Meredith & Chad, April 28 2018 Wishes, WP/GM Lounge/UK Lochside- WEDDING VIDEO

Initial BEO and First Phone Call with my New Planner!

I had my first phone call with my new planner today and it went really well! She is super sweet and really knows her stuff when it comes to the logistics of the wedding day. She had a lot of good suggestions for the timing of the day and is going to put the floral proposal on the BEO document instead of having two separate documents.. (she said this is really the planner's preference, but it's going to be a lot more convenient to have it all in one place).

We went through the BEO page by page and she asked me questions where she had them and I asked her questions or asked to remove certain items. Some of the revisions we made:
  • She's going to have my bouquet delivered at 6:15 AM so I can inspect it before the Roots arrive at 6:30 AM (I didn't even think about that)
  • Going to have Chad's floral delivered to his room instead of the GF Main Lobby so we can have it for the first look at 8 AM
  • Reduce the overall guest count to 40 (32 adults, 8 kids)... this will likely go down even more to around 30 adults and 2 kids (one family of 2 adults and 4 kids is being extremely wishy washy :sad2:)
  • She noted that I wanted the unity candle tapers prelit for the ceremony
  • Noted that I need a easel for a welcome sign at the front of the Pavilion
  • Going to check on the availability of the Model A Ford as a possible replacement for the Glass Coach (heartbreaking, but money has to be saved somewhere :sad:)
  • Going to set up separate transportation for the Roots instead of having them ride the motorcoach with the guests (that way our post ceremony photos won't be rushed)
  • Since I originally requested pictures of the reception space before the guests arrive, Switzerworld (our videographers) is going to head over to the reception space early instead of the Roots (again, so our post ceremony photos won't be rushed)
  • Going to get a price on reducing the wedding cake to 3 tiers instead of 4 (since my guest count is going down)
  • Going to lay out the reception space diagram with fewer tables and send me a copy (I was supposed to have already seen the layout, but was never sent it :()
  • Going to check on getting a small black and white dance floor (I mentioned this at my planning session, but it wasn't put in the BEO)
  • Noted that I am providing menu cards instead of favors
  • Confirmed ivory linens for the cake table, buffet tables, and card table
  • Going to check on using candelabras for decor around the perimeter of the reception space instead of the Deluxe Greens Package (which costs $3125)
  • Removed the package bar and changed it to Bill on Consumption for the duration of the reception. I still think this is going to be out of my budget and I may have to remove the alcohol all together aside from my specialty drinks... although my planner's thinking is it may be cheaper to have more options because if someone wants to drink alcohol they can easily drink 4 or 5 of my frozen drinks at $13.50 a piece vs. a $6 beer. My only issue is that even though it is Bill on Consumption, they still charge a certain amount (4 drinks per adult) before the event, and then you get a refund after if your guests don't drink that much (which they likely won't). My mom has given me a STRICT budget... so even if I tell her we will likely get a lot of the money back she will probably make me cut something else.
  • We also removed the bottled and sparkling water (which I never asked for) and I will likely remove the soda too and just have water, iced tea, coffee, and hot tea.
  • We removed the watercolor artist
  • Adjusted the reception timeline so the cake cutting is in the middle of the character's set and not at the beginning
  • Confirmed that me and Chad can walk from the Yacht Club to the Dessert Party. She also suggested getting the Roots to meet us in the lobby and have them take some pictures of us on the way over to the Dessert Party.
And we did this all in a ONE hour phone call :eek:
My new planner is a rockstar and is on top of her game :cool1:

And now I will attempt to post the initial BEO's!​
 
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And there they are! None of the floral specifics are in this BEO (like I mentioned, my planner said it's really the planner's preference as to whether or not they put it all in one document, but she is supposed to list the floral in general terms in the revised BEO). I have a separate floral proposal that I'm still working on reducing (the floral itself was my ENTIRE wedding budget in the first proposal LOL)​
 


Wow & Wow on your BEO..........so overwhelming........................

I know I was so overwhelmed at first!! Which is why I put off looking at it for over a month :scared: It really was helpful having my planner walk me through it over the phone! I would definitely recommend setting up a BEO review call shortly after you receive the BEO!
 
Invitations!

I got my invitation suite from Minted. I LOVED the floral design (it matches my theme and colors perfectly) and they often have 15% off all wedding orders. I'm planning on sending them out around January 23rd, which will be around 3 months prior to the wedding and will give my guests a month to get the RSVP cards back to me. I have to reduce my room block by February 27th, so having the RSVP a couple of days before that will hopefully let me know how many rooms I need to drop.

Front of the invitation:
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Back of the invitation:

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RSVP Cards:

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"The Details" Card

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Stamps! (a little blurry because it's a screenshot)

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Menus for the reception:

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Love the invitation!!! Brunch and Epcot Fireworks party sounds great too!!!!
If I have read and remember right - you do not wear your bridal gown at the Dessert party, correct?
 
Following along! Living vicariously through the Disney brides! We are getting married 9/1/18 at home with a Disney theme, and a mini-moon on DCL and at WDW. Love all the stuff you have planned so far. Your invites are super cute!
 
Love the invitation!!! Brunch and Epcot Fireworks party sounds great too!!!!
If I have read and remember right - you do not wear your bridal gown at the Dessert party, correct?

Thanks!! You can wear a wedding dress to the dessert party if you are having the event through DFTW (i.e if someone does the DP through Disney's private catered events they can't wear bridal attire). I'm wearing my dress unless it gets extremely uncomfortable. I'm planning on meeting an event guide at the back gate of Epcot and walking to the DP since we are staying at the Yacht Club. You technically aren't allowed to walk through the parks in bridal attire, that's why I have to meet a guide at the back gate.
 
Following along! Living vicariously through the Disney brides! We are getting married 9/1/18 at home with a Disney theme, and a mini-moon on DCL and at WDW. Love all the stuff you have planned so far. Your invites are super cute!

Glad to have you along for the ride :moped:

The good thing about having an at home Disney wedding is you get to enjoy your Disney honeymoon without lingering family members :rotfl:

We just went on a Disney Cruise over Christmas and it was awesome!!
 
My dd wants to go on a DCL cruise right for the "honeymoon" after the "hopefully" Disney wedding so she can leave us all behind :D - No, seriously. She has been on a few DCL cruises with us and loves them.
 
Wedding/Honeymoon Itinerary

I just added the Deluxe Dining Plan to our post wedding stay at the Yacht Club :woohoo:so I thought I would go through our dining plans so far (did I mention I LOVE Disney food.. keep this in mind when you see how many reservations we have :rotfl:)

April 26th
  • Arrive at Disney around 3 PM and drop our dogs off at Best Friends :sad1: (we've never boarded them, so I hope they do okay)​
  • Check into the Grand around 5 PM (which will be weird since I've exclusively stayed at the Beach Club since I was around 8 :eek:)​
  • Dinner at Narcoossee's at 7:30 PM. Honestly, I'm not crazy about this reservation because of the recent reviews I've seen. But I know we will be tired and want to stay at the Grand for dinner, so it was this or Citricos. I figured with Narcoossee's we could at least get a good fireworks view and I really want to try the Almond Crusted Cheesecake :cool2:
April 27th
  • Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at 8 AM. I've done dinner and enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to the different characters at breakfast.
  • Visit our dogs until 11 AM or so (assuming we get there around 9:30 AM)
  • Hit the Magic Kingdom and use our 3 FP+'s.. I'm thinking Space Mountain, Big Thunder, and Jungle Cruise
  • Maybe have lunch at Skipper Canteen at 12:20 PM
  • Leave MK by 1:45 PM at the latest
  • Change for rehearsal and rehearse at 2:30 PM (not much to rehearse.. we don't have a wedding party, but want to run through the ceremony with Rev. Kevin Knox)
  • Visit our dogs (again :rotfl:)
  • Head over to the Boardwalk area for our "rehearsal" dinner (really just dinner with our family).. we have a reservation at Trattoria al Forno at 5:25 PM.. again not too crazy about this reservation. I haven't been able to find a lot of reviews on it, but I needed a restaurant at the Yacht & Beach Club or Boardwalk (my grandparents will be at Beach Club, so I don't want to go somewhere that is too complicated for them to get to). I could only get a reservation for 8 at the Yachtsman and they couldn't guarantee we would be sat together even with 8 people.
  • Hopefully we will have time to check out the AbracadaBAR (I've wanted to go for a while!!)
  • Then it will be back to the Grand to rest for our EARLY morning!!
April 28th THE BIG DAY!!! :bride:
  • I won't go through every detail of the wedding day, as you can see that in the BEO. We are starting hair and makeup around 5 AM (since it's just me getting H&M). I have to have my dress ON by 7:40 AM... then we have our first look at 8 AM
  • We get married then go immediately to the reception, which lasts until 3:30 PM
  • We are switching to the Yacht Club, so we will probably walk to the Yacht Club or at least take the boat from IG
  • Here's where things get complicated.. we have to pick our dogs up from Best Friends because they will be staying with us at the YC (yay dog friendly resorts :thumbsup2), BUT we are most likely riding with my parents down to Disney. Sooo we would have to go to the Beach Club and get their car and park it at the YC (because we can't walk from the BC to YC with our dogs). It would be even more complicated if we drive ourselves to Florida because then we would have to move our vehicle from the Grand to the YC.
  • By the time we do all that hopefully it isn't much later than 5:30 PM :scared: because I currently have us dinner booked at Beaches and Cream at 6 PM. I really love the idea of going in our wedding attire and having a snack before our Dessert Party :lovestruc
  • Then we are going to meet a guide at IG and walk to our Dessert Party! My planner suggested I see if the Roots want to meet us at the YC lobby and get some pictures of us on the walk over (I still have to talk to them about this but I love the idea!)
  • After the Dessert Party we have a ride mix-in on Test Track, then I'm going to see if we can walk back to the YC
  • We probably won't get back to the hotel until close to midnight... and the next morning comes even EARLIER
April 29th
  • Hair and Makeup starts at 4 AM for the Magic Kingdom and Epcot park shoot :crazy2: (Also just realized we have to put our dogs in a cage or something while the artist is there o_O.. maybe we can put them in the bathroom lol). We will be picked up at 6 AM at the YC. Oh and Switzerworld (our videographers) will be attending our MK shoot!! I'm soo excited.. hopefully I can get my fiance up and ready without much complaining :rotfl:
  • After our park shoots we have brunch at California Grill at 12:45 PM. Super excited about this after reading all of the amazing reviews!!
  • Then it's back to Epcot for the day (maybe after a nap :P)
  • Dinner at Spice Road Table at 7:00 PM (it's our favorite Epcot restaurant.. right now at least)
April 30th
  • Breakfast at Cape May Cafe at 7:30 AM (LOVE Cape May!!)
  • Hollywood Studios.. use our 3 FP+'s on Toy Story, ToT, and Star Tours
  • Lunch at Mama Melrose at 11:40 AM (one of my favorite restaurants.. I would have my "rehearsal" dinner here if it weren't in a park)
  • Back to YC to let our dogs out and rest
  • Dinner at 'Ohana at 5 PM
  • Happily Ever After Plaza Garden Viewing Dessert Party with Romance Package. I booked this package where you get tickets to the DP and a special dessert, honeymoon themed luggage tags, and honeymoon themed Magic Bands.. I really just wanted the Magic Bands :rotfl:
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Sorry this picture is so huge :laughing:

May 1st
  • Pre-park opening breakfast at Tusker House at 8 AM
  • Use our 3 FP+'s at Safari, EE, and FoP (hopefully)
  • Lunch at Tiffins at 12 PM
  • OR I might move our lunch to 11 AM and do the Wild Africa Trek at 12:30 or 1:15 (I've always wanted to do this!)
  • Then it's back to the YC to let the dogs out, shower and get ready for...
  • Jiko at 7:30 PM!!! I've heard so many good things about Jiko and I'm so excited to finally try it (although I wish we weren't eating there after we spend all day eating African-like food, but that's just how the plan worked out :confused3)
May 2nd (Our last day :sad:)
  • Pre-park opening breakfast at Crystal Palace at 8 AM
  • Use 3 FP+'s at MK
  • Ride monorail to Epcot
  • Lunch at Via Napoli at 1:20 PM
  • Rest, pack, let dogs out
  • Back to Epcot to walk (drink :drinking1) around WS
  • Dinner at Monsieur Paul at 7:30 PM (hoping we can see some of the fireworks from here). I went back and forth between Le Ceiller and MP over and over again, but I think I'm going to stick with MP because I've seen a lot of comments that Le Ceiller is overrated lately.
 
Ceremony and Reception Signs

Just realized I never posted my customs signs I got from Miss Design Berry on Etsy! I LOVE them!!

Here is our signature cocktail sign that will go on the bar (yes, these are my dogs!):

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Our Welcome sign that will be in the Pavilion:

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And our guest book that is printed on canvas!!

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I also just purchased these smaller signs (they will be in gold instead of rose gold):

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Wedding Band!!!

So my wedding band arrived today from Blue Nile and I am in LOVE!! First of all Blue Nile is amazing.. free 2 day shipping, no sales tax (in SC at least), and they are always having a sale! My engagement ring is from them too and they sent an appraisal with the ring for insurance. I got my band for $671 plus another $25 for engraving. It's 14K gold and 1/5 carat.
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Now I just have to get my fiancé's band picked out! I'm thinking of doing a simple gold band for him. I had "To Infinity" engraved on my band and going to put "And Beyond" on his. It might sound cheesy to some people, but I wanted something Disney related and this was the shortest phrase that would fit :rotfl:
 
Love it! they go together so perfect. I love the idea of a Disney quote in the ring too. We on the dis all get it!

We are going for a consult next month I think on our bands. I have no idea what I want. I have not liked anything I have tried on. DF works at Tiffany's so we are going to talk to one of their sales people. Of course Tiffany's is a 1,000% more than I want to spend, but hopefully we get ideas at least and shop elsewhere.
 
Love it! they go together so perfect. I love the idea of a Disney quote in the ring too. We on the dis all get it!

We are going for a consult next month I think on our bands. I have no idea what I want. I have not liked anything I have tried on. DF works at Tiffany's so we are going to talk to one of their sales people. Of course Tiffany's is a 1,000% more than I want to spend, but hopefully we get ideas at least and shop elsewhere.

Thank you!! That's so cool that he works at Tiffany's!!! They don't have some kind of employee discount?? :thumbsup2
 
90 Day Update - Floral Ramblings

I can't believe we are at 89 days!! I remember last February when I first reached out to DFTW and had NO idea what I wanted for my wedding day.. the sad thing is it's been a year and I still feel indecisive about some of my decisions LOL

We paid our minimum expenditure, so I guess we are in this for good! My planner got back to me with an updated BEO last week.. I only cut around $10,000 from our discussion.. still another $20K or so to cut :crazy2:

Most of the rest of our cuts will be from floral.. I've been trying to review floral since the end of November, but my florist is sort of hard to get a hold of. She doesn't respond to emails, which is frustrating. After our planning session, our floral and decor came in close to $30K.. I'm hoping to bring it down to $12K ($10K would be ideal).

Since our reception location is basically a blank canvas, I want to put most of my budget there, which means I will need to cut pretty much all of ceremony decor. I've seen previous brides do minimal decor in the WP and it honestly looks really good. It keeps the focus on the bride and groom, whereas a lot of decor in the WP can kind of get distracting. I'm thinking I'm going to do the 5' gold candelabras without any floral (this will save $1200) and a custom aisle runner (I'd like to cover up the blue carpet!). My bridal bouquet is $450 (I know I could save some money there, but I want to have a pretty bouquet since I'm spending a good bit of money on photography and videography) and we only have about $100 in the groom's floral and my MOH floral. We are also cutting the aisle petals (they cost over $500 and don't really add anything to the decor) and candles down the aisle (again, $500 for low impact). This brings our personal floral and ceremony floral to close to $2000.

That leaves $8K-$10K for the reception floral and decor. We are renting the farmhouse trestle tables for $230 each (will probably need 7 or 8 of these) along with the mismatched wooden chairs that cost $16 each. I feel like the table and chairs are really the basis for my wedding "theme," so those are staying for now.

I also have a boxwood wall to go behind the sweetheart table with our names cutout in gold and coordinating drapery and floral for $4400 o_O This is one of those things that I plan on asking my florist for a cheaper option.. something around $2500 if possible. I want something that will make an impact behind the sweetheart table, and I'm thinking I'm going to give up the carriage, which would basically pay for this and the custom aisle runner :rolleyes1

The centerpieces are the other thing that I HAVE to cut down. I was quoted $1100 for floral garland to run the length of the tables, which came up to like $11K for 9 tables. I'm hoping that I can decrease the amount of floral in the garland and the length of it and get them for around $600. Even then I will need to do 3 tables with the garland and another cheaper centerpiece for the other 4 tables (maybe candelabras?) to keep the centerpieces around $2500

I've asked 3 or 4 times about a black and white dance floor and have yet to get this added to my BEO, but it's something I think will really tie our whole look together. So that adds around $650 I think?

Then we are replacing the deluxe greens package (10 ficus trees with twinkle lights) with 5' candelabras. We can get 8 of those for $500 versus the $3125 that the deluxe greens package costs.

We are upgrading our flatware to gold, which costs around $700 (something that could be cut, but all of our other decor is gold so I'm trying to keep it)

And we got our cake price down to $825 from $1575 :dogdance:We cut it down to 3 tiers instead of 4 and I think that's the only thing that was changed? Mental note to double check that though!!

So basically I've been crunching numbers for a week :sad2: Other than that, I FINALLY ordered my fiance's suit... I'm still waiting on the jacket to come in though. I was originally going to do navy blue, but ended up going with a little bit lighter color blue so it felt less formal (since we have the morning ceremony). I got him a champagne colored tie (I thought that would be easier than trying to match the blush/amethyst color of my dress) Here it is! It's from Express (I had a coupon :laughing:)

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ANDDDD I ordered his ring with the $200 Visa Card we got for getting DIRECTV installed :thumbsup2

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It's Tungsten (he didn't want an expensive ring and I'm not fond of the traditional gold rings on men, so I picked this since it was a little bit more manly)

Anyway, I have a phone call scheduled with my florist on Thursday, so hopefully I'll have more to update then!​
 

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