Roberta & Marc's Memories wedding 10/8/11

[NBCGal]

I guess it's time I start a PJ. First I want to start by thanking those who've gone before me, as your information has helped me to plan this special time for us.

In the beginning... we met over 15 years ago. No, we weren't in school, we were a bit beyond that. We just came to be together through destiny. That's the only way I can describe it. Neither one of us had felt any reason to marry, but a few years ago when we caught this WDW bug together, we both knew it was the place that we would finally make it official.

Travel to today... I few months back, I found out that DFTW was offering the Memories Collection Weddings. We read through the information online and it seemed perfect for us. We wanted an intimate wedding. No guests, just us. This fit the bill and the price was affordable. So earlier this month I called & reserved our date. About the same time, we received a PIN Code from Disney and were able to get a really good discount on a room, so we're staying at GF for the 2 night minimum. After that, we're off to the Swan for the Honeymoon. We were just planning a vacation at the Swan that week, to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the day we first met. Actually, when I spoke to Vita and told her how long we've been together, she said we may just be a record holder on that...

We've since signed the contract, paid the deposit, completed the planning kit. It will be a very busy morning for us! I am working with Vita and she has been very responsive to my questions & requests.

Bouquet: Orange Roses & Lilies
Rose boutonniere: Orange Rose
Limo or In-Room Celebration: the In-Room Celebration
Music (in order): I See the Light from Tangled Soundtrack
What A Wonderful Wold
You're My Best Friend by Queen

Disney Fine Art Photography (Stephanie) will be doing a bridal photo session at EPCOT just prior to the ceremony.

We have also contracted with Randy Chapman to do a honeymoon photo shoot a few days after the ceremony around the Swan & Dolphin where we will be staying for the honeymoon.

I am working with Serendipity Beyond Design to make our Announcements (we are not sending save the dates or invitations, as we are not having guests). I found them on the Disney Blog and Etsy. Ginger, the owner of SBD has these cute Disney Passport Save the Dates that she is customizing to create announcements. I am so pleased with her design & DF loves the design too!

I am making a silk wrap to wear with the silk gown I got on clearance at JCrew. It fits perfect off the rack. I'm also making a crystal tiara (ok, it's going to be more of a headband), but it's just beautiful. I'll post a pic when it's done.

Now we just have to book airfare (I've been watching and it's been a bit high, no pun intended), and the MNSSHP tickets for one of the nights that week. We would not miss it!

 

[Fay]

Hey,

Welcome and Congratulations!

Cant wait to see pictures!

Mwah

XX

 

[PinkSleepingBeauty]

Welcome and congrats! Look forward to hearing more!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Congrats - your plans sound great!! We had our Memories vow renewal last October (same weekend as you are planning) and it was wonderful. Vita wasn't our planner leading up to the day but she was the one who worked with us the day of and she is very, very sweet. She called me in the room that morning to let me know that she'd gone over all the details with our planner and that everything was set. It was a nice little touch to put my mind at ease. Which location are you using? Can't wait to hear more.

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Welcome and congratulations! I can't wait to hear more. Your day sounds like it will be sweet and romantic

 

[KristiLyn]

Welcome and Congrats!! Everything sounds wonderful! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[NBCGal]

AHHH, thanks so much to all of you! This is a dream come true for both of us. Here's more of the dets:

Cake: A wedding cake does not come with the Memories Collection, so we are ordering the Coral & Shells mini cake which I found on the DFTW website under Design Studio, Cakes. It will be delivered to the room for us to enjoy after dinner (Info, review & Pics posted by LurkyLoo here) http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=40450655&postcount=2120
Side note: I don't know what I'd do without LurkyLoo!

Officiant: Ron Rosenzweig - I looked into other officiants, but as we want a non-religious ceremony, short & sweet, I think he will serve us well. We are not making changes to his ceremony and we are both happy with the information, ceremony content, and his extremely quick responses to my inquiries.

Wedding dinner: Citrico's. This was a difficult decision! We are staying at the GF, so we had many options. Not just because of the restaurant selections at GF, but due to it's convenient location to other resort Signature Dining restaurants. We actually booked with Narcoossees at first, but then I changed it to Citrico's. We have dined at Artist Point a few times, California Grill once. We've also dined at Kona Cafe (ok, not a signature restaurant, but well known for good food & service). Never at Citrico's or Narcoossees. Part of the issue of deciding is my food allergies. I'm allergic to: mangos, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pineapple, kiwis, avocado & bananas. Also anything with oak (such as many wines & whiskeys are aged in oak barrels). I guess you can imagine the difficulty of me dining at Kona with these allergies. The same for Ohana's.

ADR's:
Citrico's (see above)
Le Cellier/lunch - we've dined here many times & I was thrilled to find an opening
50's PrimeTime Cafe - not dined here before, but love the decor & menu looks doable
Raglan Road - we will be dining here twice, one lunch, one dinner. Yes, love it that much!
Crystal Palace/lunch - we have dined here before & found the food pretty good (even with my allergies). We wanted a "fun" meal and this will be it. We went here last time with DF's mom. It was her surprise birthday meal, because she absolutely loves Pooh characters, especially Eyore. Well, she was so crabby that day - didn't want to meet the characters as they came around. They went out of their way to try to get her in a better mood. It didn't help her, but it made us feel better about the whole experience!

I did book airline tickets today. I am not happy with the price I paid, but I am afraid the cost will go up with the cost of gas.

 

[NBCGal]

The countdown continues. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been busy planning.

We have our tickets for MNSHP on 10/11 and our park tickets. We can't wait! The Halloween party is our favorite. Our theme is from the Nightmare Before Christmas: "It's plain as anyone can see, we're simply meant to be." Our requirement is to keep it simple and keep it fun. This is a second marriage for both of us, and my first wedding was a nightmare (no pun intended). This time we are doing what WE want and having it how we want. Our colors are blue and orange. I love blue and Marc loves orange. For my bouquet, I'm getting the orange lilies and roses that come with the Memories Collection package. Marc will be wearing an orange rose boutonnière. He is arranging his tux through Mens Warehouse as they will deliver to the Grand Floridian & pick up after. He may end up buying a suit, but if he can't find what he wants, he will go with the tux rental from them.

I custom ordered a silk wrap from a wonderful Etsy shop called Wildgingersilk. She has some lovely silk scarves and wraps. I have ordered a few scarves from her before. I often wear them with suits at work. The wrap is hand painted blues in an ombre method. It looks absolutely stunning with my gown.

It was five years ago that Marc bought my engagement ring in platinum. It's drop dead gorgeous. I've always loved marquis & baguette settings. I didn't know how we'd ever match up the engagement ring, much less afford a platinum band. We started by asking a jeweler friend of Marc's. He found he had a platinum band with baguettes that years ago someone bought the engagement ring and didn't want the wedding band and offered it to us at a price we couldn't refuse. It goes perfectly with my ring AND fits perfectly. How serendipitous! Marc's ring is rose gold and my aunt had given it to us a few years back to keep or sell. It looks wonderful on Marc and is very comfortable.

[/url]
1180.1F by quilted cavalier, on Flickr[/IMG]
I really wanted a necklace that picked up the blues in my wrap. I do look good in blues. I found this necklace online and it's made of sterling (which I can wear for short periods without a rash). At 2 1/2", the pendant is huge. It has clear rhinestones that cover the necklace. It's from the 1940's (old and blue). I have ordered it and should get it by the end of the week. It is coming not far from WDW.

To tiara or not to tiara, that is the question... I never even thought about wearing a tiara until I started planning this wedding. I'm not the princess type. But I do love bling and so I started looking for one for me. Well, I didn't find it. Not at a reasonable price, anyway. Sure I could spend well over $100 for one, but I'm only going to wear it once probably. So, the creative person that I am, I decided to make one like I had in mind. This one here is made with simple clear vintage rhinestones.


Rhinestone headband by quilted cavalier, on Flickr
This one is encrusted with Swarovski crystals. If you like these, check out quiltedcavalier on Etsy. I've decided to make them and sell them on Etsy as I can't be the only one out there with the same thoughts on tiaras. I can make them in any color.


Untitled by quilted cavalier, on Flickr
And then there are announcements. No, we didn't do save the dates or invitations. As I said before, we are keeping it simple and it will be just us two. I love the idea of passports (going with the Epcot theme) and the colors are blue and orange. How could I resist the Disney theme? These are by Serendipity Beyond Design on Etsy. Ginger is a peach to work with. She even put a map of "the world" on the back. Absolutely perfect, and reasonable too.

Hair and makeup... I am planning on getting up at 4 a.m. the morning of the wedding. We have to be in the lobby to meet with our photographer from Disney Fine Art Photography to go for our bridal photo shoot at the EPCOT. Then be back for the wedding at 9 a.m. I decided to pamper myself a bit and I booked with Beaute Speciale to come to do my hair and make up. I have shorter dark hair and fair skin, and this photo from their website is the look I'm going for except with the tiara/headband bling in lieu of the headband in the pic. I'm not a morning person, so this getting ready is going to be a challenge. I have made one change in the photography. We were going to have Randy Chapman come right after the ceremony, but in our effort to "keep it simple" I thought 3 hours of photos would be too much for the both of us. I have arranged with Randy to have him meet us at the Swan (we are transferring there on Sunday and staying for the week). This way, we'll have photos from the Swan, which is where we usually stay when visiting the world and pics around the area there. I look at it as the best of both worlds. Honeymoon photos! This is especially nice since its just the two of us and there's no guests to take pictures.

The clutch - I debated whether I wanted to carry or needed a clutch. In the end, I found this one at an antique store for a crazy low price. It is hand beaded and made in Japan (I love all things Japanese). It is just big enough for my iPhone and my room card, plus some lipstick. It's a lot darker in the photo.

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. Next month we'll be sending in for our marriage license. I am finding that I actually enjoy the process. I'm also happy because Vita let us know that all of the songs we've selected are available. This is a good thing.

 

[NBCGal]

I see some of my photos are not cooperating and showing up in the posts. If you click on them, however, they will direct you to the photo on Flickr. Must be a Flickr thing? Not sure...

Anyway, you may be wondering about the proposal. This was a case of me asking him to marry! We had talked about it for a few years now. Should we or shouldn't we? When we came across the DFTW Memories Collection it became a possibility to marry at WDW ($ wise). One day I just thought heck with it - and I texted Marc at work: "Will you marry me in WDW?" to which he texted back "yes!"

 

[Tinker Bell Fan]

Just came across your PJ - congrats!

DH & I arrive in Disney on the 7th and we're going to MNSSHP on the 11th too.

Looking forward to hearing/seeing more.

 

[NBCGal]

Just came across your PJ - congrats!

DH & I arrive in Disney on the 7th and we're going to MNSSHP on the 11th too.

Looking forward to hearing/seeing more.

Thanks for posting, Tinker Bell Fan! I'm glad someone is out there... . We arrive 10/7 too. I read your journal. Yours is a very touching story - I know you love each other very much. I too wish my parents could be there to see us wed, but I know they will be with us in spirit. My Dad did get to meet Marc before he passed away & he very much approved of him. My Mom would've loved him too.

I will be having Stephanie from Disney Photography as our photographer. It appears she did a good job with your photography. We have made some changes, which I'll explain in my next PJ entry.

 

[NBCGal]

It is a woman's prerogative to changer her mind, right? Well, I have found a different dress, which of course means different shoes! I'm still having photo challenges, so here are links to the dress: http://www.casablancabridal.com/collections/view/11/210 and the shoes: http://www.6pm.com/coloriffics-entice. I kept looking at the gown I had picked out and thought it was missing something...

Finally I saw this dress online and knew it was the one. It is ivory silk satin with beadwork (there is no train, unlike the photo on Casablanca's website). It even has little rhinestones on it - I am all into rhinestones right now for some reason. I had my last fitting on Friday and my aunt came along to see me in it. The blue necklace I have looks beautiful with the dress. I have made a aqua blue veil to wear with my rhinestone headband. I thought the blue might look odd, but it looks lovely - matches the necklace perfectly. I made a garter to match with dark teal dupioni silk and tolle. With crystals to make a hidden Mickey! The shoes are fabulous - so sparkly.

I will be having Randy Chapman do a honeymoon photography session later in the week so we can have photos around the Swan and Dolphin and the Boardwalk. The morning of our wedding will be a busy one with DFAP (we are scheduled to have Stephanie) take us to: EPCOT. Yes, I changed my mind but mainly because we have a tight schedule that morning to have the bridal photography session and get to Luau Beach for the ceremony. Besides, there are so many wonderful locations there. This will give us a distinction between the wedding day photos and the more laid back honeymoon photos. I am looking forward to meeting Randy, unfortunately I don't know much about Stephanie's style.

I ordered the Coral and Shells mini cake from the GF private dining. I requested aqua blue buttercream, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse filling, with orange coral and white piping. I told the chef to "surprise me" with the shells. I'm being careful to not sweat the small stuff - it will be a perfect beautiful day because we love one another, not because of the material things. It's our dream come true.

Another change is that DF is not going with the tux. He found a suit that will be quite appropriate but he is not going to wear the suit coat, just the pants and vest with a dress shirt and tie. I thought he'd be way too hot with the coat. He looks very handsome in it, but then again, I'm partial.

Thanks for following along. I can't believe it's only three weeks away now.

 

[virtuous girl]

3wks !!!! U must b super excited! I also booked randy for our wedding. Cant want 2 c what he produces 4 u

 

[NBCGal]

Ok, I'm going to try my hand at the pictures again... Here's a pic of the new dress:

[/url] Dress by quilted cavalier, on Flickr[/IMG]
I'm shipping it to Carolyn's Bridal on Monday along with Marc's attire. Please don't let anything happen to them! the dress looks beautiful with the blue necklace and the ever so light blue veil I've made. I keep going back and forth on a veil. A part of me says don't wear one - it's silly. Another part of me says to go for the princess part. It is WDW after all!

And the shoes:

[/url] Shoes by quilted cavalier, on Flickr[/IMG]
I'm hoping the shoes will not hurt my feet. I did wear them around the house 1 day for a couple hours and they were fine. Since I had surgery on my toe last year, just about any shoe can bother me. I look at it this way, I only have to wear them for 4 hours! 16 days to go. I confirmed our photo session with Randy Chapman today. We are doing honeymoon photos at the Swan & Dolphin. Different, I know. We didn't just want wedding photos, and we will have a lot of them between the bridal session at EPCOT and then the ceremony pics plus pics around the Poly & GF. Plus, as we are there by ourselves we can't ask a family member to photograph us... Not that I haven't stopped a stranger before and asked them to take our picture! It would be creepy to ask them to take like 50-100 pics of us, don't you think? thanks for following my story.

 

[Tinker Bell Fan]

I love your dress and shoes! So pretty and elegant!

I think you'll like Stephanie. She was very easy going with us. We really enjoyed working with her. One thing I would advise - if there are particular shots you want, then write them down and give her a list. Or if you think about a particular shot during the session - just let her know. She was accommodating when I wanted to take a few photos at the Grand Floridian after our cake celebration.

Thank you for reading my PJ. Hubby and I have been through a lot in the past 20+ years, and although there are a few things I might want to change, one thing I would never change is marrying him.

Only a couple of weeks to go!

 

[NBCGal]

I love your dress and shoes! So pretty and elegant!

I think you'll like Stephanie. She was very easy going with us. We really enjoyed working with her. One thing I would advise - if there are particular shots you want, then write them down and give her a list. Or if you think about a particular shot during the session - just let her know. She was accommodating when I wanted to take a few photos at the Grand Floridian after our cake celebration.

Thank you for reading my PJ. Hubby and I have been through a lot in the past 20+ years, and although there are a few things I might want to change, one thing I would never change is marrying him.
Only a couple of weeks to go!

Thanks so much, Tinker Bell Fan. I will keep that in mind when working with Stephanie. I certainly understand where you are coming from in your PJ. My previous marriage was an abusive relationship, life certainly can be a difficult road! All I know is that I've found my prince charming & I'm one lucky woman to be able to spend the rest of my life with him! I don't know where I would be without him. after 16 years together the only place we wanted to marry was at WDW. Some people think we're crazy, others love the idea. But we are getting hitched the way we want & that's all that counts. I know all you disbrides understand!

 

[NBCGal]

3wks !!!! U must b super excited! I also booked randy for our wedding. Cant want 2 c what he produces 4 u

Hi Virtuous Girl! Your PJ is so cute - love your wedding pics! You make such a cute couple. How wonderful that your VR is going to be at WDW. I know what it's like to work to save up to pay for DFTW! It is worth it in the long run to make your dreams come true. You are so crafty too. It makes it so much more personal when you can make things yourself rather than buying everything.

 

[jshora]

I can't believe I've missed your planning journal! Hello from another October bride!

I LOVE your plans!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Hello Hello!!

You're getting really really really close!!

We're having dinner at Citricos too!! It's a great meal and they are very good with adapting meals!!

I can't wait to hear all about it

 

[NBCGal]

Hello Hello!!

You're getting really really really close!!

We're having dinner at Citricos too!! It's a great meal and they are very good with adapting meals!!

I can't wait to hear all about it

Nice to know about adapting meals - I have quite a few food allergies and some restaurants are not easy to deal with. We had reservations at Kona Cafe last year and the waitress was down right nasty about it. I'm allergic to mangos, pineapple, bananas and nuts. Basically everything they serve it seems. We ended up just leaving without eating. We had eaten there the year before and they were very accommodating, but not that day! That's why we chose to stay at the GF instead of the Poly, as I didnt want dining to be as much of an issue.