Wishes 10/8/11 WP/GF-- Love's First Kiss-- Trip Report Complete

[One_Song]

Day 1, Continued

We had decided early on to have dinner at California Grill on the first night of our trip. Last May, we took a trip to Disney World to celebrate my college graduation. On the first night, we had dinner at California Grill. We watched Wishes from the balcony, and at the end, Brandon proposed to me. It was the most romantic, amazing night of my life, and I knew I wanted to start our wedding trip by reliving a bit of that magic.

When we got to California Grill, Brandon asked me if I needed to go to the bathroom. I said no, but he said “Are you sure?”. I am one of those women that goes to the bathroom constantly, and I’m very vulnerable to the power of suggestion.

Our table was ready a few minutes after I got back. They led us to a back room—I think it was called the “Wine Room”—and I spotted our table. It was covered in confetti and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot was chilling in a bucket. It was exactly how our table had looked last May, when Brandon proposed. My heart skipped a beat. It turns out, Brandon had convinced me to go to the bathroom so he could get this set up with the staff. Sometimes I know Brandon is up to something, but this one took me completely by surprise. It was wonderful.

We cracked open the Champagne and toasted to “the beginning”… of our trip, of our marriage, of our life together.

We had a little time before Wishes, so we split a cheese plate. We both love cheese and order a cheese plate whenever it’s an option! This one was exceptionally delicious.

The accoutrements were so tasty: fig preserves, honey, honied almonds, and crisp crostinis. We loved combining different ones with the various cheeses to see how it brought out the flavors.

It was about time for Wishes, so we headed outside. We remembered from our previous trip that there was a second, less crowded balcony on the Bay Lake side of the tower. We found that balcony’s door near the bathrooms. To our delight, it was far less crowded than the opposite balcony, so we got a spot right along the railing, even though it was less than five minutes to showtime.

See how crowded the other balcony was?

Just as the show started, the woman next to me leaned over and said “Do you see her? It’s Tinkerbell!” It was so funny and sweet. I love that in Disney World people are so enthusiastic that they just lean over and start talking to strangers.

I was blissfully happy during the show. I thought about how I’d stood there, over a year ago, not knowing my Brandon was about to promise his life to me. I thought I couldn’t be any happier than I was that night. But I was happier now. I couldn’t wait to say my vows, hear his, and be a real family.

After the show, we returned to our table for our entrees. Brandon had the
filet

And I had sushi. It was something with crab and spicy tuna, and it was amazing. It had some kind of black salt on top that was very salty and delicious. I’m a huge sushi fan.

We passed on dessert because the monorail was stopping early that night. I have no idea who at Disney thought it would be a good idea to reduce monorail service, but that’s so sneaky.

We arrived back at Polynesian and decided to stop in Tambu Lounge for a drink. We were looking for seats when we spotted one of my maids of honor and her husband. The four of us sat at the bar for an hour or so.

It was so relaxing and got me really excited to see everyone.

Just before we left, my friend’s husband jumped up to take a picture

And a nice man at the bar offered to take a picture of all of us. However…

This is how it turned out. We thanked him, but after he left we all laughed ‘til our sides hurt.

After Tambu, we went back to our room and turned in for the night.

 

[mebbradley]

Haha, too funny about the swimsuit! I thought it looked very classic, guess that's what they wanted me to think!

It looks so classic.....then you put it on and you are like...WOAH not going in public. Err well at least that's my reaction, it just might be my self confidence.

MK looks like such fun even for a short time!

And I envey you for getting to stay together. I want to do that too but I don't think it will happen!

 

[MrsDuck]

Glad to hear you thought TiW was worth it! We will have to look into it.

YAY for the Dole Whip. Those things are like heaven in a cup!

I love that Brandon had the table set up!! How sweet!!

I agree about the monorail-- dumb choice.

And dontcha just love it when strangers take pictures for you and they come out less than great? I always get so excited thinking that we'll have a nice picture and uh.. nope. Haha!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[pinkmiss3]

Everything looks like so much fun! Df and I are going to eat at California Grill the day after our wedding and we will definitely look for that viewing spot.

I have enjoying reading your PJ and I can't wait to read the rest of your TR. I wanted to ask you how the carriage ride went? What was the scenery like?

 

[princess_ariel_85]

Hiya, glad you've started a TR!

What a view of the WP you got, thats amazing!

I'm not a big fan of cheese but I have to admit that cheese plate looks yummy. The sushi looked amazing too... I love sushi. I may have to have some next year.

The photo that the stanger took is so funny it's like your about to be sprayed with sauce!

Can't wait for another update x

 

[mebbradley]

I just saw your new signature!

It's pretty!

 

[One_Song]

Glad to hear you thought TiW was worth it! We will have to look into it.

YAY for the Dole Whip. Those things are like heaven in a cup!

I love that Brandon had the table set up!! How sweet!!

I agree about the monorail-- dumb choice.

And dontcha just love it when strangers take pictures for you and they come out less than great? I always get so excited thinking that we'll have a nice picture and uh.. nope. Haha!

Can't wait to read more!

I definitely recommend TiW. It only cost $75 when we bought it, but it saved us literally hundreds of dollars. Thanks for reading!

Everything looks like so much fun! Df and I are going to eat at California Grill the day after our wedding and we will definitely look for that viewing spot.

I have enjoying reading your PJ and I can't wait to read the rest of your TR. I wanted to ask you how the carriage ride went? What was the scenery like?

I love Cali Grill! The second balcony is down a hallway by the bathrooms. It was so empty! As for the carriage, I will go into more detail later, but it POURED down rain on our wedding day. I mean torrential. We still had the carriage, and it was still amazing. I loved every second of it. The scenery was just greenery, but please believe me when I say that you are only thinking about what's going on inside the carriage.

Hiya, glad you've started a TR!

What a view of the WP you got, thats amazing!

I'm not a big fan of cheese but I have to admit that cheese plate looks yummy. The sushi looked amazing too... I love sushi. I may have to have some next year.

The photo that the stanger took is so funny it's like your about to be sprayed with sauce!

Can't wait for another update x

Oh the sushi is so good! I loved it! And that picture... at least we got a good laugh out of it!

I just saw your new signature!

It's pretty!

Thank you! I thought it was looking a little empty down there with no ticker!

 

[One_Song]

Day 2: Makeup Trial, Family Dinner at Ohana, Jelly Rolls

We awoke on Day 2, excited because we got to see all of our friends and family today. After getting dressed, we noticed this for the first time...

Just a photopass card, but we loved that it said "Congratulations!"

We grabbed a quick breakfast at Capt. Cook’s, talking on our phones most of the time because we constantly got calls from family members. I was talking to one of my cousins, who was lost in the Polynesian grounds. I kept saying “Tell me what you see,” to which he would respond “A building and flowers.” Not very helpful, haha.

After finishing breakfast, we walked up to Ohana. We had a reservation for 20 people that evening for what we called “Family Dinner”. No one in our family had ever met anyone from the “other” family, not even our parents. We thought the wedding would be more comfortable for everyone if they got to meet in advance and socialize a bit. We picked Ohana, because it’s so relaxed and a great setting for conversation, and Brandon and I each invited 10 people that are closest to us. I had called Ohana numerous times to discuss our entire party being seated at one table. However, no one would guarantee this to me.

We approached the podium and explained the situation. The CM was a very nice woman. She was pulling up our reservation on her computer when Brandon noticed that she was from Ohio, just outside of his hometown. We always joke that everyone is from or has lived in Ohio (it really is funny how many people you meet with some connection to Ohio). He started talking to her about that area and how his brother is a firefighter there. After they finished chatting, she told us she would call the night manager and let them know it was a wedding event and to please sit us all together. I’m not saying the Ohio connection made it possible, but it certainly didn’t hurt!

Feeling positive about the table situation, we headed over to my mom’s room. By now several members of my family were there, just hanging out. We hugged and greeted everyone. I was so happy to see them, I love when our whole family is together. We sat around for a bit. My mom had brought coolers full of drinks and several trays of homemade snacks. It was so nice and relaxed. My mom’s room had a beautiful view of the marina, and we could see all the boats passing by. My niece, who is 2 years old, kept yelling “Booooooooat! Outside!” and running to the patio to watch.

After a little while, Brandon left to meet his dad for lunch. I set out for the Magic Kingdom with my mom, sister, cousin, and niece. We didn’t stay very long (it was pretty crowded). We really just wanted to see my niece experience MK. Winnie the Pooh is her favorite character and she was absolutely crazy about the ride. She cried when it was time to get off. When she was 6 months old, I got her a really soft Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal for Christmas. She carries that ragged thing everywhere.

I had to get back to Polynesian because I had a makeup trial with Beaute Speciale. I asked my sister to stay with me so I would have an honest opinion in the room. Laine showed up right on time, armed with her suitcase of makeup. She was the nicest, most wonderful lady, I loved her. I’m usually nervous about meeting new people, but she was just so easy to talk to and made me feel very comfortable.

I showed her some inspiration pictures that I had. I told her I wanted something pretty that accented my eyes and a warm pink lip color. The trial took about an hour and a half, and Laine was great about making little adjustments until it was just right. I was elated with how it looked when she was finished. I had never felt so pretty, but it didn’t feel like my face was caked in makeup.

I thanked Laine profusely as she left, then started getting dressed for Family Dinner (which was in about 30 minutes). I asked my sister to help me finalize the seating chart. Brandon printed up little name cards before we left home—we had decided to do assigned seating since no one knew each other. We didn’t want the table to end up Huffmans on one end, Bullards on the other.

I changed into my tropical dress and took off a little of my makeup. I didn’t want Brandon to know what I would look like on the wedding day. With that, my sister and I set off for Ohana.

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Sorry I missed the other day! That was SO romantic what your hubs did for you. He's quite a catch!

And you have also made me SO excited to go to the CA Grill. I can't wait!!!

I'm so glad to hear more good things about Beaute. I'm very excited to use them soon.

Can't wait for more!

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

I've finally got a chance to catch up on your TR and I am loving it so far! Your dinner at California Grill sounded so romantic, what a lovely start to your trip! I can't wait to read more! And the photo in your signature looks so gorgeous, I am really looking forward to seeing photos from your wedding day!

 

[One_Song]

Sorry I missed the other day! That was SO romantic what your hubs did for you. He's quite a catch!

And you have also made me SO excited to go to the CA Grill. I can't wait!!!

I'm so glad to hear more good things about Beaute. I'm very excited to use them soon.

Can't wait for more!

Isn't he the sweetest? I'm a little biased though You will LOVE Cali Grill-- it's sooooo good! I wish I was there now! And Beaute will make you feel like a goddess. They're just so nice!

I've finally got a chance to catch up on your TR and I am loving it so far! Your dinner at California Grill sounded so romantic, what a lovely start to your trip! I can't wait to read more! And the photo in your signature looks so gorgeous, I am really looking forward to seeing photos from your wedding day!

Thank you! I wish I had time to write faster, I love remembering all the fun we had!

 

[One_Song]

Day 2, Continued

When we got to the second floor of the Great Ceremonial House, Brandon’s entire side was there, but no one from my side was! I started making phone calls, fearing they wouldn’t seat us until everyone was there. People trickled in for the next ten minutes, and our table wasn’t quite ready yet, so it worked out fine. We made introductions all around, and everyone seemed to be getting along great.

When our buzzer rang, I told the host about my place cards and “Ohana means family” sign. The manager led Brandon and I back so I could set up. I was so delighted to see that they had one long table for us! I think the manager wanted to see our faces, he was so nice.

So we got our things put out

And led our families to the table.

Some group photos

From the other end

Brandon's mom's fiance (Ed), Brandon's mom (Debi), and me

Brandon's brother (Justin) and his wife (Jasmine)

My cousin (Taylor) and Brandon's brother/best man (Aaron)

Brandon's grandmother and his Aunt Laura

My Aunt Tammy & Uncle Alan

My mom, Yvonne

My godmom, Pam

Brandon's friend/groomsman Joe and my cousin Taylor

Brandon's dad, Frank

Haha!

Justin & Jasmine

My sister (Danielle), my niece (Claire), and Pam

Me and my two MOHs, Erica & Jessica

Claire

Brandon started taking her picture, and apparently she thought the flash was hilarious

Pam & Brandon taking pictures of each other taking pictures (they have become such good friends... I love it)

 

[One_Song]

Then the entertainment started. A hawaiian woman who calls herself "Cousin" walks around, singing, dancing, and explaining Hawaiian traditions. I was so happy to see that it was the same woman we saw perform on a previous trip. My friend Erica and I got such a kick out of her the first time. Management must have told her we were a wedding, because she came over and gave Brandon "a lei"... funnier when she says it over a microphone.

Of course, she gave him enough for everyone, so we passed them around the table.

My MOH Jessica... she is always the life of the party!

I am giving someone the eye in this photo!

We were encouraged to call our servers "cousin", but our server's name was Edward. We thought it was so funny that he had such a proper name, it sounded strange as "Cousin Edward".

**A little backstory here. I had my bachelorette party about three weeks before the wedding. It was pretty low-key, just dinner, drinks, and dancing. Over the course of the night, we started pulling up the "brostache" app on someone's phone... like from that Geico commercial. We thought it was the funniest thing ever. We even took it out at the club and danced around with it. We were actually quite a hit with the other club patrons. Anyways, at every wedding event since, the "brostache" has made an appearance somewhere. Here we are at Family Dinner, laughing it up at the brostache!

After dessert was finished, they brought us cupcakes as a gift. We ended up getting cupcakes quite often.

It really was a great dinner, people mingled so well and I think everyone enjoyed the food.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Michelle sweetie - Just catching up!!! Wonderful start!! The dinner looks great fun. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[MrsDuck]

Looks like you had an amazing time!!! Claire is just adorable, too!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

HA! The bro-stache app. You girls are funny!!!

It looks like your dinner was enjoyed by all. Ohana is SUCH a great place for an event like that--- I'm so glad you were all seated together.

Oh! Also, fun fact--- my DF's "real name" is Edward! (He goes by his middle name, Chris.) It is such an odd, proper name. Sometimes I get a kick out of it and pretend I am Jane Eyre or Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. (Random note over!)

 

[One_Song]

Michelle sweetie - Just catching up!!! Wonderful start!! The dinner looks great fun. Looking forward to reading more.

Thank you Joanne!

Looks like you had an amazing time!!! Claire is just adorable, too!

Thanks! She steals the show quite often!

HA! The bro-stache app. You girls are funny!!!

It looks like your dinner was enjoyed by all. Ohana is SUCH a great place for an event like that--- I'm so glad you were all seated together.

Oh! Also, fun fact--- my DF's "real name" is Edward! (He goes by his middle name, Chris.) It is such an odd, proper name. Sometimes I get a kick out of it and pretend I am Jane Eyre or Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. (Random note over!)

Our love for the brostache is the non-classiest thing about us, but we can't help it!
I go by my middle name, too. My first name is Pamela. Brandon's middle name is James. For awhile I tried to convince him we should go by Jim & Pam, but he didn't go for it. He's less than thrilled about how in love I am with John Krasinski...

 

[One_Song]

Day 2, Continued

After dinner was over, some family members went back to their hotels while the rest of us sat in Tambu Lounge for a while. We were meeting up with all of our young friends (who were already in WDW) at Jellyrolls, but we had about an hour to kill. The waiter in Tambu asked what we were celebrating. When we told him we were getting married, he brought us a little gift

Aren't they pretty? I love champagne.

Tambu was great because we got the chance to talk to some of the people whom we weren't sitting next to at Family Dinner. The lounge was so nice, I really tried to do as much relaxing as possible before the wedding.

Everyone started trickling back to their rooms, many of them to change for Jellyrolls. I went back to my room with my sister so I could go over the ceremony music with her. Anyone who followed my PJ knows that I had a small conflict with my planner over the ceremony entrances and their timing. I wanted all of the ceremony entrances to be timed out precisely so that the music followed smoothly from one song to the next. My planner insisted that this would never work. After much frustration, we insisted that my sister cue everyone's entrance (according to my instructions).

My sister and I have both worked extensively in dance and theatre, so I felt very comfortable with her being in charge. I popped my iPod into the alarm clock and ran through the ceremony music and the accompanying sheet of instructions quickly. I told her not to let any Disney people push her around on the wedding day and to insist that things be done according to the instructions. We agreed that after the flower girls walked in, she would sneak in and around the rows to her seat.

My sister left and I changed for Jellyrolls. By now, Brandon and some of our friends had made their way to our room. My good friend Tony arrived, and true to his form, had a bottle of Jack Daniels with him. He started making everyone cocktails with some mixers he had brought along. Although I'm not a whiskey person, I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I told him to make me something on the weak side. Apparently his version of "weak" is my version of "this is so strong I can't stand the smell"! I took two sips and snuck to the bathroom to hide it by the toilet so I didn't have to drink the rest.

With all of the ladies done primping, we were ready to go. About 7 of us were leaving from the Polynesian, so we got one of those van taxis to take us to Boardwalk. We met up with the rest of our group in the lobby, and after a short wait for a few stragglers, we set off for Jellyrolls!

Brandon and I first went to Jellyrolls on our engagement trip last year. I had read about it in my Birnbaum guidebook and thought it sounded neat. We had so much fun we went back during our PS trip. The pianists are awesome and they can play so many different things-- we've heard Billy Joel, Britney Spears, Queen, Jimmy Buffett, Beatles, Lady Gaga, Frank Sinatra, you name it. It's such a fun atmosphere, and so different than anything else in Disney. I was so excited to experience it with all of our friends.

We found a long high-top table by the back of the room-- not quite big enough for everyone to have a seat, but people were mostly up and moving around anyway. This was our view of the stage area

Across the room, I spotted my friend Robbie. I met Robbie when I did the Disney College Program in Anaheim. I was assigned to Attractions and Robbie was my trainer. We became very good friends because we are both HUGE HUGE Disney nerds, and neither of us had ever met anyone who knows as much about Disney as we do. I was so excited to see him; I hadn't seen him since we moved out of California in May.

Everyone settled right in, and my friends seemed to be getting along well with Brandon's friends. His friends are generally a bit quiet and reserved, whereas mine are loud and outgoing, but I think it was a good combination. People also started requesting songs immediately. I was so happy that everyone was into it, if you know what I mean.

We got the whole group together for a photo

And someone got this cute one of me and B

And one of me and my bridesmaids, minus my one cousin who couldn't make it

At least two of our friends bought rounds of shots for the whole group. The first one was something red, sour and gross! I think it was supposed to be a jolly rancher but it didn't come out right. My MOH Erica bought everyone a shot of Patron. We were also making new friends at the bar. A group of men were at WDW on a venture capitalist convention (really-- Brandon grilled them about it because it sounded so fake!) They were such nice guys, and they all bought us drinks for hours. They kept telling Brandon and I how happy they were for us! So sweet.

Also, they were very polite about it, but they gave my baby cousin lots of attention-- she told them it was her 21st birthday (it wasn't, of course). She had them totally charmed; I'm sure her up-to-here legs didn't hurt either! My older cousin Graham kept an eye on her, but she was fine. I was so proud. I remember when she was four and cut all her hair off. Now she was the woman at the bar with guys hanging on her every word.

We had been there for about two hours when one of the musicians said "We need Brandon and Michelle to come to the stage". They told the bar that we were getting married in two days, and everyone cheered. Then they played "Wonderful Tonight" and we danced on stage.

Our friends tried to take a video of us dancing, but employees told them they had to stop! I have no idea why. The employees in Jellyrolls who weren't musicians or bartenders were honestly a bit rude. We were all a little put off by them. Later, an employee came by and told me to stop standing on the rungs at the bottom of the bar stools. Now, two extremely drunk women were falling all over each other at the foot of the stage, but I guess I was a big problem...

 

[One_Song]

Day 2, Continued

By this point in the night, we had all had a bit too much to drink, so the pics started getting funnier.

And funnier

My bridesmaid Tonya and my friend Tony

Brandon dove into this one at the last minute

Tony and I recreated our senior prom picture, we went as friends

Brostache!

Jessica started doing this thing where anytime someone would walk through
our group (like toward the bar), she would chase after them and kind of freak dance behind them. It was so funny. This guy turned around and started dancing back!

Not sure what’s going on in these…

Peace sign, I guess

And have you ever taken a picture where everyone thinks they’re making a sexy face, but maybe no one actually is? Here’s ours

Tonya took this next one, and she said “Brandon and Graham are either about to fight or kiss.”

Then the musicians started playing “Eye of the Tiger.” Brandon heard it starting

And he ran over to this set of little stairs, where he started running up and down the steps over and over. We started cheering, then the bar started cheering. I’m sure in his tipsy state, he felt really cool! Haha

I love this picture of my cousin Taylor

And a few more crazy ones

I can’t say enough how much fun we had. It was just a really great time and I would have loved to stay longer.

But the lights came on and the employees started urging us to leave. Again, they were a little too pushy for my taste. One of them kept shouting “Finish at the door guys, we’re closed!” Then, as soon as we stepped outside, a security guard walked up and told us the Boardwalk was closed. It didn’t feel very Disney to me. Maybe they were all grumpy because they were working the 2 a.m. shift.

While we were waiting for a cab, Taylor found a roll of caution tape in a maintenance cart and slipped it into her purse. She and Graham wrapped themselves in the tape on the ride back to the Polynesian. I tried to snap a picture of this on my phone, this is the best it ever came out

Graham left for his room once we got to the Poly, and Brandon, Taylor and I went to Capt. Cook’s for a little snack. We were the only people in there because it was so late.

I had that feeling when you know that you and your friends have had too much to drink, and you’re wondering if onlookers can tell. That thought was crossing my mind when Taylor dropped a carton of milk on the floor, then STEPPED on it, and the thing exploded everywhere. We were so embarrassed, but the CM told us not to worry and that we didn’t need to clean anything. They didn’t even charge us for it. So nice.

Back in our room, I tried to down as much water as possible. We ate our snacks and went to bed, completely exhausted.

 

[One_Song]

Day 3: Bridesmaid Luncheon, Rehearsal, Rehearsal Dinner

We were feeling a little under the weather the next morning. I snuck out of bed (Brandon was not feeling so well), grabbed a snack, and put on a bikini. I wanted a little time to tan before the day got started. I was so worried that I would look too pale in my dress—again, I wish I hadn’t wasted energy worrying. I was tan enough. I never wanted or expected to be deep tan, I’m so fair to begin with, but I didn’t look at all washed out in my dress.

Anyway, it was nice to have a little me time that morning. I got a lounger on the Poly beach and stared off at the Wedding Pavilion. I spent an hour just dreaming, trying to imagine how it would feel the next day. To finally be a bride and not a bride-to-be. A wife and not a girlfriend. I was so ready.

I also knew Janna was getting married that morning, and I hoped I might catch a small glimmer of their entrances. Either the timing didn’t line up or my sight wasn’t good enough (probably the latter!)

After my quiet time on the beach, I got dressed for my bridesmaids luncheon. I was taking my five bridesmaids to lunch at Grand Floridian Café for a little girl time. I was pressed for time as usual. I had all of my girls’ gifts in pretty bags, but it was a bit much to carry by myself. I called my cousin Taylor, who was staying downstairs, and asked her to help. We met the other girls in the Great Ceremonial House and hopped on the monorail. Or rather, waited around for 10 minutes for the monorail to arrive. I was so stressed about being late.