Well I've been a little MIA lately...BUT I have been hard at work trying to get some things sorted and settled!
I have been thinking about the general flow of our scheduled wedding day. As of now we have it as
2:30-ceremony
3:30 pre-reception
4:30-reception begins
8:30-ish, were not positive but sometime during the reception Wishes will be shown and we will go out to Whitehall to watch the fireworks and probably end the reception early
Since Ive been thinking and all, which may not always be a good thing..

It seems as though we are selling the reception short for a few fireworks, and possibly not the best seen ones either! Ive read that from Whitehall you can only see the biggest fireworks and trees are in the way. So Im re-evaluating. DF and I agree that the night before the wedding is a much more logical alternative. So I spoke to my planner and see what is still available for that Saturday night. We are holding Terrace les Fleurs (French Upper) for Illuminations as well as The Grand Floridian Marina for Wishes. We will make the decision on which one to choose one the fireworks schedule is set in stone 6 months out. The pros and cons to both locations really are about equal and we are having a hard time deciding which is our preference. Also the same Saturday last year Wishes was at 10pm, too late for us to have a DP the night before the wedding. It was bc of
MVMCP and it may not be held that night again but you never really know. Its a lot to think about! Here is my list of pros and cons for DP locations. Please help add or subtract items from my list for choosing purposes
France
(photos here)
Its not the absolute lowest one but the one just below the staircases with the little garden thingies..idk what theyre called.
Pros:
Up close and personal to fireworks (kids would LOOOVE this)
Cheaper Menus
Beautiful Location..I just love it!
Cons:
Viewing fee for those without park tickets
Its in a park, not sure how some would feel about this
Marina
Im sure youve all seen these photos, but just to jazz up the post here you are.
Pros:
More private location
You can see the castle, duh!
GF is kinda our home base, since WP and reception are held "there"
Cons:
Music Piped in
More expensive menus
(Potentially a later time?--unsure at this time)
Basically I think the cost of viewing fees versus piping in music and more expensive menus would almost cancel each other out and end up being very close. What is everyone else's thoughts? Honesty please!!
Oh and we will have to have an earlier Rehearsal Dinner to allow for DP. I mentioned it to DF and showed pics of DPs and I think he started to understand..he was like, "Oh thats pretty nice!" and "MMM that looks good!" so hes getting into it and I am oh so happy about it! I think his mom is starting to rethink RD locations as well. So it may or may not be Texas de Brazil anymore...Ive made some suggestions.

Ahem, BlueZoo, Shulas, Il Mulino, Flying Fish, Narcoossees, Cali Grill, Brown Derby, etc..you get the idea.
Ive decided on favors, well for this week at least..

Personalized stemless wine glasses! Something similar to this. Some of the reviews Ive read say that the script comes out small so Im trying to find some with better reviews. As of now this is what we've got!
I am signing a contract and sending a deposit away tomorrow for a string trio to work with the organist during the ceremony and then the trio will play for our cocktail hour. Im going to have them play some classical but A LOT of modern hits! Im really excited about them!

And I got them for a KILLER price! It beats the published price by almost 1000 buckaroos! This is not the company but another really popular one here in Houston, just a little idea of what it will sound like.
Enjoy!
Not sure if I posted this or not but we want to have columns with chiffon draped at the ceremony down the aisle. I would love candelabras but Idk if I can use them with my silk floral we've made..extremely doubtful and really i cant afford them with real flowers in them. And I don't know that an outside vendor would let us either. If not, no biggie we just keep our plan as is. With the centerpieces on the columns and moving them to the reception. Inspiration photos:
Its actually pretty funny,the girl I stole these photos from and got the idea from is someone who was planning her wedding about 3 or 4 years ago when I first got turned on to really planning a DFTW...I think it was right after I joined. I would sign in everyday and read a few girls' PJs and really just drool and dream, who knew I would really get my dreams! Im so happy!
Im not sure about cocktail hour decor...and I dont think Im ready to even think about it at this point! lol...THAT can wait!
We found a company to do uplighting in the ballrooms for 1/3 of Disneys proposed cost! So we are going with them in addition to the small package that comes with the DJ. DF and Mom are gung-ho for blue lighting and really its not a battle for me. If thats just one of the things he wants, he can have his blue lighting! haha. Photos just for fun..
I found someone that we will rent silver beaded chargers from for the reception, instead of going through disney. She is renting them to me for $ .80 per charger! Its great!
Also, thanks to Amanda (Sccrmnky2005..woohoo thanks girl

) I will be renting Chiavari Chairs from A Little Flower Shop for $5/chair! Im signing the contract at 100 just in case a lot of people show and if we have a ton extra maybe we can use them for the pre reception or I will just cancel the extras and save some $$. Here's a picture, and its actually just about everything I want! I love the candelabras, floral chairs, and everything.. Its gorgeous!!
Hmmm..what else? Weve got Rev. Jack Day, STVS for Videography, our Photographer is all settled. Ive been looking at cakes lately, and I found a few more favs. Theyre all pretty similar to what Ive been leaning towards, so that doesnt really help. This is a tough choice!
We sent out our first packets. Newsletters, Save the Dates, Pre-RSVPs, and Luggage Tags. The Pre RSVPs are slowly coming back in. Oh man, when we were finalizing the guest list that thing creeped up reeeaaaalll fast! Its at approx. 150 right now.

EEEK! Granted Ive got a lot of family but still! So as of today we are estimating a group of about 85 for the wedding. We will see how that turns out.
Also, I looked into menus and how to cut costs in Carries book and read about using a rehearsal dinner menu instead of a reception menu. We like the Lady and the Tramp one but would substitute the Spaghetti and Meatballs for something else, maybe Lasagna or a beef? Also Im not sure if this can be done as a plated meal or if we would need to do a buffet? Do buffet's really save that much $$? Since DF is Italian and all Im pretty sure his family will like it too!
My MOHS/Cousins are throwing me a bridal shower in July (since none of us live in the same city its giving everyone plenty of time) so Im really excited about that! I am throwing a bachelorette party for my BFF in two weeks out of town and that should be a lot of fun! I bought 2 really cute dresses for our nights out on the town! Im still looking for new shoes, the ones I bought are too high for my petite dress I ordered..darn it!

So the search is on..Also looking at dates for our PS in July or August and will hopefully book that soon. I think this is the biggest update yet..let me know if i missed anything..

I'll keep updating as the updates come. Sorry for not a lot of pictures..Maybe Ill add some later!