*Jessica & Jared's Wedding and Honeymoon TR* RANDY PICS UP

[Jessbell34]

HURRAY!!! We’re back, married, and loving it! We had a very nice, relaxing, and long trip. The whole experience was so amazing. The wedding day went exactly as I imagined it and our Disney Honeymoon Cruise was absolutely unforgettable. I am ready to book another LONGER cruise! They are simply amazing! Well, I can’t wait to get into all the details, so I plan to start from the very beginning and explain until the very end of our outstanding trip. I hope you all enjoy!

Here is a list of everyone who came to Walt Disney World and the wedding, and who will turn up in the trip report frequently:

My Mom: Teresa
My Dad: Ridley
My Older Sister: Audra (MOH)
My Little Sister: Rana
My Step-mother: Nida
My Step-father: Ron
My Brother-in-Law: Mark (Audra’s husband)
Jared’s Mom: Linda
Jared’s Dad: Greg
Jared’s Older Sister: Renae
Jared’ Brother-in-Law: Dave
Jared’s Nephew: Dylan
Jared Step-mother: Deborah
My Uncle: Doug
My Aunt: Natalie
My Cousins: Martha Grace(MGee), Pamela, and Ashish
Our Best Friends: Sarah, Holly, and Aron

My Vendor Reviews:

Wedding Site - Sea Breeze Point (A+) Absolutely Stunning! I can’t even put it into words! The sights, the sounds, the smells… picture perfect!

Hair and Makeup - LiLi from Beaute Speciale (A+) LOVED HER!!!!!!!!!! She is superwoman and works miracles. She is so down-to-earth and easy going. It was 5:30am and she was so bright-eyed and enthusiastic. She put my amazing day on the right track from the get-go. I gave her a few pictures of what I wanted my hair to look like. She took about a half a second glance at them and recreated exactly what I wanted. I thought my hair looked even better than the pictures that I gave her, from professional magazines I might add. Well, she is a professional! Duh!

Dress Steaming - Carolyn Allens (A+) Sue was great. She came right into the room and got to work. I felt bad that I didn’t get to talk with her, but to say “hello” and “goodbye” because I was getting my hair done while she was there. I even forgot she was there a few times because she was working at my dress so diligently. My dress looked amazing so she did her job!

Photographer - RANDY CHAPMAN!!!! (A+) He is absolutely amazing!!!! My entire family was blown away by him and how well he took care of me personally!!! He is not only an outstanding and creative photographer, but he takes care of the bride exceptionally. He always knew what was going to happen next and guided me through it all. He really put me at ease. I cannot say enough about him.

Flowers - Rosie (A+) My bouquet was gorgeous and my sister’s rose wander was perfect. WONDERFUL!

Videography - Ron (my step-dad) (A) God Bless him!

Disney Wedding Planner - Kathleen Reynolds (A) Our wedding was perfect!! She did an amazing job. I felt a little intimidated by her at times, but I can be a bit sensitive to strong personalities. I am just a worry wart! But everything turned out just the way I dreamed, so she had to be outstanding!

Officiant - Tim Herring (A+) He was really great! He created and performed an amazing ceremony. He was another one that I felt intimidated by; I guess I just was nervous about doing the wrong thing. I know I am silly. Rev. Herring was wonderful though.

The Violinist - (A+) He was outstanding!!! I didn’t get to talk to him personally, but he sure kept Jared company that morning before I arrived for the wedding. The days after the wedding all DH kept talking about was what the violinist said, “oh the violinist told me this and that”. It was pretty funny. He also impressed my sister. She plays the viola in the St. Louis Philharmonic Symphony, so they had quite the topic to talk about. He played so beautifully and of course knew about every Disney song imaginable. LOVED HIM!

Limousine Driver - (A) She took great care of me as well. Very nice lady!

Reception Lunch – Captain’s Grille, Yacht Club Resort (A+) I was so happy with my decision to have our reception here. The Captain’s Grille was the icing on the cake for our amazing wedding event. For the past 6 months I was really nervous about having it here because I had not heard of any other bride doing their reception here. Some of the pictures of the restaurant that I saw online also made me nervous. They gave it a really Captain D’s or Long John Silver’s look about it. I was also a little afraid that the menu was to minimize. I was afraid the menu wouldn’t appeal to my guests. After all of those negatives, you are probably thinking, “Well why did you go along with this place you crazy girl?” Well I am so happy I did. The atmosphere was perfect! The food was perfect! The servers were perfect! Everything about it was perfect! The place was beautiful!! They took care of us so well. We didn’t have a private room, but they set us up in the main part of the restaurant so elegantly. I can’t say enough. If you are wanting fancy, fancy… I wouldn’t do it here. But if you are looking for a beautiful, quiet place for you and your guests with CMs that are friendly and down-to-earth, then try it! You won’t be disappointed!

Disney Honeymoon Shoot - Dean Ray (A) He was hilarious! When we walked up to City Hall in the Magic Kingdom where we were suppose to meet him, Jared and I started looking around wondering “How is the photographer going to know it is us?” Then I looked up towards City Hall’s porch and I saw this CM, dressed in all back, holding a camera. So I thought, “That must be him”. So I walked up toward him, Jared in toe, and ask him if he was there to meet a couple for a photo shoot. He peaked over his shoulder at me and said, in a very sarcastic voice, “Maybe!?” and I said “Okay?” Then he asked what our names were (that was the password I guess). Then he took us around to some beautiful places and made us laugh the entire time. He also told us his life story. He was great. I can’t wait to see the pictures.

I think that is everyone! I was absolutely blown away by how everything went. I can’t think of one thing that I was not happy with! WONDERFUL…..WONDERFUL!

DAY ONE details coming up soon! Stay tuned…

 

[ClemsonGirl]

Yay you started your TR! Sounds like you had a good experience with all your vendors! I love the sneak peek pic!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[hlrababy]

Wooo hooo! You started it!! I am in for this one!!

 

[pjstevens]

Yea, Jessica, you started your TR!!!! LOVE the photo in your siggie! Absolutely beautiful.

 

[DecemberBride]

I am so happy to hear your escape wedding was fabulous! It makes me feel less nervous about my own. I have Rosie as floral (duh) and Rev. Tim, so I'm glad you gave them A's! BTW, you looked beautiful!

 

[micandminforever]

Love the picture on the beach. I can't wait to see the rest. You were a beautiful bride.

 

[Keira1387]

Can't wait to hear all about it! We are taking a Disney cruise for our honeymoon too, so I'm really excited to hear how it went!

 

[lov2b@disney]

Cant wait to hear all about your trip! so glad everything went well!

 

[29apr00]

Yay! Can't wait to hear all about your trip, espically your cruise!

 

[roozlilone]

Yeah! TR! Great vendor reviews & love the beach pic! Keep it coming.

 

[Jessbell34]

DAY ONE: Friday, June 13, 2008

Ok, so Jared and I had been working all week packing and condensing all of our clothes and wedding goodies into suitcases and plastic totes because we knew the challenge was going to be fitting everything in my two-door Grand Am.

Here is a picture of just some of the things we had to cram in my car!

Yes, we drove to Walt Disney World! We live in southwest Missouri and it is about a 17 hour drive to Disney. We have driven it 5 times since 2003, so we are pretty comfortable with the conditions, but this time we had to bring a lot more than we usually do. Our plans were to leave on Friday the 13th of June (I know, not the best day to set out), but we didn’t let it bother us. Well, DH didn’t let it bother him… I am a bit more superstitious! Anyway, I woke up that morning at about 6am to a loud thunderbolt. I got up and looked outside my bedroom window and saw what looked like a monsoon! Then I started getting nervous. So, I went into the living room, planted myself on the sofa, and flipped on the Weather Channel. What do you know… of every place in the country, they were focusing their reports on our area. There was a hug thunderstorm system covering our part of the state and spanning all the way along the exact route we always take to Disney. I started freaking out and hollered at DH to get his bum out of bed and look at the weather. I called my mom at work because she is a dispatcher for a trucking company, so she is constantly evaluating the weather for her drivers. She told me that I might want to take another route if we still had our heart set on leaving that day, because the storms would not be letting up all day. Can you believe it?!! So, I hung up with her and screamed at DH again to get in there with me, because he was still pretending to snooze. I started thinking in my mind that we have always avoided taking the Memphis route through Arkansas because the roads are so windy and are only two-lanes at times through the hills of Arkansas. We usually take the interstates all the way there by going up to St. Louis and back down through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and then Florida of course. We have never taken the Memphis/Birmingham route. We have driven to Memphis that way before, but Memphis was a final destination… we never traveled pass there. So, I finally got DH out of bed and we got the Atlas out and consulted MapQuest to get the best idea for our trip. When we finally decided to take a chance on the new route, instead of fighting our way through the storm in our regular route we started getting ready. Keep in mind, it is still raining cats and dogs outside and we still have to carry 6 suitcases, 2 full plastic totes, 2 coolers, and my dress down three flights of stairs (we live on the third floor of our apartment complex) and wade through the monsoon to our car. All of the close parking spots were taken, so DH couldn't get the car very close to the building. So, we carried everything down and set it under the covered awning, and two-by-two carried what we could to the car while I held the umbrella over the luggage… I wasn’t too concerned about us getting wet. It took us a few tries to get everything to fit into the trunk and the backseat and still be able to have certain things easily accessible… like the snacks, and the overnight bags, and such. Well, we finally did it… and we weren’t the driest people in the world.

Here is some pictures of our trunk and backseat. It was like a puzzle getting everything to fit perfectly.

…and here is DH standing in the rain, looking not too happy. “Smile… we are going to Walt Disney World!”

After that, we climbed back up the stairs to our apartment, dried off, took some last looks around the place to make sure we weren’t forgetting anything, and then we left for our long journey at about 9:30am. A lot later than I originally planned to leave, but we were on the road! Hurray!

After about thirty minutes on the road south, we drove out of the rain and didn’t see another sprinkle. We made it through the worst part of the trip of Arkansas, and then we crossed the Mighty Mississippi River into Memphis, then immediately crossed over into Mississippi. The trip through Mississippi didn’t seem too long. Before we knew it we were in Alabama. The Alabama stint of the trip seemed a little long.

Here is a picture of DH talking to his mom at one of the few rest areas we found.

That was one thing DH didn’t like about this route. There were not as many rest stops this way because we weren’t on major interstates. He is use to having a rest area every 100 miles or so. I think it is a comfort for him to know where all the rest stops are. Other than that, I think I ended up liking this route more than our old route… minus the Arkansas part. Don’t get me wrong… If we were just on a casual road trip and didn’t have an exciting destination, Arkansas would be the perfect part of the trip because it is so beautiful, and just seems like the perfect Sunday drive. BUT, we wanted to get where we were going as fast as possible… so Arkansas wasn’t the best for this trip. After Alabama, we made it to Georgia… pretty late into the evening. Our plan was to drive until we got tired, but I wanted to at least make it through Atlanta. We did drive through Atlanta, and even drove a few hours past it. We finally decided to stop at about 11:30 in Tifton, GA. We checked into a Courtyard by Marriott, because my favorite hotel was all booked up. I love staying in Hampton Inn and Suites. I was seeing signs for it for many miles, but when we finally stopped, they had no vacancy. So, we went across the road to the Courtyard and were satisfied. We laid our heads down at about 12:30am, knowing we were only about three to four hours from Disney. That means we would be at Disney before noon the next day if we left early enough. Mickey… here we come!!

That was the end to a very long day one! I am sorry the explanation was so lengthy and boring, but so was the day. So it puts a good perspective to the events. I hope you enjoyed!

DAY TWO… coming soon! Stay tuned…

 

[pjstevens]

Wow Jessica, you had an exciting first day. Glad the weather didn't cause you any major problems.

 

[Goldeelox9]

I amglad you out ran the rain and got started on your Magical Trip! I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[Jessbell34]

Yeah! I just discovered that my Magic Kingdom Photo Session pics are up on the website. What is weird is that I haven't received anything from Disney to tell me. I just guessed the username and password from other bride's and finally got in after a few tries. Check them out:

http://www.collages.net/disneyweddings/

Username: Thomas / McKeever
Password: 1971

 

[29apr00]

Glad you were able to get out of the rain and started on your trip down!! I have a feeling we may be driving down for our VR next Dec, but DH is fighting tooth and nail against it.

Your MK photos are so cute!! Great job!

Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[lov2b@disney]

Love your MK pictures! Are they also done when the park is closed?

 

[PopArtGal]

Great so far!! I probably will read the end of your trip as I start my own TR. Well not my wedding TR, so yours is gonna be a million times better!

Loving the pictures!!

 

[Jessbell34]

Love your MK pictures! Are they also done when the park is closed?

No, since they were more of a honeymoon photo shoot, the park was just openning. I wish we could have been there when the park was closed. That must have been amazing!!!

 

[Jessbell34]

DAY TWO: Saturday, June 14, 2008

Ok!!! That morning we woke up in Tifton, GA at about 8am… not too early! We got ready, packed up, and went down and had the hotel’s continental breakfast (which was delicious)! We then checked out and we were on the road by 9am. I knew this was going to be a much better day because the sun was shining and we knew that we were only a few hours away from Disney! YAY! Now, our best married friends, Holly and Aron, had arrived at Disney the day before, so they were expecting us that day. We planned to arrive at Disney by noon and meet them at their resort, the Pop Century, once we arrived. Jared and I were not scheduled to check into our resort, Port Orleans French Quarter, until the next morning, so we planned to stay with Holly and Aron in their room for one night at PC!

We had a nice drive that morning through the southern part of Georgia and finally into Florida! Here is Jared smiling while driving because he knows the road trip is almost at an end! He always drives the entire trip because I get scared on the highways! Isn’t he so sweet!!

Finally, at about 12:30pm we pulled onto the Walt Disney World property! HURRAY, we’re home!!!

We drove to the Pop Century and met Holly and Aron. Holly is a huge Disney fan as well and comes on frequent trips with her family! This was the first time she had gone without he folks, so it was very exciting! We had always talked about going to Disney together, but in the back of our minds we always doubted it would be possible, but finally our dream came true. We were in Disney together. I think we kept pinching ourselves!

Jared and Aron were excited too. Can’t you tell!! They are so funny!

Next, we unloaded the car and carried what we needed for the night up to their room… and then it was off to the Magic Kingdom! Yippee! Here we are waiting for the MK bus in front of PC.

Here we are on the bus on our way to MK!

Jared and I had still not cashed in our Wedding Annual Pass vouchers yet, so when we arrived at the MK… we hopped on the monorail and rode it to the transportation and ticket center to cash them in. Here we are holding our vouchers on the monorail!

When we got the T&TC we had the nicest little old lady CM that helped us. She was so excited for us and gave us our famous Cinderella/Prince Charming “Just Married” pins. I had been dreaming about them for a long time and they were finally in our hands! Then she handed us our annual passes and I was shocked that they were not the plastic card passes that we always get. They were the paper cards! I couldn’t understand it for the life of me how we were supposed to keep the paper ones all nice and neat for a year! Then my fiancé had the idea that since they were annual passes they probably put them on the paper cards because the plastic cards can deactivate so easily. They are always telling you to not keep those plastic cards near credit cards or magnets because they deactivate. That is the only explanation that we could come up with. But I was pretty bummed that they were not the plastic cards. Oh well… I got over it.

Next, we hopped back on the monorail to the MK! Finally we arrived and could not believe we were there! We took quite a few pictures at the entrance!

Then we all walked through the famous railroad underpass to the main square! The first thing we saw over by Tony’s Town Square restaurant was none-other than Jiminy Cricket himself! I was so excited. I had never met Jiminy, so we ran over to him and got our pictures taken with him. Very, very exciting! What a great start.

Next, we went right behind Jiminy into the shop on Main Street with all the Mickey ears because I had to buy my bride ears first thing. DH refused to get the groom ears, but I didn’t care. I wore my ears proudly… and got a lot of friendly attention for it too. I think DH enjoyed it too.

After we spent time taking picture around the castle, we headed toward our favorite counter service restaurant in the MK. It is in Adventureland right across from Pirate’s; it’s called El Pirata Y el Perico (The Pirate and the Parrot). DH and I love the taco salad. They give you the shell and the meat, and then you go to the food bar and add all of the toppings yourself. YUMM! So we wanted to take Holly and Aron because they had never discovered the place. Right when we walked up the manager was standing there and saw me with my bride ears and DH with his pin and got so excited for us. He came over and grabbed us and took us right to the front of the line and announced that we were getting married and then told the counter CMs to give us a free chocolate cake. Here we are enjoying it! We felt so special!

We then took a few pictures around Adventureland and then headed over to Mickey’s Philharmagic, my favorite. It is simply amazing! My favorite part is when Ariel extends her hands our into the audience and sings “I want more!!!” So cute!

Imagine us fight Captian Hook in this one! I was protecting Jared!

Then we headed over the castle again and took more pictures! Who can get enough of the castle?

Next we went and jumped on Buzz’s Space Ranger Spin!! DH always beats me… until NOW. Later on in the trip I actually beat him. The only thing was he didn’t believe me because I rode with My little sister and he rode with Aron. I tried to take a picture of my score, but it didn’t come out right! Oh, well… I know the truth!!

After Buzz, we hopped on the People Mover in Tomorrowland. One of my other favs!

 

[Jessbell34]

Continued...

After a few hours at MK, we returned to Pop Century to swim and relax. I also had to put my welcome bags together and deliver them to the different resort, because all of our family would be arriving the next day. Holly helped me put the bags together while the boys swam…

Later, DH and I took all of the bags that were staying at PC to the check-in desk for the family and friend that would arrive the next day…. And guess what!!!! We found out that his father and step-mother had already arrived and had been there all day. The CM at the desk would not tell us what room number they were in for security purposed, but he did ring their room for us. So we took a trip over to their room and greeted them with their bag.

I felt so bad that we didn’t realize they were arriving a day earlier than everyone else. I apologize all over myself.

After visiting with them for a while, we realized that we forgot to eat dinner, so we went to meet up with Holly and Aron again in the PC food court. We had some pizza, which was so yummy!

It was after 11pm by that time, so we headed back to Holly and Aron’s room and hit the sack. I dreamed about the next day’s events in anticipation of all of our families’ safe arrivals. That was the end of day two!

DAY THREE coming soon! Stay tuned...