Tasha & Greg's Escape PJ -10/12/10 Sunset Pointe/Shula's - Vendor Reviews

[2nd Time Bride]

Although our wedding is fast approaching, I thought I should create a PJ since there are so few Sunset Point weddings and/or elopements!

Our story - we met at work while Greg was going through his divorce (yep, he's a 2nd timer too!) and I was dating someone else. We only worked together briefly and, when I left the company, we didn't keep in touch. About two years later, I returned to the same company and Greg was assigned to my first project. After working together for almost a year, he invited me to a happy hour with some of his co-workers and the rest is history!

Neither one of us thought we would ever remarry and would even joke about it when we first started dating. Our previous relationships had brought us to Minneapolis and we both wanted to move closer to our families, so we started talking about moving together but our plans did not include getting married. We decided on Grand Rapids, MI, got the ok to telecommute full time, moved into temporary housing and began looking for a house, all of which was very stressful!! But we found our dream home and began settling in!

A couple months after we moved in, my 12 year old niece Desi came to visit for two weeks to attend summer Drama Camp at the GR Civic Theater. After a couple days, she surprised us by asking - "if you guys live here together and bought this house together, why aren't you married?!". We had no good answer so she decided to make a list of all the reasons I should get married to Greg. Here is her list:

1) He is always right so I don't need a GPS and won't ever get lost (love that 12 year old reasoning!!)

2) He is always nice to me, even when I am cranky (what me? cranky?! )

3) He is a very hard worker

She asked if I needed more reasons and I said probably not. Greg then asked what is on his list of reasons to marry me and Des said - "duh, Aunt Tasha is AWESOME!!!" Love that kid! She then made him promise he was going to marry me.

Later that night, he asked me what I thought about it and said we should probably elope somewhere. Thinking he was joking, I said we should fly to Vegas, rent a sweet sports car and do a drive thru wedding. He was not amused. We started talking about where we would want to have our honeymoon and of course WDW was at the top of the list. We had been to the Food and Wine show in 2009 and had a blast, so we looked up the dates and then Greg said something which shocked me more than all this talk about marriage. He said "why don't we just get married at WDW". I knew he had a hidden romantic streak!!

We called DFTW the very next day, got some info and decided on Sunset Point because we knew it would just be the two of us and we loved the idea of a beach wedding at WDW. We were shocked that our first choice date was available, as was Sunset Point, so we booked the date and got our LOA two days after we initially spoke with Bill!

I must admit, Des was super disappointed she could not come with us, especially since "the wedding was ALL because of her"!! But we are going to have a wedding celebration party at our house in December and she is ok with helping us host the party.

I can't believe this has all happened in a little over a month (we got our LOA on July 16th!) and we have so much already planned! Next post will include our choices!

 

[polynesianbride]

Congrats and Welcome! I love your story- it's really sweet! So excited to find another Sunset Pointe Bride! So few people end up using it bc of the guest restrictions but it is such a beautiful spot! We have a ton in common too- I am also a 2nd time bride, currently live in Minneapolis, MN (just a few more days then we move to Saginaw, MI), but we moved to MN from no other than GRAND RAPIDS, MI! Your wedding will be here so fast- can't wait to follow all your plans and see the end result!

 

[lzimm13]

Thats an awesome story! congrats!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Congrats and Welcome! I love your story- it's really sweet! So excited to find another Sunset Pointe Bride! So few people end up using it bc of the guest restrictions but it is such a beautiful spot! We have a ton in common too- I am also a 2nd time bride, currently live in Minneapolis, MN (just a few more days then we move to Saginaw, MI), but we moved to MN from no other than GRAND RAPIDS, MI! Your wedding will be here so fast- can't wait to follow all your plans and see the end result!

Thanks!! Small world, isn't it?! I showed Greg your PJ back when I first joined the board and your pics helped seal the deal for us! Hopefully, we can get some of our own pics up right away, I'd love your opinion on my flower choices too!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Since I would really like people's opinion on my flower choices, I will put up my flowers first. I am not a big flower girl I was kind of at a loss as to what we should do. Greg was no help, he told me to pick something nice and he would find us a place to eat dinner after the wedding!

We decided we wanted a beachy theme, of course, but then...? Thank god for this board! I went through soooo many pics of flowers, I am sure I "borrowed" these from someone here...

My bouquet, tied with champagne colored ribbon (to match the ribbon on my dress) and with 6 single crystals throughout:

1 of these on the cocktail table for the cake reception:

2 of these on the cake table, one on each side of the cake:

Greg just wanted a simple white calla lily (which is really ivory, Rosie assured me!) boutonnière with a small piece of the loop grass, like my bouquet has. He is getting a hidden Mickey and an extra boutonnière for our MK/Epcot photo shoot the next morning. Rosie used the pic in the planning kit and added the loop grass.

We paid a little extra to have the vases delivered to our room after the ceremony but we will be there for another 9 days and figured it would be nice to have them around as long as we can.

Everything was an upgrade except Greg's ceremony boutonnière but, I have to admit, the prices were pretty competitive from what I have seen. I know a lot of people have said the pricing at Disney Floral is high and maybe they are for big centerpieces and numerous bouquets but for my little things, the prices were pretty similar to a local florist here in MI. Greg's second boutonnière was only $18 and well worth it, I know he will take off his jacket the second the pics are over (maybe sooner) and it would probably get squished.

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Thats an awesome story! congrats!

Thanks!! Not exactly traditional but we kinda threw tradition right out the window!

I love your dress in your signature, I have to check out your PJ tonight. It looks amazing on you, even in that teeny pic. I really, really wanted a lace halter dress with a v-neck but, when I tried them on, they didn't look good on me.

 

[GleepingBeauty]

I love your flowers! I think they are going to be beautiful!

What does your dress look like?

 

[lzimm13]

I love the orchids! they're so pretty! its a nice fresh clean look!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Ok, the dress!! I really, really wanted a lace halter - imagine the Oscar de la Renta from the first Sex and the City (the Vogue bridal shoot!). I was dead set against a strapless. But when I went in and tried on the lace halters, I met with epic failure. One of the salesgirls said - oh, you kinda look like a tan, dark haired version of Anna Nicole!! Great, a Mexican Anna Nicole for my wedding!! We immediately left that store. (Nothing against Anna Nicole but I was hoping for a little less sexy and a little more romantic on my wedding day! )

At that store and the next, both told me it would take about 3 months to get a dress in once we ordered it so we went to David's Bridal where everything is bought off the rack. I wasn't expecting to find a dress there but the sales girl talked me into trying on a strapless and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved this dress, the color, the style - its very slimming and only has a short train - perfect for Sunset Point!! The price was right too - under $500!

These are just pics of it I found on the Internet, right now it is a bit too big and I am trying to lose more weight so I will post pics of me wearing it closer to the date, when the alterations have been completed.

And a close up of the ribbon around the waist with a little bit of bling...

I already have my shoes and a flower clip for my hair, I also got a small birdcage veil in case it is super windy or super humid. Hopefully I can post these tomorrow!

I am really on the fence about the veil because I plan to wear my hair down and in waves, but might pull it up if its too humid (my hair gets frizzy in humidity) - I booked Beaute Speciale for both the wedding and our MK/Epcot photo shoot. I am going to have a trial run on Sept 11th, at my salon here in Grand Rapids. I will definitely post pics from that!!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

I don't think I mentioned, my wedding coordinator is Kathleen Reynolds (who is awesome) and we worked with Rosie on our flowers and photography.

We have asked Reverend Tim Herring to perform our wedding, when I sent him an email about his availability he sent me so much good info, we knew he was the one!

Photography: We went with Disney Photography because we had no other choice as we booked too close to our wedding date. We didn't mind, as it was included in our package and we are having such a small ceremony (with no guests). We upgraded to the Cindy D package to get the hi-res DVD and added the MK/Epcot photo shoot!!! We are soooo excited about the MK/Epcot photo shoot, its scheduled for the morning after the wedding.

Cake: Greg really wanted to help but has no interest in flowers so I "delegated" the cake to him. He did a great job! We are getting the cake below in a two layer with champagne ribbon to match my dress and then the rhinestone.

I had posted on the Cake thread that we were asking for a quote on the ribbon, well it came back at $245 for both ribbons, the champagne one was $15 and the rhinestone was $115/yard and we need 2 yards. I thought Greg would say we had to cut the rhinestone but he said let's go for it!

We are getting flowers on the top, ones to match the ceremony flowers and sort of in this style...

Music: Greg also took music as his task, we only chose music from the list and just had the violinist included in the package but it was so cute seeing him listening to all the songs on iTunes and crossing out the ones he didn't like.

What do we have left? Not much for the wedding and honeymoon. I confirmed our reservations today - first two nights at Bay Lake Tower and then moving into Contemporary for nine nights. Now, our home reception (which we call our "Wedding Celebration Party") is another story. Just getting started with that...we have our cake tasting tomorrow!

 

[Nikisha421]

Hey Tasha,
Great start...I can't wait to see pictures!!!

 

[Bridie1996]

Hi Tasha! I love your style, it is very similar to what I had in mind for our wedding before we decided to go for SBP and more guests and then I changed my mind on colors and all sorts of things! I'm going to follow along so I can live vicariously through you.

I wanted to make a suggestion on your photographer though. Since you're using Disney photography I'd suggest looking at pictures that some of the brides have from Disney photographers and requesting your favorite photographers. They'll tell you that they can't gaurantee your choice, but if you give them the names of your two favorites, chances are you'll get one or the other.

I'd recommend Regina who we had, and I know Amy is pretty good too!

Just something I learned in my planning, and thought it might help!

 

[Sccrmnky2005]

I don't think I mentioned, my wedding coordinator is Kathleen Reynolds (who is awesome) and we worked with Rosie on our flowers and photography.

We have asked Reverend Tim Herring to perform our wedding, when I sent him an email about his availability he sent me so much good info, we knew he was the one!

Photography: We went with Disney Photography because we had no other choice as we booked too close to our wedding date. We didn't mind, as it was included in our package and we are having such a small ceremony (with no guests). We upgraded to the Cindy D package to get the hi-res DVD and added the MK/Epcot photo shoot!!! We are soooo excited about the MK/Epcot photo shoot, its scheduled for the morning after the wedding.

Cake: Greg really wanted to help but has no interest in flowers so I "delegated" the cake to him. He did a great job! We are getting the cake below in a two layer with champagne ribbon to match my dress and then the rhinestone.

I had posted on the Cake thread that we were asking for a quote on the ribbon, well it came back at $245 for both ribbons, the champagne one was $15 and the rhinestone was $115/yard and we need 2 yards. I thought Greg would say we had to cut the rhinestone but he said let's go for it!

We are getting flowers on the top, ones to match the ceremony flowers and sort of in this style...

Music: Greg also took music as his task, we only chose music from the list and just had the violinist included in the package but it was so cute seeing him listening to all the songs on iTunes and crossing out the ones he didn't like.

What do we have left? Not much for the wedding and honeymoon. I confirmed our reservations today - first two nights at Bay Lake Tower and then moving into Contemporary for nine nights. Now, our home reception (which we call our "Wedding Celebration Party") is another story. Just getting started with that...we have our cake tasting tomorrow!

Love the cake this is something similar to what I'm doing... I have found places online that sell the ribbon for $55 a yard . So I would def look around!!! I'm going to definitly be buying it myself as it seems like disney is doubling the price, then i will be giving it to them along with my cake topper.

 

[erin.w]

We will be in Disney for our planning session when you get married!

 

[Nikisha421]

Tasha did you abandon your PJ???

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Tasha did you abandon your PJ???

Oh no - I am still here!! I have been working like crazy and any of my DISboard time has been spent over on the DISigners site, looking for finishing touches and inspiration for our home reception party. Sorry!!

Check this out - one of the DISigners made me some Mickey Bride and Groom luggage tags - I love them!! (Post 1649 about halfway down this page) I'm gonna print them on heavy stock paper and get them laminated at the FedEx store so hopefully they last thru our connection in Atlanta!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980430&page=110

I will get on updating my PJ this weekend as I have to work and will have time in between tasks. Bummer for the holiday but at least I have the DISboard to keep me company!!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Hi Tasha! I love your style, it is very similar to what I had in mind for our wedding before we decided to go for SBP and more guests and then I changed my mind on colors and all sorts of things! I'm going to follow along so I can live vicariously through you.

I wanted to make a suggestion on your photographer though. Since you're using Disney photography I'd suggest looking at pictures that some of the brides have from Disney photographers and requesting your favorite photographers. They'll tell you that they can't gaurantee your choice, but if you give them the names of your two favorites, chances are you'll get one or the other.

I'd recommend Regina who we had, and I know Amy is pretty good too!

Just something I learned in my planning, and thought it might help!

Thanks for the advice!! It's interesting you mentioned them, I specifically requested either Regina or Amy for our ceremony and MK/Epcot photo shoots!! Perhaps I saw your pics? I have gone thru soooo many here, I can't remember all the ones I looked at!!

I hope this doesn't sound creepy, we downloaded some really great MK/Epcot pics to Greg's iPhone and plan to show the photographer the ones we like. I saw a few too many pics of the bride front and center and the groom in the background, all fuzzy and out of focus, we don't like those. It reminds us of the movie Almost Famous where they get the tshirts and the lead signer is front and center and the rest of the band are the "out of focus" guys.

LOL - I told that to Rosie and she actually added a comment to our Estimate that said "no shots with the bride close up and the groom in the back ground". Rosie rocks!

I had to edit my post - I just saw you have one with you out of focus and your DH is in focus, sort of over your shoulder. Now, I like that! With the out of focus bride in the front, it doesn't look like the groom is an afterthought! Hmmmm - need to show your pic to Greg when he gets home today!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Love the cake this is something similar to what I'm doing... I have found places online that sell the ribbon for $55 a yard . So I would def look around!!! I'm going to definitly be buying it myself as it seems like disney is doubling the price, then i will be giving it to them along with my cake topper.

I know we could have found it cheaper but, to be honest, I didn't really look around. I know, I totally slacked on that one. Is $55/yard for 4 rows of rhinestones? Ugh, I should have looked around.

But, I can justify it a little by the fact that we are re-using the ribbon for our home reception, right?

We found a bakery out here in MI who will recreate our Disney cake, using the rhinestone ribbon, for only $100!! Since we will have too many people for such a small cake, she is also creating two 1/4 sheet cakes, one in the shape of a tux and the other in the shape of my wedding dress. They are so cute and fun! We have a pic of ones she has done in the past, I need to find a color scanner so I can get them uploaded.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Love the luggage tags!!
Mel is a generous and talented DISigner!!
I used to design very similar ones before I temporarily retired from the 'Creative DISigns' board to plan my VR. If anybody out there wants luggage tags designed, give me a shout. I would be happy to give it a go!!!

 

[Nikisha421]

Oh no - I am still here!! I have been working like crazy and any of my DISboard time has been spent over on the DISigners site, looking for finishing touches and inspiration for our home reception party. Sorry!!

Check this out - one of the DISigners made me some Mickey Bride and Groom luggage tags - I love them!! (Post 1649 about halfway down this page) I'm gonna print them on heavy stock paper and get them laminated at the FedEx store so hopefully they last thru our connection in Atlanta!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980430&page=110

I will get on updating my PJ this weekend as I have to work and will have time in between tasks. Bummer for the holiday but at least I have the DISboard to keep me company!!

okay great!! I was starting to get worried...and btw nice luggage tags...