jasonandlisa's PJ -- 9/2/07 UK Pavilion/LS -- DPS pics added!!

[Summer-Caitlin]

Lisa, you look fantastic, i love your hair like that and I love the color on your lips, it really suits you. You look so elegant!!!

 

[Dremwvr]

Wow your hair looks great. I have that hair falling flat all the time issue as well. From the pictures I would have never guessed!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Love reading your trip report. Everything looks wonderful. I think your dress is just wonderful and your shoes look great. Someone mentioned earlier about having cups sewn in to the top of your dress - if you are still unsure about how the top lays this might be a great suggestion. Try placing them in when you try the dress on again in August if you are still not sure. I know quite a few brides that have done this to their dress.

The idea about the artist is great. We were at a 50th birthday party a few weeks ago in a catering hall and they were offering this. I had this done of my boyfriend and I and it made me think about it for our wedding. I'll have to check out the prices. We will probably have 50 people so hopefully one artist will be enough.

Linda

 

[BaBeeCee14]

Wow, your hair looks absolutely stunning! I love it! I agree, I think the hair on the side of your face would look pretty curled also. Do you mind if I ask how much they charge for the trials and day of wedding hair and make up? I was thinking about going with Ana from Beaute Speciale, but it doesn't hurt to have someone else in mind too.

 

[jasonandlisa]

gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!!

Lisa, you look fantastic, i love your hair like that and I love the color on your lips, it really suits you. You look so elegant!!!

Wow your hair looks great. I have that hair falling flat all the time issue as well. From the pictures I would have never guessed!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I love these boards

Naomi was certainly a miracle worker. I have no idea where she "found" all the hair to form the curls on the top of my head. It's very, very nice to know that this is one thing I don't have to worry at all about on my wedding day. Especially since I'll have about a dozen of my closest girlfriends and female family members coming by my room that morning to "help". If my stylist didn't know what she was doing, it'd be a mess with everybody trying to offer opinions.

 

[jasonandlisa]

Love reading your trip report. Everything looks wonderful. I think your dress is just wonderful and your shoes look great. Someone mentioned earlier about having cups sewn in to the top of your dress - if you are still unsure about how the top lays this might be a great suggestion. Try placing them in when you try the dress on again in August if you are still not sure. I know quite a few brides that have done this to their dress.

The idea about the artist is great. We were at a 50th birthday party a few weeks ago in a catering hall and they were offering this. I had this done of my boyfriend and I and it made me think about it for our wedding. I'll have to check out the prices. We will probably have 50 people so hopefully one artist will be enough.

Linda

Thanks for the "temporary cups" suggestion for the fitting. Maybe I'll try that. I'm not stressing as much about the dress now as I was a few days ago. Just writing everything down instead of letting all the crazy thoughts circle around, trapped in my brain, really helped. And of course, all the positive comments don't hurt either .

I've actually never had a caricature done for myself, but it always looks like fun. I hope you manage to get away with just 1 artist. I'm hoping I don't get bumped up to 4, if our count creeps up over 100...

 

[jasonandlisa]

Wow, your hair looks absolutely stunning! I love it! I agree, I think the hair on the side of your face would look pretty curled also. Do you mind if I ask how much they charge for the trials and day of wedding hair and make up? I was thinking about going with Ana from Beaute Speciale, but it doesn't hurt to have someone else in mind too.

Thank you!! I don't mind posting prices at all. If I had friends on these boards who were going to the wedding, I might hesitate because if it were me, I'm sure I'd feel a little funny about knowing how much somebody was spending on the food, decor, music, etc on me as a guest.

About Face isn't cheap. But I knew I'd be feeling a little insecure because of my "big ears" hangup (that all of my friends says is nuts) if I wasn't 100% confident that my hair stylist was "the best". Silly, I know. Especially since I know high quality doesn't necessarily require high cost. But there are only so many wedding things I can handle stressing about at once, and I decided this wasn't going to be one of them!!

The deposit was $75. The trial run was $145. ($85 for hair only or makeup only.) I can't remember if there was also a location fee for that. If so, that would have been $50. For the day of, I know I have the $50 location fee (for in-room service) and then bridal hair-and-makeup is $240. (Only hair or makeup is $120.) There is also a $265 minimum required for booking (inclusive of location fee.)

I'm also having my flower girl's hair done (partly as a gift to my FSIL, so she doesn't have to wrangle her daughter's hair into submission that morning.) I haven't been quoted that price yet, since it was a last minute addition. But I just pulled up the price list they sent which lists some additional services:

additional hair design for bridal $55 for very short, $85 for others, from $35 to $65 for child aged 3-12 ($65 for full head spiral curls).

additional makeup application for bridal $75 each

combo hair/makeup for bridal from $115 - $145

 

[BaBeeCee14]

Great! Thanks so much!

 

[lpizzuro123]

As far as the caricatures go - the artist had a lot of samples out to help you decide what picture you wanted (we chose a couple sitting at a bistro table with the Eifel Tower behind us). For the couples he did couples pictures and for the singles he did single pictures. Some examples of couples were - couple on the beach, couple in a car, couple in a boat. The bodies and background were already drawn - he just added the faces. I think he really captured the way we both look. Since basically the picture was already there it didn't take too long to draw the face.

Not sure if this is how they do it at Disney - I was hoping for a Disney background on the one we had done but he only could do what he had available and no Disney - so I got the next best thing - us in Paris - kind of like Epcot.

Linda

 

[jasonandlisa]

Little dress update: I had a nice, long chat this afternoon with one of my most sensible friends and of course, she asked about how the fitting went. Well, once I told her about how the lace under my arms was a little annoying, she concluded right away that I needed to shorten the bodice. My friend is very short (and has been a bridesmaid lots of times), so she's had this problem before. Looking over the pictures again, I think that's exactly what was making me think it didn't look quite "right".

So I called up the seamstress to ask her about this type of alteration and how long it takes. (I.e., whether waiting until mid-August for the next fitting would be a problem.) She remembered me and the dress and said that wouldn't be a problem at all. Actually, she didn't seem at all surprised about me calling. Guess a lot of brides are nuts like me.

Anyway, I want to thank everybody again for all their support and suggestions about my dress. Now that I have a game plan, I feel much more in control and happier. I didn't want to have to go back to the next fitting and just say, "I don't think it's right. Fix it." Now, if when I go back it still doesn't look perfect, I have a couple of specific things to try: 1) sewing in cups, and 2) shortening the bodice. I'm actually looking forward to the next fitting now instead of dreading it. Big improvement!!

Oh, and I almost forgot the most important part of my "game plan" -- brushing my hair, putting on my headpiece, and doing my makeup beforehand!!

 

[jasonandlisa]

Here are our rings. My e-ring was custom-designed. It's 18kt white gold with 6 little diamonds on each side of the 1.4kt round center stone:

I decided to go with a sapphire and diamond wedding band, even though it's not a matching set. I love sapphires. Plus, DF's birthstone is sapphire, and mine is diamond, so I like the combination for my wedding band. We just found/ordered the ring yesterday. I'm hoping it'll come in time for the wedding...

And here's DF's band. His was the easiest decision. I started tearing out pictures of men's rings whenever I saw them in bridal magazines. He thought it was cool the first time he saw it. We ordered it a few weeks ago, and it should come in any day now:

 

[jasonandlisa]

After our planning session this past March, DF and I spent the day in MGM with my parents. It was the first time I'd been to Disney for several years but since I was "the bride", everybody pretty much looked to me to make decisions about when/where to eat, what to do next, etc. And I think it's going to be the same way when we're back there for the wedding. A LOT of our guests (particularly close friends and family) are probably going to look to me and ask, "what are we doing and when", all the time. So... I decided to plan in advance and work out a detailed itinerary for me and DF. And then leave it up to everybody else to decide when they wanted to spend time with us. I came across a description of triphub.com in an issue of Brides magazine and decided it would be an easy way to set up a website. I've posted daily itineraries as well as the travel plans of all the guests (which they can also post themselves) to that everybody can better coordinate their plans.

If you're curious, the URL for my website is: http://www.triphub.com/trip/23949.aspx
You can login with: disney@worthington-biochem.com
Password: disney

Here's what I've planned for each of the days. I also have a Word document with a ride-by-ride plan/FASTPASS strategy for each of the days, but I won't bore you with the details... We're not doing many ADRs because we're not really big food people. Plus, counter-service restaurants will be better for guests on a more limited budget. And I feel guilty enough about how much money everybody has to spend, just to go to our wedding!

Day 1 (Thu 8/30) -- we arrive by plane
* lounging by Wildnerness Lodge pool
(I figure we'll leave this day casual. We'll deliver welcome gifts. Plus, if we need a rehearsal or any meetings with WP or Rev. Tim, we'll try to do it today.)

Day 2 (Fri 8/31) -- AK
* DINOLAND and Asia in the morning.
* lunch at either Flame Tree BBQ or Tusker House, depending on the time and crowd levels.
* Africa, then Camp Minnie-Mickey and Discovery Island in the early afternoon.
-- back to Wilderness Lodge to change for 5:15p rehearsal dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby --
-- most of our guests will be arriving this afternoon --
* Then later, "21+ night at the Boardwalk". We might split up with the guys going to ESPN, girls to Jelly Rolls. I've never been to either, but we're not going to be able to have bachelorette/bachelor parties this summer, so this might be a decent substitute.

Day 3 (Sat 9/1) -- MK
* breakfast at CRT with DF, his mom, sister, and niece (our flowergirl)
* Then the plan is "a leisurely, toddler-friendly day in the Magic Kingdom." Lots of Fantasyland and Mickey's Toontown Fair. On this day, I'm just going to take the day off and let other people lead. I know his sister has put together plans for her family (and has been taking her kids on long walks as "training" for Disney.) So I'm going to let the kids and parents make all the decisions...

Day 4 (Sun 9/2) -- Wedding day!
* 9:00am ceremony
* 9:45am reception
* After the reception ends around 2pm, we'll head back to our rooms to change. Rather than just hang around by the pool, I've been telling our friends the plan is, "Drinking Round the World"

Join us for a tour of the Epcot World Showcase pavilions, starting with Mexico and ending with the Illuminations show. Attractions include the boat ride in Mexico, Maelstrom, and the American Adventure. And each pavilion has beer native to its country. Note that we'll return to our hotel rooms to change out of our wedding attire beforehand. Theme park tickets will be required for re-entry into Epcot after the reception.​

I feel a little bad that people need to buy theme park tickets to do this with us, but I couldn't think of any easy way to "give" people tickets, especially since most people will have multi-day passes AND not everybody will want to do this with us. I'm thinking it'll be mostly our friends, siblings, and family members about our age. Since people have to buy their own tickets, I'm hoping it will work out that we can buy a lot of the drinks or dinner or something for everybody. But I think this is something we'll just have to figure out that day. I'm excited for this, though, especially since Illuminations will make a nice "ending" for the wedding day.

Day 5 (Mon 9/3) -- Epcot/MGM/Fantasmic! Day
* Epcot's Future World all day. (Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin', etc.)
* Lunch at Sunshine Season Food Fair (The Land).
* Then MGM in the late afternoon/evening, have dinner at either Mama Melrose or Toy Story Pizza and see the Fantasmic! show.

Day 6 (Tue 9/4) -- Day at the Magic Kingdom
* the planned route is: half of Frontierland, Adventureland, second half of Frontierland
* lunch at Pecos Bill Cafe
* then Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland
* Dinner at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe.

And if we still have energy left that day, we might give Pleasure Island a try (though I've heard it might be closed during our trip.)

Day 7 (Wed 9/5) -- Day at MGM/MK (hitting all our favorites one more time)
* Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and a couple others
* lunch at ABC Commissary.
* hop over to Magic Kingdom again for Pirates and other favorites

That's the whole plan. We fly back Thursday, 9/6. It'll be interesting to see how well we stick to it.

 

[wiserabbit]

I've just found your PJ and I think everything looks wonderful - the dress is going to fit perfectly! All the details are coming together and you have done a great job keeping everything organized and moving in the right direction....your reception will definitely be fun and different - something all the guests will remember and talk about for years - CONGRATS!!!!

 

[jasonandlisa]

I've just found your PJ and I think everything looks wonderful - the dress is going to fit perfectly! All the details are coming together and you have done a great job keeping everything organized and moving in the right direction....your reception will definitely be fun and different - something all the guests will remember and talk about for years - CONGRATS!!!!

Thank you so much!! That's so sweet of you to say!

 

[jasonandlisa]

DF just got his suit for the wedding. We found it at Nordstrom's. They were very helpful in helping us select it, the shirt, tie, and shoes. The suit is by Canali. The shoes are Johnston & Murphy. The shirt is Hugo Boss. And the tie is Robert Talbbott. Here are some pics:

Now, we just have to work on getting him to *really* smile for photos on the wedding day. (He claims that he *is* smiling in these pics. )

 

[mariacj]

O my goodness... I love your wedding plans! The dress is very pretty. I love the lace detailing. I am so excited for you! I love your guest welcome boxes. Hmmm... mayhave to steal those.

Your DF soon to be Dh is very handsome. I can't wait for another update.

 

[jasonandlisa]

Thanks mariacj!! It's been so long since I've made an update. I kinda figured nobody was reading anyway...

Let's see...
Well, our deadline was RSVPs was 8/2. Some were late. Some never came. But we had to have a final count for the floral budget by 8/13. We have 81 adults, 2 children ages 10-12, 10 children ages 3-9, 1 2-yr-old, and 2 babies. We'll have two kiddie tables, 12 regular Living Seas rounds seating 6 each, and one extra table with 10. (That table can fit up to 12, so in the event of a last-minute RSVP--one is still possible--we won't have a problem.)

I actually had fun working on the seating chart. I set up a cork board with a rough Living Seas layout and then used push pins with little flags for each guest. It wasn't the most practical approach, but I enjoyed moving people around and seeing everything laid out like that. At the end, I switched to a simple Excel spreadsheet table chart, but I enjoyed "playing" with my seating cork board:

 

[jasonandlisa]

For my flower girl's dress, I told my FSIL that anything she wanted for her daughter was fine. I just let her know my colors were blues. I guess I was picturing a little white dress with a blue bow. But I didn't want to be picky and force her to buy something that'd only be worn that one time. My FMIL actually ended up being the one who selected out the dress. I think she chose this one because of the "matching" little boy's outfit. I'm not having a ring bearer-- My little nephew is only 5-months old! --but, this is the matching outfit:

And the flower girl dress:

Apparently, Caroline (my 3-yr-old flower girl) has been telling everybody that she's going to Disney World for her uncle's wedding. She also "practices" walking down the aisle and dropping flowers. My FSIL has "warned" me that Caroline seems to think her dress shoes are actually "tap shoes" and so there's a chance she'll do a little dance as she makes her grand entrance. I'm just happy that she's so excited about it!!

 

[BaBeeCee14]

Lisa,
I can't believe how close your wedding is. Everything you have planned looks really beautiful, I can't wait to see how it looks when everything comes together!

 

[jasonandlisa]

Thank you, BaBeeCee14!! Looks like you'll be back in WDW pretty soon, too!