History of a Ring

The always cute and fabulous Melissa over at M and M Wedding posted a very unique and beautiful ring yesterday. Go ahead...check it out. While it is very cute, it reminded me of something more. My ring.

See, my ring has a history. It once belonged to what was Frank's paternal grandmother. She passed it down to Frank's father, who gave it to Frank's mother. I am now the third generation ring-wearer!

Sadly, Frank's mother couldn't really give it to me herself as she is in the final stages of Alzheimer's. His father, however, was very excited and has repeatedly said how happy both of the women would be to see the ring passed on to me. His father is a very nice and generous person, but doesn't necessarily throw around the compliments, so I love it when he says nice things to me. I take them, and treasure them.

Anyways, I guess I lied a little... the ring had to be cut off of Frank's mother's finger when she first got Alzheimer's, so he was basically given a wedding band and an engagement ring, all cut up into 4 separate pieces. We took the main stone (yes, the big, flawless, beautiful one!) and Frank sort of designed the rest. He took me to a jewelry store, I said "I like that one," and between him and the jeweler they came up with my beautiful ring 3 months later.

While removing the stone from the original ring, the jeweler noticed an inscription inside. MP loves REP. Awwww, they had their bands engraved! Now of course, being the sappy romantics that we are, Frank nor myself can bring ourselves to do anything with 4 useless small pieces of platinum.

It is so cute and sweet that there was an inscription. I think its such a sweet touch to such a special and significant piece of jewelry. Whether you tell people about it or keep it a secret. Whether you put your initials or a cute little meaningful phrase (in Melissa's case "Te Amo"), it is such a cute thing to do.

I imagine Frank and I will continue the tradition and have JH loves FP put in mine. :)

He Said No

So, Frank said "no" to the incredibly talented Misty Miotto. Well, not so much no, more like...well...he said nothing at all. Which translates into "no." A couple of hours later he brought up Randy Chapman and Stan Severance and what a great "deal" they had, and how "flexible" they were. Basically, he has gotten chummy with them. I guess that's not a bad thing, especially since his first response to a photographer was, "Why would I pay that kind of money to have someone take my pictures? I hate having my pictures taken."

Randy Chapman + Stan Severance = Happy Frank

Happy Frank = Happy Jenny (one more thing to check off!)

Fantastically Awesome Giveaway!

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The contest ends February 4, 2009, so get to it!!!

"Why a Disney Wedding?" You Say.

Conversation:

Me:  I'm engaged!

Friend: Oh, let me see the ring!

Me:  I'm soooo excited!

Friend:  Oh, the ring is lovely, do you have a date?

Me:  January 8, 2009.

Friend:  In the winter?  In New Jersey?

Me:  Yes, in the winter, but in Florida.  At Disney World.

Friend:  (puzzled look on face)  Why Disney World????

Yes, I get asked this a lot.  Sometimes I ask myself the same question, since I was always the "lets elope to Fiji" kind of girl.  Fortunately for me, I have a wonderful fiance who wants a big and traditional wedding.  At least I'll never regret not having one... although I still don't regret not attending my High School Prom, even though everyone insisted I would.  Really though, this doesn't compare to HS Prom and I'm overly excited about it.

So, back to the point, why Disney?  I grew up in Oregon, Frank grew up in New York.  Rather than have hurt feelings over the other getting our big day in THEIR hometown, we both knew it would be a destination wedding.  Frank's mother is ill, and cannot fly, so it had to be somewhere his father could drive her.  This narrowed it down to the East Coast.  I would've loved to have a beach wedding, or a wedding in coastal Georgia with a southern flair  (oh do I love Magnolias and Spanish Moss!), but ultimately we knew the hassle my family and friends would be faced with having to travel to the wedding.   We knew we wanted it to be at a place that would be fun for them as well.  Disney was just an obvious choice.  We've been there hundreds of times (well, close, but not quite), and its a special place for us in a sense.  Besides, they do so many weddings there that its like the Target of weddings... they have everything!  How could we go wrong?  I will say that though there are a few things that bug me about their procedures (more to come on that soon), I feel very safe in their hands.  So much can go wrong in any wedding, but destination weddings just magnify that.  

Now, I just have to figure out how "Disney" I want our wedding to be.  When I say they have everything, I mean it.  From Cinderella's Carriage, to sorbet served in an ice glass slipper for palette cleansing.  Private fireworks - check.  Trumpeter - check.  Everything.  Problem is, I want to take advantage of some of these things, but still really want it to be classy and elegant.  I love Disney and all, but I don't really want it to be the center of our wedding.  I do think I'll do Cinderella's Carriage because hey, when will I ever get a chance to ride in that again!?!?  I don't think I'll have "Be Our Guest" playing at dinner, or the ice glass slipper.  It's a fine line between being a princess, and being tacky.  I don't want to cross that.

Reception Music

Alright, lets try this again... I'm compiling a list of music and need YOUR help!

What is/was your special song?

What is your favorite song to dance to?

What song(s) is(are) a definite "do?"

What songs should we avoid?

In my eyes, music sets the ambiance.  BAD MUSIC = NO FUN.  Being the disorganized perfectionist that I am (yes, everything should just "happen" as I envision it with minimal effort!), I'm trying my best to stay on top of things.  Click the comments link below to leave your suggestions!  (I think it asks for a profile or something, just put anonymous, your name, etc.)

Happy music hunting!

The Proposal

It has occurred to me that I have only included the proposal on our wedding web page!  Here it is:  

Frank and I were introduced by a mutual friend.  We got along instantly, but were extremely grateful for modern technologies due to the distance between our residences.  At the time, we were about 2-2 1/2 hours apart.  :(  We spent many, many hours on the phone and internet those fist few months, usually until 4-5 a.m.  (no joke.)  Initially I was reluctant to commit, but Frank's patience paid off for the both of us.  He always quoted the Heinz commercial, saying "the best things come to those who wait."  You may remember the infamous commercial with Matt LeBlanc, if not the link below may trigger your memory:

Ketchup Commercial

After Frank had been super patient and extremely loving, I ordered a custom made Heinz bottle for him with his little quote on it.  Neither one of us has ever looked back, we are inseparable.  He often referred to me as his ketchup.

So, now on to the good stuff...

Frank and I were driving to Disney World and we were going to make a pit stop to rest for the night at his Dad's house in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  He surprised me and blew right past the exit though, and I had no idea where we were going!  He ended up blindfolding me (with the scented sleeping mask he conveniently gave me for Christmas) and took me to the Plantation Inn at Amelia Island, FL.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I'd always wanted to go there, and Frank and I have often talked about moving to the area.  

    

After a nice walk on the beach (the stars were so bright and beautiful), we returned to the room and decided to order room service.  When the room service arrived, the little ketchup and mustard bottles had been replaced with ones that read "Will you marry me?"  Frank got on his knee, I cried, etc, etc.  The ring was beautiful, and the proposal perfect.  

   

We woke up early the next morning to order breakfast (MMMMmmmm Eggs Benedict!) and watch the sunrise.  We then headed off to Disney World to meet my Mom and celebrate!

   

   

So Much Work To Do!

I've been browsing around enviously at all of the other Brides' (and even some Grooms!) Wedding Blogs.  It has been confirmed, I have A LOT of work to do!  With my laptop out on service, starting a new semester at school, and being entirely too new at this Blog-World, I'm really behind!  You can find some of these fantastically inspiring Blogs under the section "Blogs I'm Following."  Yes, you will soon realize how much catching up I have to do too!!!

Totally Off the Topic

OMG!!! These are soooo cute. Check out these tutus!!!

I can't WAIT to get one for my niece! They are the cutest things ever, and they have a HUGE selection of colors! Adorable. Click the picture for the link, if you're interested!

So cute!!!

Okay, so it may be a little corny to some people, but it is so "me." I want these scattered around with the centerpieces. I think they would reflect light and look gorgeous surrounded by candles.

If only I could find many different shapes and sizes of white ceramic birds. I also found this vase:

I've been scouring Etsy. If you've never checked it out, you really should. They have everything from handcrafted jewelry, hair pieces, to wedding decor, and even aprons! I like the personal touch and uniqueness it would add to a wedding. I do I envy the people who make the things on there, if only had the time (ha! who am I kidding?!? the ability!) to make these things.

Our Wedding Webpage

I've now become a pro at entering HTML! I've spent the last 3 hours sprucing up "Our Wedding Webpage," creating links and adding photos. At least, if nothing else, I've learned how to create a webpage!

I'm still waiting to hear from Disney about the accommodations, and how exactly the discounts work. The said they would send all of the information with our letter of agreement. That should come any time between now and the next three months. I really don't want to wait that long, but I suppose I don't have another option, so I'll just continue on with my planning. In any case, I added a link to the Wedding Webpage, that takes you directly to the Disney Resorts Website. I do know a little about how the room blocks work, and I'll try my best to explain it.

Basically we can add room blocks to 4 different resorts. Guests will get a 10% discount from value resorts, 15% from moderate and non-conventional hall deluxe resorts, and 30% off any resort with a convention hall. It's a little confusing, but I'm confident it'll all make sense soon, since there are so many other people who have done this before that understood. If you browse through the resorts and see something you like, please let us know, as we will do our best to add it to the room block. I have personally stayed at these resorts:

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Wilderness Lodge
Caribbean Beach
Coronado Springs
All-Star Resort

I have also visited many of the others, and highly recommend many of them, if not most of them (i.e. Port Orleans - Riverside).

Have a look, and please if you have any questions ask. If we don't know the answer already, we'll find out!

Reception Site

So, this is the space we have reserved for the reception site:

I'm not sure how everything will be set up yet, but we intend to utilize the outside as much as possible (keeping our fingers crossed for great weather.) You can't see it in the photos, but you can (barely) see Cinderella's Castle from the patio and the monorail passes nearby. It is very "Disney," but still elegant and beautiful. If it does choose to rain (again, crossing our fingers), we have something similar to this as a back-up space:



Not entirely my style, but again... just a back-up. It's also very near to the patio, so we could still utilize that space if the rain lets up. The biggest dilemma is that the outdoor space really needs minimal decorations, it's beautiful without any needing any "extras." I have to try to find an option though, that could dress-up this room, just in case we are left eating here. I'd like to remove the "Victorian Prison-like" feeling it exudes.

Why Frank is Perfect for Me!!!

Well, there are MANY reasons why Frank is perfect for me, but this one may be close to the top.  I am the most indecisive person you may ever encounter.  To prove this, I will explain what I did today in the planning department... found ANOTHER photographer to choose from.  Yes, I had it narrowed down to the two different photogs, the Roots and Randy Chapman, and then I found her...

Misty Miotto

Wow.  I spoke with her, and what do you know, she's available on our date!  So now I have a third to throw into the mix, and I think Frank is already sick of all of them.  See, I've put him in charge of contacting all of them.  Misty, however, I contacted.  She is incredibly lovely, helpful, and her work is brilliant.  I think she's is definitely the one.  This time I mean it.  :)

Calling All Music Lovers!

 I am currently taking suggestions for ceremony/reception music!  Over the last year I have compiled a semi-huge list (yes, that means I was keeping a record of music I wanted played at my wedding well before an engagement), but I like music, and I want the music to be perfect.  So, if anyone has a great request, please let me know!!!  Especially if you have a special or sentimental song you'd like to hear.  :)

Photographer dilemma

So, I am a little torn about who to have as our wedding photographer.  Randy Chapman is great, and he has a very reasonably priced package that includes videography as well (including live webcast!)  Frank and I are getting ready to plunk down a chunk of change for a deposit, but I'm just a little apprehensive.  Below is a link to his website, you can take a look at some of his best.  :)

http://www.chapmanphotography.com/

Problem is, I'm still absolutely obsessed with these guys...

http://rootography.com

Thoughts?  I am waiting for their pricing now, because deep down I think they may be it.  Their photos are absolutely stunning.  

I NEED These!!!

For before the wedding:

     

   

And for after the wedding:

 

Ceremony Site

Frank and I went to meet a wedding consultant at Disney knowing what we wanted (well, what I wanted!), and we were completely swayed as soon as we walked into the pavilion.  Aside from the fantastic amenities, I was absolutely floored by the pavilion itself. It is so open, bright, and beautiful.  It needs no extra decorations (however I AM taking suggestions and ideas.)  Here are a couple photos:

What do you think?  It is fantastic!!  And just think... we don't even need to worry about rain now!!!

And we're off!

In an effort to organize my thoughts, include everyone, collect ideas/opinions, etc, etc.  I have decided to join the masses and start my very own... drum roll please... wedding blog!  Yes, I know, very unoriginal at this point, but with so many people spread out across the world, I couldn't think of a better way to "keep people in the know."

I guess I will start things off with the basics:

Date:  January 8th, 2010

Ceremony Location:  The Wedding Pavilion at the Grand Floridian Hotel

Cocktail Hour and Reception:  The Whitehall Room and Patio at the Grand Floridian Hotel

Desert Party:  Lower UK Viewing Area at EPCOT

Colors:  Plum purple with light green (like the shade of green hydrangeas)

Also hoping for:

The Eve of the Wedding:  girls night at the Contemporary

Photographer:  Randy Chapman (I think)

Videography:  STVS video (they even do live webcasting!)

Characters:  Beauty & the Beast (also if I can convince Frank, Minnie & Mickey)

Carriage:  Open or Cinderella's?

Officiant:  No idea...

Hair and Makeup:  Need to get on that!

So far, everything has gone smoothly with the planning.  We should be booking Randy Chapman and STVS in the next couple of days, I'm very anxious to wrap that up.  Frank still doesn't understand why we should spend so much on Photography, but I owe a big thanks to everyone he has spoken to that has agreed with me!  You guys didn't even know how much you were helping me out!!!  I think he's finally coming around, and at least not moaning about it anymore.  :)

All in all, we are both VERY excited.  We can't wait to see everyone and, corny as it may sound, share our special day.  I imagine I will forget many things along the way and break many rules of etiquette, but that's what you all are for!  Hey, I'm new at this wedding thing and I know at least SOME of you aren't!  :)  I'm counting on you!

So, let the countdown begin!!!  Only 353 days!!!!