Jilian & BT's VR 3/24/12 Crescent Terr/Il Mulino - Last of the Randy Chapman pics up!

[pixie921]

Jilian, what a fun weekend! And you got so much done!

Your hair and makeup trial looked awesome ... really lovely. I'm especially jealous of your gorgeous hair!

Thanks for asking about our plans, too ... yes, we are in the early stages of planning for May 1st! I'll get more into it after the new year, once the holidays are behind us.

 

[2dogmom]

Love the 'do! I have a thing for the castle too, especially when it is all lit up! Sounds like a productive trip.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Everything looks and sounds amazing! I love reading all about your plans! I'm feeling very pulled to have our reception dinner at Il Mulino (especially with the Antinori wine, my grandmother is [well, was, she's no longer living] an Antinori). The candlelight makes me even more excited because it would be dark by the time we ate there .

I can't wait to read more! How exciting!

 

[Jilian]

Thanks ladies!

Kimberly, The whole swan resort is so beautiful at night. It is right on the water with all of the lights and water fountains, Saturday night was my first time seeing it at night. The Il Mulino is especially beautiful because they have amber candles in the bar area but they also have small candle type lights hanging from the ceilling. Then they have a mix of couches, bar seats and high top tables in the lounge area to sit at. They also own the courtyard and the lighting at night is so beautiful. I'd definitely suggest at least looking into Il Mulino. I thought their prices were really reasonable too. We went with their lowest menu ($55 per person) and it still includes a salad (cesar or caprese), choice of entree (chicken picatta, salmon, or chicken tortellini) and dessert platter with tiramisu, cheesecake, and flourless chocolate cake. Plenty of food for the price! We've been twice now and met with Brian both times and he is great! Erica Yerton has been great to work with too. Il Mulino is amazingly accomodating, they'll work with you and let you do almost anything you want. They've really exceeded my expectations so far.

 

[MrsDuck]

Your hair looks amazing and I love all the pictures!! Sounds like the food is going to be awesome! So excited for you!

 

[Jilian]

Amy! I'm so excited that you're planning again. I'm hoping that if you sneak up on it then nothing can go wrong this time.

I can't believe that soon my ticker will have a 3 in front! It seems like the closer we get, the more there is to do.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Jilian sweetie - Wow what an amazing trip you had!!!! Great news about the Camp Dolphin offer!!! Your hair trial clearly went brilliantly as you looked absolutely beautiful!!!

Amy sweetie - May 1st eh???? Yay yay yay!!!!!

 

[Jilian]

Thanks Joanne! It was an amazing trip and the camp dolphin was an added bonus. I've already booked my sons for it and my nephew and they are so excited. I think they are most excited for the camp..lol Silly boys.

Not VR related, but my mom is in the hospital. It is entirely random but her colon ruptured and the toxins have spreak through her body and now she's on IV antibiotics until they can control the infection enough to operate. It is all so crazy because I just talked to her yesterday and she had a bit of a stomach ache but was ok. So, any thoughts and/or prayers would be appreciated.

 

[2dogmom]

Sorry to hear about your mom. I hope she heals up very quickly.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

just caught on to your PJ and read the whole thing. Since I am considering switching I am looking at everyone that is a S/D bride to see how they are doing things. Any help you can offer up is welcome your hair looks gorgeous and I love your plans.

Teresa

 

[Jilian]

just caught on to your PJ and read the whole thing. Since I am considering switching I am looking at everyone that is a S/D bride to see how they are doing things. Any help you can offer up is welcome your hair looks gorgeous and I love your plans.

Teresa

I can't say enough good things about Swan/Dolphin weddings. So far my planning has been really easy and everyone has been wonderful to work with. Karen @ Just Marry is the best planner ever. Erica Yerton @ the Il Mulino is just as amazing. They are both so helpful and full of ideas to keep costs within reason. They both get back to me very quickly and answer my questions. I've never tried planning a DFTW but from what I hear on the Dis boards the planners are less than stellar and it can be tricky to get a response. I'd definitely suggest at least looking into a S/D wedding. Maybe start by checking out the available ceremony locations and see if there are any that you love and go from there. If you're having a large # of guests you really can't beat the S/D price. It starts somewhere around $1500!

Edited to add: have you listened to Joanne's podcast on Swan/Dolphin weddings? She explains pretty much everything that you need to know about S/D weddings. Maybe she can post a link here for you?

 

[Jilian]

Faith has inspired me to finally get my budget up. I hope this helps other swan brides and swan brides to be...

Swan ceremony $1595
Sm bouquet for me ($125), 3 bouts ($39), petals for aisle & staged exit ($130), 2 arrangements ($280) and rental of 2 pedestals ($35) $629
Pomander balls to hang from chairs (12) $36
Chapman Photography 3 hours $480
Violinist and guitarist (Jennie Rudeberg) $350
Dinner @ Il Mulino for 40ish guests (function rooms 1 & 2 hold up to 48 ppl with $3,000 F&B min before tax) we chose the $55 menu and added an app course after tax & gratuities $3,900
Centerpieces for Il Mulino (DIY, $8 each) $32
10 one-way 8 passenger vans @ $14/ea $140

Total . . . . . . . . . . . $7,162


And because I am a complete type A personality, I've kept track of every expense related to this VR so here is the complete version that includes everything:

Seasonal passes for H & I . . . . . . . . . . . $552
Invites (2 DIY kits from Michaels on sale!) . . . $55
Custom wedding sash and matching hair flowers . $250
Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $486
Alterations for dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $200
Welcome bags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48
ink for printer (for invites and STDs and Newsletter $56
H's suit and 2 ties with alterations . . . . . . . . $376
Hair & Makeup trial (Beaute Speciale) . . . . . . $145
Hair and makeup day of VR . . . . . . . . . . . $145
Suits for my boys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $62
Daughter's dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20
Welcome gathering @ CBR . . . . . . . . . . . . $450 ESTIMATE
5 nights @ CBR with AP discount . . . . . . . . . $894
2 nights @ AKV 1 BR savanna view DVC rental $608


Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,347
added to the above total + $7,162
Grand total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,509

 

[MrsDuck]

It's so awesome to see another S/D budget! I think it will really help all S/D brides in the future.

Your total is fantastic!!

PS. how is your mom?

 

[2dogmom]

Your budget looks good. I'm just like you with keeping every detail. I even have every detail of how much I paid for every vacation for the past 10+ years I will have to start posting my work in progress budget.

 

[Jilian]

Your budget looks good. I'm just like you with keeping every detail. I even have every detail of how much I paid for every vacation for the past 10+ years I will have to start posting my work in progress budget.

Type A personalities unite! There aren't many swan budgets out there so I think it is helpful to others if we all share our budgets.

So I'm pretty sure today is my lucky day. I'm a money-saving machine today. First, my Mickey groom ears arrived. Another Dis bride was awesome enough to list them on e-bay with a BIN for exactly what she paid for them, they even came with bride ears too. So now I have 2 pairs of bride ears. Then I started searching for suits for my boys to wear. We had initially planned on buying them @ Men's Warehouse but they didn't have them in my younger son's size and they were about $120 each. Renting won't work because we'd have to rent for 2 weeks and it ends up being over $100 each (might as well buy). So I looked on ebay and found a seller who gets great reviews selling little suits for $29 shipped. It is for a 5 piece suit and they are so cute.

Finally I've been pricing transportation to and from the VR because transportation to the Swan is a B. I've called 2 places and both wanted just over $500 for a 55 person motor coach (we have 40 people). They had a minimum charter of 5 hours and the round trip price wasn't much less. I love my family and all, but $500 is a lot just for convenience. So my aunt, who is a wedding planner up in Boston, called around for me. She found out that Mears has 8 passenger luxury vans. They are....wait for it....$14 each for a one-way trip. So $28 each for the round trip! So for 5 vans it is $140 including everything but gratuity! I just saved $400!

In other good news, my mom is doing quite a bit better. They've scheduled her surgery for Sunday. Weird, but I guess they are doing weekend operations to try to get patients out by Thanksgiving.

 

[2dogmom]

First, glad to hear your mom is doing better!

Second, that Mears price is awesome. I may have to keep that in mind if we decide not to do disney transport (but something about pictures on the monorail and boat are very appealing!)

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Jilian sweetie - Glad that your Mum is doing better!!!
Thanks for posting your budget- very helpful to other Swan girls!!!

 

[Jilian]

There is a 3 in front on my ticker!! The panic is starting to set in now. Life has been so insanely hectic this past week. My mom had her surgery on Sunday and it went horribly. They had hoped it would be a minor laproscopic procedure but they ended up having to open her up completely. She'll be in the hospital for a while and she's still in so much pain. I've been spending most of my free time with her and I even slept over the night after surgery to watch over her. VR stuff has taken a major back burner. I had hoped to get my invitations out this week but that just isn't going to happen. Oh well, good thing I plan on doing things early because it leaves time for stuff like this.

I did order the suits from ebay for my boys and they are so, so cute! The seller was 87SweetGirl and I highly recommend her. I got the 2 suits and a new flower girl dress for my daughter (the other one is just too big). Everything was just as described and the measurements were accurate. The quality is pretty darn good for the price too. I think I paid $87 shipped for the 2 suits and flower girl dress! Woot!

H's suit was supposed to be ready last week but when he got there and tried it on the arms were wayyyy too long. They actually lengthened them for some dumb reason (even though he didn't ask) and they made them flair so they looked like bell bottoms. So we told them to please put them back. So if you ever go to men's warehouse and buy a suit pay attention to the alterations slip, apparently they try to slip extra stuff in there. We should have paid attention better but we went with our 2 boys and were in a hurry to go by the end. So hopefully when we pick it up this weekend it will be done right!

In non-VR news we put up all of our Christmas decorations and our tree today We do it every year the day after thanksgiving and the kids really look forward to it. It was nice to have some family time after this crazy past week. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm off to check and see if the Disney store has any great black friday deals left for our welcome bags!

 

[MrsDuck]

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I'm sending pixie dust your way for healing and recovery.

Sounds like you got a great deal on the suits and FG dress! That's awesome!

Crossing my fingers that his suit is correct when you go pick it up!

Ahh.. I love Christmas! We put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving as well! It's decorated and I love it. Hope you got some great Black Friday deals!

PS. so excited your big day is in 3 months! YAY!

 

[pinkfairy1684]

I am sorry to hear about your mom!

Yay for Christmas decorations!!!!!! We put ours up last night. I love this time of year.