The Lagoni's "We Do" Redo--A WDW Vow Renewal 2016

[ariane37]

Joining! I love the vow renewal idea and can't wait to read about your details

We also were in Disney last Nov. so we got to experience the Osborne Lights one last time. We're going again this Nov. and they will be missed!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in!

 

[kclark9830]

What fun! Last year hubby suggested we do a vow renewal, but then life got in the way and nothing has been said since. But I have definitely been thinking about it. I would LOVE to do it at Disney, so I'm eager to see how it goes for you. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[deedee2177]

I'm here too!!!!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Joining! I love the vow renewal idea and can't wait to read about your details

We also were in Disney last Nov. so we got to experience the Osborne Lights one last time. We're going again this Nov. and they will be missed!

Thanks for joining I would have loved to get married at Disney World but our families are too huge and the cost was WAY out of our range at the time. I've been saving for three years to make this happen.

November was INSANE! I think it was more crowded that weekend than the last time I spent Christmas Day at the parks!!

joining in!

Thanks for coming along

What fun! Last year hubby suggested we do a vow renewal, but then life got in the way and nothing has been said since. But I have definitely been thinking about it. I would LOVE to do it at Disney, so I'm eager to see how it goes for you. Looking forward to reading more.

There was not a lot of information out there when I started looking and trying to plan. I found the website www.disneyweddings.com had a lot of information but didn't answer the questions I was thinking about. Thanks for reading along

I'm here too!!!!!

Yay, you found me!!! Happy to have you here

 

[missjackiemcg]

We've Waited Long Enough...
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So, since Disney was keeping us waiting before letting us book pretty much anything else, I started to look for airfare...I know, I'm a little insane and this was far too early, but I HAD TO PLAN SOMETHING! Soooo, one early morning as I sat in my classroom waiting for the kids to arrive, I hopped over to Expedia and found a great deal on airfare, round trip with no layovers arriving in the evening on December 21st (still want to get there early, fingers crossed for free dining!) and heading back home in the evening on January 1st. I called Disney and added our Magical Express ground transportation and flight info. FINALLY something else on the books

Then, we commenced with waiting some more. THIS time I was waiting on the release of Free Dining promo dates for Fall. I was scouting out the DIS and my Facebook favorite, Mousejunkies (if you're not there, you should come on over!!) We ordered our Free Planning DVD--Jimmy's favorite thing to watch. He wrote up his list of must-dos...it was pretty much everything on the DVD, except the things that are "too scary." He thinks he'd like to ride Tower of Terror this time, "as long as you cover my eyes when the ghosts come, Mommy." I haven't broken the actual elevator part of the ride to him yet....I probably should.

We drove to Owatonna, MN for my cousin Eric's wedding.
DSC05741 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC05757 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Then, my cousin Arielle's wedding (not related to the mermaid--she gets REALLY upset when people ask!)
DSC05889 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Not sure if you can get a good look at them, but those are my absolute FAVORITE shoes!!! Still trying to decide if I should bring those for the vow renewal....I don't know if I want to chance a sprained ankle that will ruin the rest of my trip. Despite how amazing they look, they are a real pain to walk in!!

Jimmy was selected as one of the Chicago Bears Kids' Club members to participate in a special training camp that was then featured on Inside the Bears with Anthony Adams. He had a blast, despite having his mother's athletic ability--poor guy!
DSC05804 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC05840 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

AND THEN IT HAPPENED.





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After a particularly crappy school day and a ridiculously long commute home (15 miles from home, but 2 hours to get there throughout downtown traffic....ugh. Totally puke worthy.) I got home and logged onto Facebook to de-stress and have a few mindless minutes to myself. Everyone on Mousejunkies was posting about how they had added the free dining promo to their reservations today. and I. FREAKED. There may have been tears...a lot of big ugly sobbing, in fact. I couldn't believe I had dropped the ball on this with all the waiting around I had been doing for this very day!!!!! I was furious with myself!! Immediately called Disney and proceeded to wait on hold for two hours....seriously TWO WHOLE HOURS. But I just HAD TO try!!! No luck, of course.

I called every single day that week with no luck. BUT, the DIS ended up saving me in the end!! I had been moaning about missing out on Free Dining and a fellow DISer AND Mousejunkie, Jamie, mentioned that travel agents can put a hold on reservations for up to three days and people had until Thursday to accept their packages and pay their deposits or the reservations would be released. With that new tidbit of information, a teeny bit of hope was restored! I made my husband drive Jimmy and I to school the next morning (This isn't actually that unreasonable--we work at schools a mile apart from each other, so we would have carpooled anyway--it's just that I'm usually the driver!) I was on the phone the very moment they opened and still had to wait on hold almost 30 minutes! The Disney Gods were smiling on me that morning, and FREE DINING was all mine!!! (and lucky for me, she was able to add it to my parents' reservation, as well!) Other teachers were walking into school where I was standing on the phone by the door excitedly prancing around and hopping up and down while trying to keep my composure with the CM on the phone. THAT was a happy morning!!

We celebrated Good Friday and Easter, and I took some pretty pictures at Lincoln Park Zoo Conservatory. It really felt like we were finally getting somewhere with this trip!
DSC05990 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC05995 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC05989 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr​

Love & Smooches,
Jackie​

​

 

[ArielSRL]

Joining in! I came over from @deedee2177's TR! A vow renewal! So exciting! And the holidays in WDW! Wonderful!

I'm also a teacher (18 years) - first grade here!

So sorry about all the waiting but yay on finally getting reservations, airfare, and free dining!

Oh and what fun with the mother-daughter trip! I did that with my mom one December also!

Looking forward to more!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Jimmy was selected as one of the Chicago Bears Kids' Club members to participate in a special training camp that was then featured on Inside the Bears with Anthony Adams. He had a blast, despite having his mother's athletic ability--poor guy!

Color my Peanut butter and JEALOUS! that's awesome!!!

It's about time there's an update! good grief WOMAN!

added Air! WOOHOO!!!! O'Hare right?

Congrats on FREE DINING!! So happy for you!!!!! OK Easter was like 3 months ago i am sure you have a lot more planned here..

 

[missjackiemcg]

Joining in! I came over from @deedee2177's TR! A vow renewal! So exciting! And the holidays in WDW! Wonderful!

I'm also a teacher (18 years) - first grade here!

Is there anything better than Christmas at WDW?! Seriously. It's amazing and has become my favorite time to visit. I teach Kindergarten (13 years already!) and love it...most of the time Thanks for following along!

It's about time there's an update! good grief WOMAN!

added Air! WOOHOO!!!! O'Hare right?

Congrats on FREE DINING!! So happy for you!!!!! OK Easter was like 3 months ago i am sure you have a lot more planned here..

SORRY!! I know!! Hallmark has been working me too hard.

YES! O'Hare is definitely more expensive, but it's about a ten minute ride for us, so super convenient. Though I am pretty jealous when people talk about their awesome deals on Southwest since they only fly out of Midway.

Free dining was a real thorn in my side, so I'm REALLY glad that had a happy ending!!

Yes, Easter was awhile ago, wasn't it? I promise I'll get an update done soon....BUT I'm headed to Hallmark right now!

 

[disneymommy13]

Joining in! My husband and I just celebrated our 10th Anniversary at WDW this past June. Can't wait to hear about the vow renewal.

 

[DMGeurts]

Trying to catch up here too! For me, that just means reading the last update... But I love that you were able to add FD to your reservations... And you were in MN and didn't tell me??? Then, by the update, it seems like it was an update from earlier this spring? I was a little confused about that... So, next time you are in MN, LMK - and we'll see if we can plan to meet up. Owatonna isn't that far from me.

D~

 

[missjackiemcg]

Joining in! My husband and I just celebrated our 10th Anniversary at WDW this past June. Can't wait to hear about the vow renewal.

Thanks for joining in!! I'd love to hear about anything fun you did to make your anniversary trip special!!!

ou were in MN and didn't tell me??? Then, by the update, it seems like it was an update from earlier this spring? I was a little confused about that... So, next time you are in MN, LMK - and we'll see if we can plan to meet up. Owatonna isn't that far from me.

It was such a whirlwind trip!!! We drove halfway and spent NYE in the Wisconsin Dells, then drove the rest of the way to Owatonna for the wedding, turned around the next morning and drove all the way back to Chicago!! Who gets married in Owatonna in January when everyone has to drive from IL or WI!? Apparently, my cousin does

 

[missjackiemcg]

Well, today is July 30th!! In an hour and 10 minutes exactly, my little Jimmy will be 7 years old! Our whole family is off the Wisconsin Dells, then to a family reunion in Wisconsin Rapids and then a quick road trip to Chippewa Falls to check out the Leinie Lodge. Have a great day Love & Smooches, Jackie

 

[Chicago Mo]

I already said it on Facebook Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut:

 

[missjackiemcg]

I already said it on Facebook Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut:

Aww, thanks He loved it!! Said, "It's like I'm in the movies!!!"

 

[Chicago Mo]

awww!!! he's too cute!

 

[Elevationist]

Look at all those wonderful photos, showing up so nice and pretty now.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Look at all those wonderful photos, showing up so nice and pretty now.

Well....I did have a little help

 

[missjackiemcg]

Hello, friends!!! Still out there?!
​

We've returned from a fun-filled 11 days traveling around Wisconsin. We spent a week in the Wisconsin Dells with my parents, a weekend in Wisconsin Rapids for Rob's family reunion and two more nights in the Dells after a day trip to Chippewa Falls to visit the Leinie Lodge and Leinenkugel's Brewery.

20160807_135214 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20160808_165750 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

So when I left off, we had finally gotten the free dining I missed the first day it was released....oops! Next up, I was anxiously awaiting June 1st so I could finally call to book our Vow Renewal. My Kindergarten students had their graduation, I finished up the yearbook and lots of paperwork at school. On June 1st, I was cleaning closets in my classroom and took a well deserved break right when the phone lines opened at 8 a.m.

I spoke with Lynn...who took my information and told me a consultant would get back to me in 48 hours. WHAAAAT!?! I was pretty annoyed, but what could I do? Oh, you know...wait some more.

Thankfully, she actually called me a few hours later. So, I "met" Nicolette, my wedding consultant. She was very friendly and bubbly, everything I'd expect from a Disney Wedding coordinator. She told me some add on photography options (more on that in a second) and asked what date and location we wanted. Then....she told me we couldn't actually schedule it until six months from the date of the renewal itself. AAAGGH. So, yes, another phone call was scheduled for exactly six months from the vow renewal date. Cue 22 more days of waiting.

Now, in the meantime, the only thing I could think about was the photography options that Nicolette told me about. I never even imagined I would want to add on extra photography time or another location. Our vow renewal already includes an hour of photography at our location, Conch Key Marina at Disney's Grand Floridian. BUT, she mentioned we could add an hour of photography at MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!!!!!!!!! I was already pinching pennies and trying to figure out a way to make this work. I HAD TO HAVE a picture like this (not mine...took it from google!)

MKpic by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

She sent me information about the three different options for attractions to be included in the session, and said we would discuss the details further to include them in the contract.

On June 23rd, Nicolette called me right on time, and we got the vow renewal scheduled--WAHOO!!! December 23rd at 1 p.m. we will renew our vows here:

ConchKey by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We talked about the Magic Kingdom photo shoot and found out our dates are blocked out and we will be unable to book one during our trip. I may or may not have had a little breakdown at this point, which she told me she will keep her ears open in case availability opens up, but it's Christmas Week, so I'm not holding my breath on that. Sigh. Instead, I ended up adding one hour of extra photography to our package, which will allow us to take pictures throughout the Grand Floridian resort (not just at Conch Key marina) including an area where you can see the top of the Castle and the monorail in the same shot.

Remember I had mentioned earlier on I stumbled onto thedisneyweddingminister.com? Well, it turns out Rev. Tim is also on the list of recommended officiants provided to me by Nicolette, so after confirming our date I contacted him and was able to book his services, too. I was really excited to have Rev. Tim because he was the original officiant when Disney first started offering Fairytale Weddings. He is a Dad and a Grandpa and I loved the way he talks about including a couple's children in their ceremony.

A little backstory--Jimmy has attended several weddings and receptions, and loves looking at our wedding portraits. He constantly asks why he wasn't at our wedding. He is legitimately upset with us for not including him in it!! He does not accept our response that he wasn't born yet!!

I hate to see disappointment on this little face!!!
wdw201335631391471_6909302223 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I really want to find some ways to make our vow renewal special for Jimmy, too. Here's what we've got so far....Jimmy is going to walk me halfway down the aisle where I'll meet my Dad. While Dad and I wait there, Jimmy will go the rest of the way up carrying the ring pillow from our wedding with our new rings on it. Rev. Tim described a family blessing he would do for us at the end of the vow renewal where he will bring Jimmy back up and say a prayer over our family unit. At that time, Rob and I have a little LEGO box, which will have a little silicone ring for Jimmy. I hope he's excited and really feels like a part of our day.

Next up: 180 days and you know what that means!! We'll talk food. mmmmmmmmmmm

Love & Smooches,
Jackie​

 

[ArielSRL]

Glad you got it all booked and Rev Tim sounds wonderful. Boo to the no MK photo shoot, but I'm sure the photos at the GF a Resort will be beautiful!