will be changed into the rehearsal dinner, but we are reserved for the night before at Italy Isola West! Its a little sad that we can't invite everyone, but just the Bridal Party plus dates, parents, and grandparent is 50 people! So, I'm sure we will still have any awesome time.

I got Adobe Creative Suite from one of my bridesmaids over the weekend, and I spent probably a bit too much time playing around with it. I have used it a little at work, but definitely still have a lot to learn.

I did have to borrow inspiration from other people, but I fiddled around with it and figured out how to make it work and this is what I came up with....

Invitation Idea
(This will not be the color, but I am not sure what the color should be yet)

I showed it to my BM and she said "Awesome Job! This is what you can do to make it better..." Haha. I told her to be 100% honest because she has a marketing/graphic design background, so its kinda like a professional opinion. I'm sure she will be able to help to get it perfect (if I don't change my mind a thousand times about the design before then!)

I had to borrow some inspiration from Wendy for this (I love her stuff!). I just have so much fun fiddling around with this kind of stuff, that I had to give it a try myself.

Most of the content is undeveloped idea and placeholders, so if anyone has any tips on what I can add, let me know!

I think I am going to do a separate "times guide" for the bridal party, since there will be basically a small army.

I think that's all for now!

 

[DisneyShamrock]

Love that brochure! What a great idea.