Amanda & Roy's *House of Blues Wedding* April 3, 2017 - TRAVEL DAYS -- MAY 16th Update!

BRIDAL SHOWER
25 days until we are married!!! AH!

Over the weekend 3/5 my great bridesmaids/sisters threw me a great bridal shower at the cutest tea room. I knew the date but I didn't know any of the details. I was so excited to learn it was at the tea room and they included sooo many cute ideas.

There was some drama surrounding the bridal shower but I have just chose to ignore it. A lot of our aunts were upset they were not invited but if we invited one we'd have to invite them all. Just to give you an idea if we invited all our first cousins + aunt/uncles it would add 38 people to our wedding. Needless to say, I really don't feel like dealing with hurt feelings about how they would've loved to give us a gift even though they weren't invited to the wedding. It doesn't feel right to me and I didn't want a bridal shower for gifts.

Here's some cute pictures of my day!!
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Invites that were made with this back side just for me. I love rupaul.

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Photos of Marceline and me before the shower.

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Details!

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My bridesmaids!




In not so fun news, one of DF's best friends had to drop out of the wedding. He is getting married in a month and I couldn't swing the extra time off from work/money but Roy is the best man in his wedding so Roy was pretty upset. I just tried to explain to him that we are having a destination wedding and we can't expect everyone to break the bank for us while they're still worrying about their own stuff.

So just as I changed all the contracts to show two less people and was so happy to see the numbers go down - well my grandmom/grandfather decided to book their flights to come to our wedding YESTERDAY. So while I am happy they are coming I am still having a mild heartattack with no trying to include another set of grandparents into all photos and change up the seating plan.
 
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Omg I'm back! It's been a complete whirlwind since I last updated and it's been almost 3 weeks since the wedding.

I figured I'd post some of our sneak peek pictures and catch up on the glad I did/wish I'd done post!

Glad I did..
Dessert Party -
even though we ended up being moved inside because of the weather this ended up being great for us since we had a very energetic 11 month old with us who just wanted to run in circles and she wouldn't have been able to do this at our original venue. We had a great time and I'll update more but our Soarin' mix in was amazing.

Regina Hyman Photography - we have only received 6 photos back but they're amazing. I am pretty sure that Regina & Gary were the most complimented part of our wedding and our guests are still bringing up how genuinely nice they are. They made us feel so comfortable day of and were so great with the kids at the wedding.

Had a first look - my favorite part of the day was approaching Roy so nervous for him to see me and that moment when he turned around and all my nerves just vanished and I knew I was ready to get married to him. We had such a magical reaction that I do not believe we would've had during our ceremony just because he is not an emotional person and can hide it from everyone. I think I would've been extremely upset with his reaction at the ceremony because I believe he wouldn't have let himself show any emotion.

Had the wedding for US - I am so happy we did not accept the pressure of having a wedding around here and that we kept the guest list small. I'll explain more in the report but it was so nice to be able to eat/relax during our lunch instead of walking table to table and doing a wedding for other people rather than for ourselves.

Park Portraits - our park portraits are great and I'm so happy we did it, they were worth every penny.

Wish I'd Done..

Had Patience - I wish I wouldn't have rushed to get everything booked right away with the ceremony. I'll get more into that with my vendor review but I wish I would've demanded more of JustMarry instead of just being so dead set on getting the date I wanted and what I wanted right away.

Planned Our Trip Better - I wanted to squeeze so much into our trip that we really were super tired and annoyed everyday. I had early mornings planned a lot and it took a toll on Marcy. Now I wish we had another trip planned to actually enjoy Marcy and Disney World.

Had a Rehearsal - My family is pretty difficult and they don't follow directions well. I will again get more into this during the report but I wish I would've went against what JustMarry recommended and had a rehearsal so that people had some idea of what they were supposed to do.

So, I guess I don't have too many things I wanted different. We had a great wedding day and I can't wait to share all the details with everyone!!

 


Whoopsie I just realized I didn't include any sneak peek pictures. Here they are :)

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY REGINA HYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
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This photo was taken on the Wilderness Lodge's ramp that leads to the QS location.

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This was taken right after our first look at the WL.
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This was taken after the ceremony, this is the House of Blues backside it faces the lake directly across from SSR.

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Our second time dipping lol. I do wish I would've told Regina I didn't want any pics of Disney Quest but how could we not get a picture with the awesome water tower?!
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Outside of the Music Courtyard's doors.

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I had noticed these great doors at Disney Springs and I really wanted a picture with them. I believe they belong to STK.

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This was right before heading in for lunch at Homecomin'.


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Lastly, here's a picture on the deck that connected to our room at Homecomin'.




I think Regina/Gary did a great job with these photos and I'm so happy we chose them as photographers. Their estimated time to have them all back to us is 6-8 weeks. Tomorrow is 4 weeks and the wait is officially killing me :charac2:
 
As I mentioned in my last post.. we won't have any of Regina's pictures back for at least another one week OR at the latest another three. I can hardly wait but I figured I'd get my vendors reviews in before I dive into the wedding weekend. Spoiler Alert --- I had ALOT of vendors. No particular order.​
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Beaute Special A+

I always knew I was going to use BS for my HMU because my disbride friend Ashley used them and they're everywhere on review boards saying they're great. But, a few weeks before I left for the wedding I started to get extremely nervous because I totally forgot to request a stylist. It costs extra money to request a stylist and honestly I wasn't even sure who I would pick.

When the day of my trial came (4/1) I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Cindy. She got right to work after showing up on time. I have a lot of anxiety about being late which usually causes me to show up ridiculously early. So when she showed up exactly 15 minutes before our appointment I was already relived. I used Cindy for trial, day of AND park shoot. Each time she was on time, worked quickly and I will have to give her bonus points for not being totally weirded out when Marcy insisted on being fed after I had my hair done. It's a tough job to be a bride and a nursing mother but it's nice when people don't make you feel weird about it.


Regina Hyman Photography A++

Even though I have only seen the 6 photos that she gave me of my sneak peek I could honestly say that even if the rest of the pictures are crap (which I know they won’t be) she made me feel so much better about my dessert party and wedding day. I think that Gary and her were everyone's favorite part of the wedding. People keep telling me just how much they enjoyed them and thought they were the nicest people ever. I have never met two people so genuinely nice without being fake or seeming annoyed by requests, difficult family members etc. She helped me with every process including the media guide for the Dessert Party something that I should've been able to fill out on my own she went through the entire photography form with me and told me exactly what to put. She fixed my dress, reminded everyone to take off magic bands and knew everyone's name. I swear she is super woman. Gary was equally as charming and so great to work with. WOW I just honestly loved them both.

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Loftis Production A+

Ok so, this was a surprising one. I originally had booked Carolyn Allens but it was just so super expensive I couldn't justify it. So I decided to book Loftis and I was so incredibly happy. Lori arrived super early (YAY!) set up her steamer quickly and went to work on my insanely wrinkled gown. It didn't even look like the same dress when she was finished, I was floored. So she did a great job on everything but the shining part was Lori herself. She was the sweetest person I had worked with, she talked about how she used to work for Disney but retired and is now working on their latest projects for them. She was a total Disney nerd that is making her name still helping them out! We talked for a while and it was a great time to relax and listen to her great stories. I 100% would recommend her.

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Homecomin' A

Kylie was my direct contact for Homecomin' and she was super responsive! I don't think they told me no once and they really let us have free roam of our room. My MOH who set up the room was able to move the tables/chairs however she wanted and we were able to decorate however we wanted. Kylie never had a problem with updating my contract or going there to take photos for me (unlike another vendor...) but my problem with Homecomin' is that my dad paid for the bill (whoo hoo) but, he ended up paying A LOT more (like $300 more) than what was accounted for in my contract. I really don't know where this extra came from so I was upset at the time. The second I came home unfortunately my grandfather passed away. I know I sound terrible but I just didn't have the energy to ask them for a detailed bill. So I am going to definitely let them know but I doubt anything can be done at this point.


BUT our food was great, service was AMAZING. I can't wait to see more pictures from inside Homecomin'. (also I hate that it's homecomin' and not Homecoming but I won't deduct score)

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Raining Roses A+
When JustMarry put it on me to deal directly with the florist I was so nervous because I don't know any flowers so I didn't think I'd be much help. I also was not looking forward to even having flowers. From the moment I talked to Toni I knew that Raining Roses was the best of the best. Toni took a really long time to get me a quote which ticked me off until I saw why it took so long. Raining Roses builds PDFs with each and every flower and arrangement showing you the photos and also it has a description that I provided with how I'd like it arranged and presented. They were on time to deliver the flowers to the room and I couldn't believe how pretty everything was. I am seriously on the edge of my seat waiting to see pictures of our floral. I think the shot Regina took of my bouquet it one I am most looking forward to, actually.

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JustMarry B

I REALLY don't want to bash JustMarry, I believe that they did what their idea of good service was to me which was set up my space and coordinate day of. However, I want to be honest because the service I thought I was going to get - isn't the service I received. I'll start with my initial planning, I had Jennifer who was nice but she seemed not too interested in my plans. I basically had to beg her to pay JM money to book my venue/flowers/etc. she just wasn't the kind of prompt I would expect from a coordinator. Then the whole saga with me literally not getting photos until a few weeks before the wedding even though this was an advertised venue on their website. When Jennifer left and I was assigned Victoria I was happy because Victoria seemed to care more but was also honest in how she felt things would look. This stressed me out considering Jennifer had acted like everything would look fine. Did it look fine? Yes. Was it what I had envisioned? Yes. But you know why? Because of me. I planned the seating arrangements, I planned the flowers, the violinist/guitarist, the officiant and the mickey balloons. HOB and JM's team just was there to meet them and arrange everything how I told them to. Which ok so they coordinated day of - so there in their eyes they did what they were supposed to. But my biggest problem is this .. I had a detailed word document typed up 3 pages long telling them the order people were coming down the aisle and where they were sitting. None of those people ended up in the right seats, and there was 'do overs' coming down the aisle. It was highly unprofessionally and all of my guests told me so. I understand my family is nuts and maybe not the easiest to get to cooperate but it’s pretty insane to me that they couldn't get everyone to shut up and listen to them and be aggressive so that things like this don't happen. The owner wrote me back saying that she was truly sorry and that everyone couldn't stop raving at how great everything looked. And I appreciate it, and again this is not Victoria's fault. That's all I say about it.

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Disney’s Catered Events B

My coordinator Gloria was quick to respond to any emails I sent her asking questions and I liked that even if she didn’t have an answer she let me know she was working on it. I didn’t like that she wasn’t willing to give me any options or suggestions. When I first wanted to have a dessert party I wanted a Fantasmic dessert party with a mix in on Tower of Terror. She told me that because of construction going on they were not approving any Fantasmic Dessert Parties at this time. She didn’t offer Wishes or Illuminations with that email, I had to follow up on both leading the conversation. The day of my dessert party we were moved inside because of the weather, which at the time made me super upset but now I am so happy we were moved inside it was super windy and ended up downpouring after our ride mix in. The Dessert Party was a highlight for sure I just wish I had a little bit more help planning.​
 

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Ahhh your makeup was SO pretty for both days. And I love your pictures so, so much. I can't wait to see ALL of them. 2 more weeks?? Fingers crossed! Also, I should have just crashed your DP because it looked awesome. I'm so mad I didn't do one instead of a rehearsal dinner. Maybe I can do one for our next anniversary. Lol.
 
I just deleted a huge trip report update and now I'm so sad I'll update again when I come to terms with how stupid I am :furious:
 
:sad2:I'll try this again...
Since we are waiting for our photos to come back and I am missing Disney I decided to make a trip report. I hope I can last! Let's start with our travel days.

March 27th

We always drive to Florida ever since I was a little kid so it's sort of apart of the experience for me. This trip was of course different because we had an 11 month old with us and also a P A C K E D car. Unfortunately when I gave Roy the days to request off at work I for some reason didn't include Monday so instead of us leaving early on Monday we had to leave later which was fine it was just hard to wait around.

During the day I went and got a pedicure and my eyebrows done while Marcy spent some time with her Nonna (My MiL) and her cousins. My favorite part of leaving had to be "see you in Florida!" to everyone it was just so exciting. When we got home my sisters came over and watched Marcy while I packed the car. I was on a mission to have everything packed and ready to go before Roy came home so we could just be on our way ASAP. After my sisters left my dad and brother came over to also say bye to us before we left.



Around 7 o'clock the car was packed and we were ready to go. About 40 minutes into the drive Marcy started freaking out crying and I knew it was her cry where she wasn't going to stop until I got in the back seat with her. So we pulled over and I was in the back seat, Marcy was up till about 10 o'clock then slept till around 3am then fell back asleep until we arrived in Savannah when the sun came up. We got out of the car and stretched.

March 28th

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We had a quick breakfast, I don't know why we stopped at Cracker Barrel it was bland but we used to always do it as kids so I thought maybe I was missing something, nope. We let Marcy run around outside and then we put her back in the car seat, she slept again until we were about 2 hours outside of Disney World. I booked a room for the night at Coronado Springs, yup you heard that right people we stayed at FOUR resorts this trip. Marcy ran around again when we stopped for gas and then it was right back to the road. The trip should take about 14.5 hours but it took about 17 for us, Marcy did so good!

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When we arrived at CSR we were so happy to be in sunshine and to be out of the car, Marcy especially. Our room was luckily already ready and we went to the room to rest. We all took bathroom time and cleaned up from the drive, changed and got ready to go to dinner. We went to Raglan Road for dinner which is our normal first dinner, never disappoints.
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First stop when we got off the bus was Morimoto Street food, I had a Singapore Slush which is Yuzu Lemonade with Kaffir Lime Vodka and Roy had a beer which I think was called Kirin.

We walked around the shops and then headed for Dinner. When we arrived they asked us if we'd mind sitting in the main room. We said no but I didn't realize they meant the literal closest table to the solo stage. We were under dancers the whole time and it was SUPER loud but it kept Marcy's attention so that was perfectly ok with us. Our server pretty much was terrible, he didn't come over for 10-15 minutes and I didn't get up to complain because it was so obnoxiously loud no one would probably hear me. He got our order right so I guess that's all that matters.


I had Braised Be Beef, per usual, it was incredible.


Roy had Ciao Cod, which he really liked but was jealous of my meal.

Marcy had a huge bowl of Mashed Potatoes and veggies and ate basically none of it.


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The dancers loved Marcy and wouldn't leave her alone. Marcy was so ridiculous with her smiling and blowing kisses at all the boys :rolleyes: I wish I was making that up but no, she seriously will give googly eyes to any boy she sees.

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After dinner we went to Amorette's and I got a mickey dome and Roy bought Macaroons. We were then on our way home. We fell asleep by 8pm because we had Early + long day ahead of us!

Coming up.. Marcy's first birthday photos!
 
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YAYYYY! I'm so glad you started your trip report! I never tire of seeing adorable pictures of Marcy. She's seriously the cutest. Great first update!
 
Yay! I can't wait to read all about your reception at Homcomin', since we've now paid our deposit to have our wedding reception there next January!

Your hair and makeup looked amazing on your wedding day, and I love your dress so much!
 
I saw a few of you sneak peaks right before we left. You looked so beautiful. and I love your bouquet! Can't wait to hear more about the day and the trip report while we wait.
 

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