ead79
<font color=#FF0066>Disney Bride!<br><font color=v
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2000
- Messages
- 10,436
Wedding DayIlluminations pre-reception and reception
After our ceremony, Colin and I had a few moments together in the Brides Vestibule. It was nice getting to spend just that little bit of time together. It definitely didnt seem real to us that we were actually married. Its kind of funny really, you wait your whole life to find the man of your dreams, then we had a forever-long engagement (22 months), then in just about 20 minutes you become man and wife.
We had our staged exit, which we did without any bubbles or confetti or anything. I was worried that it might be a little strange to not have anything tossed, but it worked out great. Everybody just clapped and cheered for us. It was pretty funny that it took us forever to make our way over to the bride and get across it. My dress was heavy, and I had to carry it and my bouquet, which slowed me way down. One of my friends tried to give me a high five when I walked by, but I just laughed and said that I didnt have a hand (it was full of wedding gown train at the moment), LOL!
After our staged exit we returned to the Wedding Pavilion where we had photos with the family. I remember standing there and noticing the floral person taking the wreaths off the ends of the pews to move them to the reception. I looked over at Colin and said, Did you even notice the wreaths? He hadnt seen them either, but they sure looked nice when we finally noticed them. Soon it was time for pictures with the family, then we made our way over to the Italy Isola for our pre-reception.
It was really fun to walk through the crowds at World Showcase to get to the Italy Isola. We got lots of congratulations from passers by as were we led to the Italy Isola by the cast members with light sticks. The only things I tasted at my pre-reception were the non-alcoholic punch and the chicken salad on bread. They were both tasty, but I didnt want to hold the punch since it was bright pink and I can be a bit klutzy. The violinist from the ceremony was playing for some of our guests who really seemed to be enjoying her (some of them were even making requests). She was really talented!
I can say without a doubt that the Illuminations pre-reception was completely worth the cost. It was such a magical, special event for both Colin and I and for our guests. Everyone was mesmerized. The view from the Italy Isola is incredibleI saw parts of the show that I had never seen before. We stood alone on the bridge over to the Isola, where our photographer and videographer were able to get some shots of us watching Illuminations. I would do this party again in a heartbeat!
After Illuminations, we headed over to the American Adventure Rotunda where we were able to catch a glimpse of the room all decorated before our guests were brought in. It was honestly everything I had dreamed of and more. It looked picture perfect! I had worried that the chair covers and table overlays I chose might not look good on the tables, but I loved them. The floral centerpieces were just what I wanted, and the large roman-style head table for the bridal party and us looked so elegant with the Christmas garland and votives down the center of it. Our wedding cake looked positively incredible! It was HUGE! I couldnt believe how large that white chocolate castle topper waswe have it at home now, and I cant bear to even taste it. Its just too pretty to eat.
As our guests were entering the Rotunda, we were hidden away in the Blue Room just off the main Rotunda. Our entertainment manager, head server, and DJ were introduced to us and talked with us for a while as we waited for our guests to find their place cards and take their seats. Then the time for introductions arrived. Our bridal party was introduced, then we were introduced to the strains of the trumpeter. Now introducing for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Colin Jayes ____! I had forgotten that the trumpeter would be there, but it sounded really neat (rather like a royal introduction). The DJ, Scott Messina, had the bridal party stand behind us while we had our first dance. They actually swayed to the song, which I think will look neat on the video. Our first dance was Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers, followed by our combined father/daughter and mother/son dance to Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion. Its pretty funny dancing up there knowing that everyone is staring at you. Colin decided that we did the wedding waddle, as he calls it, quite well, LOL!
After the dances it was time for the toast and blessing. Steven, the Best Man, did a lovely job with the toast. He even got a little bit choked up, which was really sweet. Poor guy, I had forgotten to tell him that he needed to do the blessing as well. Luckily, he did several plays in high school and was comfortable winging it. I cant believe I forgot to tell him that! Colin and I opened our secret gift from Fairy Tale Weddings, then it was time for dinner. The servers came to take us through the line (we had stations instead of a seated dinner). Colin just couldnt believe that someone was going to walk him through the line and get his food, LOL! He thought that was the neatest thing. The food looked wonderful, but we were too excited to eat much at all. All our guests did seem to be enjoying the meal very much. As our guests were finishing their meals, we took time to walk around the tables and greet the guests. Boy did we underestimate how much time this would take! My word of advise to other brides is to try to do this quickly. We ended up spending about half of our reception trying to speak to each guest, and we only had 77 people there (I cant imagine how brides with large weddings do it!). In the middle of making the table rounds, it was time to cut the cake. It was so pretty that it almost seemed like a shame to cut it. Colin and I fed our bites to each other nicely with no cake smashing. I told him that he better not get cake all over me in my wedding gown, especially since we were taking pictures the next day. Those bites ended up being the only taste we got of our cake, but it was delicious. I wish we had made time to eat a slice, but we werent hungry and were busy spending time with our guests. My mother ended up giving our leftover cake to one of the bus drivers, which I wish she hadnt done. She had forgotten that we had a mini-fridge in our room where we could have kept it. Oh well, we do have the castle topper, which was most important to me.
After finishing the table greeting, we danced for a while. Our DJ was really great at playing a good mix of music. A good number of our guests didnt dance, but he did a good job of getting those that werent set against it onto the dance floor. We had a lot of fun dancing with our wedding party, but boy is it tiring. Also, its very difficult to do the electric slide with a huge wedding gown on. I kept getting in everyones way, LOL! Surprisingly, all of Colins aunts and uncles left right after the meal. Im not really sure why they all had to leave, but oh well. All of our guests seemed to be having fun dancing and mingling. After that it was time for the garter and bouquet tosses. I had taken my garter off (it kept sliding down), so we had to scramble to get it back on so Colin could take it off. Colins best man Steven caught the garter, his sixth one to catch. I guess its about time he get married, LOL! I actually got to throw my bouquet from the second floor of the Rotunda, which was fun. The girlfriend of a family friend caught it, so well wait to see if they get married. As 12:45 am rolled around, we noticed that most of the guests had gone back to their resorts (several of them had kids that they left with babysitters), so Laura asked me if we wanted to wind it down a little early. Colin and I were getting exhausted, so we said that ending it would be fine. Unfortunately, our town car driver got lost trying to get to the Epcot back lot, so we didnt get to leave until 1:15 am, when full exhaustion had begun to set in. I didnt anticipate being so tired, but its just part of the release of tension I think. Our last dance was to the song Promise from Disneys Millennium Celebration CD, and I loved dancing to it. All our guests surrounded us, swaying to the song at first, then coming up around us and going back out again. It was funny and was a nice ending to the evening, so I hope that either Stan (the videographer) or Randy (the photographer) were still there to get it on film. After the last dance, our guests made a line outside the American Adventure Rotunda and waved goodbye. Colin and I were so tired, but we were so happy! Our wedding really was a dream come true for us, and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat (obviously, wed still choose each other, LOL!). To all future Disney brides: relax! Disney really will make your day magical. They are experts at what they do, and Mickey knows how to throw a fantastic wedding!
After our ceremony, Colin and I had a few moments together in the Brides Vestibule. It was nice getting to spend just that little bit of time together. It definitely didnt seem real to us that we were actually married. Its kind of funny really, you wait your whole life to find the man of your dreams, then we had a forever-long engagement (22 months), then in just about 20 minutes you become man and wife.
We had our staged exit, which we did without any bubbles or confetti or anything. I was worried that it might be a little strange to not have anything tossed, but it worked out great. Everybody just clapped and cheered for us. It was pretty funny that it took us forever to make our way over to the bride and get across it. My dress was heavy, and I had to carry it and my bouquet, which slowed me way down. One of my friends tried to give me a high five when I walked by, but I just laughed and said that I didnt have a hand (it was full of wedding gown train at the moment), LOL!
After our staged exit we returned to the Wedding Pavilion where we had photos with the family. I remember standing there and noticing the floral person taking the wreaths off the ends of the pews to move them to the reception. I looked over at Colin and said, Did you even notice the wreaths? He hadnt seen them either, but they sure looked nice when we finally noticed them. Soon it was time for pictures with the family, then we made our way over to the Italy Isola for our pre-reception.
It was really fun to walk through the crowds at World Showcase to get to the Italy Isola. We got lots of congratulations from passers by as were we led to the Italy Isola by the cast members with light sticks. The only things I tasted at my pre-reception were the non-alcoholic punch and the chicken salad on bread. They were both tasty, but I didnt want to hold the punch since it was bright pink and I can be a bit klutzy. The violinist from the ceremony was playing for some of our guests who really seemed to be enjoying her (some of them were even making requests). She was really talented!
I can say without a doubt that the Illuminations pre-reception was completely worth the cost. It was such a magical, special event for both Colin and I and for our guests. Everyone was mesmerized. The view from the Italy Isola is incredibleI saw parts of the show that I had never seen before. We stood alone on the bridge over to the Isola, where our photographer and videographer were able to get some shots of us watching Illuminations. I would do this party again in a heartbeat!
After Illuminations, we headed over to the American Adventure Rotunda where we were able to catch a glimpse of the room all decorated before our guests were brought in. It was honestly everything I had dreamed of and more. It looked picture perfect! I had worried that the chair covers and table overlays I chose might not look good on the tables, but I loved them. The floral centerpieces were just what I wanted, and the large roman-style head table for the bridal party and us looked so elegant with the Christmas garland and votives down the center of it. Our wedding cake looked positively incredible! It was HUGE! I couldnt believe how large that white chocolate castle topper waswe have it at home now, and I cant bear to even taste it. Its just too pretty to eat.
As our guests were entering the Rotunda, we were hidden away in the Blue Room just off the main Rotunda. Our entertainment manager, head server, and DJ were introduced to us and talked with us for a while as we waited for our guests to find their place cards and take their seats. Then the time for introductions arrived. Our bridal party was introduced, then we were introduced to the strains of the trumpeter. Now introducing for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Colin Jayes ____! I had forgotten that the trumpeter would be there, but it sounded really neat (rather like a royal introduction). The DJ, Scott Messina, had the bridal party stand behind us while we had our first dance. They actually swayed to the song, which I think will look neat on the video. Our first dance was Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers, followed by our combined father/daughter and mother/son dance to Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion. Its pretty funny dancing up there knowing that everyone is staring at you. Colin decided that we did the wedding waddle, as he calls it, quite well, LOL!
After the dances it was time for the toast and blessing. Steven, the Best Man, did a lovely job with the toast. He even got a little bit choked up, which was really sweet. Poor guy, I had forgotten to tell him that he needed to do the blessing as well. Luckily, he did several plays in high school and was comfortable winging it. I cant believe I forgot to tell him that! Colin and I opened our secret gift from Fairy Tale Weddings, then it was time for dinner. The servers came to take us through the line (we had stations instead of a seated dinner). Colin just couldnt believe that someone was going to walk him through the line and get his food, LOL! He thought that was the neatest thing. The food looked wonderful, but we were too excited to eat much at all. All our guests did seem to be enjoying the meal very much. As our guests were finishing their meals, we took time to walk around the tables and greet the guests. Boy did we underestimate how much time this would take! My word of advise to other brides is to try to do this quickly. We ended up spending about half of our reception trying to speak to each guest, and we only had 77 people there (I cant imagine how brides with large weddings do it!). In the middle of making the table rounds, it was time to cut the cake. It was so pretty that it almost seemed like a shame to cut it. Colin and I fed our bites to each other nicely with no cake smashing. I told him that he better not get cake all over me in my wedding gown, especially since we were taking pictures the next day. Those bites ended up being the only taste we got of our cake, but it was delicious. I wish we had made time to eat a slice, but we werent hungry and were busy spending time with our guests. My mother ended up giving our leftover cake to one of the bus drivers, which I wish she hadnt done. She had forgotten that we had a mini-fridge in our room where we could have kept it. Oh well, we do have the castle topper, which was most important to me.
After finishing the table greeting, we danced for a while. Our DJ was really great at playing a good mix of music. A good number of our guests didnt dance, but he did a good job of getting those that werent set against it onto the dance floor. We had a lot of fun dancing with our wedding party, but boy is it tiring. Also, its very difficult to do the electric slide with a huge wedding gown on. I kept getting in everyones way, LOL! Surprisingly, all of Colins aunts and uncles left right after the meal. Im not really sure why they all had to leave, but oh well. All of our guests seemed to be having fun dancing and mingling. After that it was time for the garter and bouquet tosses. I had taken my garter off (it kept sliding down), so we had to scramble to get it back on so Colin could take it off. Colins best man Steven caught the garter, his sixth one to catch. I guess its about time he get married, LOL! I actually got to throw my bouquet from the second floor of the Rotunda, which was fun. The girlfriend of a family friend caught it, so well wait to see if they get married. As 12:45 am rolled around, we noticed that most of the guests had gone back to their resorts (several of them had kids that they left with babysitters), so Laura asked me if we wanted to wind it down a little early. Colin and I were getting exhausted, so we said that ending it would be fine. Unfortunately, our town car driver got lost trying to get to the Epcot back lot, so we didnt get to leave until 1:15 am, when full exhaustion had begun to set in. I didnt anticipate being so tired, but its just part of the release of tension I think. Our last dance was to the song Promise from Disneys Millennium Celebration CD, and I loved dancing to it. All our guests surrounded us, swaying to the song at first, then coming up around us and going back out again. It was funny and was a nice ending to the evening, so I hope that either Stan (the videographer) or Randy (the photographer) were still there to get it on film. After the last dance, our guests made a line outside the American Adventure Rotunda and waved goodbye. Colin and I were so tired, but we were so happy! Our wedding really was a dream come true for us, and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat (obviously, wed still choose each other, LOL!). To all future Disney brides: relax! Disney really will make your day magical. They are experts at what they do, and Mickey knows how to throw a fantastic wedding!
