Just engaged! :) Need advice on planning...

[cseca]

Hi All,
My dbf (now df ) surprised me with a wonderful ring 2 weekends ago right before our WDW/DCL trip. And then he asked me again by Cinderella's wishing well at MK...
Now that I'm officially engaged, it's time for me to panic planning the wedding...
We're talking about May wedding (I know... talk about short time for planning) at WDW. Just because most of my family will come from outside the US we want to do something different.

Anyways,
I have several questions for all of you experts out there:
1. What happens when your family does not cooperate with the wedding dates? I want all of them to come but because it's not during off school time they are not willing to budge.
2. Has any of you plan a wedding by yourself? I mean without help from MOH or BMs? My MOH to be (I haven't asked yet) is not in the US right now and my BM is my niece...
3. Do you think trying to plan a wedding by ourselves in 6 months is doable?
It's not going to be a big wedding at all since my family can't even agree on the dates... hehe

Thanks in advance!
ps: I've been lurking around this board since I know my dbf was looking for a ring... but I didn't dare post anything because I'm not officially engaged... yet. Everyone's pictures of their rings and dresses and invitations and weddings are so beautiful...

 

[Skylarr29]

First off, Congrats!

I think a Disney wedding is definitely doable in 6 months. Disney is different from a conventional wedding in that really you have a planning session and plan your wedding at one time so it takes less time in a sense.

The first thing to decide is if you are having a custom/ wishes wedding or an escape/intimate wedding (18 guests or less).

Also take a look at disneyweddings.com to find out specifics.

Good luck.

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

I've totally planned my whole wedding on my own. The only thing DF has done with me is register. My MOH travels for work and is never around (nothing against her or that) and my other Bridesmaid is younger and inexperienced and doesn't have a lot of resources. So I've done the bulk of planning on my own. We got engaged the at end of May in the MK at Cinderella's Fountain and we decided on February 4, 2008 for our Escape wedding. With Disney I would have felt just as confident planning a Wishes wedding in the same short amount of time. I totally believe you can do it. If you have ANY questions, just ask. Everyone on here is really really helpful.

Oh... and Congratulations.

 

[lurkyloo]

I have to echo the previous posters - I planned my Wishes weddng by myself in 5 months (I don't have any MOH, BMs or mom, but I do have definite ideas about what I want! ) and it is really easy. Disney does all the tough/boring stuff, like figure out how many chairs you need and where to put them. You just do the fun stuff, like pick out flowers and colors!

If you choose an Escape wedding, it's even easier. DFTW doesn't really start doing anything til a month before anyway.

 

[Kristen14]

Congratulations!!! I've been planning on my own as well. My parents live in Michigan and I'm in South Florida... 1200 miles away, and My MOH is expecting her second child a week before my wedding! Just like Wendy said, my DF has done nothing but help register... and even with that he just kept saying "whatever you want honey".

You can ABSOLUTELY do it in 6 months. Especially with Disney and these message boards. Just get in contact with a coordinator ASAP. Joe DeMattei was mine and he was awesome. You'll have to move quickly with getting everything signed, because you'll need to have a planning session soon. Good luck, and let me know if you need any help!

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

CONGRATS!!!!!


Lotsa happy dances for you!! I'll try to give my perspective on your questions since I'm in the middle of planning, too!!

1) I've come to realize that I can't please everyone. People have moaned and groaned about us having a destination wedding in the first place because of it being so inconvenient. But, you know what? Even though a marriage is a celebration of two people and we want our closest family and friends to be with us, they shouldn't be griping over a little inconvenience. Go with your heart and pick a date! I'm sure they'll all change their minds. My family is coming around with the idea of it since we're actually booking vendors and it's more "real" now.

2) As of right now, I'm the only one ironing out the details and my DF is either agreeing or disagreeing with what I present to him. My bridesmaids are supportive but they have not been involved with any decision making as of yet.

3) I think 6 months is very doable! That's the beauty of having a wedding at Disney - since we're doing an Escape "package" you just have to work out minor details. I'm glad my biggest worry is the cake filling to be honest!

I hope this helps!! Just take a deep breath and relax! I'm sure it all seems overwhelming since you just got engaged but it'll all come together, I promise!

Welcome to the boards!! Hope to see your planning journal soon!

 

[cseca]

Thank you all so much!!!
I’m a little worried because all the wedding etiquette says that I’m supposed to assign a bunch of stuff to the MOH, Bridesmaids, Parents, in laws etc. etc.
I don’t have that luxury because of locations and schedules.
So I’m glad that I’m not the only one forgoing those stuffs.

I’m going to start on the planning and see who’s willing to fly all the way down to see us… 

By the way,
What is the appropriate timeline to send a save the date mailings and request for rsvp?

Because without that there’s no way we could plan the wedding right?

It’s all seemed to be the eggs or the chicken riddle to me.
Without the guest count I can’t figure out the location, but without the location I can’t contact Disney to get started…
Can you tell the confusion/panic is starting to sink in?

 

[caryndisneydiva]

like many other brides on here, i have planned my wedding almost all by myself. my two sisters both live over 1000 miles away from me as well as my parents. they are all helping as much as possible, but for fittings, looking through magazines, invitations and all that other stuff, i've done a lot of it on my own, though that's about to change...my sister lin lives in tampa and she's about to receive a lot of *stuff* to bring to me in orlando...

we are doing a wishes wedding on jan 24, we got engaged on july 27, so we had about 6 months, though, i didn't contact disney or really start planning until about 3 weeks after we got engaged...it's totally doable. as others have said, disney does a lot!

congratulations on your engagement! start a pj!!!

 

[lurkyloo]

By the way,
What is the appropriate timeline to send a save the date mailings and request for rsvp?Because without that there’s no way we could plan the wedding right?It’s all seemed to be the eggs or the chicken riddle to me.
Without the guest count I can’t figure out the location, but without the location I can’t contact Disney to get started…
Can you tell the confusion/panic is starting to sink in?

If you do a Wishes wedding, Disney sends out the Save the Dates after you sign the contract. I think you prolly can't do it too soon, since people need time to make reservations and plans. As for the invites, regular weddings it's something like 1 month beforehand, but it seems like most of us send ours out 2-3 months before. For one thing, we have to finalize a lot of stuff 1 month before, so it helps to know well in advance.

If you have even a rough idea how many people will come, you can pick your venue based on that and then just move to another if it turns out to be too big or too small.

 

[Kristen14]

You need to contact Disney ASAP. Your first conversation is basically a question and answer session, so write a list of questions and fire away! They'll let you know what venues are available with your party size. You just give them a ROUGH idea... like under 18, 18-50, 50-100, 100+. The people at DFTW are WONDERFUL, and will be able to help you decide on a venue to suit your needs.

My Save the Dates went out at about 5 months, then I sent the invites with about 2 months to go. According to Emily Post, you should send invites 4-6 weeks in advance of the wedding.

 

[cseca]

Thanks everyone.
I wasn't sure if I'm considered late for the save the dates mailings or something.

Could someone recommend a good book/magazine for weddings?
Not a lavish one definitely, but something to help me plan?
I saw on mouseweddings they recommeded Bridal Bargains, has anyone used this book and recommend it?

Thanks again, you guys are awesome!

 

[caryndisneydiva]

i use the planner on the knot. it's very detailed and comprehensive!

 

[cseca]

Thank you!
I guess we'll be busy this weekend to get part of the planning done...
I went to the knot and man... according to that I'm way behind...

 

[lurkyloo]

I saw on mouseweddings they recommeded Bridal Bargains, has anyone used this book and recommend it?

YES!! Get Bridal Bargains - it is fantastic! I read it from cover to cover (even though some of the picking your caterer kinda stuff doesn't apply to DFTWs) and I was so prepared when I started dress shopping, looking for a photographer, etc. In fact, I would say that it saved me $700 on my wedding dress, since I never would have known about the way bridal shops mark up no-name dresses because they know you can't find out how much they really cost!