My wedding day recap - 9-16-11...so magical

[maddiesdaddy]

Ahh...I probably should do a TR on our whole entire trip. The wedding was merely at the end of the week. But it was all a blur leading up to that day so I'll talk about that in generalities and go into specifics with pictures of the wedding day.

This may take some time and I will do it in parts.

A little about us. My wife has our planning journal in the other sub-thread and is a much better writer than I am. She will probably post her thoughts there.

This seems to be a less viewed and used sub thread which is perfect for me.

My wife and I are each on our 2nd marriage. We both got divorced with one kid each. We combined our amazing family into one officially on September 16, 2011. Disney has been a part of our relationship from almost minute one.

After my divorce, I took my daughter on a Disney trip just she and I. When I first met Sarah, I had told her all about it and even encouraged her to take her son. Sarah lived in another city and while her marriage was ending, we become great email and phone friends, after having met the year before through work. I encouraged her to take her son to Disney and explained all the details of our trip.

My daughter and I had so much fun on our trip that we decided to go back a year later. Lo and behold our last weekend at Disney was Sarah and her son's first weekend and a bond that would never break began those days.

After dating for awhile, Sarah and her son moved to St. Louis where I lived and we went on a 'family trip' together just over a year after our overlapping trip. Our trip was amazing and special and during that trip, I plotted my Disney proposal.

That Disney proposal took place in December of 2010 and with Disney so much a part of our relationship, there was no better place than Disney for a wedding that was as magical as a fairytale. Pictures of that proposal are in my wife's PJ which is linked in my signature so I won't duplicate that effort.

We returned to Disney in September 2011 with our family trip first. Sunday - Wednesday, it was just the 4 of us having fun, riding rides, doing the things we ALWAYS do. Then, family and friends started arriving and we had our amazing wedding on Friday, September 16, 2011.

What will follow here soon will be my recount of that day with pictures as soon as I figure out how to post them from photobucket.

It is a day that I will never forget. A day that still causes me to day dream.

I am not the best writer, but I hope I can convey how amazingly magical our wedding was. With friends and family that made it all wonderful and a woman that filled spots in my life that I didn't realize were empty.

Sarah is indeed who I was meant to be with. There was no more magical place than Disney to make that a reality.

Writing soon to commence. Thanks to anyone who reads.

[maddiesdaddy]

Before I begin...oddly without pictures..I don't have our camera pictures into photobucket yet.....

but Sarah is my wife
Madison is my daughter, age 7
Logan is Sarah's son and my step-son, age 4

Also, you will see from the pictures that we saw each other the day of the wedding. We discussed this at length and came to our own conclusion:

-this wasn't our first wedding so there was no need for tradition
-we were truly each other's best friend...to not see each other until 5 pm would have been miserable since we did everything together

It worked out perfectly for us. But just wanted to explain in case there were questions why we did that.

Wedding Day

The day started off relatively normally, considering that the 4 of us were about to combine our families together forever today. Sarah had made us appointments at the spa for herself, Madison and me.

We had a great time, each of us getting pampered. Maddie got a manicure and pedicure and picked out some blue polish. I'm not sure where she got the polish idea, but the blue was a little 'out there'. She didn't wear blue for the wedding, but that was her 'take home color'. She had a beautiful pink for the wedding day, which matched her awesome dress!

Sarah got a french manicure and a pedicure with a paraffin wax treatment on her hands.

Logan got an 'ipad' treatment and played games and watched movies the whole time.

I got a manicure..come on, my hands and ring were going to be in so many pictures... and pedicure from a lovely woman named Emilia.

It was all so relaxing and thus so very hard to get back to going about the rest of the day.

The kids and I walked back to Franc's to drop off the some various gifts we had for some of the people who helped make this day so marvelous. We had already dropped off some but needed an emergency one this week and had to have it overnighted to the hotel.

[maddiesdaddy]

Our wedding was at 5 pm with cocktails to start at 6 and the reception to go from 7-11:30. We knew from the previous week that, in order for the kids to be up late, they needed a rest. And timing was tight because we had to feed them some lunch.

So, it seems like just as we got back to our room, things started happening. Janet, the hair dresser showed up and started in on everyone 's hair. She was a very sweet lady and listened to all the stories that everyone had to tell.

Sarah would later say she was the 'glue' that held it all together that day. I hardly remember Barbie, the steaming lady, coming in to steam Sarah's wedding dress, Maddie's flower girl dress and Logan's and my tuxedo. She seemed to be in and out in a minute. But, as each person came and went, Janet was there.

Papa Mike (Logan's grandfather) was the hero, realizing the kids might be in the way of the makeup and hair that was starting so he took the kids swimming, which we told him could only be for half of an hour. That was the start of a lot of time without the kids. I came to regret that...more on that in a minute...but it was necessary and actually worked out well.

Being a divorced parent is hard and Sarah and I are lucky in that we have our kids 50% of the time. We split our weeks with our exes and so we value every minute we have with our kids during our time. We almost never go out without them when we have them so we really value our time, because it is so limited and so at different times, Sarah or I become very conscious of our time with and without the kids. When you start out at 50%, every minute without them becomes less than 50%. So we watch that so carefully.

After about 30 minutes, I ran out to get the kids lunch and get them out of the pool. Timing was important for Maddie's hair. The lunch was pizza for everyone. It was a big win for everyone in the room who were all getting hungry. The kids ate in Papa Mike's room and one hour before Janet needed to start on Maddie's hair, I went and rushed her through lunch and got her down for a nap. The kids fell asleep quickly.

The first of many things that we think Disney did right...they booked everyone in our same building at the Grand and on the same floor and down the same hallway. It made life so very easy. I also went down the hall and socialized. It was a blast to walk down the hall of our favorite hotel and visit with so much family.

Time flew and by the time I came back from my dad's room, Maddie was awake and was getting her hair done. I quickly felt like I was behind as I knew Regina, the photographer was going to be there at 2:00 so at about 1:30, I jumped into the shower. And that's when I realized..that if I thought time was flying up until then...it shot like a rocket after that.

A few test posts with photobucket and I think the picture portion of this trip report will commence later today!

[maddiesdaddy]

I took a quick shower and then started to shave. About that time, the photographers got there.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0002.jpg

We were lucky enough to get the amazing Regina and we got Daryn as the 2nd shooter. Sarah and I looked at each other because we originally thought from conversations that our 2nd shooter would be a woman named Carrie and the small thank you gifts we got them were very girly...not at all appropriate for a gauy named Daryn. Poor planning for uncertainties by us!!!!

Daryn did a great job at our wedding. At times, he was more than a 2nd shooter. He was part time lots of things as we would come to see throughout the day. But....I have to say that he wasn't overly warm. Regina was warm like the sun, but Daryn was just not. He had some bad jokes and the kids seemed to like him so all in all, not a bad situation, but I just didn't feel that close to him. *Regina, on the other hand, made you feel like you had been her best friend for years. It's hard to say enough about Regina and I will not do her justice. She was amazing from minute 1. She became more amazing at each passing moment.

We showed her Madison's 'real smile' so she could know when she was faking it!!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0007.jpg

All in all, we had an amazing time getting ready.

[maddiesdaddy]

So, in a day of absolute perfection, there were a few...very minor...snafus. The first was that I was in the middle of shaving, when the photographers wanted to photograph jewelry.

Which was the problem because...that's what I got Sarah for a wedding present and I thought she would wear something I got her for the actual ceremony so I had to jump in and say that it was time to do wedding gifts.

That's when I realized I was pretty far behind because I was only halfway shaved. So, rough shaving and all, we did wedding gifts.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0021.jpg

Sarah gave me the sweetest card and the cuff links for my shirt which were 'xo' cuff links from Tiffany. They were beautiful.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0074.jpg

What's funny is that I got Sarah the 'xo' necklace, also from Tiffany. Hard to see here..it's smaller than the cufflinks..but perfect for the occasion:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0035.jpg

The reason for the matching jewelry that that we both bought for heach other is that Sarah and I try to sign off every note, email, anything written with 'xoxo'. It's just always been our signature to each other so I think when we both realized this was a line of jewelry, it only made sense.

When I put it on her, it seemed to have been made for her. So beautiful on my amazingly beautiful bride.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0044.jpg

[maddiesdaddy]

We exchanged another gift each, a beautiful locket with our kids' intials engraved on it for her and an amazing photo album of some very beautiful and classy pictures that Sarah had done for me. She knows what a beautiful woman I think she is and it was a very special and amazing gift.

Sarah confirmed that she would wear the 'xo' necklace to the wedding to match my 'xo' cufflinks. All the while, the photographer was snapping shots of all the amazing accessories like the flowers, the shoes, our rings.

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Then it was about high time for me to get ready....

[maddiesdaddy]

Did I mention that I felt like I was really behind?

Well, that's when the 2nd snafu appeared...my tuxedo didn't have buttons sewed in for my suspenders. Aaaahhhhh...I didn't even think to check for that. So, we improvised and decided to attach them where we thought they belonged by using safety pins!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0103.jpg

That's where the first of Daryn's other jobs came in..he offered to sew them on really quickly if I had needle and thread, which I didn't. But, it was nice of him to offer. That took a bit longer than I expected so I was getting worried about time.

I still needed to help with Madison and needed to finish up before pictures..yes she was being a good girl and doing her homework while getting hair, makeup and earrings done.

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[maddiesdaddy]

We had ssome finishing touches to do...Maddie's last bit of makeup...Sarah helping me with my bowtie:

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http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0120.jpg

At the same time, my very handsome ring bearer arrived, all dressed and looking dapper...

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Maddie was ready to go...clearly

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So..a quick kiss for the beautiful bride to be...

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0147.jpg

The last minute stuff took a bit longer than I expected so we were rushing! I finally finished everything at the last minute. My family was already at the Grand because we were running a bit late. So, I took sweet Madison with me and, along with Regina and Daryn, we took off for the lobby of the Grand Floridian.

[luvs2cruise]

Loving all of it, so far! Can't wait to read more!

[maddiesdaddy]

Loving all of it, so far! Can't wait to read more!

Thank you so much for reading. Will post more soon..maybe tonight. Internet is being tricky tonight. Otherwise tomorrow.

Anyways..thanks again...and love reading about your VR cruise plans!

[maddiesdaddy]

So, first up was pictures with my incredibly small famliy. I have truly the smallest family. I have one sibling and no cousins. So..this wouldn't take long.

This is my mom and step father:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0166.jpg

And my dad and step mother:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0174.jpg

And finally my brother....who, as a baptist minister, was also our officiant and his wife, who is expecting their first Disney fan!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0179.jpg

So, then it was just pictures with my daughter and me alone. I'll just post some of my favorites with Maddie...although Sarah loves them, I am not a fan of my solo pictures:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0194.jpg

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[maddiesdaddy]

While I was rushing out the door, Logan had some cute pictures with his mom....I didn't even remember these being taken, but they are super cute:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0156.jpg

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http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0143.jpg

Then, I got the cue that it was time for our first look pictures

[torismom]

What a beautiful family!!! I am looking forward to reading more. The photos are perfect!! Thank you for sharing.

[maddiesdaddy]

Regina had me stand on the Grand Floridian main stairs and look away. They brought Sarah in the back way. I was facing 'Maddie's elevator'..more on that later...with Regina just talking to me. Jamie Betz (our substitute planner while Pamela was on maternity leave) was there with Laura Kidd as they both promised to be. Jamie told me that she could see Sarah coming in and asked me to turn towards the front desk so I did. Then she told me it was ok to turn back towards the elevator.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0243.jpg

Regina explained what Sarah was doing...walking around the 2nd floor of the Grand Floridian lobby and she would come down one side of the stairs. I was to keep looking at Regina and she would be my cue when to turn around.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0245.jpg

What came up is really one of my only very few complaints with the photography. Regina was to stay in her current location and get Sarah's reaction coming down. Daryn was to move up the stairs and get my reaction as I looked back at Sarah. Regina did an AMAZING job of capturing Sarah's reactions - so great..so meaningful and so beautiful. Daryn's didn't come out so well. This wasn't a huge deal as weddings are all about the brides and I am not missing any pictures of me that much...but from an album stand point, it would have been great to have 2 pictures side by side showing the synchronized shots of our 'first look'.

So, I was waiting and waiting. All of a sudden, Regina started shooting and I could see a white dress in the reflection of Regina's camera lens. I got a huge smile on my face. She shot about 10 quick pictures then told me to turn around.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0246.jpg

It's hard to describe that moment. Sarah was stunning..as beautiful as a bride as I have ever seen. She looked so elegant, so beautiful, a true princess. This was the woman I wanted to be with for the rest of my life...and there she was walking towards me....glowing in all of her beauty.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0249.jpg

We both had a moment and got a bit teary eyed. We talked a lot about how good everything was..how amazing the day was and how beautiful she was. It was awesome.

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[maddiesdaddy]

What a beautiful family!!! I am looking forward to reading more. The photos are perfect!! Thank you for sharing.

Awww...thank you so much. I will post more as I get time. I really appreciate your sweet sweet words.

[pixie921]

The four of you are gorgeous and the photos really capture how happy all of you are! :goodvibes Congratulations, and I'm looking forward to seeing and reading more!!

[maddiesdaddy]

At that time, we took a few shots of the 2 of us and with the kids as well as the combined family shots.

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This was my new combined family:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0346.jpg

And this was Sarah's:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0340.jpg

Maddie clearly didn't have her best smiles in the family pictures!!!!

We were done pretty quickly with that and then Sarah did her family pictures.

[maddiesdaddy]

The four of you are gorgeous and the photos really capture how happy all of you are! :goodvibes Congratulations, and I'm looking forward to seeing and reading more!!

Amy,

Thank you so much. The pictures were right..we were so happy. I appreicate your kind words and I will post more when I can. It's addiciting though, reliving the day. It's hard to stop. Boring conference calls at work help....:rolleyes1

[maddiesdaddy]

This is Sarah's wonderful family. She has a larger family, but not all could attend. We were blessed that the people who could come did.

This is her mom and step father:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0305.jpg

This is one of my all time favorite pictures - Sarah and her mom...2 beautiful women:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0300.jpg

This is Sarah with her step-sister:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0342.jpg

Then, there are the adorable mom and son shots:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0281.jpg

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[maddiesdaddy]

Sarah had a few more pictures with the kids...something else I wish I would have spoke up about. These 2 kiddos are so special to me and I would have loved to have a fun picture with the 3 of us. But I didn't say anything and no one can read my mind. Besides..Sarah is so beautiful in these...it's likely they wouldn't have gotten a good shot!!!

Anyway, I can't tell you how Maddie continues to talk about this wedding...how the beautiful bride that was about to become her stop-mother inspires all of her wedding dreams and imagination. Disney had a bit to do with that..but I think you can see it by the smile on her face. And the love they have for each other is so genuine. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have a woman who loves my kiddo like her own and has given her the space and the comfort to love her back. It is truly magical

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0311.jpg

One of my favorites of the 3 of them:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0324.jpg

Then we all got in together:

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And then one more to re-create a shot from a family shoot back home with an amazing friend of ours. The one from back home, which I will post first is actually one of our favorite all time family shots. So we sweetly asked Regina if she would duplicate it for us and though we were on opposite sides, it came out pretty well:

The original:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/Summer%202011%20Family%20Photo%20Shoot/familyphoto.jpg

Regina's sweet duplication:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0330.jpg

Then it was time for pre-ceremony pictures:

[maddiesdaddy]

Pre ceremony pictures were a blast. A true balst. We went all over the Grand Floridian. All over...the Grand is truly our home away from home.

One of the first places we took a picture was the 2 story elevator, that we lovingly call, 'Maddie's elevator. We call it that because, during our first trip, it was the only elevator she would ride to and from the monorail platform. So, we asked Regina if we could take some shots in there. She laughed when it was all over and said, she had never done that before but was so glad that she did because it was something new for her...and she loves trying out new places.

This is us imitating the marble floor:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0358.jpg

And this is us in the elevator:

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Love it. This is the 2nd floor of the Grand

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0366.jpg

A True Beauty

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0384.jpg

Down the stairs that are by Citricos

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0405.jpg

I love this creative shot by the side doors:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0432.jpg

[maddiesdaddy]

Then we headed outside for some amazing outdoor shots.

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The picture that's currently on my phone:

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It was almost time for our surprise for the kids...but I wanted to mention the sweetest person you would ever meet, Richard. He came along with us and made sure that Sarah's dress train was always perfect and not dragging. He literally followed us all over and was so kind and sweet and amazing.

I have shots of him somewhere and simply cannot find them. That makes me sad as I know you all know he is..but he is so sweet and amazing. He often told Sarah she was a classic beauty (I agree) and how amazing he thought our kids were. I hope he's still there when we come back for our VR.

[luvs2cruise]

Love, Love, Love your pictures!!! I cannot even express how stunning and beautiful all of you look!!! By the way, Maddie is gorgeous!!! Her eyes just sparkle and that beautiful smile and those dimples!!!!

[maddiesdaddy]

Love, Love, Love your pictures!!! I cannot even express how stunning and beautiful all of you look!!! By the way, Maddie is gorgeous!!! Her eyes just sparkle and that beautiful smile and those dimples!!!!

Thank you thank you thank you so much. That means so much to me. And to us. We are so blessed to have each other that it makes all the beauty shine through.

Ha..thank you so much for the kind words about Maddie...she is definitely a very beautiful child..but so much so on the inside..just as sweet and kind and funny as that smile.

Those dimples melt my heart so often!!

I really appreciate you reading. This has been a magical journey back to the day. I am having a blast doing it.

[TabZ]

You have a way of expressing the love you have for your family in a way I've never experienced before, and it's honestly moving me.

I can't wait to read more about your truely magical day x

[maddiesdaddy]

You have a way of expressing the love you have for your family in a way I've never experienced before, and it's honestly moving me.

I can't wait to read more about your truely magical day x

Thank you so much. That really means so much to me. I do love them with everything I have and I really appreciate you telling me that. I hope I can always make it known to them and to the world how amazing they are for me.

I appreciate you reading along...I hope to post some more today. Thanks again for a very sweet message.

[maddiesdaddy]

I mentioned at the outset that we had decided to see each other before the wedding and do our pictures before the ceremony. There were many reasons for that and why it worked for us. During these shots, Sarah would often look at me and tell me how glad she was that we did all that before because we were having so much fun doing it. She said, and I agreed, that it would have been hard to not be with each other the whole entire day. We had fun and I was with Sarah and the kids..it couldn't have been any better.

Pamela gave us the word that it was time to go. All the other guests had made their way to the wedding pavilion except for Sarah, Logan, Maddie and me. We had a BIG surprise for the kiddos. We had reserved Cinderella's carriage to transport us to the Wedding Pavilion.

We worked hard to keep this a secret. Pamela and Regina knew that it was a secret and we hadn't even told our guests. It was in every way possible a surprise. So, we had a plan to surprise the kids with it. We would have them pretend like they were shooting more pictures outside when the carriage pulled up. We got it all worked out and we went out to one of the back doors of the Grand Floridian.

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Then I looked left and saw it..coming

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It ws more beautiful than the pictures even conveyed.

The kids were shocked...shocked I tell you...

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0511.jpg

Again, the carriage was BEAUTIFUL. Truly beautiful. Amazing..beyond words. Such a perfect way to continue a Fairy Tale wedding. Logan asked where Cinderella was and everyone..both photographers, me, etc, told Logan that his mom...Sarah, was Cinderella.

And while, technically, she was wearing the Ariel dress, Sarah was indeed my Cinderella that day.

[maddiesdaddy]

So, we all piled in. That face from Maddie...well, that tells it all

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It was AMAZING!!!! What a fun ride. Security had stopped traffic running in front of the Grand and people had their cameras out and were waving and smiling. It truly was a beautiful sight to see all these people so happy just seeing the carriage.

Princess Wave:

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The ride seemed to last for so long, but also be over in a heart beat. We arrived at the Wedding Pavilion...

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The kids walked in together...

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We followed:

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Then waved goodbye and got in our places! The excitement was overwhelming:

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[maddiesdaddy]

Sarah rushed off to the Bride's vestibule. My brother and officiant, Michael was there and told me I would get mic'd up for the video. So, I went into the Groom's room to get mic'd up. The sound guy...Will...told me that I needed to leave my cell phone there in the room. :confused3

Sure..no problem..whatever the sound guy says, right? Well..the only problem with that was that Sarah and I decided at the last minute to write our own vows. And we stored them on our iphones!!!!!!!!!!! Typical us, but it was the perfect way to save them, share them and deliver the vows. So, we had the genius idea to put them in airplane mode so they wouldn't cause interference. After that, a few sips of water, and it was time to go.

Michael walked down the aisle first then I followed shortly after.

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It was amazing to look out and see all of our friends and family. It was very sweet to know they came all this way for us.

I stood there and waited for the kiddos!

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All those two talked about since we asked them to be our flower girl and ring bearer was walking down the aisle. In fact, they used to practice in aisles at the mall and the grocery store. Logan would carry his imaginary pillow and Maddie would throw imaginary petals. This was THEIR moment. So I couldn't wait for the music to start...a Rio song that is a family favorite...and to get the kids down the aisle. The song started..but no kiddos?

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[maddiesdaddy]

I heard the song continue to play and saw the doors open and close a couple of times. Then, the sound guy give a thumbs up! :thumbsup2 And out they came. What a crack up!!! They were together at first..side by side as advertised..but then it all went awry, in a sweet way. Maddie was LOVING her moment in the spotlight and had a smile as big as the state of Florida. Maddie veered off to my right (looking back) and cut Logan off. She had no idea where she was walking!!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0552.jpg

Then she made room for Logan. Then this picture really strikes a chord with us. We have less shots of the kids walking down the aisle than we really wanted. Yet, I heard Regina's shutter going like crazy. So, maybe they weren't good...but this is the best picture of the 2 kids coming down the asile...only one of our guests takes up the left side of the picture. We already talked to Disney photography and it's too intricate to get her out of the picture. But, these are our kiddos!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0553.jpg

They finally made it up to the front. Logan got stopped on the way up front by his grandma and grandpa and and I had to coax him up to the spot where he would stand next to Sarah.

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Maddie was smiling as she stood next to me.

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I couldn't wait to see my beautiful bride and have her become my wife. The anticipation was so great.

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[maddiesdaddy]

Then, I heard the 'Chiming of the Hour' and the doors opened and there was Sarah and her Uncle Ed at the back of the church.

I love this picture for so many reasons..1) it shows our amazing planner, Pamela (On the other side was the helper...Ariel..appropriate, right?!); and 2) it is a vantage point that I never had

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I also love the timing of this shot..with the GF wedding rings!

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Our perfectly sized crowed of 35 all stood and she walked down an aisle of people gawking at her beauty. So beautiful. So elegant. So perfect.

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She came to the bottom of the WP's altar and Ed shook my hand and we held hands and walked up the steps and stood, looking out at the castle. It was all beginning.

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[maddiesdaddy]

My brother was the perfect choice for our officiant. He is humorous, sweet, and when we got all these pictures of us at the altar, for us...for our wedding, we were glad it wasn't a stranger. We were glad it was family.

Michael said some really nice words about being able to 'marry your brother'. He got a big laugh out of that. But his words were sweet and nice and very appropriate for the moment.

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His wife and my sister in law, Dana, came up and did her 'Ceremony Reading' which was a poem that we picked out that was very sweet and talked about not being alone...it worked and was a nice sentiment.

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Then it was time for vows. Michael informed the crowd that we had written our own vows and had written and stored them on our iphones. Everyone laughed. And laughed hard. I heard a few comments about that being totally appropriate for us.

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[maddiesdaddy]

Sarah started and hers were beautiful. Truly touching and sweet and very emotional.

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It was hard for her to get through them without crying and when she cried, so did Logan.

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He's honestly the sweetest boy I have ever known and he is very in tune with how his mom is feeling and when he saw her cry, he really broke down.

It was sweet and sad and touching all at the same time.

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Then I read mine. *I really liked them going into the day, but when compared to Sarah's, they weren't that good.

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But, Sarah liked them and really, that's all that matters!

[maddiesdaddy]

Then, it was time for the ring ceremony with another surprise...Major Domo!!!!

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I just noticed this for the first time in the millions of times looking through these pitcures....I love love love Pamela peeking out from back there.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0622.jpg

He was awesome!

He announced that he had the rings and to be quite honest, I was so busy watching everyone's reaction to Major Domo that I don't remember everything he said.

Logan doesn't look like a fan!! :)

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Major Domo was a big hit, though, and we performed the ring ceremony.

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First, I slid Sarah's beautiful ring on her finger

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Then, she put my ring on

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0635.jpg

Next Up..Sand Ceremony and Solo!!

[ccgirl]

I don't usually read these but for some reason this one caught my eye. I have to say I was moved to tears. You sound so in love The pictures are absolutely gorgeous. Hope you have strong locks for the doors for when Maddie becomes a teenager. ;) SHe is absolutely gorgeous as is your new wife! That pictures of Maddie gently touching your face was just heart warming and one of the most touching pictures I have ever seen. You can tell both you and Sarah are adoring parents. Logan crying when she did is just precious. Can't wait for more!

[Chilly]

i'm tearing up reading this. So lovely to read the Groom's side. What a beautiful family you have. Fab photos. Can't wait to read and see more.

[maddiesdaddy]

I don't usually read these but for some reason this one caught my eye. I have to say I was moved to tears. You sound so in love The pictures are absolutely gorgeous. Hope you have strong locks for the doors for when Maddie becomes a teenager. ;) SHe is absolutely gorgeous as is your new wife! That pictures of Maddie gently touching your face was just heart warming and one of the most touching pictures I have ever seen. You can tell both you and Sarah are adoring parents. Logan crying when she did is just precious. Can't wait for more!

Hi. Thank you so much for reading and for leaving a comment as sweet as this. It truly means a lot. I honestly sat on the plane on the way home and penned this out and have it just sitting in a document.

I have been reading another amazing PJ in the other sub forum on planning..by a woman named Michelle, who goes by One Song.

She truly writes so well and watching the pictures bring her story home made me decide to put this all down. It really helps me remember the day and I keep smiling every time I post.

Thanks...yes, people do remind me the tough years ahead when boys become interested in Maddie...or *gasp*, she becomes interested in them. That picture of her touching my face as I was telling her how proud of the girl she was and that I hope one day she found love as wonderful as our family did is one of my favorites.

And Logan is as sweet as can be..he is as truly precious as these pictures portray.

And Sarah is as beautiful of a woman on the inside as she is in these pitcures. A true partner and friend and an amazing person for me, for her son and for Maddie. It couldn't be a better match and I am truly blessed.

Thank you again for your sweet words. I hope you continue to enjoy.

[maddiesdaddy]

i'm tearing up reading this. So lovely to read the Groom's side. What a beautiful family you have. Fab photos. Can't wait to read and see more.

Thank you so much. I hope you continue to ejnjoy reading. I really enjoy writing it from this side. And thanks...the pictures are great...but we had great photographers.

Thank you again.

[maddiesdaddy]

Then, off to the Sand Ceremony. Sarah's flowers were pink and orange so each of the four of us had a different shade of pink or orange for the ceremony.

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Trish, Sarah's best friend, sang the solo, 'A Brand New World' and it was beautiful!!!!! She has an amazing voice and we were honored she sould sing for us.

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We had discussed that we would each pour just a little bit of our sand containers into the main one in the middle..but only a little bit. The kids, of course, poured all of their sand into the container, leaving almost no room for Sarah's and my sand! It was cute.

We improvised with the sand and then came back to listen to Trish finish her song. It was a true joy to hear her sing.

Props to Major Domo for the dress assistance!

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Michael then made a nice little impromptu speech about the sand and how now, that it was all together in one container, it would be impossible to separate back into the original colors. A perfect wrap up to the sand ceremony.

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We were almost done...and even though the cermony was almost over, we had plenty of fun at the reception planned!!

[maddiesdaddy]

A beautiful prayer followed by my brother, who has an amazing way with words and then the kiss and introduction as a new couple. It was amazing.

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Then, it was time to head back down the aisle..

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Kids first:

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I LOVE this next picture......Since the tears, Logan didn't smile the rest of the time and to see him walking back down the aisle with his new sister...the contrast in their faces still makes me laugh so much. Maybe he was sad it was over? :confused3 !!!

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Then us following...and I love Major Domo being in the background of our pictures for these sequences:

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I wanted COCKTAIL hour.... :drinking1

But we had a few more pictures first....did I say a few?

[dilligaf212]

First off you have a beautiful family.. I am such a sap for weddings...This one has stuck out from all the others that I have read because it is from the male point of view.It brought tears to my eyes.Your story and the pictures are amazing.Can't wait to read more

[maddiesdaddy]

First off you have a beautiful family.. I am such a sap for weddings...This one has stuck out from all the others that I have read because it is from the male point of view.It brought tears to my eyes.Your story and the pictures are amazing.Can't wait to read more

Thank you so very much. I am blessed to have the family I have.

Thank you for your kind words. I was just trying to write down the story of one of the greatest days of my life. And it means a lot to me that you are enjoying it.

[ccgirl]

I have never heard of that sand ceremony but what a WONDERFUL way to incorporate all members of the blended family into one. :lovestruc

[maddiesdaddy]

At the end of the aisle, Ariel, the on site coordinator and assistant, led us to the side so we could get our group picture set up.We took a few outside at 'picture point':

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And then we were brought in for our group picture. Daryn had it all set up and it was AMAZING to see everyone. We had asked everyone to wear a shade of pink and it looked great. They had a spot for just us and we fit right in.Regina rearranged some of the kiddos and then she took a few group pictures.

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Then everyone else except for the four of us were dispatched to the end of the wedding pavilion bridge where they had ribbon wands to shake at us when we walked down for the 'staged' exit.

While they were doing that, we had time for more pictures in the WP..

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Now there exists a version of this picture where Regina asked us to kiss with the siimple direction, 'please kiss'. Um...the kids thought Regina was talking to them...and their kiss is something we laughed about for 10 minutes before we could get back to it.

Ok then back out to the main walkway of the WP for the ribbon wand staged exit.

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The staged exit meant we got taken around the wedding pavilion while the guests left. Then we took lots of pictures with the Carriage...while our lucky guests got to drink!!

[maddiesdaddy]

I have never heard of that sand ceremony but what a WONDERFUL way to incorporate all members of the blended family into one. :lovestruc

I know. My wife had told me all about it during the planning part of our discusssions and it just fit. There's a whole website just for ssand coloration. So, Laura Kidd arranged it all for us. And you aare so right...the perfect way to symbolize the joining of a family unit.

[maddiesdaddy]

The carriage pictures were fun and the kids had a ball with it.

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The sweet amazing kiddos went with Sarah's mom and step father Papa Mike and Nana to the pre reception while we finished up some pictures with just us. The pictures seemed great and we had a lot of fun with them. Regina was amazing again.

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One of our all time favorites:

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[Chilly]

more wonderful photos

[maddiesdaddy]

more wonderful photos

Thank you. All the credit goes to Regina for taking wonderful pictures as well as Sarah and the kids who are so photogenic, they really make all the pictures pop.

We're almost to the reception which has our 3rd surprise of the day...and one of our favorite parts. Thank you so very much for reading along.

[maddiesdaddy]

Then it was again, time to hop in the carriage. We took the long road back, with a very special stop first! *One that Regina and Pamela set up for us. After we got through the guard's gate at the Grand, we literally stopped the coach. Stopped traffic so we could get a shot of the entire Grand Floridian in the background with the Carriage out front. It was awesome.

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I felt bad for stopping traffic and Regina told us to not feel bad..we paid for it!!! Then back in and off to the reception.

People came out of the woodwork to watch the carriage go by and it was honestly so fun to watch that.

We pulled up to the convention center and I could see all the guests at our reception venue and they seemed to be having fun!!

We said thanks so much to the Carriage drivers and horsemen (they were actually women!) and off we went.

We got in the side entrance of the convention center. I don't know who had the food sitting there for us..some cheese and crackers and bread..but it was amazing.

It really refreshed us and got us feeling a bit better but a bit hungry. They had a beer waiting for me and it was delicious.

Sarah had a cosmo and she said it really refreshed her!

So..then, it was quickly time to start the reception...which can only mean one thing...

ok..yes, drinking..so 2 things!

....another Major Domo appearance!!

[maddiesdaddy]

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0808.jpg

Another fun Major Domo appearance. He came by to ask if he was introducing the kids and we said, yes, of course! So, we all walked to the door of the Whitehall room. We heard the kids get announced and everyone cheered.

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Then we walked in to the big announcement and lots of cheers.

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It was the last of the Major Domo responsibilities so we gave him a heartfelt thanks and bid him goodbye

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Quickly on to the first dance.

Which was 'The One I Love' by David Gray.

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It was nice holding Sarah in my arms. I sang to her and realized how perfect the day was.

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The thing that now strikes me is I was also realizing how fast things were going. The day was flying by me.

I remember waking up so happy about the day ahead of me and thanking my lucky stars how much time I had to savor the perfect day. And now, here we were...our amazingly fun ceremony...over....pictures for the most part...over..... I wasn't sad..remember..this was the best day of my life...but just contemplative. I wanted this day...this moment to last forever.

I held Sarah close and sang to her some more.

She truly was the one I loved so the song was perfect.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0828.jpg

[maddiesdaddy]

Before we go to the next part, I want to show you all the pictures that they took before people got in there. The Whitehall room was beautiful...the cake was perfect. So..here are all those details.

We had a modified mad hatter style cake done in an underwater theme to go with the Ariel dress. A blue light up Sebastian and a white chocolate one on top was the perfect topping to the cake.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0793.jpg

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Beautiful room..chair covers were a definite 'glad we did'

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Our menu

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0799.jpg

Our table cards

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0800.jpg

This was our setting...love the floral..and that was our resulting sand container from the sand ceremony...it is on our mantle at home

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0801.jpg

Our table favors with name cards

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Toasting Glasses

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Guest Book...Sarah designed!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0848.jpg

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0854.jpg

The CDs we made all of our guests

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0853.jpg

[maddiesdaddy]

Ok..back to the actual reception:

After the dance was over and it was time for a speech. I decided that since we didn't have a wedding party, I would do a toast.

I am not a good public speaker except when I am confident in the material and what I am talking about....and I was sure about this.

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I wanted to toast our friends..some old from our 'old lives' who stuck by us and followed us here to start our 'new life' together..as one family.

I wanted to toast our other friends...some new from our 'new life' together. The ones that accepted us a couple, with a divorce in our past, but still fun people. Who accepted our wacky kid schedule but loved us just the same..who traveled here to watch us officially combine our families into one and begin our lives together.

I wanted to toast our families. Who stuck by us, through thick and thin, who were always there for us and who came to watch us begin again.

I wanted to toast our amazing children.

Sweet Logan and Madison. Those 2 kids who went through such a terrible ordeal...watching their parents divorce and beginning a life of week on/week off custody. Of feeling insecure about life and what the separation of their 2 parents would mean for them...now and in the future. 2 kids who had questions, who went through phases of not understanding. 2 kids who met each other and new people in their parents' lives and trusted that we were doing the best we could... for them. 2 kids who never waivered in their love and support. Who transitioned so PERFECTLY through. Most importantly.who were still the same happy children they were before. The 2 kids we thank God every single day that we didn't screw up by getting divorced. Who hug us around the neck and tell us how much they love their new family. How much Madison loves and trusts Sarah and how she loves having a little brother, Logan. And how I pray that Logan feels the same way about us.

These 2 kids are nothing short of amazing. They deserve all the credit in the world. We did everything we could to make their life the best it could be after divorce. But, it took trust and love and determination from them to get through. And they did. Separately. Then together. It's hard to simply say that I love them. Because it is so much more encompassing than that.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0838.jpg

Then, to toast my wife. The woman who changed my life. Who made me happy every day from the moment I met her and I knew would make me happy for every moment after. The woman who holds my heart and gives it more love than I thought I could ever feel. The person who accepted me for who I am, for opening her heart and her life up to Madison and me. The person who shares my dreams and my feelings and makes me laugh every single solitary day. The person who gets me the most and understands me to the core. The woman who agreed to marry me. To combine our families to share our lives. That woman standing next to me. Holding my hand. Listening to me talk. I couldn't be any happier....

[maddiesdaddy]

So after I rambled through the toasts, we got to eat.....honestly the most amazing food I have ever tasted. It was perfectly prepared.

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http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0847.jpg

It was so delicious. Better than our tasting. So incredibly yummy. I don't remember eating for a long time. I know everything I wanted to eat..but I don't think I ate everything I wanted to.

It was just so amazing to be here...in our favorite spot and see our favorite people with us. The people we hate to leave when we go. The people we talk to all the time...here, with us..for us. It truly was humbling.

A little bit more of kids dancing before the kids party...and the anticipation of the one last surprise we had left for our guests!!!!

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We each danced with our own kiddos:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0858.jpg

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So, early dancing was over and we knew what was next..but no one else did. Pamela came over and gave us the high sign....

[Chilly]

i'm tearing up again.

[becpee]

So beautiful! princess:

[luvs2cruise]

Still following along and loving every bit of it!

[ccgirl]

I'm not sure I should read these from work anymore. Totally ruins my make up!

[maddiesdaddy]

i'm tearing up again.

So beautiful! princess:

Still following along and loving every bit of it!

I'm not sure I should read these from work anymore. Totally ruins my make up!

Thank you all so much for reading and responding. It means so much to me that you all care so much.

I am going to try to add another of my favorite parts today but I don't have as many conference calls...ha ha...:rotfl:

Thanks all again...more later hopefully.

[maddiesdaddy]

So, as I said, Pamela came over and gave us the high sign....and Mickey walked in!!!!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0890.jpg

The screams were ear piercing. For a small 38 guest wedding, the screams sounded like a celebrity had walked in...well, one had.

Mickey!

Celebrity is an understatement. The hit of the reception...by far. Worth every single extra $ that it cost. The kids loved Mickey. The parents loved Mickey. We danced to a few well researched Mickey tunes.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0892.jpg

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This is my all time favorite picture of Logan...shows the pure joy that Mickey brings

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0919.jpg

Then it was time to cut the cake..with our favorite celebrity, of course.

[maddiesdaddy]

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0937.jpg

Mickey was awesome at cutting the cake. So fun and playful

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And the cake.....rocked. It was the most delicious cake I had ever tasted. Almond cake with white chocolate and raspberry filling. Seriously...delicious.

We didn't smash the cake in each other's faces. But we enjoyed the bites and having Mickey help us with that. We have an adorable picture of Mickey holding our arms while we cut the cake. It was one of our favorites.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0939.jpg

Then, Mickey headed out to the main hallway of the Grand Convention Center and took pictures with us and our guests.

[pixie921]

Aw, love the Mickey pictures! The kids look thrilled! :goodvibes

[maddiesdaddy]

We had so many fun, playful pictures with Mickey and everyone got in on the fun.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0950.jpg

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This Mickey was awesome. Truly interacted with our guests. Made jokes and funny gestures. Fun and playful and perfect for our group.

I know I already said it but it bears repeating....if it works in your budget, Mickey was worth every penny. When you stare at a price list and see the generic pricing that says 1 character $600, you have to wonder. Really? Our answer was a resounding YES!

Here's another of our favorite pictures..the one that actually closes our wedding album...it's one of Sarah and I and Mickey walking down the hallway. Regina was behind us and she asked us to turn around and wave. It looks like something out of a movie where we are saying goodbye!! It is such a great shot.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-0977.jpg

[maddiesdaddy]

Aw, love the Mickey pictures! The kids look thrilled! :goodvibes

Thanks...they were soooooooo thrilled. It was a secret from every single person and it was so hard for us to contain the excitement.

Every person came up and told us how great it was to see Mickey. Many who had never been to Disney said they never had the opportunity to 'meet' Mickey in person and they felt special that he spent so much time talking and having fun with everyone. It was the right thing for our group and everyone loved it.

Thanks for continuing to read along!!!

[maddiesdaddy]

(no pictures in this update!)

After dinner and Mickey, it was time for our gift to our guests...the kid party!!!!

We set up with Kids Nite Out a party in one of the conference rooms for the kiddos. They could play games, do crafts, whatever they wanted...and it gave their parents time to enjoy the night with us. The kids loved it...and so did their parents.

And it looked like fun. We checked in on our sweet kiddos a couple of times and all seemed to be going well!

Then that was the best part. Our awesome play list was playing and we were dancing and talking and visiting and laughing. We were sharing the Disney Magic with so many people who were so close to us.

I felt on top of the world and I remember thinking that I wish I could stay there forever. In that spot. With that feeling. I remember one time being opposite the room from Sarah as we were making our rounds and I would look up and catch her eye and smile, and I knew that she was thinking the same thing I was...wow...we're here...we did it...I love you.

And then back to the stories, the laughter, the fun.

One of our wait staff became legendary...Mario.

To a guest, they told me he was the most genuinely nice person they had ever met. And it was true. When I was done eating and the tray to collect dishes was right behind me...literally a step away, I got up to put my plate there.

Mario stopped me and told me that that night, I was a guest at HIS house and to please let him. It wasn't said with the jaded words of a trained server.

It was said with the genuine feeling of a man who feels that way...that this spot was his house and he was making us feel welcome.

He was like that with every single person he helped. Our guests took pictures with him and his favorite phrase was 'Thank You'. Even 2 months later, when we had our home reception for those who couldn't make it, our guests were shouting "Thank You" in homage to Mario.

[Chilly]

We had a wonderful server at our wedding as well.

Great Mickey photos.

[maddiesdaddy]

We had a wonderful server at our wedding as well.

That's great. It's amazing where something as simple as that stands out. It trully adds to the experience.

Great Mickey photos.

Thank you...it was so much fun to have Mickey there.

[jmkst58]

I usually don't read any of the wedding TR and i definitely never comment but I found yours today and have read it all and it is wonderful to read a man's account and see how very much you realize how blessed you are to have found 'it' and I just wanted to say 'thank you' for sharing your story with us. It warms my heart to see a groom who doesn't take the simplest (YET BEST) things in life for granted. Not sure how else to say that 'it's wonderful to see someone find happiness- who you know isn't going to take it for granted.'

cheers and congratulations to your whole beautiful family. Great job all the way around.

[maddiesdaddy]

I usually don't read any of the wedding TR and i definitely never comment but I found yours today and have read it all and it is wonderful to read a man's account and see how very much you realize how blessed you are to have found 'it' and I just wanted to say 'thank you' for sharing your story with us. It warms my heart to see a groom who doesn't take the simplest (YET BEST) things in life for granted. Not sure how else to say that 'it's wonderful to see someone find happiness- who you know isn't going to take it for granted.'

cheers and congratulations to your whole beautiful family. Great job all the way around.

Wow...thank you very much for such a nice thoughtful comment. After having a marriage not work out for a variety of reasons..there's rarely just one, I promised I would never take it for granted again. This family is indeed a blessing.

Thank you for the congratulations and again, I appreciate your thoughtful words.

[maddiesdaddy]

Then it was time for fireworks pictures....and the best yet..Halloween Wishes!

We grabbed our sweet kiddos from the Kid Party..there was a moment of resistance since they were having so much fun. But they came and we got some UNBELIEVABLE pictures.

Regina knows the cadence of the fireworks like the back of her hand...which made for some great timing of photos. She was a master at making them work.

Daryn, the second photographer, was so great with the kids. Keeping them entertained and getting them in shots.

This was a special request from us for our wedding photos and Regina made it work...perfectly.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1013.jpg

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I love love love how the light from the fireworks reflects on the water...hard to appreciate until you scroll through and see how the light is so much brighter with the relfection of the water.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1026.jpg

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http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1039.jpg

Not only were these great shots, but they required long exposures so I really have to hand it to some amazing kids for staying still during the long shutter times.

[maddiesdaddy]

After fireworks pictures, our time with Regina and Daryn was up.

They got one last picture of us dancing before they left.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1045.jpg

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1046.jpg

The photographers leaving was a weird moment. Literally..they had been with us forever...from the first part of getting ready through everything and to see them leave was stunning.

It also marked the end of Disney's documentation of our event. Regina felt like a friend at that point so it was weird to see her leave.

After that, we just had more time to enjoy friends and family and marvel at what a day it had been.

We all talked and laughed at something or another. We recounted the people, the places, the funny things.

It was a blast and all too short. I want to do it again and again and again.

I remember near the end of the night, looking at Sarah and meeting her eye to eye..and saying to her that a 10 year vow renewal is too far off...it has to be 5 years....if we could even make it that long.

This was seriously such a fun and amazing day.

[maddiesdaddy]

It ended too quickly.

Almost like the clock striking midnight for Cinderella, people gathered their kids, gave their hugs and said their goodbyes.

Our kiddos were going with grandparents for the night so we just kind of looked at each other.

It was over. The memories would last forever but the event was over.

She still looked amazing...as much as she did at the beginning of our night. As much as she did when I first saw her face. As much as she did every day since.

The person who had been by my side for the better part of a 2 years, was now officially, my wife. It didn't take a ceremony for our love to be bound together forever, but something about this seemed to seal it tight. Not sure what or if that was part of the pixie dust.

But it was there..confirmed and true.

We gave the bellhop our room number to take all our stuff back to our room and we weren't done.

There is a little bar at the top of the Grand, behind the band, next to Citricos..called Commander Porters.

It is the place that after the kids go to sleep, one of us runs over and gets 4 Blue Moons to take back to our room and sit and enjoy

We went...our first destination as husband and wife. We plodded from the convention center, past the marina and inside the main building. Up the stairs and sat in the bar....people congratulated us, and we had a beer...only time for one..they were closing...but it was nice.

It was simple. It was us. It became a special memory for us, something we will repeat whenever we can.

[maddiesdaddy]

We got back to our room and there was a special arrangement from one of the people we worked with so closely at DFTW, welcoming us as husband and wife.

Such a nice sweet gesture. A simple square short vase of roses. So classy. So elegant. So sweet. We carried it on the plane home. They lasted for a lot longer than we thought they would.

More Disney Magic.

The night would be short. Janet, the amazing hair lady, was going to be back at 4:00 am to get Sarah ready for our MK Shoot.

We were dreading the short night and knew that after MK and EPCOT pictures and the change of clothes, we wouldn't see the kiddos for awhile the next day.

When we woke up, we had no idea how fun that day was going to turn out to be.

Plus, the pictures, were way better than advertised.

In case I haven't mentioned it, Regina was amazing.

[maddiesdaddy]

In a way, the phone call that Janet was here seemed like a dream. How did we get to this point??

She showed up with coffee and donuts...above and beyond the call of duty.

Her energy was addictive and she really got us going. Shower and shave for me and Sarah was getting a different hairdo for the Bridal Portrait.

Janet did another incredible job on hair and makeup. We got Sarah into her dress and headed down to meed Regina who was picking us up at 6:00am.

It was surreal to walk around the Grand so early in the morning. We were again all decked out in our wedding attire and I was imagining the families, asleep, dreaming of the day to come.

We stopped at Gasparillas and got some more caffeine and sat in the lobby waiting for Regina.

She was right on time and had someone new with her. She was less warm than Daryn was, but we attributed that to the early day.

Regina was bright eyed and ready to go. her night was just as short as ours and she was the very definition of positivity.

She made our whole day by bringing us some pictures she quickly printed that morning of some of the key shots of the day. We were floored.

They were amazing. We couldn't wait for more.

[ccgirl]

Another great update! Can't wait to see those pictures. Sounds like you had such a fairytale wedding.

[maddiesdaddy]

We were all talking and catching up about the night...explaning to the assistant Alecia our story and the kiddos and all that.

All of a sudden, I looked up and were were driving down Main Street...in complete blackness except for the beautiful castle that was lit up.

Regina told us that even though she had done that a million times, she still gets goosebumps being behind the scenes of the most magical place on Earth.

And then it began.....and the results were stunning.

I could post 100 MK pictures...but I won't...I won't even call these my favorites because they all are...so here are just some of the many great ones.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1047.jpg

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http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1068.jpg

Wow...there were so many more...these were hard to choose.

Up next, EPCOT

[maddiesdaddy]

Another great update! Can't wait to see those pictures. Sounds like you had such a fairytale wedding.

Thank you...they are on their way...again, thank you so much for reading.

[maddiesdaddy]

So, we headed to EPCOT, where we would have our 2nd park shoot and also a videography session.

After seeing it available, we opted to get a videography session during on of our park shoots. We picked MK, of course, but we were informed that due to construction, no video could currently be taken for bridal spotlights in the MK.

We soon realized...that it was for the best as the EPCOT shoot and corresponding video was amazing.

Before we definitively booked this, we called Regina to ask her thoughts on it.

Between the two, photography was our #1 priority with videography being a 'nice to have' but not critical.

We wanted to understand if, having video there, would compromise Regina's shooting availability.

Because of her schedule, we never got to talk to Regina directly about this but Dara assured us it happened all the time and they are a team...yadda, yadda.

So, still unsure, we booked it.

On the way to EPCOT, we talked to Regina about it. She couldn't have been more ok with it. In fact, the 2 videographers that were assigned to our shoot were friends of hers and she said they work so great in synch with each other.

Often, a shot from the videographers for a video sequence would spur something for Regina and vice versa.

It went exactly that way and was so easy.

Not only easy but fun...we didn't mind the different 'takes' and imagining how it would all come out was exciting.

We still haven't seen the video as we also had a ceremony montage and they edit at the same time. So, while we quickly picked out our song for the EPCOT shoot, the ceremony song was a challenge. We recently (last week) picked it so our editing process is beginning.

Michelle and Kyle from videography were a blast. You could tell they were good at what they did and that the friendship between them and Regina made this process easy, fun and spectacular.

I am glad it all workd out that way..

So...here are some of our (many many) EPCOT favorites:...again, hard to use the word favorite.

[maddiesdaddy]

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1125.jpg

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http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1202.jpg

So, remember the iphone vows? Since they were a part of our wedding, we decided to have a very creative picture taken..Regina did it perfectly...

Our most common response to this picture...of course, you guys would have that taken!

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd459/mthowell/PH255040911-1208.jpg

[maddiesdaddy]

And that was it...we said goodbye to the videographers and Regina drove us back to the hotel.

We hugged her goodbye in the drive up section of the Grand and promised to keep in touch.

We couldn't believe it was over....it was now time to catch up with our family.

We endured a little drama since we forgot to give the grandparents the kids tickets and we hasd asked everyone to meet us at Teppan Edo for a celebration lunch.

Thanks to amazing Disney Customer Service, it was all taken care of and we met our families for an amazing lunch.

Hugging the kids felt so wonderful. There was no doubt we had fun without them at the shoot...it was a once in a lifetime experience, but we missed them incredibly so.

[maddiesdaddy]

I think that wraps up my documentation of the day.

I appreciate the few of you who commented and everyone who read along.

It was so happy and so wonderful and so amazing.

As i sit here, almost 3 months later, I remember it like it was yesterday.

Every moment, every step.

I am beyond blessed to have the happy healthy family that I have today. And that we could share and experience that the way we did.

We have already planned our 2012 family trip in September. It looks like the last day of the trip will be our anniversary.

It may call for a special cake order...our cake was delicious!!!!

This wedding was truly a fairytale. In all the ways it should be.

From planning on day 1 to the end of it. And it continues. Every day I fall more in love with Sarah and the family that we combined.

Every morning, when I sit there and head off to work, and kiss my family goodbye, I remember how happy they make me. How lucky I am to have a spectacular woman kiss me good bye.

To have a beautiful, well rounded, grounded daughter hug my so tight and tell me that she can't wait to see me at the end of the day.

To have a smart, funny, well rounded, grounded step son who seems to have adjusted so well to a new city and a new family and have him give me a big hug and tell me to have a good day.

Thank you to all who have listened to me recount that day and my feelings and my thoughts.

The fairytale began they day I met Sarah.

It continues today.

[MrRomance]

I haven't read your DW's PJ, but I stumbled on your report today. It looks like you had a wonderful wedding day and it is great to see another guy who is so proud of his family. :thumbsup2 Your love for your wife and your 2 beautiful children shines through in every word and every picture.

Congratulations and best wishes to your family for what will be a fantastic life together.

:thumbsup2

[maddiesdaddy]

I haven't read your DW's PJ, but I stumbled on your report today. It looks like you had a wonderful wedding day and it is great to see another guy who is so proud of his family. :thumbsup2 Your love for your wife and your 2 beautiful children shines through in every word and every picture.

Congratulations and best wishes to your family for what will be a fantastic life together.

:thumbsup2

We did have a wonderful wedding day..thank you so much for reading.

Best wishes to you.

What you are doing for your wife and the love you have for your family is trully awesome.

Sorry the surprise was ruined form the David Bridal's box, but glad she's joining you in planning.

Thanks again for reading and I look forward to reading more of your story.

:thumbsup2

[luvs2cruise]

Truly a fairytale wedding!!!! Wishing you a lifetime of happines!

[ccgirl]

Yeah!!!! So awesome. Those pictures were amazing as well!!!! Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to write. You write very well.

[maddiesdaddy]

Truly a fairytale wedding!!!! Wishing you a lifetime of happines!

Thank you so much. I wish you a fun and happy VR....will be reading!

[maddiesdaddy]

Yeah!!!! So awesome. Those pictures were amazing as well!!!! Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to write. You write very well.

Thank you. So very sweet of you to say and read along. We truly had so much fun.

Thanks again.

[pixie921]

Oh no -- it's over!! I'm so sad! I have to say that I've really enjoyed reading your retelling of the day. You obviously are crazy about your family -- it comes through in every word. :) Thanks for letting us share in your magical day, and I wish you all much happiness in the years to come!! :goodvibes

[maddiesdaddy]

Oh no -- it's over!! I'm so sad! I have to say that I've really enjoyed reading your retelling of the day. You obviously are crazy about your family -- it comes through in every word. :) Thanks for letting us share in your magical day, and I wish you all much happiness in the years to come!! :goodvibes

Thank you so much for reading along and commenting along the way. I really appreciate it.

I am crazy about my family....things happen for a reason, for sure.

Thank you for the well wishes. They are much appreciated.

Thank you again!

[torismom]

What a wonderful story. Your point of view was amazing. You could feel the love in the words and see the love in all of your photos!! Wishing you and your family a wonderful life together!! Thank you for taking the time to share your memories.

[maddiesdaddy]

What a wonderful story. Your point of view was amazing. You could feel the love in the words and see the love in all of your photos!! Wishing you and your family a wonderful life together!! Thank you for taking the time to share your memories.

Jennifer,

Thank you very much. We really appreciate all the kind words.

Thank you so much for reading and for the very thoughtful and heartwarming comments.

[lpizzuro123]

Wow, that was completely amazing. Wonderful story and wonderful pictures. I now need to go and read your DW planning journal.

Thanks so much for writing this.

Linda

[Chilly]

Beautiful MK & Epcot photos! So sad the report is over, looking forward to the VR TR.

[ladyemz]

I have just read through your amazing report and everything was just so perfect :lovestruc You all look so happy and I love the photo of the kids with Mickey, just pure magic!

You definately can write, and I have loved every minute of your report. Thank you for taking the time to post it for all of us to enjoy, I am now even more excited for our wedding as we have planned exactly the same as you it seems, 5pm WP ceremony with reception at the Whitehall. I love your fireworks shots, perfect timing, Regina did an amazing job. Your children are beautiful and you can see how much love you all ave for each other in the photos.

Everything is just stunning and perfect, wishing all 4 of you all the best for the future, and many happy Disney moments to come. Congraulations!!!! :)

Off to read your wifes PJ now, I am very keen to see where you got the toasting flutes from!!!!

[Sizzle]

These are so great! Your love and enthusiasm is just oozing off the pages. Congratulations!!

[Allyourwishes]

What a beautiful recap, it was so sweet to read it from a husband's POV. I wish you and your gorgeous family many happily ever afters and if you ever feel like sharing any more pics I know I for one would be delighted to see them

[maddiesdaddy]

Wow, that was completely amazing. Wonderful story and wonderful pictures. I now need to go and read your DW planning journal.

Thanks so much for writing this.


Thank you so much for the nice comments. It was so much fun writing this. I really enjoyed it and it means so much, too, that other people did as well. Thanks again for the comments.

Beautiful MK & Epcot photos! So sad the report is over, looking forward to the VR TR.

Ha ha..thank you. We can't wait for the VR either!

I have just read through your amazing report and everything was just so perfect :lovestruc You all look so happy and I love the photo of the kids with Mickey, just pure magic!

Thank you thank you thank you. It was a prefect day for us and the kids were so great with Mickey. Again, I reiterate that we had an amazing Mickey for our reception, but it was so much fun.

You definately can write, and I have loved every minute of your report. Thank you for taking the time to post it for all of us to enjoy, I am now even more excited for our wedding as we have planned exactly the same as you it seems, 5pm WP ceremony with reception at the Whitehall. I love your fireworks shots, perfect timing, Regina did an amazing job. Your children are beautiful and you can see how much love you all ave for each other in the photos.

Thank you. I am glad you loved every minute of it. I enjoyed every part of writing it. That's awesome that you have practically the same schedule as we did. It worked perefectly. I remember that excitement and I am glad you have it and that it is growing every day. The whitehall was really fabulous. And I still cannot say enough about Regina. Part of our package came with a large print and we just had it framed at Michael's and the Michael's guy said he had worked in framing for a long time and never saw such a beautiful picture. Sure, in Missouri, Disney as the backdrop makes for something special, but Regina did an AMAZING job.

Thank you..our children are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside and we do have so much love...so much love that we might have an addition! :rolleyes1

I was blessed to find Sarah and her son and combine them into our lives. We all have lots of fun together.

Everything is just stunning and perfect, wishing all 4 of you all the best for the future, and many happy Disney moments to come. Congraulations!!!! :)

Off to read your wifes PJ now, I am very keen to see where you got the toasting flutes from!!!!

Thank you so much. We wish you the best also..many years of magial happiness. We hope you have as magical of a day as we did. It will stay in your thoughts for so long.

And in case yoy didn't find it..the toasting glasses are from Arribas Bros!

Thanks again for reading.

These are so great! Your love and enthusiasm is just oozing off the pages. Congratulations!!

Thank you so much. We had fun and we do love each other so much. Thank you.

What a beautiful recap, it was so sweet to read it from a husband's POV. I wish you and your gorgeous family many happily ever afters and if you ever feel like sharing any more pics I know I for one would be delighted to see them

Thank you so much. We just got our album back (We picked the Artist Commissioned Album) and we were STUNNED by its exquisiteness and beauty. It was so much better than we ever thought it would be. It is one of a kind, magnificent and so perfect. Regina's pictures helped make it but Lillian designed it so well and the artist who worked on it...wow...wow...wow....I may post pictures of the album..though those pictures will never do it justice. We got it yesterday and have already looked at it cover to cover over 10 times.


Again..so many people commented or sent me a message or something like that. Thank you so much for your kind words and well wishes. This was the most magical day of our lives and we have so many fun things ahead of us that we can't wait to share and then get back for a VR.

We still think about the key Disney players from that day and think of them so fondly. (We actually just talked to most of them today!!!)

Our planner - Pamela...one word..amazing

Our floral designer - Laura Kidd...so helpful and a true genius with our floral arrangements and so so so nice

And Jessica (Pamela's assistant) and Jennifer (Laura's assistant) were amazingly helpful when the others weren't available. We felt in great hands no matter who we got on the phone.

Our photographer - Regina..an artist through and through

Our videographers - Kyle and Michelle - fun and inspirational - we can't wait to get the video.

I know I have probably said it a million times and I can't say it enough. From the time we landed to the time we departed, every single part of this Disney experience was off the charts, wonderful. I am blessed to have an amazing family and I have so many memories that I hope are super glued in there for a lifetime.

Thank you all again for reading.

[AdelineandSidney]

....I may post pictures of the album..though those pictures will never do it justice.


Yes Please post !!!
We're picking an album for our ER too and are dying to see an example of one.

[maddiesdaddy]

Yes Please post !!!
We're picking an album for our ER too and are dying to see an example of one.

Ok. Will work on that tomorrow. Artist commissioned is the way to go in our opinion, though. So one of a kind.

[goodmorningirl]

OMG! You have a beautiful family, just gorgeous. What an amazing wedding. Your photos are so inspiring. Would you mind if I copied a few of your photos to add to my 'must have' photo list??

[maddiesdaddy]

OMG! You have a beautiful family, just gorgeous. What an amazing wedding. Your photos are so inspiring. Would you mind if I copied a few of your photos to add to my 'must have' photo list??

Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. By all means, if some of our pictures inspired something you want, then feel free.

Best of luck and thanks again.

Also..A&S, I still owe pictures of our album. Things at work are keeping me hopping, but I will get to it

[maddiesdaddy]

Hi all...life is CRAZY!!!!

It has been so great reading some of all of your amazing trip reports. We are missing Disney so much.

We have been away for awhile because life has really been crazy. We have moved...yes moved and that was crazy enough...but we had to move...because we are pregnant......with twins. We have been so blessed. One boy...one girl. It was all Disney magic. No names yet..for now, we're telling people Mickey and Minnie!!

I owe pictures but things are stuck in boxes!!!

Hope all is well with everyone.