Alli and Cole's 08/13/2015 SBP Escape w/ F! DP - Updated 09/29 Professional Photos Up!!!

[Disney_Alli]

Hello all! I'm so excited I decided I couldn't wait to start as we are now under one year from our hopeful date! I suppose I should start with an introduction: I'm Alli (mostly Allison in the real world but I always end up being called Alli by someone at work and it spreads to everyone else so I've just decided to go with it) my fiancé Cole and I have been together for just over two years and are planning for a 5pm ceremony at SBP on August 13th. Since the 13th part is the most important thing to us (our first real date was a concert on Friday the 13th) we're completely flexible as to which ceremony time we'll take and if we can't get any times at SBP I'm currently thinking of picking Canada as our second location choice... But back to us.

Cole and I met at a casino here in Calgary where we were both working (and he still does) he was a Pit Boss/Pit Supervisor - those guys in suits in the middle of the gaming pits who mostly stand around looking serious, lol - and I was a Surveillance Investigator. Since I was in surveillance I wasn't supposed to interact with the staff all that much which was a challenge for me as I used to be floor security at the casino and know most of the staff and a ton of the customers too. A coworker kept telling me who Cole thought I was cute and that we would be a good couple but being a big stickler on the rules I wasn't so sure... Eventually he wore me down and I let him give Cole my info and we added each other on Facebook. We chatted back and forth a bit and eventually decided to meet up for the Stampede Parade at 6am one morning - even though we both worked until the wee hours the night before. We met up and spent a great morning sitting out in the sun and eating free pancakes waiting for the parade. That was a Friday morning we ended up hanging out during several days of stampede and by the next Friday (the 13th) we had our first 'real' date... Or as real a date you can have when your date is using your sister's husband's ticket when he couldn't get the day off and she's there to chaperone lol.

Eventually it was decided that I couldn't stay with the surveillance department if Cole and I were to continue seeing each other. So I moved to a new casino... And since that's the end of my break that will do for the first post. I'll be back shortly with more details of our story and some pictures too!

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[twinkybel81]

Welcome!

 

[Disney_Alli]

In December Cole and I went to Disneyland with my parents, my sister and her husband. Ever since my sister got married in WDW in 2010 I've known that I HAD to get married there too. (she's TinkLoverSam and has a PJ/TR on here too!) Having now introduced Cole to my love of the Disney Parks (I've been to the parks on either coast about a dozen times, he'd been to Disneyland once with his family when he was in high school) he easily agreed to a Disney wedding... But we still weren't engaged!
Here's a couple pictures from that trip:

(I cropped my sister out if this one so pardon the awkward spacing)

It was looking through the pictures from this trip and knowing that the only pictures with genuine looking smiles were when my brother-in-law made him laugh with particularly vile jokes that I realized before we paid a ton for wedding pictures I'd need to teach this poor boy how to smile lol. in February we flew to Ottawa - basically so my sister and I could see our grandmother one last time - and I brought Cole too so he could see our nation's capital admittedly not at it's warmest but to see it nonetheless. We flew out on Valentine's Day and while in the Ottawa airport Cole turned to me and said 'you know how we've been talking about getting married in Disneyland?' Being me, and being distracted by having flown across the country about two hours after a 12 hour shift I said 'in Disney WORLD!' He said 'Fine Disney WORLD! We would you marry me?' And opened up the ring box

Since then I sold the condo I'd been living in for the last 7 years, we bought a house together - and finally got to live together! - and we are just completing a purchase of DVC. It's been a busy year! In the late spring we scheduled some engagement pictures in the park where we used to go for walks when we first started dating. As we were moving across the city we wouldn't be getting to walk there anymore. Here's a couple of my favorite shots:

(yes I jumped in those heels!)

My mom will be in town in about 25 days and we're going dress shopping! More details soon. Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[edeneye]

What a lovely story so far! I've known people who've worked in casinos here and have heard how strict they can be on the staff, during and outside work hours, and I love that you moved to another Casino so you could be together. Your engagement photos are great and I really like the story of how they came to be where they are. All the best with getting the date you want, I know it can be a little nerve wracking waiting until you can book and get started but it sounds like between DVC and your new home that you've got plenty to keep you busy and be excited about until Disney are ready for you!

 

[Boston Disney Bride]

I remember your sisters wedding. We were planning at the same time! Look forward to reading about your plans!

 

[Disneyducks12]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! Good luck on getting the venue you want! Also I love your meet story it so cute and that you got him to love Disney! Also how cool that both you and your sister got married at WDW that is such a cool tradition! Your engagement pictures are cute love your heels! Can't believe you jumped in them I would have broke my neck! Looking forward to your plans!

 

[Disney_Alli]

Thanks for the welcomes and all the great comments guys. I'm currently basically computer-less and trying to do this from my iPad which makes typing a bit of a pain but I've ordered a keyboard case to help so updates should be a bit longer shortly... Plus I'm only 22 days from dress shopping so I'll have all those stories to tell. I think I'll wait until we do that before I get into all my colors and such as dress shopping might influence them (probably not as I've had my colors set for about a year but anything could happen)

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[Mrs Hobbes]

Congratulations!!!

I'm an August 2015 Disney bride too - albeit a vow renewal for us.

I'm looking forward to following along with your plans and can't wait to see how the dress hunting goes

 

[Aschenputtel]

Congrats and great to see that you started you PJ! You're engagement pics are really cute!

 

[Disney_Alli]

So excited to go dress shopping tomorrow! My mom and my dad are coming with me and my sister and my future MIL has decided to drive up and join us. I had a little drama with shopping already - some of you might have seen my posts. I booked an appointment ages ago with a shop that had my top two dresses Alfred Angelo's original Ariel dress (style #201) and a convertible mermaid AA dress (#2219 I think). When I emailed them to confirm that they still had the dresses a couple of weeks ago their reply was that due to an "incident" in the building they were closed and did I want them to email me in a fee MONTHS(!!!) when they reopened. There are only two other shops here in Calgary that carry the AA Disney line and neither have the original Ariel dress to try on. I can order it of course but I can't try it on first. I managed to find one in a shop about an hour north of the city but of course they're closed tomorrow when everyone is coming to go dress shopping. I decided to book at a local store and try and decide without trying my Ariel dress on. If I can't decide I will drive up tomorrow with just my sister and my mom and try on the Ariel dress (in a size too small and the wrong color - but at least I'll have an idea of how it will really look) So wish me luck tomorrow this is the start of new adventures as I also get to book the room for my in-laws with out shiny new DVC resale contract first thing tomorrow morning!

 

[EpicBilynn]

Good luck with your dress drama! I hope it works out and you find a gorgeous dress to say 'yes' to! I also have to tell you that the shoes you wore in your engagement photos are amazing! Your pictures are so cute, I love the jumping one and what y'all picked to wear. Can't wait to read more!

 

[Disney_Alli]

So we went dress shopping Monday... And on Tuesday. IN THE SNOW!!!! My dream dress was always Alfred Angelo's first Ariel dress

But as I said none of the shops in Calgary had the dress so I booked an appointment and I tried on a bunch of dresses everyone's favorite was one of the newer Ariel dresses

but while I liked it a lot it was very heavy and I just couldn't decide without trying on the original one I wanted. However when my sister pulled up the picture to show them the dress I really wanted nobody really liked it. I was a little devastated. We sent my dad on his way to the airport to fly home and we (my mom, sister, future mother-in-law and I) went downstairs to shop for Samantha's Matron of Honor dress. Other than wanting her in a navy AA dress I didn't have any specific ideas about what Sam would wear so we played around a bit and decided on this one

But their sample was too small for Sam to try on so she had some reservations about it (the dress I bought to be her MOH the sample was a size 4 - Four! In bridal! It was basically a zero! - so the same thing happened to me and I completely understood her reservations.) The next day we made the hour-ish drive through the city to the bedroom community of Airdrie to a bridal store that has my dream Ariel dress in stock... In a size 8. The smallest dress I'd gotten into on Monday was a size 10 and it was a squeeze. I couldn't get into an 8 by a different designer. We got there just before the shop opened at 11 and went in. I drove in with my MIL who spent the night at my place and my sister and mom drove up from her place. They went in first and had them pull the dress for me. Wonder of wonders when she saw it in person and after having looked at a different picture of it online my mom was warming up to the dress and when my MIL saw it she warmed up to it too. I went in to try it on and I was nervous to say the least... I pulled and I pulled and just when I thought I'd never get the dress over my ghetto booty... It went on! And they liked it!

Please ignore my weird face my sister was being weird while taking the pictures... Not that that's unusual lol! I knew instantly this was my dress. We thanked the girls at the shop (they'd even dug up their sample of the MOH dress but it was even smaller than the one she tried originally.) They were so nice there I felt bad leaving without doing anything but try the dress on but it wasn't practical to drive an hour each way for every fitting when there's a shop 15 minutes from my house. We sent Lois on her way back up to their farm another 2-3 hours north of the city and we set out on our drive back to the south end. We grabbed a quick bite then made our way to the original bridal shop. I knew just what I was going to do. The consultant asked if I wanted to try on my dress from there again and I said no I just wanted to be measured for the dress I'd tried on in Airdrie. I was done. We got both Sam and I measured up and our dresses ordered. Together with some discounts they were running for a local bridal show and because I'd bought a $50 membership (which they refunded on my purchase) the two dresses were just over $1300. Not bad! (thanks mom and dad!) It was a bit of an adventure but I'm soooo happy! I also ordered our shoes for the wedding yesterday night after checking some colour swatches I had against the AA swatches. Somewhere on here (I think. I know I googled custom shoes and read some reviews on The Knot for sure) I'd read about a site called Shoes of Prey. They custom make shoes in your size and style with the fabrics you choose. Since I'm hoping to be married on the Boardwalk we're going with a vintage 40s-50s nautical theme with some Little Mermaid elements thrown in. I picked navy blue and hot pink for my colours. (I not particularly subtle or traditional exhibit A my ring

) Here are the shoes I designed and ordered for Sam

And mine

Originally ours were just going to be the reverse of the other's but I loved the idea of adding the fishscale fabric on the heels of mine. Hopefully in 6-8 weeks I'm on here reporting that they fit and that I love them but if not they'll remake them for me! For free! All in all I think the shoes were a totally amazing splurge and I can't wait until they arrive. Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Aschenputtel]

Wow, your e-pics are so beautiful!

And the dress! I'll have to admit it was one of the AA designs I didn't like that much, but one you it's beautiful! One can really see that it's your dress! Congrats! And (as I'm as a crazy shoe addict always here in the boards) I'm already eager to see your shoes!!!!

 

[Disney_Alli]

Now that the dresses and the shoes have been ordered it's time to spill the major details of our plans... Obviously a lot can change between now and January when I can finally book the wedding but here's the outline of our plan so far.

We're looking to book at SBP for the late ceremony time (5pm? 5:30?) we'd then send our guests off to have some apps or a quick bite while we do some photography around the Boardwalk. We'd then like to meet our guests at the International Gateway at Epcot and have a dessert party - we'll also add several appetizers to make it a small meal.

To make use of the location in the Boardwalk I want a bit of a vintage feel with a nautical twist - and a little hint of Little Mermaid for some Disney fun. We've picked navy blue and hot pink as the colours (bet you knew that from the dress and shoes though)

My fiancé and his best man will be wearing navy tuxes (kinda like this

)

But with hot pink ties and socks!

I want to use this classic car for my entrance

Not only is it gorgeous and fits with the theme it's navy blue too!

I'm trying desperately to find a Little Mermaid cake topper - preferably one of these two

But at this point I'm not finding any I like anywhere

I'm hoping Disney will let me add a thing or two to the standard cakes. Both of these are very similar to the elegant scrolls but incorporate our colours and some playfulness

We already sent our our STDs

The sample image - not our info obviously but Zazzle (where I ordered them from) made me take WDW off as the location. I subbed in Orlando on the STDs but will see if they'll work with me a bit when I go to order the matching invites.

Last but not least for now I found this on Pinterest and knew instantly it HAD to be my Dessert Party centerpieces...

I love it! So cute and subtle!

I also have some stuff favorited on Etsy that I'm looking at for accessories which I will share soon.

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[LadyD]

I love your colors!!! I really love how all the little details of your ideas are tying together! That is something I have found very challenging. I love, love, love the centerpieces for the dessert party .

 

[geek+nerd]

Love your colors and theme! Those centerpieces for your dessert party are perfect!

 

[edeneye]

Wow! Lots to catch up on here! The dress pictures are awesome, you can just see the happy confidence written all over you and know that's the dress. I think the late Sea Breeze Point ceremony will be lovely, such a nice spot to spend sunset in any instance but a wedding will be even more so. We're having some trouble with cake toppers too, we asked Disney Floral and they didn't have what we were after but hopefully if you haven't got what you're looking for when you get to that stage then they might be able to help! Also, I really like your Save The Dates - my favourite Australian football team wears uniforms with exactly that hooped navy blue & white pattern so it's close to my heart in a male sort of way!

 

[Disney_Alli]

So I like to show my love for Disney in the most painful way possible lol. I just had these done last Monday

Tink needs another 45 minutes or so to finish the color and put in 'Second star to the right' in the banners

But Snow White is all done

I love them!

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[bigr3ddog]

How did you ever jump in those heels?

 

[Disney_Alli]

How did you ever jump in those heels?

Sheer talent! Lol I wear HIGH heels every day and do all sorts of silly things in them like jump, run, climb ladders... I did insist on a semi-flat part of the really bumpy path though lol.