Katie and Nik's Swan and Dolphin Wedding - January 24, 2016

[MsKatie]

Just catching up! Your dress is wonderful! Have you thought about what you will do with your hair? With this dress you could truly wear it anyway you wanted! I love the lace!
We were a little hesitant about asking people to do more then come to Florida for a wedding also. But just keep a open mind when discussing options with your guests and bridal party. Your fiancé's groomsmen could probably always reuse a gray suit! We are buying DF's suit and asked the tailor for a swatch of the material and will be handing out the color so that our ring bear and his best man can find a similar gray within their budget and preference. Everyone seemed fine with that.
Also I wish some weddings I have been in had such a flattering bride's maid dress. Very beautiful! Any flower girls/ring bears?
Also, if you are doing welcome bags you could always print out your itinerary of your plans, with a little note inviting people to join you. You can also update your page with plans!

Thanks! Yes, I'm actually going to talk about my hair in the next post, so stay tuned!

I like the idea of giving out swatches so that the groomsmen can find their own suits; I'll have to think about that! Since my last update, I've had another bridesmaid try the dress on and she loves it too! So, the only one who hasn't tried it yet is my sister because I need to order a different size for her.

I'm unsure about ring bearers and flower girls just because I'm not sure yet who is coming. If Nik sister can afford to come, his niece will be our flower girl. My sister is planning to come, but I don't think she is bringing my nephews. They will stay home with their dad. She also has a daughter, my niece, who may come, but she will be almost 12 in January. A little too old to be a flower girl, but I'd still like to include her as a mini-maid if she's there.

I have been considering welcome bags. I think that it would be nice, but probably a lot of time and stress to get everything there, assemble them, and delivery them. I was actually thinking about making "bon voyage bags." I would give them out to our wedding party, parents, and siblings before the trip and include things that they could pack like luggage tags and travel sized items.

Your dress is just lovely and I love the look of your bridesmaid dresses. Perfect for a January wedding!

I hope you can get the DP, it really is a fantastic experience for your guests. And I loooooooooved Patricia LeJeune, her work is unmatched!

Thank you! I love that the bridesmaids can each wear the dress differently.

I'm also hoping for the Dessert Party, but I know it will be a stretch. We'll have to try to keep the menu close to the minimum. I wish that I could just talk to someone about prices now!

I also really liked Patricia! I met her during my hair and makeup trial, which I'm going to talk about now.

 

[MsKatie]

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Nik's best friend's wedding was a week and a half ago and my best friend is getting married a month from tomorrow, so we have been super busy trying to be awesome wedding party members!

So, I really need to talk about our planning trip before I forget everything that happened! (How has it been almost 2 months already?)

We went to Florida from May 13-16, specifically to do some wedding planning. I really wasn't sure that going was worth the expense when we could have used the money for the actual wedding, but I am really glad that we went. It will just give me better piece of mind going into the wedding having seen the spaces and met some of out vendors.

We took our puppies to the kennel on Wednesday morning and headed to the airport. This is another reason we needed to take the trip. It was the first time we left the dogs overnight and I was nervous because they are very hyper and Brutus is afraid of strangers; Bear doesn't care, he'll be friends with anyone who has treats. Nik is not a huge fan of flying, but loves going to the airport (weird, right?). So, we went down early and ate lunch there. This was also our first time driving to the airport, usually his dad or my mom will take us and I had never realized what a long walk it is from extended parking to the terminal. I told him that since it will probably be snowing in January, he can drop me off with the bags before he parks the car.



Here we are eating at TGIFriday's in the airport. And apparently it was the 10th anniversary of Southwest Airlines at the Pittsburgh Airport, which I was really excited about since it meant balloons and free cookies.



When we landed, we made our way to the National Car Rental desk. This was another first for us. We have taken Magical Express on every previous trip, but since we had to travel off-property we had to rent a car. It was both simple and complicated at the same time. The complicated: I realized two days before we left that my car insurance would not cover me in a rental car, so I had to pay for National's insurance. (But honestly, no one asked about insurance when we got there. So, I think I pay for it more for my own piece of mind.) Also, Nik is not yet 25, so I had to drive. I hate driving in new places. It is so stressful. The simple part was actually getting the car. I rent cars a lot for work. I usually have to go in and fill out paperwork, show them my card, and go outside and look over the car with the rep. Well, apparently not here. I stopped at the desk and they told me I didn't have to. Apparently, since I had created an account on their website I could bypass the counter and go straight to the garage. Then, I could pick whatever car I wanted and just drive away! Well, I there was a man in a booth at the exit who looked at my license and gave me a receipt, but that was it. I kept thinking that I was missing something. We picked a Jeep Cherokee because Nik drives a Jeep and would not have picked anything else.

Anyway, so I pulled out of the garage and almost immediately made a wrong turn. Not surprising. I'm just glad that we had extra change because we ended up paying 2 extra tolls to turn around. We finally made it to our destination: Caribbean Beach Resort!



I had my doubts about Caribbean Beach before the trip. I had heard that it was too big, their was too much walking, and that the bus rides were too long. After staying at POFQ on our last trip, and having a room directly across from the main building, it was hard to imagine liking Caribbean Beach, but I really did! Nik still prefers POFQ, but Caribbean Beach is now my favorite moderate resort. It was not a long walk around the resort at all. The bus rides were a little long though, but with the rental car it was fine. I liked that there when separate smaller pools in addition to the main pool area. I also loved the hammocks.

So we only had a little time to check out our room because we had a reservation for Ohana. Ohana is Nik's favorite Disney restaurant; it's the meat on sticks and the bread pudding. Since we planned this trip last minute, I couldn't get an ADR until the day before. I checked on a whim and there it was, a 5:30 p.m. dinner time.



We drove the rental car, and I think I ended up following the GPS through the Magic Kingdom parking lot. So, I'm really glad we were staying on property and didn't have to pay for that mistake. We walked past the new bar there, but it was at capacity, so we couldn't go in unfortunately; hopefully next time!



Seriously, you can't beat this view! It made me regret that we weren't going into the parks on this trip.



When that singing lady (I don't know her name) came out, Nik got us both leis. He said he knew that I secretly wanted one (and I did).

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and went to bed. I knew I had to get up early to go to my hair and makeup trial.

 

[MsKatie]

On day 2 of our planning trip, I woke up and got ready for my hair and makeup trial. I had to drive to LeJeune Artistry by myself, which I was kind of nervous about. So, I ended up their a little early and everyone was doing hair and makeup on models for a bridal photoshoot . I was a little awkward sitting next to model as I was waiting with no makeup on and my messy hair, but everyone was really nice! I got to meet Randy, Patricia's husband, who I had been corresponding with via email and phone. He had me fill out paperwork and then got me started with a hair stylist

I feel awful because I can't remember her name; I think it was Juanita. I showed her a few pictures. I wanted to my hair half up (I have way too much hair for a full up-do) and I knew I wanted some sort of headband so I brought one to try. I was told that I need to let me bangs grow out more before the wedding.

Then, Patricia did my makeup. I told her I didn't really have any ideas other than keeping it kind of natural looking. I also told her my dress is pink. We used the airbrush makeup and I ended up going with fake eyelashes too, which I didn't think I would end up doing, but they looked great! Here's a photo of me back in the car after the appointment:



At this point, Nik was texting me asking if I would be back soon because he was hungry. So, I thought about what we would do for lunch on the way back.



I decided we would drive over to Art of Animation because we like to visit the different resort and we haven't been here yet. We ate in the food court there and then walked around outside. This was a good test for my hair and makeup because it was HOT and I was sweating.

 

[MsKatie]

Then, we ended up driving over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dessert. Nik loves zebra domes! I certainly like them too, but he has an obsession.



We sat in the air conditioned car and ate them before going back to Caribbean Beach.
Then we relaxed for a while before dinner. I actually think we went swimming.

We had dinner that night at Garden Grove! I was excited to try it since this is where we are taking everyone for dinner after the ceremony. We took the bus to Hollywood Studios and then the boat to the Swan. This was our first time actually at the Swan and Dolphin. We were seated quickly and I noticed that there were not many other people there; I'm glad, since it was around 6:00 p.m., which is just a little later than our dinner will be after the wedding. It would be nice to feel like we have to place to ourselves!

Our server was nice. He took our entree order and told us to help ourselves to the buffet portion of the meal. There is a "chop or toss" salad station:

That's not a great picture. There's is actually another whole section with a Chef standing behind the counter. Also a whole table full of bread:



I think this was my favorite part. I love bread. And they had different spreads too. Also, two different soups, which were very good too:



For our entrees, I ordered the chicken which came with green beans and for some reason garlic:

Nik ordered the prime rib, which came with a baked potato:


I thought the chicken was good, but not great. Nik liked the prime rib, but there was a lot of fat on it. But I think that the other parts of the meal being so good made up for this!

Finally, the dessert table:


I tried several of the dessert, and they were all delicious! Plus we will have our wedding cake too, so I think we will have plenty of sweets.

Another bonus at Garden Grove is the characters. Nik is definitely not a character person, but he posed for pictures anyway because they basically didn't give him a choice.





As we were leaving, I noticed that two women had come out of the back, so I awkwardly walked over and tried to read their name tags with seeming like a creep because I hoped that one of them might be Angela. And it was her! So I introduced myself and she was so happy to see us! Angela is the manager of Garden Grove and is the one who I have been working with to arrange our reception dinner there. Her and her intern talked to us for a while. She asked what we thought of the meal and if there was anything we would like to change for our reception. She said that if for example we wanted a different type of fish offered or wanted to serve filet instead of prime rib they could order whatever we wanted ahead of time (for a change in menu price, of course). Even though we probably won't change anything, I thought that was awesome! We also talked about where our tables would go (around the tree with our cake table next to the tree) and she told us that if we had anything we wanted to put out on the tables we could do that and it wouldn't be a problem. She even took us outside so show us around the hotel!

After leaving, we walked around the Boardwalk. I had never realized how close it is to the Swan. It's RIGHT THERE. So, now we are thinking about staying at the Boardwalk during the wedding trip. I just have to wait for a discount to come out to able to afford it. I'm also thinking about splitting the week between Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge because that's where Nik would really like to stay. We finally made our way back to Caribbean Beach just in time to find a hammock on the beach and watch the fireworks.

 

[MsKatie]

On the final full day of our trip we talked about what to do for breakfast and I ended up making a reservation for breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe in Wilderness Lodge. We had been here previously for dinner, but not breakfast. I love that this place has bottomless milkshakes. That only thing that I like more than bread is ice cream! Our server was great! I think that Nik's parents would really like the antics here, so we may have to plan to eat here in January.

Then, we went back to the Boardwalk. I was really starting to like it there and wanted to walk around inside and get ideas of places to take wedding photos.



After that we made our way back over to the Swan to meet with Leanna from Just Marry! Our planner is Michelle, but since she lives in Louisiana, Leanna and the other coordinators meet with her couples for tours.



Leanna answered my questions and showed us the Crescent Terrace. There was an event going on there, so I didn't take many pictures.



She also should us the rain backup room. The only positive thing I can say about it is that there is some navy in the carpet, so it wouldn't completely clash with our colors. I'm just going to continue hoping it won't rain in January!



We had some time before our next appointment, so we made a brief stop at Downtown Disney. Then we were off to our cake tasting with It's Tasty Too! It was a little confusing because It's Tasty Too! is located inside another restaurant, which was closed with we arrived. So, we kind of just waited for someone to let us in. But anyway, there were so many flavors and it was so hard to choose! Sorry that all of the cake is eaten in the picture; I didn't think about taking a photo until we were done!



Here's Heather's sketch of our cake. I love it! I gave her 3 different cake photos from Pinterest and she combined them all.



We chose different flavors for each layer: bottom - almond cake with cream cheese and raspberry filling, middle - peanut butter cake with chocolate and cream cheese filling, top - strawberry cake with amaretto filling. A week after we got back, I emailed Heather and upped our cake size to 42 servings. I can't wait to eat it!

After that, we drove back to Downtown Disney for dinner at Raglan Road. This is one of our absolute favorite places!




The next morning we got ready and headed to the airport. The rental car drop-off was just as strange to me as the pick-up. You drive into the garage and you don't pull into a parking spot, you just stop behind the car in front of you and get out and leave the car. Who moves all of those cars when the row fills up? I don't get it. The trip home was pretty uneventful. Then we went to pick-up the puppies.



They did really well at the kennel. We actually just took them back to stay there when we went to Nik's friends wedding and they'll be there during my friend's wedding too. Hopefully, they get used to it enough before we go for the week in January.

So, that was our planning trip. I do have some other updates, but I'll save them for the next post.

 

[TXMNie]

Looks like a successful trip! I love your hair and makeup! It looks natural yet still glamorous.

 

[elphie101]

Loved reading your mini-TR!! Your hair and makeup looks gorgeous and I loved your exploration of the Swan & Dolphin grounds. I can't wait to see when it's your day!

Holy crap that cake tasting looks amazing!! How did you ever decide?!

 

[Pix13du5t]

Great planning trip report! I unfortunately, will not be doing one before our wedding, but since we share so many vendors- your beautiful pictures put my mind at ease. Did you discuss any other rain backup locations with your coordinator? Thought I seen something about a hall, that was much better looking. I think I remember a couple of girls saying to ask about it early and try to press. I'm going to approach the subject soon with my planner. I've seen pictures of the conference room, less then ideal! Fingers crossed for no rain!

Your hair and makeup is stunning! Love it all!!!

 

[MsKatie]

Great planning trip report! I unfortunately, will not be doing one before our wedding, but since we share so many vendors- your beautiful pictures put my mind at ease. Did you discuss any other rain backup locations with your coordinator? Thought I seen something about a hall, that was much better looking. I think I remember a couple of girls saying to ask about it early and try to press. I'm going to approach the subject soon with my planner. I've seen pictures of the conference room, less then ideal! Fingers crossed for no rain!

Your hair and makeup is stunning! Love it all!!!

Honestly, I didn't ask about other rain backup locations. I am hoping for no rain. During the trip we took in January 2014 it only rained 1 day and not for long. If it does rain, we'll make the best of it. It least the navy in the carpet match our color scheme.

 

[MsKatie]

So sorry it's been so long since I updated! I got to a place where I felt like there wasn't much I could be since all of our major decisions had been made. We have also been pretty busy this summer. My best friend's wedding was a month ago and then I was busy at work with orientation and move-in for the new students. But now that we are only 4 and a half months out from the wedding, I am ready to get back in the swing of things and I have some updates.

I was finally able to book our trip. We decided to do a split-stay. I really want to be in the Epcot resort area for the wedding because it will make it SO MUCH easier, so we will be staying at the Boardwalk Inn from Friday, January 22 - Monday, January 25. Plus I have seen some beautiful wedding photos taken at Boardwalk. Here are a few from Pinterest: (the first two were taken by my photographer!)


Then, we will move to the Wilderness Lodge for the rest of the trip (Monday-Saturday) because we have always wanted to stay there. I booked the Wilderness Lodge portion as a package with our tickets and dining plan and I'm hope that we can pick-up our tickets early to use on Saturday the 23rd (I know that this was a thing that could be done and hopefully it is still possible).

The only other people who have booked already are Nik's parents, who will be staying off-property, and my mom and grandmother, who are staying at Caribbean Beach. Hopefully more will book once I get our invitations sent out! I have been working on them and will post a photo soon!

I have also decided to book a videographer. I was going back and forth on this. I know that I really want to have a video, but it is stretching our budget. I debated whether we could a guest just film at least our ceremony, but I don't want to ask a guest to work during the wedding and who knows what I would end up with. I decided that while it will take me longer to pay off the wedding, I will forever regret not having a video of our day. So, I contacted Paul Duhon again (I had emailed him back in May just to get a price) and booked him for 5 hours (the same amount of time we have our photographer booked for).

I was also finally able to book a dessert party! In August, the catering manager know had contacted me originally was able to send me the updated sample menus for 2016. They are pretty similar to the 2015 menus. Here is the link to the new menus: http://www.disneycateredmenus.com/menus/EC/2016EpcotDessert_v8.13.15.pdf

I looked at them, but really I just thought of our favorite desserts and created my our menus. I sent 3 different options to the catering manager, who sent them to a chef for pricing and email me back with the prices. The menu we decided on was $32 per person and includes: mini cheesecakes, individual tiramisu, petit cannolis, individual creme brulee, zebra domes, and ice cream novelties with coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and water.

The location for our dessert party is U.K. Terrace. I have read that it has a good view, maybe not the best, but I like that you use the existing tables and chairs here and therefore do not have to pay the set-up fee.

 

[Alexsandra]

Very cool. It was a very productive trip. Looks like you got all the basic stuff worked out. SO very happy for you!

 

[Doodlebug25413]

Now I want to go to your dessert party. LOL Cannoli's, Tiramasu....I'm gaining the few pounds I've lost back just thinking about it & reading all these pj's!
Glad that you have more scratched off your to do list!

Actually, my girlfriend doesn't remember much from her Dessert party. And I've heard that the couples who do one with photographer end up not seeing much of Illuminations because of photo shots. But the fact that there's private area, you're not having to scour a good seat hours before plus you can be in your wedding gown! You're going to have a great party!

 

[Pix13du5t]

Yay dessert party!!! Glad that you finally got that all wrapped up!