Alyaki & Raist's Wishes Wedding - Italy/LSS/France 3/17/2015 - Mini Update 10/29 Food

[alyaki]

So, I wrote a humongous post this morning... and it didn't post? Sort of kills the excitement I had in writing about it. Oh, well.

Anyways... we officially got our date/time/locations, so we have our ceremony reserved at Italy Plaza and reception at Living Seas on next St. Patrick's day. Diane sent us the docs for the room blocks, so we're going to be working on getting that in by the beginning of next week. The prices are...well, they definitely don't seem like a steal, but that's what we get for needing to go during peak season. We already know which hotels we're going with, and I think a good idea of number of rooms for a couple of the days, but we need to figure out the rest of the block time. And then we can get our contract and send them their small fortune - good thing that's almost 1/3 of the total wedding cost (for what we need to pay Disney)!

 

[alyaki]

So, since we officially have a date, we're going to start ordering some stuff, primarily save-the-dates and invitations at this time (menus/thank you type stuff will be done later). I sort of joked that I was sending out Easter cards this year, so we actually made a set of cheap ones ($17, I think) that I'll be putting our save-the-dates in. Still trying to make a final decision on those...but it's looking more and more like I'll probably just end up paying for a set of 25, versus the 18-20 that I need (that's covering me in case we add a couple people). It's a decent price, even if it's not as low a price as if we went with, say, Vistaprint... which is still an option, but I don't know that I found a design I like, and I really need smaller STD magnets than their standard ones.

We'll also be ordering our invitations from an etsy vendor in the next month or so I think. I believe it was about $7.50 an invitation, which wasn't too bad compared to some I saw - with the number we need, it's about $225-$250 after paying the small order fee. While I really liked one etsy vendor originally, I ended up getting samples from one other of an invitation booklet - turns out both Raist and I really like them, so that's what we decided to go with. It'll cost more to send, but it's really fun.

Option 1

Option 2

The vendor we're planning on using is kreativees.

 

[elphie101]

I think I said this on Facebook, but congrats on getting your date!! And yay another Italy bride!!

I adore those invites - that's actually something along the lines of what we were thinking (but horizontal!) It's the information from pocket invites in a slightly different style, which I love.

 

[alyaki]

I adore those invites - that's actually something along the lines of what we were thinking (but horizontal!) It's the information from pocket invites in a slightly different style, which I love.

Haha, we end up thinking a lot alike for a lot of things.

 

[alyaki]

So, I meant to post about this earlier...but when my big post on the 20th of last month somehow didn't actually get posted, I sort of just gave up on it for a while.

So, not related to the topic of rings, but, we just got our LOA (apparently yesterday morning, after I checked). So, now we can finally go and give Disney lots of money, and I can officially mourn the loss of my bonus check.

On topic, we started looking at rings for Andrew and I. I don't know if I've mentioned it anywhere, but I don't actually have an engagement ring. Since we knew that I had to go on a doctor monitored weight loss program, we had decided to wait on getting me one, since with the amount I'm losing, it could affect ring size some...and I was given the option to use part of the money to put a deposit down on the photographer I wanted (yay, Regina ). So, yeah...we've looked at several places (online, and a couple local), but keep putting off getting one. We'll be going this weekend to the jeweler that we're both most fond of to see if they have anything we like currently in stock. There are a few I've seen them have online that we want to look at, and Andrew mentioned that if we find one we really like we may just pick it up this weekend. Depending on which style I go with, it could end up meaning that my wedding ring is also included (some are sets), which would be nice.

This is what I have recently been leaning the most towards...

And I tried this one on last time we went (a year ago), and we both really liked it (though, with a princess cut stone, if we go with this, we're like going to have it put in as a kite versus just a straight square).

And this style is really similar to others I like, and has a more balanced look, which Raist is probably like since he prefers things to be symmetrical.

Anyways, enough about rings for me! Last weekend we decided to head over to a small jeweler near our house. Raist has been leaning towards tungsten rings because of their durability, and I had stopped in a couple weeks before when I was shopping in the area because I was curious what they carried. Really good variety of rings in his metal of choice. He ended up finding one he really liked, so we went ahead and bought it. It was sort of a "Do it now, or you won't be able to get it here" situation though, as the store decided to close due to various reasons. Nice as it was to save a bit, I'm still a bit sad. I'll take a picture of his ring over the next day or two to post here, but it's pretty cool!

 

[andeesings]

How have you been doing on your weight loss program? What are you doing? I know what weight loss is like- I'm on a program myself. I need to lose 125. I'm down 65 since July. I have to say- people say I look good and I suppose I'm proud of what I've done so far? But I'm also not. I wanted to be further along than this, and I'm pretty frustrated.

Sometimes I want to cry (and I do-- like, ALL the time since I can't eat my dang feelings anymore).

Just wanted to throw my support behind you!!!

 

[alyaki]

How have you been doing on your weight loss program? What are you doing? I know what weight loss is like- I'm on a program myself. I need to lose 125. I'm down 65 since July. I have to say- people say I look good and I suppose I'm proud of what I've done so far? But I'm also not. I wanted to be further along than this, and I'm pretty frustrated.

Sometimes I want to cry (and I do-- like, ALL the time since I can't eat my dang feelings anymore).

Just wanted to throw my support behind you!!!

I'm not doing too bad - I have to go in every other week (it's pretty closely monitored), after two months I'm down 20 pounds. I mostly just miss being allowed fruits and any form of sweets, but the doctor actually has me on a couple meds to make things easier (note: not to make the weight go away, just to deal with being on a 1000 calorie diet). Sort of dislike those, but I can avoid the weird feeling that the appetite suppressant seems to bring on if I drink a full 16+ ounces of water when I'm taking it, which is great, since it doubles as the start of my water intake for the day (I drink about 80 ounces daily, on top of green tea).

Working out every day can be killer though, since I've switched to doing P90X plyometrics (jump training), cardio, and kenpo. I'm pretty much always sore and achy, even though I stop when I either am in too much pain to go on (generally a stitch in my side) or when I'm having too much trouble breathing. But, I'm getting farther in on each session. At least I'm down some weight, even if I will likely never be able to go without doing something like this (hard workouts) at least a few times a week for the rest of my life.

By the way, I have to give you props - 65 pounds is an awesome job, and you're over halfway there! I don't know if you've talked to your doctor about it, but it could be good to see what your actual body composition is, and remember, what most people consider the correct weight for your height may not be exactly what your body needs. It really does matter more about that you like yourself and what you look like, as opposed to just a number. I know, for me, after looking at my body composition and talking to my doctor, my target weight is actually about 15-20 pounds higher than the ideal weight for someone my height - but I have too much muscle to lose much more than that without looking like I'm starving myself (and I'm really not).

If you're feeling really frustrated, your doctor may be able to help if you go talk to them, or at least give you some suggestions. I talk to both my primary care doctor and the doctor who monitors my weight loss about it - because sometimes, I want to scream (especially if others in the house are baking - that's hell). You really are doing awesome, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it to you - 65 pounds in 8 months is huge! And losing too much more than that in that period can be really hard on your body. Also, if you're working out as a part of your weight loss program, remember that part of the reason it may not be going down faster is that you're probably gaining some muscle, which weighs more than fat.

I'm just happy I only have 40 pounds more to go.

 

[elphie101]

Congrats on your weight loss! That's an amazing accomplishment after just 2 months.

Yay for buying an E ring! That's kind of what it was with our wedding bands - if we didn't get it then, we weren't getting it at all (at least mine). It's smart to wait - I've resized mine 3 times already just because of the damn temperature changes up here, and I know I'll need to resize it again once it gets warmer, blegh.

 

[alyaki]

Congrats on your weight loss! That's an amazing accomplishment after just 2 months.

Yay for buying an E ring! That's kind of what it was with our wedding bands - if we didn't get it then, we weren't getting it at all (at least mine). It's smart to wait - I've resized mine 3 times already just because of the damn temperature changes up here, and I know I'll need to resize it again once it gets warmer, blegh.

Ugh, the re-sizing is part of what I'm afraid of. Hoping to avoid most of it, but it seems like almost everyone I've heard talk about their rings has had to have it done at least once.

 

[elphie101]

Ugh, the re-sizing is part of what I'm afraid of. Hoping to avoid most of it, but it seems like almost everyone I've heard talk about their rings has had to have it done at least once.

Well, the way I think about it, I'm going to have to resize them again in my lifetime (my mom got her rings done at the same time as one of my resizings), just because of eventually having kids and age and whatnot I know this ring probably won't fit in 30 years, so I figure it'll be a lifetime battle

 

[alyaki]

Well, the way I think about it, I'm going to have to resize them again in my lifetime (my mom got her rings done at the same time as one of my resizings), just because of eventually having kids and age and whatnot I know this ring probably won't fit in 30 years, so I figure it'll be a lifetime battle

Haha, that's what we were told when I asked last weekend at the jeweler. I was told to expect to resize at least 3 times, but probably more. It's sort of interesting.

By the way, I officially sort of have a ring. We found one I liked on Saturday, and decided to use their layaway option so that we could get the process started with them, and the we'll be picking it up and paying it off in a few weeks when my tax return hits my bank account. So, no pics for a bit, but I'll be putting them up in a few weeks. It's a lot more simple than I expected I'd want.

 

[alyaki]

So, it's been a bit since I posted anything. Sorry about that. Part of it was because I kept forgetting to take pictures of the rings (I figured I did say that would be in my next post), but that's really no excuse.

Anyways, I finally have my engagement ring (2 years after we got engaged, haha). I really like it, and it's definitely not what we thought I'd go for - a lot more simple. We haven't gotten my band to go with it, but that will likely be a diamond or diamond and sapphire band, just to change it up a bit. By the way, I apologize the size, I just quickly uploaded these.

We also have Raist's wedding band. I think I mentioned it before, but we decided to stop at a local jeweler and found out they were going out of business, which was sort of sad since they carried the metal that he wanted. He ended up finding a style he liked in the ones they had in stock, so we got $40 off - so, after tax, his ring was $120. We budgeted more for his, so we made a deal - if the ring he really wants starts getting offered in the metal he wants at any point (it's not currently), he can also get that band. Anyways, here's a picture of his ring.

What else, what else? We sent in and have our returned contract (and our passes!), though Raist is pretty set on not activating our passes until we go for our wedding. Planning session is finally scheduled, and we get to stay on the Boardwalk, though not at a Disney hotel (Dolphin), so we'll have to pay for transportation to and from, which stinks, but the Boardwalk is our favorite spot and has lots to do when you're not spending all your time in the parks. Still hoping to get some after 4pm tickets for Epcot one day, because I really, really, really want to visit Spaceship Earth, but it won't kill me if I can't - I'll just do it first thing when we get in for our wedding trip! We'll get to go to Magic Kingdom (for the Halloween party)...but nothing is as good as Epcot to me.

Save the dates are out to family and friends, we have at least 14 who have already checked in with us and let us know they're going, which is a load off for me. Just need a few more people to say they're going, and we're golden. And, if less then the amount we invited come, I think I can talk Raist into the dessert party!

I know I linked to some of the invitation ideas a while back, but I don't know that I've linked to the ones that we decided we're going with. They haven't been ordered yet, we're meeting with a local stationer to see what they'd charge for something similar, but we're pretty sure they'll come back with some outrageous price, and I've had really good luck with getting samples and stuff from Kreativees, on etsy. She even managed to send over some sample paper and ribbon for us to look at and see if it'd match our colors pretty closely! So, we're expecting to go with her for the invites, but I figured I'd ask the local one too, just to see. We'll have to pay a small batch fee for our invites through Kreative (because we need under 50), but it's not too bad.

Anyways, the two we were looking at are:

and

 

[alyaki]

So, I'll probably be handing over the cosmetology deposits in the next couple days. We'll see if I end up going with who I originally contacted, or someone else - depends on whether the other cosmetologist allows people to book her without hitting a certain minimum number of services.

Also, made an appointment to try on dresses. It's probably the thing I least look forward to when it comes to wedding stuff, an sadly it has nothing to do with being worried about sizes and more to do with the fact that I'm going alone and the one time I went in somewhere to talk to them, they were sort of rude. Bleh. At least I have a month until the appointment though - they essentially said I need to leave about 8 months open between ordering and when I need the dress due to the amount of time it takes for them to get it in and alterations. I'm a little worried because I'll still be losing weight a bit after I order (if I order that day), but there's not really much I can do about that. Bleh, bleh, bleh.

I seem to be feeling bleh today about wedding stuff. We still have to finish filling out the planning kit, though at least we have a month or two before it has to be in.

One of those days..

 

[elphie101]

Is there anyone you can call or (if you have the right phone) perhaps Facetime with? I'm sorry you are going by yourself but you have your Disbrides here for you - you can always post photos on Facebook for opinions if you want them.

Your rings are gorgeous! And hey, one less thing to worry about.

I know what you mean about being stuck in wedding rut, but pretty soon you'll be diving head first into the planning

 

[alyaki]

Is there anyone you can call or (if you have the right phone) perhaps Facetime with? I'm sorry you are going by yourself but you have your Disbrides here for you - you can always post photos on Facebook for opinions if you want them.

Your rings are gorgeous! And hey, one less thing to worry about.

I know what you mean about being stuck in wedding rut, but pretty soon you'll be diving head first into the planning

Thanks, and I'm expecting that in the next few months things will pick up - I just sort of am the one who is paranoid about money, haha. As for the dress shopping, I really don't mind going on my own, just get a bit sad because everyone else seems to go with a bunch of people. I probably will post some pics on fb though, since I don't want to post them here, where Raist can possibly come across them.

 

[edeneye]

Sorry to hear you're having some rough days! It can be so much to take on and so overwhelming I can certainly say you're unfortunately not alone there. I guess it's part of the experience and in about 9 months time you can look back on this knowing how it all turned out and smile. All the best with your dress shopping, be sure that if this place doesn't feel right and aren't treating you well that you don't feel like you can't start over somewhere else. Even if you feel like you're pressured for time, I say you're doing just fine. I know my bride-to-be tried a few dress shops, the one she was most excited about was also quite rude and she ended up reluctantly leaving. The story ends happily though as it just led her to the store where she found the dress and had people looking after her who she could put her faith in. And who delivered her dress in well under 8 months! Hopefully your vendor experiences from now on will be positive and I know the rejuvenating difference that makes! Good luck!

 

[alyaki]

Sorry to hear you're having some rough days! It can be so much to take on and so overwhelming I can certainly say you're unfortunately not alone there. I guess it's part of the experience and in about 9 months time you can look back on this knowing how it all turned out and smile. All the best with your dress shopping, be sure that if this place doesn't feel right and aren't treating you well that you don't feel like you can't start over somewhere else. Even if you feel like you're pressured for time, I say you're doing just fine. I know my bride-to-be tried a few dress shops, the one she was most excited about was also quite rude and she ended up reluctantly leaving. The story ends happily though as it just led her to the store where she found the dress and had people looking after her who she could put her faith in. And who delivered her dress in well under 8 months! Hopefully your vendor experiences from now on will be positive and I know the rejuvenating difference that makes! Good luck!

I figure the bleh period happens to everyone - I think every PJ I've read through has mentioned it at some point. I'll be a lot less stressed about everything once we can actually get actual costs....and more so once we pay our minimum (which is what really has made me go ), since we're planning on sticking fairly closely to it. So, once the minimum is paid, we will have very little to pay after that (hopefully) since $3000 of our deposit gets applied at 30 days, which should cover most, if not all, of the taxes and service charges. I'm just always worrying about money. =/

As for dress shopping, good to hear that your fiancee had a situation similar to what I've been worried about happening and it still worked out! I know I'll be avoiding the shop I had stopped in at, just because I don't feel like dealing with their attitude - they already lost a customer there. Hoping that the shop I have an appointment scheduled with to try some stuff on at in July is a good deal better, but if not I won't stress. There are a couple other places I'll probably set up a time to go check out, but since they're franchises, I know that service runs the gamut from store to store. So, we'll see how it goes. At least trying on dresses should give me an idea of what size I generally wear in most styles (hopefully), so if I really either can't find anything I like, or can't stand the attitudes, I may be able to order online.

 

[alyaki]

So, it's been a bit since the last time I updated this. Right now, not too much going on - we've pretty much filled out all of our stuff for our planning session and tasting (haven't sent it in yet though - there are one or two changes we'd like to make), and, after meeting with the local stationer, we decided we'd be going with the etsy vendor for our invitations and the local vendor for some of the reception stuff. The reason for the second decision is that, because we need so few invitations (have to order 25 minimum), our invitations come out to $25-30 a piece through the local vendor, versus $10 or under through the etsy vendor. And that price isn't even for the style of invitation we really want. Their reception decor prices aren't bad though, so we figure we'll do some of that through them.

Also, managed to go to Ikea (2 hour drive to get there) and pick up our welcome bags and the frames to hold table numbers.

This is what we're using for welcome bags, in navy (they were supposed to be $.79, but were actually only $.50 - score!). Even with us getting extras, it only cost us around $10.

As for frames, we're using what a lot of other people have. I have no clue if we'll paint them or not at this point.

Oh, and after talking with Andrew's parents, instead of doing a rehearsal dinner, we're going to do a dessert party the night of the wedding. Part of it is because we aren't planning on doing a rehearsal, but another part of it is because I don't even know if my parents are coming. Which sucks, but what can you do? But, I'm not going to let the thought keep me down - because on the bright side, now I (hopefully) get my ice cream sundae bar and fireworks! We're setting it up as a separate BEO that has Andrew's parents as the primaries and us as secondary, so, if something comes up, we'll be covering the cost of it, but it's the one thing I've really wanted the entire time, so I'm okay with that. Going to start showing his mom the pre-set menus and explaining what else can be done...so hopefully everything goes well!

Anyways, that's it for now!

 

[elphie101]

Sorry about your parents I can't even imagine what that feels like to question that, but at least you are marrying the love of your life, and nothing will change that.

Love the bags and LOVE the frames!! I didn't even think of going to IKEA for stuff - I might have to consider it (especially with tax-free weekend coming soon in MA).

And YAYYYYY for getting a dessert party! Much better then a rehearsal dinner IMO. I know it will truly blow your guests away!

 

[alyaki]

Sorry about your parents I can't even imagine what that feels like to question that, but at least you are marrying the love of your life, and nothing will change that.

Love the bags and LOVE the frames!! I didn't even think of going to IKEA for stuff - I might have to consider it (especially with tax-free weekend coming soon in MA).

And YAYYYYY for getting a dessert party! Much better then a rehearsal dinner IMO. I know it will truly blow your guests away!

The parents thing is what it is - at least one of them warned me, the other hasn't said a word to me (and they're divorced...my mom is pretty cruel about it).

I wish I had gotten the chance to take advantage of a tax-free weekend! Indiana has some, but since there are no Ikeas in Indiana....we had to go to Ohio (who has none). Remember to sign up for the Ikea Family card if you don't already have one - I think the bags are always at least $.20 cheaper for members! I think the frames sometimes get put in the Ikea Family discount too, but at $.99, they are a nice price.

I am so excited for the dessert party, it's not even funny. Once we got the go ahead from Raist's mom to book it, I told him even if they decide they can't afford it (his dad works for a company that does government contracts, they didn't get one of the ones they were planning on), I will find a way to cover it. I'm hoping we can get them on board for something like ice cream bar, cronut holes, and then maybe something else small (whatever makes them happy). *fingers crossed* I know we should be able to do it for around the $25pp cost, it's just playing with things so that they fit.

By the way, here is what cronut "holes" look like. This may end up going on own tasting session list so we can see what they'd come up with.