Wedding Day, Part 16: Or, The End
Chris and I rolled out of bed around 6:30 or so, and I got myself all prettied up for the DP. We met up with my dad for 7:00, and we got into the town car I hired and headed off to the GF!
Now, remember, my dad is not a Disney fan. This was his third time to WDW, but he had really only spent a few days on property, and he had never been to the GF. I always forget how much of an EFFECT the lobby of that hotel can have on people! My dad was absolutely amazed and couldn't stop taking pictures: it was sweet.
When we got there, Becky and her mom were already there, and we waited around for everyone to show up. We told people to be there for 7:45, as the party started at 8:00: and Chris's family didn't show up until 7:58. (I might have been a LITTLE irritated.) At some point, I had gone over to bell services and asked for direction to SCP because I kind of forgot how to get there. (No judgment.) I made friends with the head Bellhop, Jockey John, and he told me he would lead us over when we were ready. (Remember him, he is going to make a reappearance on the 7th.) I went over, got Jockey John, and announced to the group "EVERYONE! WE'RE WALKING OVER TO THE DESSERT PARTY NOW!!! FOLLOW ME!!!!!!!"
...And, apparently, I must have had my Teacher Voice on because, as we were walking over, BFF Jockey John said "Are you a teacher?" I laughed. "Yes, yes I am!!!" I thought it was amusing, anyway. He also asked me if I had ever worked at Walt Disney World, and when I said no, he told me I really should. This was a recurring theme: I had 3 or 4 cast members tell me I should work there. Sigh.
When we got over to Gasparailla's, I found my grounding and Jockey John went on his way. We headed toward the Blinking light, and it was time for eats! Apparently, for whatever reason, my brand new husband had not heard me announce that it was time to head over, and he and his family had been lagging behind. He seemed a little annoyed, but he got over it.
Anyway, for desserts we had cookies, brownies, ice cream floats/sundaes, and Napoleons. Everything was absolutely delicious, except for the cookies, which were your standard, dry Disney cookies. The ice cream floats were a surprise hit: one of my favorite moments was when Tim, Richelle's boyfriend, who is not an easily excitable person, saw that we had root beer floats. His face lit up like a little kid! It was just precious.
The brownies were also really moist, much better than the ones I tried at my tasting. The Napoleons tasted just like the ones from the French Bakery in Epcot, which is what I requested. Good job, GF Bakery!!
We also met our DP photographer, Dean: who was, well, interesting. I had never heard of him from before, so I was genuinely surprised to meet him. He kept talking about his girlfriend, who was apparently starring in an Orlando play called the B***hes of the Kingdom. She played a lesbian Mulan, who sang about how she "never got the girl." I don't know why Dean felt the need to tell me this! Christy had also stopped by our DP just to say hi and check in, which I thought was very sweet. She was really the best planner ever.
I also found out that I had Regina for our Epcot pictures: and I was so excited I SQUEALED!!! I realized, after, that this may have insulted Dean, and I felt a little guilty... but I had been hoping for Regina for about 10 months. So, whatever!
I also tried to explain the concept of the "Wish Box" to our guests, but alas, people were still confused. We had a small box at our table, and we invited our guests to come, get a piece of paper, and write down their "wishes" for us. Not everyone did so, my Grammy said she didn't understand. (Oh, Grammy.) But we received some lovely, cherished wishes too.
We had about a half hour to eat, and then it was time for fireworks pictures. He explained to us how we had to try and stay still, explained the long exposure time, etc, etc. He talked more (I think he started talking about his love for Disney cruises and how he got good discounts which was good because he didn't make any money? I don't know, he was a nice guy, but his choice of conversation was odd for a wedding.) Finally, the Fireworks started...
...and I gotta say, it was painful being able to hear Wishes, but not see it. We did pipe in the music, which I thought was the best decision, but I kind of wished I would have just chosen to watch the fireworks! I love Wishes more than anything, almost more than Chris. I'm glad our guests got to see it, at least.
By the way, here is the link for our Disney pictures:
www.collages.net/disneyweddings. Username: White / Dunn Portraits; PW 1971
Overall, I think our Fireworks pictures are just "okay." Our faces look oddly photoshopped in a lot of them. I don't really think this was worth $350, and I should have just had Randy come back. At least it went towards our minimum though.
After the fireworks, there was a slight bit of drama. My dad told me that he and my aunt had gotten into a silly fight, where both of them were kind of acting like children. Becky's mom had also found this piece of paper that was a claim check for me, and I had no idea what it was, but I wasn't concerned: but she kept asking me what it was, and then my dad got into it and asked a bunch of questions, and then I just said to him "Why do you CARE?!?!" and he walked off and pouted--- but then he got over it and we ended up putting a bunch of brownies in coffee cups for later.
And then, it was time to go! I was sad, but
exhausted: it had been a long, emotionally draining, overall wonderful day. There was some confusion with the vans (they had ordered one too many and we were trying to figure out who went where), but we got back to the Beach Club safe and sound. My dad came and hung out in our room for a little bit, and then went to bed. I also went over to my grandparents' room across the hall and fished out everything I wanted from their box of stuff they had retrieved for me. I ended up having to throw out almost all of my centerpieces; I only saved one for myself. I just didn't have the room for them.
I wanted to shower and get all of the hairspray out of my hair. So I took a shower, and then snapped a picture. I kept saying, sadly, "No More Pretty Pretty Princess."
Chris and I got into bed, snuggled under the covers, and fell fast asleep. Our wedding day had been just about as perfect as could be, and we were ready to start our long, happy marriage.
So, this is the end of the wedding day report. I am so sad! I am going to do my vendor reviews next, but I am going to save my Glad I Dids/Wish I Hads for the end of the TR so I can include my honeymoon in them. Thankfully, I still have 8 days of Disneymooning to report, so you all aren't done with me yet!!!
)
I am so excited. I will post it in my pj tomorrow.
It's all thanks to you.
I'm just gonna have to hold out hope for a vow renewal, I guess! 
