Planning Our Happily Ever After - A Disneymoon PTR! (NEW 7/13 - TR Link!)

[Nermel9]

Wow I can't believe you're packing already!! The wedding and trip are SO close! I love your toiletry bag, I got a similar one last year from Bed Bath and Beyond but I don't like it, so maybe I'll get one from LL Bean this year! I always wait til the day before we leave to do my packing, if I tried to do it early, I'd just be paranoid that I forgot something and I'd go back and check a million times and drive myself crazy!

 

[lilpapsgirl]

Oh Yeah! I am so excited!! Goping to Target for the mini's is always so much fun. It means the trip is really close. It looks like you have everything together. Much more organized than myself. I would just throw everything in last minute. I cannot wait to hear more as the wedding gets closer.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I can't believe that you are down to 2 weeks!!!!!! How exciting

I can't believe it either! I felt like this trip would never get here and now its right around the corner!

I love making that trip to Target for any misc. toiletries. Usually the cashier asks me if I'm going on a trip and I love to reply YES!

I love Emily Giffin! Her books are great for "beach reads". I have a few other author suggestions if you like her. As a librarian, I feel like it is my job to help you. Let me know if you would like a list!

You should see my Vera Bradley traveler when I go on a trip. It's BURSTING. I think I may use a plastic shoebox container this trip for things such as sunscreen, bandaids, lotion, etc.

I'd love some more book suggestions! I am a pretty fast reader and I tend to fly through the Emily Giffin books so I wouldn't mind taking another one along!

That is so exciting that you're packing! Your trip really is getting close! Your update reminded me that I really should start packing soon too, since we leave in 9 days! Ugh, I shudder to think how hard it's going to be to get all of our stuff packed. It looks like you are WAY more organized than us! I usually do my packing the day before I leave. I'm a procrastinator, but it's actually turned into a semi-fun tradition. The day before we leave has become my manicure/pedicure/laundry/packing/watching every Disney parks DVD I own (including the episode of Full House where they go to Disney) day. It's crazy, but it helps me get through the last day of waiting, keeps me busy, and gets me fully immersed in Disney!

I am guilty of last minute packing, too! I never used to pack before the day or two before a trip, but something about my Italy trip changed that. I know I'll still be doing some stuff the night before, though. I think it's unavoidable! Your day-before routine sounds like so much fun! I will have to put on my Disney parks DVDs while I'm packing away this weekend!

I love Emily Giffin! I have read all her books but I haven't seen the Something Borrowed movie yet. DH doesn't seem to want to see it with me

So organized!

Her books are great! I haven't seen the Something Borrowed movie yet, either. I'll definitely be renting it when it comes out.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Wow, the days are really ticking away! I can't believe your so close!

How awesome that you have family so close to me!!

Can I ask where the container store is? I'm always going to Target to buy the little travel size bottles whenever we go somewhere!

There are two Container Stores that I frequent. There is one near Perimeter Mall and the other is in Buckhead down the road from Lenox. I'm not sure if there would be one closer to you. Those are the only two I know of. If you're in to organizing though, it's definitely worth the trip!

Love all the packing plans & photos Courtney!!

We have my cousin & her husband staying with us this weekend.. but after that I will be turning the spare room into 'honeymoon packing' center! Can't wait to get everything out the wardrobes that I've been buying for this trip



17 days to go!!


Emma x

Thanks! My guest bedroom is definitely packing central right now! My living room/dining room is wedding gift central, and my grandmother's house (next door to me) has turned into wedding central, too! It really does start to take over!

Wow I can't believe you're packing already!! The wedding and trip are SO close! I love your toiletry bag, I got a similar one last year from Bed Bath and Beyond but I don't like it, so maybe I'll get one from LL Bean this year! I always wait til the day before we leave to do my packing, if I tried to do it early, I'd just be paranoid that I forgot something and I'd go back and check a million times and drive myself crazy!

I have really enjoyed my toiletry bag! I wasn't crazy about it at first because I didn't really like the print, but it really is great for traveling. There are so many different pockets it makes it a breeze to stay organized. And I love the little hook on it - I hung it on the curtain rod at POR last year and it worked out great.

Oh Yeah! I am so excited!! Goping to Target for the mini's is always so much fun. It means the trip is really close. It looks like you have everything together. Much more organized than myself. I would just throw everything in last minute. I cannot wait to hear more as the wedding gets closer.

Oh, I will be doing something last-minute I know! There is just so many things swirling around in my head I feel like I have to get a jump start on this. I think I would go crazy otherwise!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

WEDDING DETAILS - PART NINE

I just realized that it has been quite some time since I updated about the wedding! And here we are only a little more than two weeks away! I will have one more wedding update before the big day after this one, and I must admit, the OCD part of me is glad that my final update will be "wedding details - part ten"!

First off, I owe you all some pictures of my rehearsal dinner dress and my jewelry since I mentioned that a few weeks ago. I had a really hard time getting a good shot of the dress, but it is so cute. It is a really flattering cut and the color is beautiful. It's more of a royal blue than what it looks like in the pictures. It was also a steal - I found it at TJMaxx for under $40!

I'm planning on wearing a pair of black peep-toe shoes, so I'm thinking about changing out the blue belt that comes with it to a black one if I can find it.

I was browsing Etsy one night when I came across these earrings that I thought would look perfect with it:

It's a little hard to tell in that picture, but they're a really pretty sapphire color. I think this picture is a little scary, but it does show the blue better!

I also found my earrings for the wedding day on the same seller's page. Since my dress has a good bit of detailing around the next (with the shoulder strap) I won't be wearing a necklace. I think these earrings will be plenty, though. (They are inspired by Princess Catherine!) I love that they are a classic style and won't distract from the dress.

I finally found my shoes for the wedding day, too! I believe I mentioned that I needed to find a relatively flat shoe because Miguel and I are the same height and I didn't want to tower over him in heels! The only problem, though, is that most flat shoes are really plain. I came across this pair and I wasn't quite sure about them, but I ordered them anyway and I'm so glad I did! They are so much prettier in person, they're comfortable and they match the color of my dress exactly! They look a little white in the photo but they're actually ivory.

Up next is my hair and makeup trial that I had last week! I was excited and nervous about it, because I worried that the vision I had for myself wouldn't match what the artist actually did. I've only had my makeup done professionally once and I was so unhappy with it! I wear a good bit of makeup everyday (I don't cake it on, but I do wear a lot of products) so the "natural" look doesn't work for me. Thankfully, my makeup artist had me come to the trial in my everyday makeup so she could see exactly how I do my makeup and then she could enhance that look. I was also worried that my desired hair style would be difficult because of my curly hair. Luckily though, I had nothing to worry about! The artist was great and I was really pleased with how I turned out!

Here's a close up of the makeup once I got home (minus the lipstick):

And finally, I had my venue walkthrough last week as well! This really helped me calm down a bit as far as worrying over the timing of things and all of the "logistical" issues. We met with the account executive at the venue, the operations manager of the catering company and my day-of-coordinator. Together we made a lot of decisions, set up a timeline, decided on how many tables to order, where they should be placed, etc. It was also exciting to get to see the ballroom again!

The ballroom has quite a few of these columns that separate the sides of the room from the main center of the ballroom. Our final guest count has ended up being 115, so we will only need to utilize the main center space. We've decided to put trees in the arch-ways to add a little drama and distract from the unused space.

We'll have 8 of these 9 foot trees for both the ceremony and the reception. My dad actually came up with this idea and I love it!

I was really glad to get to see the pre-function space where out cocktail hour will be, because I had it pictured to be much smaller than it actually is.

The pretty ceiling:

The bar:

We also decided to add a few tables for people to sit during the cocktail hour. We were originally only going to have 3 "highboy" tables, but we've now decided to add three small, 5-seat tables. They will go in this area:

And of course since I've added a few more tables, I will have to add a few more arrangements for those tables! I am going to be meeting with the florist next week, but in the meantime, here are somethings that I had in mind:

I'm really excited about these little last-minute additions. Thankfully our guest count has dropped from 150 to 115 which has left us a lot of room in the budget for some extra decor and things that has made all of these changes possible.

I think I have finally stopped worrying about things "coming together" - I guess I feel like it actually is now, which is a nice feeling.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Your wedding is going to be straight out of a fairy tale

 

[therussells08]

Wow, everything about your wedding (including you) looks gorgeous! It is going to be a perfect day for you and Miguel!

 

[Nermel9]

Your hair and make up is so beautiful! And the venue is amazing!!! You guys are going to have such an amazing day!

 

[lilpapsgirl]

I can not wait to see the pictures when you get back. I am so looking forward to this. Everything looks beautiful! It is coming together so nicely and your hair and make up person did a fantastic job. The make up was very natural and not over whelming like I have seen before. I really like the tree idea for the unused space. I have seen this a lot on that show My Fair Wedding with David Tatarua(sp?) on WE TV.

 

[ronnmel]

Wow, your hair looked gorgeous on your trial!

The hall looks so grandiose, I look forward to seeing the pictures of it with all the decorations up.

 

[redlight]

Your hair trial came out really well. You're beautiful. Is it unusual to have the guest list drop so much?

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Your wedding is going to be straight out of a fairy tale

As someone who is Disney obsessed, I sure hope so! I don't have the desire to feel like a princess necessarily, but I am hoping to create a really magical evening.

Wow, everything about your wedding (including you) looks gorgeous! It is going to be a perfect day for you and Miguel!

Thank you! I sure hope so!

Your hair and make up is so beautiful! And the venue is amazing!!! You guys are going to have such an amazing day!

Thank you so much! I was really pleased with the hair and makeup and getting to see the venue again was really exciting!

I can not wait to see the pictures when you get back. I am so looking forward to this. Everything looks beautiful! It is coming together so nicely and your hair and make up person did a fantastic job. The make up was very natural and not over whelming like I have seen before. I really like the tree idea for the unused space. I have seen this a lot on that show My Fair Wedding with David Tatarua(sp?) on WE TV.

I will definitely share every detail! Thank you! I was very happy with how the hair and makeup turned out. I think I look like myself, just a little more glammed up, which is what I was hoping for.

Wow, your hair looked gorgeous on your trial!

The hall looks so grandiose, I look forward to seeing the pictures of it with all the decorations up.

Thank you! I can't wait to see how the room looks with all of the decor in it! That is honestly what I am most excited about!

Your hair trial came out really well. You're beautiful. Is it unusual to have the guest list drop so much?

Thank you! I think I read somewhere that there is a pretty standard percentage of how many people actually come to a wedding compared to how many you invited. The number that's jumping out at me is 80% I calculated and we have about a 77% acceptance rate, so I guess that's pretty normal.

 

[Mrs T 2009]

BB is a fun place. Mike and I didn't do Summit Plummet, but we did a bunch of the other ones. I am not much of a water ride person, but I surprised myself by going on a lot of them there and had fun!

Your rehearsal dress looks gorgeous I love that color and it will look beautiful on you

Glad you got all your toiletries packed and ready! Also, the suticase you want Miguel to use looks "loved", but it would fit all his stuff and that's all that matters!

Both of the arrangements for the cocktail tables look gorgeous!!!

I am SO EXCITED for your upcoming wedding day and disneymoon!!!! I remember feeling like I had so much left to do, when really it was not much of anything! LOL It will be wonderful and just the way you want it and everything will fall right into place


EEE!!! SO EXCITED FOR YOU AND MIGUEL!!!!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

You are going to be STUNNING on your wedding day Courtney!!

Some other authors that you may enjoy are Jane Green, Jennifer Weiner, and Elin Hilderbrand. I'm reading the Beach House by Jane Green right now and it is a GREAT beach read (set in Nantucket).

I love your venue, I know I've told you that before. Also, I love the centerpiece with the square candles. I can't WAIT to see pictures!

As always, your planning is amazing. I have no doubt that it will be a perfect day!

 

[lilsqueakrr]

Your hair and makeup look gorgeous! And that venue is to die for! Jealous! Can't wait to see it all come together!!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

BB is a fun place. Mike and I didn't do Summit Plummet, but we did a bunch of the other ones. I am not much of a water ride person, but I surprised myself by going on a lot of them there and had fun!

Your rehearsal dress looks gorgeous I love that color and it will look beautiful on you

Glad you got all your toiletries packed and ready! Also, the suticase you want Miguel to use looks "loved", but it would fit all his stuff and that's all that matters!

Both of the arrangements for the cocktail tables look gorgeous!!!

I am SO EXCITED for your upcoming wedding day and disneymoon!!!! I remember feeling like I had so much left to do, when really it was not much of anything! LOL It will be wonderful and just the way you want it and everything will fall right into place


EEE!!! SO EXCITED FOR YOU AND MIGUEL!!!!

Thanks for all the sweet comments! That is a good word for the suitcase - loved! I guess I feel bad that I have a nice new one and he has to have an older one. But he doesn't care, so I guess it's fine!

You are going to be STUNNING on your wedding day Courtney!!

Some other authors that you may enjoy are Jane Green, Jennifer Weiner, and Elin Hilderbrand. I'm reading the Beach House by Jane Green right now and it is a GREAT beach read (set in Nantucket).

I love your venue, I know I've told you that before. Also, I love the centerpiece with the square candles. I can't WAIT to see pictures!

As always, your planning is amazing. I have no doubt that it will be a perfect day!

Thanks for the book suggestions! The Beach House sounds neat. I think I should take a trip to the library and see what I can find!

Your hair and makeup look gorgeous! And that venue is to die for! Jealous! Can't wait to see it all come together!!

Thank you so much! I am excited to see the end result, too!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

A FEW UPDATES

Today marks exactly 2 weeks until our trip! All day I've been thinking about what we'll be doing 2 weeks from now. Most of it will be spent in the car, but right about now we'll be finishing up our dinner at 'Ohana and heading out to the Poly beach to settle in for Wishes! I can't wait!

I had a really productive weekend, which always makes me happy. After work on Friday I ran out to the store to stock up on a few trip essentials. My main goal was socks! Sure, we have plenty of socks, but I like new ones for a trip. We'll mix in some older ones, but at least the majority will be nice and new.

I also thought Miguel should get a new outfit for the rehearsal dinner, so we got him a new pair of black dress pants (which he can take to Disney just in case he feels like wearing pants to our nicer dinners) and a dress shirt. You can't tell it in the picture, but it has a faint check design that is blue and matches the blue of my dress really well.

Yesterday I spent pretty much all day doing wedding projects with the help of my grandmother over at her house. We finished up packaging the favors, completed all of the signs and table numbers and the bar menus, finished the welcome boxes, and made the flip flop basket and the rose petal basket. I am generally not a crafty person so I tried to keep the DIY to a minimum, but I must say that I'm pretty impressed with myself! All of the things turned out exactly like the vision I had in my head. I'll be sharing pictures of everything in my next (and final!) wedding update.

Today I've been doing more packing prep. I got all of my clothes out of the closet and got pictures of each of my outfits for my outfit post coming up. I always get so excited about that one! I kind of equate it to the Target shopping!

I realized that I never shared which bathing suits I decided on after my bathing suit post awhile back. I got 3 tankini tops and 2 skirted bottoms that will all mix and match so I will have quite a few combinations that I can go with.

After trying them all on, I started to get a little worried about how well they would hold up (literally) at the water parks. I decided it wouldn't hurt to have a couple of one-piece suits for both the parks and just lounging at the Poly pool. I purchased them online over Memorial Day weekend so I got a really great deal. They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow!

In some trip news, I finally made a decision on the extra signature meal and decided to go with Yachtsman. It was such a hard choice! I was really debating between it and Artist Point, but in the end the braised beef ravioli with blue cheese sauce at Yachtsman won out.

I also made a little change to our Wishes cruise for the last night of our trip. Since we have an ADR at California Grill, I set up the cruise to pick us up at the Contemporary. However, our CG dinner is at the very early time of 5:50 and I figure even if we are there for 2 hours that's still going to leave us over an hour before the boat arrives, and an hour and a half before it departs. I'm just not that excited about staying at the CR for that much time. So, I thought, why not have the boat pick us up at a different resort? I ruled out the Poly (for obvious reasons) and the GF (since we'll already be there twice during the week). I called to find out if the boat could pick us up at the WL and it can! I'm really excited because I've been dying to explore the WL. I think that with the time it will take us to get there, we can definitely fill up the time waiting for the cruise by looking around the hotel. I did some research and I think there is a boat line that runs between the CR, WL and Fort Wilderness, but if not then we can always monorail it over to the MK and then take the boat over to WL. I am excited about using the boats this trip!

And finally, I got some fun Mickey Mail recently!

Our photopass offer! I will be pre-ordering our CD sometime this week. This will be our first time to use PP and I'm really looking forward to having lots of shots of the two of us, and getting to use all of the fun boarders!

I hope everyone has a good week!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I always like to get new socks before a trip, too. It's a good excuse and reason to go out and purchase them!

What website did you order the suits off of? I love the style of the green one!

 

[therussells08]

I love getting new things before a trip! Right down to a new tube of toothpaste, I just like having new stuff for a vacation! Socks are definitely included in that!

I love your swimsuits! Mixing and matching is a great idea. I only have two suits I am taking on this trip so I will have to alternate. I love the one pieces too! They look like they should hold up in the water parks!

Yay for your DIY wedding stuff! We did a lot of our own stuff for our wedding to save money and (with lots of help from family and friends) it turned out great!

I can't believe you're almost up to your last wedding update!

 

[Nermel9]

LOL, I love getting new stuff for trips, even if it's simple things like socks!

I love your bathing suits! Where did you buy them? I'm looking for a bathing suit for my trip, but unless I lose a significant amount of weight, I won't bother buying one, since I always wear a t shirt in the pool!

That's great that the Wishes boat can pick you up at WL and you are going to have time to explore over there! You can see my "home" resort, even though I'm not DVC, it still feels like my home!