Why look at you! Aren't you just as pretty as a magnolia in May? - Charlotte, from "The Princess and the Frog"

Hi everyone, we have some good news as some of you might have read on Facebook, we have found "the dress"!  So today's entry (written by Jennie) will be dedicated to the search for this dress and explaining the look I was trying to achieve.  There will also be some vital information at the end of this entry for those people that are wanting to book their accommodation at any of the Walt Disney World resorts, sooner than later, so this is one of the more important of our entries!

Today, you get two blog entries for the price of one!!

In the very beginning I decided that if I was to be a Disney bride, I should at least look the part!  Disney have a whole hoard of princesses and one of the main things they seem to have in common is the shape of their dresses.  Many of them sport either a ballgown or A-line silhouette, which is iconic and recognizable the world over as that "Disney Princess-look".

The ballgown silhouette is the princess look that just screams "DISNEY"!!!!!!

It so happens that there are a range of Disney licensed gowns made by Alfred Angelo.  I was eager to try on one of these gowns but didn't really know much about the designer and I wanted to check the quality before I decided on what I wanted.  The first excursion that Tan and I took to see the gowns was a disaster!  You can read all about it here!

The second trip we took, I made a booking at a place called "Bridal Revival".  We had a small entourage of six people - Tan, my mum, Tan's mum, my bridesmaids, and me.  It was also an opportunity for Natalie and Corinne to try on the bridesmaids dresses as there is a chance the gowns we will use for the girls will be Alfred Angelo gowns.  They also have a huge range of colours and we can colour match everything in the wedding perfectly since nearly all the vendors have the AA colour swatches.

The lady was extremely helpful and the boutique was small but nicely presented.  Unfortunately I can't share any photos of myself in the gowns I tried at this boutique or any other for that matter, as they all had a "no photos" policy.

The first gown I tried was Alfred Angelo's "Cinderella" style 205 gown.  Everyone loved it, it was very pretty, sparkly and beautiful but the bodice was quite short so it didn't look right on my body type so I felt I needed to keep looking.

The 205 Cinderella gown by Alfred Angelo was very sparkly!!

The second gown I tried was the "Belle" style 206 gown.  This was much, much better!  The bodice was longer and it showed my figure well while still keeping that ballgown silhouette I was looking for.  I adored all the beading on it and the way it sculpted around the bodice.  There were still things that were bugging me about it unfortunately..  The front of the dress where the bodice is joined onto the skirt looked like it was tacked on, it had no shape to it, and just had a straight line across.  The skirt had a strange uplift to it on the front which I felt looked odd.  So I tried on another two dresses at this boutique.

The beaded detailing on the 206 Belle bodice of this one was stunning!

One of the final dresses I tried was the "Snow White" style 207 gown.  I really loved this gown, but it had the same flaws as the Cinderella gown, the waist was just too short for my body.  The floral bodice also lacked the glitter I felt would be perfect for a Disney wedding.

I loved the floral detailing on the 207 Snow White, but this gown wasn't right for me.

Although I didn't find my own gown at Bridal Revival, I was able to get a good idea of what would look right on me and I could continue my search with a clearer mind.  The girls had much more success and we were able to narrow down their gowns to two possibilities and we were able to check their colours against their individual skin colour.

Tan suggested that the bridesmaids should wear those dresses. I thought about it, but decided against it...

My next appointment was at a place very close to where we live.  It is a place called, "Nifi Bridal".  This boutique was adorable, it was extremely well presented and clean.  I had decided to try this place and leave the idea of getting an Alfred Angelo gown behind because I hadn't really liked the quality of the Alfred Angelo gowns, and I hadn't had much success in finding many of the gowns I was interested in to be able to try them on.

Nifi Bridal - a great little boutique!

I tried on a few dresses and they were all lovely, but none of them really stood out, except for one.  This dress was absolutely beautiful, and I think in another dimension it could have been my dress.  It just didn't quite have the grandeur that I was looking for, it felt like it was more A-line than ballgown, it had no train at all and the lace detailing on the front was sticking up a little and it was bugging both Tan and I.

Before I saw the Wendy Sullivan dress, I started thinking that a burlap sack might be the way to go.  I think the shoes go perfectly with this look!

The dress is the "Briony" by Wendy Sullivan, who is an Australian designer, and is Australian made.  The quality was exceptional.  It had the long waist I was looking for, it had the sparkle, and it was different to many gowns I've seen.  To be perfectly honest, I don't think the photo does the gown justice at all!  I could have finished then and still been happy, but I had an appointment at another boutique the following day and I felt like I could find better!

The Briony gown was extremely flattering and I felt for the first time like I could actually find a gown that would be perfect for me!

The next place I tried was the same place that my sister got her gown from.  It's a place called, "Fairytale Bridal Boutique", and they are one of the largest bridal boutiques in Melbourne.  They sell a stunning range of gowns and their boutique is amazing!  This is where I found my gown, but I'm not going to share that here.  I will share all about the experience at Fairytales in another blog post that will be published after the wedding!

My bridal boutique experiences went from horrible to amazing!  How nice is this boutique?!

As I mentioned earlier, this entry is a double update.  I'll be sharing the information for the room block for the Disney Resort locations that we have reserved in this update, so please feel free to bookmark this post as you may need it later!

We have set up four different hotels that have rooms already reserved for you to book.  These rooms are all available at a discounted rate and hopefully everyone will find them extremely convenient especially on the night before and the night of the wedding!

These rates are are exclusive of taxes, included taxes in brackets:

• Disney's Pop Century Resort (standard room) 
• $97 per room per night ($109.13 inc tax subject to change)
• Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside (standard room)
• $154 per room per night ($173.25 inc tax subject to change)
• Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (savannah view room) 
• $309 per room per night ($347.63 inc tax subject to change)
• Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (garden view room) 
• $342 per room per night ($384.75 inc tax subject to change)

This is the type of view you can expect if you decide to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Savannah View room.

To get these rates and ensure we also meet our minimum you need to book through Disney by calling them on 407-827-6799 then state that you're with the Knoll/Le wedding.  Otherwise you can book online or outside the room block, but the discount will not apply.  If you'd prefer to do it that way, but still wish to stay on Disney property, please pass on your reservation number to Tan or I so we're able to get those rooms counted towards our contracted minimums.

Don't risk staying here! Stay on property!

If you need more information on staying on Disney property, please refer to our previous blog post at:
http://jenandtanwedding.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/i-was-hiding-under-your-porch-because-i.html 
 

And Disney also have information on room allowances such as how many people can fit in various rooms and so on: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions at all, Tan and I have stayed on property (and off) a couple of times so we have quite a bit of knowledge we can share.

Disney turns these drunkards into, "magically themed decorations"

Again, thank you for reading!  Our next update will hopefully be soon so we can get back on track.  We're very far behind!  Next blog update will be on the other awesome theme parks in the Orlando area, so much to do in Orlando and so very little time!!!!!