Kerry & Esty - 12/7/10- SBP/MVMCP (Rev Issues)

[MsEsty]

Hello everyone,

I just want to say how much I have already learned from your stories - you never think of all the little details that go into a wedding, especially a destination wedding!

I don't have much to start on but thought it would be better to start our story and update as we go along.

I'm Kerry, he's Esty! We met in quite a strange place, over Xbox Live. We are both part of a gaming organization, were in a room playing a game (I lived in PA, he in FL), started to talk and became friends. Friends slowly grew into more, he came up to visit once for two weeks and a month later, we packed up his little Ford and he moved to PA.

As for our engagement - it was amazing (but aren't they all?). We were in WDW October 2008 for the MNSSHP. Our first day, we (of course) started walking down Main Street MK. There was a show going on, so he suggested cutting through the Cinderella's Rose Garden (I LOVE roses, so of course I went along without questioning). At the base of the garden, he pulls me in for a kiss and lifts his arm...

Down walk his friends from FL with three signs and the bride/groom ears, asking me to marry him. I'm in such shock, I didn't even see him get down on one knee (or ask, so I make him re-ask every couple of months ). Eventually he pulls on my hand and says "um...well?" Of course I said yes! Later that day, we went to Liberty Inn Tavern for lunch and I was told to check our gaming forums - the sneaky devil proposed again!

What was extra special, one of the photographers helped us recreate the moment, and even took the time to get the fireworks from the show into the shots. The fact that he proposed at Disney, we were able to use the Photos in the parks and create our own Engagement Photo Book with all our special shots (Woohoo, found them!)

Our "official" wedding pic - this awesome photographer at AK took 15-20 minutes, posing us around the park.

The ring is a sapphire in the center with two diamonds on each side. I'm all about the sapphires and he knocked my socks off with the choice.

The plans we have so far:

We're looking at having an Escape Wedding, hopefully at noon on Dec 7, 8, 14 or 15. After the ceremony, we'll be heading to O'hana's for dinner and then we're all off to the Mickey's Christmas Party later that evening. What could be a better reception, a Disney Christmas Party, hot cocoa, cookies, parades, fireworks, snow on Main Street and Santa!

We're looking to have the ceremony at SBP and we'll start our stay at the Caribbean Beach and finish our stay at the Boardwalk.

Then there are all the little details, but because we can't book until April, I'm reading all of your posts and getting a lot of my questions answered (especially regarding ministers, hair and makeup artists).

I hope you enjoy the posts that will follow - I know I can't wait to sit back and read everything once it is finished

 

[padisneyfour]

just wanted to say welcome and congrats looking forward to hearing more of your plans! have fun planning

 

[gemmybear83]

Hello from a fellow December escape 2010 bride!

You use the yacht club gazebo and sea breeze point for your guest size too!

I love the idea of going to the Christmas party were taking our parents as a thank you present!

 

[polynesianbride]

Just wanted to say Welcome and Congrats! I'm also getting married next December so I'm looking forward to following along with your plans!

 

[PrincessShea]

Welcome. I just got back from a 10 day December trip and it's such a great time of the year to be there. You'll have an awesome time.

 

[MsEsty]

Thanks for the well wishes!

Well already I'm changing my mind on some things, and frantically trying to plan...

I give fair warning, I'm an accountant, so I'll probably talk about money alot...

After reviewing the amazing PJ and photos, we're thinking about using the SBP. The WP is nice, but unless there is some amazing extras that make it worth the extra 1k, we'll stay with the SBP (we're also really enjoying the photos, especially the photobooth and see our friends joining us). I'm hoping for a 12 pm wedding. My family (especially my mother and sister) are night owls, and it will be hard enough getting them up and dressed by noon.

Dinner will be the tricky part. I believe the doors "open" for the MVMCP at 5pm and for some of our guests, this may be their only day at the park (Esty's friends live in Tampa so they will be driving up) and I want to give them as much time there as possible. A couple people have mentioned Ohana, and I LOVE the idea, but the first seating is at 5pm. I hoping that we may be able to squeeze something in earlier, especially for a larger party (17), if not, we might see if we can do something at Tony's Town Square.
We're jeans & t-shirt people (I don't even own a dress) so not having dinner all dressed up isn't a concern. Or we might just say screw it, and get the first possible seating at Ohana and be at MK around seven *does calculations* giving us still 5 hours for awesomeness.

I've had my eye on this gown for a while. It's a bit more than I wanted to spend (here I go again), but I love it. After I get a chance to lose some of the xmas cookies that are sitting quite comfortably on my tummy, I plan to try it on.

Blue (and blue roses) will be the theme of the wedding - if there really is a theme. It's just about Esty & I being as random as we are and having fun. At this time, we're going to have maid of honors and two best men. I'm thinking about seeing if I can use the money allotment from my bouquet for the mother's arrangement and use silk for the rest. Getting blue roses is always a gamble and I don't want to receive a box of freshly spray painted flowers the morning of the big day.

Beyond that - I think we decided on the invitations and the favors. The fact that it is all immediate family and with one message on twitter or on facebook, everyone could get all the information, we wanted to do something fun, yet simple. If you've never seen a xbox game, think of a dvd holder. We're going to see if we can get empty containers from our local gamestop, take some heavy card stock and print the invitation on the liner. We have the CD copies from our Disney PhotoPass (when we were engaged) and we're going to use them instead of the games. Unless there is a pre-arranged meal requirement, we really don't need RSVP cards.

Ours favors will be monogrammed disney hats. There was this great store at HS that did our Halloween Mickey ears in a spooky font (most just offered the basic font). We're going to get picture frames for the parents and a little something for the bridal party (that is still to be determined, maybe jewelry for the girls and who knows what Esty will get the guys).

Okay I wrote a book...please feel free to comment on ideas/experiences/concerns (especially about the dinner plans!)

I'll wish everyone a happy new year, like I won't update this before the 31st, but that's just a fib

 

[redlight]

I love your engagement pictures!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

The engagement pictures are lovely. Good luck with the plans they seem great so far. Your should be able to get into MVMCP at about 4pm with just party tix so if you wanted to have an earlier res at Tony's you could get an extra hour of party time!

 

[kmg148]

I love the idea of the game cases! Congrats!!

 

[MsEsty]

Just got off the phone with my mom and received some amazing news...my father is going to rehab on Monday!

Okay...that doesn't sound good, but to explain....

My father is diabetic, and in August cut his leg. He, being stubborn, didn't tell anyone, it eventually became infected, causing blood poisoning. After a business trip, he arrived home, collapsed on my mother's floor and was rushed to the ER. My mother overheard some doctors stating that he was hours from death *sigh*.

Very long story short, the infected leg was amputated a little below the knee. He has been home ever since and the leg has healed amazingly. While working with the doctors for a "bionic leg" (he doesn't like the word "Prosthetic"), they weren't expecting the leg to be finished until late January. The call my mother received was not only is the leg ready, but he starts his rehab on Monday, learning to get around with it.

It's such a silly little thing - having your father walk you down the aisle. After keeping a vigil by his bedside for 14 days straight (eventually I was ordered to take a day off by his doctor), I am just ecstatic he will be there (hard to put the feeling into words, but I'm sure you can understand). I'm sure it will be a point of pride for him, being able to walk me down the aisle and not need a wheelchair/walker.

Ahh...the little things

 

[MainStMandy]

Welcome and Congratulations!! What a sweet proposal!!! I love the pictures too!

 

[Luvableoldonkey]

Just got off the phone with my mom and received some amazing news...my father is going to rehab on Monday! QUOTE]

Yay! I'm glad to hear about your Dad! I can't wait for the pictures of him walking you down the aisle! How special I'm a Dec 14th bride too! We are doing the YC Gazebo and then the Attic! I loved your proposal and the dress! Yay for Christmas weddings!!!

 

[MsEsty]

Yay! I'm glad to hear about your Dad! I can't wait for the pictures of him walking you down the aisle! How special I'm a Dec 14th bride too! We are doing the YC Gazebo and then the Attic! I loved your proposal and the dress! Yay for Christmas weddings!!!

This is a crazy question: where/what is The Attic? I've seen a lot of people having a reception there but I've never heard of it.

We really want the 14th (it's our lucky date) but we're at the mercy of the MVMCP

 

[PrincessShea]

This is a crazy question: where/what is The Attic? I've seen a lot of people having a reception there but I've never heard of it.

We really want the 14th (it's our lucky date) but we're at the mercy of the MVMCP

It's right above Jelly Rolls on the Boardwalk.

 

[MsEsty]

Well we "finalized" a few things, while waiting for the April deposit date

*Thanks for Wazzo for the great suggestion of the PassPorters Wedding Planner!
*We're going to use the DPS for the basic photos, but are looking elsewhere for more (Studio 222 looks really nice). The FMIL wants a ton of photos, so she was "warned" she will have to front some of the cost.
*After the ceremony/cake cutting we'll be having a very mini reception in my parents suite. They always get those massive two/three bedroom suites, perfect for some quick noms and drinks.
*We decided on Ohanas for dinner before the MVMCP
*While I really want a Character there for the cake-cutting, I may just have a Morning-After Character Breakfast. If somehow we have an extra 800-1200, then we'll do both!
*Jewelry for the Maids of Honors has been purchased (thanks to PrincessShea for the ebay lead)
*Ordering samples from PaperandMore to start testing my Martha Stewart like abilities in making invitations. We only need seven so hopefully we can just order enough samples

We're so lucky that Esty's friends still live in the Tampa area. We're going to do as much as we can here and ship it to them for storage (the bouquets, stuff for the welcome baskets).

 

[Luvableoldonkey]

This is a crazy question: where/what is The Attic? I've seen a lot of people having a reception there but I've never heard of it.

We really want the 14th (it's our lucky date) but we're at the mercy of the MVMCP

The Attic is a reception location available for groups up to 50 (36 people with tables). The indoor section is set up to look like an attic with over sized couches, wicker chairs, and cottage decor. It also has an outside terrace that overlooks Crescent Lake, Sea Breeze Point, Spaceship Earth, and The Yacht Club Hotel. Like PrincessShea said it sits over Jellyrolls at the end of the Boardwalk Inn.

We really liked it because it is a private space, has a nice view, is close to our wedding location, and the minimum for our time slot is only 2,500. If you go on to the Disney wedding site it is under Wishes Wedding-Reception-Specialty Venue-The Attic.

 

[MsEsty]

Thank you both for the information! I don't think our dinner will be anywhere near that minimum, but it's nice to keep as an idea "just in case."

I just ordered some samples from PaperandMore.com for the invitations. When we only need 7-8 invitations, as much as I want to order them and let someone else , it's just silly to order a minimum of 25. My one Maid of Honor lives in WA so our chats over MSN are frantically sending links and ideas and pictures back and forth.

I'll post some pictures here when we receive them and play with the printer!

 

[pezaddict231]

have you tried Cards and Pockets? You can order any number that you need so that may work out better for you.

 

[MsEsty]

have you tried Cards and Pockets? You can order any number that you need so that may work out better for you.

I hadn't, but I am going there right now!

 

[pezaddict231]

I ordered all of our invitation supplies from them and had a great experience and I know a couple of other brides on here used them too.