Valerie and Jeff - 5/7/11 *WP/GF/Italy* TR - WEDDING DAY: DESSERT PARTY!!

[Sccrmnky2005]

Love the dresses!! Your shoes looks awesome!! I'm still in the process of getting mine done, I'm doing Blue Zircon crystals!

I love the clear crystals!! So pretty!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Wow pretty shoes!!!

I like the 1st bag logo, btw, it has better symmetry, the second seems top heavy

Yay for finding a photographer!!

Thank You! I did actually go with the first logo, and the bags came in yesterday!! I will post pictures as soon as I can!

The shoes look amazing!

If you don't mind me asking, how much did they end up costing you in total with all the crystals? I'm trying to develop a shoe budget - and I don't know if it will end up saving me money to DIY them

Thank You! I would have to say that I probably spent way more on the shoes making them that I would have if I just bought them, but I think the shoes are more special to me now that I have put so much time into them.

Here is a quick estimate on the cost:
Shoes: $150 (I am sure if you wanted to cut costs, you could find a cheaper shoe to begin with)
Crystals: $260 (But I bought extra so that I can use them on the invitations and throughout the wedding...so I probably only used $150 worth of crystals on the shoes)
Hotfix Tool: $10 (I had a 40% off coupon at Michael's)
Total: $310ish

love the BM dresses, they are so pretty. And OMG, the shoes are amazing! I'm so glad I never saw anything like this before my wedding because I had a tough enough time with the t-shirt transfers . Great job and I'm sure it will feel even better on your wedding day to know you made something so amazing, I'm sure it will also be stunning in pictures.

THANKS! I plan on doing t-shirts too, where did you get the transfers from??

Love the dresses!! Your shoes looks awesome!! I'm still in the process of getting mine done, I'm doing Blue Zircon crystals!

I love the clear crystals!! So pretty!

You will get there!! I had to take a long break after finishing the first shoe because I was a little burnt out, but I am glad that is one thing I can check off the list.

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

IT IS EXACTLY ONE WEEK UNTIL MY PLANNING SESSION!!!!!!!!!

 

[Belle2Be]

Woohoo!!! Do you have all your questions and stuff ready??

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Woohoo!!! Do you have all your questions and stuff ready??

No!!! Not at all...but I am locking myself in my room this weekend and I am not coming out until I am prepared!!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

In preparation for my planning session next week, I have made samples of what I am doing for the invitations, table numbers, placecards and menus. Just to kind of give them an idea of my style and the theme I am going for (elegant, crystals, purple!). I have decided that I am making all of it, because I can do it for a fraction of the cost it would be to buy everything. I have decked everything out in crystals with my new favorite tool!!

Invitations

Table Numbers

Placecards

Menu

 

[princesswendy720]

Everything looks great!!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Everything looks great!!

Thank You!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

I am leaving for Florida in exactly 10 hours and 9 mins for my planning session!!!!!!

 

[Sccrmnky2005]

Yay for leaving soon for your planning session!! Have a great time down here in FL!!

I love your stationary!! I'm also making everything for my wedding as well... I've been looking for a fun scroll design that you have on your things where did you find it??

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Planning Session Trip Report!!

I am back from my planning session and I am feeling sooo relieved! (Probably because I do not have the BEO yet lol) I was way more prepared than I thought but I did think of a few questions that I forgot to ask while I was there. So I thought I would write a little trip report of my planning session weekend.


Day 1:
We didn't arrive in Orlando until 7:30 pm and after going to pick up our rental car and getting to our hotel it was bedtime...because the next day was our planning session!! My parents came along for the trip as well as Jeff's parents, I know they don't recommend that many people tagging along and if I could do it over again I think I would just have it be my parents.



Up next...Day 2: Planning Session Day!! Yay!

(Gotta love FL humidity....check out my hair?!?!?)

 

[KitKat5]

Hi, I just found you PJ and everything is so great! I love your dress and shoes and invitations and everything else too!! Im really looking forward to reading along!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

hi, i just found you pj and everything is so great! I love your dress and shoes and invitations and everything else too!! im really looking forward to reading along!

thanks!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Day 2:
It's planning session day! We started the day off by going to breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe, where I had the mickey waffle (and I am mad at myself for forgetting to take a picture...i was too caught up in the moment)! They asked if we were celebrating anything special and when they found out that we were there for our DFTW planning session they brought out a special cupcake.

Then it was on to Franck's for our planning session with Diane. We started off by going over a timeline of when things were due (money and headcounts). And then we walked through every step of the wedding from the rehearsal until the end of the dessert party. I decided that I had to give up Cinderellas Coach...this has been a decision that I have gone back and forth on for a while now...and sadly I just don't think I can do it. Maybe I should have started saving a lot sooner and then I would have been able to get it. After we went over the schedule, it was time for CAKE!! We decided to go with a mix of flavors and then people can swap among themselves if they don't like what they get. The largest layer will be marble cake with a dark chocolate mousse, the next layer up will be a yellow cake with vanilla buttercream, the next layer up will be chocolate cake with a white chocolate mousse and our layer is going to be the marble cake with dark chocolate mousse (it was soooo good). We ended up finishing the session with Diane a little bit early so we had some time to kill before we met with our floral designer Elizabeth...so we walked over to the wedding pavilion since my mom and I are the only ones that have seen it in person.

Then we met with our floral designer, which was the most exciting part for me! We started off with the ceremony where we will be doing an aisle runner that says "And they lived happily ever after, May 7, 2011" and ivory and light pink flower petals on the sides. We are also doing six silver candelabra's with crystals and flowers going down the aisle. My bouquet is going to be peonies of white and light pink. Then we moved on to the cocktail hour where we are just doing rose petals scattered on the tables. At the reception we are doing the candelabra centerpieces with the ivory and light pink flowers. I choose pretty eggplant color tableclothes with crystals of different sizes scattered around the base of the centerpieces and we are going to do the silver chaivari chairs...because the ones in the grand floridian are terrible! Then for the dessert party we are going to do the light up gel cylinders with a white rose on top and black tablecloths.

My bouquet

To Be Continued....because I should probably actually do work while I am at work. Up Next...the tasting!!

 

[disneemama]

I've been following your planning journal quietly as I can't post stuff but I love getting ideas and info from the brides on board. It's my daughter getting married in May just before you (she just doesn't understand the Dis boards ). I love all your plans esp your shoes, so amazing! We did the planning session in August and had so much fun.

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Yay for leaving soon for your planning session!! Have a great time down here in FL!!

I love your stationary!! I'm also making everything for my wedding as well... I've been looking for a fun scroll design that you have on your things where did you find it??

Thank You! I got the scroll design from istockphoto.com, I think it is the second image that comes up once you type in "scroll" or if you want to look it up by the number you can type in #: 2711461.

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

I've been following your planning journal quietly as I can't post stuff but I love getting ideas and info from the brides on board. It's my daughter getting married in May just before you (she just doesn't understand the Dis boards ). I love all your plans esp your shoes, so amazing! We did the planning session in August and had so much fun.

Aww thank you! May is coming so soon, I just can't believe it!! I am so glad that I found these boards because I get so many great ideas. I hope everything turns out great for your daughter, I'm sure it will be a beautiful day!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Day 2 Continued....

The Tasting

After our break between the planning session we had the tasting in the GF convention center kitchen. This absolutely blew me away, I felt so special being back in the kitchen. They had a sign posted in the front of the GF convention center that announced the events of the day and our tasting was up there!!!!

There was also a sign back in the kitchen...the little touches are what makes Disney so special.

Now, I wasn't expecting the food to taste that great...because let's face it. How many weddings have we gone to where the food was just so so.

On our menu to try:

Appetizer:
Crab Cakes

Salad:
Beat Salad (ew...where did this come from...we did not ask for this?!?!!)
Caesar Salad
Romaine and Spinach Salad

Sorbet:
Champagne and Raspberry in a Ice Glass Slipper (HOW COOL!!!)

Entre:
Chicken w/ Shrimp and Scallops
Filet w/ Lobster
Beef Short Rib w/ Truffle Macaronni

All I can say is AMAZING!! The food was so good and everyone got FULL plates!! Jeff fell in love with the truffle macaroni...however I think if he actually knew what truffles were he would change his mind. He told me he did not want to know what truffles were because he wouldnt be able to eat it again...so I didnt tell him.

After the tasting was over, we went back to the hotel to relax a little bit because the next morning was our engagement shoot at Epcot...which means I had to wake up at 4:30 AM to get ready. But before I could do that...I had to find this "secret" entrance into Epoct where we were supposed to meet the photographer in the morning. (Apparently it is not so secret...but I have never seen it before) So we went to the Boardwalk hotel and asked a whole bunch of people that just kind of gave us blank stares...so we wandered around until we finally found it. This was the first time I have been to the Boardwalk and I think I want to stay there the next time I go to Disney.

Up Next: Day 3 - Engagement Photos and Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Day 3: EPCOT Engagement Photos and Food and Wine Festival!!

Engagement photos are something that I didn't think I was going to do. Jeff is not the picture taking type so I thought that this would be one battle I was willing to give in...however the longer I thought about it the more I wanted to do the pictures. It is something that you can't go back and redo and the opportunity to shoot in the park before it opened sounded like a really cool way to feel special. So with a little bit of bribery, Jeff gave in!

I had Beaute Speciale come to my hotel room to do my hair and makeup at 5 AM! And she was great, she came right on time, was super happy and excited to be awake at that hour in the morning...even though I was still partially asleep. It was freezing this morning by the way, I had bought a dress and was going to wear some cute wedge sandals...but I just couldn't do it! I ended up wearing jeans and tall boots and a purple top.

We took photos in four different countries:
Italy
Morocco
France
UK

Our photographer was really nice and tried to get us to loosen up and laugh and have a great time. I have to say that hearing all of the horror stories about Disney photography made me really nervous about using them but I could tell that after he started showing me some of the pictures on his camera that he knew what he was doing! After we were done with our pictures, Jeff looked at me and said "I had fun!". Lol this coming from the person that doesn't like taking pictures!!


To Be Continued

 

[DisneyDiva84]

Everything looks great so far! I love that they had your name in the kitchen!

I am so jealous, since we had our reception at CA Grill we couldn't do a menu tasting

Can't wait to read more