Shana & Sean's PJ - 7/5/13 Swan/Fultons *Wedding TR - Updated 9/1*

[ShanaMouse]

Hi Shana

I'm Laura. I'm excited to follow your PJ. I am doing a vow renewal for my 20th anniversary (it's four years away but I'm starting to plan it already )

I love your colors!

I also like the first dress.

I have been to Fulton's Crab house but it's been a long time. Very nice inside

Can't wait to hear and see more.

Hi Laura! Thank you for following my planning journal.
In regards to your vow renewal, are you thinking Swan and Dolphin or maybe DFTW or something different? It's never too early to plan

 

[BritKansas]

Hi Shana,
I love the first dress & your save the dates! I like the Pre-RSVP idea, I'm also hoping to do this.

 

[ShanaMouse]

Happy Sunday everyone!

Not that much has changed, but I just wanted to give you all a mini-update.

I think that we are pretty set on having our reception dinner at 'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort.
1. It's a little more wallet-friendly than many of the other ideas that we had
2. love the family friendly atmosphere
3. the food is uh-mazing!

We were also going back an forth on the idea of some welcome celebration for everyone, but we then decided to not make that big of a deal about it and invite everyone out for breakfast, possibly at Boma (my fave), and then have everyone come to the park with us, either Epcot or the Magic Kingdom to then see the fireworks, as it would be July 4th. Going to the park is not mandatory, but I know most of the people attending will have park tickets anyway and it would be a fun and casual way to spend the day before the wedding.

We also decided what we wanted to do for our honeymoon. We will be going to Europe for 10 days in August, about a month after our extended wedding weekend. We definitely want to go to Paris, as we also want to go to Disneyland, and then either incorporate London for 2 days or Rome.

Lastly, we really want to go to Disneyland California, as neither of us have ever been. We were thinking of doing this for Thanksgiving this year, but I will need to do some number crunching for the wedding budget to see if we have some room to add that trip in before our wedding. I really hope so

That's all I have for tonight everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

 

[Tonyaandnate2013]

I love all your ideas. I am also going to do a Swann wedding in November 2013. I have not started a journal yet but starting to think of my ideas my head. I can't wait to read more as time moves along.

 

[DisneyLaura]

Hi Laura! Thank you for following my planning journal.
In regards to your vow renewal, are you thinking Swan and Dolphin or maybe DFTW or something different? It's never too early to plan

I think I'm going to do DFTW but a memories collection so it will be just me, DH and the kids. We went to Hawaii on your honeymoon and they offer a beach wedding at the Poly so I think that's where it will be. Just don't know any more than that. I have a lot of ideas but nothing set.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Not that much has changed, but I just wanted to give you all a mini-update.

I think that we are pretty set on having our reception dinner at 'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort.
1. It's a little more wallet-friendly than many of the other ideas that we had
2. love the family friendly atmosphere
3. the food is uh-mazing!

We were also going back an forth on the idea of some welcome celebration for everyone, but we then decided to not make that big of a deal about it and invite everyone out for breakfast, possibly at Boma (my fave), and then have everyone come to the park with us, either Epcot or the Magic Kingdom to then see the fireworks, as it would be July 4th. Going to the park is not mandatory, but I know most of the people attending will have park tickets anyway and it would be a fun and casual way to spend the day before the wedding.

We also decided what we wanted to do for our honeymoon. We will be going to Europe for 10 days in August, about a month after our extended wedding weekend. We definitely want to go to Paris, as we also want to go to Disneyland, and then either incorporate London for 2 days or Rome.

Lastly, we really want to go to Disneyland California, as neither of us have ever been. We were thinking of doing this for Thanksgiving this year, but I will need to do some number crunching for the wedding budget to see if we have some room to add that trip in before our wedding. I really hope so

That's all I have for tonight everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I want to eat at O'hana after the vow renewal too

 

[ShanaMouse]

Happy Sunday ladies!
I hope all of you had a good weekend! For me it wasnt too exciting but I did make some progress on the wedding front.

I decided that instead of making a newsletter to send out to my guests with the Save-The-Date I would just make a wedding website. It just seemed much more convenient and I didnt need to pay extra for shipping them to everyone.
Here is a link to the site if any of you want to check it out:
www.mywedding.com/ShanaAndSean
Wedpass: disney

It is still a work in progress but just wanted to share what I had already.
It's just so my guests have some information on the wedding events and so we can address any questions that they have.

Also (if you haven't already looked at the website), we have come up with some wedding weekend events.
Thursday 7/4/13 - Miniature Golf Welcome Event followed by Character Dinner at 1900 Park Fare.
Friday 7/5/13 - Ceremony at Crescent Terrace followed by Reception at 'Ohana and then dancing at Atlantic Dancehall
Saturday 7/6/13 - breakfast (possibly @ The Wave) followed by a day at MK or any other park
Sunday 7/7/13 - Check Out Day - don't really have anything planned yet but thought to maybe have another breakfast or so

The more I think about our wedding weekend and as the plans are coming together I am getting soooo excited!!!

I also decided that I didn't want a flower bouquet anymore, but rather want a brooch bouquet for me and the girls. I was thinking a larger one for me and then a smaller version for my bridesmaids.

Maybe not exactly like the one pictured but something to that effect. I think it will be a good DIY project to work on and something really unique. Has anyone else made these or is thinking about possibly using a brooch bouquet?

I am meeting up with one of my bridesmaids for an afternoon wedding planning day in about 2 weeks to narrow down and start some DIY projects. its just been really busy right now with school, which has been taking up most of my time and future in-law drama lol

Also, when DF and I first got engaged I wanted my sister to be my maid of honor as we have always been pretty close although she is 10 years older than I am. She does live in Germany but she was really helpful with planning and everything even from so far away. DF and I also always made sure to plan the wedding around her and her kids, since the kids were still in school and we needed to pick a date when they were on vacation, although it may have not been our first choice. Anywho, when we finally picked a date and I told her about it and asked if she was coming she said "I dont know", which is fine, but then didnt speak to me for almost 3 months. I think she may have felt left out that she didn't have more input in the date or something... Honestly I have no idea. I kept trying to reach out to her but i just got this weird vibe that something was up. When I asked my mom if she knew what was going on she said that my sister has just been really busy lately and doesnt really have any time. We just recently started speaking more frequently again but she never asks me about the wedding and the plans and whenever I say just one thing about it she doesn't acknowledge it or changes the subject... I really have no idea whats going on and it makes me kind of sad, but I guess I am not going to stress about it now. I keep wanting to give her more info on where to stay, how much things cost, what I can help her with, but its like she really doesnt care or doesnt want to hear about it.
So I guess she will just see my save the date in the mail sometime within the next month or so when i send them out.
I am not sure what else to do since she really doesnt seem that interested in the planning process anymore.
Sorry, just needed to vent all the sudden

On a much better note, DF and I got tickets to see Disney on Ice: Rockin' Ever After on September 8th here in Orlando. I managed to snag the last two VIP seats so we are suuuuuper excited for that!

As I was browsing for the Disney On Ice tickets I also saw that the two guys from Mythbusters (not sure if any of you watch the show but DF is probably their biggest fan) are coming to Orlando the week after our 3 year anniversary which is in October, so I also managed to snag us some awesome seats for that. He is going to flip out! I am usually really bad at keeping secrets for this long but I really dont want to spoil the surprise so I will not give him the tickets until our actual anniversary (10/3).

I wish all of you a good rest of your weekend! Be back soon!

 

[MrsDuck]

Your plan looks great and I like the brooch bouquet!

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble with your sister. hopefully she'll start being more receptive to everything soon. :hugs:

Ooh, Disney on Ice! How fun! I need to check to see when it's coming to our neck of the woods- thanks for the reminder.

Aw, sounds like DF is a lucky guy!

Great update!

 

[ShanaMouse]

Hi ladies,
I am so excited!!!
I just booked a date for our engagement shoot
Although we have been engaged for longer than expected (1 1/2 years), we decided that this would be something fun to do for the both of us to officially start the wedding planning process.
After emailing numerous photographers, some of which were a little too pricey, another that didn't respond at all, and one that seemed to be just right, I booked our shoot with Joey from Joey Valy Photography. He is extremely nice and I felt like he fit our personalities very well.
He offered a really good package with unlimited time and all pictures taken on a DVD at the location of our choice.
Our engagement shoot is scheduled for next Saturday, 8/11/12, at 5pm at Disney's Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club.

Today we went out shopping for some new clothes for our pics so I really cant wait to take them.

On another good note, I only have one more week to go for my first semester of grad school. Then I have a two week break and then it goes back to school.

I also emailed Wendy tonight at EverAfterPrintables for some custom save the dates and pre-RSVP designs.
Can't wait to hear back!

That's all I have for now, ladies!
Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[jacque1282]

First of all, Congratulations!

I love your proposal story, it is definitely very cute! I love non-traditional proposals. They are so unique and special.

And I love the first dress that you have picked out. It is a beautiful dress, and I tried it on while I was dress shopping, it is very figure flattering for women that aren't stick thin. I wear a size 18 in dresses, and thought it looked great, it was my second choice dress.

Anyway, good luck with the planning! Wishing you two lots of love and happiness!

 

[Bunnylove]

Hi Shana!! I just started following your PJ! I'm super excited for you!

I love, love, love your colors! They are so vintage-y and romantic. I can't wait to see what you create/decide for the brooch bouquet. I want to do that too! Can't beat something that's not going to die right after the wedding

Good luck with the planning. I'm excited to follow along!

 

[ShanaMouse]

First of all, Congratulations!

I love your proposal story, it is definitely very cute! I love non-traditional proposals. They are so unique and special.

And I love the first dress that you have picked out. It is a beautiful dress, and I tried it on while I was dress shopping, it is very figure flattering for women that aren't stick thin. I wear a size 18 in dresses, and thought it looked great, it was my second choice dress.

Anyway, good luck with the planning! Wishing you two lots of love and happiness!

Thanks so much! Yay!! I am so glad that this dress is very flattering for someone with a fuller figure! I really cant wait to go dress shopping, but I am really trying to kind of enjoy each wedding "event" and not rush it and kind of get it over with. My mom and I will probably go dress shopping sometime within the next 2 - 3 months or so.

Hi Shana!! I just started following your PJ! I'm super excited for you!

I love, love, love your colors! They are so vintage-y and romantic. I can't wait to see what you create/decide for the brooch bouquet. I want to do that too! Can't beat something that's not going to die right after the wedding

Good luck with the planning. I'm excited to follow along!

Thanks for following along! I am a little nervous about the brooch bouquet because I have this vision of what I want it to look like but I am not sure if I can pull that off lol. Currently I am going around to flea markets, arts and craft stores, and even antique shops to look for brooches but I have not been as successful as I would like so we will see. Yes, I wanted something that I could keep as another memory of the wedding, which is why I initially decided to go with the brooch bouquet, rather than real flowers that will die the next day

 

[DisneyLaura]

I love the idea of the brooch bouquet! Did you try talking with your sister? Maybe it's something else.

 

[MickeysStarTrader]

Please forgive me if I've missed something, but what made you decide to go for the new save the dates over the wordle you made? I hope that doesn't sound rude either, you can't tell people's tone of voice on a computer screen! I love Wendy's work and we've bought some of her work just recently, but your wordle was so unique! I'm just curious as to what changed your mind

 

[ShanaMouse]

I love the idea of the brooch bouquet! Did you try talking with your sister? Maybe it's something else.

I tried talking to her but she seems to just change the subject or say something to reflect away from the conversation. Oh well. I decided not to let it bother me anymore. I guess we will see what happens.

Please forgive me if I've missed something, but what made you decide to go for the new save the dates over the wordle you made? I hope that doesn't sound rude either, you can't tell people's tone of voice on a computer screen! I love Wendy's work and we've bought some of her work just recently, but your wordle was so unique! I'm just curious as to what changed your mind

It certainly didnt sound rude. I liked the Wordle but didnt love it. Plus, I was having issues trying to size it properly to have it printed on a postcard through Vista Print.

I had Wendy design a save the date Magnet design for me in addition to a pre-rsvp postcard. I am going to mail both of them together and then our guests can put the actual save the date on the refrigerator and just check off one of the options on the pre-rsvp and mail it back. I am also going to put a stamp on it already to avoid any sort of hassles.

______________________________________________

I have been absent for about 2 weeks, as my grandfather (on my dad's side) actually passed away last week and we had to do an impromptu trip up to Michigan. We left saturday and came back late yesterday night. My grandmother (on my dad's side) passed away when I was only about a year old, so I never actually met her, but while we were up there my aunt gave me her wedding ring, which I am going to see if I can get sized to fit my finger. It's a gold band with diamonds all around; it was one of the only pieces of jewelry my grandmother actually had and was purchased back in 1955.

Due to the trip and the passing of my grandfather I also havent really thought about the wedding much, but now its back to planning. I did just order out save the date and pre-rsvp through Vista Print and got a pretty good deal. the only thing i didnt like was the fact that the postcards have a minimum order of 100. I think I am only sending out about 50, but I guess I will toss the rest or something like that. I got free shipping, which takes about 14 days, so that's fine too, since I told people I will be sending things out starting the end of August/beginning of September.

My dad also told me this weekend that he and my mother will be helping out with the wedding, which we really didnt expect so I am super excited about this; it relieves A LOT of financial stress. My grandma also asked my mom if we went dress shopping already (she lives in Germany) because she wanted to possibly get my dress, as she will be unable to attend. She says she is too old to fly

We also didnt do the save the date photoshoot due to my grandfathers passing, but that's ok, since I love the save the dates we have now and that trip was pretty pricey, so a photoshoot really isnt priority at this time.

Thats all i have for tonight, girls!
I'll be back soon!

 

[ShanaMouse]

Okay, where to start. It's only been a week or two since my last post, but I feel like everything is happening so fast all of the sudden.
I will start with the most exciting thing happening this coming Wednesday:

OUR SAVE THE DATES ARE BEING DELIVERED!!!

I can't wait to see the finished product and I cant wait to post them to show you all. As mentioned, I ordered a design for a magnet and pre-rsvp from Wendy @ Ever After Printables about a month ago and then ordered them via Vista Print and they will finally be here on Wednesday. I opted for free shipping, which means it takes like two weeks for the product to arrive!
I feel like I have waited for save the dates forever, because I feel like I have been looking for a fun design forever lol.

Next, I have gotten in contact with numerous vendors, as far as photography and videography is concerned. I didn't realize how much I wanted a videographer to be present until my friend, who recently got married, told me that it was one of the best decisions she's ever made because the day goes by so fast and you miss so much and its nice to be able to re-live it all again. So there I went, on the hunt for a videographer, but man are they pricey! Did I mention that we are on a strict budget?

Videography:
First, I contacted Stan at STVS Video. I found him via an internet search but also remember reading good things about him. He was extremely nice and he even directed me to his FB page where he just shot Teresa's (fellow Swalphin) Wedding and it was beautiful. He has extremely reasonable prices and even works directly with Randy Chapman, who is responsible for photography. It's nice to be able to have a package like that, as it saves money. The one thing that kept me from pulling the trigger is that I am not that big of a fan of Randy's work. I like the actual photos he takes, but I have a hard time with the enhancements he puts on pics, that just makes him not the photographer for me.

Next, I contacted Simply Cinematic. Their wedding videos are like actual movies I feel like. Well, and the price tag that came along with it
I asked if they had any smaller packages, as they were all for 10 hours and they requoted me based off of what I wanted and cut the "smallest" package price in half. It's still about $1200, but if you watch one of their videos you will see why it's more expensive.

Lastly, I contacted Imprint Cinema and Go North Films. I just sent out an information request form, so I am waiting to hear back from them sometime soon.

Do you guys have any suggestions or any recommendations?

Photography:
Then I was on the hunt for further photography. I have been dead set on Jennifer Werneth for quite some time, but was then looking for something a little cheaper, since I am now wanting to add a videographer as well.
On my search, I have found a couple, but I am still waiting to get further info from each.

1. Jason Angelini - he has a package for up to 10 hours of photography for about $1200 BUT to get a disc of the images its another $500. Its at the higher end of what I am wanting to pay, so we will see.

2. Jenna Michele Photography - She has a package for under $1000 for 6 hours of coverage, an engagement session, second photographer, master CD of images on disk, and a couple of other things. Definitely at the top of our list at this point.

3. Sugar Bee Bee Photography - the reason this one is on the list is because they take wonderful pictures and they actually have a 2 hour ceremony only packet, which runs less than $500.

Mini-melt-down:
Other than that, I had a bit of a wedding melt-down yesterday. I usually handle stress very well, but I dont know what happened last night lol. My mom and dad came over for dinner and, being that my mom works A LOT, we dont really have much one on one time where we can discuss the wedding, as we also work on opposite schedules pretty much. Last night, however, we had some time, since DF and my dad were playing XBOX and we sat in the dining room chit-chatting.
First off, before i get into the melt-down, let me say that over the last month or so, our guest list has EXPLODED!! We went from, roughly, 45 people to 73.
That being said, I was telling my mom about my dilemma with the guest list and that I totally dont know what to do as far as a restaurant reception is concerned. I am trying to avoid anything private because of the cost. DF and I are pretty much paying for the whole thing and I dont feel comfortable spending $5k or more on food and drinks.
The more I was talking about how I am having a hard time finding a wallet friendly place to eat, the more I found myself freaking out! I suddenly got really flustered and nervous that I wouldnt find anything at all or that everything we wanted would be booked. It started out with a somewhat minor thing but escalated to a point where my parents then left and DF said "I think you need some cheer up ice cream"
So, at 11pm, we drove to Baskin Robbins for a chocolate milkshake, which tasted oh so good.
When I got back home, I wasn't feeling so anxious anymore and just calmly started looking at all of the disney restaurants again. My thing is, we are now expecting about 60 people to actually show and I am not sure if we will be able to have such a large party at a non-private event. I mean I dont see why not, but at the same time I feel like we may be too many people to be able to sit somewhat close to each other at a restaurant.

I told the DisBrides within the FB group my dilemma and Faith (another Swalphin Bride) suggested the Garden Grove. It is a buffet and a lot more budget friendly than, let's say, Citricos. I think I will definitely look into this one. If you are reading this Faith, thanks again for the tip

On a happier note:
I did have a break-through today in regards to our wedding cake. DF and I decided we wanted cupcakes, at first, which then merged into cake pops and a "main" cake for us to cut into for picture purposes. Well, today I came up with the idea of cake-ups, or push-up cakes, as some call them. I dont really know the exact terminology. Essentially, it's kind of like those push up ice creams, but instead its filled with cake. We wanted to have these for our guests and then a small cake for DF and I to cut into. Here is a pic:

We wanted to have a couple of different flavors so our guests could choose.
I have a local cake shop here that I have worked with for numerous occassions, so I am hoping they will be able to make something like this. As I am a hobby baker myself (and even made my best friends wedding cake last year), I ordered the actual push up containers from Amazon to give to our cake baker to make the pops.

Lastly, my mom, best friend and I are going dress shopping next month. I have been so antsy since starting to plan this wedding that I cant believe that the dress shopping part is almost here.
My grandma called me the other day and said that she will be paying for my dress, which is extremely sweet of her. She lives in Germany and will not be able to come so she said she wants to buy my dress so I have something from her on the wedding day!


In other non-wedding related news:

My birthday is coming up in a 5 weeks and I decided to have a little get together with my friends. We are going to a local chocolate shop where we can actually have a party and make our own gourmet chocolate with cake and drinks, etc. Afterwards, we are all going out to dinner, so I am suuuuuper excited!

DF and I also signed a lease on a new Apartment this weekend. Our current lease expires early November and we decided we dont want to stay here, as they are raising the rent and it doesnt make it worth it anymore. We actually found something much nicer and much closer to work!

That's all I have for tonight everyone. as soon as the Save The Dates come in, I will post pics!!!

 

[ShanaMouse]

Also, just wanted to share, we booked our music for the ceremony today. We are using Christine MacPhail, a harpist, for the ceremony. I never really envisioned having a harpist, as I felt as though it didnt really fit who we were but I listened to samples of her music (including Disney songs) and fell in love.
Now we just have to pick our songs, which DF seems to be super excited about lol. Any suggestions?

Here is the website with song samples, if anyone is interested: http://www.orlandoharpist.com/weddingharpmusic.htm

 

[DisneyLaura]

so sorry to hear about your loss of your grandpa xo

I can't wait to see your save-the-dates. Your birthday thing sounds like a lot of fun.

I want a harpist for our vow renewal, going to go check it out now.

 

[DisneyLaura]

Just listened, love her!

 

[Cmdbuddy]

Subbing to your thread Love the harpist.. do you know what songs you want for your ceremony? Any updates on photographer and videographer?

 

[ShanaMouse]

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Guess what arrived in the mail today?! That's right, our save the dates!! I am so excited because I feel like its the first tangible thing for the wedding. Everything else is all contracts and paperwork so far so its nice to have something in hand that's for the wedding.
Before I get into the pics, just want you to know that there are two parts:
Part 1: The actual save the date - a magnet
Part 2: Pre-RSVP postcard
Both of them will be mailed in the same envelope and then our guests can put the magnet on the fridge and they just need to check one option on the pre-rsvp and mail it back (i am going to put a stamp on them already).
Well, I won't tease you any longer, here are the pics:

(Back of the pre-rsvp)

Also, I am planning on making Bridal Party Welcome/Emergency Bags. I thought about making welcome bags for all of our guests, but its just too much $$ and I figured most of them probably wouldnt really use any of the stuff. So then I narrowed it down to just the bridal party. I am planning on putting things in there like aspirin, a little sewing kit, a wedding day timeline with phone numbers, a disney poncho, some tissues, and whatever else I can think of.
I actually found Disney ponchos at Target the other day for $4.99 per poncho, so I snagged enough for the bridal party.
Here is a pic of the poncho:

I found those canvas totes on the Disney Store.com for $1.99 a piece last weekend from a post another Disbride had made in the FB group. I ordered 10 of them which is more than enough for our bridal party and they came today as well.

Have a good night everyone!!