location, location, location

so, very much in the wedding planning stage. talking with disney, date pretty much confirmed. just awaiting cost estimates and all the nitty gritty to hash through. in getting ideas for deciding on the “wheres” and “hows”, i came across quite alot of info about the myriad of locations available within the parks for receptions. i tried googling up some of the sites, but didn’t find much on my own…

today, pal Sherry tweeted me a link to this site, the disney wedding blog. and what a great source of ideas and pics! i am transfixed!! mostly i am loving this latest post, about a vow renewal reception in the great movie ride!!!

photo credit: http://www.disneyweddingblog.com/

and then…… DESERT IN OZ??????!!!!!

photo credit: the disney wedding blog

how cool could that be!!!! anywho, i’ve got to go back to reading and stealing ideas!!! 😉

oh, and you can follow her on twitter! thanks sherry!!!

a disney wedding…. and how to plan

we are in the very very early stage of planning a disney wedding. and let me interrupt here to state, again, that, despite my love of disney parks, i am actually pretty surprised that this is the option that is going to work for us. not because it is disney per se, but, given family logistics, this location is as good as any, and better than most! so how do you begin to assess having your nuptials at a disney resort? i can only speak from my current and ongoing experiences, but some of my discoveries may help you…

• weddings at WDW are booked only a year in advance. i say only because as trace and i began discussing the option (we were at WDW at the time and thus full of kool-aid), i immediately assumed that disney weddings would have been booked 82 years in advance. at least this year in advance thing evens the playing field somewhat – and, depending on when you plan your wedding, perhaps having a wedding “in the world” is possible with less than a years planning.
• there is a lot of information online: various blogs and travel oriented disney websites can be instrumental in gathering ides and possibilities in the “waiting time” between deciding to have a disney wedding, booking the disney wedding and confirming the particulars. especially helpful to me have been mouseweddings.com – great for tips and ideas and the magical kingdoms site has a lot of site pictures, menus, and etc. to get you thinking… certainly any information not officially from disney is not sacrosanct, but the info has been helpful.

so here is where things stand thus far:

• we are booking a disney wedding
• we can in no way afford to invite all the people we wish to, but we would doubtful be able to do that at any other location we might select, nor would any other location be more or less inviting to every one of our potential guests
• thru the disney website, we made contact with our wedding advisor and are awaiting a wedding proposal incorporating what we think we can afford and what disney can provide
• regardless of what we end up booking, i do have complete confidence in booking such an event entirely by phone if need be with disney.

may i say here, that i am undecided about other “disney” sanctioned offerings – i.e.; disney wedding gowns and disney themed invitations…. eh, not so much….

to be continued…

it begins

yes, i am planning a disney wedding. now if someone said “disney wedding” to me, i first think of how much i love disneyland and all things disney…. and then cinderella’s coach runs me down and tweeting trumpeters stomp about yelling “hear ye! hear ye!”. i picture excess, perhaps, and 17 year old brides playing dress up in horrible poofy dresses with glitter spattered on them – no wait, that’s bibbidi bobbidi boo-tique.

how’s that for enthusiasm?!

actually, i think i enjoy playing the reluctant, curmudgeonly bride who can, in private, by bridal magazines and download wedding podcasts. WEDDING PODCASTS. oh, the humanity…..

for those of you interested in disney weddings, though, i can shed a little light here, so far as the beginning processes go. the first step, besides that whole relationship and engagement thing, is contacting the wedding pavilion and securing a date. they book a year in advance for most weddings, the smaller ceremony packages, known as “the escape collection” book out about 8 months from your date. this to me was a surprise, as i assumed the disney calender would be booked for years in advance. i like that they do this, it kind of gives just about anyone at least a shot at booking a wedding there if they wish.

the disney weddings website has plenty to pique your interest in the meantime. it has a great deal of information, some pricing, and lots of photographs. the pics look great, i’ll be able to more accurately judge the photos relevance after this shin dig happens though. so you really can make your “wedding dreams come true” with WDW be it a dream of cinderella’s carraige or a small ceremony on the beach with a small group of friends. and mickey mouse. i noticed that there is additional material available from the website, in the form of downloadable brochures and the like, which we did check out, but honestly, don’t elaborate on anything i’ve found on the website.

to confirm your date, a deposit must be made, and that’s where we are now. hopefully by next week we shall have our date and time confirmed, then we can send STDs to family and friends!!!

you DO know that STD = “save the date” cards in wedding speak, right? right……

eureka!

i have been swept away ina little pre-wedding/wedding planning fever this week, as the opportunity to book a WDW wedding date draws near. There are so many options that, like and event I am sure, I’ve been scribbling on papers andspreadsheets trying to come up with a combo of affordable and desireable options so that we can book the appropriate venue – HOPEFULLY – and then (theoretically) I can calm down a bit as there need be no major decision making till a few months down the line…

So that’s what I am doing right now. In addition, I’m still sick with a sinus infection that is making my ears pop continuosly and a barky cough that makes me want to wretch when it takes over. Did I also mention then, that I am using an albuterol inhaler, taking enough (pseudo)ephedrine to start a meth lab AND, joy of joys, on day 2 of a steroid dose pack.

Also, I havent slept in, oh, let’s see…….29 hours. Super! All in all, the perfect mental place to be in and be looking at wedding sites and fielding head hunters in my job search.

So it is with great surprise and the further ramping up of my fever pitch that the man and I have stumbled across the most perfect theme, concept, attitude whatever for this celebration we are trying to put together!!!! Don’t want to say much now because it remains unclear if this venue/experience is available for our time/date/budget – but signs point to yes!