The Big Day -- Part Two:
Groom POV:
I feel like I should say I tossed and turned all night, because I knew Nicole wouldn't have slept at all (she didn't), but I slept well and awoke calm, my mind focused on the task before me. I had some last-minute packing to do, in order to send my bags onto the Grand Floridian before the ceremony.
A breakfast of cereal. Putting on the tuxes. A few last minute photos.
Time moved fairly quickly, and before I knew it, we were standing in the Boardwalk lobby feeling overdressed next to the folks in shorts and t-shirts. My parents met us there, and we got into the limo a few minutes after seven. As the car approached the Boardwalk gates, Ryan exclaimed, "Oh no! I forgot the rings!" Well! I forgot the engagement ring for the proposal, so I wasn't in any place to criticize. (You can read a re-cap of that disaster here.) It actually felt oddly appropriate. In any case, we turned the car around and Ryan rushed back to the room for the rings. Sam, our driver, apologized, because it was his job to remind us to bring the rings and the marriage license. It hadn't really worked, but it was nice to know that DFTW has those fail safes in place.
It should also be noted that upon exiting the Boardwalk, Sam called someone to inform them that we had left the hotel and were en route to the Epcot. He did the same thing when we entered the backstage area in Epcot. I like to think he was talking to Michelle, an assistant, or some kind of Disney Fairytale Weddings supercomputer whose task it is to coordinate everything. In any case--and this will be a running theme--every cast member involved in the wedding knew what was happening and when. Take Sam as an example. He could have just been a driver to pick us up at point A and drop us off at point B, independent of any coordinating body. If things had gone wrong (which they already had) and messed up the tightly scheduled timeline, we might have run into the other half of the bridal party or set off a domino effect of successively ruinous disasters. Disney Fairytale Weddings clearly took great pains to prevent this from happening.
A guide met us backstage at the France pavilion--once again, very friendly and excited about our wedding. (I'll just go ahead and say every single guide who worked with us on this day, from the ceremony to the reception to the dessert party, was great, so if ever I mention a guide in the future, just picture a friendly, competent cast member.) We were led on-stage to the Morocco pavilion. There was caution tape at the entrance to Morocco and construction workers were milling about. Slightly worrisome, but when we met Michelle, she assured us they'd be finishing up soon.
Our photographers, Cricket and Dean, were already in Morocco. We'd heard great things about Cricket's professional manner, and they're all true. She's a great photographer, no doubt about it, and her friendliness, professionalism and clear communication really set us at ease throughout all our photography shoots. I can't say enough good things about her, and getting her as our primary photographer was one of the best things to happen for the wedding.
We'd never heard of Dean on the Disboards or the Facebook group (he mentioned not getting a lot of wedding assignments) but I have a feeling you will hear more of him in the future. He's flat-out great. A very capable assistant, he worked very well with Cricket by anticipating her needs, occasionally offering suggestions, and was friendly with all our guests. And his photos look great, too. We were very lucky to get him.
The fez-toting camel really makes this photo for me.
This photo made it to DFTW's pinterest page, which is awesome!
While Ryan, my parents and I got some photos in and around Morocco before Cricket and Dean got the word to leave because the ladies were arriving in France. Again, coordination! We waited in the Tangerine Cafe before they moved us to the museum, because it had obscured windows. Rev. Ferguson was already there, and we were chatted some more while waiting for the ceremony to begin. He is a fount of interesting and funny wedding stories. A sound tech came in to place a lavelier mic on my person for the ceremony. (How did he know where we were? Coordination!) Our videographers from Trinity also arrived. They missed us in our room earlier in the morning, so they picked up some shots of me pretending to get ready right there in the museum, next to the wax camel. They wired me with a second mic, too. I can say that there in the museum, I was starting to get nervous.