Sam and Mike's(well mostly Sam's) 10/29/10 non-prof photos Glad I did/didn't Update

[Sccrmnky2005]

I'm so sorry about your baby kitty Link!! Hope things get better for you and I can't wait to read more of your plans and your recent trip to WDW!!

 

[aduck126]

poor little kitty, I'm sorry to hear that, its always tough losing a pet. At least you are busy with the wedding/house/new job, that helps a little to keep your mind off of the loss.

 

[DisneyDiva84]

I am so sorry to hear about your kitty but I know he was VERY loved judging by the reports.

Sending warm wishes your way

 

[CinderelliT]

So sorry for your loss. Pets hold a special place in our hearts. Just know that you will be able to see your kitty one day again.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

just catching up on various PJs.... i'm so sorry about your kitty... hugs

Oh, I'm so very sorry about little Link. We get so attached to those sweet little furkids so fast and it's so hard when we have to let them go.

I'm so sorry about your kitty

Sam, I am very sorry about Link.
Setting up house can be a very stressful time, throw that on top of wedding planning plus loosing a pet, I can see you have your hands full.

Many hugs your way!

Sam, I'm so very sorry about Link . It's not fair that you had to say goodbye to him so soon, but I know you guys made his life better by taking such good care of him.

I hate to join your PJ at such a sad time, I can't imagine what you're feeling.

So so sorry about Link No more pain for that little kitty now!!!

i'm so so sorry about Link. Its very unfair that you had to loose him so soon, but at least he was very loved.

I am sorry to hear about Link. It sounds like you guys did all you could for the little guy. At least he is no longer in pain. It is hard to loose a pet, they are like family. I hope you do start a TR of your PS soon. I find in my experience that focusing on the happy always makes a sad situation a little better. Big to you!

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. That's a really hard situation to deal with, especially with everything else on your plate. Looking forward to hearing about your TR but I totally understand how hard it is to come back to all this after an ordeal like that.

I'm so sorry about your baby kitty Link!! Hope things get better for you and I can't wait to read more of your plans and your recent trip to WDW!!

poor little kitty, I'm sorry to hear that, its always tough losing a pet. At least you are busy with the wedding/house/new job, that helps a little to keep your mind off of the loss.

I am so sorry to hear about your kitty but I know he was VERY loved judging by the reports.

Sending warm wishes your way

So sorry for your loss. Pets hold a special place in our hearts. Just know that you will be able to see your kitty one day again.

Thank you so much everyone for the support and kind words. He was very loved and he will be surely missed. I feel so terrible falling behind on everyone's planning journals and it's so hard getting back into the swing of things. Planning has felt a little overwhelming. I've definitely fallen behind. And at least the one thing about procrastinating means I haven't been super anal about planning. But I've definitely let some things get behind...like invitations, and dress fittings, etc...

So now to start on the planning...

We arrived in Disney Monday morning. It was just my mom, myself and my nephew. He was so adorable. At the airport, another little boy asked him what he was going to do in Disneyworld, and he responded: We're going to plan a wedding. It was adorable. We went to DHS after checking in at the Boardwalk, which was an awesome hotel. It was very hot and humid. I'm proud of any June/July disney bride. It was SO HOT! I don't know how you can do it. We melted away that day. Tuesday we had the planning session. We met with Carol Mickles, who is a super sweet southern lady. She was very caring. It was hard to do the session without Mike. We arrived at Francks, and my nephew very quietly sat through the whole session mostly listening and playing with the iphone. It was very impressive. We discussed our views on the wedding, the timeline, transportation, etc...and before we knew it, it was cake tasting time. Now I have to say, we had gone to breakfast at 1900 Park Faire beforehand, and I kind of expected to be having the cake later in the session...which it did not. I wasn't exactly hungry but I guess that's better because I actually tasted the cake. We had yellow, chocolate, marble, chocolate shavings (they can't do chocolate chip), lemon and almond. The last 2 were special requests. Every cake had a similar texture...not too moist, a little dry. The almond and lemon had the most distinct flavors. The chocolate wasn't a deep fudgey chocolate, instead it was dry and a little flavorless. I'm not a huge marble cake fan, and the chocolate savings definitely added a little to the usual yellow cake. For fillings we had vanilla buttercream, dark chocolate, white chocolate, baileys, amaretto, lemon, raspberry, cherry pie filling (I requested a fruity filling), tropical, peanut butter cup and I think there were 2 others, but I can't remember them anymore. My top fillings were tropical, raspberry, lemon, amaretto and surprisingly I enjoyed white chocolate. Mike loves peanut butter so I chose the peanut butter cup with the marble cake so one layer, lemon cake with raspberry (I really want the tropical layered with raspberry but they told me no ) and the top layer was going to be the chocolate shavings cake with tropical mousse, but this was nixed due to the ridiculous pricing of a 3 layer mad hatter. It was like $1000 for the cake, plus $200 handling fee. A 2 layer is half the price...much more reasonable.

It was so funny during the tasting. We were all offered drinks, and I took a diet coke, my mom took coffee and my nephew wasn't sure what to drink. He wanted chocolate milk but they didn't have it. Carol offered him some Sprite, and he asked quizzically...What's a sprite? Carol was so amused at the fact he never even heard of sprite before. She had never met a child before who hasn't had sprite before.

Then Laura came in and we discussed floral. I told her how floral wasn't much of a concern for me. We came up with some ideas. We're doing centerpieces of small square vases filled with sea glass and floating candles or orchids. I'm not 100% sure what exactly it will come out as and I can't wait to actually see it in person.

For favors, we want to do Mickey ears, but I'm not sure if it's going to work. We're being charged $20 per hat, including personalization, and that seems excessive.

The planning session was just really hard because deciding was so difficult without Mike. I enjoyed being in charge (what bride doesn't ) but it made decisions more difficult.

The session ended around noon and we headed to magic kingdom. Alex really enjoyed himself and the lines weren't even that bad.

Ok...that's enough for now. More tomorrow.

 

[Chilly]

Glad to hear your PS went well.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Wow, you had lots of amazing cake flavours to try! The ones you ended up with sound so tasty! Your floral sounds like it will be really nice as well!

The Mickey ears do seam like such a great favour, but that is a really high price, considering the average couple probably spends under $3 a favour/person. Ours was like $5, and I thought that was a lot

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Glad to hear your PS went well.

Thanks Claire. It really wasn't so bad. But it was definitely more difficult because Mike wasn't there. However, Carol and Laura were very nice. It's also very easy to get carried away with all the choices and spending way too much!

Wow, you had lots of amazing cake flavours to try! The ones you ended up with sound so tasty! Your floral sounds like it will be really nice as well!

The Mickey ears do seam like such a great favour, but that is a really high price, considering the average couple probably spends under $3 a favour/person. Ours was like $5, and I thought that was a lot

The cake was very exciting, but honestly I think I built it up too much in my mind. Smearing the little pieces of cake with the fillings was fun, but I think being able to pick out a couple complete slices of cake, like in Disneyland, would work out better. Hmmmm... Yes $20 a person is a LOT considering we're already planning a whole day of fun and food ( = $$$)

 

[ChocoKat]

So glad you had a good PS.
I think your cake sounds awesome.

About the ears... could you get them yourself? I know that at times there are coupons for the Disney Store for percentages off, they will personalize them and they have free shipping when you go over certain amount. I am sure you could bring them down to a better price that way.

We are still mulling over our favors, probably will do something edible since we have a lot of people flying in. And they probably will get their own hats before the wedding anyway.

Sorry Mike wasn't there, I am glad your nephew was such a sweet heart.

We leave for our PS this week, we have it very early in the morning and then a tasting session in the afternoon, so I am planning on a very tiny breakfast before the cake tasting. It was great help reading about yours!

 

[DisneyDiva84]

The planning session sounds like it went great!

Can't wait to read more

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Sorry I've been so MIA. Work has been crazy. I was hired in the same district as DF and I like the school, but they gave me 2 college prep chems, 2 low level chem and an environmental science which is the lowest of the lows. So I've been dealing with a lot of student stress, besides wedding craziness and all the drama that goes with owning a house.

As for an update, the kitties and DF are good, I'm stressing but happy. I'm going to post the PS pics and hair styles from Patricia. I also want to show everyone our awesome invitations. They came out so well!

So without further ado...













We tried the bread basket (I asked to add the breadsticks from Le Cellier)
Mushroom tartlets (eh..skipping)
Mushroom and artichoke salad (having this at the dessert party -- antipasto display)
Filet with blackberry sauce (this was very dry...we nixed it)
Parm encrusted chicken (yummy!) with sauce on side
Limoncello mahi mahi (this was yummy, and I asked for extra sauce on side)
The veggies were SOOOOO good
Calico Rice and Mushroom risotto...they really had an issue with me picking 2 rice dishes and kept pushing for me to pick a potato. What's the real difference between a risotto and mashed spuds anyway...both are creamy and starchy. I held my own and I'm having my 2 rices.
Gnocchi and vodka sauce...this was mild, we asked for it a little spicier and we are going to do a pasta action station with this and a pasta primavera type dish.

For the DP we tried mango tartlettes (from boma) and peanut butter marshmallow squares.

All very yummy.

 

[pezaddict231]

You're getting so close to your wedding, it's this month! Life has a way of getting really stressful right before the wedding. Just try to hang in there. It is really nice to come back from your honeymoon to your own house. Even though there were days when I was like, why did we ever buy a house! Things do get better though, even though there always seems to be something to do with a house.

The food all looks great! I wish I had gotten the pretzel bread at the wedding. I didn't really think of it at the time and the regular rolls were really nothing special. All the other food you chose looks yummy too. Even though there are two rice dishes, they are very different types of rice, and you also have the potato gnocchi so I don't think anyone will miss the potato.

Looking forward to seeing the invitations and hair style pics.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Here are the photos from the hair and make up trial. The first time she did the hair it was lovely, but not what I had asked for nor what I wanted. So without an issue Patricia redid my hair and I loved it. She was so awesome throughout the whole morning and I can't wait to work with her again.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Invitation!

 

[ChocoKat]

Yay! You are back!
I love your hair, you look stunning!
Your invites are so cool!!!

My DH would love them, he is a big comic book geek.
I love how your cats are included too, so cute!

 

[Pirate's Princess]

You're getting so close to your wedding, it's this month! Life has a way of getting really stressful right before the wedding. Just try to hang in there. It is really nice to come back from your honeymoon to your own house. Even though there were days when I was like, why did we ever buy a house! Things do get better though, even though there always seems to be something to do with a house.

The food all looks great! I wish I had gotten the pretzel bread at the wedding. I didn't really think of it at the time and the regular rolls were really nothing special. All the other food you chose looks yummy too. Even though there are two rice dishes, they are very different types of rice, and you also have the potato gnocchi so I don't think anyone will miss the potato.

Looking forward to seeing the invitations and hair style pics.

Thanks Sara. A house can be stressful but it is nice to have a home. I figured between pasta, gnocchi and rices we have the carbs covered.

Yay! You are back!
I love your hair, you look stunning!
Your invites are so cool!!!

My DH would love them, he is a big comic book geek.
I love how your cats are included too, so cute!

Why thank you! I hate how I look in pictures. I always have one of my eyebrows croocked (which is funny b/c the artist drew it that way in the invite).

I love the cats in there too. It was the first thing I noticed! I couldn't believe how many cats were there! The black cat on the bottom is the cat I left with my parents because she's older, and the gray cat is Link. We loved how he was included and he'll always be in our hearts. And then we do have 3 in our house. I love how the kittens were drawn (on top with massive ears )

 

[pezaddict231]

Your hair looks beautiful! I love it! The invite is really cute too! I've never seen anything like it and think it's so cool. I'll have to suggest something similar to a friend of mine if she does get married one day. She and her boyfriend are huge comic fans. I bet your guests loved it!

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

ohh, the food from your PS looks so good! We had the parm chicken and lemoncello mahi mahi and everyone raved about it!

Your hair and makeup look awesome!

 

[ChocoKat]

Why thank you! I hate how I look in pictures. I always have one of my eyebrows croocked (which is funny b/c the artist drew it that way in the invite).

I love the cats in there too. It was the first thing I noticed! I couldn't believe how many cats were there! The black cat on the bottom is the cat I left with my parents because she's older, and the gray cat is Link. We loved how he was included and he'll always be in our hearts. And then we do have 3 in our house. I love how the kittens were drawn (on top with massive ears )

Yes, the kittens are very cute, overall with the giant ears!
I also noticed the cool hidden Mickey on the background, really awesome touch there.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Your hair looks beautiful! I love it! The invite is really cute too! I've never seen anything like it and think it's so cool. I'll have to suggest something similar to a friend of mine if she does get married one day. She and her boyfriend are huge comic fans. I bet your guests loved it!

I hope my guests loved it. Some of them are older and more traditionalists, but considering our Saves the Dates, they shouldn't expect less. If she's interested, I found the artist on etsy, mwelser. He's very talented and was great to work with. I kept asking him to fix little things and he never fussed.

ohh, the food from your PS looks so good! We had the parm chicken and lemoncello mahi mahi and everyone raved about it!

Your hair and makeup look awesome!

I'm glad to hear your guests liked the food. We keep going back and forth on whether to add a sirloin carving station. I hope they won't miss the beef.... And thank you on the hair and makeup. Patricia LeJeuene was awesome.

Yes, the kittens are very cute, overall with the giant ears!
I also noticed the cool hidden Mickey on the background, really awesome touch there.

Haha, the kittens are super adorable, and he does have massive ears. I'm really glad with how they came out. I asked him to include a hidden mickey in the background and I think they are perfect. There's lots of small touches in the invite and I'm so in love with the design. I'm getting a sweatshirt made with it, and a shirt...and we got coffee mugs for our desks, and we are getting a large canvas of it to hang in our house to remember forever.


So it's getting down to the wire. We are currently on the playlist. We found this awesome group, The Vitamin String Quartet, and they cover all these awesome rock and alternative songs with a string quartet (like sum41, foo fighters, fall out boy, queen, etc...) and they are awesome! This helps us a lot with music choice during lunch and cocktail hour since we like that music but we want our guests to be happy as well.

And here is a copy of the last draft of our ceremony:

Opening:
{ELAINE} Welcome family and friends. Samantha and Michael are happy that all of you are here to share and celebrate their wedding this day. You have been such an integral part of their lives that they cannot tell you how much it means to them that you are here. They are thankful for the love and support you have given.
{DEB} Your role here today is not a passive one; you are encouraged not only to rejoice and honor the bride and groom on their wedding day, but also to remain a sustaining community for them. We welcome you in joy.
Acknowledgement of Loved Ones:
{ELAINE} There are also those close to Samantha and Michael who are not here today but who would be rejoicing with them if they were. Let us remember them by thinking of them now in a moment of silence.
Declaration of Intent:
{DEB} The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and minded is intended for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given each other in prosperity and adversity, and the creation of a family. Therefore marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and deliberately. With this in mind, we ask you to declare your intentions. Samantha and Michael, have you come here freely and without reservation to share yourselves with each other in marriage?
{Sam and Mike}: We have
Personal Remarks by Officiants- This is where we’d like you each to say something of your own if you wish.
{ELAINE FIRST, THEN DEB}
Readings:
{BILL} Marriage is in many ways a simplification of life, and it naturally combines the strengths and wills of two young people so that, together, they seem to reach farther into the future than they did before. Above all, marriage is a new task and a new seriousness, - a new demand on the strength and generosity of each partner, and a great new danger for both. The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of their solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust.

{ANDREW} A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side by side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.
From Letters to A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

{KELLY} There’s no other love in the world like yours. There’s no other life like the one you will share. As two pebbles in a pool spread ripples forever outward, your two lives will blend into one and widen and grow through the days of your love. But each of you will still be you, two people, separate, original, and independent, even in your togetherness. Just as the flame of two candles can burn apart from one another and yet blend into one light to brighten the same room, you will be as one and still be two.

{MATT} May they build a life together that is bright with laughter of children and the smiles of friends and family. May their home be a haven from the tensions of our time and wellspring of strength; may it be the one place where they most want to be. And may the years deal gently with them. Walking together, may they find much more in life than either would have found alone.

Vows:
{ELAINE} Samantha and Michael have composed their own vows, which they will now exchange.
Exchange personal vows (SAM FIRST, THEN MIKE)
{DEB} Samantha and Michael, you have pledged to share the responsibilities for making this union one of equality, understanding and strength, and you are now making your promise sacred.
{ELAINE TO SAM}
Please join your right hands and declare your intentions
Samantha, Repeat after me:
I, SAMANTHA, take you, MICHAEL, to be no other than yourself
Loving what I know of you
Trusting what I do not yet know
With respect for your integrity
And secure in the knowledge of your love for me
Through all our years
And in all that life may bring us.
I promise to try to be ever open to you
And above all, to do everything in my power
To permit you to become the person you are yet to be.
I give you my love.

{DEB TO MIKE}
And Michael, Repeat after me:
I, MICHAEL, take you, SAMANTHA, to be no other than yourself
Loving what I know of you
Trusting what I do not yet know
With respect for your integrity
And secure in the knowledge of your love for me
Through all our years
And in all that life may bring us.
I promise to try to be ever open to you
And above all, to do everything in my power
To permit you to become the person you are yet to be.
I give you my love.


Rings:
{ELAINE} We have all witnessed your exchange of vows. Yet words are fleeting, and the sound of them will soon be gone. Therefore, the wedding rings become enduring symbols of the promises you have made to each other.

{DEB} The wedding rings are regarded as fitting symbols of marriage, for they are fashioned to have neither beginning nor end. The wedding rings are outward and visible symbols of you enduring love and devotion to each other.

{ELAINE TO MIKE}
Michael, Please repeat after me:
With this ring I join my life with yours.
אֲנִ֤י לְדֹודִי֙ וְדֹודִ֣י לִ֔י (A-nee li-do-dee Vi-do-dee Lee)
I am my beloved’s and my beloved’s is mine.

{DEB TO SAM}
And Samantha, Please repeat after me:
With this ring I join my life with yours.
אֲנִ֤י לְדֹודִי֙ וְדֹודִ֣י לִ֔י (A-nee li-do-dee Vi-do-dee Lee)
I am my beloved’s and my beloved’s is mine.

SAND CEREMONY:

{ELAINE} Today, Samantha and Michael, have chosen to commemorate their marriage through the celebration of the Sand Ceremony. This ceremony symbolizes the inseparable union of Samantha and Michael into a new and eternal marital relationship. They will simultaneously pour separate containers of sand into a common vessel. Each grain of sand in their separate containers represents a unique and separate moment, decision, feeling or event that helped shaped Samantha and Michael into the separate and unique individuals that they are today.

{DEB} As they pour their separate containers of sand into a common vessel, those separate and independent individuals will cease to exist. Instead they will merge into a loving and supportive marital community. Samantha and Michael, just as the grains of sand can never be separated into their individual containers again, so will your marriage be."

[SAM AND MIKE POUR THE SAND INTO THE VESSEL]

Pronouncement:

{ELAINE} Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be the shelter for each other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be the warmth for the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before. Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your life together. And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

{DEB} Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship - as they threaten all relationships at one time or another - remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong.

{ELAINE} In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
Apache Marriage Blessing

{DEB} And now that you have spoken the words and performed the rites that unite your lives, we now, by the power of your love, and the commitment you have made, declare your marriage to be valid and binding, and declare you, Michael and Samantha, husband and wife. You may kiss.


Ending:
{ MARK} These are our hopes for the two of you:
We hope you will use your love creatively, working toward personal and social change in the world. May you both openly give and take from each other, sharing in each other’s joys and encouraging each other throughout all that your lives bring. We hope that you will continue to find in each other the resources that will nurture your marriage. We wish you a home filled with health, wealth, and children (and cats). Having grown to trust yourselves and each other, may you be unafraid to trust and welcome life.

{BILL SR.} May the both of you, now married, keep this covenant which you have made. May you be a strength and a comfort to each other, sharers of each other’s joys, consolers of each other’s sorrows, helpers to each other in the challenges of life. May you encourage each other in whatever you set out to achieve. May both of you, trusting each other, trust life and be not afraid. May you not only express and accept affection between yourselves, but also reach out with love to all. We hope that the inspiration of this hour will not be forgotten. May you continue to love one another forever.
Breaking of the Glass:
{ELAINE} We conclude the ceremony with the breaking of this glass. It is a joyous ceremony. The fragility of the glass suggests the frailty of human relationships. The glass is broken to protect this marriage with this implied hope:
“May your bond of love be as difficult to break as it would be to put together the pieces of this glass.”
After Michael breaks the glass, I invite everyone to shout the Hebrew words, Mazel Tov, which means Good luck and Congratulations.

{MIKE BREAKS GLASS, SAM AND MIKE KISS}


Deb is Mike's mom and Elaine is my mom. I tried my best to make it sentimental and totally while being totally secular. We are including a couple Jewish traditions, but more as cultural inclusions, than religious. Also my sister in law needle points and she made a green lantern/mickey yarmukle (the little beanie a man wears) for the wedding, haha.
The other readers are our siblings and at the end, our dads are saying something.