Reader Feedback: What I'm Hearing From You

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Isn't it nice to have the blog back to its normal shape and size? The Disney Wedding Awards were fun, but it feels so good to have some breathing room again. Plus, I have to admit that those photos-only posts were starting to drive me crazy. I know I mostly post photos these days, but not having the option to put in text was actually really rough and now I have all these posts saved up to share with everyone!

First, though, I wanted to do a blog business post. This is sort of a big round-up of reader feedback from the past year. It was just about a year ago that I really started putting time into this site to make it something that would be useful and relevant for people planning Disney weddings, while also keeping a lot of the eye candy that we past Disney brides and plain old Disney fans enjoy. I think it's going well, but naturally there's always room for improvement. Which, btw, is where you come in. I have plans to keep improving the site during 2011, but if you feel like I should be going in a different direction I'd really love to know!

I'm actually really lucky that you guys are such a vocal community because you aren't shy about letting me know when you love something or hate something or don't understand why I'm doing something, etc. Still, I thought I'd open up the floor for more comments just to see where you, my reader friends, were at. I'd love to hear back from you, either in the comments (very helpful because we can all share in the conversation!) or, if you're more comfortable, in a private message. Even if you have criticism, please share! If it's constructive, it's really really helpful.

So, here's some of the feedback I've received over the past year and what my plans are:


Real Spotlights
  • Of all the feedback I receive, I'd say half has to do with the real wedding/engagement/event spotlights. 

The Winners of the 2010 Disney Wedding Awards

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Congratulations to the winners of The 2010 Disney Wedding Awards! If you are one of the winners, be sure to drop me an email or a Facebook message so I can hook you up with your prize!


Best Engagement Pictures

Michelle + Nathan
Photography: Mat&Ash Photography


...have won...


 

Wedding Spotlight: Dolores + Daniel

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Location: Beach between the Grand Floridian and the Wedding Pavilion
Photography: Randy Chapman


Engagement Session: Laurice + Ben

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Locations: Disneyland, California Adventure
Photography: Zenia Photography


Wedding Spotlight: Trisha + Sudeep

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Locations: Rose Court Garden, Disneyland Hotel
Photography: Lan Bui

Photo Spot: Mad Tea Party at Disneyland

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Engagement Spotlight: Lauren + Corey

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Location: Disneyland
Photography: Smetona Photo


Vote Now for the 2010 Disney Wedding Awards!

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The 2010 Disney Wedding Awards have officially begun! It's time to pick your favorites from some of the loveliest weddings you'll ever see. Tough choices, I know, but try to narrow it down!

A couple notes on this year's contest:
  • Instead of placing polls in one post, I've put them along the side of the blog. It will look a bit cluttered around here this week, but it's also going to be easier for your friends/family to find you if you're hoping to snag some more votes. Each person can only vote once (although you can change your vote if you'd like) and the results will be visible as soon as you've cast your vote in that category.
  • Voting runs from today (January 24th) through January 30th. You have to use the polls on the sidebar. Votes emailed directly to me or sent to me in Facebook messages won't count toward the contest.
  • Can't remember who you wanted to vote for? Here's another peek at the nominees for this year:

Best Engagement Pictures

Photography: Misty Miotto




Michelle + Nathan

The 2010 Disney Wedding Awards Prize List

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Have I mentioned how much I love Etsy.com? Not only can you find everything you never knew you always needed, you can also find some of the nicest, most amazingly creative people on the planet. This year's Disney Wedding Awards Prize List is stuffed with talented Etsy sellers who donated their beautful goods to celebrate these special Disney weddings. Please thank them by taking a moment to check out their stores and see all of the wonderful things they've been up to!

Here are the prizes for the 2010 Disney Wedding Awards:

Best Engagement Pictures

 


Best Pre-Wedding Party



Best Love Story

 
 Donated by Etsy Shop cozyblue

The Nominees for the 2010 Disney Wedding Awards

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Today is an exciting day! You nominated them and here they are...the nominees for the 2010 Disney Wedding Awards!

Best Engagement Pictures

Photography: Misty Miotto




Michelle + Nathan

Engagement Spotlight: Lissette + Michael

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Location: Disneyland
Photography: Miguel Pola Photographers



Engagement Photos: Single vs. Collage

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I'm seeing more and more engagement collages out there. Couples are using them as reception decor or as save-the-date postcards. I've also seen a few that have taken the place of the engagement photo insert in the wedding invitations. I love that this combines a lot of great images into one presentation for your guests, but I'm torn on whether or not I would have done this when we were planning our wedding...just because I knew so many relatives were planning on keeping/framing the photo we put in our invitation.

What do you think? Is this a good upgrade for traditional engagement photos or should people stick to sending out one single image and saving the collages for save-the-dates or framing at home? I'm also curious if photographers have seen an increase in requests for these types of images?

Mary + Paul's Wedding Video

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Videography: Rising Moon

Gorgeous, sweet, and you'll feel like you're right there with them. Watch:

Get 5% Back at the Disney Store Every Time PLUS Additional Coupons

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I'm both excited and frustrated to bring you this deal. I'm excited because you can now get 5% off of any purchase at www.disneystore.com on top of any deal that they have going on. I'm frustrated because this has apparently been true for a while and I haven't been taking advantage of it and I could have saved myself about $30-$40 this year if I had known!


I've been hearing about this program called ebates.com for a while, but I never took the time to look into it because it sort of sounded like a hassle. The basic idea is that you set up an account on ebates.com and then you go through the site to get to your other online stores (Apple, Sephora, Disney, etc.) and ebates tracks your spending and sends you a percentage of what you spend back. It's a cool idea, but I assumed it was somehow a scam or more work than that.

Then, a reader who has been following my couponing in preparation for this baby, let me know that she got more than $200 back from ebates.com this year and that's what she used to do her Christmas shopping...shopping that apparently earned her another $50 already.

Oh.

Yep, I've looked into it from top to bottom and it's definitely legitimate, which means that I just wasted a whole lot of time when I can be saving money. I also tried it out and it literally added no more than about 5 seconds to my shopping process, because you just search for the store, click on it, and ebates tracks you automatically from there.

Le sigh. So, learn from me and go forth and save at least 5% at the Disney Store, or wherever. Other stores have different percentage rates, so if you shop somewhere all the time, you might want to look into it. For example:

And don't forget, this is money back ON TOP OF whatever online discounts these stores are offering. So, for example, Disney is doing the big Twice Upon a Year sale right now AND you can get free shipping on any www.disneystore.com order by using the promo code "FREESHIP" until midnight tonight, but usually Disney only lets you apply one (or maybe two) promo codes at a time. If you go through ebates, you'll get 5% back on top of that.

Sale + free shipping + 5% back = I just spent 45 minutes filling up my shopping cart and kicking myself for not doing this before Christmas.

You can sign up for ebates.com here if you don't already have an account. Happy shopping!

How To Look Good in Your Wedding or Engagement Photos

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The great thing about wedding or engagement photos is that you can capture this one joyous moment in time and enjoy it over and over again in albums and framed portraits. The bad thing about those same photos is that if your hair is just a little off or you're making a weird face or your bra is showing a little bit (as was the case in our engagement photo), that's probably going to be the first photo of you that everyone has either framed or stuck to their fridge...FOREVER. (No, really. We got married more than two years ago and one of Kyle's friends still has our engagement photo on his fridge. Everytime I go to get a refreshing beverage, I see the photo and think, "Bleh...I wish my bra wasn't showing." Everytime.)

The good news is that you're likely to look completely lovely and happy in your engagement and wedding photos. Still, since you're basically stuck with them once the moment is captured, here are some helpful hints to keep in mind while you're having your picture taken:

Updates on the 2010 Disney Wedding Awards

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Are you getting excited? I am!

Just so you know, you guys have sent in over 1500 nominations. 1500! Weirdly enough, the vast majority have been concentrated on just a few of the categories, though, so we may have some categories that don't actually make it into the contest. Everyone seems to be tipping towards Best Wedding Flowers, Best Wedding Cake, and Best Disney Wedding Overall. I'm trying to keep on top of the nominations, but it's going to be pretty close...especially since only three couples can be nominated for each category and each couple can only be nominated for one category!

So, if you have a strong preference for which category you'd like to be in, you might want to tell your friends/family to concentrate their efforts, because nominating you for everything might actually work against you. For example, our top nominee for Best Off-Property Disney-Themed Reception has pulled in more than thirty votes for that category so far...but from what I can tell, they didn't actually have an off-property Disney-themed reception. I'm not saying they won't end up being stuck in that category, but I think not having an event might hurt them in the voting!

In other news, I've got lots of great prizes lined up for the contest. I've shown a couple of sneak peeks on Facebook, but I won't be announcing the full prize list (and the Etsy sellers who donated them) until January 23rd. Even if you really, really want something you got a peek at, please don't send me a message asking that I put that prize in whatever category you end up in, because it makes me feel like I have to overcompensate to make sure I'm being impartial (which means I'll deliberately not put it in your category). Best to just let the chips fall where they may, so to speak.

Also, when you're sending in nominations, double check the date of the wedding if you can. I've gotten lots of votes for Sarah for Best Wedding Ensemble, but Sarah is a 2009 bride...and, incidentally, won that category in the 2009 Disney Wedding Awards. I absolutely adore her wedding ensemble as well, but not enough to let her go for an encore win!

We're just ten days away from announcing the nominees! Nominations end on January 16th, so send 'em in if you haven't already!

More from Jennifer + Peter

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Locations: Grand Californian Hotel, California Adventure, Disney Animation Building
Photography: Ari Simphoukham Photography
Dress: Romona Keveza Couture

Jewelry: Etsy.com 
Bridal ears: DIY by bride
Tuxedo: Jill Sanders
Floral (including the Vinylmation ice sculpture): Disney, Melissa McGowen

Custom show flowers: Juja Crafts at Etsy.com
Coordinator: Cynthia Autry



More From Joyce + Johnson

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Locations: Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wedding Pavilion, Boardwalk, Sea Breeze Point
Photography: Corinna Hoffman Photography


Happy Birthday, DWB!

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Two years ago, I married my favorite person. Three years ago, I started blogging planning the wedding. Today, I'm happier than ever and the blog is still a busy, busy place.

It's so cool that you guys show up to read and support each other and celebrate your big events. I don't always manage to reply to my emails and Facebook messages, but let me just tell you that I love reading notes about how some spotlight inspired you or you never thought you'd have a Disney wedding but it all seemed possible after you saw what other people had done.

We've done some big wedding spotlights and some really great giveaways and we've even had a couple of posts that have spurred tons and tons of conversation and debate among the readers. However, for some reason most of my favorite posts tend to be more of the everyday stuff, so I thought I'd share with you my personal highlights from the last three years:


And, recently, many of you left your favorite DWB posts for the PassPorter's giveaway (with TONS of love for the brides and grooms), so I thought I'd share those as well:

Event Spotlight: Andrea's Mad Hatter Tea Party

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Location: Grand Floridian
Photography: Mikkel Paige
Catering: Disney
Decorations (including centerpieces): DIY by bride
Personalized teacup favors: DIY by bride
Bride's hat: Etsy


DWB Secret Santa Exchange 2010: Part Two

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More goodies from this year's DWB Secret Santa exchange...


Engagement Spotlight: Arlene + Willie

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Location: Off-property
Photography: Marissa Rodriguez Photography

We've seen an Alice in Wonderland engagement and an UP inspired engagement, but I think this is the first one we've seen that has been inspired by both...


DWB Secret Santa Exchange 2010: Part One

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There were a whoooole lot of people involved in this year's Secret Santa Exchange and the pictures are rolling in. I'll be doing a Part 2 and a Part 3 (and maybe even a Part 4!), but here's a peek at what some of the lucky exchange-ees got for Christmas this year from their sweet Secret Santas:

Engagement Spotlight: Heather + Justin

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Location: Disneyland
Photography: DrewB Photography


Introducing The Disney Baby Blog

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A lot of you saw this coming and I'm so excited to tell you that The Disney Baby Blog is up and running!
 


The new sister site to The Disney Wedding Blog is all about babies (and Disney, of course). The site is going to showcase lots of different Disney baby info, including:
  • Maternity sessions on Disney property
  • Travel tips for pregnant mamas and new parents
  • Trip reports from Disney fans who ventured into the parks with baby bumps or infants
  • Disney baby and maternity gear
  • Product reviews and giveaways and more!



To celebrate the blog's birthday, I'm doing a giveaway and I've made it both tricky and a little awesome. You can win a new copy of the Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 DVD, but you're going to have to work for it. To check out the new site and enter the giveaway, hop over to The Disney Baby Blog!

If you've got ideas for the new blog or you'd like to be involved somehow (guest posts, trip reports, photos submissions, etc.), don't hesitate to drop me a line! The best part about a blog this new is that there's definitely room for everyone. I can't wait to see where we go with it in 2011...

...oh, and Happy New Year!
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