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

[praline3001]

What a wonderful wedding story Amy!!!!

I love the dress by the way

 

[HockeyMomR]

Amy - just started reading the past couple of days. Sea Breeze point is such a beautiful place for a wedding, in my next life I want to get married there! Maybe a vow renewal in 5 years for my 25th!!!

Anyhow, you look so beautiful and happy. Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Amy, thank you for sharing your special day and trip with us! I am loving your report. You all look fantastic and like you're having the time of your lives.


Channing

 

[goofygal531]

Amy, your wedding was just beautiful! You looked stunning!

We stayed right above the garden suites. They looked so romantic! We were in the first room to the right after walking thru the large Inn Keeper's Club door on the fourth floor. That must of been a hike going to the lounge from your room. Hope you found a short cut. Were you able to see Illuminations from your porch? We could see it all the way to our left, we could see the Eiffel Tower.

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise! We LOVED sailing on the Wonder!

Mare

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful day! You were a beautiful bride
I, too, had Rev jack Day, and our violinist also performed Zippa de do dah (I know the spelling is wrong..lol ) afterwards too!
We were at Sunset Pointe..
That Garden Suite looks fab!

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

YAY I am all caught up on your TR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so happy for you two!!! Your wedding day looked beautiful! You looked beautiful and I am so happy it was a fairytale for you!!!! I can't wait to hear and see your dessert party!! I am sure it was just as wonderful! your favors turned out really nice and your programs were awesome!

 

[Goldeelox9]

Amy it was all perfect! I can't wait to read more!!!!!

 

[figmentfan814]

Amy~ I can't believe how much of your report I missed while I was gone. I loved the KTTK tour when I took it a few years ago and it was fun to relive some of those memories. AK is one of Kris' favorite parks too, he says he loves the scenery there and he likes DHS too, so I totally understand what you mean about loving AK. Having to show the keys is quite a big pain for the rides, but I can see why they do it now. It just seems to back everything up at the entrances to the rides during EMH though.

Congrats on the suite upgrade, what a wonderful surprise! Everything looked so beautiful! I loved the programs and the final product with the favors. You really did a great job with the boxes. It was great to hear that your mom loved her ring, I know you were so excited when you found it for her. The shots with Mickey and Minnie are priceless.

I also love what the Rev. said during your vows. It reminds me of something that our pastor said (not during our wedding but at a sermon) that the key to being married is to be with someone that you can wake up next to every morning and that you want to face the day with them together no matter what it might bring good or bad

 

[princess_momma]

Congratulations!! I love your wedding and reading all about it!! I am waiting for the day when I can plan my DFTW!! (my guy is in the army...) Congratulations!! You looked so beautiful.

 

[Angela0917]

Aww, you looked so beautiful!!! I love your pics with Mickey and Minnie!!

 

[irisbud]

What a wonderful wedding story Amy!!!!

I love the dress by the way

Thanks so much!

Amy - just started reading the past couple of days. Sea Breeze point is such a beautiful place for a wedding, in my next life I want to get married there! Maybe a vow renewal in 5 years for my 25th!!!

Anyhow, you look so beautiful and happy. Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing.

We were so happy with SBP. I was really worried that I was going to wish we had gone with the WP, but I have no regreats at all!

Amy, thank you for sharing your special day and trip with us! I am loving your report. You all look fantastic and like you're having the time of your lives.


Channing

Thanks Channing

Amy, your wedding was just beautiful! You looked stunning!

We stayed right above the garden suites. They looked so romantic! We were in the first room to the right after walking thru the large Inn Keeper's Club door on the fourth floor. That must of been a hike going to the lounge from your room. Hope you found a short cut. Were you able to see Illuminations from your porch? We could see it all the way to our left, we could see the Eiffel Tower.

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise! We LOVED sailing on the Wonder!

Mare

There was a little bit of a shortcut, down some nasty old service stairs. We did use it to go back to the room a couple of times, but it was 4 flights of stairs and not very "magical", so we never used it to go up to the room. It did cut off a lot of distance, though!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful day! You were a beautiful bride
I, too, had Rev jack Day, and our violinist also performed Zippa de do dah (I know the spelling is wrong..lol ) afterwards too!
We were at Sunset Pointe..
That Garden Suite looks fab!

Thanks you! I really liked Rev. Jack. I was a little worried, since we of course hadn't met him before, but I was happy with our choice!

YAY I am all caught up on your TR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so happy for you two!!! Your wedding day looked beautiful! You looked beautiful and I am so happy it was a fairytale for you!!!! I can't wait to hear and see your dessert party!! I am sure it was just as wonderful! your favors turned out really nice and your programs were awesome!

TONI!!!! You're back too! I've been reading your TR as well! I wish we could have met up while we were there!

Amy it was all perfect! I can't wait to read more!!!!!

Thank you

Amy~ I can't believe how much of your report I missed while I was gone. I loved the KTTK tour when I took it a few years ago and it was fun to relive some of those memories. AK is one of Kris' favorite parks too, he says he loves the scenery there and he likes DHS too, so I totally understand what you mean about loving AK. Having to show the keys is quite a big pain for the rides, but I can see why they do it now. It just seems to back everything up at the entrances to the rides during EMH though.

Congrats on the suite upgrade, what a wonderful surprise! Everything looked so beautiful! I loved the programs and the final product with the favors. You really did a great job with the boxes. It was great to hear that your mom loved her ring, I know you were so excited when you found it for her. The shots with Mickey and Minnie are priceless.

I also love what the Rev. said during your vows. It reminds me of something that our pastor said (not during our wedding but at a sermon) that the key to being married is to be with someone that you can wake up next to every morning and that you want to face the day with them together no matter what it might bring good or bad

Vanessa! I hope you had a great trip! I'm so jealous that you and Toni got to meet! We liked the KTTK tour, I would love to do Backstage Magic someday! I like what your pastor said as well! Thanks for your nice compliments

Congratulations!! I love your wedding and reading all about it!! I am waiting for the day when I can plan my DFTW!! (my guy is in the army...) Congratulations!! You looked so beautiful.

aw thanks! And thanks to your guy for his service

Aww, you looked so beautiful!!! I love your pics with Mickey and Minnie!!

Thank you! I was so happy we had them come!

 

[irisbud]

Day 3, Part 3

After all of our guests were gone, we put our flowers in the refrigerator to help preserve them until the next day and changed out of our wedding clothes so that we could head over to DHS. I put on my wedding ears for the first time, and we changed out our “Happily Ever After” buttons for “Just Married” buttons. I was so excited I couldn’t stop smiling. The whole experience was still surreal to me, and I kept looking at my ring and DH’s ring, not quite able to believe that it had really happened.

We just got married here!

We stepped out onto the boat dock, and I started feeling just a little cold. I told myself that it would pass once we got away from the water and off of the lake. The sun was so bright and I had decided to wear a skort and short sleeved shirt, as I had been a little warm by the end of the wedding.

DH on the boat dock

Weird bird on dock:

When we got to DHS, it was a madhouse! It was so crowded. I couldn’t believe the sheer amount of people there. We wandered past RNR, TOT and TSM, but all of them had insane wait times. I suppose this was because Fantasmic! was being shown that evening. At any rate, we spent a little time walking around not really accomplishing anything, then headed over to Indiana Jones, where we were able to sit down close to the front and towards the center.

By this time, I was freezing. We had seen Indiana Jones several times before, and I couldn’t wait for the fire scenes so the explosions could warm me up momentarily. I huddled as close to DH as I could get, trying to stay just warm enough to not be miserable.

After the show concluded, we decided we should head back and try to find something for dinner. We stopped in one of the gift shops on the way out as I was thinking about purchasing a sweatshirt for myself, but I couldn’t find anything I liked. I was still cold as we boarded the boat and headed back towards the EPCOT resorts. DH thought maybe we should try to find something at the Swan or Dolphin. I really wanted to try and find something in EPCOT, but there really wasn’t time, as we had less than two hours before our guests would be coming back to our room before we all headed over to EPCOT for our dessert party later that evening.

I told DH that I really wanted to put on warmer clothes before we did anything. We headed back to the room and I put on jeans and grabbed a jacket. We then decided we would head over to ESPN and grab something quick, as we wanted something a bit more substantial than the food from the lounge.

There was a little bit of a wait for the regular seating, so we decided to eat on the bar side. The people sitting next to us offered their congratulations while we ordered some sandwiches and listened to the trivia questions a live DJ was throwing out. We like ESPN because it is good bar type food and not too expensive. Though it wasn’t exactly my first choice for a romantic meal on our wedding night, I decided not to worry about it. It was something we both liked, and I knew we would have many, many more meals together.

Once we were finished, we headed back to the room to wait for our guests to meet up with us again. Once they arrived, we opened a few generous gifts they had brought for us, discussed our days, watched a little bit of the video footage one of our guests had taken, and then headed over to the IG to be led into our dessert party.

I was a little apprehensive about the spot we had chosen. Our party was going to be in Morocco and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the location. In fact, DH and I tried to move to Japan at the last minute, thinking the view might be better from there, but found out that the pavilion was going to be under construction.

DH wore his wedding ears as well, and following our guide with his flashing green light saber we attracted several stares. DH joked that we needed to purchase one of those light sabers, as it was very efficient for parting the crowds.

Once we got to the site, I was so happy with our choice. We had a much nicer view than I thought we would, and everything was set up beautifully. After a few moments, we were invited to select out desserts and drinks. We had chosen the Petite Classics menu, as we wanted to have the greatest amount of variety possible for our guests. This turned out to be a great choice. I think most people tried a little of everything they wanted, and we heard nothing but rave reviews. Our server was fantastic, and the whole event felt very nice and private even though it was in the middle of a crowded park.

Yummy Desserts:

We had a nice time chatting with our guests and listening to Morockin (I think DH enjoyed watching the belly dancer, LOL) for a while before the fireworks to start. It was great not to have to battle with the crowds for a great spot. Once Illuminations started, everyone found a spot along the wall, and we all enjoyed watching without being jostled by dozens of strangers. It was a perfect night for the fireworks, with just enough wind to clear the smoke away and leave the view clear.

Random fireworks shots:

After the fireworks ended, we lingered for a little bit. DH spoke to the server, who was from Morocco and told DH that, in Morocco, he could have four wives. Our server was planning on getting another wife as soon as he had enough money. DH asked him why he would want more than one.

Finally, the crowd had thinned out enough that we decided to brave leaving. We had plans to meet everyone again the next day at noon for lunch at Biergarten. DH and I walked fairly slowly back to the boat. Once onboard, we had several people offer us their congratulations, some telling us that they had seen us getting married that day!

We stepped off the boat, hurried up to the lounge for a soda for DH, and headed back to the room to turn in early, as Patricia was returning at 5:30 the next morning to do my hair and make-up for our bridal portrait session at Animal Kingdom.

As I pulled the pins from my hair and washed the makup from my face, I couldn’t help but think about what a perfect day we had had. We had truly had the best day ever. I couldn’t have asked for anything more, and wouldn’t have wanted anything different. My dreams really and truly had come true!

 

[figmentfan814]

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the rest of the day too. I can't believe how busy DHS gets on the Fantastmic nights, it really does get crowded now.

So, are there any pics of the bride and groom at the DP? I can't remember did you end up going casual or did you wear your wedding attire again.

 

[irisbud]

Day4, Part1

We woke up at about 5:00 AM as Patricia was going to be arriving at 5:30. I brushed my teeth and got some clothes on before staggering down the stairs. Patricia called to say she was running a bit behind due to a problem at the security gate. She arrived by 5:45 and got right to work, still as friendly and cheerful as she had been the day before.

I was exhausted. All of the days of getting up early were starting to catch up to me, and I was so tired I could hardly think. I tried to will myself awake, not wanting to look like a zombie for our bridal portraits, but I was having difficulties. Every time I closed my eyes I felt almost sick, I was so tired.

Patricia was done even more quickly this time, and she again helped me into my dress. We gave her the bottom layer of our cake, as we would be moving to WL the next day and had no way of taking it with us. I still wanted to try our top layer so I wasn’t willing to give that up yet. Patricia took it, telling us how much her kids would love it. We paid her and I promised to send her a picture, then DH and I headed up to the lobby to meet Joe.

Joe was already waiting for us. He helped get a new pin into DH’s boutineer, as the old one was bent terribly. Other than that, our flowers had faired pretty well from their time in the refrigerator, and I felt they would be fine for the shoot.

It was COLD again that morning, in the thirties. I had nearly frozen walking from our suite to the lobby, so I actually had a little bit of dread for our portrait session. I didn’t know how I would ever stay warm. The good thing was that the sharp air had woken me up somewhat.

We piled into the car and headed over to AK, where we went through the backstage entrance. We had come in this way two years before when we did the sunrise safari, but it is still always interesting to see.

When we drove into AK, many of the plants were wrapped in plastic and had blast furnaces blowing on them to keep them warm and alive. We started out in a little courtyard near tusker house where there were some interesting walls and textures.

Joe told us that, as far as he knew, we were the first to ever do a BP session at AK itself, rather than the lodge. He said he had never done one, and no one he spoke to at DPS had either. I got the feeling, at first, that he was a bit leery about it, but I think he warmed up to the idea fast.

We headed through Africa and Asia, making tons of stops anywhere we or Joe felt was interesting. I think we all worked really well together, and I did fairly well with the cold until Joe had me lean against a stone wall by the Everest queue. That wall was so cold it just seeped through to my bones. I felt like I would never get warm again after that.

We did several shots near Everest, then headed towards the Tree of Life. When we got over that way, a CM stopped us and told Joe we would need to leave the park as guests were coming in for the Tusker House breakfast. Chaos ensued momentarily as they tried to figure out how to get us out of the park without being seen. We ended up leaving through a gate behind Asia. This was my only regret, as I wish we had had more pictures with the tree, but I don’t know how they would have turned out anyway, and I am thrilled with what we did get.

Once we left, Joe surprised us by asking if we wanted to do some pictures at EPCOT as well, as he liked working in Italy and Morocco, and felt that we hadn’t gotten enough time. We readily agreed, so we got to see a bit of the behind the scenes things at EPCOT as well. All I can say is that the magic really ends back there!

We headed to Italy first, and got several pictures done. In one, Joe wanted me to act as though I were pushing open a set of doors. When I did this, another CM kept thinking I wanted them shut, and kept pushing them closed again! We finally got the shot we wanted, then DH asked about a shot on the stairs, which Joe agreed to. Walking up those stairs in my dress and heels was so hard, but I was happy the shot turned out well, as it was DH’s idea.

Once we finished in Italy, we headed over to Morocco where we did several more shots. I was finally starting to warm up by this time, so it wasn’t so difficult to hold my poses.

We finished up and headed out of the park and back to the BWI. I was so thrilled with our morning, and so pleased we had chosen to do a BP session. Joe was so great! He really made the morning for us.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to the room to change so we could get some breakfast in the lounge and then head over to EPCOT for lunch with our guests!

 

[irisbud]

Our Wedding Pics and AK/EPCOT Bridal portraits:

http://www.collages.net/consumersite/clientspecificpages/disney/login_fairytaleweddings.aspx/

Username: Huffman / Waller wedding
Password: 1971

 

[irisbud]

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the rest of the day too. I can't believe how busy DHS gets on the Fantastmic nights, it really does get crowded now.

So, are there any pics of the bride and groom at the DP? I can't remember did you end up going casual or did you wear your wedding attire again.

I can't believe it, but somehow, there are no pics of us at the DP . NBD, though. We decided to go casual, which was nice, it turned out. No worries about getting all dressed up again, and all of our guests could be comfortable! Also, with no photographer there was really no need!

 

[figmentfan814]

Our Wedding Pics and AK/EPCOT Bridal portraits:

http://www.collages.net/consumersite/clientspecificpages/disney/login_fairytaleweddings.aspx/

Username: Huffman / Waller wedding
Password: 1971

Amy, your pictures turned out so great! I especially like the ones in the area right around Everest. Some of the ones along the wall of you by yourself and then with DH are so dramatic. I'm sorry you didn't get as many Tree of Life shots as you were hoping for, but you still got such a great variety. How cool to be the first Disney bride to have a shoot at AK. I know when we scheduled MGM only a few had been done there, so our photographer was open to wherever we wanted to go which was really cool. I really like some of your shots where you're looking off in the distance and DH is looking right at you, they're so romantic

I'm sorry your time was cut a little short, but its good to know that you got the extra time in Epcot (although I'm partial ) The shots in Italy are beautiful, the door shot was definitely worth waiting for! The Morocco shots blend well with your shots from AK too; what a wonderful bonus!

That's great that you were able to meet up with your guests for lunch that day. I hope you were able to get a nap in between, I know we needed one! One of my favorite things was having time to spend with our guests in the park. That is nice that you were able to kick back at your DP too, I know I was so sick of wearing my dress at that time and didn't get to enjoy the experience as much as I would have liked.

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Great update!! I absolutely loved your AK/Epcot pictures. They turned out SO good!!!

 

[Maxie86]

Great update. Your pictures are beautiful, and your day was perfect. Thanks for sharing them with us.

 

[PrincessShea]

I enjoyed the update! I see you don't have any pics of the two of you at the DP...but do you have any more general shots of the DP?