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

[figmentfan814]

I realized I read both of your messages in my email, but never responded. Thanks for continuing to read with me.

Vanessa,

Everything looks really great at the reception!! Your hard work really paid off!! The centerpieces look great, and I agree, the cupcakes look yummy!!!

I was really happy with how everything came out. It definitely goes to show that you can still have a nice event without breaking the bank

Vanessa,
Your reception looks so amazing. It looks like you put a whole lot of hard work into it and it totally paid off! I love the way your dad set up the photo slide show and the center pieces for the tables were soooooo cute. I can't wait to see some more!

Anna Marie

I really love how my dad made it looks like a screen, I just wish we would have thought about getting a picture of it. We were so busy that day I just let our photographer do everything and didn't take any shots of things with my camera. I don't have any pictures of some things like the food which I wish I would have because food was really important to us, lol. I should ask some of my cousins if they took any pictures. Thanks for still following along and I hope you're doing great! We're heading to Florida this weekend, but are only doing Universal Studios and won't be at Disney this time

 

[dizneyfreak]

WHAT???!!!???? No Disney on a trip to Flordia! I soooooo would not be able to do that...I would have to be put on tranquilizers or something...LOL!!!
Have fun (and don't think it's too late to sneak off and get some mouse time while your there)!

Anna Marie

 

[figmentfan814]

I know, its going to be different for me too. Although, during one of our wedding trips we didn't do any parks, so I guess this is kind of the same thing. We are going to Disapalooza on Saturday night though, so I'll make it inside at least one park

 

[figmentfan814]

Over break I was determined to finish this, so for all of you that have hung on with me all this time, thanks!

A few guests arrived about 40 minutes early that had traveled from about 2 hours away, so we decided it was time to get dressed; we rushed to get dressed in the bathrooms at the hall. It was much different getting ready here than in our rooms at Disney. My matron of honor was the only one of my bridesmaids who was able to make it, so she helped me get everything in place. (Two bridesmaids were living out of state and the third was pregnant and had been sick in the hospital for a few days- don’t worry she made a full recovery.) It was fun getting to wear my dress again.

Then the whirlwind began. As dozens of people filtered into the hall Kris and I did our best to talk to everyone as they entered.

We stationed our photographer by the front door where she took everyone’s pictures as they entered on the red carpet. It reminded me of an awards show where everyone gets their pictures by the paparazzi as they come into the event.

Some of my cousins really got into the act!

As everyone entered they helped themselves out to the candy concession stand that we had set up near the entrance of the hall.

By the end of the evening, the candy display was totally wiped out. Most of the items we got marked down after Valentine’s Day since the red wrappers were a perfect match for the reception.

Besides the Hershey kisses we also had several jars of Mickey and Minnie chocolates which my mom and I had been making for several weeks.

We also had a basket of cards and dice for people to play games and there were quite a few cards games going on throughout the night.

Near the concession stand we had our wish tree on display.

These cards were perfect for our scrapbook.

Next to the wish tree was the start of our wedding displays. We had two tables full of items for people to look through including a number of scrapbooks and our wedding album from Randy. To the far right you can see part of a frame that we assembled with pictures from the weddings of other family members.

My matron of honor and her husband handled making the popcorn because we ran out of time to get it going. I was originally going to rent a popcorn machine, but thankfully the hall let us use one that they had there for events. As you can see she couldn’t fit in her dress anymore because at the wedding she didn’t realize she was already about 4 weeks along with her second set of twins. She did bring her dress which we put up on the display with other items from the wedding.

The place was packed! We almost ran out of seats for people.

 

[figmentfan814]

As people arrived we had movie theme songs playing the background which we had downloaded online the week before. We also had a photo slideshow that a friend from work had done as a gift for us going on the big screen plus my dad did a beautiful PowerPoint with a story about a fairytale telling about how Kris and I had met, it was so sweet and I need to get the copy of it from him to post too.

We also had a picture slideshow that one of my coworkers made for us as a gift. He really did a great job on it and I like to pop it in every few months to watch it. If you have time and want to spend 30 minutes watching pictures of my wedding here is the link, but don’t feel obligated!
http://www.viddler.com/explore/figmentfan814/videos/3/?secreturl=98791183


Here are the members of the bridal party that were able to make it to the reception. Kris’ one groomsman was there, but somehow didn’t make it into the picture.

We had Mark, our singer and M.C. from the wedding, host that day too. He asked if we wanted him to give a play by play on the video, but we said that was okay we would let the guests enjoy it at their own pace.

Waiting to go up for food:

Mark released all the tables by the movie title names. The food really was amazing! I couldn’t believe how little we paid for everything. I wish I had some photos of the food, but I didn’t take any pictures and relied on other people for their shots. Here is a recap of the menu which ended up being around $10 per person.
Fruit salad
Pasta salad
Tuna pasta salad
Tossed salad and all the fixings
Rolls
Homemade chocolate pudding
Corn o'brien
Macaroni and cheese
Green bean casserole
Spicy red skin potatoes with peppers
Stuffed cabbage (for the Polish in Kris kind of as a tribute to his dad since he really wanted a party up here)
Carved ham
Baked chicken

The catering service even included an ice sculpture.

We had the wedding video playing the background as our guests were eating and I was surprised how quiet it got in there; people were actually watching it! I have tried to upload the video several times and it keeps cutting it off partway through, so here is the video up to the reception if you want to check it out. No DP because the video compressor has cut it off.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/figmentfan814/videos/4/

Shortly after the video finished we started the dances. Kris and I decided to redo our dance and so did my dad and I, only Kris and his mom opted to skip the second time around. Kris and I as we entered the dance floor; we were redoing our dance which we had taken lessons for and choreographed for the wedding; the only difference was that we were cutting this version a little short. We danced to “You're My First, My Last, My Everything” the folk version, not Barry White.

We started laughing because the music was supposed to be faded, but my dad was talking to someone else and wasn’t paying attention.

I think my dad was the most excited about doing the dances again; he wanted to show off his moves to the rest of the family. We danced to “I loved her first.”

 

[figmentfan814]

They even had the disco ball going during the entire reception.

We decided to do cupcakes since it was more affordable and they are such a big fad right now. We also ordered custom napkins for the cake table.

The cupcakes all set up:

See the movie themed pics on them:

We had white with white buttercream frosting, white with chocolate buttercream frosting, and chocolate with white buttercream, and then chocolate with chocolate buttercream.

The small cake we bought to cut was not perfect, but it served the purpose; it was suppose to look like spotlights with Mickey and Minnie on top. The star was actually a Star of David which made no sense! This was the cake we ended up freezing to eat a year later.

It was fun having the chance to redo the cake cutting.

The cake was a lot easier to cut without fondant on it!

Other little touches throughout the hall:

The head table:

Shortly after we did the cake we thanked everyone for coming and people were having a good time hanging out and visiting with each other. We had music going, but no one in our crowds are much of dancers. We did get a ton of family pictures throughout the night especially towards the end of the evening. Halfway through the reception I had changed into my red satin dress which was what I was originally going to wear before I got requests for me to wear my wedding dress.

Here is a shot with my mom and dad:

Kris and his mom:

We also got some large family shots with each side. Kris’ family:

My side of the family is much larger:

The last shot of the night.

Our at-home reception was so chaotic and a lot more stressful than our Disney wedding. We had around 150 guests and I feel like I never got enough time to visit with everyone. I’m so glad we had a small destination wedding where we were able to spend personal time with each and every one of our guests. I enjoyed our reception in Michigan too because it allowed us to share that experience with everyone else too, but I am glad we had our Disney wedding. In the end, it was also a great way to honor the memory of Kris’ dad since he was the one that really wanted a reception back home too.

 

[princess22]

Hey Vanessa! Great update! I loved all the pictures, your at home reception was amazing! I'm sad that everything is over now and I have no updates to look forward to! Thanks for sharing with us though. Everything was amazing and I enjoyed reading about it all!

 

[figmentfan814]

Hey Vanessa! Great update! I loved all the pictures, your at home reception was amazing! I'm sad that everything is over now and I have no updates to look forward to! Thanks for sharing with us though. Everything was amazing and I enjoyed reading about it all!

Thank you so much, I am so glad that you were able to hang on with me throughout this very long report. I can't believe how long it took me to finish and I am sad its over too. I plan to save all the pages and get them printed as a sort of scrapbook. I know several other people who did that and I thought that was a great idea. I've really enjoyed reading all your report too. I love having the chance to share a little bit of everyone's lives by reading their TRs. Thanks again for sharing with me

 

[AbbyPan]

She's pregnant with her second setof twins? Did I read that correctly? wow!

The cupcakes were fabulous! I absolutely love them!

I am so jealous that you not only still fit into your wedding dress, but you look just as pretty as you did on your wedding day! (I can't even try and fit into my dress) And the red dress is gorgeous!!

Everything came out great Vanessa!!

 

[figmentfan814]

She's pregnant with her second setof twins? Did I read that correctly? wow!

The cupcakes were fabulous! I absolutely love them!

I am so jealous that you not only still fit into your wedding dress, but you look just as pretty as you did on your wedding day! (I can't even try and fit into my dress) And the red dress is gorgeous!!

Everything came out great Vanessa!!

Abby, thanks for being patient with me Yes, she had her second set of twins and they have a girl in the middle. They had 5 kids in the span of 4 1/2 years. Its always so crazy at their house, but also a lot of fun!

Don't feel bad about your dress, I know I am getting ready to have mine preserved and I am wanting to try it on again. I'm thinking mine won't fit anymore now I really wasn't planning to wear the dress again but my cousins asked several times so I figured I would go ahead with it and I'm glad I did wear it. I actually wore it 3 days (wedding, MK shoot, and reception so I got my money's worth!)

I really loved the red dress, I usually don't wear red but I thought it went great with the Hollywood red carpet theme.

 

[figmentfan814]

Just saw we made the pre-2009 wedding award nominations on Carly's blog. There are a lot of great weddings on there, you should definitely check them out if you have time. I was nominated for our Welcome Bags which were a lot of work, but totally worth it to see the look on our guests' faces when they opened them. Congrats to all the 2009 winners too!

http://www.disneyweddingblog.com/2010/01/nominees-for-pre-2009-disney-wedding.html

We won! Thanks to all the ladies who voted for us earlier this year!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Vanessa for some reason I didn't see your newest posts of your at home reception. I just read it today and watched some of the videos. I loved everything about your wedding (especially the Disney part LOL).

 

[figmentfan814]

Vanessa for some reason I didn't see your newest posts of your at home reception. I just read it today and watched some of the videos. I loved everything about your wedding (especially the Disney part LOL).

Thank you so much, Laura. Its good to know that people are still occasionally reading I have done that before with people's posts too . I am so glad you enjoyed reading my story. Its good to know you enjoyed the videos too, I was so happy with how everything turned out; it really was a dream come true! The Disney part was my favorite too

 

[dizneyfreak]

So I just came back to look at a few of my favorite weddings today and to my surprise I found that I had missed the last few at home reception posts. I don't know how the heck that happened, but I had to comment on them even though I am so very late.
I can't believe how cute everything was. The red carpet was an awesome touch and I love the finished wish tree. The cupcakes sooooo made me hungry and I just wanted to say that when I looked at the cake you had made I thought it was a Mickey head until you said what I thought were his ears were actually supposed to be spotlights. I wonder if any of your guests thought that too? Either way....it worked!
Sorry I missed it at first.....but it was WAY cool!

Anna Marie

 

[figmentfan814]

So I just came back to look at a few of my favorite weddings today and to my surprise I found that I had missed the last few at home reception posts. I don't know how the heck that happened, but I had to comment on them even though I am so very late.
I can't believe how cute everything was. The red carpet was an awesome touch and I love the finished wish tree. The cupcakes sooooo made me hungry and I just wanted to say that when I looked at the cake you had made I thought it was a Mickey head until you said what I thought were his ears were actually supposed to be spotlights. I wonder if any of your guests thought that too? Either way....it worked!
Sorry I missed it at first.....but it was WAY cool!

Anna Marie

I know I saw this message a long, long time ago, but just noticed I never replied to you I came on looking for a link on my TR and saw your note. Thank you for following along throughout my entire report. Kris and I were at Disney World for our anniversary a few weeks ago and we talked about running into you at the Dole Whip stand while we were there for our wedding trip. I hope you are doing well and thank you again for following me through my entire wedding journey

 

[belle2211]

We had wanted our reception in the Great Movie Ride in the Wizard of Oz set, but alas we couldn’t afford the various minimums attached; this was the closest that I could get to it. I even drag Kris to Wizard of Oz festivals and I have gotten my picture with some of the original Munchkins!

I am just sitting down to read this PJ/TR! Great so far! I'm a couple of years behind so I know the link won't work anymore, but do you have any pictures of the Great Movie Ride in your dress? I work there seasonally and think it would be so neat to see this! (oh, and if there is a picture later on in this thread, just ignore me )

 

[figmentfan814]

I am just sitting down to read this PJ/TR! Great so far! I'm a couple of years behind so I know the link won't work anymore, but do you have any pictures of the Great Movie Ride in your dress? I work there seasonally and think it would be so neat to see this! (oh, and if there is a picture later on in this thread, just ignore me )

Thank you for reading along, we just had our 3rd anniversary earlier this month and I actually get to buy my bridal portrait CD from Disney at the reduced price now Unfortunately they wouldn't let us go in the actual ride when we did our DHS shoot. The closest thing I was able to get for Wizard of Oz pictures was in front of the Great Movie Ride. Here is a picture of one of the images in my album.

 

[belle2211]

Thank you for reading along, we just had our 3rd anniversary earlier this month and I actually get to buy my bridal portrait CD from Disney at the reduced price now Unfortunately they wouldn't let us go in the actual ride when we did our DHS shoot. The closest thing I was able to get for Wizard of Oz pictures was in front of the Great Movie Ride. Here is a picture of one of the images in my album.

Too bad they wouldn't let you go in! Boo!

I love this picture though!

 

[starrzone]

Hey Vanessa,

It''s so strange; I was JUST thinking about you and Kris the other day and then bam; this thread popped up again! Wow, can't believe it's been over 3 years now...happy belated anniversary!

 

[belle2211]

Paul had me take some shots in front of the jewelry store because after all we all love jewelry. We got a few pictures in front of the sorcerer’s hat, but honestly I think it detracts from the Great Movie Ride itself. We walked around front and got some really cool dip shots with the theater in the background. Since we were doing a red carpet theme for our at-home reception I wanted to make sure that we got some of these shots.

I know, years late But had to say that I LOVE the carriage hoodie (looking for one now since that's the whole theme to my wedding!!) And I totally aggre about the sorcerer's hat! Most GMR cast members dont' like it! I wish they would have let you gone in the ride...there would have been some awesome pictures with the munchkins!