~*Amy and Shawn’s PJ*~June 6th, 2011 - Our Hawaiian Honeymoon!

[Sccrmnky2005]

I'm so glad you enjoyed your DP!! I love the idea of the fajita station!! So glad you had a great time!

 

[pinkfairy1684]

I love your pictures! Your DP looks like so much fun!

 

[donald&daisy]

Can't wait to see more! It looks like you had an awesome time!

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

Everything looks fabulous so far! Can't wait to see more.

We are having our DP at Lochside, so if you wouldn't mind, I would love to see the food and the set-up pics. Thanks!!!

Sorry about the transportation issues. I am still about 16 months away from mine and I feel like I have done nothing but tell people that they can't be late. We shall see what happens.

Here are all the other pictures I have, I know when I was planning I loved seeing other peoples pictures of the set up since it was hard for me to visualize how it would look. HTH!

Fajita Station

Desserts

Fajita Station

View

I'm so glad you enjoyed your DP!! I love the idea of the fajita station!! So glad you had a great time!

Thanks Amanda! It worked out great to have the fajita station, everyone loved it. The DP was so fun, I want to do it again!

I love your pictures! Your DP looks like so much fun!

Thanks, it was a blast!

Can't wait to see more! It looks like you had an awesome time!

Yes we did, it was one of my favorite things ever in Disney. DH kept saying, "look at all those people on the bridge with a not so great view, they must be jealous" lol.

 

[Chilly]

I remember the feeling of being annoyed at guests who were late. I can't wait to see the wedding day photos.

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

Before I start, any pictures I use in this post are from other guests, as I do not have my photos from Randy yet. As soon as I get them in, I will do a full post with all of the professional pic's, but I do think we got a lot of great ones from our other guests!

The wedding day was so perfect! After a stressful first day, and semi-stressful second day, I was prepared for the wedding to not go perfect, but it did! It was the best day ever. DH woke up early and went golfing with my dad and the groomsmen, while I packed everything and moved rooms. Our new room was AMAZING!!!!! It was on the club level of the main building, and had an awesome view of the castle, looking our over the marina. Years ago when me & DH grabbed lunch at Gasperilla Grill & Games, I pointed to this room & said, "I want to stay there." After I had everything moved, I went to breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe with my mom and sister. It was yummy & very relaxing. We were planning on spending some time by the pool, but it wasn't really that sunny, and we didn't have a ton of time anyway, so we decided to skip it. I will say here that one great thing about the wedding & honeymoon is that we had AWESOME weather. I think it rained in Florida for about 5 minutes the entire time we were there (and just a sprinkle). Everyday was super sunny and hot, with the exception of the wedding day which was supposed to be the hottest day, but ended up not being too bad, and I was actually glad it was partly cloudy because it made it not so darn hot, which I was really worried about. We also had amazing weather in Hawaii, where again it only rained for maybe 10 minutes the whole time we were there, and in Maui we stayed on the rainier/windier side of the island so we got lucky with the weather. More on that later.

One thing that made my wedding morning of getting ready extra nice, was that I spent a few hours alone. Now this might sound weird to some people, but after spending 48+ hours around tons of family and other people, it was so nice. It really allowed me to relax and calmly get ready. After breakfast my mom and sister had to go to the POLY to check into my sisters room there where the guys were going to be getting ready after golf. I headed up to my awesome room, took a shower, did a little mini facial, sat out on the balcony looking at the castle, and drank a glass of champagne. It was so relaxing! I had asked my girls to come later (around 2:30), and to pretty much get themselves ready at their hotel, but to bring their dresses to change into and leave any last minute hair/make-up for my room. I'm glad I did this because I had so many girls in the wedding, there was just no way we could have all gotten fully ready in my room. And, they were actually, for the first time in their lives I think, almost all on time! My friend Alyssa was the first to arrive, and she had stopped and picked up finger sandwhiches and a fresh fruit tray, along with champgane & orange juice to make mimosas for us. One of my bridesmaids was late, and ended up just meeting us in the lobby as we we were waiting for the limo, but this was fine because she was the mother of one of my flower girls who went to the Bibbidi Boppidi Boutique earlier in the day. We were actually all ready on time as well, and waiting in the lobby on time for the limo. Of course the guys were a little late, but it was fine since we had some extra time to take a few photos. I did not have Randy start photography until the ceremony (which I am glad I did), so we just took a few pictures with our own cameras.

Our awesome wedding night room:

Oh and I have to add, that I was debating between getting ready in my moms room or my room, but when I saw how much bigger & nicer our wedding night room was, I decided to get ready there. However, I am a neat freak and I did not want to come back to my room at the end of the night with DH to a disaster (which his sisters are notorious for making when they are getting ready). I told my friend Alyssa she had to have the whole room cleaned before we left (and knowing me well, she understood.) So me and her actually stayed in the room a few minutes after we sent the other girls down to the lobby, and cleaned. Yep, there I was in my wedding dress picking up the room lol. I was glad though at the end of the night when we came back to a nice clean room, which Alyssa also sprinkled with rose petals all over, and left us a bottle of champagne and glasses as well!

My dress:

Getting Ready:

Pictures in the Lobby/Limo:

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

The limo had to make two trips with the girls. Once we got to the Wedding Pavilion, we headed to the Bride's Vestibule for about 10 minutes, where Randy took a few pictures. Before I knew it, it was time to line up! I headed to the Groom's Vestibule while the procession began. I have yet to see everyone else walking down the aisle, but I did have a guest video record the whole ceremony, since we didn't end up having a professional videographer. I remember not being nervous but thinking, "I want to see the flower girls & ring bearer walk down the aisle!" The ceremony was beautiful. I LOVE the wedding pavilion. I managed to only tear up as I was walking down the aisle, and refrain from crying for the rest of the ceremony, which I was pretty happy about! I loved the fact that I could see the castle so perfectly through the big window. It was very surreal to look to my left and be able to see Cinderella's Castle. I probably looked at the castle a little too much during the ceremony, but I couldn't help it! It was so beautiful and I was so happy to be getting married there, something I had been dreaming about for years! It went smoothly & perfectly, & quickly!

Getting out of the Limo:

Bride's Vestibule:

Ceremony: (Sorry these aren't the best quality, hopefully I will have my professional ones to share soon)

Coming up: The reception!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Very pretty - you were a beautiful bride!!

 

[DisneyCP08]

Love your photos! Your wedding looks beautiful!! I can't wait to hear about ADH because we are planning to have our reception there!

 

[donald&daisy]

Just lovely!!! You looked so beautiful and calm--I hope I am half that zen on the big day!

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

Very pretty - you were a beautiful bride!!

Love your photos! Your wedding looks beautiful!! I can't wait to hear about ADH because we are planning to have our reception there!

Just lovely!!! You looked so beautiful and calm--I hope I am half that zen on the big day!

Thanks ladies!

On to the fun! Our reception was so amazing. I am SOOOOOOO happy with choosing ADH as our reception location. When we began planning a Disney Wedding, I knew right away that I wanted our ceremony to be at the Wedding Pavilion, but choosing a reception venue was not as easy. I debated between a few Epcot locations, the Whitehall room & patio, The Napa & Sonoma Rooms, and ADH. Once I chose ADH, I worried about the size of it, the set up of the tables, the lighting, having food stations rather than a sit down dinner. All of this worrying was for nothing! We visited ADH while we were down for our planning session in December, and we also have seen many pictures of weddings there. We liked them all, but seeing it all set up in person, and being there for our wedding, was so amazing. I am so happy with the decision to hold our reception there, and would highly recommend it to anyone else planning a Disney wedding. We wanted a lot of dancing and just an overall fun atmosphere, and that is exactly what we got. I am going to review all the vendors involved in the wedding later, but I have to say here that DJ Scooter really made the reception what we wanted it to be. The dance floor was never empty, no one was in their seats at all the whole night, and everyone had a blast!

After the ceremony Amy walked me & DH over to Picture Point where Randy took a few shots, and Amy and her assistant got everyone lined up for the staged exit. I have a really great picture of the staged exit that my Grandmother gave me yesterday, but I don't feel like scanning it in, and I am sure Randy got a lot of great ones too, so I will post those soon (hopefully!) We got in the limo, drove around in a circle, and then headed back inside to take pictures. We had a small issue with the limo transportation, but I will get into that later, as I don't want to complain about anything when talking about the wedding day, because it really was perfect. After taking some pictures, myself, DH, and some of our bridal party took the limo to the Boardwalk where we took more pictures on the way to ADH. I LOVED walking down the boardwalk and hearing all the congratulations from everyone. It felt so surreal. When we arrived at ADH, Amy showed us the downstairs area of the reception all set up, which looked amazing, and gave us a drink and some food. At this point, the guests were asked to walk downstairs and find their seats, and then we went up the back staircase and were able to see the set up from the top floor which was great, and we were able to see the cheese and cracker display set up which looked great. Once everyone was settled, the announcements took place, and then we did our first dance. After our first dance we did a fast dance with all our bridal party (we didn't want to do a slow one since we had an uneven number of guys and girls.) It worked out great and set the mood for the night! Next were the toasts, followed by dinner. We were escorted up first. The food was great, although me and DH didn't really eat a lot of it, everyone else raved about how good it was. As soon as me and DH finished, we headed back out onto the boardwalk to get a few more pictures, and then when we came back in we did the father/daughter & mother/son dances, followed by some dancing with everyone. We were hoping to watch the fireworks from Illuminations, but only saw the last few because we were too busy dancing. Shortly after dinner they set up the fondue station, which was also excellent. We cut the cake, did the bouquet and garter toss, and more dancing. At the end of the night, no one wanted to leave, they had to tell us to hurry up like three times or we were going to miss the bus! Me and DH headed to our town car, while everyone else boarded the bus. We were planning on taking a swim when we got back, but decided to take a bubble bath in our Jacuzzi instead. We were both so hot from dancing all night, and my dress was filthy! I think every person there stepped on it at least once! I loved our room that night. We put on the robes in the room and went out on the patio (and my mom brought us some food from Gasperilla Grill and Games, because we were both starving). So we ate that, had a glass of champagne, talked, and watched the beautiful castle change colors. It was such a perfect day & night! Here are the non-professional pictures I have:

ADH set-up. Viewed from the second floor:

Cake:

First Dance:

Introductions:

Disco Ball & Ceiling:

Sweetheart Table:

Toasts:

Garter:

Dancing: (One of our groomsmen borrowed some props from the DJ lol)

Cake Cutting:

 

[Lisa29]

Oh, oh, oh, you look stunning!

So sorry to hear about the problems you had. Don't worry about being annoyed, so much time and effort goes into planning your wedding and you want everything to go perfect. It should be a pre-requisite that a girls wedding be the one time that absolutely everything goes right!

So glad you didn't let them bother you and had a great time. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[elleinad16]

I've been waiting to read/see your ADH reception! I'm SO glad you loved it--It's making me more excited! Everything looked simply beautiful and you look gorgeous! Can't wait to read more!

 

[BethieTink]

Wow!!!! Everything looks wonderful! You looked fabulous!

Thanks for posting the extra food station pictures. It does help.

 

[DVC Bride 2011]

Amy, I haven't been on the boards much at all lately, but I finally got a chance to read through your trip report. Everything looks great! I am so glad you had such an amazing day. Our trip was so similar in that the first couple days were crazy coordinating everything, but the wedding day itself was flawless. I absolutely adore the dress you wore to your dessert party! ADH looks like an amazing place for a reception - such a fun party atmosphere! Aren't you so glad you went with your dress?! Such a steal. Are you going to do vendor reviews or anything? I can't wait to see your Randy pics!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I don't think I've posted here before, but your pictures are beautiful, even though they aren't your professional ones lol It looks like you had a great day, and Randy is fantastic so I'm sure you are going to love your professional photos. I love your little flower girls too, they look so cute in their princess dresses!

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

Oh, oh, oh, you look stunning!

So sorry to hear about the problems you had. Don't worry about being annoyed, so much time and effort goes into planning your wedding and you want everything to go perfect. It should be a pre-requisite that a girls wedding be the one time that absolutely everything goes right!

So glad you didn't let them bother you and had a great time. Can't wait to hear more.

Thanks!

I've been waiting to read/see your ADH reception! I'm SO glad you loved it--It's making me more excited! Everything looked simply beautiful and you look gorgeous! Can't wait to read more!

Yes we loved ADH, I'm sure you will too!

Wow!!!! Everything looks wonderful! You looked fabulous!

Thanks for posting the extra food station pictures. It does help.

Thank you & your welcome!

Amy, I haven't been on the boards much at all lately, but I finally got a chance to read through your trip report. Everything looks great! I am so glad you had such an amazing day. Our trip was so similar in that the first couple days were crazy coordinating everything, but the wedding day itself was flawless. I absolutely adore the dress you wore to your dessert party! ADH looks like an amazing place for a reception - such a fun party atmosphere! Aren't you so glad you went with your dress?! Such a steal. Are you going to do vendor reviews or anything? I can't wait to see your Randy pics!

Thanks! Yes, I am deff. glad I went with that dress, and yes I am going to do vendor reviews at some point, hopefully!

I don't think I've posted here before, but your pictures are beautiful, even though they aren't your professional ones lol It looks like you had a great day, and Randy is fantastic so I'm sure you are going to love your professional photos. I love your little flower girls too, they look so cute in their princess dresses!

Thanks, I can't wait to get my professional ones, the wait is killing me! Yea I thought the flower girls looked adorable, and they were seriously soooo well behaved!

I will continue with the post wedding TR ASAP!

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

TR continued..... First Day as Newlyweds!

We had decided to spend our first day after the wedding relaxing! We knew the first few days were going to be chaotic, which they were, so we knew we would be ready to just relax by Tuesday.

We slept in, and had room service delivered, which we ate out on the balcony while looking at the castle. Then we had bell service get our luggage and take it down to the front desk, since we had to switch room once again! Disney's whole computer system was down that day, so we couldn't check in or do anything until much later in the day. We decided to stop by the concierge area before heading down to the pool. We had some tea/coffee and looked at the great views from this area of the resort. We then headed down to the pool, got some pina coladas, and relaxed. This nice lady working at the pool bar gave us two glasses of complimentary wine once she learned we had gotten married the day before.

Views from concierge level:

Relaxing by the pool:

We had planned on getting my parents a gift since they contributed a lot to the wedding. A few years ago, my parents took me & DH on a trip to the Bahamas, and me and DH went pairisailing. My mom really wanted to do it, but we ran out of time. She later told me she has wanted to do it her whole life and never has. So I thought the perfect gift would be pairisailing at Disney, since my parents both love Disney as well. I told them we were all renting the Searaycer boats at the Contemporary, and when they got there, we surprised them with the news they were going pairisailing! They were thrilled and loved it! We really did rent the searaycer boats, back at the GF with a bunch of our guests. We met everyone back there, spent some time by the pool again, and then rented the boats. After the boats, we said goodbye to DH's family who were leaving in the morning, and got our new room. We got ready for dinner at Citricos.

My parents getting ready to go pairisailing:

DH's dad and gf cruising:

Dinner at Citricos was amazing. We had planned on getting a drink from Mizner's and sitting in the lobby at GF to listen to the great band, but we ran out of time. We were given free champagne, special menus (which we forgot), and a free dessert for being newlyweds!

After dinner we watched the electrical water pagent, then relaxed on the beach at night with some champagne, and then watched wishes from a secluded little spot of grass on the right side of Narcosse's. It was a wonderful & relaxing day!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Another great installment!! I agree that Citrico's is beyond amazing!!! We had our reception dinner there and they bent over backwards to make us feel special.

 

[belle2211]

Disney's whole computer system was down that day, so we couldn't check in or do anything until much later in the day.

That's the day I was trying to check in family members with my cast member discount and delivering my welcome bags to 5 different hotels! It was such a pain to wait for them to keep checking to see if the computers were up so I could give them my welcome bags!

I love that you relaxed on your first day as newlyweds. That's one of the things I regret. Since we're locals, we didn't get to really stick around so I decided for our one year ann, we're gonna book a room at the GF and just enjoy it!

I love the pictures! Can't wait to see more!