Confessions of a DFTW Bride To Be

[PartOfYourWorld]

Sister, I need it!! I have a project that is due at work the week before we leave. The pressure is on to deliver :hammer: I'm working on a Saturday (and probably tomorrow too) just to meet deadlines. But there is always a silver lining and I know that when I work hard, I play even harder and more importantly I appreciate vacation time that much more :hammer:

Good Luck on that project!!!!!

And those pictures of Vancouver are beautiful!!! Especially those mountains!!!! It's just breathtaking!

Wedding is soo close!!!! :sohappy:

 

[WDW_Princess24]

WOW! Beautiful Vancouver pics, that scenery is amazing! I wouldn't be able to drive to Olympic Park, my head would have been on a swivel looking at and taking everything in LOL

 

[MLIDisney10]

Your pictures look AMAZING! I am so jealous that you were in Vancouver!! Honestly I probably would have listened to the Canada music on that drive too Maybe a whole EPCOT theme?!

Also, Robby and I ate at Teppan Edo last week (yum!) and I have some pictures on my phone of the waterfall from up higher. I think you could make it work where the wall would be covered depending on how you stand! I was thinking about your pictures during dinner and studied the wall for about 10 minutes when we left and tried to explain it all to Robby. He just smiled and nodded like a DF would :ROFLOL:

I hope we can meet while you are down here. Maybe EPCOT one night? That is if I am not working I want to hear all about your wedding and how you felt it all turned out! Just because I know its going to be awesome and something you talk about forever!

 

[DimpledDevil18]

I have spent my entire evening sitting here reading your thread Shelly and I must say that I was riveted to every post. I cannot believe all that you have gone through to make this day come true! Nothing can be simple, can it? I've tossed around the idea of a Disney wedding although I do not think it would be a good option for me since I have a rather large extended family who I would want to attend, but a girl can dream, right? After reading about your situation though it kind of does make me wary. (Although not like I'm getting married anytime soon anyway).

I just wanted to tell you that I am glad that everything worked out for you in the end and I hope that you have an amazing wedding day! Much respect to you for handling a very ugly situation so graciously. Many people would've jumped at the chance to throw Disney under the bus in the media just to get their 15 minutes of fame, but you didn't and it seems like you were rewarded for it. Things DO happen for a reason and I'm proud that you stood up for yourself.

Can't wait to hear all about your wedding and your honeymoon trip. I'll be checking in!

 

[Ravenclaw87]

Ugh! I am sorry your stuff from Fairytale Wedding Store was something less than Fairytale! I -do- think, however, that the flower girl baskets photograph beautifully! They don't look cheap in pictures at all!

And your trip to Vancouver looks lovely! You didn't see Joshua Jackson there, did you?! :ROFLOL: (He's the love of my life and he's from there.)

You're SO CLOSE!!!!!!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I've been reading but am just now getting around to posting... I would have absolutely died had I been in your shoes with the change in wedding venues. I've ALWAYS wanted to gt married at Disney, specifically the WP but the whole ordeal you went through makes me want to rethink that!!! I'm glad they were able to work with you though and your wedding will be BEAUTIFUL!!

 

[Fashionista007]

Good Luck on that project!!!!!

And those pictures of Vancouver are beautiful!!! Especially those mountains!!!! It's just breathtaking!

Wedding is soo close!!!! :sohappy:

OMG I'm so tired, I worked all weekend to get my project up to speed. But now I'm ahead of schedule :sohappy: I finally got a "nice job" compliment from my boss. I REALLY do not suggest that any bride change jobs while in the process of planning a wedding. It has been incredibly stressful because you know you have to prove yourself when you get a new job. Luckily, I just passed my 90 day probation period so that's a good sign. I have my first quarter review right after we get back from our honeymoon. I hope and pray I get a good bonus so we can recoup some of the money we spent on the wedding! We're totally tapped out

I will never forget my drive up to Whistler! That was definitely the best drive of my life. I'm glad I got a chance to take a few pictures since I was all alone and I wanted to share the experience with people!

12 DAYS TILL WE LEAVE!!! SQUEE!!!! I can't wait to see my pal, Mickey Mouse

WOW! Beautiful Vancouver pics, that scenery is amazing! I wouldn't be able to drive to Olympic Park, my head would have been on a swivel looking at and taking everything in LOL

The drive was very interesting, I still don't really know what a kilometer is! I pretty much kept to the right lane and did the exact speed limit the whole time. People probably thought I was someone's grandmother.

I forgot to mention that I did drive to the Pacific Coliseum where the hockey and figure skating competitions took place. But, they have turned it into a generic event arena and there was some festival going on and parking was $20 so I skipped it. I could have gone to the practice rink where the figure skaters held practice sessions but I never got around to it.

Your pictures look AMAZING! I am so jealous that you were in Vancouver!! Honestly I probably would have listened to the Canada music on that drive too Maybe a whole EPCOT theme?!

Also, Robby and I ate at Teppan Edo last week (yum!) and I have some pictures on my phone of the waterfall from up higher. I think you could make it work where the wall would be covered depending on how you stand! I was thinking about your pictures during dinner and studied the wall for about 10 minutes when we left and tried to explain it all to Robby. He just smiled and nodded like a DF would :ROFLOL:

I hope we can meet while you are down here. Maybe EPCOT one night? That is if I am not working I want to hear all about your wedding and how you felt it all turned out! Just because I know its going to be awesome and something you talk about forever!

LOL I DID do a whole EPCOT theme on my drive up to Whistler! I listened to Impressions De France a lot too because there's a big French influence in Vancouver.

Thank you so much for the idea about Teppan Edo!! Jason and I are eating there our first night so we'll scope it out

Absolutely I would love to meet everyone I can while we're there. The best times would probably be Fri 9/30 - Sun 10/2. We'll be at Food and Wine all 3 days. Sun 10/2 there is a Touring Plans meet at 2:30PM. They have not released the location yet but we'll definitely be there. We have to leave around 4PM that day to get on DME back to the airport Let's not think about that yet!

I have spent my entire evening sitting here reading your thread Shelly and I must say that I was riveted to every post. I cannot believe all that you have gone through to make this day come true! Nothing can be simple, can it? I've tossed around the idea of a Disney wedding although I do not think it would be a good option for me since I have a rather large extended family who I would want to attend, but a girl can dream, right? After reading about your situation though it kind of does make me wary. (Although not like I'm getting married anytime soon anyway).

I just wanted to tell you that I am glad that everything worked out for you in the end and I hope that you have an amazing wedding day! Much respect to you for handling a very ugly situation so graciously. Many people would've jumped at the chance to throw Disney under the bus in the media just to get their 15 minutes of fame, but you didn't and it seems like you were rewarded for it. Things DO happen for a reason and I'm proud that you stood up for yourself.

Can't wait to hear all about your wedding and your honeymoon trip. I'll be checking in!

Thank you so much for reading! Yes, what happened with Disney was unfortunate and we are glad we got it sorted out. In the end, Disney makes everything right. I don't blame people for being wary about having a Disney wedding but keep in mind that our situation was a major exception. Plus, it wasn't all Disney Fairytale Wedding's fault. I strongly believe that the DVC division is in shambles. Recently there was a debacle with the pricing of Aulani and 3 major execs were fired. Then this whole Wedding Pavilion/Grand Floridian construction debacle happened. I'm definitely not buying into DVC now. We had actually already planned to move to Orlando instead because it would be more cost effective for us.

I gotta tell you, it was extremely difficult to keep it together during my 15 minutes of fame. I quickly realized that I do not want to be famous. I'm not the kind of person who can hear the bad things people are saying about me and just ignore it. We had mostly supporters but there were internet trolls who just said terrible things (and those things are still posted on the Touring Plans article). And I really didn't want to be on the news. It was exciting at first but we quickly realized that we just needed to come to a resolution so we could move forward with our wedding. The most important thing is that Jason and I get married and have the wedding of our dreams. We are both so excited and we have moved past the debacle :sohappy:

 

[Fashionista007]

Ugh! I am sorry your stuff from Fairytale Wedding Store was something less than Fairytale! I -do- think, however, that the flower girl baskets photograph beautifully! They don't look cheap in pictures at all!

And your trip to Vancouver looks lovely! You didn't see Joshua Jackson there, did you?! :ROFLOL: (He's the love of my life and he's from there.)

You're SO CLOSE!!!!!!!

Thanks, Jackie! I know you have had issues with wedding vendors too, isn't it the worst?? I'm glad to hear that the baskets look good in pictures. I am going to move forward with using them but there is no chance I'll use the unity candle set. It bends! LOL dunno what they were thinking.

Ah Joshua Jackson ::swoon:: I'm a big fan of his too. I used to watch Dawson's Creek back in college (jeez I'm dating myself...). I didn't know he was from Vancouver! I thought about Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, and Kim Cattral while I was there. Especially Martin Short since he's in the Canada film at EPCOT

I've been reading but am just now getting around to posting... I would have absolutely died had I been in your shoes with the change in wedding venues. I've ALWAYS wanted to gt married at Disney, specifically the WP but the whole ordeal you went through makes me want to rethink that!!! I'm glad they were able to work with you though and your wedding will be BEAUTIFUL!!

Thank you so much for your support I'm glad we got it sorted out because I really couldn't get married anywhere besides the Wedding Pavilion. My sister and I used to pretend to be brides at the Grand Floridian and take pictures on the grand staircase in the lobby. I even have a picture of myself as a teenager wearing bride ears, that will be included in my trip report!! It has been hard to move past it because what they did was not right but in the end the issue has been resolved and we are going to have the best wedding ever :sohappy:

 

[Fashionista007]

What a crazy week!

This past week has been crazy and the week coming up will be even crazier! Jason and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary over the weekend but both of us had to work so all we did was order subs and pizza :ROFLOL: 5 years ago we were just strangers in a bar and now we're getting married at the most magical place on earth where dreams do come true! We didn't follow any of the "dating rules" by the way. He literally called me 2 hours after I left the bar that night and we went on our first date the next night. He moved in with me 2 months later. It was definitely a whirlwind romance and all of our friends told us not to do it LOL. But when it's right, it's right.

Wrapping everything up!

Today I prepaid for my Carolyn Allen's dress steaming and I'm sending the box tonight:

We bought a 20X20X24 regular shipping box from Staples for $5. I needed a bigger box because I'm also shipping my Dad's suit, my Mother's dress, and my Grandmother's dress. This box was perfect!! We are going to take it to UPS and get insurance, a tracking number, and delivery confirmation. I would not ship my precccccccccciiiiiiiouuuuussssssssss without all that!

Tonight I have an appointment for an eyebrow wax. It's my first ever waxing so I'm a bit nervous but I'm going to the best salon in town so I'm confident they won't botch it. I don't want to end up like Joey on Friends

Tomorrow I need to call my regular salon and schedule a pedicure and hair touch up, probably for next week.

Later this week we are going to pack up our favors, flowers, tiara, accessories, and other miscellaneous wedding items to send to the Grand Floridian! Next week we *should* be able to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the week before our wedding :sohappy:

 

[Fashionista007]

Pictures of construction at the Wedding Pavilion

I've been waiting for pictures of the construction at the Wedding Pavilion to surface online and they finally have! Yay for the Disney Blog. I don't think the powder blue walls look too bad. It's not exactly what I wanted but I did make sure we can still take pictures at picture point which is the green arch outside that has a view of the castle. Our new wedding planner also sent us some pictures of a recent wedding and they were beautiful. They just angled the shots away from the construction walls and there are no pictures of the beach. That's fine with me, I hadn't planned to set foot on the beach in my wedding dress. I'm not that kind of bride

http://thedisneyblog.com/2011/09/12/magic-kingdom-update-ch-ch-ch-changes-part-ii/

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

OMG I'm so tired, I worked all weekend to get my project up to speed. But now I'm ahead of schedule :sohappy: I finally got a "nice job" compliment from my boss. I REALLY do not suggest that any bride change jobs while in the process of planning a wedding. It has been incredibly stressful because you know you have to prove yourself when you get a new job. Luckily, I just passed my 90 day probation period so that's a good sign. I have my first quarter review right after we get back from our honeymoon. I hope and pray I get a good bonus so we can recoup some of the money we spent on the wedding! We're totally tapped out

I will never forget my drive up to Whistler! That was definitely the best drive of my life. I'm glad I got a chance to take a few pictures since I was all alone and I wanted to share the experience with people!

12 DAYS TILL WE LEAVE!!! SQUEE!!!! I can't wait to see my pal, Mickey Mouse

I'll keep that info in mind and not look for a new job when I plan on getting married in the future. Just think though even though you are tapped out it will be completely worth it!!

Glad to see you found a box to ship everything in!!! I can just imagine what shipping costs on something like that is.

And FYI on eyebrow waxes..I got my first done in May of this year and go about every 4 weeks, but if you are anything like me and hair anywhere grows back at an alarming rate then you have to do some eyebrow hair trimming (apparently the right word to use there is blocked out..weird) inbetween. I believe I'm on week 5 now and I'm trying to hold it off until the end of next week that way when I go to WDW it's great and I don't have to worry about it. But the waxing I actually find kind of nice and relaxing doesn't hurt me really unless she goes to close to my eyelid.

Relaxation before the trip will be very nice, hopefully me and my mom will run into you during our trips!

 

[Fashionista007]

I'll keep that info in mind and not look for a new job when I plan on getting married in the future. Just think though even though you are tapped out it will be completely worth it!!

Glad to see you found a box to ship everything in!!! I can just imagine what shipping costs on something like that is.

And FYI on eyebrow waxes..I got my first done in May of this year and go about every 4 weeks, but if you are anything like me and hair anywhere grows back at an alarming rate then you have to do some eyebrow hair trimming (apparently the right word to use there is blocked out..weird) inbetween. I believe I'm on week 5 now and I'm trying to hold it off until the end of next week that way when I go to WDW it's great and I don't have to worry about it. But the waxing I actually find kind of nice and relaxing doesn't hurt me really unless she goes to close to my eyelid.

Relaxation before the trip will be very nice, hopefully me and my mom will run into you during our trips!

We just got back from UPS. The cost wasn't too bad, it was about $50. Luckily, clothing is not that heavy so it kept the cost down. I think our boxes containing the favors and flowers will be more expensive because of the weight. We'll ship that stuff later this week because it needs to arrive at the Grand Floridian no earlier than one week before we check in. For Carolyn Allen's it's 2 weeks.

Thanks for the tips about waxing. I usually tweeze my eyebrows and I've been doing it for so long that most of the hair has stopped growing back. I'm doing the professional wax because I want a little better brow design. Cheers to first world problems!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

We just got back from UPS. The cost wasn't too bad, it was about $50. Luckily, clothing is not that heavy so it kept the cost down. I think our boxes containing the favors and flowers will be more expensive because of the weight. We'll ship that stuff later this week because it needs to arrive at the Grand Floridian no earlier than one week before we check in. For Carolyn Allen's it's 2 weeks.

Thanks for the tips about waxing. I usually tweeze my eyebrows and I've been doing it for so long that most of the hair has stopped growing back. I'm doing the professional wax because I want a little better brow design. Cheers to first world problems!

Wow, that cost isn't bad at all! I was thinking alot worse.

Tweezing, that was the other name I couldn't think of for it. Stupid me sometimes :hammer: Hope everything came out the way you wanted!

 

[Fashionista007]

Wow, that cost isn't bad at all! I was thinking alot worse.

Tweezing, that was the other name I couldn't think of for it. Stupid me sometimes :hammer: Hope everything came out the way you wanted!

Yeah we were really surprised that shipping wasn't too expensive for the dresses. Like I said, it's based on the weight so we think the boxes we will have shipped to the Grand Floridian will be more because they're heavy.

My eyebrows turned out great but the aesthetician was a big Disney hater! I told her about the wedding and she proceeded to tell me about how she lived in Orlando and was really tired of seeing "the mouse". What a goon. I knew it was all downhill when she asked if we were "Disney freaks". Ah well, at least she didn't botch my eyebrows on purpose. I knew not to upset her so I just kept quiet!

Yesterday I had a chance to watch wedding videos on YouTube...and cry I can't believe its so close!! Tomorrow is online check in day :sohappy:

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Yeah we were really surprised that shipping wasn't too expensive for the dresses. Like I said, it's based on the weight so we think the boxes we will have shipped to the Grand Floridian will be more because they're heavy.

My eyebrows turned out great but the aesthetician was a big Disney hater! I told her about the wedding and she proceeded to tell me about how she lived in Orlando and was really tired of seeing "the mouse". What a goon. I knew it was all downhill when she asked if we were "Disney freaks". Ah well, at least she didn't botch my eyebrows on purpose. I knew not to upset her so I just kept quiet!

Yesterday I had a chance to watch wedding videos on YouTube...and cry I can't believe its so close!! Tomorrow is online check in day :sohappy:

I read your tweet about that earlier! That is really unfortunate! How can anyone get tired of seeing "the mouse"! But I'm glad she didn't ruin your eyebrows!!

:sohappy: I hope the next week and a half fly by! It's one of those things that feels so close yet so far away...

 

[Fashionista007]

I read your tweet about that earlier! That is really unfortunate! How can anyone get tired of seeing "the mouse"! But I'm glad she didn't ruin your eyebrows!!

:sohappy: I hope the next week and a half fly by! It's one of those things that feels so close yet so far away...

Ugh I know, Disney haters are the worst! I've heard it all, trust me you get a lot more rude comments from people when you are an adult getting married in WDW. They just don't understand and/or don't think they are being rude. I've learned to smile and nod and commence my eye rolling sequence on the inside :hammer:

 

[Fashionista007]

Things are flying by!! I made my final salon appt for next Thurs to have a cut, highlights, and pedicure. I've never had a pedicure before and I'm excited to splurge a little bit to have it done. I figure I'll be so tired by the end of next week that a little royal treatment will go a long way!

Today we shipped 2 boxes to the Grand Floridian containing favors, flowers, shoes, bubbles, and all of my wedding accessories. Again we thought we would spend more than we did - it was only $50 for both boxes. So now everything is shipped!

Jason and I had a conference call with our new wedding planner, Vita, today. She couldn't be sweeter. She walked us through the day and answered our last minute questions. It really helped to calm my nerves and I highly suggest that all brides do this. I was almost considering asking her to meet us in person after we check in but now I know that won't be necessary. She said that there will be a team of people to tell us where to go and how to stand. She said it will go smoothly and we won't have anything to worry about. Just hearing her go through our schedule of events was enough for me but she plussed it and spoke to our emotional side as well. She rocks!!

After our conversation, I updated our final itinerary and mailed out our final newsletter!! Now the only thing left on my list is to make payment and tip envelopes!! I can actually relax, it's SO weird. I've been going nonstop for months now and I've even stopped my favorite activity - video games. I think I might play something tonight, maybe Kingdom Hearts (a Disney Interactive game) to get in the mood :sohappy:

Today is Online Checkin day but Jason and I decided not to do it for GF or SSR. We figure that with the wedding plans and everything we had shipped down ahead of us, we should go the normal check in route so we can talk to the hotel staff and make sure everything is in order.

10 DAYS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sohappy:

 

[diddy_mouse]

Saw your tweet so I figured I'd drop by and comment!

I hope these next few days go so smoothly for you. Glad to hear that everything was shipped! Now you can just sit back and keep counting the days til you get on that plane, fly down, and enjoy a wonderful wedding! It's been awesome following along!

P.S. Ooh Kingdom Hearts! I STILL haven't beaten that game but I love going back to play it.

 

[TomHendricks]

Speaking from experience, you will be amazed at how well your wedding is handled. The wedding planner is with you the entire day and will shepherd you through everything. I have been to many wedding where the Bride and Groom are flustered, uptight about everything and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Not at our wedding, having the wedding planner took such a load off, we actually enjoyed our wedding. In fact, the wife and I often say that our wedding is the best wedding we have ever been to and all those who attended say the same thing.

They will handle everything, no need to stress out about anything. We had two minor issues at our wedding, the AC was to low and one of our guess got the wrong meal. Our wedding planner caught the wrong meal on her own and took care of it. We had to ask her for the AC to be lowered, which it was. She then constantly made sure that the temp was right by asking. I know these are two small things, but she really want to make sure we had a magical day.

I can't wait for your after action report. See how your experience comes out. I'm betting on great. Also still hope to run into you guys down there. So we can congratulate you on the whole thing.

Things are flying by!! I made my final salon appt for next Thurs to have a cut, highlights, and pedicure. I've never had a pedicure before and I'm excited to splurge a little bit to have it done. I figure I'll be so tired by the end of next week that a little royal treatment will go a long way!

Today we shipped 2 boxes to the Grand Floridian containing favors, flowers, shoes, bubbles, and all of my wedding accessories. Again we thought we would spend more than we did - it was only $50 for both boxes. So now everything is shipped!

Jason and I had a conference call with our new wedding planner, Vita, today. She couldn't be sweeter. She walked us through the day and answered our last minute questions. It really helped to calm my nerves and I highly suggest that all brides do this. I was almost considering asking her to meet us in person after we check in but now I know that won't be necessary. She said that there will be a team of people to tell us where to go and how to stand. She said it will go smoothly and we won't have anything to worry about. Just hearing her go through our schedule of events was enough for me but she plussed it and spoke to our emotional side as well. She rocks!!

After our conversation, I updated our final itinerary and mailed out our final newsletter!! Now the only thing left on my list is to make payment and tip envelopes!! I can actually relax, it's SO weird. I've been going nonstop for months now and I've even stopped my favorite activity - video games. I think I might play something tonight, maybe Kingdom Hearts (a Disney Interactive game) to get in the mood :sohappy:

Today is Online Checkin day but Jason and I decided not to do it for GF or SSR. We figure that with the wedding plans and everything we had shipped down ahead of us, we should go the normal check in route so we can talk to the hotel staff and make sure everything is in order.

10 DAYS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sohappy:

 

[DimpledDevil18]

Hope you enjoy the peducure! It is an amazing experience, especially when you're stressed. You will love it! I'm getting so excited for you!