Rob & Nikki's VR Trip Report *Updated with price breakdown!*

[Desnik]

Welcome to my trip report! I am so excited to be starting this! We had a lot of highs and lows and lessons learned. So let's begin!

A little background first:
Rob and I planned this vow renewal after going through some very tough times. Some of those were we survived a terrible car accident, had a really long road to recovery, and had our 2nd miscarriage. Our marriage went through many tests but we never gave up on each other. We never had a big wedding. We got marriage in a courthouse and then drove to Disney for our honeymoon! So, we wanted to celebrate our love and commitment in a very big way. We have been together 15 years, married 12. We have overcome so much so we figured this was a perfect time to renew our vows.

The Vow Renewal Details:

Date: Monday November 9th, 2009

Time: Ceremony 5pm, Cocktail Hour 6pm, Reception 7-10pm

Location: Ceremony Wedding Pavilion, Cocktail Hour White Hall Patio, Reception White Hall Room.

Number of guests: 47

Wedding Planner: Michelle Wenzler-Dorr

Floral: Elizabeth Motoc Disney Floral

Photography: Misty Miotto

Videography: STVS Video

DJ: Scott Messina

Hair/makeup: Patricia LeJuene

Officiant: Rev. Kevin Knox

Resort: Grand Floridian

**You can see our sneak peek of our video here:
http://www.stvsvideo.com/sneakpeeks.html
Just click on Dominique and Robert/Vow Renewal

**You can see some pictures here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2330512&page=2

**You can read my planning journal here:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2022716

 

[Desnik]

Vender Reviews

Wedding Planner: A I gave Michelle an A because from the very first time I spoke with her she just got us as a couple. She saw my vision for the day and helped me plan everything. She answered my emails immediately and if she couldn't she had her assistant get back to me. I never had a question unanswered. Our personalities meshed and she is just a great planner. She also has a great way of calming me when I start to get nervous or freaked out! She also got some people from Beaute Speciale to go to my moms room to do hair/makeup for my mom, sister and grandmother at the last minute! That was just so great of her! Now the reason I didn't give her an A+ was because during the reception she was MIA a couple of times. Then she let the entrees come out at 10 mins. to 8pm when I specifically told her to hold the entrees so we could go out on the patio to watch the fireworks at 8pm. This was discussed from the very beginning and is in my BEO. I reminded her again that night and the entrees still came out! I was beyond pissed because I caught it right after 1 and a half tables got served. I was so mad and the way they resolved it was by putting covers over the ones already served, and not bringing out the rest. When we got back, those dishes were cold. This was table #1 with my mom, grandmother, so it was important guests! She tried to down play it and that just annoyed me at that point. I also felt she should've had a closer eye on the waitstaff which were horrible. I cannot tell you how many times I had to get them to feed people! I had so many guests who just weren't getting their food, especially the kids! My own daughter didn't get her meal until dinner was almost over! I had to tell them 3 times! Then my BFF told me her son never even got a meal!! I should not have had to worry about that and Michelle was there and should've been more on top of it. Also my meat came out raw when on my BEO and it was discussed many times, including right before I was served that my meat was to be well done. I just felt the ball was dropped at the reception.

Floral: A+ Elizabeth Motoc got everything right! She was fantastic to work with and answered my emails immediately. She also got my vision for the room and made it look absolutely beautiful and exactly how I wanted it. The flowers were exactly like I wanted and were just so beautiful! The decor in the room and the centerpieces were so beautiful and I really couldn't have asked for more!

Patricia LeJuene: A+ I think I should give Patricia A++++++ She was that great. From the trial in June to the day of she has been fantastic. She kept great communication and even rose to the occasion when I wanted to change my hairstyle from the the one I had on my trial. The day of she was on time, and did such an amazing job. She got my hair and makeup exactly like I wanted. She also got mine and my DH's humor and we had such a great time with her! We were rushing towards the end and she helped get me in my dress! She even did my DD's hair and makeup for no extra charge! I loved her and am so grateful that she was there with me that day! I think everyone should use her and it's a shame Disney doesn't have her on their list of venders!!!

Photographer: A+ Misty Miotto was perfect in every way!! She is another one who I would give an A++++++ She was on time, and on her game! What a professional! Her and her husband were so fantastic and easy to work with. Even at the reception she was everywhere but not intrusive. She got every shot we wanted and gave great direction! I would recommend her to everyone and would love to have an excuse to use her again!!

Videography: A+ Stan was fantastic! You hardly knew he was there but he got everything! When he showed us the sneak peak at the reception we were floored! I can't wait to see the video! We had great communication throughout the year and I would recommend him to everyone!

Rev. Kevin Knox: A+ Just perfect! Great communication and he did everything we asked. The ceremony was short and to the point and Rev. Knox was great!

DJ Scott Messina: B+ Believe me it pains me to give him this rating but I have to be honest. My husband and guests loved him and would probably give him an A. Now I picked Scott because of reviews here, my planners suggestion and checking out his website myself. I felt very confident and comfortable choosing him. I contacted him about a month before and he got back to me immediately. He sent me some forms to fill out and I did and I also sent an email explaining what I wanted. You can read the specific songs I wanted in my PJ. Basically I wanted Vitamin String Quartet played during dinner, no cheesy wedding songs, no country. He asked for specific songs and I gave them for my do not play and must play. When we arrived to the cocktail hour he was playing the Vitamin String Quartet songs already. During dinner he played his own songs, when it was time to dance he played "Celebration". I almost dyed! All my guests looked at me waiting to see me flip out!LOL But they all ran to the dance floor and danced!LOL I let it go but I was mad. He said it wasn't on the do not play list and in his defense it wasn't but I do consider that song to be a cheesy typical wedding song. He played maybe 5 of my 15 must play songs(he asked for 15) I would've rather he just play my list. Now I have to say he was as sweet as can be, he interacted with the guests well, but for me, the music wasn't what I wanted it to be. He did tell me I had a very eclectic taste of music and I made him work because it was hard to blend. I don't know I just feel like my favorite songs weren't played and that bothered me. I kept on being told to just try to enjoy everything and I did. I will say he kept the speaker out on the patio which was great and he played the Wishes song and other great Disney music during the fireworks. I think he is a good DJ and would recommend him to anyone who isn't too picky and specific as I am. He does know how to work a crowd and like I said my guests seemed to enjoy it an so did my husband.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I had a look at your video sneak peek....you looked amazing!!! If def brought some tears to my eyes

Love the reviews, very helpful! I am sorry about the mess with your food, definitely not something you should have to deal with! Can't wait to read/see more!

 

[Desnik]

Our sneak peak video can be found here:
http://www.stvsvideo.com/sneakpeeks.html
click on Robert & Dominique's Vow Renewal

 

[jessesgirl-080708]

Congrats!

We also had Scott Messina at our wedding last year. It's funny I read this tonight, we just went out to dinner and "Celebrate" was playing. I said to DH that this song reminds me of our wedding because it was the first song he played after dinner and I thought it was odd.

He was great, but everytime I hear that song I think of that! It's funny you now have the same memory!


Looking forward to more!

 

[Desnik]

Congrats!

We also had Scott Messina at our wedding last year. It's funny I read this tonight, we just went out to dinner and "Celebrate" was playing. I said to DH that this song reminds me of our wedding because it was the first song he played after dinner and I thought it was odd.

He was great, but everytime I hear that song I think of that! It's funny you now have the same memory!


Looking forward to more!

 

[Desnik]

So let's get this started!

Sunday morning we had an early flight and made it to the airport on time! Yippee!!! The flight was uneventful and there were 13 of us on it. We had carry ons, my mom, sis and grandmother used the luggage service from DME and my cousin and her family didn't and we had to go get their bags. We get to the baggage claim and one of their bags was missing! I felt so bad cause she was flipping out cause it was all their clothing for the vow renewal and a lot of her 1 year olds clothing. They told us at the airport that Disney probably took it. They claimed Disney did that 5 other times the week before even without the tags on! We couldn't believe it. It turned out to be true and their bag was delivered to AKL by DME within a few hours!

We finally get to DME and had to wait for a bus to be called that had a wheelchair lift. I did tell them when I booked that we had someone in a wheelchair that needed a lift. I even double checked. Well when we get there they say they have no record of it. A bit annoying especially since we were already in the airport an hour after we landed because of the luggage issue with my cousin. But the wait wasn't that bad and we were off to the GF!

When we arrive we had no wait at check in. Penny was our CM and she was fantastic. We checked in my mom and grandmother first. Then it was our turn. Now I had 4 reservations at the GF. One was my moms with her, my grandmother and my sister, a handicap room with roll in shower. My room with myself, DH and our 2 kids, my dad with his girlfriend(do you see where I'm going with this?) and the last room with just my grandfather. Thank goodness I had her check where the rooms were located. They had my moms room connecting to my father and his girlfriend!! Now if you read my PJ you now this is a catastrophe! The GF is not big enough for the 3 of them! So, Penny changes our room with my dads and all is well! I really wanted the connecting room so my mom could help me on the VR day to get myself and the kids ready. So we were all happy. Our room was ready, my moms wasn't. We are waiting for the bellman to get our bags and owners lockers when in walks my dad, the girlfriend and my grandfather. My mother gears up and is ready for a fight! Unreal! Anyway I try to send her off to go eat lunch and the bellman is ready for us. We get to our room and it is perfect and it has an MK view!!!!!! I was so happy. We were 1st floor Boca Chica right when you walk in the building our room was the first door on the left. We get settled and head out for lunch at the POLY. I just had to get my favorite pork sandwich!! We took my little sister with us to get her away from the drama of my parents.
Lunch was great and as I was in the POLY, I missed it! I just love that resort!

We go back to the GF and my DH goes back to the room and I am in the lobby with some family members. My cell phone rings and it's DH sounding erratic and saying "we have a big problem!" Not the words I want to hear!

Stay tuned for what happened next and I'll post some pictures too!

 

[Desnik]

OK, so my DH calls saying we've got big problems. I brace myself for the news. He tells me our room is flooded! So is my moms!! Apparently the room above ours had a pipe burst and water was pouring into both rooms from the ceiling! He wasn't getting anywhere on the phone with housekeeping or the front desk.(it had been going on for awhile) A few minutes go by and I see him storming into the lobby! He was so mad at not getting any help. He gets a manager at the front desk and poor thing had just started about a week or two ago after being transferred from another resort. He didn't know what to do.(he told us it was the 2nd time this happened in a week!) He didn't know the lay of the rooms or resort. He never sent anyone over or walk over himself to see what happened. He knew there were people sent to the room above to turn the water off and thought it had been taken care of. Well it wasn't cause it was still pouring into our rooms as we were speaking to him.(my mom was on her cell giving the report as she was outside of the rooms). Honestly I just couldn't deal with this. I was stressed from the vow renewal itself with the planning and worrying. I was stress from all the drama between my parents, my kids were acting up, the weather was reporting rain and wind for the next day(the vow renewal day) and my family members were all calling and texting driving me crazy! I just couldn't deal with this at that moment. Especially when we were told there were no handicap rooms left! My grandmother needs the roll in shower. There are only 6 handicap rooms in the whole resort! Only 1 has the roll in shower. We needed that room and we also need it to connect to my room for the vow renewal day. The manager was trying everything. The only thing he could do was switch us all to the CR. No way was I doing that because everything I planned for the day of the vow renewal was taking place at the GF. I was so stressed and the only other option was to wait and see what happened with the rooms. They were going to get the flooding under control, try to clean the handicap room as best as possible. In the meantime they moved us down the hall to 2 connecting rooms. The resolution was we had to wheel my grandmother to the flooded room to shower all 3 nights of her stay. It was a pain, annoying and something I wish we didn't have to deal with, but it happens. They credited us back the night for each room which was great. By the time everything was settled it was 8pm, we were exhausted and I still had to unpack and get things ready for the next day. I had to put together the place cards, and stuff to drop off at Franck's in the morning. Oh, did I mention they also lost my package that I shipped which contained all the Vow Renewal stuff, like our shoes, place cards, etc.... When I checked in they said it was at the business office and they would get it sent up right away. When I called the business office they said they would try to locate it and send it when they can. When all this happened with the room switching and flooding I told the manager he better find that box or else he was going to have a bridezilla on his hands!! I was joking but he got my drift! We finally got the package once we were settled in the 2nd room.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Oh my, what a start! I would've lost it with the flooding. Did any of your stuff get damaged? The first thing I thought of was your dress!!!

 

[Desnik]

Thankfully my dress and the tuxes weren't there yet. My BFF was driving in from NY and had them. She dropped them off at 10pm just so we were sure we were staying in that room and there was no flooding in the new one!

We hadn't unpacked yet when the flooding happened. So DH put all of our stuff on the beds because the water was pouring in from the front door/hallway part and the ceiling before you get to the balcony. It was also pouring from the balcony ceiling onto the balcony.

 

[chepic]

I watched the video....just beautiful. Now I am going to sit back and enjoy the TR. Congrats....I just loved doing the VR.

che

 

[mcarthur205]

I just found your TR, I didn't realise you had started it!

I watched your sneek peek, everything looked beautiful. But what a stressful start for you I do hope things got better from then on...

 

[Desnik]

Sorry for the delay!

I can't even remember what happened or what I did the night before the vow renewal for dinner!LOL My BFF dropped off the dresses and tuxes. My sash and DH's shirt needed to be steamed. Luckily the same manager was on duty. It was about 10pm and he actually found someone to do it for us right then and there!!! That was fantastic. Within an hour they were delivered to our room!

Vow Renewal Day
I really wanted to sleep in, but I was up and dressed by 9am. I am not a morning person and wished I could've slept longer. I wake up with the worst soar throat ever! I check on the kids, who were both asleep, which was strange but I move on to other things. I first go to the lobby to buy cough drops. Go back to the room and I get my stuff ready to drop off to Franck's and meet up with Michelle.

My little sister told my mother that my dad and his girlfriend were going to breakfast in the GF cafe, I guess they wanted her to meet up with them but my sister didn't want to. So since my mother knew they would be around the lobby she quickly got dressed and insisted on coming with me. Seriously I really don't know what her intentions were but I just knew she was hoping to "bump into" them and start something.

So we go meet with Michelle and I see our name up on the marquee of the Wedding Pavilion!! I was so excited. Except I had "Debbie Downer" with me who just made a face and rushed me off to drop off the stuff. Michelle was great, calming my nerves and checking everything out I had to give her. My mother then out of the blue asks her if she knows of anyone that can do her hair and makeup along with my sister and grandmother. Right in the middle of my conversation about how things will run! Of course Michelle says yes and that she would be happy to help and then calls Ana from Beauty Speciale!!! I have already hired Patricia LeJuene for myself and I wasn't about to share her! Anyway my mother is able to get 2 girls from Ana to come to the room. Now this pissed me off for a couple of reasons. I had told my mother that I really needed her help getting my kids ready and help getting myself together. That was the reason for the connecting rooms. We had talked about their hair and makeup and decided they didn't need professionals to do it because they are not in the wedding party and it just wasn't necessary. I wanted her to be ready by 2 so she could help me get ready and focus on me. She had the girls coming for hair and makeup at 12:45! No way was she going to be ready at 2. I also felt funny about having both companies there together!!!

We leave Michelle and head to the lobby because my mothers sister called saying she was coming over. When we are in the lobby my mother is on a mission to find my father! She was so unbelievable. I was just trying to ditch her at that point. As I walk in I see that the back half of the lobby is sectioned off and all the pieces to the gingerbread house are on the floor. There are a bunch of people with power tools and they were starting building. Then I hear the most excruciating drilling noise. Ok, now I start to flip out! What the heck, can anything else happen? I go to the front desk and ask what the heck is that noise? The front desk girl said oh they are building the gingerbread house and the noise will go on for awhile. Now I am no carpenter but I do know that a power screw driver does not make the noise I was hearing!!! I ask her to find out how long the structure will take to put together. She goes over to ask and comes back saying all day. Now I was annoyed because with all the interaction we had with the front desk people and the manager and I mentioned numerous times we would be taking pictures at 3:30 in the lobby, why didn't anyone mention the construction that would take up half the middle of the lobby!!!??? Also what the heck was that noise! It was coming from upstairs and I go up to investigate. Girls, this was my bridezilla moment. I go right up to the workers as they are drilling and stop them and ask what the heck are they doing and when will it be done? They were so nice and totally understood my craziness!! What happened is under the carpet in the lobby was old tile so the noise was them ripping out the tile. They said they would be done in 20mins and promised no other noise like that would be going on at 3:30!

I then tell my mother to wait in the lobby for her sister and I am going to eat. I needed to get away from her. I see that my dad, his girlfriend and my grandfather are getting ready to eat at the cafe. So I join them. As we are waiting for a table I see my mother and aunt headed our way! My mother walks by, gives us all a dirty look and keeps walking. So 12th grade! My aunt stops and says hi to all of us and then finds my mom.

Thankfully I had a wonderful breakfast at the cafe. Mickey waffles and bacon!!! So yummy! They were all trying to calm my nerves and get my mind off my mom. It was actually really great, just what I needed.

So, now it's about 11 am. I go back to the room and my DD is still in bed! Just when I thought things couldn't get worse! I check on her and she is burning up!!! Yep, she had a fever of 102!!!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Sorry about the rough start to your day! Boy, that's a lot to deal with on your special day.

 

[Desnik]

I will be updating this ASAP but just wanted to add a link to my Misty pictures!!!
Here is the link to her site:
http://www.MistyMiotto.photostockplus.com/
The password is: Secor

 

[PrincessShea]

Hey I just saw your cake in the PoTD thread. So cool! I would love to read more about your day.

Also, I looked through Misty's site and couldn't find any folders for Rob and Nikki. Is it under a different name?

 

[chepic]

Love, love, love, love the cake, the flowers....everything.

Cheryl

 

[Desnik]

Hey I just saw your cake in the PoTD thread. So cool! I would love to read more about your day.

Also, I looked through Misty's site and couldn't find any folders for Rob and Nikki. Is it under a different name?

Sorry, it's under Dominique and Robert. Nikki is my nick name.

Glad someone likes our cake! Seriously, no one really liked it but me and DH. We wanted something Tim Burton-ish and fall themed. I saw a picture of it on the internet, sent Disney the picture and they copied it exactly the way it was in the picture. We were so happy and loved it and it tasted great too!

I promise to update this on Monday. I have so much to tell!!! Very difficult to do with the kids home from school!!

 

[PrincessShea]

Sorry, it's under Dominique and Robert. Nikki is my nick name. )

Good to know! Now that I've seen your pictures, I can't wait to read the TR. Everything looked so beautiful. And seriously, how do you have two kids and 12 years of marriage!? You look like a college-aged girl!

 

[Desnik]

Good to know! Now that I've seen your pictures, I can't wait to read the TR. Everything looked so beautiful. And seriously, how do you have two kids and 12 years of marriage!? You look like a college-aged girl!

Oh thank you so much! You made my day! DH and I met when I was 18 and were married and had a baby by the time I was 22, so we started young!