You May Now Kiss the Groom - Our May '18 Honeymoon PTR!

[fallonkendra]

I had fallen behind a bit! Eek!

June 4th - Our more relaxed vacation begins. We will enjoy this day at the resort, at the Spa getting massages, and at the pool. I can't wait! Lunch will be light because for dinner we booked something special. A special thanks to @fallonkendra who told us about Highway in the Sky, the monorail resort progressive dinner, which we booked for dinner. If you're unfamiliar with this dining event, as I was, you can read about it here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/new-highway-in-the-sky-dine-around-dining-event/. After dinner, we will head "home" to enjoy a relaxing evening in.

Yay!

We will make our way at 3:00 PM to get in line for Trader Sam's Grotto at the Poly. We want to make sure we get in! Any suggestions for us??? After some light snacks and some adult beverages (can't wait for the tikis!), we'll spend the rest of the evening at the MK where we booked the Plaza Garden Fireworks Party

I love Trader Sam's! When we went in January 2017, we didn't arrive until 3:40 and we were inside by 4:10, so it all depends on the day! I intentionally didn't research the drinks too much - I knew special things happened when certain drinks were ordered and I didn't want to ruin the surprise haha. My husband loves the Dark and Stormy's there, while I had the Uh-Oa. I just hope you like the taste of rum - all the drinks are strong!

Also - I ended up doing the Plaza Garden Dessert Party twice on our last trip - I really liked it! Not my favourite of the dessert parties, but the dessert selections were decent, and the view was great. I find they try and rush you out to the viewing area really early, but that's not my style haha. The second time at the party, I think we were the last ones leaving the Tomorrowland Terrace (where the desserts are), and we walked out to the viewing area about 10 minutes before the fireworks started. I tend to hang towards the back of these viewing areas - everyone else rushes out and crams towards the front, giving me lots of room to breathe and move around at the back

June 7th - We'll be heading back to AK later this day after sleeping in again and eating lunch. Lunch is TBD (maybe Boma!?). For sure this time, we should have a fast pass for FoP. Dinner is at Tiffin's in AK. We'll also take in a nighttime Kilimanjaro Safari via FP+ since on the intiial AK visit we will have taken one during the day. We'll get some nighttime rides on EE (also FP+) and then head over to Disney Springs for some nightlife and late night snacks.

Honestly, I didn't find the nighttime Safari that great... but that was back in January 2017, we skipped it on the last trip.

We've only ate at Boma for breakfast, but we love it. Have you ever ate at Saana? It's one of our favourites <3

Being a gay wedding, we found out there really aren't any rules or expectations. So we decided that we'd both have a best man, a Maid of Honor, and 3 Groomsmen/Groomsmaids.

We didn't follow any rules for our wedding last month either! I went traditional and had a Maid of Honour and two bridesmaids, but my husband had a Best Woman, a Groomsman and a Groomswoman.

In the second week of December, we visited David's Bridal with all the women in the party except Corey's sister who lives in New York. Although we missed her dearly, it was that a fun experience! We seriously had a lot of fun! We tasked our Maids with getting the same length dress (all short or all long) and the same fabric (all satin or all chiffon, etc) in Marine, which is a Navy. And there were dresses everywhere. Everyone had their own ideas of what to wear.

But ultimately, after trying on lots of dresses in various lengths and in various fabrics, there was one dress everyone preferred due to it's flattering cut. Miraculously everyone wanted the same dress! I couldn't believe we had such a diverse group of people come to the same outcome, but we did!

That's so lucky! Our wedding party was spread across the entire country, so we knew we'd never get everyone together to go dress shopping. I tried to keep it simple, and told all of the girls in our wedding party to buy a full-length black dress in any flowy fabric (I didn't want satin). Of course, one of them bought a one-piece jumpsuit, and couldn't figure out why I was angry about it

Like the toasting flutes, for example. These are what we decided on:

Very cute!

That's right we're staying at AKL!!!!

How wonderful! One of my dream resorts!

That was the time we happened to be neighbors with Snooki... that gal from Jersey Shore back in the day. That in itself was an interesting story. Snooki's dad wore a white ribbed A-frame tank top (what most people consider an under-shirt) that had the words "Snooki's Papa" written in black sharpie on it. So classy!

Well, that's...interesting...Haha.

Lastly, right before I left work today, I found out exactly how much my bonus will be in February. I figured it was enough to cover the upgrade from POR to AKL and shockingly ----- it's more than 4 times that much! Talk about an amazing day!!!!!

Congratulations! That's fantastic!

 

[RedsDrew]

I had fallen behind a bit! Eek!

I love Trader Sam's! When we went in January 2017, we didn't arrive until 3:40 and we were inside by 4:10, so it all depends on the day! I intentionally didn't research the drinks too much - I knew special things happened when certain drinks were ordered and I didn't want to ruin the surprise haha. My husband loves the Dark and Stormy's there, while I had the Uh-Oa. I just hope you like the taste of rum - all the drinks are strong!

Also - I ended up doing the Plaza Garden Dessert Party twice on our last trip - I really liked it! Not my favourite of the dessert parties, but the dessert selections were decent, and the view was great. I find they try and rush you out to the viewing area really early, but that's not my style haha. The second time at the party, I think we were the last ones leaving the Tomorrowland Terrace (where the desserts are), and we walked out to the viewing area about 10 minutes before the fireworks started. I tend to hang towards the back of these viewing areas - everyone else rushes out and crams towards the front, giving me lots of room to breathe and move around at the back
!

All the feedback about Trader Sam's excites me because I don't know exactly what I was expecting in terms of a 4:00 PM rush, but it was a lot worse than what everyone says their experience has been for them. Such good news! I keep hearing about/reading about the Uh-Oa. That will have to be on my list! I've tried a dark and stormy and wasn't much of a fan, but there'll be plenty that should interest us!

I agree with you, i'd prefer to hang back and not get to the garden viewing spot so early. Would much rather not to be in a herd.
And in addition to the Plaza Garden Party, I think we may try for the Star Wars dessert party once dates are released. It seems like Disney has been slow releasing inventory for some reason. But we'll keep our fingers crossed for dates soon!

I had fallen behind a bit! Eek!
Honestly, I didn't find the nighttime Safari that great... but that was back in January 2017, we skipped it on the last trip.

We've done it once and Corey liked it a lot so that's why we're doing it again. I had him come up with a list of must-do's on this trip. Some of his must-do's included both a daytime and nighttime safari, as well as a few other things I'll mention soon in trip planning!

I had fallen behind a bit! Eek!
We've only ate at Boma for breakfast, but we love it. Have you ever ate at Saana? It's one of our favourites <3

I've never eaten at Saana. Honestly, under normal trip conditions, we don't stay but 4 or 5 days so we tend to do park restaurants and commando tour. Though, in the past I've eaten at more resort-based restaurants. We will have to try it in the future. I think on this trip we're over all of the anticipated dining plans. We find it so hard to be where we need to be at the right time. We're bad clock watchers and almost always late!

I had fallen behind a bit! Eek!
That's so lucky! Our wedding party was spread across the entire country, so we knew we'd never get everyone together to go dress shopping. I tried to keep it simple, and told all of the girls in our wedding party to buy a full-length black dress in any flowy fabric (I didn't want satin). Of course, one of them bought a one-piece jumpsuit, and couldn't figure out why I was angry about it

It was very lucky! But going the route we did, I too would have been really upset had someone showed up in a one-piece jump suit or even a pant suit! A dress and a jump suit ARE NOT THE SAME THING! (sorry for shouting but JEEZ!)

 

[RedsDrew]

Happy Hump Day! Hope this past week has treated you and yours very well!

As for us, we've been pretty busy over the past week! For starters, the new Wahlburgers finally opened up in Downtown Cincinnati (just a few blocks from our place) so we had to visit. We had the best bartender ever! We raved to the manger about Raven (picture below) and he gave us free shots and free cupcakes... Heck Ya!

We had several rounds of drinks, a 3 course meal, and we closed the place down! We enjoyed the food, the company, and the service.

Anyway, hopefully the week has been treating you well too! Wedding Planning has progressed a bit further in such a short amount of time. We picked out the brooch that the women in our wedding party will wear on their sash. We went with this Art Deco inspired beauty:

Honestly, the picture doesn't do it justice and makes it look rather cheap. But I promise it's beautiful in person. It seriously sparkles! It will be attached on the right side of the sash near the hip (see groomsmaid dress pic below):

Next, the champagne glasses we're gifting our wedding party got delivered. They turned out so much better than we had expected! I had to use paper towels as a backdrop, otherwise the lettering wouldn't show up clearly. So ignore the paper towels, but here is what a few of them look like!

There are 12 total. 10 for the wedding party and 2 for our mothers. We thought it would be nice if they got one as well that says their names with "Mother of the Groom". On all the glasses, the names are in Navy Blue while the titles of their role in the wedding are gold.


Also, tonight we had the pleasure of a cool experience. Corey, his mom, my mom, and I attended a cocktail and food tasting at our wedding venue! Upon arrival, we checked our coats (because brrrrr it's cold) and were surprised to find out we had complimentary open bar from 5:30 PM until 7:30 PM! Our evening consisted of appetizers, entrees and side items that we can select from for our reception menu.

I didn't get a picture of any appetizers, but the ones we tried included Goetta Balls (for those not from Cincinnati, Goetta is a combination of ground sausage and steel cut oats). The Goetta Balls also had cheese and were deep fried. They were pretty good in taste but the texture was a little unpleasant - mushy even. We also indulged in Wonton Cheese Sticks (which weren't our favorites), Pork Pot Stickers with a teriyaki glaze (these were mighty tasty), mini crab cakes with a chipotle aioli (they were terrific!), and an AMAZING bacon wrapped pork loin in in a cranberry chutney. And I mean AMAZING!

With the appetizers, I had a vodka martini, followed by a tequila cocktail, then a couple of local craft beers.


Next, it was time for the dinner and side item courses. But first, I made my way to the bar for a glass of cabernet. To start, I tried the side items. I tried from top left: Bourbon Baked Apples with an oat topping, Bourbon Glazed Carrots, and Wild Mushroom Penne.

The apples were heavy on the cinnamon but mildly sweet. It would make a delicious dessert, but we both agreed it wouldn't be appropriate for a side item. We were able to axe this off the list. Next, the carrots were nothing special to write home about. They were somewhat bland and the bourbon flavor was not noticeable. But save the best of these three for last... the Wild Mushroom Penne was delightful. It wasn't overly heavy even though the sauce was cream-based. The flavor was rich but earthy. The earthiness ensured that the richness didn't overpower the dish. We both loved this immensely.

In fact, when it came to deciding on a starch, we couldn't decide on the mashed potatoes, the au gratin potatoes or the mushroom penne. They were all equally stellar. Here's a picture of the potatoes:

On the left: garlic mashed potatoes and on the right: Au Gratin Potatoes. Like I said, both scored high marks!

At this point, I needed another drink so I opted for a Sam Adams Boston Lager from the bar. Then, for the final sides, I tried (below - starting at the top) mixed vegetables of cauliflower, zucchini, and yellow squash. The butter flavor on these vegetables was sensational! In the middle was grilled asparagus (which was tender yet delightfully crisp), and then caramelized brussel sprouts. The brussel sprouts were prepared with bacon, but the flavor was so subtle the brussel sprouts were actually bland. We all agreed they were unimpressive.

Next, we moved on to the entrees. There were many entrees to choose from. Up first at the top left of the picture below: Chicken Cacciatore, top right: Chicken Breast with Port Wine & Wild Mushroom sauce, bottom right: Chicken Breast with Parmesan Cream sauce, bottom left: Chicken Piccata (My least favorite).

The Port Wine and Wild Mushroom was my favorite of the chicken entrees, while the Chicken Cacciatore was Corey's favorite.

Next, I had

starting at the top: Oven Roasted Turkey served with Pan Gravy and a Dijon Cream Sauce. And on the bottom: Hickory Smoked Ham with Maple Brown Sugar Glaze.

The turkey was so moist and the pan gravy was phenomenal. It was slightly salty, with a rich, deep flavor. So tasty!
The ham was excellent, but the maple brown sugar glaze was so thick and the flavor was like caramel.

About this time, my glass was empty and it was time for one more Sam Adams to finish off the meal. My next entree tasting was (on the bottom of the picture below): Strip Loin of Beef. It was well seasoned but a tad too chewy. On top was the Bourbon Glazed Brisket served with a Horseradish Cream Sauce.

This horseradish cream sauce was to die for. It was the best horseradish sauce I've ever tasted! Seriously! It had chunks of bleu cheese in the sauce, and the flavor paired so well with the horseradish. Move over horseradish havarti because horseradish bleu cheese has become a thing! The Bourbon Glazed Brisket was melt in your mouth tender. It was so moist, with a rich beef flavor. The subtlety of the bourbon was just enough sweetness to balance the horseradish and bleu cheese.

Next I tried more of the Bourbon Glazed Brisket, but this time with the Au Jus:

The au jus was not quite as tasty as the horseradish cream, but it was still great. Corey and I agreed that for one of our two entrees would have to be the Bourbon Glazed Brisket which does comes with both the au jus and the horseradish cream so guests can pick which sauce they'd like. Of course I know which one I'll be eating!

At this point during the tasting, I was so full. But I had to make room for dessert. Disclaimer: Corey and I are serving wedding cake and have decided other dessert options will not be offered, both due to price but also because it's just unnecessary with the cake. Even so, we had to see what the in house pastry chef made. Here's a sneak peek:

At the very top of the photo, there is a flourless chocolate cake dipped in ganache with a blueberry and white chocolate drizzle. On the bottom left is a chocolate covered strawberry and on the bottom right is a chocolate tart with a raspberry on top.

The flourless chocolate cake was so good I went back for seconds. And the other dessert we had to try (below) was a chocolate butterscotch cheesecake. It had an oreo crust and it was magnificent! The flourless chocolate cake was almost as good as the chocolate butterscotch cheesecake... but the cheesecake took the cake (pun intended!).

After trying several of the items available for our menu, we ultimately decided our menu is going to be:

Appetizers (2):
Bacon Wrapped Roasted Pork Loin with Cranberry Chutney
Caprese Crisps (we didn't get to try these but they sound amazing. They consist of mozzarella, basil, tomato and balsamic glaze on a sourdough crostini!)

Entrees (2):
Bourbon Glazed Brisket with Au Jus and Horseradish Cream
Chicken Cacciatore

Sides (3):
Wild Mushroom Penne
Grilled Asparagus
Seasonal Mixed Vegetables

So after a couple of hours of open bar (I got my money's worth!), a handful of hors d'oeuvres, several side items and a plethora of entrees, we made a lot of progress! 1 more point for Team Andrew/Corey but plenty of days of wedding planning still lie ahead!

 

[CaseFace5]

... and now I'm starving!

Everything looks and sounds so good!! Isn't the tasting one of the best parts of planning!! I like what you choose for your final menu!!

The brooch is very pretty and I think it will compliment the dresses/sashes nicely!

Love the wine glasses! Such a sweet gift.

 

[mdsouth]

Wow! Your description of the food tastings and photos is making me droll! I would love to try out the bourbon glazed brisket with the horseradish cream and the pork loin with cranberry chutney!

It sounds like it was a fun outing for you all. It is nice that both of your mothers were able to participate!

And I love the brooch! It is perfect!

 

[Heluvsme]

We just went to the new Cincy Wahlburgers, it was great! Actually better than the one in Orlando I thought. Mark is gonna be there Monday for their official grand opening!

Love the pictures of your tasting, everything looks great! I'm setting up a wedding at the Grand this coming Saturday, almost across the street from the Madison

Also love the glasses, they look great!

Dawn

 

[RedsDrew]

We just went to the new Cincy Wahlburgers, it was great! Actually better than the one in Orlando I thought. Mark is gonna be there Monday for their official grand opening!

Love the pictures of your tasting, everything looks great! I'm setting up a wedding at the Grand this coming Saturday, almost across the street from the Madison

Also love the glasses, they look great!

Dawn

Hi neighbor! We looked at the Grand as a venue for our wedding too. It was on the final list but we wanted something less grand and more urban. The Madison won out because the brick interior and the mostly black canvas that let us do alot with the speakeasy theme. But boy is the The Grand beautiful!

I've been busy with more planning. I'll post an update soon!

 

[RedsDrew]

Hey everyone! Hope you've been doing well! It's been a minute since my last post, but we've been busy with the wedding planning, as we're ironing out all the final details. In fact, we have a details appointment with our venue this coming Friday when we will pick out linen colors, go over the final details and put our finalized timeline together. In the meantime, we met with our florist to plan the flowers and decor and we've been buying stuff like crazy.

First, here is a picture of our ceremony space:

We met with the florist last weekend and determined that we will have two floor tower ostrich feather arrangements kind of like the ones below, but ours will have greenery mixed in to make it a tad more masculine: Our towers are going to be gold instead of white with white feathers and greenery mixed in with crystal beads draping from the bottom of the arrangement. These towers will be on the left and right sides of the left and right windows, respectively.

On the brick walls between the 3 windows will be another greenery arrangement will hang from the two light fixtures. There will be a vintage mirrored cabinet in the center that will be used for our wine ceremony. The cabinet looks something like this but more vintage looking...

And that's right! We opted to do a wine unity ceremony instead of the traditional candle ceremony. If you're not familiar with the wine ceremony, we will pour a white wine and a red wine from two different carafes into a single glass and share the wine as the officiant reads a passage about the marriage of the wine as it relates to our unity. We found a great wine ceremony set on Etsy for a reasonable price and purchased it. The carafes each have one of our names and first initial while the wine glass has our last initial and the date of the wedding. The set looks like this:

Also, we needed a card box. Instead of going the traditional boring route, I was inspired by a couple of 1920's themed birdcages for sale on etsy. I bought an inexpensive birdcage on Oriental Trading's website and then spray painted it gold and decorated it up. I think it looks just as good as the ones on Etsy but only cost a third of the price. The first picture below is the inspiration birdcage I fell in love with and the second pic is the one I made: I used navy blue ribbon, since our colors are navy blue, orange and teal.

The one I made:

When it came to wedding gifts, I had a hard time trying to decide on gifts for the wedding party. We opted for personalized glasses for the men and personalized makeup bags for the women. They both turned out great. We also ordered customized sunglasses so we can use them in our wedding photos the day of the wedding.

Here are the makeup bags:

And the glasses for the men:

And the sunglasses:

I also got personalized bags to put the gifts in. And now just have to pick out gifts for our moms. This has me stumped. I don't know what to get them: jewelry, something for their houses, or something different. We're at a loss. Any ideas? We could use them!

What do people usually get the mothers of the groom?

Anyway, we're just over 2 and a half months. It's hard to believe it's getting so close. And speaking of getting close, we're just over a month until we get to make our fastpass selections! I have a spreadsheet that will help me stay on track with which fast passes we want to try to get and at what times we want to get them for if possible to avoid clashing with restaurant reservations.

Also, I just found out a friend I made during a prior trip is going to be at WDW the same time we will be. Hopefully we will get a chance to meet up!

Anyway, what's been going on in your lives? Would love to hear! Talk to you soon!

 

[piglet1979]

We used a bird cage for cards as well. It was not as nice looking as yours though. My mom had a decorative one at her house so we just used it. I think it was even a green color and my wedding color was red. But it worked and was free.

We got DH's parents and my mom and step-dad a nice camera. Both of their camera's were old and needed to be updated. We also thought that they would be able to use them at the wedding to get some nice pictures of their own. I can't remember what we got my dad. I know it was not a camera because him and my grandfather both have the really expensive professional cameras.

 

[Heluvsme]

LOVE all the plans!!

Dawn

 

[RedsDrew]

We used a bird cage for cards as well. It was not as nice looking as yours though. My mom had a decorative one at her house so we just used it. I think it was even a green color and my wedding color was red. But it worked and was free.

We got DH's parents and my mom and step-dad a nice camera. Both of their camera's were old and needed to be updated. We also thought that they would be able to use them at the wedding to get some nice pictures of their own. I can't remember what we got my dad. I know it was not a camera because him and my grandfather both have the really expensive professional cameras.

The bird cage is such a clever idea. I was ecstatic when I found the inspiration. It wasn't something I'd have ever come up with on my own. For the parents' gifts, a camera is a terrific idea. My mom has one, so she doesn't need one but Corey's mom on the other hand may enjoy one. I don't think she has a camera. We'll have to keep that in mind!

 

[PirateFish989]

Just joining in! My fiance and I are planning our wedding, too (June 9) and will be honeymooning at WDW June 11-20! We will just miss you guys! We are also staying at Port Orleans (but French Quarter).

Can't wait to read more!

 

[CaseFace5]

Love your birdcage! It came out great!

Also LOVE your venue. I think those vases will really make it pop along with the mirrored cabinet. Can't wait to see how it all comes together!

 

[princesspaige]

Love all the updates! The venue is going to look amazing.

 

[mdsouth]

Wow! I am impressed with all the little details that you have planned. The ostrich feather arrangements are going to be perfect for a Roaring Twenties theme. And I just love how the birdcage looks. I love the idea for cards instead of the traditional box. I will need to try to keep that in mind whenever I may need it in the future to help my own kids plan their wedding or my nieces.

Oh, and I really like the personalized makeup bags for your attendants. It will certainly be something unique and one that they will use a lot after the wedding.

 

[RedsDrew]

Just joining in! My fiance and I are planning our wedding, too (June 9) and will be honeymooning at WDW June 11-20! We will just miss you guys! We are also staying at Port Orleans (but French Quarter).

Can't wait to read more!

Welcome! Glad you're enjoying the read! I won't say too much, but we ended up somewhere other than Port Orleans. You'll get there eventually... You arrive for your honeymoon the day after we leave.... too bad! But congrats and hopefully your planning is coming along nicely! Again, welcome!

 

[RedsDrew]

Love your birdcage! It came out great!

Also LOVE your venue. I think those vases will really make it pop along with the mirrored cabinet. Can't wait to see how it all comes together!

I'm glad the birdcage is going over so well. I almost wondered if it would be too over the top. Thanks for your compliment - makes me feel certainly better I'm glad you like the venue too. It's crazy to think how much we've had to plan. I knew going in it would be alot. But seriously, it's way more than I ever thought it would be. I can't wait to see it to fruition! 68 days and counting!

 

[RedsDrew]

Wow! I am impressed with all the little details that you have planned. The ostrich feather arrangements are going to be perfect for a Roaring Twenties theme. And I just love how the birdcage looks. I love the idea for cards instead of the traditional box. I will need to try to keep that in mind whenever I may need it in the future to help my own kids plan their wedding or my nieces.

Oh, and I really like the personalized makeup bags for your attendants. It will certainly be something unique and one that they will use a lot after the wedding.

I'm glad to hear my obsession with planning is paying off! I can't wait to see the feather arrangements in person. I hope they come out as cool as they sound! To be honest, the 1920's theme is a result of Corey's desire - not mine. But I have fallen in love with it. Who knew he could get me to like Art Deco?

About the birdcage, I ordered it from Oriental Trading Company. It came white and I spray painted it. It was a steal at just over $20.00 and it was much cheaper than most other options I saw. It holds the paint really well so keep that in mind for the future Now it's just time for one of your kids or nieces to take the big step so you can have the fun of doing the planning!

The makeup bags are my favorite attendant gift that we invested in. They turned out so professionally, well done. They were only $10.00 a piece but they have a much more expensive look I think! So excited it's less than 2 months away now!

 

[RedsDrew]

Hello Friends! What's new with you?

We've still been finalizing our last minute details. I'm so excited to say that we're under 60 days until the wedding! Just 58 days away! And our Disneymoon is just 76 days away! Tomorrow starts our 75 day countdown. I'm just jumping for joy.

On a unrelated note, I've spent the last few days searching record stores high and low for 1960's lounge and "martini"
music. It's incredibly hard to find. I should add that I recently discovered these genres on accident and fell in love with them instantly. The kitschy sound of the 1960's groovy "martini" music just makes me happy. I found a cool album titled "60's Kitsch Lounge" and it's perfect. To give you some ideas of the tracks on it, it's got music like "The Pink Panther," "Soul Bossa Nova", a Bossa Nova cover of "Sunny", "Goldfinger", "Come Spy With Me" and so many more. If you like upbeat, swinging music you should check it out.

Also most recently, I've been working on my vows - which I put the finishing touches on this week. They're a tad lengthy but they sum up my feelings on our relationship. They have humorous moments and endearing moments and are spoken from the heart. The ending is tied back to the opening, so it makes a complete circle. It's nerve-wracking to think that I'll be publicly professing my love in such a way, but I keep telling myself what better time to say the things I feel, than at our wedding. I can see myself crying through it and I just keep reminding myself that I have to keep it together. When I read through them today once I was finished, I couldn't help but tear up.

I won't post much but to give you a peek, the beginning is : "For most people, today has been an ordinary day. The sun rose, the tide changed, and people slept in. But for us, today is extraordinary. We’re making promises to each other for the rest of our days, no matter how ordinary or extraordinary they may be. "

The ending is "And I promise to give all that I have towards making every day with you extraordinary; because extraordinary is what you are, extraordinary is what you deserve, and extraordinary is what today, as well as every day with you, should be."

My favorite lines are: "But most importantly, I deeply believe in you, the person you are and the person you will grow to be. Likewise, I believe in us and the couple we will become as we grow old together. There is still a huge part of me that cannot believe that I'M the one who gets to marry you." That last line gets me every time. I really cannot believe I am the one who gets to marry Corey. But enough mushiness....

Over the last week we picked out our ceremony and reception grand entrance music.
For the seating of the grandparents and the processional of the wedding party we will play a string quartet version of "A Thousand Years" (by Vitamin String Quartet).

After the wedding party processional, my mom will walk me down the aisle to a string quartet version of "Time After Time" by Midnite String Quartet and after my processional, Corey will walk with his mom down the aisle to a string quartet version of "Chasing Cars" by Cairn String Quartet.

For our recessional, we will have a string quartet version of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by Cairn String Quartet. This is my favorite of our songs. If you like orchestral covers, it's excellent - check it out here:

It's happy, upbeat and everything a recessional should be in my book. And it's definitely applicable to a gay wedding - for which a good music selection seemed hard to come by.

Also, in other news, we upgraded our lighting package. There will be a 6 point fabric swag hanging from the ceiling, we're lighting up the skirts of our cake table and our head table, we have pipe and drape behind the head table, 20 teal uplights, and a custom monogram that will project onto the pipe and drape over the head table. It should hopefully look fantastic!

And for the final update, we decided to add a late night snack to our reception - we're having Skyline chili dogs an hour before the end. If you're not familiar with Skyline, it's a restaurant chain that originated with a location here in Cincinnati, and they serve hot dogs with Cincinnati Chili and shredded cheddar cheese, onions, and mustard. Here's a picture of a Skyline dog:

Anyway, that's the update for now. Thanks for following along and tolerating my over the top enthusiasm and excitement! Only 16 days until Fast Pass Selection Time!

 

[alohamom]

Your vows are just so incredible, there will not be a dry eye at the ceremony! Your husband to be is a very fortunate man.