Confessions of a DFTW Bride To Be

[PartOfYourWorld]

I totally agree on the bouquet! I love it

The pricing does not change for Escape weddings but the required minimums do. I think on weekends the minimum is around $7k. But I didn't have to worry too much since our wedding is on a Tuesday. I'm sure it changes all the time so you will definitely want to check when you plan your wedding

I noticed those minimums when I was snooping around. I'm sure in a few years from now those numbers will be all higher :lol: Nothing ever goes down anymore or stays the same..

and that's so great you and your mother get to bond! It'll be alot of fun to have that special time together!

 

[WDW_Princess24]

Stunning, stunning, stunning in that dress!

 

[Fashionista007]

I noticed those minimums when I was snooping around. I'm sure in a few years from now those numbers will be all higher :lol: Nothing ever goes down anymore or stays the same..

and that's so great you and your mother get to bond! It'll be alot of fun to have that special time together!

Yeah unfortunately Disney does not post any costs on their websites, only the minimums. I think they do that because they change so often it would be hard to keep the content up to date.

Our Mother Daughter weekend was awesome! I'm gearing up to post pics next!

Stunning, stunning, stunning in that dress!

Thank you so much! I did pick up my dress today and I'm SO relieved. Pics are up next!

 

[Fashionista007]

Mother Daughter Weekend

Day 1

My Mom arrived Saturday afternoon and we had the best time! I miss her already. On Saturday we went to the salon so I could get my hair done for my trip to Vancouver next week. I had been cutting and coloring my own hair for the past year to save money for the wedding and it felt SO nice to be back in the salon for a good professional job. I've missed my stylist too (and I'll miss her terribly when we move to Orlando). I'm planning to go back twice more - once for my waxings roughly 2 weeks before the wedding and once for a hair touchup and pedicure probably the Thursday before we leave.

Saturday night we watched Revenge of the Bridesmaids on Netflix and it was cute! I love Raven. I miss her on the Disney Channel I also put my Mom through "Shelley's iPhone Boot Camp". She just got an iPhone and I taught her how to text, call, email, etc. I also installed a bunch of Disney apps for her She was so cute with her new tech toy - while we were in the salon and I was getting my hair shampooed, she kept texting me LOL.

Day 2

We had a more relaxing day Sunday and we went to see The Help. It was SO good!! We sobbed like ninnies though and we had to compose ourselves before walking out of the theater. I'm definitely going to get the book and read it on my LONG flights to and from Vancouver next week.

Final Wedding Dress Fitting Day!!

Like I've said earlier, I like to schedule my bridal appointments on weekdays when I can so that the store is not busy. I really love Alfred Angelo because it's never too crowded (even when we went on a weekend the first time) and they really take their time with you.

This fitting was pretty short, all she needed to do was cut some tulle from the bottom. We weren't even there an hour which makes me sad because I love being there!

I brought my "fancy ears" this time!

I wanted to show off the side of the dress, it's PERFECTION!!

Me and Mom

With the tiara

 

[Fashionista007]

And then the waterworks started. I just felt so relieved that the dress is finished, the wedding is paid for, and there isn't that much left to do. We were talking about how beautiful the wedding will be and I got all teary!

So we decided to prolong leaving to take pictures for a bit! I really did not want to take that dress off, it fit me like a glove and made me feel like a complete princess.

We got a picture with it bustled, of course it will be more straight when it's done on our wedding day!

My nieces wearing my 2 sets of bride ears They're so cute!!

Me and my Sister Jenn

The whole family (thank you random mother of the bride who offered to take pictures!)

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters

This was such a special day and I'm so glad my family (minus one sister) was able to share it with me. I cried when I left because I was leaving Alfred Angelo for the last time I really had a great experience at Alfred Angelo. I told the seamstress that I would send pictures after the wedding. She was SO incredibly nice for getting the dress done before I go to Vancouver next week so I'm not sweating it when I get home. I can't believe I'm not going back but I'm happy that the wedding is so close!!

To wrap up our day, we had lunch at Don Pablo's (mexican restaurant). I'm not even kidding you, we talked about our trip the whole time. I'm so happy that everyone is so excited including the adults. We definitely have a magical time ahead of us and I can't wait to see what surprises are in store.

 

[diddy_mouse]

Ooooooh you look so pretty, Shelley! I really like the side shot of the dress, nice defined waist I must say.

How cute is the picture of you and your mom? She definitely has the proud mother-of-the-bride smile. I loved hearing about your mother-daughter weekend and that's too funny about iPhone Boot Camp. :lol:

Fun fact: My husband and I actually drove up early Saturday morning from VA to Baltimore for Comic Con weekend. It was great getting our geek on!

 

[Fashionista007]

Ooooooh you look so pretty, Shelley! I really like the side shot of the dress, nice defined waist I must say.

How cute is the picture of you and your mom? She definitely has the proud mother-of-the-bride smile. I loved hearing about your mother-daughter weekend and that's too funny about iPhone Boot Camp. :lol:

Fun fact: My husband and I actually drove up early Saturday morning from VA to Baltimore for Comic Con weekend. It was great getting our geek on!

Thank you so much, Erin! I LOVE the waist. It took me a heck of a lot of work to achieve that I feel like I could lose 5lbs and the dress would still be tight. It really fits me like a glove. The seamstress at Alfred Angelo knew what she was doing :sohappy:

My Mom and I have a very special relationship. She really is my best friend. It was not always like that, I was a terrible teenager! But now we have so much in common and I'm so happy she's joined the iPhone world so now she's going to read all of the same blogs that I do in her mobile RSS reader

I don't know why I've never been to Comic Con!! It always seems to fall on weekends when I have plans. Jason and I talk about it every year but we never end up going I hope you had fun!!

 

[WDW_Princess24]

Your tiara is beautiful and really compliments your dress well! AHH! It's getting so close!

 

[Fashionista007]

Your tiara is beautiful and really compliments your dress well! AHH! It's getting so close!

Thank you Time has really flown by, it feels like just yesterday we were getting home from our engagement trip and now we're one month away from our wedding! I'm so lucky most everything has gone smoothly (knock on wood) :sohappy:

 

[Ravenclaw87]

Ackkkk you look so pretty! SO pretty! And, when I went to Franck's this weekend, our dress was in the window! So we are very, very special ladies, hmm?!

Your wedding is SO close! You must be through the roof excited--- and I can't WAIT!

 

[Fashionista007]

Ackkkk you look so pretty! SO pretty! And, when I went to Franck's this weekend, our dress was in the window! So we are very, very special ladies, hmm?!

Your wedding is SO close! You must be through the roof excited--- and I can't WAIT!

Thank you so much, Jackie!! I saw your picture of our dress in the window...swoon! It wasn't there when I was there or maybe I was too overwhelmed to notice

I am SO excited and I'm finding it VERY difficult to concentrate on work. I'm working on my first big project and I want it to go well and it's supposed to be due before I leave for the wedding Not to mention the fact that I have to prepare to teach a 3 day class in Vancouver next week! Knowing me though, I'll have everything done with time to spare

 

[Fashionista007]

Beware of FairytaleWeddingStore.com

6 weeks ago I ordered our unity candle set, candy for favors, and some cute Mickey shaped flower girl baskets from http://www.FairytaleWeddingStore.com. My credit card was charged and I got a confirmation email. Well I've waited and waited and have not received my stuff. So I asked around and someone sent me this link: http://www.bbb.org/oregon/business-reviews/wedding-supplies-and-services/fairytale-weddings-and-more-in-oregon-city-or-22421917. Apparently I am not the only one who has had problems with this business. So now I need to find replacement items and call my bank to see if I can get the charges reversed. Now I'm wondering if that bogus charge last month for that indian dating site was from this store. Oh well, at least now I'm protected and I got myself a new credit card number. But I am facepalming because I should have done my homework. I don't normally buy things from small stores online, I usually use Target, WalMart, Amazon, etc. Names I can trust. So beware ladies, DO NOT BUY FROM FAIRYTALEWEDDINGSTORE.COM!!!!

 

[Ravenclaw87]

Gah! I read about this on your other thread--- and I am SO sorry!!!! <3 I hope you get your money back!

 

[Fashionista007]

Gah! I read about this on your other thread--- and I am SO sorry!!!! <3 I hope you get your money back!

Thanks, I'll keep you posted! I learned a VERY important lesson here through my facepalm fail though. Like Walt, I see failure as a learning opportunity so I'm not taking it too hard. This was as much my fail as the FairytaleWeddingStore. I have a new bookmark for the BBB search, everyone should make this their new best friend for online purchases! http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews/.

I just ordered a new Unity Candle set and favor candy from Amazon.com. I'll have it in 2 days. Gotta love Amazon Prime :sohappy: I found cuter ones from other private online wedding stores but after I couldn't find info on them with BBB, I just ordered from Amazon instead. Better safe than sorry!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

That must've been a great feeling having your last fitting! :sohappy: And the tiara just looks beautiful!!! I love it! I really love his dresses especially the Disney line where your dress is from I love them all!

And sorry to hear about those charges. I hope you can get the charges reversed!!

And I just started following you on twitter, I'm loveWDW5 I don't really tweet anything I just mainly use it to see what's going on in everywhere.

 

[Fashionista007]

That must've been a great feeling having your last fitting! :sohappy: And the tiara just looks beautiful!!! I love it! I really love his dresses especially the Disney line where your dress is from I love them all!

And sorry to hear about those charges. I hope you can get the charges reversed!!

And I just started following you on twitter, I'm loveWDW5 I don't really tweet anything I just mainly use it to see what's going on in everywhere.

Thank you very much! I love the entire Disney Fairytale Wedding Dress line, I wish I had tried on more but I didn't want to try on dresses out of my price range. Jasmine was in my price range but that's a more relaxed dress for an outdoor or beach wedding.

I followed you back on Twitter! Welcome to the dark side...hehe I'm totally hooked on Twitter. I'm following so many Disney people that someone is in one of the parks every day. I love seeing random pictures of the Disney parks. Recently someone went to Tokyo for 10 days and he tweeted pictures the whole time. Now I want to go there too!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Shelley! OMG! You look so gorgeous in your dress! And the tiara?! Oh my! So perfect! How sweet to be able to spend that day with your mom, sister, and nieces. Yay for random person who was sweet enough to take a group shot for ya!

Boo-hiss for the crappy website who took your money! Bad karma to them! It's wonderful that you aren't letting that steal any of your magic leading up to your fairytale day.

So cool that your mom is now an iPhone graduate! I don't think my mom could do it. Or I should say would do it. She'd get to aggravated and want her simple flip phone back. Plus, she'd as soon roll over and die than spend what an iPhone costs to purchase and for the service. I dunno. Maybe I'll suggest it to her. Maybe if she thought she could sit around playing Farmville when she's at my gramma's house..... I refuse to FB so I wouldn't know what all associated with FB she can or can't do with an iPhone. :shrug: I'm assuming a lot since all my nieces and nephews are never far from theirs... :lookaroun

 

[MLIDisney10]

Shelley!

Wow I have finally gotten time to catch up over the last few weeks with everything that is going on. Now lets see if I can remember everything I want to say :ROFLOL:

Dress- OMG.... Gorgeous! I thought about his dresses but I was just the same way and too scared that I would fall in love with one out of my price range. I settled for David's Bridal and love the dress I got though. I can't believe how much weight you have lost! You look phenomenal in the dress and I am sure you don't have to worry about eating light while on the trip.

Schedule- Wow. That is all planned out! Did you create the schedule or did DFTW? Also, how did you get the van rentals? Robby and I are wondering how we are going to transport some family, and we are deciding between a charter bus or vans. Any input???

Flowers- I thought the same about the first bouquet being a little small. It just didn't fit the dress. But I LOVE the addition to it! It is amazing! Now are you going to be able to take those into the park with you or no because they weren't Disney floral?

Moving- Robby and I live in an apt now and we are looking at houses too for a move next summer! Try Trulia real estate. We have found it to be a really good site to search for houses. Some don't have a lot of pictures. Also, if you are interested in building a home I have a list of builders that advertise with Disney so I can give you some information!

Food and Wine- Enjoy it! You will have to come find me though because I will be working the entire festival!! I will try not to creep you and Jason out if I spot the baseball caps

Photos- did you think of the waterfall in Canada? I thought there was a bridge down there that you could stand on. That way you still can get a waterfall picture. I know its not the same. But it is still pretty over there.

Oh yeah... and ITS ALMOST SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!

I hope you have fun in Canada!

-Karen

 

[Fashionista007]

Dress- OMG.... Gorgeous! I thought about his dresses but I was just the same way and too scared that I would fall in love with one out of my price range. I settled for David's Bridal and love the dress I got though. I can't believe how much weight you have lost! You look phenomenal in the dress and I am sure you don't have to worry about eating light while on the trip.

Hi Karen! Thank you so much for the compliment My weight loss certainly has been a journey. I'm still about 20 lbs overweight according to Wii Fit but I'm not sweating it too much. I think my body needs a rest from hardcore dieting anyway, it's been over a year!

Schedule- Wow. That is all planned out! Did you create the schedule or did DFTW? Also, how did you get the van rentals? Robby and I are wondering how we are going to transport some family, and we are deciding between a charter bus or vans. Any input???

I put together my own schedule. DFTW will give you times on your BEO and then you need to coordinate everything else that's going on - tux fittings, hair, makeup, etc. They coordinate all transportation. I have no idea how much busses cost but our "Luxury Vans" are $25 each way. I don't think that's too bad considering we paid a cab $20 once to get from DHS to AKL because I thought I was going to toss cookies!

Flowers- I thought the same about the first bouquet being a little small. It just didn't fit the dress. But I LOVE the addition to it! It is amazing! Now are you going to be able to take those into the park with you or no because they weren't Disney floral?

Disney lets you take your own silk flowers to any event. We're bringing the flower girl petals, bridesmaids bouquets, etc. My wedding planner said it was fine that we're bringing silk flowers for the bridal portrait sessions. It saves a bundle!!!

Moving- Robby and I live in an apt now and we are looking at houses too for a move next summer! Try Trulia real estate. We have found it to be a really good site to search for houses. Some don't have a lot of pictures. Also, if you are interested in building a home I have a list of builders that advertise with Disney so I can give you some information!

Squeal! I'm SO excited to move! Jason and I need to get outta dodge, a main road near us has been closed for over a year and traffic has been horrible!! We got stuck in it on Monday and Jason said "Ugh, we need to get outta here". I'm so glad it works out that we can move when our lease is up in April. We're going to try to come down in late February to look at rental houses. Our plan is to rent for a few years, then we'll start looking for something to buy. We want to get our feet wet in the area and see what we like.

Food and Wine- Enjoy it! You will have to come find me though because I will be working the entire festival!! I will try not to creep you and Jason out if I spot the baseball caps

Yeah! We'll be there, we're planning to go to F&W Fri, Sat, Sun

Photos- did you think of the waterfall in Canada? I thought there was a bridge down there that you could stand on. That way you still can get a waterfall picture. I know its not the same. But it is still pretty over there.

Oh yeah... and ITS ALMOST SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!

I hope you have fun in Canada!

-Karen

OOO good idea on the waterfall in Canada! That will have a bonus because I will have just been to Vancouver

I am absolutely beside myself with excitement, 31 days till we leave :sohappy:

 

[Fashionista007]

Northeast Earthquake

I didn't post anything yesterday afternoon and evening because of the earthquake. It really rattled me. I was working from home by myself and all of a sudden the house started shaking. I actually thought it was my kittens at first because they like to run at breakneck speed and the floor shakes a little. But when my monitors started shaking I knew it wasn't them. I grabbed the kittens and hunkered down in the doorframe of our bathroom. It was the most bizarre thing that's ever happened in the northeast, we never have earthquakes! On the news they were saying that city officials were probably dusting off the emergency plan because it just doesn't happen here.

I was looking at the weather and it looks like hurricane Irene is going to hit MD around Sunday which is when I'm supposed to leave for Vancouver. At least I'm leaving early AM so I hope I get out before it hits. I dunno what's going on...earthquakes, hurricanes, the end of the world? It's fine with me as long as it's after my wedding :ROFLOL:

Luckily everyone in our families is ok. I was most worried about my Dad because he was very close to the center but he's fine. Scary stuff!!