Saturday, February 26, 2011

Invitations, hotel links and other fun stuff

One of our accomplishments this week was setting up the hotel block for the out of town wedding guests.  We know some of our guests have already made arrangements; one of the pros and pitfalls of living in central Florida is our proximity to the Mouse.  It only makes sense to incorporate a little visit to the World into the wedding trip, if you're interested and can swing it. 

Only one word of caution:  the Disney resorts are a full hour from the church where the wedding will take place and from the reception site.  As long as you're cool with that, it certainly doesn't bother us!  Just take the distance into account as you make your plans. 

We've set up the block of rooms at the Embassy Suites in Altamonte Springs.  It's relatively close to both the church and the reception, although definitely not in walking distance!  We chose this hotel because there really isn't anything else decent near the church.  The Embassy offers a full breakfast as well as the manager's reception (aka Happy Hour!), and it's right in the middle of the Altamonte Mall area, with tons of restaurants, shops, movie theatres, etc.  It's a beautiful hotel.  The special room rate is valid for three days before and three days after the wedding.  If you are making reservations only for the night before and the night of the wedding, you can do that on line at http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/M/MCOSPES-KPW-20110617/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG .  (The link will remain in the sidebar on this blog.)  If you want to come earlier or stay longer at that rate, you'll need to call Vanessa at the Embassy, 407-571-3435 .  She'll take care of you!


As Devyn has stated on her wedding page, it's almost essential to have a car in central Florida.  If you're flying in, we strongly suggest renting an automobile or arranging to rent one with someone else, or making sure that you have a ride to and from the wedding.  


In other news, the wedding invitations arrived yesterday!  This was something that had caused me a little bit of anxiety, as we wanted to make them as pretty as possible without anything too elaborate.  Devyn found this site on line, and I have to say they are perfect.  We were so excited to open the box last night and oooh and ahhh over them.  Now comes the fun of addressing them and sending them out!


As always, if you have any questions about the wedding, transportation, hotel, etc., please don't hesitate to call or email me. 

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Times, They Are A-Running

If you've never planned a wedding, you might not have experienced the phenomena of the wedding time warp.  (And if you begin singing the song in your head, go ahead. . .I'll wait. . .)

See, you begin planning a wedding, and it seems like a vague, distant event, probably a year or so away.  It's so theoretical.  Even when you do some very concrete things, like booking the reception site or buying a dress, it doesn't seem quite real. 

I guess it's kind of like being pregnant with your first child.  You see the positive sign on the test, the doctor confirms, you start throwing up, but the whole idea of a baby is still so theoretical.  You buy some baby clothes and furniture, and you even feel the baby kick, but it doesn't feel real until you realize those last few weeks of pregnancy (and for some people, maybe not even until the baby arrives). 

I've been watching the wedding countdown dwindle.  I can see that more and more items are getting wiped off the wedding white board.  And then yesterday, I realized that by the time we return from our trip to NJ for Dev's first wedding shower, the wedding count will be UNDER 100 days.  UNDER.  As in, less than. 

Now it's sinking in. 

We're also seeing reality sink in when we're dealing with wedding professionals.  The people who six months ago only wanted the vaguest details in order to reserve the date now want us to make those little decisions (which song should be played when? What color table linen?).  We had an appointment this week with the dj at the reception site, and as I wandered the bride's room upstairs, it hit me that very shortly we'll be the ones using that room.

As things begin happening more quickly, I'll be updating this blog more regularly.  And I'll be sharing my feelings and insights as usual, but I'll also be including some concrete information designed for the wedding guests.  If you have any questions, certainly check in here or at Devyn's wedding website which is linked below.

We're savoring these days.  Enjoy them along with us!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The MOB Dress

There are a few things that are still looming large on our infamous wedding white board.  One of those items is the locating and buying of my dress.

Have you checked out dresses for mothers of brides lately?  It's not pretty, folks.  I was pretty depressed by what I saw before we were seriously shopping.  Lots of wide dresses. . .lots of very matronly jackets over long crepe dresses.  Lots of dresses that you might see on the queen of England. (No offense, your majesty.)

Devyn and I set out on Monday with cautiously high hopes.  We went to Seminole Town Center, which is in Sanford, about 30 minutes north of us.  I'd had good luck there in the spring, when Haley and Catie were looking for dance dresses. 

At first, the pickings looked pretty slim.  We saw one dress that looked pretty perfect, until we checked out the price tag.  Still, I tried it on. . .to our secret relief, it really wasn't the perfect dress.  The sash was awkward and the length wasn't right.  I tried on two more, and the second dress was indeed THE dress.  The color, the style and fit were all perfect. 

Dev and I are both relieved to cross that off the list, and I'm excited to know what I'm wearing on the big day.

Today we reserved the tuxes for the guys. . .wow, it's amazing how fast these things are coming together! Just a few more decisions to finalize and we'll be all set.

And it's a good thing, because we're now down to 121 days.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wheels for Noah!!

I am pre-empting my regular blogging on all sites this week to bring you this important message.

Some of you already know about Noah Estes.  For those who aren't familiar with him, he is a four year old boy, the seventh of eight children born to Kate and Jeff Estes.  Noah has a very serious illness, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy.  It's a rare disease that affects several of his organ systems.

Noah is getting a brand new wonderful wheelchair that is going to make his life so much easier.  But the new wheelchair won't fit into the family's van, so they have found a sort of bus that will fit them all and allow Noah to travel with them. 


As you can imagine, this is good news.  As you can also guess, buses like this don't come cheap.  So the Estes are holding a fundraiser to help them raise the money. 


Please visit http://www.wheelsfornoah.com/ to help, donate and spread the word.  Add the link to your own blogs, put it on Facebook or Twitter, share the site via email.  Whatever you can do will help! If you can contribute an item for the silent auction or participate in another way, it will be a tremendous blessing to this family.


To read more about Noah's full story, please visit http://www.prayingfornoah.com/.


Thanks!!