An & Courtney's DCL Fantasy Wedding October 2013

[XxsmortzxX]

Wow, sorry for the delay! We are in between moving from an apartment to a house (which happens to be in a different state) and have been busy trying to work out this process all while dealing with Christmas and New Years.

I hope every one is enjoying the holidays!!! We've been enjoying the numerous Christmas dinners.
Now... Onwards to the wedding!

Hi I haven't had a chance to read your thread yet apart from where your getting married and wanted to say I will be on the same cruise and getting married the week before you!

Congratulations on your wedding!!! I will be honest, after the hurricane scare this October I was a bit nervous that some guests would not want to go (we have gotten a few questions). However, I went on a 7-day Magic cruise back in 2005 for Halloween and I don't remember worrying about it in the least bit. Have you been on the new ship before? We are so excited to see it!

Wow, they sure do look yummy!
Congrats on sending out invitations - that was the fun part for me. I would love to see a picture of them, they sound great!
What are you doing for favors? Have you thought about if you are doing a guest book? I'm on the fence on what I want to do about that ...
Look forward to your updates!

I will work on getting a picture of the invitations and envelopes out this week. Freckledginger had an amazing Fastpass invitation for her welcome party, and I had asked if I could use that as an idea for our wedding invitations. I just thought to actually have the date in the Fastpass time area would be hilarious! Also, most of our guests are big-time Disney fans so we knew they would love a Disney-inspired invitation!
As for favors, I will be making the magnets for the stateroom doors. I will try to engineer a photo. I kind of want to do the Up photo of when they got married at the church, because it will probably resemble mine. His family is traditional Vietnamese and mine is more rowdy and into the poolside partying. I'm sure it would look funny! I also subscribed to theknot.com (wedding website and bridal magazine). They have a really great store where you could get personalized favors, and if you get on their newsletters you will constantly get 20%-75% off coupons. An and I did sit down and decide what we wanted to put in each bag. We are going to go for small sunscreens, lip balms, a DCL pin(maybe personalized), and also a pair of chopsticks that will be personalized with (a perfect pair) on them. We also want to do those cups(not sure what they are called) so people can take advantage of the beverage station without needing to worry about too many refills. Those cups are so tiny there!
An also had a brilliant idea for the guestbook. Because we are not having a very large party(just about 30 of us), he didn't want to have a large guestbook. We had thought about that whole postcard scrapbook of places we have gone or plan on going and having people sign the back of them, but it didn't seem really wedding-themed. He wants to do a photograph mat, that we can place on the outside of one of our wedding photos and then frame it in our home. I thought this was a lovely idea so we will go with it. I have a picture of something like it that we did on the 2007 DVC cruise, I will also link that picture if what I said made no sense. I do that some times...

Hi Courtney!
Good to catch up with your PJ again!
That's fantastic that DCL is able to accomodate your dietary needs. All the desserts you posted looked yummy Our wedding cake turned out to be very tasty, so I know your guests will enjoy that.

Yay for sending out invitations!! It's so exciting when people start RSVPing and you start to see their names and room numbers on the website Lisa has for your group It was one of my favorite parts of the whole wedding process. Do you expect a good sized group??

I know it's a hard decision to make on whether or not to do your own vows. We decided to, and I'm so glad we did. It was a bit stressful coming up with what we would say to each other on the day (we wanted to surprise each other), but I cannot express how emotional and meaningful it was to make our own unique promises to each other. No matter what you decide though I'm sure it'll be a lovely ceremony!

Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

DCL was great with my dietary needs. I am sending the picture of the yummy dessert to Meredith to see if she could find out if I could get that chocolatey goodness served beside my dangerous wedding cake. Lol! I am sure the guests+An will enjoy the cake though, all the flavors look so delicious!

It was so exciting to get the emails from Lisa telling us another guest booked their stateroom! I check up on the wedding site and still grin when I see the cabin listing. We sent out more invites(more like announcements that we were engaged) with some in mind that they would not be able to go. We are hoping for a party of around 30. Meredith said they can only do a few more unless I want the venue to be changed to one of the lounges downstairs, which I do not want!!! We want to have that ocean surrounding us out the windows!! So far we have about 8 reserved, and a few have called to tell us they plan on booking but are waiting for the military/cast member discount rates to come out.


I have started my dress shopping. My final appointment is on January 2nd. After that I will need to make my decision on which one to buy. I have picked a favorite from each bridal store I have gone to and will probably post those pictures along with the one I picked out. So far, only my mom has gone with me to pick out the dresses. My maid of honor is flying in from UK with her fiance. I was able to Skype her at one of the appointments, but it was a bit of a technical hassle. Lol.

Thank you so much for the support and hopefully I will have some photos of the invites, envelopes, favors, and dresses up after the second!

 

[clarabella]

Wow, sorry for the delay! We are in between moving from an apartment to a house (which happens to be in a different state) and have been busy trying to work out this process all while dealing with Christmas and New Years.

I hope every one is enjoying the holidays!!! We've been enjoying the numerous Christmas dinners.
Now... Onwards to the wedding!

Congratulations on your wedding!!! I will be honest, after the hurricane scare this October I was a bit nervous that some guests would not want to go (we have gotten a few questions). However, I went on a 7-day Magic cruise back in 2005 for Halloween and I don't remember worrying about it in the least bit. Have you been on the new ship before? We are so excited to see it!

I did not even know it was hurricane season until after I booked it OPS! I'm a little concerned but I'm sure lots of cruises apart that time of year and have no problems.
I am new to cruising so super excited .... Can't wait to hear all your plans.

 

[XxsmortzxX]

I did not even know it was hurricane season until after I booked it OPS! I'm a little concerned but I'm sure lots of cruises apart that time of year and have no problems.
I am new to cruising so super excited .... Can't wait to hear all your plans.

I think I knew it somewhere in my mind and completely disregarded it. I have gone on many cruises during October and have never had any problem with weather. Since Sandy-type hurricanes don't happen often, I am sure this one will be fine. -knocks on wood-

I know I promised some pictures, but I am having some issues with photobucket. :/ I will hopefully get them all up today.

 

[XxsmortzxX]

Yes, I failed at getting the pictures up a few days ago. I am so sorry! Mostly it was because I get frustrated with my cell phone(which has all my pictures on it). Once I get frustrated I sort of just give up and leave it in my drawer for a few days.

So, my fiance and I wanted a fun invitation. The majority of our guests are Disney people. A lot of them are cast members, D23 members, DVC members, or at least annual pass holders. We obviously wanted it to be Disney-fied in some way. However, his parents wanted a more traditional invitation, (they even wanted it printed in Vietnamese). Thankfully, fiance said no. After looking at Ginger's planning journal (Absolutely amazing if you have not seen it already), we really got hooked on her Welcome Party Fastpass invitations! They were so great! I asked my fiance if he would be able to do something like that. He is a freelance photographer and photoshop pro. He instantly got to work while I bought cardstock from scrapbooking.com (They have great bulk prices.) I got the envelopes from Michaels; they were sold in packs of 10.

For some reason, it looks really grey in the picture. :/ Sorry its on a pile of babies r us coupons. My nephews birthday is coming up... We put a QR code on the back that you can scan with a smartphone, which takes you directly to our wedding site by Lisa R., with her travel agent contact information. On the back there's more information about how to RSVP by email. (Some of our guests are from Australia, UK, NY, and other places so we didn't want to do RSVP notes and deal with postage.)

We didn't do too much on the envelope. We just thought it would be easier to print the addresses on there. We both have horrendous handwriting, so that was just not an option.

We also wanted to do a different guestbook design. We are going to have a mat designed for putting a photograph in it for guests to sign. Example:

I asked Meredith if this would be possible and she said as long as the mat fits in my suitcase and I put someone in charge with it at the ceremony, it should be fine.

Also, we are going to make a photo album of both of our extremely different childhoods until when we met and a little afterwards that guests can view. (Like a slideshow you see at receptions.) A lot of our relationship was dumb luck and coincidence. He grew up in Vietnam and I grew up near Palm Springs. When he came to the states he was in NY, and it was literally luck that we landed into the same game lobby on a video game! After that, we were just thankful that neither one of us were internet serial killers.

Already, the photos have been quite funny. He has one of him in a rice field with water buffalo, which vastly differs from me on a pogostick.

I will be dress shopping for the next month or so trying to find a good dress. I have given myself quite a big budget because I want to see what is out there, from boutiques to online stuff. Onwards... !!!!

 

[Bellhop Brittany]

Thanks for posting all these celiac friendly pictures. I am looking forward to getting back on the cruise line and tasting these delicious treats.

 

[Bellhop Brittany]

posted to wrong forum

 

[XxsmortzxX]

The last month has been hectic. My fiance and I had birthdays this month. My parents anniversary was also this month. So, the last few weeks have been mostly gift giving, celebrating, and eating cake.

However, I had to kick my butt back into wedding mode because guests were starting to RSVP and ask questions, which is both exciting and confusing. I have done a lot of research with hotels, airlines, and bus charters and here is what we decided to do.

We took out a block of rooms from the Hampton Inn the night before the cruise on October 11 near the Orlando Airport. The people were extremely helpful and I was able to do most of it via email. Also, with 10 rooms booked the bride and groom get a free upgrade to a suite(which is helpful as we will be here a few days earlier to get licenses and other things settled), with 20 rooms their stay is complimentary. We were also able to get a below $100 rate for our guests. This hotel also offers 24/7 free shuttle to the airport, which was a must. I figured this will give our guests time to recover from jet lag and catch up over a group dinner at one of the many restaurants around the hotel before the cruise.

Now, I have organized groups traveling before and called a few airlines to get some group rates. Delta was extremely stingy. I played hot potato from line to line getting 'let me connect you to (insert blank here) office' for about three days before deciding to call elsewhere. One airline only offered 10 seats on the same flight, which was useless considering I had people flying from Australia, UK, NY, TX, and CA. After these two airlines I was getting frustrated because it seemed that having a group convention was easier than having a wedding, as those guidelines are lenient compared to a wedding's.
However, I called American Airlines and got a very nice lady who was more than happy to work something out. They give your guests about a 10-day flight window to get to and from your wedding with a coupon code to use that takes off a percentage of your total airfare. I had the entire thing settled in about 1 days with calls and emails.

My next goal will be to talk to some bus charters and start getting my butt into gear about favors. My wedding dress should also be arriving shortly and I can't wait to try it on! I am doing some custom alterations to add in some red accents for our wedding colors and am excited to see how they will come out.

 

[XxsmortzxX]

Okay, so I have been completely slacking on planning for the wedding. However, I do have quite a few things I can add into the PJ.

My attire for my wedding day is pretty much done with the exception of the garter because I am looking for something specific and haven't found it yet. Nonetheless, I will continue my hunt. It is only a matter of time...

I decided on a dress I found on a random visit to David's Bridal. It was a really cool moment. They lady worked with me even though I was a walk-in that was just lonely and driving around the area at like 6 PM. I ended up going home and getting my mother to come back a half hour later to look at it! When I got there, another bride had it in her fitting room and my helpful lady went and snuck it out of her room! When the bride saw me wearing it, she was less than a little happy but... I saw it first... Either way, it was a funny moment!
I hope the picture shows up too of my dress. We took one of the back and front (forgive the poor lighting). I am going to have it hemmed up a little because I happen to be a bit on the shorter side. I think I'm going to have alterations done my another seamstress who lives in my neighborhood and has a ton of experience. We are going to add a few hints of red. One being the corset ribbon to match my shoes and ring.

Dress:

Shoes:

The shoes were on sale and I got them for $20, so they were more of an impulse buy. They might be trouble. An does not want me to be taller than him, so I am going to have to do a little spy work and make sure the inches won't get in the way. The veil has some beading that matches the dress. I tried other accessories like flowers, birdcages, and tiaras but they didn't seem to do the trick. I like the classic look and the beading goes good together. Hopefully I will have better picture after alterations.

As for planning, our block of rooms has been finalized at the Hampton Inn just outside of the airport. Since most of our guests are only in town for the cruise, we didn't want them to have to pay the nightly rate for WDW resorts when the Hampton Inn offers a free shuttle surface to and from the airport. We have a total of 11 rooms, which gives An and I the free upgrade to a suite! We'll have a nice little living room area to entertain guests once they fly in!

I have finally gotten started on Welcome Bags. On Etsy, I found someone who had a great design for totes, but I have not received them yet. I am hoping there won't be any trouble, but I do tend to worry easily.
As for what is going in the bags:
Small first aid bags: Advil, Dramamine, Band-Aids, Tissues, Hand Sanitizer
Tumblers for the Beverage Station
Door Magnets
A pair of engraved chopsticks (done on Etsy)
Bikini Bags (Each cruise I have used the spa and am always bummed because I have no where to put my wet swimsuit, so I thought these would be a cool idea)
A Navigator detailing the wedding day (sort of like a program)

I hope I will have pictures of the tote bags soon!

 

[DisneyGeek39]

LUV your dress. You look so sparkly in it. I love your proposal story. . I just subscribed so I can catch your updates. YAY!

 

[clarabella]

Wow love the dress and your shoes were a total bargain!

 

[chris31997]

I think the hints of red in your dress would be lovely and really personalize it.

 

[Fifitrixabellee]

What a great story how you met. I love the game controller. Subscribing so I can read your updates.

 

[Goldeelox9]

I am all caught up!!!! I LOVE the dress so much! You are going to look amazing!!

Thanks for the shout out too. Means so much to me since so much of my business is referrals.

I am excited to follow along now. You are sooo close. It seems like forever ago we were booking your cabin!

 

[DisneyGeek39]

Courtney - haven't stopped by in a while I'm all caught up now. I am so excited for you. I am getting married on the Fantasy next May on a seven day cruise as well. I will be anxious to see where on the ship you get married and where. What itinerary are you doing east or west? We are doing west though DF loves St. Maarten the itinerary for Memorial day week was west. Anyway happy Friday. Look forward to more updates.

 

[trishy]

I've subscribed to your thread! Sounds like some great planning going on! You look so beautiful in your dress!

 

[XxsmortzxX]

Update time. I have been neglecting this poor journal but a lot of stuff has happened so an update is necessary!

First off, thank you all so much for the comments and support! I am really excited to have a cruise wedding!

Second, I posted in the DLC Bride thread about some serious changes we may be having. Earlier I mentioned I was going for a emergency dispatch career, as it is something I have always wanted to do and have been fascinated with. Finally, I have been given that opportunity, but the training will be right when the cruise is! Hopefully, I will get more information by the deposit/refund deadline, but I told our guests to hold off on buying airfare, although a couple already did that!

Even we have to postpone the wedding, I will definitely get my DLC wedding ceremony! I am determined! Unfortunately, this means canceling the amazing photographer that we had!!! UGH. If you are still looking for a photography http:// ashleyjane-photography .com/ She is so great about catering to your needs and scheduling and loves Disney.

I will know more next Monday, as that is when I go down to the department to get the next batch of paperwork.

Finally! Picture time!
I did get scammed on Etsy. I feel extremely stupid for not researching more into the seller, but I had ordered some Mickey Head Welcome Bags from MGerman Designs and it was a scam place so beware!!!! Anyways, after that Oriental Trading had a really good sale with free shipping so I was able to sort of make up for my error with these really cool babies!

For Favors we are doing a few little custom things. We ordered Bubba Mugs and they are on their way. Bubba always has great deals on tumblrs and mugs. They are well insulated and big so we don't have to walk back and forth to the beverage station. Last time we cruised we had these and I only had to get ice once a day! It was amazing. Once those come in I will get a picture, as I had vinyl stickers made for them as well.

On Etsy, when I wasn't losing money , I was talking to M Clark from this shop http://www.etsy.com/people/clarkewoodworks. He was really great on having wooden items engraved, even when I asked for a bunch of chopsticks. They arrived withing 10 days from when I ordered, so super quick shipping. He was also willing to give me a discount since I ordered so many as well. This is how they came out.

Since my dress came from David's Bridal, I am on their email newsletter thing. This is such a great way to get some good deals on accessories and dresses for other cruise nights! I ended up getting these flip-flops and this dress for $40 together with free shipping.

I look forward to running all over the sand in those ones on Castaway Cay.

My next update should be after the 15th when we have more of an idea of what's going on with the department. Things are about to get real busy though either way.

As a bonus, here is a super cute picture of my nephew with water hair (if this is a thing!)