Julie & Brian's Disneyland Wedding (9/2011) Sleeping Beauty Theme

[BriarRose Bride]

I have been a lurker here on DisBoards off and on for almost a year. I love to read about everyone's wedding ideas when I find the time to peruse the PJs. I finally decided that I would like to have my own!

My name is Julie, I am a future Disneyland Bride. My fiance Brian is amazing! We are both cast members at Disneyland and have been serious Disney enthusiasts for years, so once he popped the question, we knew we were going to have a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding.

Brian and I have been engaged for several years! In September of 2004 I was about to leave for Europe and we had one last nice weekend together. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel and for dinner one night, Brian had a surprise for me. I had to trust him, and wear a blindfold. We walked some distance from the DLH and took stairs and an elevator, I was so confused. When he finally revealed our destination and I opened my eyes, I found a private balcony at the Grand Californian Hotel with a candlelit dinner just for us. He had ordered my favorite fillet mignon and cheese potatoes. I thought it was such a nice going away present. Then came dessert…he went to talk to the waiter and when he turned around he was down on his knees holding a petite Cinderella glass slipper with my ring in it! He asked and I of course said YES! This was all while fireworks were going off in the background and Once Upon a Dream and A Whole New World were playing behind us. It was a practically perfect moment! I only wish we had more pictures.

The server seemed bothered to take our pictures and the ones he did take came out blurry. It is a great memory though! Can you imagine how much I didn’t want to go to Europe at that point? Now almost 6 years later we are finally making our Happily Ever After come true!

I adore Sleeping Beauty so we have decided to go with that theme. Our wedding is set for September 19, 2010. (Just around the corner, yikes!) The theme is Once Upon a Dream Come True and the colors are pink and blue with gold and light green accents.

I am hoping that I can get some input on here and also get more organized! What a great place to share ideas, I have already learned so much from other Disney Brides. I am so excited to take part!!

 

[BriarRose Bride]

Location:
Disneyland Hotel, Rose Court Garden Gazebo

We are practicing

Our Pre-reception was supposed to be on the Neverland Lawn, but we just learned last Wednesday of the construction plans due to start 3 weeks before the wedding starts. Not sure what our alternatives are. Probably going to go to the Dreams lawn. (BTW-Totally bummed about the Koi fish and the beautiful waterfall not being there for our photos)

Reception will be in the Sleeping Beauty Pavilion of course!

We are planning on an evening reception so I am hopeful that the construction will not be visible in the evening.

The Wedding Party:
Maid of Honor: Alicia (BF)
Bridesmaid: Jennifer (cousin)
Bridesmaid: Casey (friend, sister of the best man)
Bridesmaid: Karissa (friend)
Bridesmaid: Lindsay (friend from college, also a former Disneyland tour guide)

Best Man: Justin (Brian's Best friend)
groomsman: Jeff (my brother)
groomsman: Ryan (friend)
groomsman:John A (friend)
groomsman: John M (friend)

Ring Bearer: Jackson (Best Man, Justin's son)

Flower Girls: Kylie & Rosie (nieces)

"Maids" dresses:

I just loved the flattering A-line. My MOH found these and she knows me so well and has good taste I might add. I think they are very princess like! I also love the floral detailing on them. A part of my theme is roses (like Briar Rose) so it all ties in. They are going to be in different colors, pink, blue, green, blue, pink. The guys will have matching vests.

The guys vests, in the colors of the dresses:

I haven't found the perfect flower girl dresses yet, but here are the baskets I chose:

Pink for Kylie (she loves Aurora)

Blue for Rose (She loves Cinderella)

My dress is being made, it is in the style of Aurora's dress, but with my own added touches I will post pics as soon as I have some.

 

[BriarRose Bride]

I found a gorgeous cake server set! it is by Waterford and the crystal is sure to capture the light just right!

More detail on the heart handles

I bought these at Macy's then took them to Things Remembered in the mall to get them engraved and because they are over a certain price they refused to engrave them in the event they made an error and couldn't replace them. I am so bummed.

I saw these on Ebay and thought the engraving was cool...but they also wouldn't engrave a product I purchased for liability reasons.

I also found a perfect cake topper! It is a Lenox piece called Once Upon a Dream. So charming!

In all the pictures I have seen, I have always wanted one of the white chocolate castles!

We added one to our F&B expense and we will instead have it as decoration at the sweetheart table!

Now for the cake. We decided on a 4 tier simple elegance cake with our own spin. Here is where my inspiration came from.

In addition to the floral (which will be Disneyland roses-not sure sugar or real yet), the base will be briar that entwines and encircles the first layer of the cake and slowly transforms and grows into the floral towards the top. Briar-Rose!

Also, I am super excited because I just learned that Disneyland's Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Marc Viallet will be at our tasting to create a sketch of the cake we are dreaming up! He is amazing, you may have seen him on Guy Fieri's show @ DL, and he creates the giant Gingerbread creation in the Haunted Mansion Holiday each year. I can't wait!

 

[DVC Bride 2011]

Congratulations and welcome! I'm excited to see another DL wedding! Everything looks great so far - I LOVE the bridesmaid dresses! Can't wait to read more!

 

[BriarRose Bride]

Thank you DVC Bride! It feels great to feel welcomed! It does seem like DL brides are semi-rare on here. Glad to be in good company!

 

[pink_tink8i8]

Congrats and welcome it's always nice to have disneyland brides

 

[BriarRose Bride]

Thanks Pink Tink! I am excited to be here!

 

[helloirishkitty]

Congratulations and Welcome!! I love to hear about Disneyland weddings, they venues are just so beautiful

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Congratulations! I have never been to Disneyland so I love looking at the pictures. Your locations look beautiful! I cannot wait to read more!

 

[BriarRose Bride]

I am planning on making my own veil. I have read so many great PJs that have shared how to make them and save a bundle, and also how to add personal touches (like a hidden Mickey). I found some tulle that is sparkly and soft so I bought a bunch. I am thinking of a fingertip length.

I would also like to add the rhinestone edge trim.

Maybe glue 2 very small hidden mickeys toward the bottom back as well.

I am having a hard time finding a 4 inch comb.Just looking for something simple like this one:

Anyone have any ideas? I have seen them in bulk, but I really only need 1 or maybe 2.

I have heard of others who have two veils, different lengths, one for the ceremony and one for the reception dances, etc. Has anyone done this? I figure I will wear the veil for the grand entrance and for the first dance and then I will take it off for the rest of the evening. What is appropriate?

 

[Ann117]

Welcome everything looks great so far. I can not wait to follow a Disneyland wedding.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Congrats on the engagment! It seem like you have a lot planned already. I can't wait to read more.

 

[redlight]

You're a cute couple. Love your pictures.

 

[BriarRose Bride]

Today we made most of our Honeymoon or should I say "Disneymoon" plans. Although our friends and family were out here and we chose to have a Disneyland wedding, we are very excited to have the WDW experience! I grew up a bit in Alabama and my family went to WDW, but that was almost 2 decades ago so I am sure a lot has changed. Brian has been several times with his family right up until we started dating and we haven't had the chance to go, so this will be very special and perfect!

Thus far we are staying 10 nights alternating between the Grand Floridian and the Boardwalk. We are visiting the Disney parks for 7 days and making time for Discovery Cove and since I am a huge HP fan, we are planning on visiting Islands of Adventure too.

We set up our hotel reservations and most of our dining. Planning to eat at Victoria and Alberts, Coral Reef Cafe and of course Cinderella's Royal Table. Couldn't get a reservation for Le Cellier. We will try to do a walk-up reservation.

Still working on plane tickets, travel by plane has sure changed from what I remember, they want you to stop all over the place for huge layovers. Can't seem to find a straight flight. Hoping for a red-eye on the way there, but those are even harder to come by. Grrrr

Lastly, we set up the Disney Honeymoon registry. Has anyone else used this? I am a little confused. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Your honeymoon plans sound great!! You are going to be eating at some amazing restaurants. I hope that you can get a reservation/walk-up for Le Cellier

We are using the honeymoon registry so I would be glad to help you with what I know. Do you have any specific questions about it? You can send me a pm if you would like. Also, there are a couple of threads floating around the wedding boards about the registry. They might be able to help shed some light on how it works.

 

[padisneyfour]

welcome and congrats, I love the colors and the flowergirl baskets!

 

[BriarRose Bride]

Thank you so much Disney9, i appreciate the offer for info and assistance.

Thank you Disneyfour...the colors were easy...Sleeping beauty and Disneyland colors, but it is difficult finding accessories so I was pleased with the flower baskets as well. They are a little small, but they will be in small hands, so i suppose that is OK as well.

 

[bellebride116]

The windows in the reception room are just gorgeous!

 

[ghoulish delight]

Hooray! You finally started your PJ!! I'm so excited to see all your details. It's good to see other Disneyland brides representing, especially since mine is all said and done now. Lol

Oh! And the Dreams Lawn is lovely, I promise. We actually chose that for our pre-reception and the area (in my opinion) is far more private.

Definitely going to be following along!

 

[BriarRose Bride]

The windows in the reception room are just gorgeous!

Thank you so much. Our planner mentioned they had to fight to keep them. Apparently when they were renovating the building they wanted to place permanently closed shutters on the pavilion! So glad they fought them on the issue. I have always enjoyed natural light and in the evening it just gives the room a larger feel!

Hooray! You finally started your PJ!! I'm so excited to see all your details. It's good to see other Disneyland brides representing, especially since mine is all said and done now. Lol

Oh! And the Dreams Lawn is lovely, I promise. We actually chose that for our pre-reception and the area (in my opinion) is far more private.

Definitely going to be following along!

Yes, finally! LOL So hard to find time these days. Thank you for putting my mind at ease over the pre-reception area. Still a little bummed about the koi area for photos, but I will get over it. Your wedding was absolutely beautiful! I can only hope and pray that mine goes as well. How is married life treating you?