Shannon & Craig's Scottish/Canadian TR! WPBeach/ADH, 5/5/08 - Day 3 Bachelorette!

[scottish/canadian]

Well, three weeks of wedded bliss down and lots of ever after to come! It was a fantastic day...as magical as we could've ever dreamed! I didn't keep track of enough to do a full blow by blow TR, but I want to make sure I give you all the details of the big day, plus whatever else I can remember and LOTS of pics! I'll start with a quick recap of us and then some location and vendor reviews.

Craig and I met while we were both working at Disney on their International Program at EPCOT in 2003. He worked at the Rose and Crown in the UK Pavilion and I worked Merchandise and Attractions in "Canada". I had a brief run in with him in the staff cafeteria (consisting of some lame comments on the weather only) and then proceeded to track him down with the help of my Canadian friend, Lili and my Brit roomie, Sarah. Sarah introduced us at a party in October of 2003 and the rest is history!

Craig moved to Canada from Scotland and we're moving into our new condo in just three weeks!! Can't wait!

Locations

Pics and reviews to come!

Ceremony - Wedding Pavilion Beach
Reception - Atlantic Dance Hall

Bridal Party

Maid of Honour – My younger sister, Jamie
Best Man – Nando (Craig’s BF from home)
Bridesmaids – Kiley (Childhood BF from home), Brandy & Kathy (two of my BFs from Disney), Beth (Craig’s 12-year old cousin)
Ushers – Ali, Willy, Donald (all Craig’s friends from home)
Ring Bearers – Kenny (7), David (5) both are friends of my family
Flower Child (Well, not really sure what to call him) – Mason (3 months, son of my BM Brandy)

Attire

My dress was worth every piece of the drama that I went through to get it (read my PJ for the sordid affair). It was Sottero and Midgely VSM7010...a collection of Maggie Sottero. Ivory with pewter embroidery and a laceup back. It was huge and absolutely gorgeous.

I wore a four hoop skirt underneath it with no additional crinoline. The hoop was strong enough to keep the heavy skirt off my legs and I was never hot. Sure...I had sweat running down them and mud sticking to it, but never felt hot.

I always wanted to wear a big, princessy dress and think that every girl should wear one for their wedding! When else can you wear a dress like that? It was so fun. I just picked up the hoop and ran around all I wanted!! So fun. I'm in love with it still and was so sad to see how filthy it was at the end of the night.

I wore the Swarovski Cinderella tiara. Tip - Most Swarovski tiaras don't have combs and are a little floppy and hard to pin in. Ana from Beaute Speciale kind of cringed when I took out the blue box. I had one of the small Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique $10 metal tiaras at home, so I took it to my jeweller and had them take the comb off and saulter it to my tiara. Ana was so happy. It made putting the tiara in simple and it stayed so much tighter than when I had a trail at home without it! Cost me like $20. Worth every cent.

My veil was two layers had long and round crystals along the edges and went to my mid-back. My sister put crystal mickeys along the edge of the longer layer. We were going to go back and do the other layer but decided not to. It was super easy and turned out great.

I bought my white sapphire teardrop necklace at Kohl's and my earrings were Diamondice and just happened to match. Both matched the drop in the tiara. I bought cheap mickey shaped earrings in the surf store at DTD for my second holes. I wore my Grandma's blue sapphire ring that my Grandfather gave her. A bracelet made up of mickey head shaped blue crystals and a Swarovski bangle with one solid line of white crystals.

A couple weeks before we left, we realized that I had lost my ceremony shoes. Our guess was that we'd left them at the bridal store because that was the only place I had them other than at home! Of course, they never saw them...surprise! I ended up going with a pair of bright turquoise with glitter flip flops from New York and Company. Love them! I also had a pair of white with multi-colour accent sketchers runners. Gotta love small feet because they were kids shoes! The flip flops never hurt my feet but I eventually changed because I loved the runners so much.

Oh, I also wore three garters!!! One my old roommate sent to me, one I ordered that was Craig's soccer team and had a silver mickey charm with my nickname engraved on it...all four of my Disney bfs have had one at their wedding. And another one that had a few miles on it already.

Cont'd...

 

[scottish/canadian]

My girls wore a dress from Raylia. It was "Royal Blue" but ended up being a much lighter colour than we expected but I loved it. It was such a unique design and laced up the back like my dress. We found out that Raylia is actually run by Maggie Sottero's daughter...perfect. The laces were awesome, but it was a little stressful trying to get us all tied up. They all wore silver flip flops but had other heels too...although I think they all had them on for about ten minutes! I bought them all the BBB tiara. I let them all choose their own hairstyle so they didn't end up looking like little paper dolls, but they all picked the same style and did. Ha...too cute. My little princesses. They all wore the same Swarovski bracelet as I did...which is what I gave them as gifts.

The boys all wore kilts from Dunedin Scottish in Tampa. They wore the Holyrood tartan and Prince Charlie jackets. Thought they were going to die of heat stroke but they survived and looked fantastic. I bought the kilt for our three month old flower child online and it was in the same tartan...too cute. Instead of using a ring pillow, we used the stuffed dogs that my sister and I have had since childhood. The website that I bought Mason's kilt on also carried can and bottle kilts. Beaners took a can size and Sparkly took bottle...also in Holyrood.

I think that covers what covered all our butts!

 

[PrincessBride010103]

Shannon, wow your dress was amazing...you are right worth every bit of drama! Aren't Ana & Lily the best???

 

[DecemberBride]

love it so far... you looked beautiful! DH and groomsmen looked spiffy! Can't wait for more!

 

[scottish/canadian]

Okay...time for the much anticipated (I'm sure) Vendor Reviews.

Let's start with Disney...

Consultant - Kristi Davis - A++ - Kristi was super helpful all the way through. She managed to pull things together for us to sign and have a planning session in just a few days. She even got us our passes before the contract went through as an early birthday present! Just a couple weeks before the wedding she stepped in and helped save the day. She was the only Disney number I had in my cell phone and I called for her advice on a seamstress to do my bustle once I got down there. She suggested our fav Carolyn Allen's as the place that does all the last minute alterations for Disney Brides. If that didn't work, she told me to call back and she'd see what else she could find. When we had problems with our first planner, she was also super helpful.

Planner - Ken Weaver - A - Ken stepped in as our second planner. Right away he made a huge difference by making things that we had once been told couldn't happen...happen. We went back and forth on a million things right up until the last minute. His assistant Linda was great too. I only wish I'd actually gotten to meet her. Our only complaint is that after he left we had no contact and that was when we ran into our biggest problem. He had two assistants on the day off, Kevin and a girl in the WP who's name escapes me. She was great and was able to relace my dress before the ceremony when I was complaining it was too loose. I gave Kevin a few things when we arrived at the Poly and I don't feel that he took care of any of it. If he did, I didn't notice.

Floral - Laura Kidd - C+ - I guess C would be the middle of the road grade. Laura was great at our planning session when I was still very undecided. She did a good job with all the changes when we had a second planning session over the phone. She really got the fun colourful atmosphere that i was going for at ADH. We had a lot of trouble getting a hold of her for a long period of time and we had to wait quite a while for our floral contracts. We LOVED the centrepieces and alter pieces that she did...as well as the favours. The girls bouquets and mom's corsages were fantastic. The boys boutounierres were no good and my bouquet was awful. I was so upset by how it turned out. After reading Nikki's report, there must have been something bad in the stars for May 5 floral as my flowers were slightly brown and wilting when I got them too!! Other than that, ADH looked fantastic!

DJ - Jason - B - Jason was a lot of fun. Did a great job with our introductions and was really interactive all night. We didn't really give him a playlist, except for a few things. Some song requests were on a sheet that I gave Ken's assistant Kevin and as most of them didn't get played, I don't know if the list made it to him. The music he played was good, typical wedding type stuff so people danced, but not really the stuff that we liked...which was completely our fault for not getting that too him beforehand.

Hair & Makeup - Beaute Speciale - A - Ana and Lily were fantastic. At my hair trial, Ana cringed when I whipped out the swarovski box, but loved that we'd had a comb attached. My hair and makeup trial was amazing. Walked around all day with big hair and wore the little BBB tiara. Felt like a prom queen! I had fake eyelashes and loved them, but they fell off in about three hours. On the wedding day, my hair was great. Thought it was a little flat at the back, but still happy. My makeup was 100% darker than the trial and I hated it. I spoke up and Ana made Lily redo the whole thing. I felt bad and it put us super behind and made everything really stressful trying to get dressed and get out. Left us no time for pics at Boardwalk which I really wanted. I had fake eyelashes on the wedding day too and they fell off by about 9pm. I almost cried. My mom, sister and one BM all had them and they were all fine. I didn't cry once so not sure why they kept falling off me. My only other complaint is that every one of my girls looked the same. It would have been nice if they'd been a little different. Overall, very happy.

Carolyn Allens - A++++++++++++++ - The easiest and most stress-free part of the whole wedding. With less than a week to go, i called them to see if they could help with last minute alterations. i had an appt. to get a french bustle done, but when I got there Sue agreed to bustle, put in bra cups and take up the dress a little more. Her and her husband and daughter were all really nice. Her husband kept playing with Mason to keep him from crying. She kept the dress to do the alterations and started the steaming. She brought the completed dress to my hotel the day before during my hair trial and finished the steaming and did two bridesmaids dresses also. Everything was perfect and simple. The alterations were a little pricey, but I was too desperate to care.

Officiant - Rev. Randal Miller - A - Rev. Miller was awesome. Super nice guy. We were very late and stressed out arriving at the rehearsal. Craig and I had been fighting all day and I didn't want to speak to him let alone practice marrying him. He was very calm and put me at ease immediately. He had a wedding that afternoon so we ran through things really quickly and he had to leave. Ken ran us through the rest of the rehearsal. He called me the night before the wedding to confirm what we wanted him to wear. We told him just to wear something cool and beachy. He wore a white shirt and khaki pants and fit into our beach theme. The ceremony was very generic, but we loved it. All about love and taking care of one another. 100% non-religious as we requested. He was slightly more expensive than others ($350) but worth it. He was really cool and was telling the guys about all his celebrity weddings and funerals while they were waiting for the ceremony to begin. I only gave him an A because we only corresponded to setup the date and a couple weeks out, which stressed me a little bit, but Rev. Miller is highly recommended!!!

Videographer - STVS - A...so far - We haven't received the final product yet, so it's hard to give a grade. This was a super last minute booking...only a couple weeks out. He gave me a great deal and we got the HD package plus some other stuff that he included when I told him that I was a broadcasting student and some of my wishes. I barely knew he was there all day. He's in a couple of photos but nothing major. I was directed to Stan by one of my friends that used him and she too was very happy. We still have to send him photos and music so it will be a while until we get our final video, but the sneak peek is great so I'm sure we'll love it!

Partybooths - B - Partybooths supplied our photobooth. We had a six hour unlimited photo package for $1200 and it was worth every penny. Other than Mickey anbd Minnie coming, this was the highlight of the night!! Everyone was a little timid at first, but eventually they got right into it and there was almost always a line up!! I think the attendant was having fun with all of our drunk kilted boys! They kept trying to get her in the booth with them and they eventually succeeded. She acutually stayed at least 30 minutes longer than she was supposed to! It also gave us pics of people who would have never been in pics together otherwise! I gave them a B because the pics were supposed to be on the website by the following Monday and they weren't up until the Friday after that and only with me harrassing them everyday, twice a day. We still have not received the CD because they are apparently out of CDs...maybe they don't have a Walmart in Minnesota (head office location). Great idea, loads of fun!

Photographer - Gary Fox - D- - I left this til the end because I'm having the biggest problem with it. We got what we paid for and i wish we'd paid more. We got 1400 pictures, which was great, but I don't think they were the greatest pics. If you want a cheap package and aren't a complete photo freak like me, then Gary would be great. Unfortunately, photography was one of the biggest things to me. He gave us a great deal because it was a weekday. We paid less than $2000 for unlimited pictures from two hours before the ceremony until the end of the reception. I really wanted pics of us getting ready, but that two hours before doesn't give you time for that, which we didn't really realize until a couple days before the ceremony. When we called him about it, he basically said too bad. It was our fault for missing that in the contract, but it was something that we had discussed so didn't really look for it. He did show up early, with another photographer, which was a bonus, so we did get some of those shots as he left her with us. We had our photos taken at the Polynesian because there are beautiful locations, but the spot he picked was terrible. We went about 2o feet outside the doors and stayed there. I would have spoken up but I never realized that he would take all the pics there. I really wanted to go over to Sunset Pointe, but we never made it. We took a few pics on the beach but that was it. Craig's family was all at that hotel as they had all come over with the boys, so they stood around and watched us take our pictures which I didn't really like. Killed the element of surprise. Not Gary's fault, but i wish he'd taken us from that location to get away from them. Post-ceremony he said the light was really bad and basically guilted me into moving into the WP for pictures, which i hate. I think they look fake. There are pictures that we posed for that he says he never took. And some standard photos that he should have taken that he didn't. I asked if photos of all the flowers were taken and was told yes, but there is only a pic of mine, Craig's and my sisters. I also feel like we annoyed him all day. Whenever we asked for a pic it seemed like a chore. I received all of the pictures on DVD, in a colour and black and white version very quickly, but I do feel that i got what I paid for. About two months out, i had a bad feeling and almost changed photographers, but didn't. Really wish i did, but oh well. There were enough paparazzi there that we can find most of the lost pics...except the one of my sis, her bf and Mickey. C'est la vie.

National Car Rental at MCO - A+ - I am an Emerald Club member so I got to walk right out to the garage and pick my car. I stopped at the office to add insurance, which confused them a little but was no problem. Then I walked out to the Emerald Club aisle to pick any car I wanted and didn't really like any of my choices. I stood there confused looking as I had booked a midsize SUV and there was only one icky one there. A lot attendant came over and asked if he could help me and I told him I'd rented a mid SUV and was this my only option? He took me to the mid SUV aisle to pick from there and there still wasn't anything I liked. We'd had an Equinox when we were there in November and liked it and really wanted one again. My parents had a Kia Sportage and it was way tinier, and that was all that was left. When he saw the disappointed look, he said I have one more sport...hold on. So i waited, and waited and he appeared with a dark slate grey Equinox sport with dark black windows, a slick black leather interior, XM radio (that we discovered on our second last day) and was super clean and super nice. I was pretty pumped with my pimping rental car. Might have helped that I played the wedding card...or I told my mom it was cause i was cute.

I don't think I've forgotten any of my Florida vendors...wanted to add a couple for ones I used here at home...

Bridal and Beyond, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and or Maggie Sottero (whoever wants to take the blame for my dress today!!!) - F----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Both get big fat worst grade ever Fs!!!! Terrible. I will NEVER set foot in Bridal and Beyond again. I had heard terrible tales, but met a super nice sales girl who tricked me into buying from there. She was clearly too good for the joint and left a few months ago to go to a better salon. While the originating fault is on the Maggie Sottero factory, as MS has admitted to us, B&B had had no follow-up on my dress being so late until we called them. I was almost a month late before they have any calls on file and it was after I made the call to them. The owner is a rude $@$#@$@# who lied to my face on multiple occasions. As a nice gesture, he offered us a $100 discount, which he said was straight out of his pocket as the designers never give discounts. Funny, when we spoke to the MS rep on the phone she said the discount was from them! In a conversation with him later, he said that designers have to go through a few channels before they can give discounts and that he never said they don't do it. There are witnesses to both conversations. Needless to say there were many tears shed there and multiple occasions that I had to walk out of the store so I didn't punch them. My first tip off should have been when they quoted me a price $200 cheaper than what they charged me and then offered me a $200 store credit as a nice gesture...he tried to offer that same credit to me at the end except only $100 in case I still needed a tiara two weeks before the wedding. Um, no thanks. I wish I had gone to one of the other salons that carried the dress and paid the $50-$100 difference for the dress. If I have my way, nobody I know will every buy a dress from there again. Terrible. Unfortunately, Maggie Sottero still makes some of the nicest dresses out there right now. The only advice I can give you on that is to LIE LIE LIE about your wedding date!! Apparently the designers only guarantee that you'll have your dress before your date. Order early...I had 6 months...and move your date waaaaaay up for all paperwork purposes.

Ritche - They carried my dress but I went to B&B because it was cheaper. When I refused to give B&B anymore of my money, I went to Ritche for my veil. I walked in, got a little grief for not having an appt (for a veil??) but they let me stay. Told the girl what I wanted, looked at a few, picked one...she brought out my dress so we could hold it up to it and done! Easy peasy. So quick Craig sat in the car the whole time and never complained! I went in there when I was looking for dresses and had it narrowed down to two. My baby and another one that I tried on at a bridal show and loved but couldn't find anywhere as it was in the new collection. Ritche had a trunk show with this dress and I called and told them how badly I needed to see it and that I couldn't find it, etc. etc. sob story and they managed to squeeze me in, sure it was a closet, but still. Great experiences both times.

Fortunes Jewellers - We found them after a spot on Breakfast Television. Went in and they had some great ideas. We came up with designs and decided to have them made. We were never under the impression that there was a time crunch. The only paperwork there was were the rough drawings of the design, which made me nervous. We paid the deposit and then the due date came and went. We went in to pick them up on the Tuesday a couple days after the pick up date...still hadn't heard from them. When we went in we were told they needed a little more time, not hours, more like days and it would be end of day Saturday. When we went to pick them up they weren't done. Well, Craig's was, but not mine. There was supposed to be engraving on the sides to match Craig's but it didn't get done and now everyone is trying to tell us not to do it...but that was the whole point of getting them made so they matched!!! Craig's still looks rough and unfinished...not like a $1000 ring with no stones!! My wasn't even cleaned and as much as I try, I can't get the tarnish spots on the outside of the band to go away. My ring is a jacket style...meaning my engagement ring slots into the middle and there are channel sets on either side. The channels are notched to leave room for my larger centre stone...but not enough for the rings to sit flush, which I don't like. We have to take them back in for completion and I have to draft up a list of things that are wrong with them. I also think they shortchanged me two diamonds. I'll be looking for a few bucks back on my cc for the engraving and two diamonds.

I think that is everything. Tomorrow I will try to put up some pics of the locations, floral, favours, guestbook and photobooth. Then maybe I'll do some actual trip report, but this is the stuff you guys all want to see anyways!!

 

[scottish/canadian]

Shannon, wow your dress was amazing...you are right worth every bit of drama! Aren't Ana & Lily the best???

Thanks so much! That's why I was so sad that I might not have it. Ana and Lily were great. So glad I went with them. For a girl who never wears makeup, I didn't feel all made up!

love it so far... you looked beautiful! DH and groomsmen looked spiffy! Can't wait for more!

Thank you! They did clean up quite well. I need to post a picture of my Dad as he looked incredible in his kilt...and he's not even scottish just got into the spirit!! So did my sister's Dutch boyfriend actually...quite fun!

I need to go to bed. Craig's going to get mad at me for still being up and worse, being on here! Nighty, night!

 

[linzwylie]

Consultant - Kristi Davis - A++ - Kristi was super helpful all the way through.

This is who we have had for our planner and she has been terrific throughout. She phoned me last night to tell me we had our date even though I wasn't expecting her to call till today - she said she thought it would be a nice surprise - she was right

Officiant - Rev. Randal Miller - A - Rev. Miller was awesome. Super nice guy.

This is who we would like to marry us - in all of the videos that I have seen he seems fantastic

Craig and I had been fighting all day and I didn't want to speak to him let alone practice marrying him.

Hee Hee

Rev. Miller is highly recommended!!!

Thats what I like to hear

The only advice I can give you on that is to LIE LIE LIE about your wedding date!!

Good advice - sorry to hear about your problems that you had

I think that is everything. Tomorrow I will try to put up some pics of the locations, floral, favours, guestbook and photobooth. Then maybe I'll do some actual trip report, but this is the stuff you guys all want to see anyways!!

I can't wait to hear more !!

We are from Scotland and were considering hiring kilts here and bringing them with us but I may have a look at Dunedin Scottish - how did you find them?.

LINZ XXX Nice avatar by the way

 

[lov2b@disney]

Wow! Everything looks great! Love the picture of the baby in the kilt so cute! And the stuffed dogs what a special idea!

I have Laura for floral too and I have to agree, very slow to respond for the most part--

Sorry about the photography--that really is a bummer--hope you got some good shots, the ones you have posted are beautiful!

Looking forward to more!

 

[hope1826]

Shannon, I'm so glad you've started your report! I can't view your pics at work, but after kissing my husband, your TR is the first on my agenda when I get home tonight.

I'm sorry you were disappointed by your floral and your photography.

OHHHHHHH and I have been dying to tell you.... Your bagpipes ROCKED!!! DH's best man was giving his toast when we all heard them. I wanted to jump up and go see you guys from the Attic porch!

I did see one of your kilted men, while we were taking pics with Misty!

 

[scottish/canadian]

This is who we have had for our planner and she has been terrific throughout. She phoned me last night to tell me we had our date even though I wasn't expecting her to call till today - she said she thought it would be a nice surprise - she was right

This is who we would like to marry us - in all of the videos that I have seen he seems fantastic

Hee Hee

Thats what I like to hear

Good advice - sorry to hear about your problems that you had

I can't wait to hear more !!

We are from Scotland and were considering hiring kilts here and bringing them with us but I may have a look at Dunedin Scottish - how did you find them?.

LINZ XXX Nice avatar by the way

Linz - Book him right now!!! It wasn't a huge deal to us who we were married by. We just wanted 100% non-religious. When Craig was going research to find us someone he came across him. He decided that if he was good enough for the Dallas Cowboys and various celebs, he was good enough for us! And we were right.

I guess I forgot to do the VR for Dunedin Scottish, I'll do that in the next post so stay tuned!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Wow! Everything looks great! Love the picture of the baby in the kilt so cute! And the stuffed dogs what a special idea!

I have Laura for floral too and I have to agree, very slow to respond for the most part--

Sorry about the photography--that really is a bummer--hope you got some good shots, the ones you have posted are beautiful!

Looking forward to more!

I think she is slow because she has so many weddings to do and during what I considered crunch time for my wedding she did the first couture event so apparently was super swamped. Her work was great for the most part, it was just the quality of some of the flowers that we didn't like.

I think everyone thought I had lost my mind when I suggested the puppies, but what would I ever do with a ring pillow afterwards?? If I hadn't used the dogs, I might have used a stuffed Mickey or other fav Disney character for fun! Thanks!

 

[scottish/canadian]

I forgot to review Dunedin Scottish, the place where we rented the kilts in Tampa. I'm giving them a C+.

My parents went in to check them out when they were down there last summer. Just an informal see what it's like. When we were down for our planning session in November we went in to make all arrangements. They took our info and said we were in no rush and that all was good. We offered to leave a deposit, but they said not to worry. Okay. We assumed all was good to go. Then they called us in Feb/March to tell us that they didn't think they'd actually be able to fill the order because they had other weddings then. We asked at what point we had priority and they had no answer. We said that if it was money we'd offered to pay, etc. If you talked to one of the guys, there was no problem. If you talked to the girl, there was every issue in the world. It was very frustrating. This was at the same point that we were trying to find my dress too. It was like a big sign not to have the wedding. Many, many phone calls later things eventually got sorted. We thought that our Dads would have to have a different tartan but it worked out. I was still super nervous until the boys had kilts in hand. There was also an issue with not having enough shoes and not having a pair to fit Craig's big feet. We ended up ordering a pair online in his correct UK size and they were waaaaaay too small...like inches!! We returned them and got the next size and a bit up and they were still too small. The shoes ended up costing us an absolute fortune so Craig was going to suck it up and wear it for most of the day and then change. When they got to Florida, DS actually had a pair to fit him. Grrr. They managed to upsell my Dad on the kilt shirts, even though they had all just planned to wear their own shirts. Then we had issues with the shirts being too small and one kilt being too big, but we just pinned it. My Dad drove over to Tampa to change the shirt sizes the morning of the wedding. Anyways, the kilts and accessories were great once we got them. Although they did short change us one kilt pin. I also bought a matching sash to wear in some pics. I felt they caused us a lot of undue stress which is what got them such a low mark. They also didn't give us any deal for renting so many.

If you are coming from Scotland and can manage it, I'd rent over there. The selection and quality is better and you can rest assured that you have everything under control and fitting before you leave. If there are any problems with DS, there aren't any other options around!

 

[snow_white725]

.

 

[scottish/canadian]

Shannon, I'm so glad you've started your report! I can't view your pics at work, but after kissing my husband, your TR is the first on my agenda when I get home tonight.

I'm sorry you were disappointed by your floral and your photography.

OHHHHHHH and I have been dying to tell you.... Your bagpipes ROCKED!!! DH's best man was giving his toast when we all heard them. I wanted to jump up and go see you guys from the Attic porch!

I did see one of your kilted men, while we were taking pics with Misty!

Hi Nikki! Congratulations!

Glad you liked the bagpipes! I was so worried they'd be so loud and ruin all of your festivities. You wouldn't have seen us as we didn't get there until the bagpiper was leaving!!! Oh well. We had lots of (out of control) kilted men at the wedding and it was great. Did you talk to my mom???

 

[scottish/canadian]

I can't wait to see more. It looks like such a pretty wedding! (I saw your video preview already and it looked so beautiful!!)

Everytime I reply to one, there's another!!

Thanks! The video sneak peek is awesome...everyone keeps asking what we were laughing at!

 

[hope1826]

Hi Nikki! Congratulations!

Glad you liked the bagpipes! I was so worried they'd be so loud and ruin all of your festivities. You wouldn't have seen us as we didn't get there until the bagpiper was leaving!!! Oh well. We had lots of (out of control) kilted men at the wedding and it was great. Did you talk to my mom???

They were super loud. But they sounded awesome and our guests loved them!

YAY!! Was that your mom?!?! She and a kilted man were unloading stuff from a pretty car in front of the Boardwalk Lobby.

As DH and I were walking back into the Lobby (and I was trying really hard not to faint after an hour of pictures in that non-NJ heat) I heard a woman say "Look, she must be the other bride!" So I turned around and aked her if she was part of Shannon and Craig's wedding, she said "Yes". And I asked her to say "Hi and congratulations" to you! I was so loopy at that point, I could barely see them.

I hope I wasn't rude to her. I felt bad afterwards, because I felt like we were both just running past her and we were kind of abrupt.

 

[scottish/canadian]

They were super loud. But they sounded awesome and our guests loved them!

YAY!! Was that your mom?!?! She and a kilted man were unloading stuff from a pretty car in front of the Boardwalk Lobby.

As DH and I were walking back into the Lobby (and I was trying really hard not to faint after an hour of pictures in that non-NJ heat) I heard a woman say "Look, she must be the other bride!" So I turned around and aked her if she was part of Shannon and Craig's wedding, she said "Yes". And I asked her to say "Hi and congratulations" to you! I was so loopy at that point, I could barely see them.

I hope I wasn't rude to her. I felt bad afterwards, because I felt like we were both just running past her and we were kind of abrupt.

Yep, that would have been her and my Dad I guess. Not rude at all. She said that she saw you and said hi. She also added that you looked fantastic!!

 

[hope1826]

Yep, that would have been her and my Dad I guess. Not rude at all. She said that she saw you and said hi. She also added that you looked fantastic!!

That's so cool that of all people, I ran into your parents! I really wish I could have seen you too.

I saw your video and you looked gorgeous! Your dress was so beautiful! And your DH is sooooo tall and handsome!

 

[scottish/canadian]

That's so cool that of all people, I ran into your parents! I really wish I could have seen you too.

I saw your video and you looked gorgeous! Your dress was so beautiful! And your DH is sooooo tall and handsome!

Yeah, I wish I'd bumped into you as well...and yes, Craig is tall!!

 

[scottish/canadian]

Wednesday, April 30th

I could hardly believe that this day had finally arrived! I had to go to work for a couple hours in the morning to tie up a few loose ends, and so it wouldn’t count against my limited vacation days! I only lasted a couple of hours before I couldn’t take it anymore and had to go home to finish up the last of my packing.

My Mom, Dad, sister and Craig all drove down and left late late late Sunday night/Monday morning. They drove in our SUV with a roof box and towed my sisters car packed full with all our stuff on a UHaul trailer. Unbelievably, nobody took a picture of the circus leaving town! They got to the border and got nothing but harassed. Apparently, they border agents couldn’t grasp why they needed two cars (my sister is only 23 so it was cheaper to tow her car than rent) to go to a wedding in Florida. They hauled them in and took them inside for questioning…telling them “Now we’ll get the real story.” They took Craig’s wallet and went through it completely and questioned him. They took my sister into another room and questioned her. They asked where her car keys were and when she told them Dad had them, the agent said “OK, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to go outside and ask your Daddy for your keys. Then just you and I are going to go out and look in the cars.” Like she was 7. They went outside and she was told to stand at the front of the car and to keep her hands “where she could see them.” They were appalled by how they were treated. Eventually, they were sent on their merry way. They didn’t get too far before the lights and horn on my sisters car started to go off. Weird. She had the remote so hit the button to make it go off. A couple more minutes pass and it happens again. The highway they were on was all concrete walls with nowhere to stop. When they found a spot to pullover, they did and found out that the agent hadn’t fully closed the back hatch on Jamie’s car…with my dress perched precariously just inside on the top. Once the crisis was solved, they thought it was quite funny to joke about who was going to call me to tell me my dress had fallen out!!! Ugh. Other than hitting a vicious storm in Virginia (which they later found out was accompanied by multiple tornado warnings) the rest of the trip was uneventful. They drove straight through and were there in about 25 hours. On Tuesday, they picked up Craig’s Dad and stepmom at the airport and went over to Tampa to check on the kilts. Luckily Craig’s Dad went because his didn’t quite fit. They were able to fix it and all was fine. I was super relieved to hear that the kilt crisis had pretty much been avoided. The boys hadn’t tried theirs on yet, but at least we had one for everyone! Yeah!

Anyways, still at home, I closed up my suitcase and ran around the house twenty times to make sure I hadn’t forgot anything. I pretty much sent everything, including my clothes, with my parents, so I just had some odds and ends to fill up my suitcase. A friend from work picked me up and took me to the airport. I had paid to preselect my seat on Air Canada and I was prechecked in. Just had to drop off my bag, clear security and clear customs. Clearing customs in Toronto makes getting off in Orlando so much quicker!! Love it! I wandered through Duty Free and contemplated buying new earrings for the wedding, or a present for my mom, but settled with only Starbucks. MMMmmmm…a Chai Latte to ease the wait. I also scarfed down a piece of pizza as I didn’t have time to eat that day. Our flight started to board late and the guy at the gate was getting rather angry…it was actually quite funny. They finally called me and I got to board. Row 25, window seat. When I got to my row, there was an approx. 3 year old girl in my seat. Ugh. The flight attendant started to approach me and I said that it was okay, I’d sit on the aisle. I hate the aisle. I can sleep so easily on planes when I have the window, but can’t even close my eyes on the aisle. She said, no we have a window seat, but it’s two rows back on the other side. Okay, no problem. They were juggling seats to try to allow the family of four to sit together. Now, this actually gives me mixed thoughts. I paid the whatever amount upfront to select my seat to ensure that I got a window. The family of four obviously did not. When I checked in earlier, the middle seat beside me was still empty, as was the one in front of that. They’d put the mom and grandma in those two seats and cleary saw that they could ask the single travelers to move. If the family of four had wanted to sit together, they should’ve paid like I did! What was I going to do, say no make the three year old sit alone??? I liked that they were trying to help them out, but they should have paid, or should give me my seat selection fee back. I’m taking it up with Air Canada to try and get my seat selection money back, but I’m sure I won’t get anywhere. I took my new seat and promptly fell asleep before we’d even left the gate. I woke up as we were taking off. Great little power nap. Each seat had individual TVs and I could select from lots of things to watch. I decided to watch “Enchanted” to get me in the Disney spirit. I had purchased it, but had yet to have the chance to watch it. I used a lot of the soundtrack during the wedding and was really eager to see it. The sad part is that the movie is 108 minutes long and the flight was only 107 so I missed the last minute! I even heard the start of the closing credits song. Ugh, so close! The flight wasn’t without highlights though. At one point, while I was in happy ever after, someone caught my eye out the window and I looked out just in time to see a Delta Connection plane flying right by!! It was close enough for me to read the airline, which tells me that might have been too close. Little scary. Our landing was the bumpiest I’ve ever experienced. The plane was doing some major side to side swaying and bounced left right badly when we hit the ground. You could hear people gasping. I was even happier than normal to be in Orlando!

We walked off the plane, glanced at Starbucks but decided no, onto the train, off the train, through the terminal and down to baggage claim. The buzzer was just starting to signal the belt starting up. I took my wedding folder out and got my rental car papers. Put my folder away and magically there was my luggage! Smooth and seamless. I’ve never had a bag be the third one out before. Picked it up and headed out to National for my car. I’m an Emerald Club member so yet again no lines. I had reserved a midsize SUV and we really wanted an Equinox like we had in November. My parents had a Kia Sportage and it was really tiny compared to ours. The Emerald Club aisle only had one icky Sportage. So I stood and looked confused and a guy came over and asked if he could help me. I said I’d reserved a mid SUV through Emerald Club and was this my only option. He told me to follow him. On the way across the lot, I thought I’d try my luck and threw out the needing a bigger vehicle to lug around all the stuff I had brought down for my W-E-D-D-I-N-G. He smiled and pointed to the line of mid SUVs. No Equinox. I must have looked sad because he said. Hang on, I have one more sport. Stay here. So I waited and a few minutes later, while I was seriously contemplating the hot blue convertible, he appeared with a dark slate grey with dark black window Equinox Sport Edition. Black leather interior and XM radio (that we found on the last day). It was a hot little car and I loved it. I drove out and called Craig to tell him I was here and to wait to see the car I got. I thanked the girl at the gate and told her how wonderful and helpful her lot attendant was. I met up with the family at Saratoga Springs and we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Nothing else exciting to report for day one!! I was just happy to finally be there!!

Next Up: Dress Alterations at Carolyn Allen's!

 

[Tabetha]

Whew! Dodged a bullet with Bridal and Beyond! I stopped by there and tried on a few dresses last summer and was considering ordering from them...