There's still a few things I want to eventually add to the list, but for the meantime, here's what I promised all of you!
Glad I Did - Planning Stages:
Tried on wedding dresses without my mother - I needed to find my vision for myself before bringing my mother in for advice. Once I found the dress I loved, I included her and she agreed it was 'the one'!
Went to the dermatologist - I wanted my skin to look clear and healthy for my wedding pictures. I was beginning to feel self-conscious because I suffered from acne on my face and my back. I went to the doctor three months prior to our date and was put on oral medications and two topical meds. Surprisingly, the medications cleared up all of my problem areas and I felt beautiful and confident on my wedding day. If any of you need some sort of solution for anything, talking to your doctor may help!
Took engagement photos - We took engagement photos, (with David and Vicki Arndt - Full review:
HERE.) almost 2 years after we got engaged. I felt a little weird doing it, but I love looking back at the pictures and I really enjoyed making our guest book with them.
Had an in-person planning session and menu tasting - If you can afford to make the trek to Disney before your wedding to plan, DO IT. It was better than I could have imagined. Meeting everyone that is going to be involved with your wedding is incredible and hashing out all the details makes you feel more at ease.
Had Chris and both of our mothers at the planning session - Even though I picked out most of the wedding details it was fun having our mothers involved. I think it made them feel like VIPs.
Got our marriage license by mail - Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. We didn't have to sacrifice any of our wedding trip by going off property.
Glad I Did - Wedding:
A Disney Wedding - I know it's hard to believe, but our day was
perfect. Scratch that, our whole week was perfect. You can read more about my Disney Fairy Tale Wedding experience
HERE.
Stayed at the Grand Floridian - We were originally planning on staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, then we changed to a split stay between Caribbean Beach and the Grand Floridian, finally we decided just on the Grand Floridian. In the end, this turned out to be the best decision. We didn't have to lug around a bunch of wedding stuff from room to room or travel a whole lot from destination to destination. Convenience and beauty - the Grand Floridian exceeded my expectations.
Had the wedding rehearsal in a ballroom - I loved keeping the Wedding Pavilion a surprise for our guests until the day of the wedding.
Had photography coverage at our rehearsal luncheon - We got photos with guests that we didn't really get to see on wedding day, so these extra photos are very special to us.
Parents got a rental van - We didn't use it much for ourselves, but it sure was handy when my father went to pick up all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen on wedding day and transported them where they needed to go.
Asked for extra space to get ready in with my girls - I waited until two weeks before the wedding to ask my planner if there was any space in the Grand Floridian Convention Center to use as a dressing room. We were able to have a room at no additional charge, since it had not been booked. It was really helpful having a large room to get ready in.
Used Beaute Speciale - They are amazing girls with unbelievable talent. You can read my full vendor review about them:
HERE.
A First Look - If I had waited to see Chris for the first time as I was walking down the aisle, I think I would have passed out from nerves. Seeing Chris early on in the day made me more relaxed and I think it gave us more time to enjoy the day together.
Had 2 BMs and 2MOHs / Large bridal party - I split the role of Best Man and Maid of Honor in half and had two of each. I chose our two best friends from college to stand closest to us at the ceremony to witness our unity, since they have known us longest as a couple. Our best friends from home have known us forever and best individually, so they sat next to us at the reception and also delivered the speeches. Then the rest of our closest friends and family surrounded us all and made our wedding party so much fun. It was challenging and expensive, but I wouldn't have changed for anything.
Used Reverend Tim Herring - He was a wonderful officiant. You can read my vendor review about him:
HERE.
Live Ceremony Webcast - We had gone into planning a destination wedding knowing that some family members could not attend do to health reasons. We added on the live broadcast to our video package so these members could watch. We were happy knowing that they could still be included in our special day.
Had Mickey and Minnie Mouse - I tried to keep the Disney touches to a minimum in our wedding, since I still wanted a traditional and elegant affair, however I had to have Mickey and Minnie join in the festivities! I knew that many of our guests wouldn't be able to venture into the parks, so being able to have M&M show up and surprise everyone was a blast.
Wish I Had:
An engagement party - It would have been nice to arrange this so my side of the family could have met Chris before the wedding itself.
Picked a different Moderate resort for our wedding guests - Caribbean Beach turned out to be more of a pain than paradise. It is far too large and our guests were even late to some of our events due to bus madness.
The rehearsal lunch held at a different venue - I had no control over this since this was hosted by my in-law, however I secretively wish we could have held this event at another location that had more of a Disney vibe.
Had my hair done up for the rehearsal - It would have been nice to have a fun hairdo for the rehearsal, especially since we had professional photos taken and my hair looks pretty frizzy in them.
Flat shoes - Don't get me wrong, I loved my wedding shoes--They look super pretty in the photographs, however, I NEVER wear heels. I was very uncomfortable every time I had to walk in them.
Make a more detailed must-have photo list - I never had any photos taken with my girls individually, which makes me kinda bummed. I would have also liked a few more photos of our reception venue done up and the food stations.
Sacrificed dinner time to make rounds to all guests - I still feel
so bad about this. We only made it about 1/4th of the way around the room once dinner ended. There were some guests that we never said hello to that night.
Utilized the stage in Atlantic Dance Hall - If I had some more money lying around I would have had a video projection screen put up to go with the music or add extra fun props to the stage. The curtain really bugs me.
Had videography coverage through the rest of the reception and dessert party - I ended up loving our wedding video more than I ever thought I would. It's fun to relive the magic and see things that I completely missed. Our video coverage ended one hour before our reception had ended, so it feels really incomplete when our video just trails off.
Picked better desserts for the dessert party - I was so focused on our dinner menu that I just picked one of the pre-set dessert menus. The desserts were just alright.
Glad I Didn't:
Have Cinderella's Coach - One of the things I let Chris have a say in was transportation. He picked the Rolls Royce which made him happy, but also complimented our subtle 1920's theme we had going on.
Have a cake topper - The other thing that Chris did for the wedding was design our wedding cake. I'm glad we decided not to include a cake topper because I think it would have ruined his design.
Wish I Didn't
Attempt to make welcome bags - We only had two treats and an info packet, so I felt it was a little tacky giving our guests such empty bags. It just wasn't in the budget for me. I wish I had scrapped it early on, but I had to get the bus schedule out to our guests somehow.
Neutral
Have a dessert party - I loved that we got to keep the party going on longer, however, part of me wishes we had hosted the dessert party on another night. Many of our guests were too cold, tired, and/or drunk to enjoy some aspects of this event. And my out of all my pictures, these ones are my least favorite. They're not bad, but I don't see myself blowing one up to display anytime soon.
Chris' List (YES! I got the hubby to sit down and give me feedback on the wedding!):
Glad I Did:
Informal bachelor dinner at T-Rex
Glad we planned a meet & greet event
Glad we had 'drinking around the world' after the wedding to unwind
Chocolate-colored Suits
Magic Kingdom / Epcot shoot
Wish I Had:
More decor
Wish we had planned another event with our guests
Gone to the Magic Kingdom instead of Epcot with our guests
Wish I Didn't:
Wear the shoes from Men's Warehouse
Take fireworks pictures
I love how they made the castle look like a ginger bread house, AWESOME 
I wanna go back for x-mas now 
you're just like me, I have to do things in order too or I go crazy!! Looking forward to your Glad I Did/Wish I Did list, I love reading those. They are so helpful to us planning brides. 
The MVMCP pics are awesome, but the story along with it makes it even better. I've been to the MVMCP a few times and I love it, no waits, special stuff, it's wonderful! It's so awesome how the cast members gave you and Chris so much attention, that's so cool! Disney VIP is the best you could ask for, right! 
I'm glad you did it though!
I've only been to AK two times and HS three times, so I need to play catch up! 
Chris got ready and went to hunt down some Mickey mac (we always get some to take home) and they didn't have any at the Grand Floridian. I stayed back in the room to finish packing. I called bellhop and they took some of our wedding stuff down and my father swung by later in the day to pick that stuff up. 
