Sean & Elaina **Where Dreams Come True** Planning Journal UPDATE 7-9 Pro Pictures!

[Pomlover2586]

The Bride: Elaina [21]
The Groom: Sean [24]

When: Tuesday June 24 2008

Where: Willow Park Banquet & Event Center

How We Met:

Sean and I met my Freshman year in High School; He was a Junior in my Spanish class. Sean was pretty shy and although we sat only about 3 chairs apart he didn't talk to me much [this may have been due in part to the fact that the 2 chairs that separated us were occupied by my loud best friends ]
I thought Sean was attractive but never really had any ideas to talk to him about. One day about a month into the school year I noticed him looking at negatives for his photography class. Finally! Somthing I could get my feet wet with! I began asking him if I could look at his negatives and our conversations spread out from there.
Sean and I had to ride 2 school buses [one to the local middle school and then separate buses to our neighborhoods.] This provided a chance for us outside the classroom to talk. We talked frequently and my "crush" grew. Toward the end of the school year I got the courage to tell him how I felt......in a note that was handed to him by my girlfriend Poor Sean.....he thought I was trying to play a practical joke on him and didn't believe that I actually had feelings for him! He told me he didn't feel the same way and wanted to stay friends.
The next year he was a Senior and I was a Sophomore. My birthday is in September and while I don't remember exactly how it was said, Sean hinted at the fact that he really did have feelings for me, and when he asked me what I wanted for my birthday I told him I wanted him to ask me out! He did and I said yes.......now the next part is not so romantic......and I hope none of you will think the less of me for being young and naieve.
Sean and I dated for about a month and a half. We saw each other only a little in between classes and on the bus, but being young we weren't "dating" as older people do. When I broke up with him I told him it was because I thought we were better off as friends.....this was partly true.......the other part was that I was worried that my friends didn't approve/judged me for liking Sean because he was kinda a nerd and "chubby". It was wrong....I was wrong. However being young and in high school i'm sure all of you can relate to these feelings of conformity at one time or another.....
Sean and I remained friends and I dated a few other "socially appropriate" a**holes. To give you an idea of the kind of men I was dating: One day my friend and I cut class [very bad I know ] and we went to Starbucks. On our way back to the school it started to downpour out of nowhere. We of course had no umbrella and were soaked to the bone when we returned. We passed by my Boyfriend as we entered the school and he just cracked up asking what we had done. Even though we were both visibly shivering he just kept laughing and headed back to class. We went into one of the bathrooms to attempt to dry ourselves as much as we could but this was rather pointless. We started to head to our next class and I passed Sean in the hallway. He took one look at me walking down that hallway, pulled off his hoodie sweatshirt and gave it to me to wear......thanks to him I didn't catch a cold.......he however did. This situation made me start to second guess my stupidity.
At the end of the year I took a trip to Tennessee and Sean had let it slip during a conversation before I left that he still liked me. Of course I couldn't stop thinking about this, even though I was with another guy. While I was gone I called my then DBF and during our conversation realized that not only did he not know when I was returning home.....he didn't even know I had left!!!!! [Even though I told him repeatedly I was.] When I got home I found a handmade Journal on my front porch [Sean's dad owns a Book Bindery business called DreamingMind] Inside was a note from Sean saying how much he had missed me and that he thought I could use the Journal to "Jot down the highlights from my trip." When I told my best friend what he had left, her response was "Yeah.....that boy's been driving me crazy about how he missed your phone calls and counting down the days until you returned! He Even knew your flight number!!!" You should have seen my jaw drop.......I knew right then that I had let somthing special go.
The next day I got a shoebox and inside I put the Jessica Simpson song "10,000 lifetimes", about 300 cut up pieces of paper with my lip prints on them in a cloth bag, a crystal rose and a letter in an envelope. I wrote out instructions telling him to dump out the pieces of paper over his head, and listen to the song before opening the letter. Inside the letter said "Now that i've showered you with kisses, given you flowers, and promised i'll love you forever.....will you be my man?" He called me up and said yes and we've been together ever since.

Ok i'll stop there for now....sorry if that was too much of a novel, but I think it's important to put in details

 

[DVCGirl49]

I could cry, he sounds so sweet! He definitely sounds like a keeper! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Snoopygirl]

What a beautiful story!! You look so cute together.....can't wait to hear more.

 

[pepples22]

That is sooo sweet how you told him how you felt at the end. Very romantic I can't wait to read more of your planning journal.

 

[oneyodafan]

What a great start to your PJ!

 

[PrincessBride07]

What a sweet story. If he tried that hard to get you back, the proposal must have been out of storybook. Can't wait to read it.

 

[myprincessgirlisa]

Congrats ....i think you showed how mature you are in realizing the difference between the jerks & the ones who really care!!

He would have stole my heart too!!

You found your soulmate & life will only get better!!

cant wait to hear more!!

 

[baby_becky716]

That is so cute and romantic You guys look like a cute couple. Can't wait until the PJ

 

[Pomlover2586]

The Engagement:

I am a huge Disneyland lover, so for the last two years Sean and I have traveled down to Disneyland to celebrate our June 24 anniversary.

Prior to this years trip Sean had hinted at the fact that he was going to propose to me, he just didn't know when, where, how, etc. About 3 months ago my promise ring's center CZ stone became very loose so we took it down to the local ShaneCO to see if they could repair it. While we were there Sean had me try on a few different ring styles.....Round, Princess, big, small, White gold, Yellow Gold etc.....all of course "just for fun"

Fast forward to June 23rd of this year. Sean and I were strolling around Disneyland and he said "I need to go take care of somthing". At which point he headed off in the direction the the bathrooms So here I am sitting on the benches next to the partner's statue thinking "gee I hope he's ok" I sat there for probobly 15-20 minutes before he returned....his excuse? "Lunch didn't sit well, but i'm fine now!" Well I too have a stomach issue called IBS so I didn't think twice about him using the restroom for a few minutes.

The next day was the 24th...our 5 year anniversary Sean and I were leisurly taking in the park and the attractions waiting for our 6:20 PS at Blue Bayou when again he said "I'll be right back" This time I only waited about 10 minutes, and again he claimed he had used the restroom.

At 6:00 we made our way over to the Blue Bayou and requested water side seats for our dinner. The hostess told us it would be about 1 hr to 1.5 hrs before we could get seated. We were seated no more then 5 minutes later I was thinking we had just gotten really lucky! We had incredible seats, right in the center of the restaurant. We had a wonderful meal! Sean and I shared the crab cakes and then we split the filet mignon [probobly the best filet mignon i've ever had!] When the waiter came and took our dinner plates away he said "i'll be right back." I heard this but didn't think anything of it. I figured he meant right back to take our dessert order or give us our check. So Sean and I sat there for about another minute or two talking about what we were going to do in the park that night when the waiter comes back out and sets a plate down in front of me.

I looked down at this plate and immediatly noticed it had flowers all over it......odd....but then I saw the treasure chest.....and for some reason I remembered the Creme Brulee dessert pics i've seen on the dining review boards and I thought it was that......then I saw that glint in the center of the Treasure chest and realized it was a ring! Now mind you all of these thoughts went through my head in about 1 second but I distinctly remember thinking all of this! So I look over at Sean's chair and he's already down on his knee next to me! I remember I started smiling like a mad woman and I almost started giggling [ I do that when I get nervous] Then I started thinking "Shut up and listen because it's important to hear what he says!" So there Sean is on his knee and he says " Elaina I love you! I want you to make me the happiest man alive....Will you marry me?" I started nodding and smiling some more and said yes.....although Sean says I said it so quietly that he barely heard me, but he knew I was saying yes from the vigorous nodding! [I made him ask me once more during the fireworks just so he knew I said yes!] Here are some pics.....the first one is the plate the ring was presented on, the second was taken 30 seconds after I said yes, and the last 2 are pics of my ring!

EDIT: Ok time to finish this up! After dinner Sean and I went to Main Street and staked out a spot to watch the fireworks by the Partners Statue. While we were waiting he told me how on the day before when he had gone to the "bathroom" he had really gone to the Blue Bayou and spoken with them about his plans. Then earlier that day when he again "used the restroom" he had been dropping the ring off with them. I was very surprised and thought it was absolutly perfect!

 

[Maddiesmum03]

thats a great story and you two look so happy together in the pictures. Can't wait to hear more!
Congratulations on your engagement!

 

[Iluffyou]

Great start to your pj. You look so cute together!

 

[Glorydaz]

he was smart enough to let you know he still cared and you were smart enough to realize that the whole package is what counts - not what other people see - because the most important thing is how you make each other feel special!

and I'm so glad - you guys look so incredibly happy together - can't wait to read more! oh yes, and what a stunning ring AND proposal!

patiently waiting....

Michelle

 

[Pomlover2586]

Possible Wedding Venues

So this week Sean and I took our moms to one possible wedding location called The Brazilian room. Here is the website http://brazilianroom.org/brazilfacilities.html

It was nice, but the pictures made it seem as the ceremony site was directly in front of the trees [from a distance] when in actuality you have to go down a hill, across a road and up a hill for the trees.....no big deal it just didn't seem like "the one" ya know?

So tonight [Thurs] Sean and I went to look at a place called Willow Park Chapel and event center. http://www.willowparkeventcenter.com/
Its located on a golf course and all I can say is wow! I saw the wedding chapel which is an outside meadow fully enclosed on all sides by trees and shrubbery and you get married below an arbor and it was just perfect! I don't know if you can feel a "the one" kind of feeling for a venue but I think I did! I'm going back on Saturday with our moms [Sean is working] to have them look at it and see what they think [it will also be decorated at this point for other weddings]. I'm hoping to have a somewhat done wedding budget by then so I can give the woman there a rough idea of what we can spend. If all goes well Sean and I may move up our wedding date to this June!

 

[Pomlover2586]

Ok so I took Sean's and my mom to Willow Park today and showed them around. They both liked the place.....not sure if they love it like I do but thats ok! We are waiting to talk to the event coordinator Maggie next week to see about price packages etc but hopefully if all goes well within the next few weeks [2?] we'll have a contract signed. Sean and I are considering moving up our wedding date to June of 08 instead of 09 which is why I have 2 wedding tickers at the bottom of my siggy......one will be deleted as soon as I know when it's really happening!

 

[Pomlover2586]

Ok so a lot has happened!!!! Sean and I have not only picked our venue site, but we've also moved our wedding up a year! Were going to be getting married at Willow Park Banquet & Event Center and since our anniversary date was still open for 2008 we decided why not just do it now? The event coordinator at Willow Park is named Maggie and she is really sweet! She has arranged for our wedding venue site price to include not only the ceremony and the reception [catered] but also the DJ and the Bakery!! Were going to have our wedding in the Wedding Chapel, which is this georgous little meadow completely enclosed on all sides by trees and bushes; it has an arbor under which we will be married and in order to get into the meadow you have to cross over a little white bridge! Ok so here are some pictures:

This is the Bridge we have to cross over to get into the meadow:

My favorite thing about the bridge is the fact that all the guests inside the meadow can't see you until you get to the end of it....so i'll get to straighten my train without everyone seeing and make an entrance!!!

This is the path that we will walk down once were in the meadow [this shot wasn't taken from the bridge so theres about 5-10 more feet of pathway going to the bridge]

This is the arbor where Sean and I will say our vows and become husband and wife! I'm sooo excited!!!

Once we're married we'll be having our reception in the ballroom. The ballroom is located in the main building [about a 3 minute walk from the chapel....if that!] Our reception is going to be 5 hours. My favorite aspects of the ballroom are the fountain [it reminds me of my Italian heritage] and the dance floor it's simply stunning! Here is a picture:

Ok so in addition to having picked our wedding site we have also picked our DJ, his name is Mel and our Bakery, Custom Cakes by Dorothy. Both of these vendors were used by one of my coworkers and they seem absolutely wonderful!

Sean and I have chosen our wedding colors: Navy Blue, Darker shades of Pink, and white.
The navy blue will be used as my MOH dress and the vests/bowties for the groom and BM. It will also be used as an accent color for the bubble wands, confetti, marbles in the centerpieces, Invitations and possibly the flowers on the cake.
I will of course be wearing a white dress or Ivory [sorry no pic of this yet as it hasn't been chosen] I will be carrying a bouquet of pink roses. My MOH is my sister [she will be 12 at the wedding] and her dress will be Navy Blue and she will carry a pink/white rose bouquet.
The BM and Sean will more then likely have a white flower in their boutineirs with a navy ribbon.

We have also chosen our theme; We are focusing on the Castle at Disneyland. So were going to be having a Castle Cake Topper, a Castle Candle Favor, Castle, Mickey Ears, and Tink Confetti for the tables, Castle Invitations, and Cake Server / toasting Goblet Castle set. [so far]


I've also started doing some of the smaller decorations. So far i've started the bubble wands for the ceremony [for people to blow at us.]

I've painted and crystalized the "I Do" letters [a wonderful idea I found right here on these very boards! Thank You to the many brides who gave me this inspiration! ] These will be set out right in front of the cake.

These are the Hole Punches that we are using to make the confetti. The confetti will be Navy Blue, Pink and White and will be scattered on the reception tables, and the guest book table and possibly the cake table.

As I mentioned above we've picked the favors. We're going to be using a Castle Candle in a box. Originally we were going to use little glass slippers but when I ordered the sample the quality on them wasn't great. The glass wasn't smooth and the shoe didn't set level when placed on the ground. So I ordered a sample of the Castle candle and they will work perfectly! Excellent quality and we can have the ribbons personalized with our names/date. Here are pictures of the Glass Slipper that we're not using now and the candles that we are using:

We picked up little bells for people to ring when they want us to kiss at the reception. We also picked up disposable wedding cameras to place at each of the reception tables so our guests can help us capture the moments of our special day!

I also picked up a wedding planner to help me keep things organized and detailed. I love the fact that it's a 3-ring binder so I can add pages as I go!

Sean's mom Gail wanted to make Castle shaped cookies for the rehearsal dinner so she ordered this online, I think it's adorable and a very nice size!

 

[Pomlover2586]

These are our Invitations: I love the fact that the background matches our navy color [even though it looks lighter in this picture]

http://invites-galore.com/order/We_...rcontinue=yes&strsearch=yes&format=WedEnsCC2a

This is the Castle Cake topper. You put batteries in it and it lights up, I love that and the fact that its made of poly-resin so we can keep it as a souvenir after the wedding:

http://www.advantagebridal.com/whliwecacato.html

Here are two dresses that I like: I'm looking for somthing elegant, princess like, and just somthing that makes Sean's jaw drop!

http://davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2845&prodgroup=10

http://davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2294&prodgroup=127

Here are two hairstyles I found online that I like. Obviously I'll look more at hairstyles after I have the dress and tiara picked out because those affect the hairstyles you can use.

http://www.haircomesthebride.com/images/2006 Brides/Bride and Groom-Heather.jpg

http://www.haircomesthebride.com/images/2006 Brides/bride-ang2.jpg


I don't have a picture of the dress I want to use for my sister but it is an ankle length spagetti strap dress and she'll look really pretty in it.

Oh and this is the basic idea for what I want my bouquet to be [colors included] Thanks to one of the brides on here!

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/goonie87/AD00395-4-07.jpg


Ok so thats what i've done so far......next week i'm going to start looking into the officiant, photographer, and florist. Oh and within the next month i'm going to start looking at dresses as well.

Hope you all like what I have so far!

 

[Pomlover2586]

So today I finished up the bubble wands and last night I punched out confetti for 2.5 hours......let me tell you my poor thumb is still numb! I'm going to have to alternate days that I work on that because it starts to hurt so much!
I also started looking at songs that we want played at the wedding. So far were going to use "A Whole New World" from Aladdin as our recessional song, "That's Amore" By Dean Martin as our first dance [my grandfather used to sing this to me as a child], and "Save the Last Dance For Me" by Michael Buble' as our final dance.
I'm still looking into the father/Daughter and Mother/Son dance songs.......Sean doesn't seem to have any preferences so i'm going to ask his mom what she'd like and i've asked my father to help me pick a song for our dance.
So now i'm looking into Florists, Photographers, and Videographers. How on earth did you all pick your Photographer/Videographers?!?!? This is probobly the two most important aspects for me for this day and i'm really worried about getting somone who isnn't very good! Ok well thats all for today!

 

[cryssi]

I have a suggestion for your confetti...try punching it with your foot! It will give your hand a break. One of my BM and jr BM punched out all the mickeys for my bubble wands...they started punching with their feet b/c it made their hands hurt! lol

I will have to say that whatever photographer/videographer you pick, make sure you are totally comfortable with them and their style. Interview them, look at their work. We actually only met with one photographer (well, husband/wife) and knew that they would be the ones for us (Boutwell Studio). For a videographer, I asked the Boutwells who they recommended. It was important to us that they all work together. Asking your photographers who they suggest is a great way to cut down on the stress of looking for a videographer blindly...

 

[Pomlover2586]

Happy Dance Time!!!!

This week has been extremely productive! {stressful to say the least} but it all worked out in the end and a lot was accomplished!

Sean and I have picked our photographer, Vandenbroek Photography..... www.Vandenbroekphoto.com ... to me is one of the most important vendors we will hire so I was incredibly picky with this decision. We had it narrowed down to 2 different ones, and in the end the runner up was simply too expensive and we wouldn't be getting as much for our $$$.

We have also chosen our Officiant! We met with a wonderful woman named Rev. Houghey and she seems absolutly perfect for our ceremony! Now we actually have somone to make our wedding legal!

I also was able to find a wonderful deal on a Videographer www.Grapevideo.com. So next week Sean and I are going to sign the contract with Grape Video!!! This is another thing I was very picky about! To me the photography and the videography are going to be the only things I will have after the wedding.......the flowers will wilt, the food will rot, and the dress more then likely will yellow [even with proper preservation] but the photos and video will last forever!

The work continues on the confettii.......I must admit this is a feat I had not completely thought through........ it's turning out to be a very long drawn out and painful process [my poor thumb and palms are numb!] I'm a bit dissapointed with the castle hole punch as it continues to get "stuck" and I have to lubricate it to make it work.......at some point I may end up needing to purchase another one from Disney.......

I also spoke to a couple florists in the area and while i've budgeted $1000 for the flowers I was pleasantly surprised to be quoted about $600 from a few of them. I'm focusing mostly on pink and white roses with some greenery and as my wedding will be in June these are readily available! Yeah!!!

Next weekend my mother, grandma, and Sean's mom and I are going to begin dress shopping! I'm a little nervous but very excited! I think once I see myself in a wedding dress all of this will finally hit me..........though I must admit writing the $1000 deposit check to the photographer certainly did make it seem real LOL I'm expecting a bit of drama with the whole shopping thing......getting the in-laws together as of yet hasn't been a huge issue but I can only imagine having them each shove 5 dresses in front of me and then me feeling completely overwhelmed! Ok breathe............. Ok I'm good now!

Hope you all enjoyed this update sorry no new pictures yet!

 

[Lizby]

Elaina - I am really enjoying reading your planning journal! It sounds like things are coming together nicely for you! Did you pick out a dress yet? When I read the story of you and Sean I have to admit I nearly started crying! Your gesture to him and his proposal to you were both wonderful Congratulations and good luck with the rest of your planning!