Wow! Talk about an update! Youre on a roll though. It just kind of hit me that Ive got about 9 months til I owe Disney a HUGE chunk of change and so now my budgeting has started. Its a good thing youre doing it so far in advance. I cant wait to see the Disney dresses on someone besides a model! I love the Cinderella one!! Thats wonderful that your stepmom is going with you, Im sure it will make for some great bonding and memories for the pair of you. I cant wait to hear more!! Oh and while the colorless scheme may seem a bit boring I think in the end it will be gorgeous and very upscale...but Im not biased or anything..
Cant wait to read more!
in the past 48 hours i have grown to LOVE the black and white theming. things are getting very fancy around here
of course i went to the bridal store that doesn't allow pix. i think that's crazy. i can't even take a picture to show my stepmom. so sometime she has to come from pittsburgh to cincinnati to check them out. grrrr!
Let me know what you think of the Disney dresses! There's a shop near me that carries them and I want to try them on for fun. I'm also jealous that you are going to be in Disney 3 times this year! Our quick 4 days in February is the only thing I have planned until our planning session in may/June of 2012. Eek! I'm actually thinking about activating the free APs in December so we can get 3 trips out of them. We'll see.
So about the dresses:
When I said I was trying them on for fun... it was just that. Fun.
I took a friend with me for opinions. The dresses looked much different on, than on the pictures online. My sales lady was a real peach. she was about 89 pounds and the disgust of my 175 pounds was written all over her face. The first question she asked me is if I was buying a dress tonight. That agitated me and throughout the rest of the experience she was a disaster. I couldn't wait to run out of there. She also implied that she thought the idea of Disney dresses were stupid. She was reading one of the tags and said... now this is the Belly (Belle). Really?? She had no clue what movie any of them were from except Snow White and Cinderella. I had just worked all day, my spanx were choking me, and I wasn't in the mood for confrontation or I would have started some.
They had 5 of the 7 dresses--which was fine. Jasmine and Ariel are made for stick figures so I wouldn't have cared for them anyway.
Disclosure: These are my sole opinions and flame me if you must. The following is the honest truth of what was going through my head.
In order--I told her I wanted to try all the Disney Dresses first. See how well that works out...
First was:
Aurora: When I put this on, all I could do was laugh. Like some kind of sick joke... who would make this for more than a halloween costume? The tulle on the bottom was so HUGE and looked so cheap I couldn't take my eyes off of it. We both laughed like crazy. The top of it was very pretty--could we take the top off and make a new bottom?? This was a no.
Belle (Belly): Even in the picture, this was the dress I liked the least. Putting it on was a real treat. It was Giant. It made me look like Goliath. I mean crazy big. The corset top didn't look like it matched the rest of the dress, and that tulle that goes around your shoulders made it look like someone was tying me up. I didn't like this dress to begin with, so I was trying it on for... fun.
Cinderella: I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sparkly tulle on this dress. I mean I have crazy love for this tulle. The top wasn't very long and it cut my short body off which made me sad. I also wish the sparkles on the top wrapped around the whole top of the chest and not just starting in the middle. It makes the bust line look weird. We had all agreed on this. I loved it--I loved the sparkle. Maybe I'll try it again in 30 pounds.
Snow White: If my wedding were still at the Yacht Club, and out was outside in the open air... I would have slapped $1000 on the counter and said sold. I thought I loved Cinderella until I put this on. It is so pretty. Unlike the other dresses, this one looked better made, and the flowers were sparkly and not cheap looking. I was excited with this one on. It just didn't match my theming. Maybe for a VR?
Maggie Sottero Dominique: So obviously the lady listened very well to my wanting to try the Disney dresses first. Dominique was my #2 from my previous dress shopping experience. A little background on this: Everyone fell in love with the first dress I tried on last time. When I tried Dominique on 4th, I really liked it and continued to look at it, but everyone said they liked a previous one and were rushing me to get out of the Dominique. I was pretty sure I really liked it, and possibly more than the other one. Hmmm, well they may know more than me so I eliminated it from my mind. So when I tried it on again last night--the friend I took with me freaked out. She thought it was 100% amazing. Looking at it on... I really did like it, maybe more than the one I thought I loved the most. I stared at it for a while, she continued to rave, even the near anorexic sales girl complimented on it. It was insane the difference in quality in the Maggie Sottero compared to the Disney dresses. They're so close in price, but for 200-300 more you get a dress that looks like it could be $5000. The Maggie had much better quality and I really did love the Dominique.
Tiana: Poor Tiana. She had an unfair situation. I have loved this dress since the picture came out--my fiance loved this dress online. The problem is, I tried Tiana on after Dominique that could possibly be THE ONE. Tiana was beautiful. Not as full as I imagined, or wanted, but still gorgeous. I looked this over because I was trying to make this be the one... but the fabric looked so cheap compared to the Maggie dress, and I couldn't get that out of my head. It was a beautiful dress, but it was not worth the $1000 sticker on it. For a 4 figure dress, I, personally, would expect more quality. If I hadn't known about Maggie Sottero--this would be the one. It was so pretty and will make lots of brides very happy ladies.
Maggie Sottero Emily: This has been my #1. When I put it on, I just loved it all over again. I like where it lays, what it accentuates, what it hides and how well it is made for the 1198 sticker. My friend was amazing how well it fit all the right places. I do love this dress. I love Dominique too. I asked the sales rep which she liked better. She told me she would not give me her opinion because she wanted me to get the dress that I liked
What?? What are you here for? She said that I obviously was attracted to the same style of dress because the Dominique and the Emily are similar in shaping. Well I knew that. The difference in the dresses is the placement of the bling and the placement of the pick ups. I feel like writing a letter.
Maggie Sottero Monica: I liked the Monica Marie online, and figured Monica may be related. She kind of is... but with capped sleeves. It was a very pretty, simple dress with a touch of bling. Very very nice--but not in the running.
Black and White from Some Designer... My friend had grabbed it: The little tart I was working with tried to get me to step into this, when I clearly needed to have it over my head. When I told her it wasn't working, she just took it and bagged it up. So I didn't get to try this on. I just looked at my friend and was confused
I probably wouldn't have liked it anyway.. but she liked it and wanted me to try it since we're doing the black and white thing now.
Being it was the last one, she took the dresses and went to put them away. Didn't ask if I wanted to try the final 2 on again, or put a headpiece with them or jewelry like they did before. She wanted to get rid of me quick. I asked if I could look at shoes and accessories and she said... they're in there and pointed to the room. I knew where the room was as I had been there before... she didn't come in to see if we wanted to see anything and I started to get really aggrevated.
So before we left, she handed me her card---yeah right. I would really like to find another store that has these dresses, but nowhere that I've called has the Emily or the Dominique. I'm going to try the Pittsburgh stores next--I'll just go to my family instead of making them travel. I have every intention of trying the Tiana, Cinderella and Snow White on again... even if only for fun. For a second you feel like you are them just because you have the dress on. I think it's a Disney thing. I think they will have them at the showcase, so I can at least show my stepmom then. I would like to order my dress by July--so it's creeping up on us quickly.
We talked about the dresses the whole way home. My friend texted me later after we had been home a bit and said that I really looked great in the dresses and that she knows I'm working hard to lose the weight. This made me feel good. She also said she thinks she likes the Dominique the best. I like it too. I would really like my stepmom to help me decide because she doesn't hold back. My aunt gives some crazy two cents too, lol.
So that's it. There's my Disney Dress Review. I'm pretty disappointed in them. They are more fun than elegant. I think that if they didn't have the word Disney attached to them, we would never look twice at them. Marketing Trickery at it's best.
I'm glad I went to see the dresses again--I feel like I'm getting somewhere. For now, I'm concentrating on our upcoming trips, our guest list and reaching out to them. I'm trying to find another pair of shoes with brighter silver. I think mine are too gunmetal and I will just be a sassy pants and wear them out sometime, lol
This week I am going to call Bill and see if we can go see the Napa Room on Monday. I was going to take my stepmom to the Cali Grill to eat, but she thinks it's too fancy. I was also going to take the reception tour on Sunday... but I think I want to spend more park time with her. We'll see. Maybe I'll just call the CG directly. I'm sure I can find a number around here. I just want to run up and show her, and get out... nothing formal.
Speaking of which... now that the CG is too fancy, I need to cancel our ressie because my card is attached to it and find something else. Probably the Captain's Grille or Cape May Cafe will take it's place.
Guess I'll get to work now
Have a great day everyone!
. I felt sick 
. I didn't want any of those rooms. None of them 
I contemplated getting another Disney reservation (just canceled my other one), but I really wanted a one bedroom for our 8 day stay and it was still expensive with the current offer. I was trying to hold my frustration as she had my money and I didn't want to make her mad and I choked back tears as I told her to book the Kidani Standard view. She put me on waitlists for BLT and a Savannah view. It's saving me $658--but I am still upset. Dave was not happy either--but what could I do?? We were essentially homeless 
My ADRs are going to be way out of the way and I just can't get over the bitter feeling. I'm asking her if I can use the left over points that I would have used at the same rate for my November trip. I think she at least owes me that. Did I mention I'm staying at Kidani in March too? Lame. Same hotel within 7 weeks--I guess variety won't be the spice of my life. On another note... Dave begged me to make an ADR for Raglan Road. Last time I had this I threw it up after Ride the Comix at DisneyQuest. It was vivid and I was sick for a whole day. Not that the meal was bad, or anything--but I'm not ready for it even after a year. He's lucky I love him, but seriously, I'm having flashbacks just thinking about it. 
This also will cut the cost of buying their dress, shoes, hair/makeup tux, etc... which I was planning on doing since they have to pay for travel. I guess that part of the budget will go toward my super awesome pictures. 
I feel your pain with the depressing January weather, but you can't let that ruin you! 
And if you really want a cheering section I will totally invite myself to your Disney wedding. 
I really think you should go with it. It's unique and beautiful, but it's also still sort of a neutral color that makes it wedding appropriate. 
And I think your idea for your cake would tie it all in together and look really classy and elegant!
Ive had some meltdowns myself recently and seeing it as an outsider (in your case) really helps me. Its so easy to tell you that none of it matters and everything will work itself out in the end and not take my advice...but after being a hypocrite for a few seconds I too have changed my outlook. So here it is (our new outlook) we are going to make do with what we get, and make it awesome. And all those rude nay-sayers or plan ruiners will be begging for forgiveness when everything is said and done. 
I'm loving the silver more and more each day. (I look at it at least once an hour, lol)
Maybe we're loners, but we were thinking about who to invite, if we would be disappointed if everyone said no, if we got there and friends were being high maintenence, or backed out last minute.... it all seems like drama. So we decided to have our families there, have everything amazing and hopefully all stay at BLT together. The only part I'm kind of sad about... is that I won't have anyone to help me in my dress. My stepmom/aunt aren't great at that stuff and I'm kind of at a loss there. I'll figure that out another day. I'm excited that cutting back will also help me with my photography budget and I will have amazing pictures to show all the people who aren't there! I read so often that brides spend so much of their time mingling that they didn't eat or get to take their day in, that it's all a blur... I don't want this to happen to me--and hopefully with our cutbacks it won't.
