Saint Cloud Wedding

   Walt Disney World

Jodi & Victor's Walt Disney World Wedding
Maximum Happy,
Minimum Stress, Great Value

We (Jodi Bucknam and Victor Nazarian) got married at Walt Disney World on Sunday 18 April 2010 at the Gazebo in the Rose Garden at Disney's Yacht Club resort and had our reception at the Atlantic Dance Hall.

The bride & groom laughed and cried and danced.

The critics raved:
It couldn't have been any better. - Bride's Mom
I want to do it all over again. - Groom
The best wedding I've ever been to. - Our minister, Tony Guida

If you've seen Molly Ringwald in "Sixteen Candles" or Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride" you may understand my state of mind in early 2009. I was worried and I wasn't sure we knew what we were doing. Marrying Jodi was a rock solid sure thing. I couldn't have been more positive of anything in my whole life. HOW do we get married?
HC SVNT DRACONES... (Here Be Dragons)

I asked Jodi to marry me on the Royal (pipe organ) stage at the Maryland Renaissance Festival on the last day of the Fall 2008 season. I was just back from an airborne Coast Guard Auxiliary patrol, still in my uniform flight suit. We'd been dating since the previous February and had known each other from swing dancing for about a year before that. She said yes, my friend Gary played Ode to Joy on the pipe organ and I was walking on clouds. Now we had to start walking those clouds in the direction of a wedding, somewhere.

We spent months, buying magazines, doing Internet research and talking to friends. We must have put in 200 hours on our MacBooks looking up details and reading reviews and comments on weddings and we probably put over 5,000 miles on Jodi's Honda Civic Hybrid traveling to interesting wedding spots. We wanted to stay out of debt and pay for it mostly on our own. It had to be fun, include dancing and have as many of our friends and family as possible. We knew we could save some money by doing our own invitations and ceremony programs and providing a few of our own special touches. We even got our friend Slash (Eric Dunn) to draw up some special graphics we could use in our invitations. We knew we'd probably spend quite a bit if we wanted a memorable event and we wanted to do it RIGHT, get a good value and have lots of fun for our money.

We had lots of ideas for themes including Victorian formal, steam punk, zoot suits, island/tropical and Jazz Fest in New Orleans, etc. I even suggested getting married by a ship's captain in period garb - a pirate wedding.
Jodi wasn't into the pirate wedding theme but getting married on a ship (in non-pirate clothes) stayed on the list. We considered several cities close to the water and also maybe staying close to home.

Even though Washington D.C. is beautiful in the Spring the sprawling nature and inflated costs of the D.C. metro area would have made staying close to home expensive and complicated.

Also, because Jodi's family is somewhat dispersed and would have to travel anyway it only seemed fair to have the wedding somewhere worth traveling to. This made a destination wedding much more appealing, at least to my logic.

We visited, Baltimore, Portland (Maine), Tampa, Orlando, New Orleans, Charleston and several other cities. One of the pilots in my Coast Guard Auxiliary aviation flotilla, even flew us out to Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Then we talked it all over, did the math and searched our hearts. All in all it came down to what would make the maximum happy with the minimum stress at a reasonable cost? Walt Disney World came up on top. It was more than just choosing a location, it was more like choosing a project management team with romantic show business experience.
I had just one tiny concern...
"I don't think I want a Mickey Mouse wedding."

Looking back that might seem silly. We had just about the best time anyone can have getting married. Before-hand however I had some real concerns. I didn't want to spend the price of a small, used airplane on something that might feel plastic and be regarded as cheesy. I love Disney and Pixar and I'm fond of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. We own every Pixar film and we both love The Muppets. Even so, I wanted to make sure our wedding would be a Jodi and Victor focused affair, special in its own right.

I was also worried I would talk Jodi into something she wouldn't love. I can be a real bulldozer when it comes to decisions. When the little voice in my heart expressed concerns about "Mickey Mouse wedding" I listened to it. I made sure to say something to both Jodi and the Disney folks. I also made a point of listening to everyone. I'm not always the best listener but for this, I tried to listen extra hard.

Here's where the Disney folks really impressed me, Telepathy. Yup, Kristi Davis one of Disney's wedding sales representatives over at Franck's can read minds! She showed us the wedding chapel and the beach near the Grand Floridian and then, perhaps reading my body language or looking inside my skull suggested we go over to the Yacht Club and look at the rose garden and gazebo. Long before I met Jodi my best WDW trip ever was back in the early 2000's when I stayed for several days at the Yacht Club. It's cool, retro and wonderful and it's right by the water. Also, it's walking distance to both Epcot and MGM (now Disney's Hollywood Studios). Somehow Kristi must have known I love all of that. I love mind readers!

We were still not sign-on-the-dotted-line just yet. We made sure to finish up visiting the other sites we had planned and we double checked our hearts. We looked at numbers and talked with friends. We asked family members what they thought and then we did the smart thing. We talked with Jodi's mom.

Jodi's mother Anita is a saint. Really! She's a super smart, ultra cool professor over at Ohio State (Go Buckeyes) and not only was she happy to let us do the wedding any way we wanted but she also said she'd help us if we needed it. She agreed with us that WDW was a good idea and was very supportive. Likewise Jodi's father was very supportive as well and also offered to help if needed. Although we wanted to do this ourselves as much as possible we were relieved to know that help would be there if we needed it. We did "tap the rents" a little for money for photography, etcetera and my own mother even put up some money for the rehearsal dinner. They were all comfortable with Disney and helped keep our stress down a lot.

The due diligence and teamwork really brought Jodi and me closer together and made us more confident in our decisions. Some people have buyer's remorse about their wedding (the place, hopefully not the partner). I didn't want to ever have any feelings whatsoever that we could have done it better. By personally visiting lots of locations together and talking to lots of people face-to-face we bonded and we assured ourselves we were doing the right things. Then we chose Walt Disney World and Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings. Smart move, they were able to make it all happen with lots of happiness and without stress. They have, or can arrange for, almost everything you might need.

Walt Disney's company is much more than cute media icons and cultural fluff. He and his brother Roy established a creative business culture that revolves around family, friendship and taking good care of people. Disney has what it takes to make a wedding into a celebration:
1. Professionals who are capable and motivated to make things happen.
2. Customer service - feeling pampered should be part of any wedding.
3. Happiness, fun and smiles, for everyone - key to a good wedding.
4. Low stress!!!
5. Resources that are all close at hand.


more »

   Hansmeier Photography

After meeting with this photographer I had no other decision to be made... he was going to be booked! He understood that my wedding is a unique day and that each wedding is different. He doesn't have "packages" for people to have to pick from. You tell him what you want, and it's more reasonable than anyone else. He offers online viewing and ordering and you get all of your 4X6 proofs to keep along with copy right ownership. He also gives you a DVD with all of your pictures on it so you do not have to order from him, but that you can take the DVD to a store of your choice and pay maybe 10 cents per picture instead of $5 a picture like most photographers charge.

more »

   Ciatti's Italian Restaurant

My husband and I took everyone in the wedding party , all of our parents and grandparents to dinner at the amazing restaurant called ciattis. From the moment we came in everyone was on the ball gettting us drinks and appetizers. We have 2 ladies just for us all night long. The service was amazing and the food tasted great.
Over all the prices were a great value for the quality and quantity you get. My fav is the lobster ravioli.

600 including tip is great for 15 people. This is now our special occasion place where we go for our anniverary because they do such a great job, have amazing food and service and it reminds us of our rehersal dinner when all of our family was with us (since then only a year ago some of those family members have passed on).

more »

“ Walt Disney World Wedding Review ”

Jodi & Victor’s Walt Disney World Wedding
Maximum Happy,
Minimum Stress, Great Value

We (Jodi Bucknam and Victor Nazarian) got married at Walt Disney World on Sunday 18 April 2010 at the Gazebo in the Rose Garden at Disney's Yacht Club resort and had our reception at the Atlantic Dance Hall.
    
If you've seen Molly Ringwald in "Sixteen Candles" or Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride" you may understand my state of mind in early 2009. I was worried and I wasn't sure we knew what we were doing. Marrying Jodi was a rock solid sure thing. I couldn't have been more positive of anything in my whole life. HOW do we get married?
HC SVNT DRACONES... (Here Be Dragons)

I asked Jodi to marry me on the Royal (pipe organ) stage at the Maryland Renaissance Festival on the last day of the Fall 2008 season. I was just back from an airborne Coast Guard Auxiliary patrol, still in my uniform flight suit. We'd been dating since the previous February and had known each other from swing dancing for about a year before that. She said yes, my friend Gary played Ode to Joy on the pipe organ and I was walking on clouds. Now we had to start walking those clouds in the direction of a wedding, somewhere.
    
We spent months, buying magazines, doing Internet research and talking to friends. We must have put in 200 hours on our MacBooks looking up details and reading reviews and comments on weddings and we probably put over 5,000 miles on Jodi's Honda Civic Hybrid traveling to interesting wedding spots. We wanted to stay out of debt and pay for it mostly on our own. It had to be fun, include dancing and have as many of our friends and family as possible. We knew we could save some money by doing our own invitations and ceremony programs and providing a few of our own special touches. We even got our friend Slash (Eric Dunn) to draw up some special graphics we could use in our invitations. We knew we’d probably spend quite a bit if we wanted a memorable event and we wanted to do it RIGHT, get a good value and have lots of fun for our money.

We had lots of ideas for themes including Victorian formal, steam punk, zoot suits, island/tropical and Jazz Fest in New Orleans, etc. I even suggested getting married by a ship's captain in period garb - a pirate wedding.

Jodi wasn't into the pirate wedding theme but getting married on a ship (in non-pirate clothes) stayed on the list. We considered several cities close to the water and also maybe staying close to home.

Even though Washington D.C. is beautiful in the Spring the sprawling nature and inflated costs of the D.C. metro area would have made staying close to home expensive and complicated.
    
We visited, Baltimore, Portland (Maine), Tampa, Orlando, New Orleans, Charleston and several other cities. One of the pilots in my Coast Guard Auxiliary aviation flotilla, even flew us out to Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Then we talked it all over, did the math and searched our hearts. All in all it came down to what would make the maximum happy with the minimum stress at a reasonable cost? Walt Disney World came up on top. It was more than just choosing a location, it was more like choosing a project management team with romantic show business experience.
I had just one tiny concern...   
"I don't think I want a Mickey Mouse wedding."
    
Looking back that might seem silly. We had just about the best time anyone can have getting married. Before-hand however I had some real concerns. I didn't want to spend the price of a small, used airplane on something that might feel plastic and be regarded as cheesy. I love Disney and Pixar and I'm fond of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. We own every Pixar film and we both love The Muppets. Even so, I wanted to make sure our wedding would be a Jodi and Victor focused affair, special in its own right.
    
I was also worried I would talk Jodi into something she wouldn't love. I can be a real bulldozer when it comes to decisions. When the little voice in my heart expressed concerns about "Mickey Mouse wedding" I listened to it. I made sure to say something to both Jodi and the Disney folks. I also made a point of listening to everyone. I'm not always the best listener but for this, I tried to listen extra hard.
    
Here's where the Disney folks really impressed me, Telepathy. Yup, Kristi Davis one of Disney's wedding sales representatives over at Franck's can read minds! She showed us the wedding chapel and the beach near the Grand Floridian and then, perhaps reading my body language or looking inside my skull suggested we go over to the Yacht Club and look at the rose garden and gazebo.

Long before I met Jodi my best WDW trip ever was back in the early 2000's when I stayed for several days at the Yacht Club. It's cool, retro and wonderful and it's right by the water. Also, it's walking distance to both Epcot and MGM (now Disney's Hollywood Studios). Somehow Kristi must have known I love all of that. I love mind readers!
                   
We were still not sign-on-the-dotted-line just yet. We made sure to finish up visiting the other sites we had planned and we double checked our hearts. We looked at numbers and talked with friends. We asked family members what they thought and then we did the smart thing. We talked with Jodi's mom.

Jodi's mother Anita is a saint. Really! She's a super smart, ultra cool professor over at Ohio State (Go Buckeyes) and not only was she happy to let us do the wedding any way we wanted but she also said she'd help us if we needed it. She agreed with us that WDW was a good idea and was very supportive. Likewise Jodi's father was very supportive as well and also offered to help if needed. Although we wanted to do this ourselves as much as possible we were relieved to know that help would be there if we needed it. We did "tap the rents" a little for money for photography, etcetera and my own mother even put up some money for the rehearsal dinner. They were all comfortable with Disney and helped keep our stress down a lot.
             
The due diligence and teamwork really brought Jodi and me closer together and made us more confident in our decisions. Some people have buyer's remorse about their wedding (the place, hopefully not the partner). I didn't want to ever have any feelings whatsoever that we could have done it better. By personally visiting lots of locations together and talking to lots of people face-to-face we bonded and we assured ourselves we were doing the right things. Then we chose Walt Disney World and Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings. Smart move, they were able to make it all happen with lots of happiness and without stress. They have, or can arrange for, almost everything you might need.
    
Walt Disney's company is much more than cute media icons and cultural fluff. He and his brother Roy established a creative business culture that revolves around family, friendship and taking good care of people. Disney has what it takes to make a wedding into a celebration:
 1. Professionals who are capable and motivated to make things happen.
 2. Customer service - feeling pampered should be part of any wedding.
 3. Happiness, fun and smiles, for everyone - key to a good wedding.
 4. Low stress!!!
 5. Resources that are all close at hand.

Lots more, eMail is you want to hear the whole 18 page review

more »

“ Nwr: would anyone be interested in a pw book club? ”

Okay, so this was totally add of me, but I was just thinking (and it came from chances post that included in the title "the color purple") what would people think if we did a book club here on pw? Maybe we can choose a book, and either bi monthly, monthly or weekly come together to discuss it? We could even start with books we know we can get for free on something like the kindle store, since you can even download that for pc... But it would be a fun way to have a discussion about a book on here! What do you girls think?

EDIT: http://www.projectwedding.com/groups/boards/book-club

We have the group up and running! Please join if you are interested!

more »

“ *slm*'s WEDDING RECAP-Part 4 +TTD TEASER PICS :) ”

Our officiant was amazing. His verbiage was perfect and everything he said applied to us. It was real. We said our vows, which were Catholic, and we put our words during ring exchange together ourselves, with help from our officiant. We wanted them to be meaningful to us as a couple and what made sense for our relationship. As Jason said his vows, I started to hear his voice crack a little and then he pulled it together :) When it was my turn, I teared up, but that's to be expected...those who know me know that I cry about everything happy! ;) After our ring exchange, we had presented a pendant to Aiden. It was a pendant of Saint Valentine. The patron of love and happy marriage. I bent down and said this: "Aiden, as your father places this pendant around your neck, we pledge to you our unwavering love. We promise to be loving and caring parents to you, all the days of our lives." and then Aiden took the microphone and mumbled something just because he thought mommy sounded cool + he wanted to hear his own voice! We were pronounced husband and wife, we kissed and Mr.+Mrs. Morath walked down the aisle with Aiden to the Hawaiian version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

 

Our cocktail hour began immediately, right there on the beach. It was beautiful. Everyone was having a great time. Our wedding cake was brought out and began to melt almost immediately. But that was ok! Nothing could ruin our day...we were married!!!!!!!!! We cut our cake and fed it to eachother..well, Jason fed me one bite and he ate the rest but THE CAKE WAS AMAZING!!!! It was the best tasting cake I have ever had. It was white cake with chocolate mousse filling with buttercream frosting and fondant over it. I didn't think I liked fondant but it was yummy! It was kind of melting so it tasted marshmallowy. Many, many compliments on the cake from every single guest that it was the best ever! Yay Atlantis bakery :) Everyone had a drink in hand and music was playing. We took some pictures with family and friends.

 

When the cocktail hour was over, we all headed back to the ship for 6:00 dinner. I stayed in my dress, since I only got to wear it from 2:30 on. Dinner was fun! The staff played "Apple Bottom Jeans" for some odd reason and I got up and danced with Aiden. Kind of funny, because when my water broke when I was pregnant with him, that song came on in the car on our way to the hospital! We had dinner and then the staff brought Jason and I a piece of tiramisu cake and the staff told us they were gonna sing a song to us and we have to keep kissing. If we stopped kissing, they would keep starting over! lol. So that sang "Happy honeymoon to you", just like the happy birthday to you song.

After dinner, I couldn't wait to get my dress off! That tight bra girdle thing was very uncomfortable. I was told I had to wear it since I lost my chest when I lost weight! :( ha! So everyone changed, my mom offered to watch Aiden overnight in her room so everyone could go out to Senor Frogs in Nassau. That place was so much fun! The girls all had their purple Coach wristlets and I had mine :) We drank, danced and drank! So much fun. The band was playing my favorite Bob Marley songs. I was honestly on cloud 9 that whole day and night!

 

We got back to the ship and went to get a late night snack, went to the casino and then went to bed ;)

more »

“ *slm*'s WEDDING RECAP-Part 3 ”

I slowly found it hard to breathe. It was like 15 years of emotion and love, right there in 1 second. I heard my song begin to play: Canon in D Major-piano edition, as a tribute to my late grandfather who lived his life playing piano and it's something that I enjoyed doing when I had one living at home with my mom. I digress! My song started and I began to walk to the ceremony area. I saw Jason there...waiting for me to become his wife. and I saw our son standing there smiling at me while mouthing the word "momma" and I was officially overcome with emotion! It was no longer hot...at least for me. It was actually perfect. The sun was shining, barely any clouds in the sky, the sound of waves from an amazing blue ocean and a perfect breeze coming from it that took all the heat away! Our family and friends were there.  It was an amazing sight. My future husband/childhood sweetheart was standing there smiling at me as if I was the most beautiful bride he has ever seen. (He better think that!) lol. My mom took my hand and we began to walk. When my mom brought me to Jason, he kissed my hand like 5 times :) and the ceremony began.

 

Our officiant was amazing. His verbiage was perfect and everything he said applied to us. It was real. We said our vows, which were Catholic, and we put our words during ring exchange together ourselves, with help from our officiant. We wanted them to be meaningful to us as a couple and what made sense for our relationship. As Jason said his vows, I started to hear his voice crack a little and then he pulled it together :) When it was my turn, I teared up, but that's to be expected...those who know me know that I cry about everything happy! ;) After our ring exchange, we had presented a pendant to Aiden. It was a pendant of Saint Valentine. The patron of love and happy marriage. I bent down and said this: "Aiden, as your father places this pendant around your neck, we pledge to you our unwavering love. We promise to be loving and caring parents to you, all the days of our lives." and then Aiden took the microphone and mumbled something just because he thought mommy sounded cool + he wanted to hear his own voice! We were pronounced husband and wife, we kissed and Mr.+Mrs. Morath walked down the aisle with Aiden to the Hawaiian version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

 

Our cocktail hour began immediately, right there on the beach. It was beautiful. Everyone was having a great time. Our wedding cake was brought out and began to melt almost immediately. But that was ok! Nothing could ruin our day...we were married!!!!!!!!! We cut our cake and fed it to eachother..well, Jason fed me one bite and he ate the rest but THE CAKE WAS AMAZING!!!! It was the best tasting cake I have ever had. It was white cake with chocolate mousse filling with buttercream frosting and fondant over it. I didn't think I liked fondant but it was yummy! It was kind of melting so it tasted marshmallowy. Many, many compliments on the cake from every single guest that it was the best ever! Yay Atlantis bakery :) Everyone had a drink in hand and music was playing. We took some pictures with family and friends.

 

When the cocktail hour was over, we all headed back to the ship for 6:00 dinner. I stayed in my dress, since I only got to wear it from 2:30 on. Dinner was fun! The staff played "Apple Bottom Jeans" for some odd reason and I got up and danced with Aiden. Kind of funny, because when my water broke when I was pregnant with him, that song came on in the car on our way to the hospital! We had dinner and then the staff brought Jason and I a piece of tiramisu cake and the staff told us they were gonna sing a song to us and we have to keep kissing. If we stopped kissing, they would keep starting over! lol. So that sang "Happy honeymoon to you", just like the happy birthday to you song.

The processional song started to play, which was "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascall Flatts but the instrumental version. This was supposed to be our wedding song when we were planning a big wedding at home in NY. The lyrics were perfect but since we didn't plan to dance here, we wanted to incorporate it somehow. Laura walked down the aisle first, then Michelle then Erica. Now it was Aiden's turn! Our little ring bearer. He was holding the ring bowl that our photographer gave to us as a thank you gift for choosing her! She had it engraved with out names and wedding date. (Love her!) Aiden wouldn't walk alone so my mom walked with him. I wanted him to hold the bowl and no sooner does he get to the sand, he drops MY RING in the sand. My mom bends down to pick it up and it started sinking deeper and deeper! lol She got it (thank God!) and they proceeded. my mom held the rings and Aiden held the bowl :) Then she came back for me...

 

I slowly found it hard to breathe. It was like 15 years of emotion and love, right there in 1 second. I heard my song begin to play: Canon in D Major-piano edition, as a tribute to my late grandfather who lived his life playing piano and it's something that I enjoyed doing when I had one living at home with my mom. I digress! My song started and I began to walk to the ceremony area. I saw Jason there...waiting for me to become his wife. and I saw our son standing there smiling at me while mouthing the word "momma" and I was officially overcome with emotion! It was no longer hot...at least for me. It was actually perfect. The sun was shining, barely any clouds in the sky, the sound of waves from an amazing blue ocean and a perfect breeze coming from it that took all the heat away! Our family and friends were there.  It was an amazing sight. My future husband/childhood sweetheart was standing there smiling at me as if I was the most beautiful bride he has ever seen. (He better think that!) lol. My mom took my hand and we began to walk. When my mom brought me to Jason, he kissed my hand like 5 times :) and the ceremony began.

Continued here-Part 4 w/pics :)

http://www.projectwedding.com/post/list/slm-s-wedding-recap-part-4-ttd-teaser-pics

 

 

 

more »

“ most expensive wedding EVER ”

a quick google search yielded the answer:

The world's most expensive wedding was thrown by  Lakshmi Mittal for his daughter Vanisha Mittal and  and her fiancée Amit Bhatia on June 22 2004.

The wedding was held at Vaux le Vicomte a 17th-century French chateau on the final day of a 6 day celebration.

The estimated reported cost of the wedding celebration came in at a mere $60 million USD.

Lakshmi Mittal also holds the record for owning the world's most espensive house.

what made it so expensive???

Mittal family had sent out 20-page invitations in silver boxes, while 1,000 guests were flown in from across the world and put up in a five-star Paris hotel.

 

The five-day festivities spread across some of France's most famous settings, including the chateau built for Nicolas Fouquet, King Louis XIV's finance minister.

 

One night there was a party at Versailles while another event reportedly took place at a wooden castle temporarily erected in Parc de Saint-Cloud, Forbes reported.

 

Pop signer Kylie Minogue performed at the event, while 5,000 bottles of Mouton Rothschild were emptied with wine tab estimated at $ 1.5 million. Ladies were said to have sported special henna decorations and received luxe goody bags of jewels.

 

more »