Erin + Rick's Walt Disney World Wedding (Part Four)

Today's posts come to us from Disney Wedding Blog Mentor Cassie with photos from Root Photography: 

Just a hop skip and jump from the Yacht Club Gazebo was the Luncheon at the Boardwalk Croquet Lawn. We strived for a nostalgic, colorful garden party with lawn games.

DIY signs guided guests to the Croquet Lawn. 

Instead of traditional escort cards, Impressions created pink and orange polka dots – have you caught the theme??

From the very beginning Erin knew she wanted two things for the reception. 1) Mickey Ear Hat favors. 2) Roman tables. We looked at the number of guests and decided that it would be fun to do two Roman tables with a “hidden Mickey” in the middle. Erin and Rick very appropriately were seated at the head of the head table.

We made the ballroom diagram in photoshop and printed it ourselves. We also painted the picture frame to match.

All of the table signs are 8x8 canvases. We photoshopped Mike to be holding the appropriate number of fingers then printed them on a home printer and stretched them over wooden frames. Each cost $4 to make. We then found easels at Ikea, $1 each, and spray painted them pink with paint from a previous project. Grand total of $25 for five table signs.

The only floral (aside from the pots from Home Depot) in the entire wedding were the centerpieces for the three “hidden Mickey” tables. Sure the wheat grass probably could have used a good haircut but more or less it’s what we had asked for. Both of the Roman tables had blue poms as centerpieces. Again it was the pop of color that we needed on a budget that we could work with.

Very early in the planning stages we thought of mason jar glasses. The florist came back and told us that they would be $7 each. That was out. A few weeks later they said they found a better deal $4.50 each. That was still too much. Then we discovered that we could provide anything that we wanted to provide as long as it was considered a “favor.” In addition to the ear hats each guest got a mason jar glass! We ordered them in bulk, for 60 cents each inclusive of shipping. Impressions printed the stickers and created the scalloped cardstock. We stayed up all night one night the week of the wedding assembling everything. I think they turned out pretty well.

For guests we had dispensers of lemonade and iced tea, bottled water we designed and had Impressions supply, and just because it was 5 o’clock somewhere – a full bar to celebrate.

Aren’t the straws AMAZING??!! We found them on TheSugarDiva.com - $21 for 150 straws. It turned out Sugar Diva was already a Disney vendor; the florist ordered them for us without a markup. :o) The could-not-have-been-more-perfect napkins came from Impressions.

The ear hats were originally thought to be favors. I thought they would make excellent place cards. So we used them that way.

There was only one little problem. Do you notice that Erin’s main color is pink… do you know what color the emblem on the ear hats are? It had to be changed, it just had to. We talked to Barker Specialty about having custom patches made - $12 each plus setup charges. That surely was not going to happen. We tried to think outside of the box, so we photoshopped a new design with a polka dot border and Erin and Rick’s names and date. We then printed them onto polyester stickers and stuck them on the hats. In the end we personalized the front of each hat for 6 cents. It was awesome!

Here is a better picture –

I fear this is turning into too much of a tally of expenses, so cue the music!!

Without further ado – I give you the new Mr. & Mrs. Espitee! 

And Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

Mickey and Minnie were a huge surprise for all of the guests including the bridal party. All of the adults cheered for Erin and Rick and all of the kids screamed for Mickey and Minnie.

Ok so on with the rest of the DIY that made this wedding what it was. I am not sure that you can see it too well, this sign has Boo from Monsters Inc. in a dress that matches the flower girl’s, holding a croquet mallet  with a bubble above her head that says Let’s Play! (what would a Croquet Lawn reception be without croquet?!) We created the sign in photoshop, printed it on a home printer and bought a frame at Michaels for 7.99. We then got a bucket and post from Home Depot, filled it with sand, and topped it with dirt and flowers. I only wish we had pictures of the kids chasing each other with the mallets.

We do, however, have pictures of the croquet champions. Guests had a blast!

Originally Erin had decided that she wanted to have a wish tree. She made one out of Manzanita branches. Then she decided it would be difficult to transport it to Florida. Instead of getting something similar from the florist we thought it would be really awesome to continue the orange polka dot theme with a dwarf orange tree. See the little oranges?? My favorite detail is the Jim Shore Chip and Dale stealing an orange. :o)

If there is anything more important to Erin and Rick than polka dots, bumble bees and hippos, it’s their two adorable dogs. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, they were unable to attend. So instead they were there in spirit felt. The Etsy artist that made them did an outstanding job.

Instead of a typical guest book Erin opted for a vinylmation. Standing alone Mickey looked a little small next to the wish tree, so we took an old ice bucket, flipped it upside down, added some left over fabric and a ribbon. Voila! Don’t you love that his tie matches?!

Erin and I spent quite a bit of time designing the cake. Erin’s father has always kept bees and they were a big part of her childhood so we incorporated them. Of course the bees had matching Mickey ears (gotta carry the theme!).

Mickey and Minnie were there to cut the cake. Then after a few more photos they had to run to meet Goofy and Pluto for lunch.

At this point the buffets opened and everyone sat down. The menus were a very last minute addition and came from Impressions. They did such an awesome job!

Originally Erin and Rick were planning to spend $120pp on “dinner food.” Sure the tasting session was probably amazing. The menu didn’t fit the theme; the price didn’t fit the budget. We tossed out all of the filet and fancy potatoes for a mix of strawberry soup, 5 sandwiches, 4 salads, yummy pretzel bread and sliced fruit. It worked perfectly. There was something delicious for everyone. Total cost was only $45pp, that’s less than half of the original estimate, almost 1/3!! .

After lunch was finished everybody mingled under the shade trees and did some group photos.

T-ball anyone? Anyone??

When looking at the main arbor there was a blank spot on the left, a spot that we felt needed something. So we added a table with some favors. We got some very inexpensive Florida Oranges from that Giant Orange on 192 and then we made little “Sunkist stickers” with the wedding logo. Another all night project but I think they were fun and turned out really well.

Now it was time for Erin and Rick to make their grand bubble exit. We had purchased pink bubbles that when tested worked really well. Sadly, they didn’t show up in any of the photographs.

******Just a heads up to future brides, since this wedding I have heard from lots of brides that bubbles – even the clear ones – didn’t show up in their photos – just another reason why ribbon wands are so incredibly awesome*******

So here are Erin and Rick and lots of pink bubbles – I promise the bubbles were there! Wave goodbye!!

Rick then peddled Erin away on a bicycle made for two. 

We made the sign in photoshop and printed it at Fedex Office for $30.

Next up portraits and the dessert party. Don’t forget about Rick’s wedding present – because it’s awesome!

Do you want to share your photos in one of our real Disney wedding spotlights? Apply here to see your proposal, engagement session, wedding, or other event on this site!