Christine & Erik's PJ: 12/4/08 Finally New Updates!

[DisneyJules]

ahaha, oh that's so funny! You were suppose to say " I just photograph a lot taller."

 

[redheadedmomma]

Hi Baby, Just subscribing! I'm mom of the bride for those that don't know. Can't wait for the DFTW and our trip in Dec!

Marianne

 

[momofbride010103]

Yay for Moms of the bride........

Mom enjoy this planning time it is so much fun and goes by very fast.

Disney weddings are incredible they take care of so much and will truly treat your daughter like a princess throughout the entire process......


My husband was not to involved in the whole planning process (except for footing the bill)

But after the wedding he was in awe of how it turned out. He loved the day we gave to our only daughter.......( and very happy our 15 yr old is male!!!)

 

[cp_princess]

OK so I've been gone for most of a month. Not much has happened on the Disney wedding front during that time. I did nail down a lot for my home reception. I also started a temp job which could possibly become perm. however since it's at a plant they close two weeks of the year and that's when their employees are supposed to take their vacation. Only problem is that I'll be gone for most of a week in July for my planning session (we already have our flight booked) and then of course we have our whole wedding/honeymoon scheduled for Dec. sooooooo needless to say my inability to conform to their vacation schedule could be an issue. Otherwise it's work and it pays the bills. The hours are very sucky for me... i.e. I have to be up at 6:30 and I'm so not a morning person. DF can't understand why I'm tired all the time if I go to bed between 10 and 11 each night. HMMMMMM maybe cause I don't fall into my deepest sleep till about 5 am! He insisted that I start working so I took the job even if I didn't like the hours. Now I guess we're both feeling the effects of it! Also we've been out of town for the last couple of weekends, and since I only get online like once a work week now (and usually I'm scouring the boards for all the wedding help I can find) I haven't really been able to post. We're home this weekend though - our baby cat is getting fixed and declawed so we'll be here to keep an eye on her so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on my journal writing! And I of course have to go back and fix some pics since I updated (read organized) my photobucket account.

OK well that's about all for now. About to watch the last period of the hockey game before I crash. Thanks to all who have hung in there through this slump!

Christine

 

[redheadedmomma]

i'm really excited about being a disney mother of the bride. christine is our princess. all of the wedding planning is being done by the bride, i'm just the sounding board, and happy to have that position. i want her dreams to come true her way. she's great, knows exactly what she wants

 

[cp_princess]

Hehehe thanks mommy! I'm so proud that you posted!

OK another weekend gone and still no updates. I did get my newsletters done today, and created a new non-Disney website. I'll try to get pics and links up tomorrow if I can. So much to do so little time.

Christine

 

[cp_princess]

OK so just a few quick updates. I'll try to add pictures later. So here's what's new. As I mentioned I did the newsletter yesterday here are a few snapshot of that...

I've also decided that I needed to include an additional website (non-Disney sanctioned so that I can write what I want, use it for FL and NJ and not have to wait for someone else to change it.) So I also then made some inserts (i.e. small cut up pieces of paper) with the new web address to attach to the blank side of the newsletters.

The website is http://www.brides.com/weddingwebsite/christineanderikdftw

though you all probably know more then what's on there at this point! hehe you all have the inside track!

Oh and I dropped by Target the other day to pick up some medicine and of course I had to sweep by the clearance bins they keep up front. Well I lucked out because there's something I've been looking for for awhile now and they had just what I wanted. The only thing I would change is the color but I can accept that. What is it you're probably all asking...........
large canvas tote bags! Only 2.50 a piece! Can we say welcome bags now accounted for???????? I was so psyched! I pretty much bought them out...the only ones I left had stains and such. Well actually I did find another bin of them and left a few of those. But I bought 20 out of about 28 and 3 or 4 of them were stained. Anyway I have like 3 bright blue, 3 light green, and 5 bright pink, and all the rest are black. The colors are just shy of neon - but really cool if you consider that they'll be given out in FL. I only wish they had more of the colored ones and then I wouldn't have had to get so many black (they seem so blah compared to the others)! OOOOHHHHH speaking of bags I got my Disney Honeymoon Tote today - the one for joining the Honeymoon Registry. I was super excited about that too It so totally made my Monday!


OK that's about it for today I'm going to go crash now. I literally have to be up before sunrise mad: not my idea of a decent hour) thanks to the daylight savings time thing!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

Oh, I love those newsletters!!! They just look so exciting, do you know what I mean? Like, it makes everything look fun and happy. Which is exactly the impression you'd want to give!

Nice find on the tote bags at Target!! I really should stop passing those by because I know there's good deals in there.

I wanna see your honeymoon bag!!! Ugh! I knew I should've registered even if I wasn't planning on using it! LOL!

 

[cp_princess]

Register now they still have the code up....now if they still have bags that's another question. I'll try to take a picture of the bag soon and post it.

Thanks I'm glad you felt that way about the newsletter. I personally think it's the smiling sun that draws you in ! Seriously I tried really hard to make them easy to follow but interesting - sneaking in details when people least suspect it. I think we'll be mailing them out tomorrow or Thursday.

Hehe, I love the bins at Target. They are a definite trouble spot. I already bought a gazillion things for the kids (to go in the welcome bags and give the kiddies stuff to do while in the hotel room) that I had to find big bags or there's no way I could fit in what I want to. I've got a self-imposed ban on buying anymore goodies for the little ones. Now it's just waiting till I'm down there to buy snacks and drinks for everyone, oh and maybe some first aid/toiletry type items. I have to get pics of those two. Maybe I'll take a plain pic and one of them being full and then you'll see how overboard I've gone . Of course I couldn't help myself especially since some of the things were Disney and less then 3 bucks. Like Cars stickers, and little cardboard books of Lion King, Bambi and I forget the third title. I guess I do have to find something for the bags for our single friends though - other then snacks!

Alright I'm off for the night. Thanks for reading.

Christine

 

[cp_princess]

OK finally more updates and some pictures. I ended up staying home sick today I hate migranes! But it ended up being a good thing I did because about an hour after I would normally leave for work Erik found out his grandfather passed away this morning . We've known it was coming, because his health had been deteriorating but I don't think we thought it would happen so soon. He's handling it about as well as could be expected.

So since my head is feeling a bit better, and I'm able to be here for my honey and figured I'd take the time to finally add the updates everyone has been requesting.

OK so I did talk about my welcome bags I bought and my honeymoon bag. Here are some pictures I took of those.

And here are some pictures of the goodies I've bought to go in them. Most of the goodies are for the kids. I get into trouble whenever I go into Target or Michaels because the dollar bins get me every time.

I should probably start by saying we're doing a princess and pirate theme for the welcome party. At least that's my plan. So for the boys I've bought bandannas that I can decorate - and I got skull and cross bones iron-ons to help do so. I also made little eye patches out of felt and elastic for them. I haven't put the bandannas together yet when I do I'll show the finished product here are some of the supplies.

The other things - besides the bandannas in that pic are little crowns/tiaras for the girls. I plan on labeling each one with one with a different girls name for them. Then I also found these pretty blue wands for them too.

I also bought a bunch of pirate and princess themed goodies to fill the bag. And a few Cars things too - because I know Erik's nephew loves all things with wheels. I figure the bags will have lots to keep them entertained while they are in the hotel for a few days.

Disney princess magnetic sets

Disney Princess and Cars coloring sets

Pirate and Princess Yo-yo's

Some toys for the boys and girls

Basically there are stickers, coloring books, the thick Disney cardboard books for our really little ones, drawing boards where when you lift the top page your picture disappears, and for our two older children that will be there a over the door basketball hoop with a foam stress ball decorated as a basketball, and a set of pick-up sticks (which is for my MOH's daughter - my goddaughter and it's a game her mother and I used to play at her age!)

I'd say the kids are pretty set. At least until I find another dollar bargin! Now it's just the adults to worry about. So far all I have is bath fizzies and a plan to pick up some food and drinks for in the bags.

OK I'll submit this and start a new update for a different topic now.

Christine

 

[cp_princess]

OK now for some more luxurious topics. Recently Erik and I went to CA for his cousin's wedding. And though we didn't plan on being at Disney well I'm sure you can guess what happened. Here's my recap of the experience.

So it all started while Erik and I were waiting for our plane to depart from Newark airport. Erik was teasing me that I found it torturous to be in CA and not go to Disneyland. Off-handedly I said "well the wedding doesn't start until Sat evening we do have the rest of the day free."

Short tangent:
We were in CA for his cousin's wedding. There are three cousins getting married on that side of his family the first was Megan who got married in Dana Point this weekend. We have another wedding of his cousin Josh in June and then us in Dec.

OK back to the discussion on the plane. So I was saying that what really sucked is I've only been once (for one day) and I won't get to go back till next Feb (for like one and a half days over Valentine's weekend). The only reason I've been able to go at all is because Erik's company is head-quartered out in LA and he has to go out for business every Jan and Feb. However because of work schedules and how tight money is due to the new house and the wedding I've been a bit limited in my ability to join him and spend a lot of time in Disneyland. Anywho it was originally decided that we wouldn't go this year - because of the above reasons. It was decided that we would go next year - since Erik is scheduled to be out there on business over Valentines day and I refuse to spend our first married V-day - especially only 2 months into things - apart. Plus I had been hoping to make a trip to WDW and use our free AP's that weekend before Erik was told that it was the same week or so he had to be out in CA. So I knew I'd be going next year but as I told Erik I didn't want to wait a whole year to see the new Finding Nemo Submarine Ride . Plus I always love any chance to enjoy Disney right????

So we put the whole conversation aside until Sat when we could get a better idea of our schedule and what was possible. Disneyland is only about a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes away from Dana Point. Well Friday night after what felt like a LONG day traveling (we started out at 9AM Eastern and didn't stop until 11 PM Pacific) we were invited to go Whale watching on Sat. This is perhaps one of the few things that could even begin to entice me away from a Disney trip. Because really how often does one get to go out on the Pacific ocean or see Whales (one of my childhood loves) plus it would have given Erik a chance to spend more time with his family (something he doesn't get to do often). Well we decided to wait till Sat. morning. I was up at 6:30 Eastern time - got to love time zone changes. I checked the weather report which was iffy so I figured it was better not to be on the ocean that day it looked like it could be choppy if not rainy out there. Plus I just knew deep down that if I went out to Whale watch instead of Disney that I wouldn't see any whales. So it was off to Disney we went.

We left about 9am Pacific and decided to go park in Downtown Disney since I wanted to do some shopping on our way out of the parks.

So here's one of my favorite pics for the day

My dad is a huge Gene Autry fan and I of course love Disney so to find both in one shot was too cool!

So then it was onto the parks.

Here is the obligatory picture in front of the Mickey Flowers. It was so cool Tink's wand adds pixie dust every few moments and Mickey sparkles... I don't remember that from my last trip to WDW last May. But I thought it was just too cool.

Then we hopped on the Double Decker Bus to head down Mainstreet. I didn't get a pic of the bus but I did get a pic of the transportation I wanted to ride however it was full.

Also I got my first full glance of the Castle. During my only other trip the entire left side was covered with refurbishment tarps.

Then we stopped and grabbed fast passes for Buzz on our way to the Finding Nemo subs

We wanted to hit it early before the lines got too long. This was about 10am however the line was already listed at 75 minutes. So while we were waiting in line I took some pics.

Here's our boat

and I took pictures of the signs for almost every ride we went on just so I wouldn't forget!

Afterwards we headed back to Buzz for our ride - we both were level 3 but I'm starting to get better.

Then it was over to one of my favorite rides

It just never gets old for me!

Then it was lunch time so we headed over to Blue Bayou. We didn't have an ADR since we hadn't decided till that morning to go. Unfortunately they were booked full not just for lunch but through closing. Which didn't matter since we had to leave by 3 anyway. I fell in love with this restaurant after our last trip - but maybe next time we'll actually get to eat there!

While we were over in New Orleans Square I decided to at least get some pictures.

The place I'm sure we'd all love to stay - but this is probably the closest I'll ever get. Couldn't miss the photo-op though.

Then we hopped on the Jungle Cruise since it only had a 5 minute wait! Can't pass that up either.

My favorite scene!

Then it was off to Main Street for hot dogs. I can't for the life of me to remember the name of the restaurant - because my brain reverts to Casey's out of habit. But while expensive it was very yummy and hit the spot.

After that we headed to the Castle for some pics in Snow White's Grotto.

The first one is my favorite!

Next I went window shopping and bought a few sovieners from a cart. Including....my bridal mouse ears! Then I came home and read about how I overpaid, but that's OK because they made me super happy to wear in the park!

I also ended up buying a pair of Disneyland Resort mouse ears (you know the basic black ones) since I didn't have them from DL only WDW.

I don't have pics of those or Erik's groom ears because they're still in CA with him.

Later we went on Pinocchio - which was a first for me.

Oh and I did get a picture of Erik playing a bit

Plus I was so proud because he did wear his groom ears the rest of the time we were in the parks which is so unlike him!

After Pinocchio we went on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - but I forgot to get a pic. It's one of Erik's favorites from when he was a child and since they don't have it in WDW anymore I make an effort to get on there when we're in DL.

Finally we went on Alice in Wonderland. Which broke while we were in line. This happened last year too and then we had to leave to make our ADR. So this time we decided to stick it out for like 20 minutes - at which point we had to leave the park or risk being late for the wedding which started at 5:30. Well after about 15 minutes it was up and running again and so many people had gotten out of line that we hardly had to wait at all. It was my first time riding it so I enjoyed it a lot.

Finally we hopped on the Monorail and head back to Downtown Disney.

During our last trip I had seen a cake topper I liked. It was the inexpensive ones for about 20$'s. So now that we were engaged I wanted to go take another look. Originally I planned on buying it but then I saw the Lenox one's in person and I knew I had to get one of those. Since I plan on keeping it to display in the house after the wedding I just couldn't resist the nicer quality of the Lenox. I haven't taken any pics yet. Maybe next week I'll try to add one.

So we ended up rushing back and getting to the hotel (where we were staying and the wedding was occuring) at about 4:50. We had to rush to get changed and get out there on time. And while it was cold - during the ceremony since it was off the ocean and windy - it was beautiful.

Here are a few wedding pics. I know it's not Disney but don't we all just love a wedding?

And here's one of the first dance

Well that's our crazy Disneyland trip. It was a good thing though. Because on Sunday (when I took the flight Erik insisted on booking for me even though I told him I could fly out Monday instead) I got stuck in LAX with plane delays after my shuttle driver got lost twice finding 2 of his stops and going to the wrong airport! So instead of getting home at 9:15 Eastern it was more like 12 when I landed and I still had over an hour to drive back to my house. Plus I had to go to work the next day since I hadn't already planned to take off like I would have if I had been able to take the flight plan I chose. Needless to say Erik will no longer be making my flight arrangements. I will do all of the booking even if he does all the paying!

Well hope you enjoyed my mini-trip report .... and now back to our regularly scheduled planning journal!

 

[cp_princess]

So needless to say it was a productive if short trip. Since you've already seen the pictures of me in my wedding ears I'll move onto pics of the cake topper we bought.

The people at work were teasing because I took so many pictures but I was trying to capture as many details as I could. For instance - my favorite part is that they even have little gold bands painted on their ring fingers. And I love the silver glitter scattered on Cinderella's gown along with the gem stones.

Speaking of Lenox - awhile back, right after Christmas to be exact. I went into our local Lenox outlet store and bought some Mickey and Minnie Bride and Groom Ear ornaments so that I can personalize them as favors for our guests. I loved that idea when I saw some of the other Disney brides doing so. However the ones we got were about 12 each and Erik vetoed getting one per person. Instead we ended up with one per couple or per family. So I still need to go back and read some PJ's to figure out which pens to buy to write on them with. And I still need to figure out placecards. But in the meantime I still think they're a pretty cool favor. Here's some pics I took.

Another thing I recently accomplished was the creation of my MOH's bouquet. Well it like many things were completed as a joint effort of me and my mom. Here are some pics of what we have so far. We aren't sure about some of the hanging ribbons but otherwise it's pretty much the completed project.

Here's a view from above

Here are a few side views

And also I started working on mock-ups of invites. I figure with only about 20 invites needed for the Florida Ceremony I should make an attempt at least. So this is what I've come up with so far. DF's comment was well they don't look like a professional made them but they don't look like a craft project either..... um thanks for the compliment hun . Either way let me know what you think if they look too crafty instead of professional I guess he'll just have to let me spend wedding money on letting a professional make them !

Attempt 1

Version 2

Inside pockets on one side vellum on the other

Close up of the front image

This castle stamp will be embossed and be the dark blue color. I can't find my heated embossing gun right now so most of the embossing powder on the demo got brushed off. I tried my hairdryer in the meantime and as you can see it didn't really work.

So that's most of my crafty stuff and such so far. I did make my veil with my mom. Or we started it. I still need to do all it's decorating. I was so excited though because this week while in Micheal's I did finally find the beads I was looking for so I just have to make sure the layers are the right length, let it hang out during a few of my showers so it gets the wrinkles steamed out of it, and then I can get it beaded hopefully before July when I need to have my PS and hair and make-up trial.

Other wedding news we did put our deposit on videography. We've decided to go with Stan and STVS. I'm pretty excited about our package. We went with the HD version and added a few of the special effects. It's a little more then we would have paid with Disney but we're getting a whole bunch more then we would if we went with Disney. And I'm a little less stressed over wondering if someone will actually show up and video tape. We got Stan's Demo DVD and watched it this weekends which just reassured me even more. Plus I got to read a few glowing reviews on the Disboards as well.

Alright I'm off to cook some breakfast for dinner - got to love mixing meals like that!


Christine

 

[M&M126]

That was a whirlwind Disney trip! I've still never been to Disneyland. Hopefully I'll go one day. I think your invites look very nice! Very professional and way better than I could do. You seem like you're so on top of things. Good job

 

[cp_princess]

Oops I guess I lost all my readers when I took such a long break from posting...either that or it's the spring weather drawing everyone away from ! Even my own mom reads but doesn't post ! I don't crave attention or anything hehe! Well hopefully even if people aren't posting they are reading. So for those of you taking the time here's a few more updates.

Anywho this week was pretty slow on the wedding front. In addition to dealing with Erik's grandfather passing away the crazy NJ weather and stress from wedding and funerals has resulted in a headache everyday this week so not only have I not been able to post but I haven't be able to read the disboards either. Of course even if I had been feeling better our internet connections were sketchy all week to. So here's what I did with the small amounts of free time and internet access I did have.

I emailed back and forth with the planner alot because I was sent into chaos mode when I found out that MVMCP is the same night as our reception and will probably mess with the fireworks and could cause them to be about an hour after our reception ends. So I've been working on resolving that issue since to me the fireworks are a key part to the reception. Afterall we're not doing a dance floor so I was counting on this as entertainment and taking up a portion of the 5 hour reception where our current budget includes nothing but the traditional cocktail hour, dinner and mingling. Plus I gave up choosing a place where I had more control over the menu since I'm such a picky eater and having a tasting session just so that we could have the castle view and fireworks. So even though many have told me just accept whatever happens and keep everything the same fireworks or no I've not very happy with doing so . Unfortunately we can't move our ceremony back because that time slot is not available. Which means either extending the reception another hour in which case this will probably be my guests and twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do. Plus adding a lot more onto the budget. Or having a break of about an hour and a half between ceremony and reception. An option that wouldn't add too much more to the budget but which it has been brought to my attention may not be very convenient for my guests. OK my major bridezilla moment is coming.... um we're in Disney World with some of the coolest themed resorts surrounding us, while there are children in attendance there are also adults can people not either go visit at each others rooms to relax, play in lobbies, let the kids enjoy the kids areas as a form of entertainment or ride the monorail for awhile? Or they could walk the beach. Again I know it's bridezilla of me to be that way but I'm trying to maximize their experience by having fireworks end the night. I know it will also make my reception that much cooler but that wasn't my only thought I swear . So anyway that's the wedding stress.

Also I finally managed to finish the basket for my second flower girl.

The other thing I've been focusing on this week for the wedding is organizing an ice cream social/welcome party. I'm hoping to do this at the Grand Floridian but am still trying to see if it can fit into the budget. Gosh this would be so much more fun without the B word. Budget may as well be a four letter word for Disney brides! If we can do this I'm planning on very simple - the only decor will be the plain Disney Private Dining table cloths and maybe I might bring a few things to add. But we can't afford to go through Disney for anything else. Then we'll have the ice cream, drinks and maybe one or two other simple things like fruit or mickey mouse rice crispy treats. The worst part is they're telling me a 1000$ food and bevarge minimum to use that site. I was hoping for a little less but somehow even ice cream at Disney might be expensive enough to meet that amount . Like so many other things though I just seem to have my heart set on it.

Along those same lines I've already started making a flyer up to announce the event. I know I know it's not even been finalized yet but I couldn't help myself. It will have a pirate and princess theme - as does most of the kids stuff in their welcome bags. I just figure it's a fun way to get everyone introduced or to have a chance to reacquaint themselves. I plan on making a flyer for the after party for adults only at Jellyrolls that same night. And then two more flyers one for the Farewell Dinner that we're having (where everyone is invited in a pay your own way type of event) and announcing that Erik and I will be trying to go to the MVMCP that same night. That is if we can get tickets. So once I have all those things together I'll post some pictures.

OK that's everything for now. Hope you enjoyed reading.

Christine

 

[redheadedmomma]

hi honey, it's mom! yes i'm posting (you made me). although i know your dilema's, i still enjoy reading the recap of events. again, everything will work out the way it's suppose to. i re-read your previous posts & i'm still impressed with all your crafts (when i grow up, i want to be just like you). keep up the excellent work. i love you & i'll talk to you soon. mom

 

[redheadedmomma]

ok now that i'm posting, no one else is. where's everybody? i love reading all about your interesting lives.

 

[cp_princess]

Thanks momma, but I guess no one wants to write these days. I guess I have to find more interesting things to add. But you can also read other people's planning journals and such too. That's what I do when I have nothing to respond too.

 

[dawrobin]

I love your cake topper!!

 

[mla1977]

I'm stil here, just working a lot!

 

[cp_princess]

It's OK Mla1977 I was just teasing anyway. Life is so hectic this time of year when everyone emerges after winter. I know we no longer have any free weekends till like June or so! Mom is new to the whole board experience I was really just trying to let her know that she may have to read some of the other threads in order to have constant entertainment from the boards.

Thanks Dawrobin I originally thought it was too expensive and that I'd be OK with the less expensive option but once I saw it I thought it was so awesome that while another cake topper would have worked I knew I wanted something I could display in my house for years to come. This one just seem to fit that bill so much better.

Thanks for reading,

Christine