Vanessa- figmentfan814 ~ Happily Ever Wedding & 10th Anniversary VR Brunch #1 Added 8-10

[figmentfan814]

Here are some of the pictures while they were working on my bustle. I was holding my mom’s camera, so I decided to take a few shots over my head

After we were all settled, it was time to enter into the main area of the Living Seas Salon. I love the look as you are walking down the hallway towards the sign.

We had decided to make our entrance using the University of Michigan fight song since we had met at college there. The funny thing is that out of our bridal party 4 of the Big Ten schools were represented (Michigan State, Purdue, Ohio State, and University of Michigan), so we kept it a secret from most of them (we only shared it with our fellow Wolverines!) The ironic part is that no one said anything about it; which was a little disappointing. We had some maize and blue pom-poms along with a Wolverine foam claw that we had our hostesses pass out to the crowd. This is the only shot I have of them which was taken by one of the cameras on the guest tables Go Blue!

Here is a shot of us entering the room. When our M.C. got to our name he introduced us using both last names which was great; and he said Kris’ name first and then my last name, so I felt pretty special. I don’t have Randy’s shots uploaded from this either, so here’s one my mom took to hold everyone over.

We had a table set up with some photos and our guestbook that I made on Shutterfly using our engagement pictures that was in the walkway near the Living Seas sign. We made the cardbox at the last minute; I had wanted to do the picture box made out of 8x10 frames that JaxTeach did for her wedding, but after shipping about 8 boxes down for the wedding we decided to do something that would be easier to transport. I had the pink castle box from my shower (which we had gotten at the dollar store) where it was used for cards and we attached the Mickey and Minnie crossstich that my mom had made for us with a matching mat.

I got the picture display from Hallmark.

They had put my bouquet and our sand ceremony set on a table just under the Living Seas sign. Snapdragons are my favorite flower and since they don’t hold up in bouquets I had them added to all my other floral arrangements:

I specifically requested more pictures of people with the tanks since I had heard this from other LS brides too I heard that our guests had saw the divers through the windows during the pre-reception, thankfully Stan caught this on video too. These are some of our regular tank shots.

Here is an overview shot of the room. A note to other Living Seas brides after having Caryn mention how some of her pictures turned out a little dark I requested that the lights be up a little and I was really happy with how all of our pictures came out. So, if you want a little more light don’t be afraid to ask for it.

I was also excited to see the setup of the snowglobes on the tables. During my planning session when we visited Ariel’s I saw another reception setup where the bride had used these. After picking out a candle centerpiece that was renting for almost $50 I decided to try for the snowglobes to add a Disney touch to the reception. I got some great deals at the Disney Store last year and on Disney Shopping, so we ended up saving some money over the Disney Floral rentals and I was able to keep them. I have already sold one snowglobe and have given away a couple too. I want to sell a few more, but I’m having trouble deciding which ones to part with at this point. I have a shelf in my kitchen (which is done in Mickey) above my cabinets where I have several of them setting right now and it’s such a great reminder of the wedding. I have some better pictures of the centerpieces that I want to upload, so stay tuned for more of these.

These were the place cards that I made with the crystals and the cards I also bought from the Dollar Tree store

Marion had us walk over to the cake table to show us the final product of the cake. I was so excited to see the final result. My mom had said that Marion told her that she was nervous that I wouldn’t like it after we had several phone conferences with the pastry chef from the Grand Floridian. It was exactly how I had envisioned. Marion really went above and beyond to customize my cake for me. We had already missed the pre-reception, so I didn’t get to try any of those goodies.

Here is our Living Seas event manager making the final adjustments:

Kris and I checking it out for the first time:

 

[figmentfan814]

This is a picture my mom took and I think it turned out great:

The Mickey and Minnie were a last minute addition since they matched the castle. We had bought them for our at-home reception and I had the Precious Moments Mickey ears bride & groom, but they just didn’t really go with the colors of the castle

When I found the Jim Shore castle at a shop on Main Street when we were there for our planning session last September I immediately bought it. I had originally planned to get the chocolate castle, but I really wanted something that I could keep. The castle I bought matched our color scheme better and was actually only $5 more than the chocolate version. I had already wanted to have staggered layers and since the castle was a little heavy to place directly on a cake this worked out perfectly.

Another request I made was for the bridesmaids’ bouquets to be placed in cylinders. I have seen a lot of weddings where they look like they have just been thrown on the table. I was really happy with the final result. Since our cake was at different heights anyway it added a lot of dimension to the setup. Here are some closeups that my flowergirl took of the bouquets with the disposal cameras we had out and they are probably the best closeups I have of them. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have more color in them; there was a lot of white hydrangea, but they were still beautiful in the tussy mussey holders

 

[figmentfan814]

We then dropped off our stuff at the table and then I quickly changed into my dance shoes. I wore “character shoes” from the regular dancing that I’m involved with through my ballet studio. The heels on these helped keep me from stepping on my dress. They’re basically used for ballroom dancing.

It was then time for Kris and I to make our debut to show how our dancing lessons could really pay off. We had taken 5 private lessons and had our entire song choreographed from start to finish. The song was “My First, My Last, My Everything.” There is a version by Barry White, but we used a more folk-like version that Kris found on I-Tunes; I’ll see if I can find a link to it. I actually let Kris pick out the song. I had to make so many decisions for the wedding I sent him some lists of popular wedding songs and let him sort through them all

Here are the words:
The first, the last, my everything
And the answer to all my dreams
You're my sun, my moon, my guiding star
My kind of wonderful, that's what you are
I know there's only, only one like you
There's no way they could have made two
You're all I'm living for
Your love I'll keep for evermore
You're the first, your the last, my everything

And with you I've found so many things
A love so new only you could bring
Can't you see it's you
You make me feel this way
You're like a fresh morning dew on a brand new day
I see so many ways that I
Can love you till the day I die
You're my reality, yet I'm lost in a-a-a a dream
You're the first, the last, my everything

I know there's only, only one like you
There's no way they could have made two
Girl you're my reality
But I'm lost in a-a-a a dream
You're the first, you're the last, my everything

In all of the pictures you can see how Kris was really concentrating on what he was doing. I was keeping count the entire time and whispering the steps under our breath. For some of you who don’t know I do ballet and have been in it for years, so dancing isn’t a big deal for me. Kris has never done any type of performing in front of groups, so he was pretty nervous even though he would probably never admit it

The entire dance went off without a hitch; we finished just a few seconds early, so we were stuck in the dip pose for a few seconds, but I don’t think anyone really noticed. Our guests exploded in applause; they especially liked the dips and poses in several spots. The money spent on our lessons was well worth it and I’m so glad that we did it (we also repeated the dance at our at-home reception.) My cousin (who works as a musician in Norway at Epcot) was in charge of running the CD player and he did a great job. The best part was that we didn’t have to pay for an Ipod setup or for a Disney technician to run anything for us. He is always making crazy faces; so this picture is a perfect reflection of his personality

The next part of the morning was the toasts. We weren’t sure up until the night before who wanted to do a toast, but Kris’ best man, his cousin, and my matron of honor both gave toasts. The nice thing was that they knew both Kris and I pretty well since his cousin had been on my staff at our college newspaper and my matron of honor was on Student Government in college with Kris and I too. It added a little more to what they were able to say because they knew us as a couple and as individuals. We had just paid to have the sparkling cider for the toasts which was actually really tasty. Sometimes these sparkling drinks aren’t that great, but this one tasted great!

We bought our toasting glasses at Arribas Brothers at Downtown Disney when we were down in September. I have to upload the shot of the final product, but here is one from when we got them made.

After the toast, my great aunt (my grandma’s younger sister) who is a retired minister that also lives in Florida gave the prayer over the meal. She shared a short story beforehand and it was nice to have her included as part of the day. Here I am with my aunt and my cousin who works at Disney is her son.

 

[figmentfan814]

(We need some food smilies!)

Then it was time to eat!!! Our Living Seas coordinator (I believe his name was Guy) led us up to the buffet to get our plates. I was starving and was excited to see the spread! We had a modified version of the Tinkerbell Brunch.

Pre-Reception:
We moved the premium cheese display with seasonal fruit and artisan bread
(since it was already included in the Tinkerbell Brunch cost we didn’t pay anything extra.)

Reception:
Fruit Display

Au Gratin Potatoes –
Substituted for the regular potatoes (We had requested the ones that are made at Cinderella’s Royal Table )

Smoked Bacon
Maple Glazed Sausage Links

Seared Chicken Breasts with Granny Smith Apples and Roasted Fenneland Fig Au Jus
(I originally never thought that we would like this until we tasted it at the tasting; it was fantastic)

Chicken Caesar Pasta –
Substituted for the regular penne pasta (We had requested the pasta from the Crystal Palace)

Pastry Display & Croissants-
there was everything from cinnamon rolls to chocolate covered croissants.

Omelet Bar –
We made a few special requests including chorizo sausage and Monterey Jack cheese. The regular items were shrimp, cheddar cheese, ham, onions, mushrooms, goat cheese, spinach, salsa, and egg substitute.

Chocolate Hazelnut Crepes-
Kris really wanted peaches, so Marion added these at the last minute for us. The regular toppings that were included were carmalized bananas, mandarin oranges, raspberries, and Devonshire cream.

We didn’t do any special drinks (pop or alcohol) we just had the juice, coffee, and tea options. I just noticed the custom juice with the pineapple, guava, and passion fruit was called Lilikoi Juice which I think is at the Polynesian.

It was so nice to have someone walk Kris and I through the food lines. I ended up with 3 plates of food! My server would put a small amount of food on my plate and then I would ask for a little more. I wanted to make sure that I enjoyed the food. Plus, from past experience where I’ve been in charge of events I know that it’s easy for the host to forget to eat, so I wasn’t about to let that happen to me again. I told Randy that I wanted lots of food pictures. Food is a big part of any event for my family, so I didn’t want to forget any of our menu from the wedding.

The pasta- so yummy!

Our guests loved the action stations for the omelets and crepes. If you have a buffet it’s worth having some form of station where food is made right before their eyes. The food was great; I made sure that I ate everything on my plates!!!

Up next… cutting the cake, dances with our parents and the reception is over all too soon

 

[irisbud]

Yeah! Great update, can't wait to read more. Your food looks fabulous! Also, I LOVE the way you did the cake. I'm sure you had a hard time explaining it to them!

 

[disneygal922]

Wonderful update Vanessa! Everything looks so great! Thanks for including your menu with pics! Your PJ and TR have definitely given me so much inspiration! You're great!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Thanks so much for the pictures of the food. We are also doing the Tinkerbell brunch and I love seeing pictures of it so we know what it will look like. I think we are adding a green salad (only $2.00 more). Also from your suggestion, we are not only having the standard crepes but we are adding chocolate crepes to our menu (at no extra cost).

I love the way your cake table came out. I love the Jim Shore items.

Looking forward to more.

Linda

 

[dizneyfreak]

Vanessa,
Your reception was beautiful! I love all the little touches. I think this was my most favorite installment yet! I am horrible...I always enjoy the reception pictures more than the even ones! I guess that's because I love to plan parties and I love to see all the ideas. I love the snowglobe centerpieces! They were almost the best part, but I love the cake set up too! I can't tell you how beautiful your reception was. I can't wait to see more! Good luck on your business trip this week...I have a three day training next week in Chicago...I feel your pain.

Anna Marie

 

[29apr00]

Everything looks so beautiful!! You really did a great job planning and organizing everything! Your cake is so beautiful! I really loved the staged effect!!

 

[MickeyAnne]

Everything about this looked amazing! That turtle is so awesome! I wish I could have had my reception there!!!!! I LOVED your cake set up! So different, classy and elegant!

 

[disneychickforever]

Yay for updates

That food looks so yummy, it made me hungry just looking at it.

How much extra was the stations that prepared the food in front of you?

 

[KStarfish82]

Great TR so far Vanessa! I am loving the pics! Your cake is exquisite and I love the globes as the centerpieces!

 

[figmentfan814]

Yeah! Great update, can't wait to read more. Your food looks fabulous! Also, I LOVE the way you did the cake. I'm sure you had a hard time explaining it to them!

We had several conference calls with our pastry chef Rich and Marion. Here's the sketch that he had sent me after seeing pictures of the castle; he wanted to match the diamond-like design on it's walls. As you can see the design required us to get a little bit larger cake (we had 50 people, but it served 65). The total cost was around $800 for the cake.

Wonderful update Vanessa! Everything looks so great! Thanks for including your menu with pics! Your PJ and TR have definitely given me so much inspiration! You're great!

I'm glad you enjoyed the food, definitely a highlight for me!

Thanks so much for the pictures of the food. We are also doing the Tinkerbell brunch and I love seeing pictures of it so we know what it will look like. I think we are adding a green salad (only $2.00 more). Also from your suggestion, we are not only having the standard crepes but we are adding chocolate crepes to our menu (at no extra cost).

I love the way your cake table came out. I love the Jim Shore items.

Looking forward to more.

Linda

Linda, the chocolate crepes are so good; you will love them! Is the salad going to be pre-made or will they make them up for your guests right there?

Vanessa,
Your reception was beautiful! I love all the little touches. I think this was my most favorite installment yet! I am horrible...I always enjoy the reception pictures more than the even ones! I guess that's because I love to plan parties and I love to see all the ideas. I love the snowglobe centerpieces! They were almost the best part, but I love the cake set up too! I can't tell you how beautiful your reception was. I can't wait to see more! Good luck on your business trip this week...I have a three day training next week in Chicago...I feel your pain.

Anna Marie

It definitely seems like so much of the planning goes into the reception, so it was great to see everything fall into place. The snowglobes were a favorite of all of our guests too. People went around to the tables looking at all the different ones. The cake really did come together nicely, it was hard to picture it in my mind.

The one upset about going to DC is that I will get to see some family while I'm there. I'm just dreading the drive down.

Everything looks so beautiful!! You really did a great job planning and organizing everything! Your cake is so beautiful! I really loved the staged effect!!

I wanted something different and outside the normal cakes that they offered and they really pulled it off!

Everything about this looked amazing! That turtle is so awesome! I wish I could have had my reception there!!!!! I LOVED your cake set up! So different, classy and elegant!

A funny side note, Kris loves turtles. I mean he stops on the road to save them from getting hit. When we started seeing them in the tank we told Randy and Stan to make sure that they got as many turtle pictures as possible. There are a couple where it looks like the turtle is purposely posing for pictures

Yay for updates

That food looks so yummy, it made me hungry just looking at it.

How much extra was the stations that prepared the food in front of you?

The omelete and crepe bars were including in the Tinkerbell menu, so we didn't have to pay anything extra

Great TR so far Vanessa! I am loving the pics! Your cake is exquisite and I love the globes as the centerpieces!

Thank you so much, I loved how everything turned out

 

[IndyBride]

Vanessa, your food looks so yummy!!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Salad Question - not sure about our salad - I believe all the items will be there separately - not sure who puts them together - I believe the guests but I am not sure. I am going to have to find out.

Linda

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

That Alice in Wonderland snowglobe is so beautiful!! I can't wait to see more of the globes you chose!! Your reception was so wonderful!! We had a version of the tinkerbell brunch as well and I just loved it

Rich did our cake as well - he did a great job on the design Your cake table turned out fantastic

 

[Janell]

Your photos are beautiful. Wow, the trutal came by and said hi to you guys too. Randy told me he doesn't normally come by the windows and days after our wedding we were at Corol Reef and he never came by the windows. Too cute.

I love the cyliners for your flowers are a great idea. I like how they came out.

 

[Lynn5700]

Vanessa, great pictures!!!!!! I saw the castle that you had on your cake table all over in disney..I'm going to get it when I go back,I love it!


Your food looked so good!!!! Everything looked just so nice. Can't wait for more!

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

Wow Vanessa your pictures are all so beautiful!!!!! I love your cakes! You are so creative and I love what you did with your wedding!!! I can't wait to see more pictures!!

 

[figmentfan814]

Vanessa, your food looks so yummy!!! Thanks for sharing!!

It was so good, I only wish we could have had doggy bags. Although, we did have a lot of cake left to snack on during the week

Salad Question - not sure about our salad - I believe all the items will be there separately - not sure who puts them together - I believe the guests but I am not sure. I am going to have to find out.

Linda

They always have such great options, so I’m sure the salads will be a great addition. Especially at that time of day, that is a perfect lunch item

That Alice in Wonderland snowglobe is so beautiful!! I can't wait to see more of the globes you chose!! Your reception was so wonderful!! We had a version of the tinkerbell brunch as well and I just loved it

Rich did our cake as well - he did a great job on the design Your cake table turned out fantastic

The Alice globe was one of my favorites because it reminded me of our tea that we had that weekend at the Gardenview Room at the Grand Floridian.

I still didn’t get a chance to upload more of the ones laid out for the centerpieces, but here is a list of the different ones that we had- Mary Poppins, Snow White, Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, Donald with Chip & Dale, Pinocchio, Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Disney Princesses.

After seeing you post your sketch of the design yesterday it made me think of posting mine after I was asked about it. Rich really was great at going outside the box; I’m glad he was so easy to work with too

Your photos are beautiful. Wow, the turtle came by and said hi to you guys too. Randy told me he doesn't normally come by the windows and days after our wedding we were at Corol Reef and he never came by the windows. Too cute.

I love the cylinders for your flowers are a great idea. I like how they came out.

I was so happy that the turtle made an appearance; especially since they are Kris’ favorite. It really was like he was just hanging out watching what was going on. Here’s one shot where it looks like he’s waving behind my aunt and uncle.

When I told Laura I wanted something different done with the bouquets she suggested the cylinders and I think they were a perfect solution especially with the height differences in our cake setup.

Vanessa, great pictures!!!!!! I saw the castle that you had on your cake table all over in disney..I'm going to get it when I go back,I love it!

Your food looked so good!!!! Everything looked just so nice. Can't wait for more!

When I saw the castle I fell in love with it especially since it fit so perfectly with our color scheme. We lucked out, the store on Main Street had ones that were signed by Jim Shore

Wow Vanessa your pictures are all so beautiful!!!!! I love your cakes! You are so creative and I love what you did with your wedding!!! I can't wait to see more pictures!!

Thank you so much, I had so much fun putting everything together for the wedding. It was exciting to work on so many different projects for one big event. I loved how everything came together