Alex and Tim SBP/GF TR 9th Dec 09

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Ok, so I know it's really late to put this one but I thought you may be interested.


So, cast and crew are:

Me - Karen - one end of the 40 year old bracket
Him - Tim - the other end of the 40 year old bracket
Mom - Pauline - wouldn't dare say what bracket she is in let alone which end
Dad - Dave - same bracket as Mom
My best friend - Kirsty - nowhere near any of our brackets
My best friends Mom - Diane - would be too rude to comment on brackets

This is a picture of all of us - Diane, Kirsty, Dad, Mom, Tim and me

Tim and I have been together for around 12 years and have talked about getting married for around 12 years. It just seemed right to do it now, especially as we had decided that it was going to be at WDW. I have been going to WDW since I was 22 (funnily enough the first time was on my first honeymoon), Tim has been twice before, Mom and Dad just once before and Kirsty and Diane and old hands at the Disney thing. Kirsty worked in the UK section of epcot a while back.

Of course, typically, we picked a time to do this trip and get married abroad when the economy was on it's a*se. Some of the people we invited unfortunately couldn't come and some of the people we invite fortunately couldn't come!

When we started planning the trip the exchange rate was at 1.9+ and when it nose-dived it cost us around an extra £2500.

We wouldn't have done this without Mom and Dad, and they were our key people to be with us. Kirsty has had some medical and injury issues, including blood clots, so we weren't sure she would be able to travel. The fact that she could join us for our wedding meant the world to us, and that her Mom came with her was just an added bonus. They are lovely people, the kind you feel blessed to have in your life.

This has been in the planning for the last 2 years and I wanted to do some 'special' things mainly for Mom and Dad. Like most people, they associated Disney with mouse-ears and kiddie stuff so we wanted to show them a different side to it.

So, down to business. Everything has been planned to within an inch of it's life and paid for, the time has come for it all to be a reality so let the games begin...

ps. Thanks for riding along with us x

 

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Friday 4th December 09

Hi,

You've joined us on the morning we travel from Birmingham to Orlando via Newark. I don't have any pictures for this initial part.

Prior to this, Mom and Dad have travelled up from Cornwall and are staying at the airport. I have collected my dress from the bridal shop, all packed in a hand luggage case for me, and the rest of the bridal stuff has been distributed. Bags are packed, checked and double-checked. Usual checks on passports, money, tickets etc. We've spent the afternoon with Mom and Dad, had something to eat and taken them over to the hotel at the airport. We've come back home, made sure the neighbour has the key to look after the cats and gone to bed.

So, 0430 and the alarm is shouting it's head off that we need to go and catch a plane. It was bit late as we were already up and raring to go. One of our cats has a habit of bringing in takeaways or friends (depends how alive or dead the rats are) so we locked the cat-flap so he didn't bring any presents for our neighbour. As we were wheeling 3 cases and 2 hand luggage cases out the front door the little s*d got out. After much cursing and cajoling and a quick grab he was thrown back through the door. Sorted.

At 0530 the taxi pulled up and we were off to the airport to meet the Wrinklies.

Arrived at the airport, Mom and Dad already there and we head off to Continental check-in. We couldn't do online check-in as it wanted to charge us for the extra bags (tickets bought prior to the new charge) so we waited in line with our email confirmation of no baggage charge. They wanted to charge us but after seeing the email it was no problem.

Off we go through security and find somewhere for a coffee. The info is saying all is well and the plane is on time at 0900. The next section I'm doing as short and sharp points, which just doesn't give an idea of the frustration and blue language but I'm sure you'll get the picture:

0800 – started boarding.
0900 – plane pushed out, stopped and returned to gate with technical issue
1000 – told to disembark but leave bags on board if wanted
Just got to lounge and announcement came over for all passengers to take their hand luggage off the flight
1030 – announcement saying update at 1200
1200- announcement saying plane still having technical issues but they hoped to have it fixed
1300 – announcement saying update at 1500
1500 – announcement saying cabin crew refused to fly and we would now fly the following morning. We were to make our way back to check-in after collecting our hold luggage to arrange overnight accommodation
1500 - *insert your own choice phrases here and they might come close to our own phrases*

The ground staff asked for details of anyone they needed to contact to let them know we were delayed. We gave them the local agent number for the villa and also the Alamo car rental desk at Orlando. Alamo had the connecting flight number we were due to be on but not the UK flight so wouldn't have known we were delayed. We were put up in the Holiday Inn at Solihull overnight, which was really nice with a lovely meal but it's not Orlando.

Luckily the only thing we had planned for the Saturday was lunch at Kona cafe which we were obviously going to miss. I'm so glad we had nothing wedding-wise planned.

We were told flight was at 0725 the next morning so would be picked up at 0500. After grumping, griping and much gnashing of teeth we finally settled down to a nights sleep. Sigh... Oh well, at least we got to watch the final of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Hmmm, sorry Gino, glad you won but doesn't even come close to being in Orlando.

Not a good start, but it can only get better right?

 

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Saturday 5th December 09

Hi,

We woke up to the lovely Solihull UK grey and cold skies rather than lovely blue and warm Florida skies. Grrr! The coach came to pick us up and we were off to the airport with a feeling of deja vue.

We had to check in all over again. We were put in the exit seats on the connecting flight which was a nice touch by the Continental staff. There was an announcement that the flight was delayed but they changed that quickly. I think the change from airline passengers to blood-thirsty, angry demons might have had something to do with that. The flight crew walked past all the passengers to a very slow handclap. We boarded and the flight finally went at 0930.

The flight was really good. We got to Newark half an hour late but it was no problem as we had 3 hours in between flights.

When we arrived at Immigration their systems had gone down. It was soon fixed and we started moving. Got through no problems – they didn't take any finger prints.

We collected bags, took them to the connecting flight point, got on the shuttle, got through security no problem. Total time was about 40 minutes. We had a a drink and wandered down to the gate for our connecting flight. I'm going back to short and sharp points here - frustration and language increase!

Boarded at 1415 ready for 1500 take-off
1500 – still loading bags and refuelling
1600 – taxied to runway
1600 – couldn't take off until the plane and been anti-freezed due to really bad weather

I think it was at about this point that the frustration got the better of me. It was either going to be tears or a full meltdown tantrum. I demanded a tissue from my Mom with a glare and luckily it was the tears not the tantrum.

1640 – we took off
Got to Orlando, no problem with collecting bags. What a journey!

We went outside to the smoking area and I was shaking with stress and exhaustion. Great, and now I have to get in a car and drive to the villa.

I'm sure it is a well-documented conversation with the rental car staff so I'll keep this brief. They tried to tell me that a Durango equivalent was a Jeep. No it's not. Yes it is Madam. No it's not – on your website a full-size SUV is a Tahoe or equivalent. Err, we don't have anything in the category as you were late in and Continental didn't let us know blah blah blah.

At the end of quite a long discussion and a lot of haggling we upgraded to a Suburban. I also took the pre-paid toll option as I could not be doing with messing about with change or missing the toll. They bought the Suburban round – OMG what an incredible vehicle! I'm so glad I got it!

We loaded bags and people, Mom complaining that she needed a step ladder to get in. I got the directions I had printed, worked out whether it was the North or South exit we needed and we headed off. As we pulled away we remembered the satnav was in the hand luggage. Doh! Oh well, I ain't stopping now. Good old map will do us just fine. I drove to the villa no problem, we only had a problem on the estate trying to find the villa itself. We got there 44.5 hours from when we checked in.

The villa was really nice. Tim and I are used to a motel on I-Drive! Mom and Dad have stopped in villas before but there was 6 of them travelling and I think they were a bit disappointed that the villa wasn't as big as the others they had stayed in.

We went to get supplies from the supermarket at the top of Formosa Gardens Blvd and went back to villa. The phone at the villa wouldn't work – it says all local calls are free but it needs to be activated with a credit card for all other calls. Not to worry, we'll sort it out in the morning. The pool is cold - it may take a while to heat so we will check in the morning. We had something to eat and went to bed, exhausted but so glad to actually be where we should be.

We missed our lunch at Kona Cafe because we were delayed, and also couldn't take a parcel to Francks for Rosie in Disney Floral. The parcel had crystals that belonged to my Nan, a solid silver Donald duck charm that my Dad bought me as my something old, and 2 Tinkerbells for my bouquet and Moms corsage. Absolutely horrendous journey, so stressful and frustrating and really annoying that we had missed a day of our holiday.

 

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Sunday 6th December 09

Hi,

You left us falling into bed after 44.5 hours of travelling.

I didn't sleep much all night, so I was up early pottering around with wedding stuff. It looks a bit grey and overcast but the weatherman tells us it will be warm by lunchtime.

Gave Mom and Dad and Tim their wedding presents of Disney watches and they absolutely loved them. The pool is still cold and the phone is still not working. When you dial a number it tells you to replace the handset and dial 1-800-xxx. When you dial that number it gives you exactly the same message with exactly the same number. Hmmm. We'll leave Dad to activate it later.

We properly explored the villa and kept getting lost as it is so big and has so many doors. I nearly walked in on Dad in the bedroom thinking it was our bathroom

We went out very late morning to do shopping, went to Walmart on Turkey Lake Road, bought supplies for Mom and Dad and took the goodies back to the villa. We checked in to the Boardwalk, taking Mom and Dad with us, skipping around like a couple of kids and went to look at our room. It was an awesome 1-bed villa.

These shutters opened to the bedroom so you could watch tv in the jacuzzi bath!

And this was the view from the balcony:

There was a message from Disney FedEx office to say they had a parcel and to call during business hours to arrange delivery. Excellent, that was the sand ceremony kit I had delivered to the resort. Called the local agent from the room and left a message about the pool and phone not working.

We showed Mom and Dad round the Boardwalk and they loved it. They were really surprised at the resort and thought our room was great. They didn't know that we had booked them the same type of room for 2 nights later in the week!

We showed them Sea Breeze Point where we were getting married and they were just speechless.

It was at this point I think I realised that we were here and getting married in a couple of days. OMG!!

We went into Epcot WS via the Gateway to activate our AP's and get the Tables in Wonderland card. I couldn't wait for the Wrinklies to see Epcot at night, and they absolutely loved it! We walked round, soaking up the atmoshphere and chatting and I realised Tim had dropped back. I turned round and he had a weird look on his face. It had sunk in that were were finally here, finally walking around epcot AND GETTING MARRIED! Bless.

We watched Illuminations, went back to the room and called the villa agent AGAIN as they had not responded. I asked Front Desk if they could get a parcel across to Francks for me as we were running out of time and they said no problem – they had runners or could get a runner from GF to pick it up. Brilliant! We drove the Olds back to the villa via Walmart to buy a mobile phone for them as villa phone was not working, picked up the parcel for Francks and went back to Boardwalk. We gave Reception the parcel for Francks – one less thing to worry about - and headed off to bed shattered but very very happy.

My face was aching and it dawned on me it was from grinning all day. Bit of a change to frowning and scowling the 2 days before :grin:

Tomorrow we are getting the marriage license and having Tim's and Dad's suits fitted.

 

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Monday 7th December 09

Hi,

You left us falling into bed at the Boardwalk.

We were awake quite early and had a coffee on our balcony, watching the world come alive. It's nice and warm today and life feels good.

I called Fedex about parcel they were holding – they delivered it within 10 minutes to the room for $5. Called photographer, officiant, manicurist, make-up artist, suit hire and limo hire companies to confirm details for Wednesday. We were going to organise the marriage license and then pick Mom and Dad up from the villa. The idea was to get brunch/early lunch and then head over for the suit fitting.

We were ready to go and get marriage license and Tim realised his passport was in the jacket he had left at the villa. It is now 1000. Oh for %*"$ sake! We called Mom and Dad to let them know we were coming over – the phone will accept incoming calls but not outgoing. The pool is still cold and we haven't heard anything back from the local agent or the villa owner. Right, phoned the villa owner in the UK and left our resort and room number for him to get back to us. We drove to the villa, Mom and Dad were ready to save us having to come back to collect them later so came with us. We drove to courthouse, parked, got through security, went to the 2nd floor, filled out the application form and came away with license! Whole thing took 20 minutes.

I would have loved to have taken a picture of the courthouse as it is such an impressive building but we were in such a hurry to get things sorted I forgot my camera :cry:

We drove to Carolyn Allens for the suit fitting at 1pm, grabbing a burger on the way. They hadn't got me booked in for dress steaming at 2pm on Tuesday so lucky we went to the shop. The owner had confirmed the appointment by email so I'm really glad we went to the shop. I didn't think to confirm the dress steaming when I had confirmed the suit fitting by phone.

Dad and Tim were really happy with the suits (I didn't wat to see them until the day) and we have the steaming booked in. We went to another Walmart to get a camera for Tim as he had seen the one he wanted but they didn't have it in stock.

We went back to Boardwalk for a little while and then went into MK for Spectromagic and Wishes. It was mega busy as it was EMH but there was a great atmosphere. We avoid the parks on EMH but this was the only night we could come to MK with Wishes on. We got stuck behind a tree for Wishes but saw Spectromagic. Everything went well until we tried to leave. Getting out was a nightmare and I think Mom and Dad were getting a bit stressed.

We went to Dennys for dinner and our waitress was telling us how quiet it was for this time of year. We went to villa to take Mom and Dad back and then drove back to the Boardwalk and went to bed knackered. Still no response from local agent or villa owner about the pool and phone.

Sorry about the lack of photos - Tim is the David Bailey of the family and he has no camera so far.

 

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Tuesday 8th December 09

Hi,

You left us falling into bed at the Boardwalk.

I spoke to Kirsty and her Mom Diane who had checked into the Yacht Club on Saturday. They were getting a bit concerned as they hadn't heard from us (they didn't know we had been delayed and actually got to Orlando after them) but I left a message for them yesterday to let them know everything was ok. Kirsty had no problems on the plane but her Mom did at Immigration. She was whisked away by them as her fingerprint didn't match the one they had on file! Eventually sorted, thankfully.

Tim was determined to get a camera today so we left a bit earlier to pick Mom and Dad up to check in to the Boardwalk. It is warm, muggy and very foggy today. We also dropped off the sand ceremony kit and wedding gift bags to Kirsty at the Yacht Club. We found a camera shop on the 192 and Tim got a Nikon Coolpix P80 with SD card and case.

We went to the villa to get the Olds and headed over to the Boardwalk. They checked in and the room was ready at 1330. It was the same as our 1-bed villa – absolutely gorgeous. The flowers I had ordered for them were in the room, ready and waiting, but they didn't see them at first.

This was their balcony view:

Now, this is spooky. There was a message from the villa owner on Mom and Dads phone to say he had contacted and emailed the agent to confirm the pool heating should be switched on. The message was for me, responding to my phone call, but on Mom and Dads phone. Their name is different to mine so how did he know their room number? In fact, I don't think he knew they were checking into the Boardwalk at all. Eventually it dawned on me. I sometimes transpose numbers and our room number was 2022. When I left him our room number I said 2202 by mistake. Guess what room number the Olds had? 2202. Weird.

We all went to Tims and my room as that was where the garment steaming and manicures were booked for. There was a message on the phone from the manicurist, left at 1100, to say they were outside ready to do the manicures. Err, it was booked for 1400. She had left another 2 messages and then one at 1145 to say she was leaving. Great. I called the number she left and there was a mix up with the times, and they couldn't fit me in later that day. They apologised and said they would refund me.

*Later in the trip when I checked my email they had sent me an invoice for bridal hair, bridesmaids hair and make-up for 6 people at the date and time they turned up to do our manicures but at a different hotel in Orlando so they had obviously got mixed up. I felt sorry for the 6 people sitting there waiting, at least mine was only my nails.*

There was also a message from our wedding planner to say they hadn't had the crystals. Went to reception and they had no recollection of me giving them a parcel. Our WP was not impressed and neither were we. The whole of the Cast Member staff are now looking for this parcel. Sigh...

Carolyn Allens turned up to do the steaming and garment fitting at 1400, and Dad and Tim went out whilst they were steaming my dress. Dad lead Tim out of the room with a t-shirt over his head so he wouldn't see the dress! They headed out the Boardwalk for a look around.

After they had finished steaming my dress, Mom and I took it to their room so Tim wouldn't see it, went for a late lunch at the Boardwalk Bakery and a mooch on the Boardwalk. It is lovely and warm, the sun is shining and one of the nicest memories I have was sitting with my Mom that day, just chatting.

We also had a look at the Yacht and Beach club, stopping at Sea Breeze Point on the way.

I went to the front desk again and they are still looking for the crystals for me. I am starting to stress over this missing parcel.

We went back to our rooms and freshened up, grabbed a cab over to the House of Blues for our welcome dinner with Kirsty and her Mom (my honourary Mom) and had a great night with them.

Checked again on the way out and the crystals are still missing. Now I am really stressing!

Checked again on the way back to the room and they have no idea what has happened to my parcel. I needed the things in it putting into my bouquet and it is now 2100. No chance. We went to our rooms not happy bunnies at all. Front Desk called at 2215 to say they were very sorry and the only thing they could do was bring us a Claim Card to claim the monetary value. So not happy.

Claudia bought the claim card up and was so sweet and apologetic. She had taken over the problem and was trying her best to find it. The Cast Member I gave the parcel to had no recollection of me giving it to her. She was the one who checked Mom and Dad in and said she hoped they had a wonderful time at our wedding so she remembered me talking to her, just not handing the parcel over.

Oh well, if that is the only thing that is going to go wrong then no problem. I can live without crystals in my bouquet but it is a real shame about the the charm Dad bought me. Tim and I just reminded ourselves of what we were doing tomorrow and how fantastic it was that we were getting married, at Disney, and with the people we loved.

At 2315 there was a knock at the door and there was Claudia with my parcel and a huge smile! It had been put in the wrong place, so wasn't lost but neither was it over at Disney Floral. Oh well, at least I got my things back. We went to bed, absolutely shattered, to try and sleep before the big day!

 

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Wednesday 9th December 09

Hi, you left us falling into bed, absolutely shattered, at the Boardwalk. Again.

We got up a 6am grinning at each other like a couple of manic idiots! Today was the day we had planned for for the last couple of years and talked about for the last 12. Wow. I had a blueberry muffin and coffe for breakfast, went and had a shower and realised I had taken my wedding toiletries down to Mom and Dads room the night before. Best laid plans huh? I headed down to Mom and Dad's room in my 'getting ready' gear, hoping I didn't scare anyone that early in the morning with my legs. Dad went to our room to get ready with Tim when I arrived at their room and we were all grinning at each other and giggling. The weather was glorious – sunny and getting hot already. The forecast was 85 degrees and breezy. Hmmm, looks like Sea Breeze Point was going to live up to it's name today.

I grabbed my body lotion and started slathering, followed by a good spray of perfume. I treated myself to some Aqua di Parma Colonnia Assoluta for the wedding. I first smelled it in the Italian section of Epcot a few years ago and had wanted some ever since. Another coffee and I was ready to be painted and dressed.

Ana from Beaute Speciale arrived at 0730 and got to work on my hair and make-up. She was very entertaining and was telling us tales of being on tour with Lady Gaga and Madonna. Oooh, get me - the same make-up artist as the stars! Ana and I discussed what sort of look I was after and she tried some of the waves in my hair to make sure it was what wanted. I sat in the room, chatting to Ana and drinking coffee, completely relaxed.

Randy arrived at 0815 and started taking the getting ready shots. I do love this man - I had been chatting to him online for about 18 months and it felt like seeing an old friend. He has a great sense of humour and we just clicked right from the outset. The three of us had a good banter and a great laugh.

Mom came in from the bedroom and looked absolutely stunning in her outfit. I was so proud to have her with us. Disney Floral delivered the flowers at around 0915 and Mom took the crystals and other stuff down to see if they could be put in the bouquet. 5 minutes later the phone went and it was Dad saying that Mom had picked up the wrong bag! How funny! Dad came belting up to the room, threw the bag at me as I threw the correct bag to him and off he went back to Reception.

I remember thinking how great he looked, very smart and distinguished, but I didn't get chance to say as he was scooting off again! The two 'lads' together:

My hair was really really good and I liked the make-up too. I had false eyelashes and it finished off the look. Ana helped me get in my dress and laced me up (she had so done this before lol), and Randy put my shoes on my feet for me. Bless them both! So I had a strange woman corsetting me in my dress and a strange man under my skirts...

Randy and I walked down to the lobby at around 0930 for the 'first look' shots and Dad met us half way down the hallway. Dads face when he saw me is something I will never forget. I couldn't work out if it was pride or relief!! We stood chatting until we had the go ahead from Randy to go into the Lobby.

I swooshed out onto the balcony at the Boardwalk and Tim turned round to see me. I will never ever forget his expression when he turned round – it gave me tears in my eyes.

We stood for a little while just looking at each other with Randy and Daryn (Disney Photographer) taking pictures. Tim looked fantastic in his suit and I couldn't believe the colour of the red waistcoat and tie as it was practically the same colour as Moms suit.

We headed into the lobby to meet with Amy (wedding planner) and Mom gave me my bouquet with all the crystals and charms in!

Good 'ol Mom and Disney Floral! We also met with Rev Kev, who was a lovely man, and then headed down to the Boardwalk.

We went down to the ground floor in the lift and then walked along the Boardwalk towards Sea Breeze Point. Yep, it was windy and getting really warm. Kirsty and Diane were there waiting, and had set the sand ceremony up for us.

It was lovely walking along the Boardwalk, blue skies and warm weather. Sigh... Perfect start.

 

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So, where did we get to? Oh yes, walking along the Boardwalk, blue skies and warm weather. Sigh... Perfect start.

Tim and Mom walked into SBP to Handels Water Music. Dad and I were waiting and Randy took some great photos of us.

As we started to walk into SBP the voilinist started to play the theme to Jaws. Tim kept referring to the wedding day as his impending doom and kept humming the Jaws theme, so I arranged with Amy our wedding planner for the violinist to play it as I walked in! Tim thought it was really funny and we all had a good laugh.

The voilinist then changed it to Vivaldi for us to walk to which was a little more suitable!

There ceremony was just as we had planned it with Rev Kev (who was such a lovely man) and it went quite quickly. Dad did a lovely sanskrit reading for us during the ceremony.

Tim and I read our vows to each other. We had written our own vows and it made such a difference, so personal and meaningful to us. We also did the sand ceremony which was lovely.

We had a blessing of the hands and also an American Indian blessing which moved me to tears the first time I read it.

We surpirsed Mom and Dad with a long-stemmed red rose to say thank you for all their love and support.

After that, we did the stage exit with the petal toss which was good fun.

We then finally got chance to speak to Kirsty and Diane.

We had the champagne toast (but not the cake cutting as that was at the Grand Floridian) and Dad welcomed Tim into the family, with the Godfather theme playing in the background - another collaboration between me, wedding planner and violinist!

Dads speech was excellent (as always, he's a bit good at public speaking) and he started talking about NASA and the anniversary of the first moon landing. We all wondered where he was going with it, quoting how many hours, minutes and seconds had gone into the planning and then said it was nothing compared to the planning that had gone into our wedding. Brilliant!

Randy and Daryn took some shots of us all and then people headed to the Boardwalk lobby, Bakery or rooms to wait for us as Randy took us off for photos.

We went round to the Yacht and Beach club and had great fun posing and playing for photos with him. It was really hot and quite windy.

 

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There's not much text for this part as we went across to the Yacht and Beach club and just had fun with Randy taking photos.

We ended up with 3000 (yes, 3000!) photos but I promise not to post them all!

After more photos at Sea Breeze Point

We walked from Sea Breeze Point across the bridge to the Y&B Club

It was really hot by this time and I realised that wearing 2" slingbacks on a beach was not such a good idea

Before we knew it 1200 had come around and we had to go scooting back to the Boardwalk lobby to meet with our guests and go over to the Grand Floridian for our lunch.

We went outside and there was our stretch Hummer

It was awesome and worth every cent!

Randy took some more photos and then we piled in the Hummer to head to the Grand Floridian.

 

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So, you left us piling into the Hummer. Very very happy with sore feet! We were on our way over to the Grand Floridian for lunch.

We had booked private dining at Sago Cay Point and asked Randy to join us for lunch rather than the 'hired hand' to celebrate with us.

My dress is one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever sat down in as it really dug in under my arms, especially on a soft car seat. I felt like a stay-puffed! We had a drink in the Hummer as we were all really hot and arrived at the GF.

Well, talk about feeling like royalty. We got out of the Hummer (try that in the dress and shoes too) and the GF staff were just fantastic. Randy took us over to Sago Cay Point where our lunch was set out and it was absolutely beautiful. The setting was lovely but the way the food had been set out was stunning. It was in silver servers with antique lace covering the table, flowers and greenery and little GF touches like Carousel horses!

After the customary cutting of the cake and photos we got our food.

Now, I have to tell you about the cake. As part of the package you get a choice of cakes but we saw this one and had to have it. The bottom says 'And they lived happily ever after' and there is a screen print of the castle on the top layer. We upgraded the topper to Cinderella and Prince Charming rather than Mickey and Minnie.

The bottom layer was almond cake with a Bavarian cream and fresh raspberry filling, and the top layer we had chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse.

It is, by far, the best cake ever to walk the earth. After the wedding we gave a big piece to Kirsty and Diane, a big piece to the Olds and we ate the rest over the next two days. Then we started on the top layer. Mmmmm!

Everything was melting in the heat so our server, Barron, took the cake inside. We had a really relaxed lunch, chatting amongst ourselves and with Randy, and Barron was excellent. We were quite thankful of the breeze as it would have been unbearably hot otherwise.

Randy took a brilliant shot of us with the castle

At about 1350 we decided to move indoors as we were all too hot and the desserts had oozed onto the serving platter. Definitely time to move when the desserts ooze! Disney boxed up our cake for us and we asked the staff inside to look after it until we were ready to leave.

The private dining was expensive but it was so worth every cent. We would have paid double to have had that experience, and the food was just gorgeous. We went for the Ybor City menu and it was proper Michelin star quality. It was one of the nicest meals we have ever eaten.

After a not so quick bathroom stop (you can imagine the fun with a huge skirted dress - I'll leave the details there) we were ready for the next phase. Randy took loads of photos of us and little girls kept coming up asking if I was Cinderella. So sweet! We got some email addresses from the parents and sent them a copy of the photos that Randy took when we got home. We had photos inside and outside at the GF and had great fun playing around.

My feet felt like, well, I don't know what they felt like because I had actually gone through the pain barrier.

We got in the Hummer around 1530 and went to POR, via Randy's car in the car park so he could take some photos of us around his car. We are all huge petrol heads and Randy had been telling us about his car over lunch.

When we got in the Hummer the driver had been and bought us a bottle of champagne so we stood at the entrance to POR supping champers feeling like celebs. So cool.

We had a few photos taken at POR as we were staying there for our honeymoon, said our goodbyes to the wonderful Randy, and then headed back in the Hummer to the Yacht club to drop Kirsty and Diane off. We got back to the Boardwalk at exactly 1600.

Randy Chapman is just the best photographer to work with and some of the shots he took were so unusual. Most of them were informal which is what we wanted and so creative. He took a picture of Tims sunglasses with us both reflected in the lenses and some of the angles of the shots were brilliant.

What an absolutely fantastic experience the whole day had been. Disney made us feel like we were the only people to ever get married there and we really felt special. I couldn't believe the number of people that wished us well and said congratulations, not just the Disney folk but the general public.

I saw Claudia on the front Desk and ran over to show her the crystals in the bouquet as she had been so good at finding them. She is so lovely!

The Wrinklies and us went back to our respective rooms and arranged to meet in the Boardwalk lobby just before 6pm for our dinner at Yachtsman st 6.15pm. Tim and I sat in the room giggling and looking at each other in disbelief – we had done it! After all the time we had spent planning the day had actually come and nearly gone. We went through some of the the things that really stuck in our minds and the main one was the 'first look'. Tim said he heard me swooshing onto the balcony and his heart was in his mouth, and then was absolutely astounded and blown away when he turned round.

Tim helped unlace my dress and it was a sad moment, knowing it wouldn't be worn again. It was the single most stunning thing I have ever bought and I felt like a million dollars in it. I would have worn it to the Yachtsman for our dinner but I just couldn't take any more of the shoes and hadn't bought any others that would have gone with it. Never mind, time to shower and get into dress number 2. Mom bought me a gorgeous floor-length black dress from Monsoon and a pink silky jacket and it looked fantastic. And I wore flat shoes - what a relief!

We got changed, headed into the Boardwalk lobby, met Mom and Dad and grabbed a cab over to the Yachtsman.

Yep, we got a cab not the boat. Reason was because of our feet. The were killing us and it was painful to walk. It made me laugh that Dad kept calling Tim 'Son.' We all get on so well and he was now officially part of the best family in the world.

We met Kirsty and Diane (who had had to move rooms due to an infestation Disney had found evidence of in their room) and sat down for our meal.

I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the steak at the Yachtsman (the one at Planet Hollywood was better) but we had a lovely time there. Kirsty and Diane got a bottle of champagne for us all which was a lovely touch.

After dinner we hobbled into Epcot to watch Illuminations and spent a little while before it just chatting. We then all headed off to our resorts and rooms and called it a day. Tim and Dad took the suits down to the Front Desk for Carolyn Allens to collect the next morning.

I put my pjyamas on and Mom and Dad came to the room for a coffee. The day seemed like a bit of a blur, very surreal that it had actually happened but we were very very happy. We sat for a while, talking about the day and felt very dreamy.

Eventually we all had the droopy eyelids so it was time to very reluctantly call it a day. We were meeting with the Wrinklies for breakfast the next morning at Kouzinna and then into epcot.

What an absolutely wonderful experience.

Just when you think Disney can't get any better - we saw a gift bag from them that we had missed. Inside were Just Married pins, the announcement of our wedding posted at Sea Breeze Point and something that looked like a photo album box. We opened it and there were the two most amazing gold and silver Disney watches with a hand-written congratulations card from our wedding planner Amy.

Out came the tissues for the tears!

Thank you for reading about our wedding and I hope there weren't too many photos. I'm not going to carry the TR on as we were there for 24 days and I'm sure you're more interested in the wedding part. The rest of the time was the usual stuff of Seaworld, Universal, IOA, Disney, Disney and more Disney!

If you are thinking of getting married there we can't recommend it highly enough :grin:

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Wow just read this from start to finish and have to say I loved it!!! What an intimately beautiful day you had!! We have Randy booked to do our photos for our VR in May, and like you have been conversing with him for months via e-mail. I feel I know him already and he always signs e-mails off with 'Love ya Randy'. He will be joining us as a guest and friend for dinner at Citrico's after our VR ceremony - I am so looking forward to our day and if it is half as beautiful as yours, all the planning will have been worthwhile!!

 

[geek+nerd]

What an amazing wedding! You looked absolutely stunning! No wonder little girls asked if you were Cinderella.

I adore your cake! Was there any additional charge besides the upgraded topper? Would you mind if I copied your pic?

 

[Beep]

Wow just read this from start to finish and have to say I loved it!!! What an intimately beautiful day you had!! We have Randy booked to do our photos for our VR in May, and like you have been conversing with him for months via e-mail. I feel I know him already and he always signs e-mails off with 'Love ya Randy'. He will be joining us as a guest and friend for dinner at Citrico's after our VR ceremony - I am so looking forward to our day and if it is half as beautiful as yours, all the planning will have been worthwhile!!

Thank you very much, what a lovely thing to say! You will have a fab time, especially with Randy. He is so easy to work with and a lot of fun too.

What an amazing wedding! You looked absolutely stunning! No wonder little girls asked if you were Cinderella.

I adore your cake! Was there any additional charge besides the upgraded topper? Would you mind if I copied your pic?

Awww, again thank you. I felt like a million dollars, I really did.

Of course you can copy the pic, no worries. I think it was $125 for the cake with the topper an extra $15 but that was last year. It was worth every cent and the picture doesn't do it justice at all. The wording was perfect and the castle print was gorgeous.

 

[lurkyloo]

Hi Alex! I just found your report—I love the way you were able to customize your Escape wedding, and it sounds like it was just perfect!

One of the readers of my December '09 trip report tipped me off that it was YOU whom we saw at Sea Breeze Point on the second day of our trip! We took these photos—I'll take them down if you don't like them, but I though you might like to have them!

 

[Chilly]

One of the readers of my December '09 trip report tipped me off that it was YOU whom we saw at Sea Breeze Point on the second day of our trip!

Hee hee that was me!

Hi Alex, i'm sure I've already read your report but don't seem to have posted a comment. It looked like a lovely day, your cake was great, and you looked stunning. Happy 1st Anniversary!

 

[Beep]

Hi Alex! I just found your report—I love the way you were able to customize your Escape wedding, and it sounds like it was just perfect!

One of the readers of my December '09 trip report tipped me off that it was YOU whom we saw at Sea Breeze Point on the second day of our trip! We took these photos—I'll take them down if you don't like them, but I though you might like to have them!

Brilliant! I love that you've posted them, thank you.

You should have come over and said hi

It was great that we could add a few things in to the Escape wedding, it made it very personal to us. We would do the whole thing again and wouldn't change a thing.

 

[Beep]

Hee hee that was me!

Hi Alex, i'm sure I've already read your report but don't seem to have posted a comment. It looked like a lovely day, your cake was great, and you looked stunning. Happy 1st Anniversary!

Oh, it was you was it?! Lol, glad you tipped Lurky off

Thank you for the happy anniversary - we went back in October this year for an early celebration and Citricos went out of their way to make it special. Talk about disney magic! We hired the grand 1 yacht for Wishes too which was just brilliant.

 

[BecBennett]

Wow, that all looks so good!

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I FOUND IT!!! Disregard the PM!
Everything was beautiful!!!

If it wasn't for TR's I don't know what I would do!!!

 

[Chilly]

Oh, it was you was it?! Lol, glad you tipped Lurky off

Thank you for the happy anniversary - we went back in October this year for an early celebration and Citricos went out of their way to make it special. Talk about disney magic! We hired the grand 1 yacht for Wishes too which was just brilliant.

When were you there in October, we were there then and Meryll.