Vanessa- figmentfan814 ~ Happily Ever Wedding & 10th Anniversary VR Brunch #1 Added 8-10

[figmentfan814]

Oh I thought it was ceramic. I would love for you to look at the box. If I can't get here then I will definately wait until next year, would you mind if I ask how much you paid for it? You can pm me if you would like. If you look on his site there is a cute mickey pumpkin I want for my mantel for Halloween.

I sent you a PM with the information about the model number, etc. It's not showing up in my sent box though so if you didn't get it let me know.

 

[dizneyfreak]

Vanessa,
I so totally feel ya on the whole driving thing. I just got back from my Chicago training today and I am SOOOOOOOOO glad to be home and not driving anymore. I can't wait to see more, but I know how it is to be busy so take your time and keep your sanity. We can wait...but not too long

Anna Marie

 

[figmentfan814]

Vanessa,
I so totally feel ya on the whole driving thing. I just got back from my Chicago training today and I am SOOOOOOOOO glad to be home and not driving anymore. I can't wait to see more, but I know how it is to be busy so take your time and keep your sanity. We can wait...but not too long

Anna Marie

I'm glad you made it home safely. I know that drive through Illinois can be pretty boring; I've driven that way a few times myself. I do have a ton of updates that I wrote this weekend while at my MIL's. I just have to work on getting the pictures added over the next day or so.

 

[figmentfan814]

Okay, back to the regular report. Thank you for being so patient, I know it’s taking me a while. After we had our fill and were completely stuffed from the buffet, it was time for the dance with my dad and then Kris would dance with his mom.

My dad and I had dance lessons 9 years ago when we were both in my aunt’s wedding and she had the entire wedding party take lessons together. Thankfully, we remembered a few steps and at the end of a couple of Kris and my dance lessons we took 15 minutes to have the dance instructor give us a few refreshers. We only did a few steps repeated with some turns, but I think we looked pretty good

We danced to “I loved her first” by Heartland. It’s been pretty popular lately from what I have heard. Here are the words…
Look at the two of you dancing that way
Lost in the moment and each others face
So much in love your alone in this place
Like there's nobody else in the world
I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

How could that beautiful women with you
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew
The one that I read all those fairy tales to
And tucked into bed all those nights
And I knew the first time I saw you with her
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But its still hard to give her away
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
Someday you might know what I'm going through
When a miracle smiles up at you
I loved her first

My dad was really having a hard time not crying and it was hard to look at him because I was afraid that we would both start balling At one point, I started to laugh though because his arm was pulling my veil off my head and the funny thing was that in picture for the announcement of my parents’ wedding my mom’s head looks like it was leaning back because my dad’s arm was doing the same thing. Maybe it was because I was wearing her veil again. It’s always been an inside family joke because my parent’s have that photo in their bedroom and my mom mentions it all the time

My cousin ran the music for both of our dances again. Up next were Kris and his mom. They had only decided what they were going to do about 5 minutes prior when they went in the other room, so their dance was a little more lighthearted. His mom had picked out “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart. They were joking and having a good time during their dance and at one point his mom announced “As you can see we didn’t practice this!”

We had decided not to do a bridal party dance since so many members of our bridal party were already married (so would have preferred to dance with their spouses) and when we asked no one really wanted to do it. As soon as we finished the dances Marion directed us over to cut the cake. Taking one last look before we cut into it.

Our Living Seas manager gave us directions on how to cut through the fondant. I was surprised because I didn’t realize how tough it was going to be to get through it.

We then fed each other cake with forks, I wasn’t about to get anything on my dress. Randy got some cool shots with the castle. Afterwards we realized that we had cut through the words on the top of the cake and I guess they had planned to give us “And They Lived Happily After” but since we had cut through “And” we didn’t end up taking it home.

And of course, the traditional kiss afterwards:

All sliced up for our guests:

Here is all of our guests lined up taking photos during the cake cutting; I’m glad Randy got some random shots like these:

They immediately brought over plates with a small slice of each flavor of cake. For a recap we had carrot cake with cream cheese filling for the top, orange with orange filling for the middle, and chocolate cake with peanut buttercup filling. It’s hard to say which one was my favorite since they were all so yummy! One side note, the carrot cake we received was a different recipe than what we had at our tasting, but I’m not sure how that happened. I’m not a fan of nuts (besides anything with peanuts), so I asked for a nutless version, but the one at the wedding had nuts.

I ate all three of my mini slices. I later found out that Kris didn’t get any of his cake. As you can see food was definitely a priority for me that day. I later found out that my dad asked for a slice of each flavor too, we all wanted to make sure that we got our money’s worth that day

While I was eating though I noticed a pretty big bug on my table. Normally, I don’t mind creepy crawly creatures, but I didn’t know how to dispose of it while I was sitting there in my wedding dress. I called over our LS manager and he immediately squished it and put down a new cloth; I think it probably crawled out of the centerpiece. It was actually pretty funny at the time.

I also requested the Mickey cakes for the three kids that were going to be at the reception. I had seen them in other bride’s reports including Caryn’s and knew that I wanted to have them too! I asked Marion and since there were only 3 kids she added them to the menu at no charge. I guess they normally come with a kid’s meal, but since I was just doing the buffet for them there is sometimes an add-on charge.

Right after the cake cutting, my maid of honor asked for a minute to speak. She had a poem that she read to Kris and I that was called “Forever Friends” she talked about how our love had grown out of our deep friendship, it was really touching

 

[figmentfan814]

At some point, Randy had borrowed our rings and had some fun playing with them and the Mickey and castle Since I actually have 5 bands all together I only sent my engagement ring and one of the rings with the filigree carvings. Notice the hidden Mickey with our rings

At that point we then made an announcement that we wanted everyone to line up, so we could get pictures with each family. This worked perfectly and we got copies printed off which we included in everyone’s thank you cards. As everyone was lining up we got a quick picture with the one groomsman who had to be escorted to the front to catch his cab for the airport. There are a ton of these shots, but I’ll just post a couple.

Kris and Mark (our singer and MC- husband to the matron of honor):

Our pastor and his wife:

Taking the pictures probably took over 30 minutes and by the time we were finished it was almost time to leave. At this point, my mom tells me that my diabetic uncle almost had to be taken to the hospital after having a spike in his sugar levels from not eating that morning prior to the ceremony and then drinking a lot of the sugary juice He was okay at this point, apparently someone who worked in the LS was a nurse had checked him out and they had helped him stabilize his levels. I guess this had been going on during some of the dances and the cake cutting; I was so glad that he was okay and relieved that the situation was handled right away.

Kris and I went over towards where they were seating to get a shot with him and my aunt (she is my dad’s sister):

Here are a few other shots; the first is with my hostesses and the second with my flowergirl

Since I couldn’t wear the ballet flats all day like I would have loved to I got some for my flowergirl with small yellow butterflies attached

My parents and I:

Some tank shots:

Kris and my dad checking out something in the tank:

The same with my MOH and I:

At this time, my hostesses and their moms coordinated the packing up of the snowglobes. We also collected the flowers, leftover cake (make sure to buy some small plastic throwaway containers because they will box them up in the containers already sliced up for you), etc. Then as our guests were heading down to the bus they were all handed something to carry. We had a ton of stuff including some Disney pillows that we had bought and had sitting on the cushioned seats along the dance floor. I don’t have a picture of any of these, but they now have a home on my couch in our livingroom.

My dad and my mom’s best friend’s husband attempted to box up one of the globes:

Our pastor was headed out empty handed and Marion stopped him and said everyone has to help carry something; it was kind of a funny moment. We even got to keep the huge bouquet of snapdragons that we had on the guestbook table.

 

[figmentfan814]

Once everyone was out Kris and I got a few last shots. I wanted one by the piano and by the windows.

I asked Marion what could be done about Kris’ boutonnière since it was already wilting a lot and we still had pictures at the dessert party. She said that she would call floral and ask that they have another one delivered to the dessert party that night.

We were just standing there talking to Marion about a few more things and Kris asked her if we could get a picture with her. She was a little hesitant at first, but he insisted saying that without her the day wouldn’t have turned out so fantastic and boy was he right! This was the last time that we would see Marion that day although we spoke on the phone several more times. I was surprised she had stayed through the entire reception since she had said that usually she heads out during the reception and lives her assistant to finish things up.

As we rounded the corner to leave, we got the customary Living Seas sign pictures

A few other miscellaneous things about the reception, the pianist was fantastic, but he played all Disney songs even though I had a requested a little more of a mix. Although, I’m not sure if he played lot of the songs that we asked for during the pre-reception before we arrived. While we were eating cake, my matron of honor was singing along to all the songs.

During the planning, we decided to only have the reception last until 1:30 pm, but if I had it to do all over again I would have extended it by another hour. We paid for vendor plates for Stan and Randy and I’m so glad that we made sure that they were fed during that time too, I know it is worth the little extra to make your vendors happy too. Also, we had a basket with things in the women’s bathroom (safety pins, static guard, hairspray, sewing kit, etc.) but we forgot to have someone pick it up, so don’t forget these little things!

Here are some other random shots from the wedding. These are the people that really made things happen for us that day.

The pianist:

Stan at work:

Randy and Stan jumping in a shot with my parents:

This is a random shot that my cousin took on one of the disposables; it’s not that clear but I think it really shows how serious Marion was about taking care of business

We then headed down to the bus. Since we only had one hotel pick-up that morning, Marion had arranged our schedule so we still had the chartered bus for another hour. We took that bus with the remaining bridal party (since one had left for his flight) while the rest of the guests were taken back to POR. We headed over to the Grand Floridian for some beach shots.

On the bus ride over most of the guys were trying to catch a short nap. It had already been a long day for everyone and there was still a lot more to come.

This is not a happy face

Sean looks a little happier:

I had the bridesmaids help me cover up some of the spots on my dress I didn’t get dirty from walking around the World Showcase, but the Rotunda was pretty dirty. I had heard that white chalk covers pretty well and that is actually true! They also used baby wipes for some of the larger areas. My bridesmaids had put together an emergency kit for us to carry the night before and we used it several times. Here they are working on my dress:

Up next beach shots at the Grand Floridian

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

Great pictures!!!! Everything at your reception was beautiful. What attentive bridesmaids you had!!! Very lucky!

 

[IndyBride]

Vanessa- great pictures!! Thank you so much for showing so many details!! It looks like you had a wonderful reception with lots of time to enjoy it!

 

[29apr00]

Great report Vanessa! You really did have a great reception! i loved everything about it! Marion sounds like she was just wonderful! Can't wait to hear all about your DP!

 

[figmentfan814]

Great pictures!!!! Everything at your reception was beautiful. What attentive bridesmaids you had!!! Very lucky!

I know they really were such a great help that entire weekend and I know I wasn't always the easiest to get along with those last couple of days

Vanessa- great pictures!! Thank you so much for showing so many details!! It looks like you had a wonderful reception with lots of time to enjoy it!

Val~ Thanks, I have to admit it's partly because I want to document everything for myself so I don't forget any little details The reception was a blast and I'm glad that everything went so smoothly.

 

[figmentfan814]

Great report Vanessa! You really did have a great reception! i loved everything about it! Marion sounds like she was just wonderful! Can't wait to hear all about your DP!

Marion was amazing, you can definitely tell that she has been doing this for a long time. It's hard to believe that it's taking me so long just to get through the wedding day, but I will have the DP up soon I hope

 

[dopeysgirl84]

Hi Vanessa,

I followed your planning journal and am just catching up to your trip report. In the formal pictures before the reception, there was a shot that you said showed off your cinderella bracelet. I noticed that when the carriage is upside down (as it is in the picture) it looks like a hidden mickey! I don't know if you noticed it before, but I figured you would be interested to know!

 

[KStarfish82]

Great update Vanessa!

 

[irisbud]

Great update! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Flurbee]

Vanessa,

Loved the rest of the reception pics!!! Everything looked like it went wonderfully!! Is that even a word?? Anyways, can't wait to see the DP.

 

[figmentfan814]

Hi Vanessa,

I followed your planning journal and am just catching up to your trip report. In the formal pictures before the reception, there was a shot that you said showed off your cinderella bracelet. I noticed that when the carriage is upside down (as it is in the picture) it looks like a hidden mickey! I don't know if you noticed it before, but I figured you would be interested to know!

Wow, how cool I never knew that; I guess I'm going to have to go back and check it out

Great update Vanessa!

Great update! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks for reading, I still have some more to add that I have typed up. Just need to get all the pictures added

Vanessa,

Loved the rest of the reception pics!!! Everything looked like it went wonderfully!! Is that even a word?? Anyways, can't wait to see the DP.

For fun, I checked dictionary.com to make sure it was correct (because I thought you were correct) and it is an adverb, so you were right

There's definitely still more to come. I even have our adventures between the reception and dessert party.

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

What a wonderful installment! I think it is amazing that you heard the music at all! I think I was oblivious for some reason to any of the music. I am so glad I got videography so I could hear my guitarist, LOL!!

 

[Mama of Indybride]

AWWW!!! I love installments from Vanessa!

You gave us so many good ideas we are incorporating for Val!

We wish we could have a dessert party...

Any future family nuptials may have to occur at The World!

 

[DisneyMissy318]

What wonderful updates! Everything was absolutely gorgeous! It seems as if your guests had a wonderful time and you thought of everything!! What incredible memories you have made for you and Kris! Congrats again!

 

[figmentfan814]

What a wonderful installment! I think it is amazing that you heard the music at all! I think I was oblivious for some reason to any of the music. I am so glad I got videography so I could hear my guitarist, LOL!!

That is the best part of having the video, you can remember everything that you might otherwise forget

AWWW!!! I love installments from Vanessa!

You gave us so many good ideas we are incorporating for Val!

We wish we could have a dessert party...

Any future family nuptials may have to occur at The World!

I'm glad I could help out, although I got a lot of my ideas from previous brides too. Maybe a vow renewal at the World?

What wonderful updates! Everything was absolutely gorgeous! It seems as if your guests had a wonderful time and you thought of everything!! What incredible memories you have made for you and Kris! Congrats again!

Thank you so much, we definitely wanted to make the entire weekend a memory for everyone to remember. Since everyone was traveling so far for the wedding we wanted to make it an event that no one would ever forget