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

[DoomBuggy0922]

I think your dress looks beautiful! I don't think it looks too long at all, but would also probably look great with some tulle--- which, after all, would add more poof! And poof is always good

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

I love your dress. It looks great on you! I also think your mom looks really good in her dress. The color is beautiful.

I'm not sure about the hemming. Tulle might work. You can ask at the bridal shop to see if they have any ideas/suggestions.

Thank You!

jewelry is gorgeous!! dress is beautiful, im not really sure about the hemming. ill bet the seamstress will know exactly what to do and make it work! your moms dress is beautiful! soo not bridesmaid-y!

Thank You!

Your dress is absolutely gorgeous! You must be so excited. It is going to fly by! I think the length is fine, but seamstresses often take things up from the nearest seam on bridal gowns so they don't ever mess with the beautiful beading. So, IF you wanted them to hem it they probably could. I do think another layer of tulle would look nice and help it stand out even more!

I love your cuff bracelet! So beautiful! The earrings go perfectly, too!

Your mom's dress is very pretty, not bridesmaidy. I like that MOTB dresses aren't all Golden Girls styles anymore! (And I am a Golden Girls fan!).

I am sure your MK shoot will go well. They try to give you whoever you request. I requested Amy and at the shoot she mentioned something about it, so they *know* if you specifically requested them or not.

Everything is coming together now!

I know, there are a lot of great MOTB gowns out there now. I just told my mom she was not allowed to wear one of those jackets with the jumbo shoulder pads. I could even see myself buying the dress that my mom got...i love it!

Thats great knews that you got who you requested! Did you know Amy was going to do your shoot before the day of?

I love your dress! It looks fab! And so does your mums dress!

Thank You!

Your dresses are beautiful! I am not having my dress hemmed up at all because I'm going to get a petticoat to put underneath. I hope it's not going to be too hot! The place I got my dress from wanted to charge a lot for the petticoat, so I'm getting it from the store where my sisters got their bridesmaid dresses. I figure no hemming means one less place for error!

I know, my main reason for not wanting to get it hemmed is what happens if it is too short! I'm sure she has hemmed thousands of dresses...but everyone makes mistakes.

I think your dress looks beautiful! I don't think it looks too long at all, but would also probably look great with some tulle--- which, after all, would add more poof! And poof is always good

Very true!! I don't think I can go wrong with more poof...I think I will suggest that at my next fitting.

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

DF and I received our first wedding gift in the mail yesterday and it made everything seem more real. We are REALLY getting married and it is happening in less than 3 months! holy crap! Which brings me to my first wedding gift etiquette question. When you receive gifts in the mail before the wedding, are you supposed to send a thank you note now or wait until after the wedding?

Wedding Week Itinerary
OK so I think I finally have a tentative itinerary for the week of the wedding. I enjoy planning things out because I think that is the only way that you can get things accomplished and DF is just the opposite...he wants to just relax and let things work themselves out and not plan every second of every day. Well this has always been one of our disagreements so I try not to pack the entire day with schedules so I am trying to compromise and have it half scheduled/half spontaneous. I mean it's not like I have allotted a certain amount of time we can wait in lines for rides or anything crazy like that.

Monday May 2nd
-Make the long trek from VA to FL with DF and my Mom.
-Check into CBR (I have never stayed here, but am very excited!)

Tuesday May 3rd
-Assemble gift bags and deliver to hotels
-Meet with photographer
-Dinner at Shutter's at Old Port Royale (Never been here before either, but thought we would give it a try since it is at our resort)

Wednesday May 4th
-Hair Trial with Beaute Speciale in the morning
-Dad arrives via plane (He sells boats, and the wedding is during boating season which is why he insists that he has to be at work on Monday and Tuesday. This initially made me very upset, I am his last daughter getting married...make an exception!!)
-AK for most of the day
-Head over to MK for Dinner at Cinderella's Castle with DF, and my Mom and Dad

Thursday May 5th
-Morning at Hollywood Studios
-Afternoon Bridal Tea Party at GF (While the girls are doing this, the men are going to play golf)
-Dinner at Ohana's (really excited about this one! Especially for the pineapple drink)

Friday May 6th
-Check out of CBR and check into GF
-REHEARSAL
-MK with bridal party or anyone else that wants to tag along
-I have arranged for my flower girl to have a Princess Makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique as a suprise!! *P.S. Why didn't they have this when I was a little girl!*
-Rehearsal dinner at Fulton's

Saturday May 7th
-WEDDING DAY!!

Sunday May 8th
-Mother's Day Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
-Relax by the pool

Monday May 9th
-MK photo shoot
-Check out of GF
-Head to the airport to go to ITALY!

 

[DisneyShamrock]

DF and I received our first wedding gift in the mail yesterday and it made everything seem more real. We are REALLY getting married and it is happening in less than 3 months! holy crap! Which brings me to my first wedding gift etiquette question. When you receive gifts in the mail before the wedding, are you supposed to send a thank you note now or wait until after the wedding?

Your itinerary looks great, and it looks like a lot of fun. Lucky you to get to go to ITALY!

I would send the Thank You note right away. You don't want to wait three months to send the note and have them think you don't care. I'm not 100% sure what the Etiquette Police would say, but that's my two cents.

 

[Princess SarahK]

That itinerary is fabulous! You are getting really close!! I totally understand about your Dad...my DF is not quite the Disney enthusiast I am but is giving in to my Princess Dreams for our wedding..but he's probably not going to get there til a day or two beforehand...thats just stupid! But what do I know? Im just the nagging wifey..lol. Itll all work out though, no worries!!

 

[Dr.Cinderella]

Hi Valerie! Your itinerary sounds awesome! I have one question- do you have your flights to Italy yet? If not, are you concerned about having your MK photo shoot on the last day of your trip? Or I imagine you booked the shoot before the flights. Im asking because we may have to have ours on the last day of our trip as well, and we are concerned because we are leaving for Hawaii that day and dont know what time flights will be available yet. Our only other option is the morning after the wedding, and we really dont want to have to go to bed/get up early that day! Thanks for your help!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Your itinerary looks great, and it looks like a lot of fun. Lucky you to get to go to ITALY!

I would send the Thank You note right away. You don't want to wait three months to send the note and have them think you don't care. I'm not 100% sure what the Etiquette Police would say, but that's my two cents.

Thank you for the advice! I agree, I definitely don't want to seem ungrateful!

I also did some googling and this is what The Knot says:
The rule is that you're supposed to get thank-yous out for gifts received before the wedding within two weeks of their arrival; after the wedding, within a month after you return from the honeymoon.

That itinerary is fabulous! You are getting really close!! I totally understand about your Dad...my DF is not quite the Disney enthusiast I am but is giving in to my Princess Dreams for our wedding..but he's probably not going to get there til a day or two beforehand...thats just stupid! But what do I know? Im just the nagging wifey..lol. Itll all work out though, no worries!!

I completely understand what you mean! I had to beg also, we almost didnt have a DFTW because I was going to give up. But because my mom knew that I really wanted it she told me to fight harder for it and I am so glad that I did.

I am also getting alot of "teasing" from DF's family about having a DFTW. FMIL told me that all her cousins are going to wear tiaras to the wedding.....UM NO. If anyone is going to wear a tiara here, it's going to be me.

 

[Princess SarahK]

I completely understand what you mean! I had to beg also, we almost didnt have a DFTW because I was going to give up. But because my mom knew that I really wanted it she told me to fight harder for it and I am so glad that I did.

I am also getting alot of "teasing" from DF's family about having a DFTW. FMIL told me that all her cousins are going to wear tiaras to the wedding.....UM NO. If anyone is going to wear a tiara here, it's going to be me.

Yes!! Its not bad yet, but its just uncomfortable...I asked DFs mom if she would want to get her hair and makeup done the morning of, and she replied "Ill have to let you know. Bob (DFs dad) would kill me if he knew I was planning this far in advance, its just crazy!" Of course it sounds like a total dig at me and my feelings got hurt..I just dont know what to do. Usually shes really nice and we really like each other..Im just not sure she's totally in sync with wedding planning these days. She doesnt have a daughter and its been 30 years since her wedding but still...right? Am I losing it? I thought it was normal to plan this far out. Sorry for the vent, Im glad to hear that Im not the only one being mocked for our wedding..Im so tired of hearing "Are Mickey and Minnie coming?" UUGH!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

I am also getting alot of "teasing" from DF's family about having a DFTW. FMIL told me that all her cousins are going to wear tiaras to the wedding.....UM NO. If anyone is going to wear a tiara here, it's going to be me.

this makes me sad.

i get asked if i'm getting married in front of the castle, if i'm staying in the suite, if mickey's going to marry us. yet another reason we're not inviting friends and only family. you want to make fun--you don't come--i hope you see the pictures and wish you were there if someone showed up to my wedding in a tiara... i'd probably rip it off their head and send it flying into the seven seas lagoon.

i hope things get better for you!! ((and for all disbrides having this problem!)) less than 3 months and it's all over!!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Great itinery!!!
Our VR is Wednesday 3rd so if you are around Swan, Boardwalk or GF and you see us, please come over and say hello!!!
You will absolutely LOVE Italy!!!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Yes!! Its not bad yet, but its just uncomfortable...I asked DFs mom if she would want to get her hair and makeup done the morning of, and she replied "Ill have to let you know. Bob (DFs dad) would kill me if he knew I was planning this far in advance, its just crazy!" Of course it sounds like a total dig at me and my feelings got hurt..I just dont know what to do. Usually shes really nice and we really like each other..Im just not sure she's totally in sync with wedding planning these days. She doesnt have a daughter and its been 30 years since her wedding but still...right? Am I losing it? I thought it was normal to plan this far out. Sorry for the vent, Im glad to hear that Im not the only one being mocked for our wedding..Im so tired of hearing "Are Mickey and Minnie coming?" UUGH!

It is completely normal to plan this far in advance...in fact it is necessary!!! I get the Mickey and Minnie comment a lot as well. Not that I don't think it's cool to have Mickey and Minnie there, it is just not for me. I just know that all of the stupid comments will be put to rest as soon as people see the wedding pavilion and GF and how beautiful it is.

this makes me sad.

i get asked if i'm getting married in front of the castle, if i'm staying in the suite, if mickey's going to marry us. yet another reason we're not inviting friends and only family. you want to make fun--you don't come--i hope you see the pictures and wish you were there if someone showed up to my wedding in a tiara... i'd probably rip it off their head and send it flying into the seven seas lagoon.

i hope things get better for you!! ((and for all disbrides having this problem!)) less than 3 months and it's all over!!

Thank You! It makes me feel so much better to come here and get support from people that are going through the same thing. I don't know what I would do without all of you!!

Great itinery!!!
Our VR is Wednesday 3rd so if you are around Swan, Boardwalk or GF and you see us, please come over and say hello!!!
You will absolutely LOVE Italy!!!

I hope I bump into you! When are you arriving/departing?

 

[Pengwend]

Your itinerary looks great! We haven't even sent out our invites yet... I know, we are in trouble. Half of them are done at least, but I haven't had time to sit and address them yet!

We get teased about the Disney-ness of the wedding too. Fortunately not from family, but from people who are more like "good acquaintances?" A lot of people as about the mice being there and are we getting married in the castle, is mickey going to be our officiant. I'm pretty sick of it too. But on the bright side, it's probably because they are jealous! My mom keeps telling me to remember that our having this wedding allows everyone who attends to enjoy it vicariously through us! So there are the jokers and teasers, but we are going to have an awesome time!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Your itinerary looks great! We haven't even sent out our invites yet... I know, we are in trouble. Half of them are done at least, but I haven't had time to sit and address them yet!

We get teased about the Disney-ness of the wedding too. Fortunately not from family, but from people who are more like "good acquaintances?" A lot of people as about the mice being there and are we getting married in the castle, is mickey going to be our officiant. I'm pretty sick of it too. But on the bright side, it's probably because they are jealous! My mom keeps telling me to remember that our having this wedding allows everyone who attends to enjoy it vicariously through us! So there are the jokers and teasers, but we are going to have an awesome time!

Thanks! You better finish your invitations soon! I tried to mail mine today at the post office and they told me that I needed more postage!!!!!!! UMM this is why I took it to the post office last week, had it weighed...etc. and they told me that it would be .98 cents. The post office man says see..."this is considered a large envelope not a square because it is 2 centimeters (exagerating on this one a little bit, but that is what it felt like!) past the square envelope size". It took all I had not to burst into tears in the middle of the post office. I have put everything into making these invitations and ordered special stamps with one of our engagment pictures on it. So I angerly picked up my invitations and went to the car and balled.

So the lesson here is....add extra postage, even if you think it is right and the post office tells you it will be a certain price and then they change their minds.

 

[DisneyShamrock]

Thanks! You better finish your invitations soon! I tried to mail mine today at the post office and they told me that I needed more postage!!!!!!! UMM this is why I took it to the post office last week, had it weighed...etc. and they told me that it would be .98 cents. The post office man says see..."this is considered a large envelope not a square because it is 2 centimeters (exagerating on this one a little bit, but that is what it felt like!) past the square envelope size". It took all I had not to burst into tears in the middle of the post office. I have put everything into making these invitations and ordered special stamps with one of our engagment pictures on it. So I angerly picked up my invitations and went to the car and balled.

So the lesson here is....add extra postage, even if you think it is right and the post office tells you it will be a certain price and then they change their minds.

Aww, I'm sorry!

The post office does seem to change their minds every other day on how much things are going to cost. Jerks.

I think I would have cried, too, had someone said that to me. I also probably would have argued with them about it.

Hopefully, the postage will be right when you go back to mail them.

 

[Pengwend]

So the lesson here is....add extra postage, even if you think it is right and the post office tells you it will be a certain price and then they change their minds.

Oh no! I would have cried in the post office in front of the guy. I finally decided that we aren't going the cute, custom stamps route because it was going to be almost twice as expensive as just getting our $0.61 stamps! At first I thought that I would be able to print them at home, which would have eliminated shipping and printing fees, but apparently you have to have special paper? So we just got generic stamps with wedding cakes. We're not even having cake. We're having cupcakes. But I am hand-writing the addresses...

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Oh no! I would have cried in the post office in front of the guy. I finally decided that we aren't going the cute, custom stamps route because it was going to be almost twice as expensive as just getting our $0.61 stamps! At first I thought that I would be able to print them at home, which would have eliminated shipping and printing fees, but apparently you have to have special paper? So we just got generic stamps with wedding cakes. We're not even having cake. We're having cupcakes. But I am hand-writing the addresses...

The custom stamps that we got were actually very inexpensive and we were able to print them from our printer at home. They are from stamps.com and I think that it was about $5 for 120 stamps and then you just buy postage online at stamps.com and print them out. Really easy. They have a monthly service fee, but they offer a 30 day free trial...so we are just going to cancel after the free trial is over.

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Ok so after all of the drama at the post office and reprinting my stamps, I have successfully mailed all of the invitations!! YAY...such a relief! I have already had a few people tell me that they have received them! One of my mom's close friends said that they were so pretty that she didn't want to open them! Here is how the finish product turned out with our custom stamps!

BIG NEWS!!
I have made a few changes to the wedding, one that is just so HUGE and I am so excited for!! Well you may remember earlier that I had cut Cinderella’s Coach out of the wedding due to the cost (and DF not wanting to ride in it)….but every time I saw pictures of it I got this horrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. So I explained how I was feeling to my parents and that I really wanted to add it back in and that is when they said “We were talking about it earlier, and if you weren’t going to add it back in, we were!!” This made me so happy!! So I emailed my planner right away to see if it was still available and it is!! Sooo I get to have my Cinderella’s Coach back!! Except for the fact that DF doesn’t know…and isn’t going to know until we exit the wedding pavilion as husband and wife. And if he doesn’t want to ride in it then he can walk to the reception. So in order to get Cinderella’s Coach, I had to cut my ice glass slipper sorbets..which in the end I am saving even more money by doing this.

I also had a phone meeting about my floral to cut a few things down. For the bridesmaid bouquets we are doing garden roses mixed with hydrangeas (this took off $50 per bouquet). For the centerpieces we are doing the candelabra’s with a large floral arrangement and we changed one of the flowers in the arrangement and saved $2000 TOTAL!!!! I didn’t know one flower can do this, but apparently it can when we are talking about peonies.

Bridesmaid Bouquets

We also took out the silver pebble charger plates…I am sad about this but I am sure no one would notice but me. And we decided to go with A Chair Affair for our silver chavari chairs instead of Disney and saved…..$700!!

I also decided to add lighting to the reception, which is something that I always pictured at my wedding. For the dinner we are doing purple lighting and then for dancing switching it over to either blue or pink….or both. I just can’t decide.

Purple Lighting for the Dinner

Blue or Pink for Dancing?

 

[pixie921]

Yay for getting your coach! And you've come up with significant savings ... that's awesome!

We also just signed a contract with A Chair Affair for our reception. Their Chiavaris are cheaper than Disney's covered convention chairs!

I love your ideas for lighting. And I vote for pink lighting for dancing. Maybe I'm just old, but the blue lighting is hard on my eyes, LOL!!

 

[belle2211]

Rehearsal dinner dress...it looks blue but it is actually purple.

Where did you get the dress? Love it!

4,320 Swarovski crystals....
25+ hours of labor....
and 2 burn injuries (minor) later....

And I have My Glass Slippers!

I am planning on doing this with my shoes too, in purple! What size crystals did you use?

I also decided to add lighting to the reception, which is something that I always pictured at my wedding. For the dinner we are doing purple lighting and then for dancing switching it over to either blue or pink….or both. I just can’t decide.

Purple Lighting for the Dinner

Who is doing the lighting for you?

I just found your PJ and love it!

 

[ValerieDFTWBride]

Yay for getting your coach! And you've come up with significant savings ... that's awesome!

We also just signed a contract with A Chair Affair for our reception. Their Chiavaris are cheaper than Disney's covered convention chairs!

I love your ideas for lighting. And I vote for pink lighting for dancing. Maybe I'm just old, but the blue lighting is hard on my eyes, LOL!!

Thank You, I am soooo excited! I was so happy that I did some more research on chairs and found A Chair Affair, it is such a great deal!!

Where did you get the dress? Love it!

4,320 Swarovski crystals....
25+ hours of labor....
and 2 burn injuries (minor) later....

And I have My Glass Slippers!

I am planning on doing this with my shoes too, in purple! What size crystals did you use?





Who is doing the lighting for you?

I just found your PJ and love it!

Thank You! I bought the rehearsal dinner dress at Lord and Taylor.

For the shoes I used three different crystal sizes. I used 20, 16 and 10. I definatley used the 16 size the most, so buy extra of that size!

Soundwave Entertainment Systems is doing the lighting for the reception. We are getting 24 led lights to go around the perimeter of the room and we got it for $995 (I am not really sure if this is comparable, we only got a quote from one place, but I was sold since they said they were the only company in the area that uses this technology which washes the entire wall with color.