Musings of a Stressed-Out Bride: A June WDW Honeymoon PTR (UPDATED 5/28)

[PirateFish989]

Happy Star Wars Day!!!

I'm so excited because we just booked Dining with an Animal Expert at Sanaa for dinner on June 14!!

I was listening to an old DisUnplugged episode where they review this experience and I instantly knew it was something we should try to do! I had been pondering booking a meal at Sanaa anyway - we LOVE Indian food; talking with an animal expert is the icing on the cake!

As a total biology nerd, I have so many questions I want to ask! I can't wait to bring what we learn back to teach to my students - we do an entire unit on biodiversity and animal behavior and I'm really hoping I can bring back some cool stuff to teach to them!

I also got some super cute (and SUPER COMFY) sandals for our trip! I wish I had a picture but they're a pewter color and are really cute and strappy. I'm planning on wearing them to our dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse! And maybe even to our dinner with an animal expert!!!

On the wedding planning front...

Centerpieces are done. Well, the planning is done. The execution is in the works.

The ceremony arch is planned and my dad is going to start building that tonight (we decided to use Redwood to build it instead of the cheap PVC pipe I had originally planned to use - I was trying to be financially responsible).

The table numbers we had purchased and then I was going to modify turned out to be a total disaster. They were originally looked like a chalkboard and since we aren't using black on anything I was going to paint them navy and then write the table numbers in gold. But when I went to do that, the paint didn't stick (despite using primer!) and they seriously turned out to be a complete wreck. Jordan even said "what are THOSE?"

It was then I knew they were actually really bad.

We also had a financial hiccup this week. Jordan's (18-year-old) car bit the dust and considering our schedules, we had to get another one quickly. We ended up getting a 2013 Volkswagen Passat which we are both excited about, especially considering our VERY limited budget.

I think that is all for now!

 

[reyasmommy]

My anniversary is on June 14th

I remember the wedding melt-downs. It happened more than once. I actually remember the night before having a complete meltdown. I told everyone to go on and have fun at Disney without me while I tried to pull myself together.

I'm glad all of your wedding plans are coming along nicely. Your big day will be here before you know it! Congratulations !

 

[PirateFish989]

Two weeks from tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!! I cannot even believe that we are so close. After months and months of planning, it is almost here.

And as a bride so close to her wedding, and SO done with wedding planning, I cannot wait until the whole thing is over. I can’t wait to marry Jordan, but my god, planning a wedding is so stressful.

We submitted our final head count yesterday (I can’t believe how many guests didn’t send their RSVP in. We had to hunt these people down to get an answer, and most were no’s, but still, SEND IN THE RSVP! It came with a stamp!)

My dad built a really beautiful redwood arch for us for our ceremony. Gah, it’s gorgeous! Jordan’s aunt, who has become our decorator and the sane counterpart to my mom and my insane brains, is coming over to decorate it tomorrow, so I’ll post a picture once it’s done.

I took today off work and we are getting our marriage license today. I think it’s just downright stupid that the marriage license office is only open Monday-Friday from 8:00-3:30. Apparently if you’re a teacher, you either have to take time off of work to get a marriage license or you just don’t get one

I’ve confirmed with our baker and the florist and my makeup person and my hair person and the photographer.

SO MUCH TO DO, SO LITTLE TIME.

On a honeymoon note, our Magic Bands arrived earlier this week! I was so surprised when they arrived only 2 days after being shipped!

(Apparently the photo is too large to upload from my iPad so I’ll put it up tomorrow along with the arch)

We are so excited for our honeymoon!

There was a small mishap with our Dine with an Animal Expert reservation in that we actually never had one. Our TA accidentally made a dinner reservation at Sanaa instead of booking the experience. No wonder she thought I was crazy for asking her to call Disney to reserve it!

The experience didn’t work out with our schedule as it is only a lunch experience, we we booked the Varing for Giants tour instead! Elephants are my absolute favorite so I’m so excited! And Jordan loves animals so he was excited when I told him!

I think that is all for now. I’m off to get ready for the day and then run a million wedding-related errands!

 

[PirateFish989]

As promised, here are some pictures!

First, our Magic Bands!



I'm actually super jealous of Jordan's purple band. It's just so pretty!!! I chose yellow because it is bright and fun and this trip is going to be bright and fun! But the purple is just so much better!!

Also, I much prefer these Magic Bands compared to the originals. Those were just so square and clunky.

However, I put mine on when it arrived and it is so HUGE. I'm seriously contemplating taking the gray outer part off, but then I don't want it to be too small. My wrists are pretty skinny, but I don't want it to be so tight the entire time. It's going to be hot and the last thing I want is a tight hunk of plastic stuck to my wrist!

Next, our luggage tags! I thought these were so cute!



Around Christmas I found some super cute wedding luggage tags. Mine says "Bride" and has a picture of a bouquet and Jordan's says "Groom" and has a top hat. Super cute. We are planning on using those, but I think I'll stick these on our carry-ons.

And last...our arch! Jordan's fabulous aunt worked her magic on Saturday and I. LOVE. IT. It's exactly what I had envisioned. But better!



*Please ignore my parents' garage. It is a garage, after all*

While the arch was being beautified, Jordan and I were inside working on the seating chart...what a nightmare! We had everything spread out on my parents' dining room table, all chair pushed against the walls, and it looked like were were putting together all the evidence to solve a murder mystery.

We got a preliminary seating chart done and then went back yesterday to finalize it with my mom. After basically starting from scratch, we ended up with pretty much the exact same plan as our preliminary seating chart. But it is done!

Today I'm going to finish up some signage, the bar menu, and the seating chart (typed) and we are getting so close to being done!

I keep checking on our trip details. All the reservations and FP+ are done and good to go. I've been checking the weather and am mildly concerned about the tropical storms in the Gulf. Jordan and I both agreed that if we encounter rain, we throw on ponchos and keep going!