Another three months have gone by and I am still deep in the planning (and crafting) of my Disney wedding. Again, I don’t know how these three months have gone by so quickly, but I think I made a dent in my never-ending To Do List. I don’t think I mentioned that I am also planning a rather large at home luau reception after we get married so I am keeping quite busy. Here is my progress so far…
Photographer Update – I was finally at the point where I was planning out my wedding day timeline and realized I think I would need more photographer time. I called my photographer and walked him through my day and what I was envisioning and where I wanted to have pictures. We decided that my photographer will arrive at my resort about 90 minutes before the wedding will begin. Since we will be there with our kids, I am fine with taking pictures of the family before the wedding ceremony. We will take the boat from the resort to the Swan, taking pictures along the way. After the ceremony and cake, we will head over to the Polynesian for our reception dinner at ‘Ohanas. My photographer will meet us over there and take pictures on the gorgeous grounds and beach of the Polynesian and on the monorail, probably the resort loop, all before dinner. I REALLY want to get pictures on the monorail. I can’t wait for all of those pictures!
Wedding Dress – I was determined to find a light, beachy wedding dress in my price range without having to try on too many dresses. I am SO not a shopper!!!!! I looked through the website of the store I planned to visit and wrote down the numbers of many dresses I liked. My friend (who loves to shop!) and I went to the dress store. As I browsed through dresses, the salesperson looked up all of the numbers I gave her and found only one in stock that was on my list. I tried that dress on first and had the feeling that would be the one. I tried on all of the others I selected, but kept comparing back to the first dress so I knew that was the one. Yeah! That was so easy.
Music – I originally wanted to save money and use an ipod for the music, but I didn’t want to have to put someone in charge of music and cause them the stress of making sure the right music was played at the correct times. I didn’t know what type of instrument I liked and my fiancé said he hears enough flute from my 11yo practicing, so he actually suggested a harp. I heard fabulous reviews regarding a harpist so I visited her website and listened to some of her songs. I think she is reasonably priced, and yes, she was cheaper with me booking her on my own. She will play from before the ceremony begins through the cake cutting, not charging me for the extra time. Now I just need to select songs and fill out the worksheet she gave me to cover the different sections of the wedding where music is needed.
Flowers – I had decided early on to make Mickey flower balls for our 3 girls to carry. They were so easy to make once we started. Here is what they look like.
I inquired with my planner on the cost of a tropical bouquet for me and I got sticker shock. A smallish tropical bouquet would cost me $250, including delivery. Never fear, I found a more economical way by using fake flowers. Did you know that the craft store, Michael’s, can create custom flowers for you? No, well I didn’t either until a friend mentioned it. I stopped in my local Michael’s, I selected the flowers I liked and wanted in my bouquet. I ended up selecting calla lilies, orchids, and some other tropical white flowers. I picked flowers that have more of the real feel to them, not silk. The final cost is the price of the flowers plus 30%. Including everything, my bouquet is going to cost me about $45. I already know where that saved money will go.
Staged Exit – I never knew it had a name, but it does. A staged exit is when the guests do something like throw rice or blow bubbles. I hadn’t really thought about it until a friend asked if I was doing bubbles. Hmm, I have seen pictures that look pretty cool, but I didn’t know if that was for me. I can see my girls blowing bubbles through the whole ceremony. In the end I decided to make ribbon wands for each of my guests to wave for the staged exit. This was a super easy project and took about an hour or so to make 20 wands. I used my colors of blue and white and added bells on the end (think Tinkerbell ;)) I think I need to add a gem on the end though to add a bit of sparkle and create a finished look. Here is what they look like.
In addition to the wands, I plan on giving each a guess a Mickey shaped fan. I am expecting a June beach wedding to be hot and I want my guests to have a way of cooling off, just a little, while waiting for the ceremony to begin. I wanted to have a beach theme to the fan so I added a starfish or shell to each. Here is what one looks like, and yes, I cut each one out by hand.
In addition to wands and fans, I am working on putting together a guest goody bag. The bag will contain:
– a Disney themed fabric photo album for each family (I still need to make those)
– mini magnetic photo frame with Mickey and Minnie or Tinkerbell on it
– a mister sprayer, either one per family or one per child if the family has more than one (I don’t want fighting over them)
– an activity packet with word finds, crosswords, and mazes I created
– some glow bracelets
– beach themed bath salts
– mini notepad and pen
– some snacks, TBD
– maybe more…
Hair and Makeup – I had planned on doing my own hair and makeup, with the help of my friends that will be with me in Disney, but I have decided instead to use the saved money for hair and makeup. Again, through the help of some Disney message boards, I found a great place that has only rave reviews for hair and makeup. I think a little pampering is in order on my wedding day. Now to decide on a hair style!
Marriage License – Now that I am about two months out, it is time to start thinking about a marriage license. I will need a license from the state of Florida, but I don’t want to waste a day driving around looking for the county building. I found the website that has all of the information to apply for the license from home. I will need to fill out some initial paperwork, send it over then the county will send me some additional paperwork that will need to be completed and notarized. Once that is done, I will send it back and they will send me back a license. Easy and stress free! No worries about forgetting to bring paperwork to Florida. I will just need to remember to bring the license.
I’m almost at the two month mark now and my to do list doesn’t seem any shorter. Every time I cross something off, I find something else to add on, but I think I am making progress. Most major tasks have been completed. Next up to do… more crafts, maybe some custom shirts, ring shopping, dress fittings, shopping for trip, dresses for girls, etc.
