Gwen & Todd - 24 May 2011 - WP/Narcoosee's/Italy West *UPDATE: If I had only known...

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Your invitations turned out really great! I love them!

Everything seems to be coming together nicely. You have really gotten a lot done! And the attire photo shoot was such a good idea!! I haven't had any guests ask what to wear...so we will see how that turns out. I have a very diverse guest list so it should be interested. LOL

 

[KristiLyn]

The invitations look great!!
Where did you end up finding the suit for your fiance? That will be the same color we will be getting

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I think your "dress code" photos are a great idea!

 

[Pengwend]

Your invitations turned out really great! I love them!

Everything seems to be coming together nicely. You have really gotten a lot done! And the attire photo shoot was such a good idea!! I haven't had any guests ask what to wear...so we will see how that turns out. I have a very diverse guest list so it should be interested. LOL

Thanks! I think they turned out pretty well and we managed to save a decent amount by making them ourselves too!

The invitations look great!!
Where did you end up finding the suit for your fiance? That will be the same color we will be getting

Actually, the guy in the photos is our Best Man, Todd's brother. It's kind of funny, we took all those photos in the dressing room at Macy's. We were still trying to decide what types of attire we wanted people to wear and it was easiest to just go to the mall and have him try stuff on! The suit is a Kenneth Cole one that was actually on sale for like $150! He didn't end up getting it though. Todd chose a "modern" navy suit that's very slim tailored (thin lapels, close to body cut) from Nordstrom. Unfortunately, our groomsmen have a wide variety of sizes so we're having a little trouble finding suits for them that match each other and Todd. You'd think it would be easy to find a plain, navy 2 button suit with flat front pants.

I think your "dress code" photos are a great idea!

Thanks! I read on someone else's PJ about all the silly things people say when you tell them you're having a DFTW. A lot of them seemed to revolve around dress - guests wearing tiaras and Mickey ears to the ceremony, people coming in their park clothes because they don't realise it's a "real" wedding... I don't want any of that!

My mom and I are at the beach today and tomorrow, so we're going to check the outlets for shoes for me. There's no tax here so we might hit up Michael's to start stocking up on hotfix crystals too! Todd bought me some kind of bejeweler tool a couple years back, so I'm hoping to find crystals to use with that!

 

[Sccrmnky2005]

Thanks! I think they turned out pretty well and we managed to save a decent amount by making them ourselves too!



Actually, the guy in the photos is our Best Man, Todd's brother. It's kind of funny, we took all those photos in the dressing room at Macy's. We were still trying to decide what types of attire we wanted people to wear and it was easiest to just go to the mall and have him try stuff on! The suit is a Kenneth Cole one that was actually on sale for like $150! He didn't end up getting it though. Todd chose a "modern" navy suit that's very slim tailored (thin lapels, close to body cut) from Nordstrom. Unfortunately, our groomsmen have a wide variety of sizes so we're having a little trouble finding suits for them that match each other and Todd. You'd think it would be easy to find a plain, navy 2 button suit with flat front pants.



Thanks! I read on someone else's PJ about all the silly things people say when you tell them you're having a DFTW. A lot of them seemed to revolve around dress - guests wearing tiaras and Mickey ears to the ceremony, people coming in their park clothes because they don't realise it's a "real" wedding... I don't want any of that!

My mom and I are at the beach today and tomorrow, so we're going to check the outlets for shoes for me. There's no tax here so we might hit up Michael's to start stocking up on hotfix crystals too! Todd bought me some kind of bejeweler tool a couple years back, so I'm hoping to find crystals to use with that!

Wanted to give you some advice on getting the hotfix crystals. At Michaels you only get them in 24-32 in a package I believe for like 4.99-7.99 sometimes they are on sale for 2 for 7 but even than is not a deal to me. If you go to Tami's Place (just google and it will bring up her website) you can order the hotfix in 144 for $8-$12 or 1440 starting around $55. It's a much better deal than any craft store. She ships very very fast and is easy to work with. She doesn't charge much for shipping either $2-$4 I think

 

[Capt. Minnie]

I love your dress attire pictures. I added the dress code in with my invitations but love the idea of pictures.

 

[Pengwend]

Wanted to give you some advice on getting the hotfix crystals. At Michaels you only get them in 24-32 in a package I believe for like 4.99-7.99 sometimes they are on sale for 2 for 7 but even than is not a deal to me. If you go to Tami's Place (just google and it will bring up her website) you can order the hotfix in 144 for $8-$12 or 1440 starting around $55. It's a much better deal than any craft store. She ships very very fast and is easy to work with. She doesn't charge much for shipping either $2-$4 I think

That is awesome advice! I am going to look at her website right now! Thanks!

 

[Pengwend]

So on our last day at the beach, my mom and I went shopping again for a dress for her to wear to the ceremony/reception and shoes for me. We found the dress (didn't get a photo) but it will definitely need to be shortened and taken in a little. But the colours are pretty and it looks good!

We didn't get shoes for me, but I discovered that Nine West makes very comfy, not too high peep-toe pumps. I was afraid that it was going to be hard for me to find shoes I like that were comfortable enough because I broke my foot in October and the tendons are still not 100%. Unfortunately, they didn't have exactly what I wanted, but at least we know that there are options out there! Plus, I need to figure out how many hotfix crystals to get! I am also deciding whether I want to cover the whole shoe or sort of fade the crystals towards the back.

I was originally thinking this (without the flower):

But now I am thinking if I can get a pretty colour shoe, maybe I could do something more like this:

or this, but more; lots of crystals at the toe and spreading out towards the back:

Maybe I only do the heel?:

This girl has collected some tips on crystal-ifying shoes which might become useful:
http://www.lovelyandgracious.com/2010/10/diy-rhinestone-pumps.html

 

[Pengwend]

I'm going to start using this as a space to help me keep track of links to various things I like so they're all in one place. Feel free to comment!

My dress is ivory, and I am feeling that it's kind of boring. There are no sparkles and even though it fits well and is "what I was looking for" and at a great price, it just doesn't have that wow factor for me. So I am thinking that accessories are really needed!

Shoes I would embellish with crystals:
Patent shoes might be stiffer & make my feet sweatier?


I like the ankle strap and the way the arch area is cut away on these:



Plain satin:

 

[Pengwend]

Found some pretty champagne/light gold sequined peep toe pumps at TJ Maxx with my sister last weekend. I tried them on with the dress and it is still about an inch too long so it should be perfect with a petticoat. Then I tried the shoes with Todd and I am still shorter than him by a couple inches, so that is great too! They are a size too big, but once I get those gelly things to put in them, I think they will be great.

In other news, I am trying to book a DCL Mediterranean cruise for our honeymoon. Too bad our final payment is due today also and it is going to max out our credit card! Fingers crossed that we can book it still on Monday!

In preparation for the un-booked honeymoon, I am also shopping for clothes to wear on the ship and in Europe! [In other words, I am procrastinating on the actual wedding stuff that needs to get done.] Anthropologie is my favourite store, so here are some things I am looking at [luckily, my FFIL gave me a nice big gift card for Christmas which I have been saving!]:

I think I could wear this to sightsee and also weare it to work afterwards!:

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=20367496&catId=SHOPSALE-FRESHCUTS&pushId=SHOPSALE-FRESHCUTS&popId=SHOPSALE&navAction=jump&navCount=162&color=066&isProduct=true&fromCategoryPage=true&templateType=E

I love tops like this that are plain but with a little interest, plus this is Modal!:

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=20502282&catId=SHOPSALE-FRESHCUTS&pushId=SHOPSALE-FRESHCUTS&popId=SHOPSALE&navAction=jump&navCount=162&color=030&isProduct=true&fromCategoryPage=true&templateType=E

I am considering wearing this for our welcome reception:

Cute with some safari style shorts?:

Maybe for Pirate Night:

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=20821914&catId=SHOPSALE-FRESHCUTS&navCount=162&navAction=jump&isProduct=true&pushId=SHOPSALE-FRESHCUTS&fromCategoryPage=true&color=069&templateType=E

Yikes, sorry the photos are huge...

 

[Pengwend]

I have dresses for our welcome reception and dessert party and I have shoes!!

Here's the welcome reception dress (please excuse the I've-been-running-around-all-day face and look)...

And the dessert party dress (these are the gold sequin shoes I'll wear under my wedding dress also)

We also had a tasting for our home reception and I think we have finally picked this group to do our catering!

Some photos:
The table setting (we will have floral arrangments in the teapots and tea cups from Disney floral):

Caprese skewers & mini crab cakes:

Chicken entree options; florentine on the left and piccata on the right:

 

[Pengwend]

These went out in the mail yesterday after being in production for oh... about a month and a half!

They are "Getting Excited kits" which went out with our final newsletter. We still are going to have the welcome letter basically be the real final newsletter, but this is the last one they are going to get before actually meeting us at the Welcome Reception down in Orlando.

We included a luggage tag for each person and a mini-CD of some of our favourite "getting excited for a Disney trip" songs. It was kind of a pain to make the labels for the CD, but by the last sheet of them, I had it down to a science. If anyone decides to make these in the future, PM me and I'll send you my template. It's in InDesign though, so you'll need that file. Once the label was designed, it was simple enough to print them out onto full sheet labels. I thought I was all prepared with my nifty Martha Stewart circle cutter with zillions of circle diameter options. Too bad it doesn't work quite as nicely as you would hope. Anyway, they still all came out well and I think I only wasted about one full sheet's worth of label paper!

The luggage tags I think are cute and fun. When we were in WDW for our planning session, we asked at the front desk if we could get blank or old Key to the World cards. At first they didn't want to because apparently you can somehow steal people's credit card info or something so it was a security risk. But luckily we spoke to a super nice manager who is getting married a day after us also in WDW and she made it work. She just had to mark down the exact number of cards we got (100) and some kind of number or something so they could make sure they were all void. I promised to cover the backs of the cards with a label, too. She said it would be fine even if I didn't because now the cards can't be used for anything. I covered them anyway with a weatherproof label (Avery) so that our guests can write their contact info on there.

I printed their first names onto clear address labels (Aver 5160) and Todd stuck them on the fronts of the cards. The backs are fully covered with the weatherproof label, but I did have to cut off some of the label first. Then my mom took the cards to work and asked the security department to punch the oblong holes! A fun, inexpensive project!

As a side note, I decided to print only first names because some of our guests are children and also some people don't like to include their full real information on something like luggage. Though I toyed with the idea of printing everyone's address on the labels for the back, I figure this way people can write whatever they want. For example, I will probably just put my email address on there along with Virginia USA.

Now, on to sewing all the welcome bags and Bear Necessities pouches! Here's my workspace in my crafting room in the midst of the luggage tag production:

 

[Mindyjoy]

Wow, I'm so impressed with all your projects! Cute dresses and I love the shoes. You are getting so close; you must be so excited!!!

 

[DVC Bride 2011]

I love those CDs! Awesome idea! I love the luggage tags too. I thought about doing that but I'm creatively inept so I stuck to more basic projects.

Can you believe we are so close!?

 

[Pengwend]

I'm so not ready! I spent 9 hours yesterday working on papier mache balls.

I had this idea to make favours for our guests that would be left in their rooms while we are out at the Dessert Party. That way when they get home after a whole day's worth of wedding events, they have a little goodie waiting for them and also they wouldn't have to carry a favour back to their room after any of our events. So the idea is a ball shaped container (this is the papier mache) which is filled with ball shaped candy. There will be a little tag that says "Hope you had a ball!" However, the balls took way longer to make than I thought they would and this morning, now that they are all dry, they are all wrinkly and it looks like they have veins. Ugh. I am thinking of going to Michael's and seeing if they still have those clear plastic ornaments they have at Christmastime. I will have wasted the 9 hours yesterday, but at least they will look better. Also, I haven't been able to find the round hard candies I want. They are the kind that some restaurants have that are just plain round hard candies (all flavours) wrapped in clear plastic. I've only been able to find them in sour flavours.

Here's a poorly lit photo of what they look like this morning. They are hanging from our curtain rod, so they are really backlit from the window:

Me working on a balloon:

Mom and me making balloons and my sister cutting tissue paper squares:

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Hi there! I just read through your whole PJ Congrats on being SO close, and everything looks like it will be fabulous!

 

[Pengwend]

Hi there! I just read through your whole PJ Congrats on being SO close, and everything looks like it will be fabulous!

Thanks! We are so close, and I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be in terms of readiness. I still need to sew up all the welcome bags (I haven't actually assembled a single one)! But we have been doing wedding crafting pretty much around the clock. Here's a quick run-down:

I decided it was silly to give everyone gel pens and sharpies, but nothing on which to write notes, so we made these post it covers (it's a very simple and easily customizeable template I created in InDesign if anyone would like it):

Here's the inside (if I was more clever, I would have figured out how to print a message inside):

Also, we nixed the papier mache balloons. When the dried, they look like they are covered in veins! We are thinking now we might just save them for some kind of creepy eyeball thing at Halloween. Instead, we are buying individual clear plastic ornaments from Michael's. Unfortunately, they only sell them in cases of 12 at Christmastime, so we are buying them one at a time to get 40% off. I bought these cute little mini hard candies to fill them and then we'll wrap them in tulle and attach a tag that says "Hope you had a ball!". We want them to be delivered to our guests' rooms during the Dessert Party so they'll be there when they get back to their rooms. Our planner (who hasn't been the most helpful with this kind of thing) says we have to figure out how to do this on our own. I am planning to call the hotels individually to speak to managers today or tomorrow. Will let you know how that goes!

The balls:

And the candies:

 

[Pengwend]

Quick question!

Everything at Disney has the 18% gratuity already added in. Does that mean that we do not have to tip anyone? The planning books and such that I have say that you can/should tip your vendors, but because everything is Disney and they are already charging a gratuity, then we don't have to tip right?

Also, while I love our florist (she has been super helpful and just lovely - she sent me a cute card when I got my wisdom teeth taken out a couple weeks ago), our planner has left much to be desired. She started out not doing the best job, my dad yelled at her for it and now she's gotten slightly better, but still gets things factually wrong and is the least "magical" Cast Member I've ever met. [She was this way before my dad yelled at her, too.]

So I would like to do something special for our florist, but not really for our planner. Any ideas?

 

[Pengwend]

In an hour, we'll be leaving for the airport to head down to Disney! Everything is done and the first carload of stuff is already en route to Orlando. We managed to fit all the wedding stuff into 2 plastic tubs (which will later be used for drop off at Franck's) and 4 carboard boxes (repurposed from wedding gifts!). On the way home, it should be down to just the 2 plastic tubs. Oh and we also have a guest tree (for thumbprints) and an aisle runner.

I just made our ring pillow and punctured by thumb in the process. So now our ring pillow actually has my blood on it. Hah. It is a simple (plain) white pillow with 2 penguins sewn to the top. Each penguin will wear a pink sparkly ribbon to hold our rings.

The camera is packed, but I will post photos when we get down there if anyone is reading this.

 

[irishwishes]

Oh you're so close!! Have a wonderful trip and a magical wedding day!!!!