Irisbud's PJ & Wedding TR: 1/22/09: NOW COMPLETE! 3/26/2009

[irisbud]

Day 1, Part 1

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 was a day that I had been waiting for for a very long time. The night before, I hadn’t slept well, concerned that I would miss our 4:30 AM wakeup call. Though I know that is obscenely early, it was an improvement over years past, when we woke up at 3:30 AM, drove to the airport, and stumbled aboard our plane. In the interest of both simplification and the extension of sleep, my dad had driven us to a Comfort Inn near the St. Louis airport late the night before, saving us the hour of drive time we are generally forced to tack on.

By 5:15 we were stumbling down the stairs, lugging our heavy bags behind us. I don’t know why, but, despite its enormous size and multiple levels, there were no guest elevators in the hotel. We took a free shuttle to the airport, checked our three suitcases with a sky cap, made it through security with our backpack and carryon bag containing all of our wedding paraphernalia, and took off on our nearly empty Southwest flight.

Every time we fly, I start looking out the window when I think we should be near, hoping to get a glimpse of WDW. I wasn’t disappointed on this flight either. I got positively giddy when I saw some of the hotels and icons. By the time we landed, I was so excited that my heart was about to burst out of my chest!

We headed down to the empty ME line and checked in, changing the information on our flight home, which had been recorded incorrectly. The line for BWI was empty, so we stepped straight to the front, and were on the bus in less than two minutes. Almost immediately, we pulled away from MCO and headed for CBR where most of the bus disembarked. After that, we went to BWI, retrieved our carryon, and headed for the check-in line.

We tried BWI for the first time last January and fell in love. Though I am a GF Gal at heart, the BWI is a close second for me. The resorts have a somewhat similar feel to them, IMO, and I really enjoy them both. On this trip, we decided to do the BWI for two nights because we were having our wedding at SBP. Originally, we were going to switch to the GF on our wedding night, and stay there for three nights, but after the AP discounts were released we scrapped those plans. We got a fabulous deal on the BWI, but nothing was available for the GF. Though I can justify almost anything when it comes to WDW, I couldn’t justify the GF at almost twice the cost of BWI. We extended our BWI stay to four nights instead of two and booked a single night in a honeymoon suite at WL.

We headed up to check in, and the gentleman helping us couldn’t have been nicer. When he took our IDs and looked through the computer we chatted about the wedding. He offered congratulations and “just married” buttons, and then explained that we had been upgraded to one of the Garden Suites!

At this point, I became absolutely ecstatic and had to fight the urge to cry. If I could have booked any room at the BWI for our honeymoon, it would have been one of these suites. I just couldn’t justify the cost, however, and had mollified myself with the promise that we would stay in one of these rooms someday. Well, someday was today! We received our gold KTTW cards (the garden suites have concierge access) with my married name printed on mine. I still have it, as that was the first item to ever bear it. We were given a number to call later in the afternoon to receive our room number and sent on our way.

We took a little time to check our carryon with bell services and then to wander around the resort looking for the location of the Garden Suites. We walked past the row of them, speculating about which would be ours, and then wandered out to Sea Breeze Point to scope out our venue. Though we had seen SBP before, and walked or ridden the boat past it many times, we had never stepped inside. We ran in and took a look around, found everything to our liking, and hurried our, as there were boxes of linens and other assorted paraphernalia waiting around to be set up for a wedding. I remembered that Ashley (Philharmeastro) was getting married that day at 2:30 and wondered if those items were for her.

We walked back through the hotel and jumped on a bus to MK in order to trade in our AP vouchers, get a snack and later make our 2:00 lunch at LTT. I guess you could say that this is our tradition, as it is how we always start off our Disney trips! I just couldn’t believe that after all the time, dreaming, and planning, we were finally here! I vowed right then and there to make the most of it and to do my best to remember every single second!

* * *

Sorry for no pictures in this installment, the next one will definitely have some!

Thanks for reading!

 

[irisbud]

Day 1, Part 2

We got to MK before noon and hurried over to exchange our AP vouchers. I was so excited about doing this. I know it is corny, but one of my little mini dreams has been to have a WDW AP. I don’t know why since we live so far away it’s not like we can just pop in and out for a weekend, but I guess it doesn’t really have to make sense. The man doing our exchange was really helpful. He gave us another set of “Just Married” buttons, a set of “Happily Ever After” buttons, and a set of “I’m Celebrating” buttons. He joked with us that we couldn’t wear the “Just Married” buttons until Thursday. My pass had Minnie Mouse on it and DH’s (Well, I guess he was DF then, but I don’t want to be confusing…) had Pluto.

Finally we were walking through the turnstiles and into MK! This is always such a great moment for me. The first time you come out from under the platform and into the light is always so wonderful! It seems like every time there is just so much that I have forgotten from our past visits, or maybe it is one of those things where you just have to be there in order to do it justice. We headed up Main Street USA and towards the castle, but got sidetracked by the Main Street Bakery. We were both hungry, so we popped in to get a snack. DH picked out a sandwich of some kind and I’m sure I got something loaded with sugar, though I don’t really remember offhand. Everything was fresh and good as always!

After polishing off our snacks, we headed back towards Frontierland where we did Splash Mountain (not the best idea; it was pretty cold out and we got rather wet.) We then got in the queue for BTMRR and waited an hour and a half even though the posted time was only 40 minutes. This was the only really long line we encountered all week.

We were a little late for LTT by the time we were finished, but they fit us in. We got our normal sandwiches and fried cheese from here, I remembered how much I hate the small, dark bathroom in that place, and we hurried out just in time to avoid the parade.

After that we did a couple more rides, PoTC, HM, and maybe some others, picked up a stale churro in Fantasyland (usually my favorites, but not good this time. I was sad I had skipped dessert at lunch for it!), wandered a bit, and headed out of the park.

One thing that I had promised myself on this trip was that we would take our time and smell the roses, so to speak. This trip, we had the luxury of time, to an extent, and I wanted to make the most of it and not kill ourselves. I absolutely LOVE WDW, but I hate coming home feeling like we need a vacation after our vacation. So far, we had done well.

We hopped on the bus and I called the number we had been provided to get our room assignment, though I would have rather inquired at the front desk. Chaos ensued momentarily from a minor language barrier, but we finally had our room assignment. I believe it was 1204.

We picked up our carryon and headed back to the room. All I can say is WOW! It was so beautiful and wonderful. The second best room we have ever stayed in on WDW property, easily The split level and huge bath made it so much nicer than a regular 1 BR suite (and the fact that it had a king bed; most non-DVC WDW resorts have two queens in their 1 BR suites). We joked that we could almost live there if it had a kitchen and a bit more storage space. The whole bedroom/bathroom upstairs is exactly what I want for a master suite, with just a little more storage space.

BWI Garden Suite:

Bed:

Railing upstairs:

Looking into bathroom from bedroom:

Chair/nightstand by closet:

Bathroom Vanity:

Huge jet tub:

Shower/Toilet area (Sep. Room from Tub/vanity):

View of stairs from upstairs bathroom:

“Windows” into upstairs bathroom:

Downstairs living area:

Wetbar:

Sink in Downstairs bathroom:

Downstairs TV Case:

Lamp on Desk:

Close-up of Lamp:

Umbrella Stand:

Artwork:

Detail on Desk Chair Back:

Our “Garden”:

After lounging for a bit, we headed up to the Lounge to see what kind of appetizers they were serving. We got some shrimp and chicken skewers, some veggies, and some cheese cubes.

It was really getting cold out, so we decided we were done with the parks for the night and headed back to the room, which had been nicely turned down in our absence, including a towel doggie on the bed, which (stupidly, I admit) made me miss my real furbaby. Before turning in we got some yummy desserts from the lounge. When we got back I took a nice relaxing bath while DH watched TV. We had to get up somewhat early the next morning as well for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour at 8:30!

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Great start to your TR. Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[PhilHarMaestro]

Hi! You got married 2 days after me!! Do you know how to access your dis pictures. My sister lost the info! Thanks. BTW: your tr looks great so far!!

 

[irisbud]

Hi! You got married 2 days after me!! Do you know how to access your dis pictures. My sister lost the info! Thanks. BTW: your tr looks great so far!!

Thanks! I actually went through someone else's PJ (don't remember whose now ) who had DPS do their photos. I used what our login name would be and the password, but they weren't up yet. They said about two weeks, so yours should be ready any time now.

 

[Flurbee]

Subscribing...

 

[irisbud]

Day 2, Part 1

Wednesday morning dawned at about 6:15 for us. Our Keys to the Kingdom Tour was scheduled for 8:30 that morning. I had slept fairly well the night before, better than I had slept for a long time, in fact.

I was very excited about taking this tour. I had originally wanted to take the Backstage Magic Tour, but the price and the length of time involved had precluded me from making that commitment this time. I felt that the Keys to the Kingdom Tour would be an acceptable substitute for the time being, as I would still get a taste of how the magic was made, and DH would still get to see the utilidors, which he was very interested in.

After getting ourselves ready to face the day, we headed up to the concierge lounge for breakfast, which consisted of some delicious fresh fruit and pastries. I love their croissants (both regular and chocolate)! Sometimes the lounge at BWI can get a bit crowded because of its fairly small size, but we had plenty of seating options that morning.

We finished up fairly quickly and headed out to the bus stop to catch a bus back to MK. It was approaching 8 AM by the time a bus arrived. We stopped at the Swan, then the Dolphin, then finally headed on to MK. We hurried from the bus stops to the early morning turnstile, rushed to City Hall, and got all checked in with fifteen minutes to spare.

After signing in we were given pre-made nametags and asked to pre-order our lunch from Columbia Harbor House so that it would be waiting for us when the tour stopped for lunch. Coffee and water were available to take on the tour with us. At about 8:25, our tour guide, Fred, walked around with a basket full of earpieces which he handed out so that we would be able to hear him clearly throughout the duration of our tour.

We stepped outside of City Hall to start the tour. It was SO COLD that morning. In the thirties, if I remember correctly. Our group kept shuffling towards the sunlight every time we would stop. It was obvious by the way that every stop we made was in the shade that it was generally more desirable to be OUT of the sun in Florida, but that day was definitely an exception.

Our first stop was at the bench with the statue of Roy Disney and Minnie. Fred told us a little about the history of Roy and Walt, the Disney Company, the Disney Parks, and how Walt Disney World was named after Walt in tribute.

Minnie & Roy Statue:

Dedication Plaque:

We then headed up Main Street, pausing to talk about the significance of some of the names painted in the windows. To be honest, I knew much of what was being discussed from various Disney books such as The Imagineering Field Guide to Magic Kingdom. I also know a great deal of the back story behind some of these legendary figures from Disney War. Even so, it was interesting to hear the stories again. This also gave me the opportunity to look, really look, at Main Street. I had passed through so many times before, and now I wondered how I had always failed to take in all of the little details, even knowing they were there. The shop window displays are so cute and so creative and everything about it is so immensely detailed and vivid. I remarked to DH later how it was so fascinating to me that Disney does all of these things that the average guest probably never notices, but, if they weren’t there, it would take away from the whole experience.

A Few Window Displays:

Some of the Windows on Main Street:

We moved into the hub and discussed the Partner’s Statue of Walt and Mickey. This has always been one of my favorites, and I make sure to get pictures of it on every trip.

They had Bubble machines on by the hub. I wanted to stop and play in them, but decided that during the tour wasn’t the best time:

Partners Statue:

Moving on, we walked towards Adventureland. Fred asked us to take note of the changes in building styles, landscaping and pavement as we crossed over the bridge. He pointed out the way the music subtly changed as we traveled from area to area.


I had never noticed the Genies painted on the Carpet ride before:

After some more in-depth discussion about how the Walt Disney Company came to be, we headed over to the Jungle Cruise, which our tour group rode privately and without the corny jokes. We learned more about the details of the ride, including the animatronics, the way the ride vehicles work, and other minutia such as the clothing on the men escaping up the tree, the level of detail involved in the tunnel scenes, the hidden Mickey on their airplane, a figure chanting an unexpected phrase, and how the chief at the end received his name.

Once we got off JC, Fred said we had time to ride Pirates! I was thrilled as this is one of my favorites. Our whole tour group was placed in a single boat, which made it a VERY bumpy ride! Fred talked about the story behind the ride, which made the whole experience more understandable and better for me, as there had been pieces that had always baffled me before.

Following our trip on Pirates, we headed backstage through the gate next to Splash Mountain, which is the start of the afternoon parade route, and the end of the Spectromagic parade route. Around the curve, there is a line painted on the sidewalk. Fred told us that this is known as the “sight line” and characters must be in character once they cross the line on their way out and until the cross it on their way in, as Disney has determined that this is the first place where it could conceivably be possible for guests to see the performers. As Fred told us, it isn’t very magical to watch Cinderella finishing off her last cigarette!

Once backstage, we got to see the back of the show buildings for Pirates and Splash. It was interesting to me that, in between vast expanses of plain building, there were tiny areas of the Splash show building that had been done up like the mountain as they might be able to be seen by guests. We also saw some various ride props, as well as all of the floats for the afternoon parade and Spectro, which had been plugged in in their respective places, as the floats are battery powered. This was fascinating to me. The Spectro floats are so ugly with all of the lights off!

Fred answered a few questions about employment at Disney and the various roles that could be played as well as the hiring freeze that was currently taking place. We then headed to Columbia Harbor House where our lunch was waiting for us at preassigned tables. We had all also received a special little gift from Fred! I had the fish and chicken combo and DH had a tuna sandwich. We each enjoyed our lunch as well as the company of the couple sharing our table.

After about a half an hour, it was time to brave the cold again. We headed over to HM, which Fred shared quite a bit of information about before we rode, as he said it was too difficult to narrate the ride as went due to the spacing. We went in through the back way, which was cool. One of the CM’s told us “Don’t go in there; it’s haunted.”

After finishing the ride, we wandered back through Liberty Square, which Fred discussed some of the details of. He also took the time to point out the way scrims had been used to hide the scaffolding for HoP, as the scrims were considered to be less intrusive than the scaffolding. We discussed the construction of the castle and then headed into the Utilidoors.

The Utilidoors were pretty neat, though I would have liked to seen an area with more cast member services. It was interesting to learn that all of the utilities are housed in this area so that streets in the MK never need to be torn up. Fred talked more about the experiences of working at WDW, we looked at some art displays, and we watched a short video before heading back to the surface and back to City Hall where the tour ended.

All in all, I can highly recommend this tour, especially with someone as knowledgeable as Fred, who has logged more than 25 years at WDW. Though I already knew much of the information that was provided, I still learned a few things, and it was interesting to see some of the backstage things. I think I would still like to do the backstage magic tour at some point, as well as the Wild by Design Tour at AK. The only negative I saw to this tour was the length, close to five hours. It could have been about an hour shorter and still finished everything and been just as informative, though I supposed this may depend on your group.

After finishing the tour, we headed over to Fantasyland to ride Dumbo. DH was making me do this to conquer my fear. I have a secret terror of Dumbo and all similar rides. We talked to some nice people in line and I managed not to die, so it didn’t turn out to be too bad. We then wandered over to do the Laugh Floor, which was funny as always (Once, DH was picked to play Sully, and we still have fun with that, hence his emoticon in my signature).

At about 2:30, we were still cold as the temperature hadn’t improved much, and we decided we had had enough MK for one day. We headed back to BWI, met up with my family so we could show them where our room was for the next morning, called all of our vendors to give them our room number (though the number for Karen, our WP, did not work), and gave our other BM directions to the room. DH grabbed us a small snack and some drinks from the CL, and we then headed to the bus stop to catch a bus for AK and take advantage of the EMH that evening.

 

[irisbud]

Day 2 Part 2
When we got into AK, it was about 3:30. We spent a little time scoping out potential locations for our BP session at AK on Friday. There is just so much to choose from here, and, seeing as this park is not used regularly for this type of thing, we thought we might be able to give our photographer a few suggestions.

I know that a lot of people don’t really like AK, but DH and I love this park! It is so nice, quiet, and peaceful here. The level of detail that is put into everything is absolutely amazing. I enjoy WS at EPCOT, but I think AK does an even better job of transporting you to another place without ever leaving the park. Everywhere I look, it seems there are things I haven’t seen before.

Some of the many areas in AK we like:

After about forty-five minutes, we headed over to the safari ride. Unfortunately, we had bad timing as the parade was still going on and we couldn’t get through the regular entrance. We were sent through the FP line, though, and had about a thirty minute wait. We always enjoy the safari ride, and this time was no exception. There were quite a few animals out, but none were very active, possibly because of the cold and the lateness of the hour.

Gratuitous Safari Pictures:

After finishing the safari, we stopped and took in some of our surroundings, deleted some of the bad pictures we had taken, and headed over to Everest, wandering along the way and still looking for more picture spots.

Waterfall near Safari:

DH looking at animals:

By the time we got to Everest, EMH were in effect and we had to show our room keys each time through the line. We rode three times in a row (we got row 12 twice) with little wait. I think the old method of obtaining a wristband was better. It wasn’t a big deal to show the card, but it was a little annoying to dig it out every time. I didn’t feel comfortable having the key on a lanyard as charging privileges were attached to the key and I worried about losing it.

Gratuitous photos of Everest:

After the third time on Everest, we started to feel a little sick. We were also very cold. DH and I decided that it would only get colder as it got later, and we didn’t really want to be in the parks after the sun went down, as the forecast called for record lows that night.

As we walked towards Discovery Island and out of the park, Dh told me to look in the trees. There were literally hundreds of those white birds that roam through AK roosting in the trees. I couldn’t believe how many of them there were! After snapping a few pictures, we jumped on a bus to AKL, hoping we could get into Boma, as we had a taste for it that evening, and I had not made ADRs for anything.

Flocks of birds roosting in the trees near Discovery Island:

DH managed to get us checked in with a twenty minute wait. We had a great dinner (love the carrot ginger soup and the desserts here) then headed back to AK, as there was still about a half hour left to close. Once we reached AK, we jumped on the BWI bus and headed back to our room.

I took another long bath in the huge tub, read quite a bit more of my book while DH watched TV, and set my alarm for 6:00AM the next morning so that we would have time to make ourselves presentable and for me to grab some breakfast from the lounge before our BP and vendors started arriving at 8:00 AM for our big day!

 

[praline3001]

I'm on board! Great pictures so far!!!!!

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Great update!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We took this tour in October last year, and we absolutely loved it. We had Robin as our tour guide. She was fantastic. Can't wait to see more pictures!!!

 

[irisbud]

WEDDING DAY!

Day 3, Part 1

At about 6:00 the alarm went off. I couldn’t believe that the day I had been waiting for for so long was finally here! We each went through our normal morning routines, trying to make ourselves presentable before our vendors began arriving at 8:00.

At about 7:30, I ran up to the lounge to grab some breakfast for myself before things got so busy that I forgot to eat. DH (who was going to eat breakfast with my Dad later) stayed behind in case anyone showed up early. I made it back to the room and was just about to start in on my pile of fruit and pastries when someone knocked on the door.

I jumped up from behind the table to open it. It was the representatives from Carolyn Allen’s with my dress and the BM dresses. Words cannot describe how much easier this service made the wedding. It was so nice to ship everything down ahead of time and have it arrive, fresh and ready to go. Everyone I spoke to from CA’s was so nice, helpful, and professional. They hung the dresses up carefully so that they would not wrinkle and were gone within minutes.

I managed to finish my breakfast before Patricia LeJune arrived for hair and makeup. Though Patricia was a few minutes late (there was actually frost on everything, including her windshield, that morning and they had no ice scraper) she still arrived prior to either of my bridesmaids. I was a little nervous about this, as I wanted my hair and makeup done last, and I didn’t want DH to see me with them done until I was walking up the aisle.

Patricia said not to worry, that she would just sort of prep my hair and then would start working on the others when they arrived. This ended up working out well, as my sister and the rest of my family arrived at 8:30, and Patricia had just finished with my prep work. At that point, DH and my Dad left to go try and get breakfast at the Swan or Dolphin (they wanted a buffet).

While Patricia worked on my sister, I gave my mom her gift, which was a pink star sapphire ring. About ten years ago, my mom had a pink star sapphire ring that she lost the stone out of and never replaced as she couldn’t find another she liked. On the way home from DH’s mother’s house for Christmas, we stopped at an antique store and saw this ring. I had it resized to fit her and thought it would be a perfect mother’s gift for her. She said she really liked it!

About that time, my other bridesmaid showed up. While Patricia was still working on hair for each of them, I took some bad photos of my jewelry and of our programs and favors before boxing them up for DH to give to Karen along with our cake topper, a Lenox piece DH bought me as a wedding gift, when he met her in the BWI lobby before the wedding.

Bad Jewelry Picture:

Finished Programs:

Finished Favor Boxes:

Dove Candies (milk and dark chocolate) in favor boxes:

Castle candies we made in cherry and mint for favor boxes:

Finally, both of my BMs had their hair done and it was time for Patricia to start working on me. She was very methodical and thorough about her work and I was totally happy with her. She kept making sure nothing was too tight, pulling, or pinching and told me why she was doing everything she was doing. I told her to do what she thought would be best, so she had looked at my dress, jewelry, veil, and tiara and come up with a style she felt worked well with everything together.

Karen, our wedding planner, called in the middle of all of this. I had my sister take the call. I confirmed what time DH was to meet her in the lobby. She then asked if we wanted to do the wedding at SBP or move it inside to one of the ballrooms. I talked with my BMs, and everyone thought the temperature was warming up enough to have it outside as planned, so we told her SBP would do. She reminded us when and where we were supposed to meet her and hung up.

DH and my dad came back as she was finishing up my hair. All of DH’s things were ready to go and his suit ironed, so he grabbed everything he needed and headed over to the BWV where my parents were staying so he and my dad could get ready. That was the last time I would see him before the wedding, and I was surprisingly calm. I think everyone around me was waiting for me to become Bridezilla, as I have some perfectionist and OCD tendencies, but I don’t think I ever really did. I stayed pretty calm and happy the entire day. I wanted to really be there, if that makes sense, and take it all in. Many people had told me that, even if everything else fell apart, at the end of the day DH and I would still be married and nothing else mattered. I decided to believe them, and just go with it, as I will only have one wedding day!

Patricia completed my airbrush makeup and all of the rest. Again, I had told her to do as she pleased, and that I wanted to look like me, only better. When I saw the finished product, I was so pleased! She asked me if I wanted her to come back before the AK shoot the next day even though it was her day off, and I was thrilled to accept the offer. Initially, I wasn’t going to have the hair and makeup done again, but after seeing her work, I really felt I should!

All of our hair was done in variations of this style:

Me, normally:

Me, only better:

Patricia was really helpful through all the rest, even though she certainly didn’t have to be. She told me to start putting my jewelry on and helped my mom get me into my dress (my BMs were getting themselves ready upstairs). She also helped my mom figure out the bustle, put my veil in, gave me a little squeeze, and wished us well. I was so thrilled with my choice or Patricia! I don’t have enough good things to say about her.

My dad came back after that, and I gave him his gift, which was a watch with “always your little girl” and the wedding date inscribed on the back. He loved his gift as well, and put it on right away.

After we put together the final touches (pinning a pendant DH’s mom had let me use as my something borrowed into my skirt, adjusting the top of my dress, etc.), we headed out the door, up the elevator, and into the BWI lobby, where Karen, Rob (the violinist), and Joe (the photographer) were waiting. Karen handed me and my BMs our flowers, and Joe took some pictures of me in the lobby, made somewhat difficult by rude people who decided to come and sit down and have their child play right where we were taking photos!

My flowers:

Closeup:

My flower’s with DH’s Boutineer:

Hidden Mickey in DH’s Boutineer:

My BMs with their flowers:

Finally, it was time to head over to SBP! Joe told me to be very careful on the steps and along the boardwalk. I told him I had worn wider heels so they wouldn’t slip through the boards. People congratulated me all the way there. The sun was shining and the temperature had risen to near perfect levels. It was really a beautiful day.

Sea Breeze Point:

On the way over, Karen asked if I wanted to walk down the aisle from the side or up the middle. I told her up the side, so we headed to the end of one of the wings. Rev. Day came out to greet us, and I could see DH with his back turned to me so he wouldn’t see me until it was time.

Then, suddenly, my dress was being unbustled, the violin was playing, my mom was walking towards her seat, and Karen was arranging the BMs. My dreams were about to come true!

 

[tinks_1989]

Oh i have read through your thread I am looking forward to more from your TR

 

[praline3001]

oh Amy everything is so pretty!

I love the top part of your dress but i want to see the entire dress!!!! more pics more pics

 

[irisbud]

We are getting there....no worries :

 

[praline3001]

I love the simple elegant style... I dont like fru fru wedding dresses. I think they swallow the bride rather than make her shine.

i wanna see the BM gowns full length too..... dont leave us hanging here with just a teasing peek... you tease you

 

[AlternateEgo]

OMG I am so happy you had such a great trip! I wanted to mention that your programs are adorable!!!

We will be flying out of STL too!

 

[lurkyloo]

Great trip report!

I really enjoyed the detailed review of Keys to the Kingdom. I think DH would love seeing the Utilidors, even if we already know all the stories they tell on the tour....

 

[irisbud]

Great trip report!

I really enjoyed the detailed review of Keys to the Kingdom. I think DH would love seeing the Utilidors, even if we already know all the stories they tell on the tour....

Thanks, Carrie!

I enjoyed KTTK a lot, even though I knew most of the info. It was still fun!

BTW, Patricia asked how I found her, and I said after seeing how beautiful you looked in your wedding pics. She was so excited when I mentioned you! She said she will always remember your necklace and how beautiful it looked on you

 

[lurkyloo]

Aw.....

 

[irisbud]

I watched my BMs head down the aisle, and then Karen waved me on, as it was my turn. I heard Rob change the violin music from “A Whole New World”, which I had chosen for them, to “When You Wish Upon a Star”. I had decided to use this song as my processional as it had always held a lot of meaning to me. It may sound corny, but I truly believe in the power of dreams, and one of mine was about to come true!

My dad held my arm as we walked up the aisle and I gave him a smile, and then guided him in the direction we needed to go. I was also determined not to cry (I had just spent all of that money on makeup, after all, though Patricia did make it waterproof)! At first I saw my mom and our guests standing and smiling as I headed down the aisle, then I saw DH and I had eyes only for him. When we reached him, my Dad shook his head and kissed me on the cheek, then headed back to his seat.

I remember that it was still a little cold in SBP that day, as the sun couldn’t reach the inside of the pavilion. I was glad I had worn white stockings under my dress. I was also glad that no one could see my legs, as they were shaking terribly. I didn’t feel particularly nervous, more excited and just overcome with emotion. All day, I kept wondering if I was dreaming, and hoping that no one would cruelly wake me up.

Finally, Rev. Day asked us to turn and join hands. I passed my bouquet to my sister, and she handed both rings to Rev. Day. DH and I had chosen a civil ceremony that was short and simple and didn’t involve either of us saying too much. The words we did say, though, were the greatest words I ever heard. I tried to listen to the ceremony as best I could, but it was difficult as it seemed as though everything that I had waited so long for was now happening so very fast.

One thing that I do remember is Rev. Day telling us that we wouldn’t make the decision to be married once and be done with it. Rather, he said, we would have to choose to be married every day of our lives. When things get difficult, I hope I can always remember those words and the meaning behind them along with the look in my DH’s eyes when he spoke his vows aloud.

We headed back down the short aisle at SBP to “Zip a Dee Doo Dah” and had some pictures taken with our BP and guests. After that, Karen ushered us over to the cake table where everything had been set up and my beautiful cake topper was resting atop our cake. Sparkling cider was handed to everyone, and Rev. Day gave a lovely toast, though I honestly don’t remember a word of it. We had our cake cutting (I told DH that I would kill him if he smashed cake on my face) and found out that we are not very good at cutting cake. After a few more pictures, Karen announced that some special guests were on their way…

Toast:

Cake Cutting:

And Eating:

Kiss:

Special Guests:

It was only then that I remembered that Mickey and Minnie were coming to the wedding! Though I was excited about it, somehow I had completely forgotten in the midst of everything else! I suppose that just proves what everyone was telling me all along, that even if things go wrong they will go unnoticed by the guests. I suppose some might go unnoticed by the bride as well!

We had to do the cake cutting again (we got worse with practice rather than better). I was worried as this presented DH with a second opportunity to smash cake on me, but he was nice and refrained from doing so. Then we were escorted out into the blissfully warm sunlight to do our first dance. We hadn’t chosen a song, so Rob played “A Dream is a Wish” which was just perfect. Mickey and Minnie danced as well (they were better than us), then they cut in on us.

Cake cutting with Mickey and Minnie:

First Dance:

Dancing with Mickey and Minnie:

We did several more pictures with Mickey and Minnie. I was so thrilled with them. They really helped make the day even better. They were very, very good at what they did. They guided us through our pictures, wordlessly suggested photos to Joe, and were just fun! At one point, DH said “it would be better if you could talk”, and they threw their hands up over their mouths as if he had said something foul.

Pictures with Mickey and Minnie:

Just before they were supposed to leave, Mickey brought over a gift for us, the DFTW watches, and took some pictures with those and with our programs, which both Mickey and Minnie loved. I couldn’t believe how quickly the time had passed.

Us with Mickey and Minnie and our watches:

Us with Mickey and Minnie and our programs:

Group photo:

Me with my Mom and Dad:

We sat down to eat our cake. We had chosen the “Elegant Swirls” design from the available Escape cakes. Our bottom layer was yellow cake with Bavarian cream filling, while our top layer was chocolate with Bavarian cream. I would have preferred all chocolate cake, but DH said no. They only served the bottom layer, and it was delicious! I even liked the icing, and I don’t like icing. Rob walked around the whole time palying “name that Disney song” with us and our guests. He was great!

Sitting down to eat our cake:

DH and I with Rob in the background:

Mmmm….Cake:

All too soon, they were subtly ushering us out. The cake was boxed up and one of our guests kindly offered to carry it, as Joe wanted to take some pictures of DH and I walking along the Boardwalk. I couldn’t stop laughing because the evil seagulls were everywhere, as many people were out eating lunch and soaking up the sunshine. One man we saw almost lost his pizza to them, and several birds flew over our cake boxes eyeing them suspiciously but apparently deciding they were too big to steal.

We split off from our group and went off on our own to take some more photos. I really liked Joe a lot. He seemed to be taking a lot of care and putting a great deal of thought into his work. We spent close to another half an hour on photos both on the boardwalk and in the BWI lobby before Joe wished us well and told us he would see us in the morning, as he was our photographer for our bridal portrait session at Animal Kingdom.

When we finally got back to the room, we found out that the limo hadn’t arrived. A four consecutive hour limo service is part of the Escape wedding package from Disney. We really had no legitimate use for it, but we had scheduled to have it pick up one of my BM, along with her mother and sister. I tried to call Karen, but the number I had still didn’t work. DH went up to deal with the problem, and ended up paying for a taxi.

One little spot as miniscule as that wasn’t anything, though. I had wanted a fairytale wedding, and I had gotten one. The sun was bright and shining, everything had gone as close to perfectly as was possible in an imperfect world, and I was now married to the love of my life. I just couldn’t believe how quickly it was over, though I still had the Dessert Party to look forward to that evening…