Cassandra and Daniel's June 2015 Wishes Disney Fairytale Wedding!

[MissCass609]

Hi everyone! I joined DISboards yesterday to ask a question that I couldn't find an answer for anywhere else, but when I saw the idea of a wedding journal, I could not wait to get one started!

So, for starters, my name is Cassie! I have been a Disney fanatic for as long as I can remember. To be honest, I didn't really have a choice..my parents are Disney lovers too and took me to Disney for the first time when I was only 16 weeks old! We went once or twice a year every year while I was growing up, so I was pretty much raised on Disney and wouldn't have it any other way. Anyway, enough about me. I met my prince Charming, Daniel, when I was 15 years old and he was 16. He wasn't nearly as into Disney as I was when we first met, but after he came on one of our family trips with us one summer, he was hooked and joined us on every Disney trip since. OK- fast forward to me and Danny's 5 year anniversary where we planned a trip to Disney by ourselves. As was tradition, we went to Magic Kingdom on the first day. Danny was very quiet, stand-offish, and refused to get a hot dog with me from our favorite place on Main Street! Honestly, I thought that he was still angry about the small arguement we had gotten into earlier in the day. (He didn't believe me when I told him the right exit to go through the main arches into WDW, and when I was proved right I was disappointed that we didn't get to hon the horn as we drove under the arches and gave him an "I told you so" look, so he got a little frustrated. But, come on, we all know how important it is to see that sign!) Little did I know, he was actually just nervous! Anyway, after I ate my hot dog, we decided to get a picture in front of Cinderella's Castle, as we do every year. The photographer told us to do a few cute and a few silly poses, and then finally said "Oh, I have a good one, why don't you face each other and he gets down on one knee!" I did not find this funny. After five years of dating, I was more than ready for Danny to propose and did not find any jokes about it very funny. I looked at the photographer and faked a laugh, and when I looked back at Danny he was on one knee. Then I looked at his face and I realized that this wasn't a joke. Tears began to well up in his eyes and as he expressed his feelings and thoughts, tears began to well up in mine as well. I had always said that I was never happier than when I was looking up at Cinderella's Castle with him by my side, and that's exactly the way in which he decided to ask me to be his wife.

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[MissCass609]

Looks like the pics didn't work in my original post. Let's try this again!

 

[majix]

Too cute!! Love your proposal story!

I hope to raise my future kids the way your parents did you. With regular trips to Disney!

Are you hoping to get married at Disney? Im excited to hear more!
Xx

 

[edeneye]

What a great story! It's funny you remembered the details like the hot dog and what was going through your mind at the time. He was probably just worried he might not keep it down! The photographer did an amazing job getting those photos, I like how there seems to be a crowd building throughout them! They add to the story so well and the joy in that fourth shot is just beautiful.

Great luck finding this board too, it's officially planning time! You'll find a lot of resources and information here that'll make the whole experience so much easier

 

[Saradactyl]

Welcome to the DISboards and congratulations on your engagement!

Have you made any plans yet?

 

[MissCass609]

Sorry that I kind of left everyone hanging... had a super busy couple of days! Anyway, right after we got engaged, Dan and I immediately started talking about a Disney Fairytale Wedding. I honestly never thought that we could afford one, but after doing some research online we figured that if we could keep it smalls we could make it work. So although I have a big family and we're all very close and it will be tough not have everyone at my big day that I may have originally wanted, we decided that if we ended up not having the wedding of our dreams for other people's sake that we would end up regretting it in the long run. So we decided to do it! We came up with a guest list of about 35 people that we felt absolutely needed to be a part of our special day. The next issue was when to have the wedding. Dan is out of school, but I still have two more years to go of a bachelor's nursing program. Our original plan was to wait to get married until I graduated from school, but as that sank in I got really bummed out that I had to wait that long to start planning anything. So we decided to do it after my junior year and go with a 15 month engagement instead of a 27 month one. Luckily, I have an extra year of classes and credits under my belt, so I'll have a really light course load this coming year, otherwise I don't know how we could make it work. So, that Al be said, we decided on our ride home that our wedding date would be Tuesday, June 9th, 2015! Deciding on a venue for the ceremony was easy, because I had always drooled over pictures of weddings at the Wedding Pavilion at the Grand. But the people, place and date was pretty much all we knew!
Fast forward to May of 2014 when Dan and I went on my family's annual Disney vacation. The highlight of the whole trip was definitely when we had our meeting with the wedding consultant! Cheri, our consultant, was so nice and helpful. When we had absolutely no clue where to hold our reception, she suggested the Whitehall Room at the Grand. It fits up to 55, so it will be absolutely perfect for our 35 guests plus lots of room for dancing There's a huge patio, part of which is covered, that is attached to the ballroom with awesome views of Cinderella's castle which leads me to my favorite part of the idea of having our reception there -- since our ceremony is at 5 pm, our reception will run from roughly 7-11. That means that we will have a beautiful, private viewing of Wishes from our reception! How amazing is that going to be?! That was definitely the selling point for us..who can turn down free fireworks?!
So right now Dan and I are just playing a waiting game. We have to wait until exactly 12 months out to book our wedding, which is this coming Monday. So as long as no one else wants the same venue on the same day at the same time..planning our dream wedding will be put into motion! If it turns out that there is another couple with the same exact plan that we have, then apparently Disney will do a "lottery" and pick the couple's name out of a hat more or less to decide who gets it. You can pretty much guarantee that I'll be sitting by my phone all day until we get the call. And then when we do, I'll be sure to hop on here to let everyone know how it went. Everyone please keep your fingers crossed!

 

[MissCass609]

Welcome to the DISboards and congratulations on your engagement!

Have you made any plans yet?

Thank you! We have made a few plans! I have been so busy that I didn't get to post about them until now but they're on my last post!

 

[MissCass609]

Too cute!! Love your proposal story!

I hope to raise my future kids the way your parents did you. With regular trips to Disney!

Are you hoping to get married at Disney? Im excited to hear more!
Xx

Thank you! I'm so fortunate to have had the Disney filled childhood that I did. I look back at it so fondly.
Yes we are! If you look at my latest post there are quite a few details on our planning so far!

 

[MissCass609]

What a great story! It's funny you remembered the details like the hot dog and what was going through your mind at the time. He was probably just worried he might not keep it down! The photographer did an amazing job getting those photos, I like how there seems to be a crowd building throughout them! They add to the story so well and the joy in that fourth shot is just beautiful.

Great luck finding this board too, it's officially planning time! You'll find a lot of resources and information here that'll make the whole experience so much easier

I am so happy that he thought to get a photographer in on the secret, he did a great job and the pictures make me happy every time I look at them. And yes, the Wedding forums have already been so much help to me! Thank God for technology! Lol!

 

[Deannacooper93]

First of all, you two are so cute. You guys remind me of my fiance and I. We both started dating at 15 we have been together for 6 years and we both have a childhood run by Disney!
Can't wait to hear more and good luck on getting your date!

 

[Bewitch324]

Congratulations! I love your proposal story, it's so sweet!

I'm so glad you'll know soon whether you got your date and desired venues...fingers crossed for you.

I think what you have planned will be lovely. Can't wait to hear more as your plans evolve...

Brooke

 

[MissCass609]

Hello again! A lot has happened since I last posted! First and foremost, we got the venues that we wanted! We have officially booked the Wedding Pavilion at the Grand Floridian for June 9th at 5 p.m. and the Grand's Whitehall Room for our cocktail hour and reception! I could not be happier. I have dreamed about getting married at the Wedding Pavilion since I was a little girl. I can remember standing outside of the Magic Kingdom, looking out over the lake at the Grand Floridian, and thinking it looked just like a fairytale. And I had never even heard of the Whitehall room before our first consultation, but I fell in love with it as soon as I realized that the space included a patio, and from that patio my guests could watch Wishes over Cinderella's Castle at our reception!
Dan and I also bumped our guest count up from around 35 to around 45. There were just a few more people that we really felt that we would miss if they weren't a part of our special day. We also decided that instead of having one flower girl (we were having a lot of trouble choosing between his niece and my three little cousins), that we are going to have a little stampede of 4 pretty little flower girls
We also decided on a restaurant for our rehearsal dinner - Big River Grill at the Boardwalk area. The menu has a little bit of everything, it's much more affordable than, say, the Coral Reef (my first choice), and the atmosphere seems really laid back and fun which will be nice during an otherwise formal couple of days.
Last, but certainly not least, I got my dress!!! I'm definitely ahead of the game, but I just couldn't wait to start looking. I ended up buying the very first one that I tried on! I tried on other ones after initially trying on the dress I ended up with, but all I could think about when I was in the other dresses was that first one. My grandmother, mom and I all cried when I put it on the second time, so I had to say yes to the dress I also got a veil and necklace to go with it, and am planning on looking for shoes as soon as I finish this post actually
Dan and I filled out our room block for the wedding week, we picked Port Orleans, Coronado Springs and Pop Century as our three discounted resorts. The next step is for Disney to send us the contract, then for us to sign and sent it back! After that we plan on sending Save-The-Dates! It all is starting to feel so real!
Below are some pictures from our engagement and consultation trip, and some of my dress. I'll talk to you all soon!

 

[MissCass609]

We were lucky enough to have a Disney Photopass photographer take our picture in the Rose Garden during Wishes!

 

[MissCass609]

Us on the Whitehall Room patio


Us outside the Wedding Pavilion


Our Mickey & Minnie tattoos!

 

[MissCass609]

My dress! It's a "Belle" inspired gown from Alfred Angelo's Disney line

 

[Saradactyl]

I'm hoping to get a date close to the same time as yours, but since I am planning an escape wedding, it will be a few more months before I can book it.

Is that one of the Alfred Angelo Disney Fairy Tale Wedding dresses? You look like a princess!

 

[MissCass609]

I'm hoping to get a date close to the same time as yours, but since I am planning an escape wedding, it will be a few more months before I can book it. Is that one of the Alfred Angelo Disney Fairy Tale Wedding dresses? You look like a princess!

It is! It's Belle from I'm pretty sure the second year Disney dresses! Have fun planning!

 

[golightly]

I love that dress on you! & all of the photos are lovely- you two are so cute.
I can't wait to see what you plan for everything else!

 

[Deannacooper93]

I love your minnie tattoo! I just got a Disney tattoo on father's day. And that dress on you is stunning. I have that veil you have on in the picture. I also have a belle dress but not that version. Can't wait to see more of your wedding plans.