Tamu Tamu Breakfast & Discovery Cove Wedding ~ 12/10/12 ~ Start of Day 2

[NeverlandClub23]

Publix is known for doing nice wedding cakes at a reasonable cost. There is one right around the corner from Discovery Cove too if you wanted to pick it up on the way home.

I had thought about Publix, but the cake I designed is a shaped cake with a lot of fondant. Bascially, it was in the shape of a sand bucket with two fondant crabs on the top.

Congratulations on your marathon!! I think that's a great time!

Loved your episode of the the podcast, you sounded terrific!

Bummer about the cakes, but I'm with you--I think your brownie cake idea sounds like it will taste WAY better than any old REGULAR cake ...now I want a brownie...or 12!

The two peas in a pod cake topper is adorable.

Have a great day!
Brooke

Thank you! I'm glad I did it, but I don't know if I'll do another one in the future.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I laugh a lot when I'm nervous (I laugh a lot in general) so, of course, that was what was most apparent to me when I listened to it.

I'm thinking I really like the brownie cake idea now! I bought some small bamboo cake dowels at the craft store this weekend. Now, I just need to place my Garden Grocer order... I'll take 12 brownies too!!

I loved the cake topper. The same seller makes all sorts of clay cake toppers by hand.

I like the DIY brownie cake idea, and also Publix!

If you do feel like you really want a cake delivered to your Jiko meal, I say talk to AK Private Dining about having one made by the GF and picked up by someone in AK's private dining. They actually offered to do this for me once... dunno if it was a fluke, but that's one way to guarantee a good cake.

Also, from what I've seen on the cake thread, AK's cakes aren't bad, they just may not have the capacity to do something fancy. I'd have a chat with them before you give up completely.

All great points! I just think I've gotten myself sold on the design of the cake that I would be upset to spend a ton of money on something and it didn't come out how I was expecting . Who knows? Maybe I'll order lots of cakes just to be on the safe side

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Despite getting terribly sick for the past week (although, I'm truly grateful I didn't get sick before the marathon or right before we leave for the wedding *knocking on wood*), things have really started to come together!

I had a "planning" phone call on Friday with my planner, Linda. Because the wedding is very simple and there's no real reception, the phone call was pretty short. Basically, I am to arrive around 7-7:15 a.m. without my wedding dress on (I will have hair/make-up done at Old Key West prior to going to Discovery Cove though). They will hide me in a changing room area, where I will get into my dress. Matt will come around 7:30 and be held in a separate room. They request that our guests get there around 7:45 and they will be checked-in and escorted to the ceremony site at once.

The ceremony begins around 8:15-8:30. She asked me what kind of flowers I want for my bouquet, but since I decided to make a pomander ball for my bouquet, she said they will just have a nice flower arrangement waiting for us in our cabana (a private cabana is included with the wedding package).

I asked her about music and she said they have a boombox and we can make a CD with ONE song. I think Matt about died when I told him this. I had kind of hoped to have Bing Crosby'esque Christmas music playing before the ceremony, but I guess they'll just have to enjoy the silence or talk to each other (and watch the dolphins!). Also, I don't know how well I'm going to be able to hear a boombox from walking far away, but that's my only option.

I always knew the song I wanted to walk down the aisle to. It plays throughout Walt Disney World at different areas (although, I don't hear it as much as I used to). It used to play in Tomorrowland all the time and everytime I hear it, it makes me feel warm inside. It is Behind the Waterfall by David Lanz and Paul Speer. Matt's okay with it not being a traditional wedding song, but I'm pretty sure my guests aren't going to "get" it. That's okay, I just really wanted this song to be a part of one of the best days of my life.

That was pretty much the end of the phone call. She said she will call again to finalize everything one more time. I definitely would not recommend a Discovery Cove wedding to brides who need to be "in the loop" about every single detail. I don't even have a clue what a back-up location would be for rain or if we need to do a rehearsal the day before or anything . I'm sure it will all work out. At the end of the day, all I care about is that Matt and I are married and our friends/family had a great time.

Oh! Speaking of bouquets... So, I've been working on the pomander. I think it looks really good (my Mom was really impressed), but I was about 3-4 flowers short of finishing it. I went to Michael's this past weekend and could only find one flower! I don't know why I didn't think that the flowers are seasonal and I bought them during the summer. I just stood there in the store not knowing what to do. Do I trash the whole thing and find a different flower I like? Do I pull out all the flowers (which are glued into the floral ball) and try to mix them in with different flowers? Matt was with me and he went to the customer service desk to ask about special ordering them. She said they had been discontinued, but because the flower I had found was supposed to be thrown away, we'd only pay a penny for it. Matt suggested getting a smaller floral ball and I think that's really the best idea at this point. Even just an inch smaller would probably work with the amount of flowers I have. I tried looking online for something that matches the flowers, but I'm running out of time to be able to receive anything and have time to assemble it.

I also finished and ordered our final wedding newsletters/brochures this weekend.

Front:

I removed our cell phone numbers

Inside:

Don't you love my really specific driving directions to Animal Kingdom?

I still have a ton of matching envelopes from the first newsletter, so I will be using those. I also ordered this letterhead...

...which I will use to type individual letters to a few people. I wanted to be able to give directions and times to the two family dinners that extended family and friends are not invited to. Plus, a few people are staying at Disney for a vacation for the first time and I wanted to give a few tips and Christmas things not to miss. I think all of this was about $30 through Vistaprint. I should receive the brochures this week and will hopefully have them in the mail by this weekend!

I ordered this shirt for my Dad to wear for the wedding and he really loves it:

I am beyond ready for a vacation. Matt and I don't get a lot of time together as it seems like we're always working, so we are both really looking forward to taking a break from life for a week.

My remaining to-do list:

• Pack
• Make the Ceremony One Song CD. I have the song on iTunes, I just need to burn the disc.
• Order a Bathing Suit (waiting for Victoria Secret to offer free shipping...)
• Finish the bouquet
• Purchase a handful of admissions to Discovery Cove (I'm kind of waiting on this as it's non-refundable and the people I have left to pay for are wishy-washy)
• Write my Vows
• Contact the officiant, photographer, videographer for any info they or I may need
• Figure out a present for our parents... (totally clueless here)
• Complete our Christmas cards so we can mail them the day after our wedding

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Grande Wedding Package: $1,341.85 (including all tax)
32 discount admissions to Discovery Cove ($73.49 a piece including tax): $2,351.68
3 1-year annual passes to Sea World (to get the discount DC tickets [you can only purchase up to 7 discount tickets per pass]): $474.00 (we're giving the annual passes to my parents and my brother)

Total Ceremony Cost: $4,167.53

Of course, the Sea World annual passes just went up $30 a piece a few weeks ago , so the passes are more than I originally budgeted for. The non-discounted Discovery Cove admission price is $100 more so the annual pass is definitely worth it.

This doesn't include the officiant, photographer, or videographer (which is an approx. $1,200 additional cost all together).

Welcome Breakfast for 30 people including site fee, all taxes, adding on a Mickey waffle action station ($9.50 per person extra), and the safari ride mix-in: $1,797.57. Worth every penny!

**ETA: I originally thought I had to buy Matt and I annual passes to Sea World, but I called and we can use our Busch Gardens Platinum Passes for the discount to Discovery Cove

**ETA#2: Added final costs for welcome breakfast

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

I like to think I'm a pretty laid back bride (and person in general) but I'm not sure I could handle not knowing things like rain back-ups and rehearsal dates, haha. So I'm super impressed! It will all work out! Also, I thought DFTW was strict with the restrictions: only one song on one CD? Wow.

Great job on the newsletter! I love the look and the info sounds really helpful. Sorry to hear about the Michaels flower thing. I think downsizing the ball sounds like a good idea, but that sucks that you have to do it all over again. I'm always surprised how many flowers are needed to make those pomanders.

Oh! And your wedding cake topper is sooo cute!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I like to think I'm a pretty laid back bride (and person in general) but I'm not sure I could handle not knowing things like rain back-ups and rehearsal dates, haha. So I'm super impressed! It will all work out! Also, I thought DFTW was strict with the restrictions: only one song on one CD? Wow.

Great job on the newsletter! I love the look and the info sounds really helpful. Sorry to hear about the Michaels flower thing. I think downsizing the ball sounds like a good idea, but that sucks that you have to do it all over again. I'm always surprised how many flowers are needed to make those pomanders.

Oh! And your wedding cake topper is sooo cute!

I know, right?! At this point, I've just kind of gone with the flow with everything, but it would've been nice to know everything months ago or if there were more options. I think I would be stressing out more about the rehearsal if there was more than just us walking down the aisle. I wonder if I could just do a really long mix song as my one song...

Thank you! I'm getting stressed out about them, though, as I received my original newsletter within 2 days of ordering it and I still haven't received this newsletter. It's going to be cutting it close with receiving them, mailing them out, and people getting them in time.

I originally thought I had way too many flowers . Who knew?? I need to get crackin' on that too because I have less than two weeks before we leave and I don't need flowers falling out 'cause the glue isn't dry .

I just love the cake topper! I will love using it on top of our anniversary cakes for years to come . I've been impressed with everything I've received from Etsy.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! We went to both of our family's houses where I was peppered with wedding questions. Thank goodness we only have to endure this through one holiday and I can just relax and enjoy Christmas!

We went out on Black Friday. We do this every year, but we go out at like 11 a.m. when most of the crowds have gone. We were in Michael's when Matt saw a guest book in the bridal section and he asked me about our guest book. Um, I hadn't planned on getting one?? I guess in my cynical mind I just thought most guest books just have people's signatures in them and why do I need their signatures? There's only 32 people, I think I'll remember them and, if not, I have them on video or in pictures . Of course, then he wanted to buy this generic one at Michael's and my mind started racing if there was anything better I could get online and still get it in time before we leave (and not have to pay express shipping).

I asked Matt why he wanted one and he said he just wanted to have a nice memento of the day and we could use it again at our at home reception. I scoured Etsy when we got home and ended up ordering one I liked and the shop owner said it would be no problem getting it to me before we leave.

This is the print we ended up ordering:

I just need to frame/matt it after I receive it and my parents can take it with them when they drive down. I also need to get silver and black pens for people to sign with.

I thought about getting those cute thumbprint guest books, but I'm a bit, um, picky and some of my guests would just stamp their thumbs all over the place, not in line with any balloon or tree area and I would feel like I wouldn't want to frame it and hang it up in our house. That sounds so petty and crazy, but there you have it.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

On my quest to stress myself out as much as possible, I have been having all sorts of last minute "ideas" that I want to add to the wedding.

One of which being hair flowers.

I had been going back and forth on this (what's new...), but the more I look at the hairstyle I want, the more I think it would look really pretty with a couple lace-ish flowers where the braid "connects".

As a refresher, this is the type of hairstyle I want (with more face framing hair and somewhat more polished while still looking soft):

Source

Then the more I looked on Etsy the more I started thinking I HAD to have hair flowers. It's amazing how I can go quickly from not being interested in something to full-blown must have whatever it is.

Most of the hair flowers I was falling in love with were over $50 and/or in Europe. After changing my search to United States and under $30, I found a pair of hair flowers I really love. I tried not to fall too head over heels until I knew if I could get them in time. I messaged the shop owner and she said she could have them in the mail tomorrow!

These are the flowers I ended up ordering:

Each are about 3" in diameter and are an ivory/cream color with gold/champagne accents. I hope they look great with my dress and hairstyle.

 

[Bewitch324]

SOOOOO Pretty! I love the flowers for your hair, I think they will be perfect!!

I like your "guest sign" idea too.

You're getting so close now!!!!

Very exciting!

Brooke

 

[lurkyloo]

It's amazing how I can go quickly from not being interested in something to full-blown must have whatever it is.

Boy howdy, do I ever know what you mean!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

SOOOOO Pretty! I love the flowers for your hair, I think they will be perfect!!

I like your "guest sign" idea too.

You're getting so close now!!!!

Very exciting!

Brooke

Thank you! I can't wait to see everything come together.

Only 4 days until we leave!

Boy howdy, do I ever know what you mean!

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

And only 4 days until we leave! I'm doing all the things now that I never wanted to do before. I made a wedding planning binder earlier this year and I've only used it here and there. Its main purpose was to house all the confirmations, park hours, contracts, vendor information in one place. Although, it just occured to me today that I had a binder much like this one before our trip last year and left it in the hotel we stayed in overnight on our drive down to WDW .

Anyways, I've spent the past day or two printing out all the paperwork and organizing it. Fun stuff.

I have halfway written my vows. I timed myself reading them aloud and only got to 50 seconds. I also was reading pretty slowly and I know it'll speed up at the actual ceremony 'cause I'll be nervous in front of everyone. I asked Matt how long his were and he said 2 minutes. I need some filler! Listen, I only want to make so many promises. I can't have his expectations set too high . There's a couple other things I want to say, but I'm trying to figure out how to work them in and it still flow well.

I've ordered and received our Christmas cards (with my new last name on them!). I need to address and postage them. My plan was to mail them from the resort the day after the wedding, but I read on the Universal board that if you send your mail from the Owlery in Wizarding World of Harry Potter that they put a Harry Potter post mark on your letters! I thought that would be pretty neat, but we may just send them at our resort still.

Let's see, I'm almost finished packing. I have my list typed and printed out and most of my clothes packed.

It's looking like we're going to have amazing weather so far! I'm so, so, so excited about having good weather. I was terrified it was going to be 45-50 degrees like it was a few years ago at this time of year.

My bouquet is almost done. I should be finishing it tomorrow morning, letting it dry while I'm at work, and then taking it to my parents' house tomorrow night for them to take down with them. I also have a small carry-on packed with wedding related stuff and they're taking my wedding dress. Oh! I also decided to forgo Garden Grocer when they offered to take grocery items down with them and will drop them off at OKW when I check in on Sunday. They're driving so that's really helpful to not have to worry about flying with all that stuff (or shipping it).

My part-time jobs are out of control right now. I have a ton of audio files to process by Wednesday night, which will take me several hours. Plus, Matt and I help one of his brothers who is the audio/visual guy for William & Mary college. We videotape the men's basketball games. I did it without Matt last Saturday night since he was DJ'ing and between being on my feet for four hours straight and the weight of the videocamera on my shoulder and the headset cutting into my big 'ol head, I was over it. We both are doing it Thursday night after work, which takes another night away of being able to get anything done for this wedding/trip. I do enjoy how fast the time goes and a little extra money, but I'm looking forward to saying goodbye to all these jobs (plus my full-time job) for a little over a week!

We went to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens on Sunday night, which helped get us into the Christmas spirit (even though it was pretty crowded) and we talked about the wedding/trip all night (okay, I did most of the talking... ). I've realized that even though this is Matt's second trip, I'm counting it as his first again. It's like he has no memory of last year's trip! I'll talk about a ride or something/somewhere we ate and he'll say something like, "That sounds familiar... I thought I dreamed something like that. Hmmm... Oh yeah! I really liked _________! Are we doing/eating that again?! How exciting!"

I ordered him a mini-birthday cake for our dinner at California Grill on December 15th. His birthday was in mid-November and I tried to make him a low carb cake (while keeping it low calorie for me) and it was a disaster so I had promised him at the time a birthday cake re-do when we get off this wedding diet. Speaking of that, he's lost 30 lbs. and I've lost 20!

My planner with Discovery Cove emailed me and asked me what our color scheme for the wedding is as the Discovery Cove horticulturists will put those colors of flowers in the planters decorating the aisle and altar area.

It looks like our final count for the wedding is 33 people and 30 people for the welcome breakfast. I'm glad so many people are coming, but I really had no idea this many people would want to come. I can't wait to get to Florida and get this show on the road!

 

[lurkyloo]

It's all coming together now! Congrats on the success of your wedding diets. I think that deserves a minicake.

 

[Bewitch324]

So exciting!! I can't believe it's so close! Wow you both have done really great on your wedding diets!! And all that extra work with the part time jobs??? You are SO due a vacation!!!

I love that you guys are including special/personal vows. I hear ya about not wanting to OVERcommit, haha...good luck with making it flow the way you want it to...I'm sure it will be beautiful!

I can't wait to hear all about your trip and your wedding once you get back...everything you've planned sounds so special and I think it will all turn out really amazing.

Take care and try and get SOME rest in there somewhere!!!

Brooke

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Congrats on your wedding diets! Sounds like everything is coming together!

Your trip and wedding is so soon! So exciting!

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

Hey we leave tomorrow to head to Disney so I just wanted to say good luck! I hope your wedding day is amazing and I cant wait to see pics!!!!

 

[celerystalker]

I loved your podcast and I know the whole trip will be amazing! Your invites turned out so good! I can't wait to see pics of your pomander - not sure if you got it redone or not! Happy almost wedding day!

 

[Chilly]

Happy Wedding Day!

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Happy Wedding Day!

 

[CinderALLIE]

Happy wedding day. I hope it is magical for you 2.

 

[lurkyloo]

Happy Wedding Day!!!