Andreah and Brian - Dec 8th, 2009 (Reception Photos Posted)

[figmentfan814]

Wow, the room at the contemporary looked fantastic. I love all the little extra storage spaces and gadgets. How cool that you had club access too. We've only had that once (when we stayed at GF after our wedding) and I loved it! What a great deal about every 5th anniversary; Kris and I joked we probably wouldn't be able to afford a week at the GF until our 20th (we only stayed there 2 nights after the wedding) so 5 years doesn't sound so bad to return to a wedding room. Maybe I need to tell him that 20 years might be too long to wait I'm really excited to read more!

 

[BecBennett]

You looked absolutely gorgeous in your photos! Can't wait to see your professional ones, and I bet I'm not the only one!

 

[kmg148]

You look gorgeous in your dress! Can't wait to read more!

 

[29apr00]

LOVE the view to your room! Can't wait to read more!

 

[BecBennett]

Where did you go!?! I know most people are enjoying the Holiday break by doing stuff, bt I'm still here waiting to hear all about the wedding!!

J/K, I hope everyone's enjoying any time off that they may have, this time of the year is always hectic!

 

[acwinsett]

Thanks guys! Hope you all are having fantastic holidays!

Sorry I've fallen off . . . I've been working to collect photos from others before I make too much progress on my trip report. I'm actually just now feeling caught up on my rest from the wedding. I'll post more very soon.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Xmas day we were watching a Disney special on all of their decorations for the holidays...That wreath in the Contemporary had to be assembled and brought in on a flat bed! And it all happened while guests were sleeping! Disney is amazing!

 

[Boston Disney Bride]

I can't wait to read more!!! Happy New year!

 

[kcampbell]

Andreah! A very belated Congratulations!! I saw some of your "sneak peeks" from Misty on another thread earlier today. You were just stunning! And boy the weather REALLY turned around on your wedding day! I was a little worried for you early that AM. Anyway, just had to stop by and tell you that I can't wait to see more of your photos! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[acwinsett]

The photos are up from our in-park bridal portraits in Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

Click here if you would like to see a few our favorites.

OR

If you would like to see all of them, you can visit the DPS website:

http://collages.net/disneyweddings
Event: Winsett / Churchill Bridal Portrait
Password: 1971

Our thoughts?

Brian and I are in agreement, the photos are nothing and less and nothing more that what we expected. Of 223 photos, there are about 40 that will be awesome once we do a little extra PhotoShop work on them. To us, that is perfectly acceptable.

Our photographer was Ty, and he was really good at choosing locations and framing the shots. He's also good with PhotoShop. He used a really great camera with good lenses. And he was a nice person to work with.

Ty could use a little improvement in the area of posing subjects. After our experience with Misty, we were a little "spoiled" that she would notice all of the "little things", fixing every strand of hair, facial and body angles, and the dreaded flabby arms and "muffin tops". That being said, Misty had given us "training" that we will continue to use when we take photos from now on, regardless of the photographer, so that helped . . . A LOT!

My biggest complaint was that my hair was split up in a lot of the photos. We're going to have to grow me some new hair in PhotoShop to fill in some gaps!

And this is a personal issue for me, but I was unhappy with my arms and shoulders in some of the photos. I'm very sensitive about my arms. No matter how much I work out, I can't seem to get my upper body in shape. This is remedied in photos by keeping arms extended and stretched away from my body. As Misty says, "flat arms are fat arms", and in a lot of these photos my arms were mushed against my body or another object. Ew! But, again, we can use the magic of PhotoShop to correct some of this. And I should have asked Ty to be mindful of this when we started . . . so, as a word of advice, let your photographer know if you have "hot buttons" that you'd like to avoid so they can be on the lookout for that.

If you're trying to decide whether these photos are worth the money, it truly does depend on your personal circumstances. Here are some of the factors we considered:

- The investment for us was $1170 ($1300 minus a 10% special discount that was going on at the time) plus $750 for the high-resolution DVD of images plus $195 hair and makeup, plus about $120 for a new boutonniere and floral refresh

- We went in knowing that these photos were not going to be immaculate quality. We had seen previous samples and understood the photographer's constraints as they related to working around all of the other things that were happening in the parks.

- We went in knowing that we have PhotoShop software, and Brian is highly skilled with it. (I'm a "beginner", almost "intermediate" user. Brian can work miracles with it.) This is the appeal with getting the disc of images. Ty told he would include the source files in addition to the retouched files on the disc for us so that we could "play" with them. That's really cool . . . a lot of photographers don't like it when other people "mess with" their work.

- We're probably also more critical than most given our professions. As they say, the best doctors make the worst patients!

Just one other thing worth mentioning . . . they never told us the photos were ready to view. I didn't receive email or anything. I've just been checking the site each day since Christmas. Our BEO said that the login would be "Winsett / Churchill Wedding", but that didn't work. When I saw that Jennifer's photos were up said "Bridal Portrait" instead of "Wedding", I decided to give "Winsett / Churchill Bridal Portrait" a shot. It didn't work on Friday, but last night it worked! I guess if I hadn't seen Jennifer's, I would have had to call them eventually to figure out what's up . . .

So, anyway, I hope you enjoy and find this review helpful!

 

[acwinsett]

Andreah! A very belated Congratulations!! I saw some of your "sneak peeks" from Misty on another thread earlier today. You were just stunning! And boy the weather REALLY turned around on your wedding day! I was a little worried for you early that AM. Anyway, just had to stop by and tell you that I can't wait to see more of your photos! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thank you so much, Kelly! I was so bummed we didn't get a chance to meet, but maybe one day we'll find ourselves there around the same time again. After all, we DO have anniversaries that are close by!

Thanks for the complements and well-wishes and I wish you all the best for a spectacular 2010!

 

[beatlesblonde]

Andreah those pictures are beautiful! I'm glad that you are at least happy with them. I too haven't received an email so I've been trying different log-in combos and still nothing. I figure we're at 4 weeks on Tuesday (can you believe we'll both have been married a month come Friday?) So if there isn't anything up yet I'll be sending an email. Looking forward to more trip report!

 

[MainStMandy]

Thanks for sharing!! The pictures of your favs I love. You looked absolutely beautiful in your dress!!

 

[29apr00]

I think your pictures are really beautiful Andreah! I don't see what you're complaining about with your arms either! You are beautiful and in great shape!!

I really like the ones where you are on the side of the castle and it's kind of the fishbowl lens,those are nice pics. And i love the one inside the castle where Brian is leaning on your shoulder....those are really beautiful!

And the outside ones by the trees!! OMG Those are beautiful! With the moss hanging down....sooo nice!

#117 is soo cool, it makes your flowers look red!

LOVE all the pics in UK.....you got a alot of different locations, it's not the same Epcot shoot that everyone else gets....i'd be REALLY happy with your pictures!! They are all great!!

I thought mine were good but man, i think yours are much better....i couldn't find any except for the castle that i didn't aboslutley love!!

 

[PrincessShea]

I jut caught up. I can't wait to hear about the ceremony and see your Misty pictures

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Wow you pictures are great. You looked fabulous. I hear you about the hair. I HATE how my hair separates too. Thank goodness for photoshop! Thank you for you honest review of your DPS photography, it was very helpful and helped me put my mind at ease.

Um... not get cracking on the rest of your TR so I can gleen any last minute tips off of you, my location twin

Seriously though, loving your TR!!

 

[cdotla]

I just found your report from Lurkloo's TR and have to say that your pictures are wonderful!

I am also already hooked on your Wedding TR and can't wait for more!

 

[acwinsett]

Okay, guys, I've got the next little bit ready . . .

Shortly after checking out our room, my mom had to run over to the airport to pick up my brother and his girlfriend, who were scheduled to arrive around 4pm or so. One of the first orders of business for us was to get something for lunch . . . by that time we were starvin'! In the interest of time and simplicity, we went downstairs to Contempo Cafe. I got a pepperoni flatbread, Gavin got the kids' pizza and Brian had the burger. Yum! And, of course, we had to pick up the obligatory refill mugs.

It wasn't long after we started to settle in that we started getting phone calls from guests that had arrived. We had to meet up with Amber and Todd (Brian's office manager and her husband) so they could drop off the stuff they brought with them when they drove. They had managed to pick up some of our friends, Sean and Ellen on the way. We met Amber and Todd at the valet to pick up our stuff and found Ellen scouting for a vending machine. They were hungry, too. So, I led them over to Contempo Cafe for sustenance and we took the goodies over to the little cocktail lounge just outside of the cafe for our first drinks of the trip. (Pardon the mess . . . these photos are not all that great)

Before too much longer, it was time to head over to the Polynesian to meet up with the rest of our guests and have a yummy dinner! But, before we did that, we had to run up to our room and pick up all of the jogging suits and sparkle shirts to give all the ladies for the following nights' Christmas party. We had thought ahead about the challenges involved with transporting 11 gift bags via monorail. Brian found these really cool plastic clamps at Lowe's called "Cable Claws". They were just locking clasps with handles. Each one held 4 or 5 bags with no trouble - and they were just a couple of dollars each. Genius!

We arrived for drinks in the Tambu Lounge right on schedule, and our guests began to trickle in. We had a few people drop off but as soon as everyone was present and accounted for I went to the check-in desk to let them know how many people would be dining. In the meantime, we all enjoyed meeting, greeting and sharing a few tasty beverages!

This is what I was drinking . . . it's called a Pink Bikini Martini, and was touted as a "low-calorie option". It was the last time I consumed any "low-calorie" anything

 

[acwinsett]

This is a Magical Star Cocktail. It was a signature drink and definitely a crowd favorite. They couldn't get enough of the light-up ice cubes.

In this photo, Brian is showing Gavin how to make a toast:

My grandma

Once we checked in, we didn't have to wait long at all for our table. I think it was ready within 10 or 15 minutes. Oh boy, it's time to eat!

Open grill area:

They had us split up into two tables adjacent to one another:

Aunt Mary told Gavin that he could have her light-up ice cube, if he could get it out of the glass:

Great success!

At some point, they made a public announcement about our upcoming wedding and we were invited along with some anniversary couples and other people in love to participate in a special dance:

Everyone had a GREAT time! Everyone loved the dinner, raved about the food and stuffed themselves silly. It was an awesome place to have everyone meet up for the first night. I would highly recommend 'Ohana for a welcome event!

Keep in mind if you think of booking 'Ohana, you will HAVE to call first thing 180 days out! We called group dining as soon as they opened and the only time available was 8:50pm. Boy, was it worth it!!!

 

[Boston Disney Bride]

Looks like you had an awesome first night!! I love the report...keep it coming!!!