figmentfan814AAR~LivingSeas~French Is. *I'm back and married! Will start TR soon!*

[figmentfan814]

My DF was up from Ohio this weekend, so I didn't get a chance to finish my report. We got our engagement pictures taken, so I should be able to post those soon.

Back to the planning session...
For the centerpieces we ended up picking hanging votive holders. I forgot to get a picture, but here is one that shows a much smaller version. Ours will actually be more like a tree and will hold 12 votive holders. Disney Floral actually has three different sizes of these holders; we went with the smaller versions. Half of these will include candles and half will have floating blooms. There will also be petals sprinkled around each one. Since at the Living Seas you have to leave the existing setup we will have a few extra tables. These tables will have a few single votives with some sprinkled petals.

Even though the tables at Living Seas have a blue cloth with a green overlay you can exchange the overlay for white at no additional charge. We are considering adding some more color with a thin overlay or with colored napkins.

We are using the bouquets to decorate the cake table and a centerpiece with snapdragons (since they couldn't go in my bouquet) and other spring flowers will be made for the head table.

For the evening dessert party we are going to have a little bit more fun. We aren't having any kids under the age of five at the wedding and reception, so we wanted the evening to be kid-friendly. We are going to do a Figment theme. Laura has done the glowing candles with Figment floating in the water. I wish I had a picture to share, but I still haven't seen one yet. They have done these for another wedding. Basically, it will be the glass cylinders with a floating candle the water will be died to the bright colors- purple, orange, etc. and a figment character is placed inside looking free floating. We are going to get some Figment napkins from Shelley and are going to give away glow necklaces and toys as favors. We really want to have glow ice cubes and we are on the lookout for a good deal if anyone finds one please let me know

 

[figmentfan814]

I finally figured out how to make the photos smaller for my posts!

After we finished up with Laura we had our cake tasting. Since Kris couldn't make it this trip Marion said we will have a second tasting when we return in September.

I had requested the peanut butter cup filling and the carrot cake and both were on the tray. I have to admit it was kind of odd that they didn't give us a cream cheese filling to try with the carrot cake. I guess that will have to get added to my requests for the fall.

The fillings we were able to try were amaretto, bailey's, raspberry, butter cream, peanut butter cup, chocolate mousse, bavarian cream, and white chocolate mousse. My favorites were #1 peanut butter, #2 amaretto. We also both liked the baileys, but I am afraid it might be too rich for some people.

I am curious if anyone has tried the lemon or orange cakes? I think I might add them to my list for September.

If I had to choose today I would go with peanut butter cup and chocolate cake for one layer, carrot cake with cream cheese filling for another, and something plain for the third layer.

I will have to post the cake design that we chose off of the CD tonight. I wanted a square or hexagon shape, so I was a little bit more limited. The design we picked has hexagon layers with different flowers on it. The picture has everything in cream, but I am having the flowers colored. I am having some modifications done including separating the layers and adding pastels to the flowers. I really want the cake to be different. It was quite an ordeal describing all of our requests to Marion. I think she was beginning to see how indecisive I can be on some things.

We also want to have some fresh flowers between the layers and a few hidden Mickeys mixed in throughout. I am leaning towards the chocolate castle topper, but have not definitively decided yet.

 

[sunsh1ne]

your cake tasting looked good. i wich i could have the ob to try and the rasberry sounds so yummy.

has anyone used the rasberry mousse?

 

[jasonandlisa]

your cake tasting looked good. i wich i could have the ob to try and the rasberry sounds so yummy.

has anyone used the rasberry mousse?

We selected the raspberry mousse! It was our favorite by far. We're using it for all three layers. (Two with chocolate cake, one with yellow.)

 

[figmentfan814]

The raspberry was really good with the chocolate cake. I love berries, but not too many people in our families do so we probably won't go with it. I do agree though the raspberry was great!

 

[figmentfan814]

Here's the picture of the cake. I am having them color all the flowers in pastels to match my theme. Each layer will also be separated with columns with fresh flowers in between. I'm still undecided with a topper; I'll probably end up with the castle.

After the cake testing, we talked about a lot of the other details such as music, seating assignments, and transportation. We decided to get two limos for the bridal party and parents with one bus for our guests. We are dangerously close to needing a second bus, so hopefully there aren't too many last minute surprises of extra guests. We are at 46 people with a limit of 50. The other problem we had is that several of our guests will have motorized scooters. Getting a handicapped accessible bus would drastically reduce the seating, so Marion suggested getting wheelchairs to use for the four people who will have the scooters. All of our guests with the scooters (grandparents, great aunts, and one member of the bridal party) can walk on their own they just have difficulty with distance, so we should be okay. We are going to designate a couple of the guys for the "wheelchair brigade."

I'm still undecided on the exact music for the ceremony and reception. We are going to have a piano for the reception and possible a keyboardist and guitar player at the ceremony. Since my cousin is a musician at Epcot we can request to have him play at our ceremony. He plays at Norway and for corporate parties, but they will allow us to have him play for the wedding.

The planning session went on for quite a long time. We were scheduled to be done at 1 p.m., but we did not get out of there until around 2:15 p.m. Marion was fantastic! Any question we had she immediately found out the answer. She had to leave straight from our session to head to a wedding, but she made sure that we did not feel rushed on any of our decisions.

After we left our planning session we raced over to Epcot to meet my cousin. Since we didn't have passes this trip he was going to get us into the park. Unfortunately when we got up to the gate, his guest pass wouldn't go through. After several phone calls, he found out that the computer had generated a new card for him and that his current one (even though it was dated through the end of 2007) was no longer valid. They told him that he could pick up his new card in Kissimmee the next afternoon. Oh well, it was a little disapointing but we survived.

We headed over to the Beach Club instead and grabbed lunch at Beaches and Cream. It was nice to have some time to spend with him even if we didn't make it into the park.

That also gave me a chance to go over to the Boardwalk Bakery to check on ordering a groom's cake. Since I wanted it for the rehearsal dinner Marion had suggested using them. I got the card for the head pastry chef and the pricing information. I need one to feed about 30 people and want it to be decorated like a moose (Kris' nickname from high school and college) will run about $80, which I didn't think was too bad.

While walking over to Boardwalk I also saw Randy Chapman taking some engagement pictures, so I walked up and introduced myself

That evening we went to Downtown Disney and I found a Swarovski tiara that I fell in love with for the wedding. Little did I know at this point, I eventually ordered the Cinderella tiara through the Labor Day sale at the outlets. Thank you to everyone for this great tip.

The next day we got up and checked in with the Magical Express then we headed out for our appointments. We had appointments arranged at the Portobello Yacht Club and at Wolfgang Puck. We ended up being a little late to our first meeting because I forgot during the day that the bus also goes to the waterpark on the way to Downtown Disney.

At Portobello they offer an indoor seating area or an outdoor patio. Both looked great and the restaurant serves both lunch and dinner, so the menus had a great variety. We could bring in our own centerpieces and favors, but would have to pay a $2 cutting charge per person for the groom's cake. The deposit for the location would be $300.

We then walked down to Wolfgang Puck. They have an area downstairs in the express that can be used during the day or a more formal area upstairs for dinner. Upstairs they had a great view and they pulled curtains to provide privacy from the rest of the diners. Their prices are a little more. I've eaten at the express before and the food is great!

Downstairs

Upstairs

After these meetings we headed to the campground for lunch at Trails End Buffet- they have great fried chicken and chili! I wanted to get some pictures for a newsletter since we are doing a hay ride for our welcome party. You can rent one completely out for $300; I will talk about this more later.

We then took the boat to the Magic Kingdom and then grabbed one to the Grand Floridian. I wanted to pick up some information at the Garden View Tea Room since we are scheduling a tea with all the ladies the day before the rehearsal.

Next we headed back to Pop Century. Since we got back early we walked around to see all the buildings for the different decades then we headed on the Magical Express to make our way home.

 

[figmentfan814]

Now that I finally finished my trip report I thought I would include some information on the rest of my planning so far for the wedding.

Here is the basic information, which I have kind of already mentioned.

Photographer: Randy Chapman
Videographer: Stan from STVS Video

I have to thank everyone on this board for helping me find these great guys. We are saving a ton of money and I have the peace of mind of knowing who I will be dealing with in advance.

We have also opted for the Magic Kingdom photo shoot. This is one area that I really wanted to spend a little extra on, so we decided to do this instead of having characters at the reception. We are doing the two park option with pictures at MGM too. The great thing is since our wedding is at Epcot we will have three of the parks covered!

The biggest pain has been finding a dress. I have been to 9 bridal shops and have tried on way to many dresses to count. I know I am driving my mom crazy over the entire dress dilemma. There have been two kinds of favorites, but I am still up in the air. One is on the verge of being out of my budget and the other is one that the shop will sell me off the rack.

The first dress is by Demetrio's is exquisite. The problem is that even with a slight discount since I have to custom order it; the overall cost is about $400 more than I originally was going to spend. I have pretty much ruled this one out, but it's always nice to dream. I would have added capped sleeves to help cover my broad shoulders.

The dilemma with the second option is that the dress is too long for me. Since the bottom of the dress has intricate beading the only option is to have me loaded up with two crinolines plus they would add extra tulle to the dress. On top of that I would have to wear a two inch heel when I was planning on wearing flats. This one is by Mary's, but it is part of their fall collection so there isn't a picture available online yet.

I am looking for very particular things which have kind of limited my choices. I wanted a detachable train since we have the early morning Epcot wedding and brunch with the dessert party that evening. We will be going around with Randy taking pictures at some of the other resorts in between, so I am going to have my dress on all day, so a detachable train is a must for me.

For my jewelry I did reserve the Cinderella bracelet, tiara, and necklace from Swarovski. Based on the types of dresses I have been looking at with such intricate beading I probably won't end up wearing the necklace. I thought I better buy it just in case at that great price!

The bridesmaids’ dresses are a little easier. I have it kind of narrowed to two different options. I wanted to find something that came with a wrap or jacket for them to wear at the dessert party that evening. Here are my top two choices so far. Both are from Mary's- one of them won't let me save the picture, so I'm just giving the link to it. Again each of the four girls is wearing a different color- blue, purple, pink, and green.

Here I am with my maid of honor, Judi (on the right), and my matron of honor, Marquitta (on the left.)

I will probably have some kind of strap added to this one. My girls are a wide array of sizes, so I want to make sure that they all feel comfortable.

The link for the second dress is:
http://www.marysbridal.com/modernmaids/m1513.htm

More to come...

 

[hisprincess]

Beautiful bm dresses, they are very elegent and the colors are very springy(I just made that word up). It makes me want to switch to a custom so that I can have some bms!

 

[figmentfan814]

Things are really starting to fall into place this week. My official "Save the Dates" went out from Disney and everyone loved them. Then since I had today off of work I headed out to look at a couple more dress shops. I have really been getting frustrated since I now (after today) have been to 11 shops and tried on almost 75 dresses. I know that is probably way too many and as I mentioned before I have found a couple that I liked, but was no where near making a decision. I have been looking for so many specific things it really narrowed my search.

Anyway, my mom road along with me to check out dresses at two shops that were about 1 hour north of us. At the first one I found two great dresses. One had blue lace and beading on it and was really unique; the only downside is that the front was really ornate, but the back was pretty plain- it was by Maggie Sorrento. Since the ceremony is at the American Adventure Rotunda, I really wanted a formal gown. There was a second option there that even had a detachable train which is something I wanted considering the long day I will be having- this one was by Mon Cheri. It was beautiful, but I decided to check out one more store. I told my mom that this was going to be it I wasn't going anywhere else!

This shop is actually in a really small town way out in the middle of nowhere. Ironically, I discovered tonight after going home that yesterday they were named one of the top three bridal shops in the entire state of Michigan by the Detroit News. For any of you other Disney brides from MI the shop is Unique Bridal in Auburn towards Midland right off I-75.

Anyway, to make a long story short I think I finally found my dress. It is part of the Signature Collection by the Private Label by G. It doesn't have a detachable train, but it is not heavy even when it is hooked up for a bustle. The front design is almost identical to a Mary's dress that I liked before, but the best thing about this is that it already comes with cap sleeves, which I would have needed added to any of the other dresses that I liked at other stores.

Here is the picture from the company web site:

Here are some pics of me at the store, I was so tired today and I look like it in the pictures

 

[pooh98378]

Your dress is beautiful!!!!

 

[shezfrombermuda]

What a beautiful dress! I like the style of the sleeves and the detail on the dress.

 

[jenny08]

You look great in that dress!

 

[hisprincess]

I've heard of that place, but I never ended up going. Your dress is BEAUTIFUL!

 

[mla1977]

I'm really enjoying reading this. I would love to have a Disney wedding, but I think a Disneymoon might suit us better. (Now if only I could get the ring...)

 

[figmentfan814]

I'm really enjoying reading this. I would love to have a Disney wedding, but I think a Disneymoon might suit us better. (Now if only I could get the ring...)

I know that feeling, we were together 7 years before we got engaged. Although, I wasn't really ready for the ring until the last two.

 

[figmentfan814]

First, I wanted to thank everyone for the compliments on the dress. I'm not sure what color I want- white or ivory. I'm using my mom's viel, so we're having it cleaned to see which color it matches. The veil right now is closer to an off-white. We're having it cleaned and then are going to go back to decide before I order.

Lots of other great stuff has happened. All my "Save the Dates" from Disney went out to our guests. Everyone loved them! Now I am going to have to put together the next newsletter for all the guests.

*Spoiler Alert* The best part was today we got our annual passes in the mail from our sales rep along with our copy of the signed contract. The lady at the post office asked me if I knew someone that was getting married at Disney. When I told her that I was she was so excited because she had watched the different specials on food network. It's amazing how many people get excited over DFTW.

Here I am with the passes:

We are going down in September for our menu tasting, but are going to wait to activate our passes until we go down for the wedding trip. We want to have the passes last all the way until right before our first anniversary in 2009. My DF and I already have a deal that we will go to Disney the week before our anniversary (before our passes run out) then will go to some spring training baseball while we're down there. I get my Disney fix and he gets his sports fix!

 

[hisprincess]

Does that shop do gown alterations?? If not, can I ask if you happen to know where you are getting yours done? I did not get my dress from davids bridal, and the shop I got it from doesn't do alterations, so I have no clue where to get it done. I thought I would ask another michigander if you knew of someone good to go to? Thanks so much!

 

[figmentfan814]

Does that shop do gown alterations?? If not, can I ask if you happen to know where you are getting yours done? I did not get my dress from davids bridal, and the shop I got it from doesn't do alterations, so I have no clue where to get it done. I thought I would ask another michigander if you knew of someone good to go to? Thanks so much!

That shop does do alternations, but I am having them done by a lady out of Millington. She is retired from working at bridal shops (in Flint and Birch Run areas) and has a small business out of her home now. One of my bridesmaids is having hers done by a lady in Flint. I can PM or email you the info if you want for either or both of them. The lady out of Millington that I am using is always really reasonable, I of course have never had a wedding gown done before but she did all my prom dresses and other formal dresses for some events in college. Just let me know.

 

[hisprincess]

It sounds like the lady your going to must to a pretty good job if you've continued to go to her that much. Could you PM or email me the info for her?? Thanks. My email is mrrobin2@svsu.edu

 

[figmentfan814]

Okay, I thought I would catch everyone up on some of my general planning to date. I know I already posted my first newsletter, but here is some more information about the folders that we put together for everyone- which included the newsletter.

We went to AAA and had a travel agent order a stack of Disney brochures. We have a lot of guests that have not been to Disney before, so we wanted general overviews of the parks, etc. We also got pricing information on packages because the discounts (if people are going to the parks) work out better for our guests. I spoke with my DFTW coordinator and all I have to do is get their reservations numbers to make sure that they count towards my room blocks. One note, for anyone just coming to the wedding and not buying any tickets it is better for them to use the room block that we have set up through DFTW. Our blocks are for All-Star Movies, Port Orleans-Riverside (my family's favorite resort), and the Fort Wilderness Cabins. We are also adding Beach Club to the block. We picked the cabins since we thought some of the groups might want to stay there and especially since my DF's family was complaining about costs of travel this would give them a option with a full kitchen.

We are also arranging for discounts through AirTran Airways for our guests. The discount is 10 percent off, so we had a brochure for AirTran in their initial packets too. We are doing this through their Event Savers http://www.eventfares.com/eventsavers.aspx If we get 30 guests to use this (which we probably will in the end) we will get a free ticket too!

Here we are putting together the packets. We put together 30 all together and even had a few of the Disney planning videos sent with the AAA brochures that we included for some of the families.

The packets had a handwritten note using the "Year of a Million Dreams" free stationary download from the Disney site. Here is the info on downloading the stationary if anyone is interested. It won't allow you to post a direct link, so here are the directions. Go to www.disneyparks.com then on the left hand side at the bottom click on "Free Downloads." Then on the right under Dream Downloads click "Letterhead" it really is so cute I highly recommend printing one off. It allows you to customize the heading with a name, etc.

We also included Save the Date magnets that we printed using magnetic paper. I got the design through one of the great ladies on the Creative Board.

The magnets:

I wanted something with Epcot since that is where our ceremony and receptions are being held. The design by itself:

We printed off this design and put it on the outside of all the folders (Creative Board) which were just plain red pocket folders. We also got some Mickey paint swatches from Home Depot and peeled them from their backing and used them as tags on the front of the folders. We then printed off names to attach to the tags (I'll have to get some pictures to post.)

I thought I would also post that this design (as seen on my newsletter) was also done by someone on the Creative Board. What a great resource; it saved me tons of time from having to do something on my own.

I am going to be putting together my second newsletter this week. A lot of people were confused after they got their Save the Dates from Disney, so I'm going to have to include a step by step for reservations for 1- if you're going to the parks; 2- if you're just coming for the wedding. While I was down for my planning session I also got some brochures for golfing and other activities. I want to send these out to all our non-theme park going guests.

I also picked up park maps, but am probably going to save these for our welcome bags at the actually wedding. We got a stack of "First Visit" and Birthday pins to hook to the bags of our guests. I wanted to make sure that I had these in advance in case they don't have the "First Visit" ones next year.