Mediaboss Marketing

Earlier this year, the pandemic left me ditching the massive traditional ceremony of my dreams to plan a Disney wedding I never thought I could afford.

Originally, my fianc and I had planned a 400-person wedding in Oklahoma City with all our friends and family. But amid the pandemic and changing state guidelines, we cut our guest list down to 27 people, and I started looking into something that I'd never thought was a possibility: a wedding at Walt Disney World.

Planning a Disney wedding was nothing like I imagined, and I was blown away by the venue, food, event, details, and overall cost.

Keep reading for the biggest things that surprised me about planning my dream Disney wedding on a budget.

When I started planning, I (naturally) envisioned Cinderella's castle. But most of my guests aren't huge Disney fans like me, and I didn't want my ceremony to completely feel like it was at a theme park.

The castle is also one of the most expensive venues, with a starting fee of $25,000, which would eat up our budget.

But there are over 100 Disney venues to choose from, and they start at $2,500. Spots such as Fort Wilderness, Luau Pointe, and the Tree of Life which has a venue fee starting at $4,500 were definitely more in our budget.

We chose to have our welcome dinner at Tamu Tamu Courtyard in our favorite park, Animal Kingdom. For the ceremony, we wanted something with natural views and plenty of florals, so we looked at some of Disney's resort locations.

Sea Breeze Point at Disney's Boardwalk, which overlooks Crescent Lake, was a top contender, but we wanted to get married in the park. Eventually, we landed on Italy Isola in Epcot, which cost $4,500 and included rental fees, chairs, a musician, and a sound system.

We were also lucky to have a date during the park's International Flower and Garden Festival, which meant we could enjoy all of the flora in the park at no extra expense.

The biggest drawback of an in-park ceremony is that couples must work around park hours, which means choosing a super early (about 6 a.m.) or late (around 10 p.m.) time slot.

But the World Showcase in Epcot, where my venue was located, is an exception to the time rule. Since the World Showcase opens at 11 a.m., ceremonies start at 9 a.m.

For most venues, including ours, menus are 100% customizable. We went with a standard one for our reception and then modified items based on what we wanted.

For example, we got the famous Mickey-shaped waffles and turned them into an action station, where the chef cooks them and adds toppings of guests' choice at the reception. We also had action-station crepes and omelets, plus a bar for mashed potato and macaroni.

I also wanted to share my favorite food from the parks with my family. Fortunately, couples can request any food on a Disney property. The culinary team either re-creates it or provides a chef's interpretation of it customizations weren't pricey either; we just paid based on the costs of the items we chose.

Some of the food we served included Sanaa's bread service, Jiko's cauliflower bisque and lamb shank, Tiffins' Lion King dessert, Liberty Tree Tavern's Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, and churros drizzled with Oreos. The Grey Stuff from Be Our Guest was our cake filling.

I also love that my husband and I can visit the Disney restaurants in the future to enjoy some of the food that was at our wedding.

Although Disney food was a focus for us, the chefs aren't limited to park menus.

Couples can give the chefs a family recipe to re-create, which we briefly considered. I think it's a sweet way to bring a piece of home to a destination wedding or honor someone who has died.

Since we had a small guest list, we definitely splurged on extra events, such as a "ride mix-in" that allowed our guests to go on a private ride after the welcome dinner. It cost under $20 a person, and I was charged only for people who went on the ride.

We chose Flight of Passage, so our guests were escorted to the ride with no wait time. Plus, they got to experience Pandora at night in an empty park.

After our wedding ceremony, we had a dessert party. Typically, these events are used for watching Disney's fireworks and eating desserts. Because of the pandemic, Disney wasn't doing fireworks, so we adjusted our plan.

We also took into consideration the Florida heat. We shortened our reception to only brunch, and then later in the evening, once the weather cooled down, we held a party for dancing, cake, and desserts.

This allowed our guests to go back to their hotels and rest before the party portion of our event. In between events, my bridal party even headed over to Universal Studios for a few hours.

We held our dessert party at Whitehall Patio at the Grand Floridian, which featured the famous Monorail flying right over us.

For a higher cost, we could've added a farewell brunch, a bridesmaid tea party (you can invite Alice and the Mad Hatter), and a dessert cruise to our wedding.

I'm a very type A sort of planner, so it was really hard for me to just trust the Disney wedding coordinators to do their job.

Once I gave them my plans and ideas, I didn't hear from the team for a while, which was kind of terrifying.

I felt like something was bound to go wrong I've heard so many horror stories about wedding planners. But nothing did, and the few times that plans had to be adjusted, my coordinator already had a solution before contacting me, and everything was resolved in a quick email exchange.

Overall, the planning process was delightfully hands-off, which let me focus on the fun stuff, such as my menu, without stressing over the little details.

I easily hit Disney's wedding minimum of $10,000. Beyond that, my planner helped me use the rest of my budget in a smart way.

Since Disney was all-in-one planning, I was able to look at my overall budget and cut non-priority items, and I kept only the must-haves throughout the entire process. For example, the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake was putting me over budget, so we removed one item of decor from the dessert party that I didn't even notice was gone, and I was back on track.

The coordinators were also helpful when it came to making affordable swaps. When I told my florist I love white roses but wanted to be cost-effective, she designed a bouquet with white florals that captured the essence of what I wanted and stayed within my price range.

Getting married at Disney isn't necessarily cheap, but it is much more cost-effective than I'd imagined. My mind was definitely blown by Disney's pricing models.

Above all, our intimate Disney wedding was much cheaper than what we were going to spend on our larger, standard wedding.

At home in Oklahoma City, venues we looked at started at $5,000 so I definitely feel like we came out on top with our $4,500 venue fee at Epcot. Disney's venue fee also included a violinist, chairs, an audio system with a sound technician, and a planner which would've been thousands of more dollars for a traditional wedding.

Let me be clear: Getting married in front of Cinderella's castle with a big guest list is certainly going to cost you, but Disney has a lot of venues that I felt were cost-effective.

Plus, we got the famous Epcot ball as our backdrop.

See the original post:
My Disney World wedding cost $25,000. Here are 9 things that surprised me the most while planning it. - Insider

For the most part, President Joe Biden has begun his term as a relatively popular leader. FiveThirtyEight's averages of the latest national surveys show the Democrat with a 54% approval rating -- a level of support his immediate predecessor never reached during his White House tenure.

In theory, Biden's support would be even higher, but in a time of intense political polarization, so many Republican voters reflexively oppose a Democratic president that more robust poll numbers are nearly impossible. That said, as HuffPost noted in an interesting item, "a mass movement in opposition" to Biden simply hasn't materialized yet.

At this point in his presidency, Obama faced the Tea Party revolt. On April 15, 2009 Tax Day thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across the U.S. to demonstrate against high taxes and increased government spending following the Great Recession. In Washington, D.C., a crowd even forced a temporary shutdown of the White House after they hurled tea bags onto the executive mansion's lawn. Republicans insist the same type of backlash is coming for Biden if he continues down the path he's on.

Maybe. But it's worth pausing to appreciate the qualitative and quantitative differences between 2021 and 2009.

NBC News has been conducting national polling for many years, asking Americans whether they believe government should be doing more to solve problems, or whether they believe government is doing too many things that should be left to the private sector and individuals. In the mid-1990s -- around the time then-President Bill Clinton said the "era of big government is over" -- most of the public said it wanted the public sector to do less, not more.

At this point 12 years ago, meanwhile, NBC News found the public largely divided on the issue -- 47% wanted government to do more, while 46% wanted the opposite -- and in the months that followed, opponents of government activism gradually built an enduring advantage.

But in the latest national poll, released last week, NBC News found 55% of the public wants government to do more, not less. This is hardly the basis for a Tea Party-style backlash.

Similarly, Gallup released a report in March that explained, "The latest update shows that 54% of Americans say the government should do more to solve our country's problems, while 41% say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses. This is the highest percentage choosing the 'government should do more option since Gallup began asking the question in 1992."

It's against this backdrop that the latest surveys pointed to roughly two-thirds support for the White House's American Relief Plan, American Jobs Plan, and American Families Plan.

Republicans may be waiting for a broad national backlash to Biden's popular proposals, but given public attitudes, such a reaction appears unlikely to grow organically.

Excerpt from:
Why Biden hasn't seen a Tea Party-style backlash (so far) - MSNBC

Lola's Traveling Tea Party in Seattle delivers English or Filipino-inspired tea boxes to doorsteps. #k5evening

SEATTLE If you want to have a traditional tea party without leaving your house, a family-run business in Seattle has just what you need.

Lolas Traveling Tea Party offers English and Filipino-style tea menus, and delivers to doorsteps.

"Lola means 'grandmother' in tagalog, and she's actually our mom. She's the inspiration for us and it sort of was a passion project for her, said CEO and Culinary Director Annaliza Valdez. "We have the traditional English menu which is just your classic tea sandwiches and scones, and then we also wanted to incorporate our heritage and infuse Filipino flavors.

She operates the business with three other women, connected by family, friendship, and a shared love of laughter.

"I think it's a natural Filipino thing to just have jokes at the ready, said Creative Director Michelle Trenter.

Each box is stocked with handmade delicacies, meticulously decorated and presented with coordinating napkins, flatware, flowers and tea.

What makes the experience truly unique is the selection of island flavors.

"Longganisa is a sweet sausage for the Filipino community, Trenter said.

There are also ube scones, Filipino steam buns, pandan shortbread cookies, and coconut cakes dipped in white chocolate and covered with toasted coconut.

"We enjoy baking the desserts and making the savory goods and being able to share it with everyone, said Procurement Director Marivic Quintanilla.

Just as carefully as they are prepared, each tea box is also personally delivered to customers doorsteps.

"I think it's important for us to celebrate who we are, Valdez said. "Part of Filipino culture is sharing food. The first thing a family member will ask you when you visit is, 'Have you eaten yet?' That is what we want to give to everybody - that feeling of giving love through food."

Lola's tea boxes are available for holidays and during pop-ups. The next one is scheduled for May 15th.

KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.

Go here to see the original:
Celebrate tea time infused with Filipino flavors - KING5.com

Dear Editor,

In his speech to Congress on April 28, President Biden asserted that we the people are the government. You and I.

With this proclamation, he intends for the nation to turn away from the course it adopted when Ronald Reagan declared government the problem at our doorstep. Biden reminds us that the people have powerthat government can be good or bad, effective or ineffective, according to the choices the people make in their votes for representation.

We the people never united in our views, of course allowed the Reaganite standards to dominate economic and political life until the hint of a course correction in Obamas 2008 election, which produced the significant Tea Party backlash two years later. Trumps election and the unification of a radical Republican party generated a surge of counter-activism that led the country to a different choice.

People power, ever stirring and always in tension with its differences, now pushes President Biden to think big.

Bidens ambitious agendathe passed COVID relief bill, the proposed American Jobs and Families Plans aims to harness government to meet peoples essential needs, neglected far too long: new jobs built on a response to climate change; economic equality that restores a thriving and broad-based middle class; racial justice that creates equal opportunities for building wealth and lives lived in safety and respect; subsidies for health care, child care, and education that give everyone a better chance to lead healthy, happy, productive lives.

If Bidens proposed legislation passes, even in part, radical Republicans in Congress will find it difficult to convince Americans that government cannot work to serve the peoples needs.

We the people do have the power and the instrument if we speak up, speak out, act. Pressure our representatives, campaign, vote. We can make our government work for us, the people.

Tom Denton

Highland, N.Y.

Read this article:
Letter: We, the Government | Opinion | dailyfreeman.com - The Daily Freeman

A renowned UK-wide coffee shop chain is gearing up to open a massive new caf in the city it was founded in .

Boston Tea Party has recently closed its branches on Whiteladies Road and in Clifton Village so it can amalgamate the two sites and move to a larger home.

The company - which is "on a mission to prove that doing good is good for business" - is taking over the building formerly home to River Cottage Canteen, also on Whiteladies Road, which closed in February 2020.

With space for around 140 customers, the new venue will employ the staff from the former Clifton Village and Whiteladies Road branches.

Brand Director Anita Atkins said: "The team is busy putting the finishing touches to the new caf. We are incredibly lucky to have had the chance to take on such a beautiful building, full of original features, it already feels like home.

"It is a great time to be doing something positive and were more than ready to get serving the local community brilliant breakfast, lunch and coffee."

The caf - which is due to open on June 3 - will be fully accessible as well as feeding friendly and dog friendly, as all other BTP cafes up and down the country are.

It will serve ethically sourced food and drink, including its award-winning all-day breakfasts and lunches alongside specialty coffees, loose-leaf teas and homemade smoothies and juices.

In addition, it will "continue the business pledge to the planet," which includes no single use coffee cups, continuing to remove single use plastic from the supply chain and an upcoming carbon audit.

The Bristol-founded company reported a loss of a quarter of a million pounds in 2019 after becoming the first UK caf chain to ban single use cups in June 2018.

More information about the company can be found on its website.

Continued here:
Boston Tea Party's massive new Bristol caf to open in summer - Bristol Live