Andreah and Brian - Dec 8th, 2009 (Reception Photos Posted)

[Chilly]

lovely dress

 

[tiggersam00]

very elegent dress! Thats awesome that it can serve 2 purposes!

Doesn't white house black market have the best stuff! Very cool necklace, they always have fun unique classic stuff in there. Very Cool!

 

[MainStMandy]

Any new updates??

 

[acwinsett]

Hi guys! Thanks so much for checking in! Sorry I've been MIA for a little while! I'm one of the planners of my company's Leadership Conference, which was held in February, so that kept me really busy over the last couple of months. I've spent less time posting and more time just reading about what everyone else has been up to

We have several big big updates coming soon . . . here are the highlights:

• DF is finishing his chemo treatments in less than 2 weeks . . . woo-hoo!
• We should be signing a contract for the wedding in the next couple of weeks (crossing our fingers - hoping dates/locations are available)
• We've got a color scheme change in the works . . . yes, AGAIN!!!
• Working on a big "get in shape" program, and
• The big news . . . we are likely switching from Escape to Wishes!

Stay tuned . . . I'll be posting lots of updates as soon as the dust starts to settle

 

[MainStMandy]

Hi guys! Thanks so much for checking in! Sorry I've been MIA for a little while! I'm one of the planners of my company's Leadership Conference, which was held in February, so that kept me really busy over the last couple of months. I've spent less time posting and more time just reading about what everyone else has been up to

We have several big big updates coming soon . . . here are the highlights:

• DF is finishing his chemo treatments in less than 2 weeks . . . woo-hoo!
• We should be signing a contract for the wedding in the next couple of weeks (crossing our fingers - hoping dates/locations are available)
• We've got a color scheme change in the works . . . yes, AGAIN!!!
• Working on a big "get in shape" program, and
• The big news . . . we are likely switching from Escape to Wishes!

Stay tuned . . . I'll be posting lots of updates as soon as the dust starts to settle

WOW! You really did have big news. That is great that your df is finishing Chemo...that is awesome news.

AND...escape to Wishes!! I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[acwinsett]

Okay, I have a MILLION updates that I need to get posted. It's getting late, so for tonight I'll start with an easy one - color scheme changes.

I have had the HARDEST time deciding upon which colors to use. This should have been totally easy, but until now, my ideas have seemed "not quite right".

My original idea was fuschia and french blue. I liked the contrast, but it seemed a little "spring-y" for a December wedding. Also, a good friend of mine used those as her wedding colors a couple of months ago. It was beautiful, but I gotta be original - of course!

Around Christmas-time, I was really leaning toward a deep ruby red. But I just couldn't imagine what the bridesmaids gowns would look like, and I had a very specific tone in mind - not bright red, not wine or burgandy - more ruby. In the end, I just wasn't "feelin' it".

So, a couple of weeks ago, I broke out my trusty old PANTONE swatch book, determined to settle this once and for all. And I think we've FINALLY decided on a palette of muted pastels on a background of "winter white". I'm not choosing one or two colors - but rather a whole "family" of colors. Typical pastels would be "spring-y", but muted tones would work well for wintertime. It also goes great with the Wedding Pavilion interior. It's winter-y, wedding-y, and very very Disney! So . . . ta-da! Let me know what you think!

Click for Downloadable PDF

 

[MainStMandy]

I really like those colors! Do you know what colors you are going to use for what yet?? Like flowers??

 

[acwinsett]

We haven't really decided on any details yet, but roses are my favorite flower, so I'm thinking of having bouquets of ivory and pink roses. Maybe pink for mine and ivory for the Maid and Matron of Honor? They haven't decided on dresses yet. Matron of Honor is 8 months pregnant, so it might be a little while before they decide what to wear.

I just gave them the color swatches and told them they could pick whatever dresses they want in any of those colors. They just need to decide together which color and designer to go with . . . then they can get the same style dresses or different dresses - their choice!

We're going to use the pink and green floral artwork that you see throughout this PJ for printed materials, save the dates, invitations, etc. I think we'll use opal or light pink pocket-folds.

 

[MainStMandy]

We haven't really decided on any details yet, but roses are my favorite flower, so I'm thinking of having bouquets of ivory and pink roses. Maybe pink for mine and ivory for the Maid and Matron of Honor? They haven't decided on dresses yet. Matron of Honor is 8 months pregnant, so it might be a little while before they decide what to wear.

I just gave them the color swatches and told them they could pick whatever dresses they want in any of those colors. They just need to decide together which color and designer to go with . . . then they can get the same style dresses or different dresses - their choice!

We're going to use the pink and green floral artwork that you see throughout this PJ for printed materials, save the dates, invitations, etc. I think we'll use opal or light pink pocket-folds.

Oh I love the artwork, very pretty. I think Pink roses are so pretty too! You still have all the fun stuff to do

 

[acwinsett]

Now that we have a date set, I've started working on a newsletter to go along with our Save the Dates. Last week I was on the phone constantly with guests who are anxious to know what's going on . . . how to book their trip . . . how much it will cost, etc.

So here's what we have so far . . .

Click Here for Downloadable PDF

. . . Now it's time to work on some Save the Dates to send with them!

 

[padisneyfour]

Your STD newsletter is GREAT! Alot of info very well presented! Very well done. The new colors are pretty too!

 

[MegKate]

Andreah, I love the new color scheme! And I'm going to have to hire you to make a newsletter for me, because yours is simply awesome!

 

[29apr00]

wow Andrea everything looks amazing so far!! i love your color scheme! It's going to look so beautiful! And your newsletter is AMAZING!!! So detailed!! Can't wait for more planning!!

 

[BewwyBootiful]

Andreah, everything looks beautiful! You are so well organized - are you going to go for a PS?

 

[acwinsett]

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone! I spent the afternoon at Archiver's today looking for materials to do our Save the Dates . . . my poor son was soooo bored! I'm gonna fiddle with them this evening and I'll post photos as soon as they're presentable.

Meg, if you need some newsletter help or inspiration, just let me know . . . I enjoy doing this stuff

BewwyBootiful . . . please forgive me, but what's a "PS"? I'm usually pretty good with my acronyms, but I've taken so many allergy meds this week I've started to get loopy

 

[29apr00]

PS is your Planning Session.

 

[acwinsett]

PS is your Planning Session.

Thank you! Thank you! I was thinking PS might be "Priority Seating" - which is what they USED to call Advance Dining Reservations, and I was thinking to myself, "That doesn't make much sense . . ."

Anyway, thanks for clearing that up!

At this time, we have not scheduled a Planning Session, but I would LOVE to have an excuse to hit Disney for a long weekend sometime this summer. I don't know . . . maybe if we found a great last-minute something on Priceline . . .

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Ok, I just love your Newsletter!! I think it's fantastic! Which program did you use to make it if you don't mind me asking?!

I think Disney should hire you for their brochures

 

[acwinsett]

Ok, I just love your Newsletter!! I think it's fantastic! Which program did you use to make it if you don't mind me asking?!

Hi! How've you been? I see you've set the date for Aug 2010 . . . how exciting?!

To make the newsletter, I used a program called Pages. It's part of the iWork suite of products for Mac computers, and it's super-cheap, like $79 for a fantastic word processor, spreadsheet program and presentation graphics program. I LOVE it . . . so easy! If you don't have a Mac, you can use a program like PhotoShop for the same range of effects, or something like Microsoft Publisher.

Hope this helps!

 

[acwinsett]

With approximately 9 months to go before our wedding, I decided that March was going to be a "power month" for me, and that I would get really serious about getting in shape for the wedding. March would be a great month . . . Daylight Saving Time began (daylight is very important - I can exercise outside!), my company's conference was finished, and the weather was a little warmer.

About six years ago I was a bit heavy and managed to lose about 40 lbs using Weight Watchers. I have kept that weight off all this time, but haven't managed to lose very much more. My overall hope is to lose about 15 pounds, or 10% of my total weight. I'm within a healthy weight range for my height, but at the "higher end", and would like to be in the "middle to lower end".

Santa Claus brought me an elliptical machine, so that has been a huge help. I alternate between using the elliptical and walking outside. When the weather is nice, I love to go outside with the iPhone and listen to music, and on other days, I throw the Young and the Restless on DVR and do the elliptical.

I'm keeping a health and fitness diary in a password-protected WordPress blog, which has been really cool. I can access the blog from anywhere - home, work, and iPhone - to add information like the food I eat, the activity I do, and stuff like migraines.

The program has been working well, although I had a really nasty allergy attack after my first outdoor walk - go figure! So there were about 10 days in March where I was pretty sick and not able to get much exercise. But all I wanted to eat was soup, so it kind of balanced out.

My hope for the month of March was to lose 4 pounds. I purposefully don't use the word "goal", when I talk about how much weight I would like to lose in a given period of time because we can't directly control what the scale says from one day to the next - we can only "influence" the scale by what we eat and the exercise we do.

I'm happy to report that, despite a little illness, March was a success! I journaled in WordPress every day, and exercised every day that I was able. From March 1 to April 1, I lost 6.6 pounds, and an inch off my waist measurement . . . woo hoo!

It's a great start, and great motivation to keep it going through April! My hope for April is to lose 4 more pounds. I'm going to continue the cardio routine, and start introducing some resistance training, upper-body in particular. And, of course, I will continue to keep my diet as healthy as possible.

8 months to go! Next update . . . early May!