I'd like to start off by saying sorry for not updating this blog since March 30. I have been (self) diagnosed with, "Acute Indolence Condition" (AIC). It is commonly known as, "Extreme Laziness".
Since our last update, we have received a lot of questions from family, friends, work colleagues and the occasional stranger on the streets about the finer details of our wedding. I thought that since we have so many questions that it would be a good idea to answer them in this blog entry.
I also thought that it would be cool to structure it as a kind of mailbag similar to what one of my favourite sports writers, Bill Simmons, does. If you don't know who Bill Simmons is, he is the editor-in-chief of Grantland - a site that I read on a daily basis to kill time (remember, I have AIC).
Think of this mailbag as an FAQ except none of these questions are asked frequently (or at all).
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| Welcome to the mail bag!!! |
Q. There are less than three months until you guys get married, why haven't we received our invitations yet?
- All of our wedding guests
All around the world, Planet Earth
Wow, I thought you guys would ease me into this. Tough question first up. I guess it's been a while since we've given you any updates.
The wedding invitations have taken a lot longer than we thought they would. We have been working with our invitation people since November to get them completed.
First there was the design (fonts, colours, text, envelopes, there's so many things to choose from - why can't we have them all??!!)
Then there was the licensing (why can't I have your Disney logos for free??), and then people went on leave, got sick, forgot about us amongst other things.
Finally, we had them sent to us from the states! When we thought we had them sorted, we found out earlier this week that Australian Customs refuses to release them to us unless we pay import tax on them.
Apparently anything over $1,000 (yes, we experienced a budget blowout for these invitations - don't get me started) needs to be declared and tax paid before we can receive them. We believe that we should be getting our invitations shortly after we get married... Ugh.
So we're very sorry that you haven't received your invitations yet. We will be sending them out the moment we receive them. Be patient - they're awesome and worth the wait.
Q. Tan, why haven't you sent out your wedding invitations yet?
- Tung B
Melbourne, Australia
Mum!! I just told you why. Please stop asking me!
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| Our wedding invitations actually got lost at sea. True story. |
Q. When are you guys arriving? What activities do you have planned for your wedding guests?
- Kathy N
The Hague, Netherlands
I'm glad you asked, Kathy! Jennie and I will be arriving in Orlando on September 10. We will be spending those first few days doing crazy stuff like:
- Organising our marriage certificate (I hear that is quite important if you want to get married)
- Starving ourselves so we can fit into our wedding clothes. Think of it as an elite athlete tapering their training before their event. Then think of that same athlete completely binging on food and alcohol after their event. That's us.
- Getting hair, make-up, and nails done. I think Jennie will be doing that too.
Our event calendar will be as follows:
- Monday September 15 - Joint Stag & Doe party. Watch as Tan and Jennie celebrate their final days of 'single life' ...together!! Jack (the
- Tuesday September 16 - No planned group activity other than an informal dinner/get together. We have to finalise our wedding preparations on this day, so we have been unable to lock in a planned activity.
- Wednesday September 17 - We will be having our welcome dinner this night as (hopefully) all of our guests would have arrived by this night. Please, please, please, make sure you're here for this dinner. It will be a great opportunity for everyone to meet everyone before the day.
- Thursday September 18 - Our wedding day! No need to say any more.
- Friday September 19 - We will be having a thank-you lunch somewhere that serves hangover cures. We'll let everyone know once we've locked in the venue.
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| AGGGGHHHHHH!!!! DIDNEY WORL!!!! |
Q. What are you guys doing for the kids during your ceremony and reception?
- Anh N
Fairfax, Virginia
Fantastic questions so far - keep them coming!
During the ceremony, any children will be looked after at the Grand Floridian (the hotel about 200 yards away from our ceremony pavilion) by Kids Nite Out, a company that comes highly recommended by Disney. We have requested that no children be present for our ceremony only.
We hope to have made up for this at the reception as we have organised to have a separate kids' party in a room adjacent to our reception area. They will be looked after by Kids Nite Out as well - people who have done these types of kids' parties for Disney weddings hundreds of times.
There will also be special surprises for kids throughout the night. After all, this IS Disney!
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| The kids will have a ball! |
Q. Do you want to build a snowman?
- Anna
Arendelle
Go away, Anna.
Q. Okay bye...
- Anna
Arendelle
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| It doesn't have to be a snowman. - Anna |
Q. I haven't booked my accommodation yet. When is the cut-off to reserve my room at a Disney resort?
- Linda & Carolyn T
Irvine, CA
If you are staying at a Disney Resort (and in case you missed it, here are the reasons why I think you should stay on property), you must reserve your room by July 19. After that, you will miss out on the discounts provided by Disney as part of our wedding block allocation.
For what it's worth, Jennie and I will be staying at Port Orleans Riverside. Jack and Natalie will be there as well. That's where the party is at!!
Oh, and if anyone has already booked their accommodation at a Disney resort, please email us with your booking reference number. We need it to fulfil one of our wedding obligation/requisite thingies.
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| #disneyproblems |
Q. Are there any particular Disney movies I should watch so I get your hidden references during the ceremony and reception?
- Jack L
Melbourne, Australia
All of them.
Okay fine, here are the, "must sees";
- UP
- Sleeping Beauty (and Maleficent just for good measure)
- Cinderella (or at least read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia)
- Tangled
If you really want to get EVERY reference, watch these;
- Frozen
- Wreck it Ralph
- The Little Mermaid
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
- Aladdin
- Beauty and the Beast
- The Princess and the Frog
- Toy Story
- Brave
- Lady and the Tramp
- Hercules
- The Lion King
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| No, really... watch ALL of them!!! |
Q. What cake are you guys having?
- Huong T
Arlington, VA
We have a three tiered cake. Each tier has a different flavour and filling. I won't give too much away - you will need to try all of them!
Q. Why did you give me the cake question? Now people will think I'm some kind of cake fiend.
- Huong T
Arlington, VA
I'm sorry, Huong. Someone had to have the cake question. I know that Kathy is the cupcake head of our family, but I already gave her a question. If it makes you feel any better, I really enjoyed your cake and as a result, one of our tiers will be red velvet. Please don't hate me.
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| After seeing this image, we've decided to tell Disney we want a cake similar to this.. |
- Jacqui M
Melbourne, Australia
We can't tell you what it is. Just know that it will involve a lot of sugar and it will be awesome. Actually, I think we mentioned what it was on our wedding invitations. When (if) you receive them, all *may* be revealed.
Q. Have you guys been practising your wedding dance?
- Corinne K
Melbourne, Australia
Yes we have! We are excited to see what else we can put together for this dance.
For those who do not know, Corinne is a fantastic dance teacher, and is teaching us how to not embarrass ourselves on the dance floor. We have been practising, but we need a lot more work!
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| Beasts ballroom almost looks as nice as our reception hall! |
Q. What kind of music will you guys be having at your reception?
- Natalie L
Melbourne, Australia
We have hired a DJ for the night. We will be giving him a list of songs we like, and a list of, "DO NOT PLAY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES", songs. Jennie has allowed me to have one Spice Girls song. I was thinking it should be, "Wannabe". Other than that, our DJ will be given a lot of creative license. He's the expert, and he knows how to get crowds into it - we're going to leave it in his capable hands.
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| If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends. |
Q. Did you guys really invite Katy Perry to your wedding?
- Khoi V H
Toronto, ON
Yes we did. But we don't expect her to show up. We have also sent out invitations to Mariah Carey, the Queen of England, the entire roster of the Golden State Warriors and some other random celebrities. Apparently if you send out invitations to these people, you get a souvenir, "thanks, but no thanks" replies.
I'm looking forward to being rejected by these celebrities. And if they decide to show up, then that'd be pretty amazing!!
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| Katy Perry almost looking as hot as Minnie in this picture! |
Q. Are you guys doing anything wedding-related in Australia?
- Australian Friends who cannot make it
Australia
Yes, we will be having a tea ceremony at my parents' house. It will be a small affair, nothing like the awesomeness that is happening in Orlando.
Q. This blog entry/mailbag is over two thousand words long. Was this really necessary?
- Tan L
Melbourne, Australia
Yes it was. Shut up, you handsome devil, you.
Thanks for reading!!
