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

[One_Song]

So glad I made your day! I was just speaking the truth!

I'm going to look into some of those flowers! =] If they come in some awesome fall-y bright colors I may have to borrow them to put into my bouquet. ;D <3 <3

Cannot wait to see more!

I love bouquets that are a big mix of flowers-- they're always so visually interesting!

Hey! I was just looking at your pics and I LOVE them!!! You were beautiful!!!!! Can't wait to see more!

Thank you! I'm so glad you're back! More is coming!

~Wow! Such gorgeous pictures!
~I wish I had though of bringing my invitation so I could have a pic of it, but I didn't!
~I am not a perfume girl at all (I just have certain scents I wear from Bath & Body Works) but I wanted one for the wedding! I tried on several scents and finally decided on *I think* Vera Wang's Princess (or something). So I bought it....and then forgot all about it! I didn't wear it for the wedding! Oh well!
~I LOVED Regina! I want her to just take all of my pictures! She's amazing! She will definitely be doing my maternity pictures someday down the road!
~Can't wait to see more!

I got the idea to bring my invite from looking at other women's pictures. I love those pictures, it's amazing how precisely they assembled all the pieces. And I would love to have Regina again! Maybe one day we can go back for a family shoot. But babies are a few years out for us... I'll be excited to see yours!

Ugh. I am CRAZY in love with everything. (That's a good "ugh" LOL!) I love your flowers, and Brandon's beauty routine lmao, but most of all--- your portraits look LOVELY! Absolutely lovely.

Where did you get that pink daisy necklace for one of your bridesmaids btw? Did they, perchance, have any other colors?

Thank you!! The necklace was from Enchanting Jewels. I bought it this summer, so I'm not sure if they still carry that design. I must confess, I loved it so much when it arrived that I bought another one for myself!

 

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I can't fill in much story for this batch of pictures, since I wasn't there (and Brandon is not as verbose as moi...) All I can say is, look how nervous my sweetie looks! Poor guy!

Brandon and his best man

Meri's assistant, Danny, helping a groomsman with his bout

Brandon's brother and sister-in-law

The other groomsmen

 

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Brandon and his mom

Brandon's mom's fiance joined in

The three brothers

(I got the most handsome one )

I love this picture

They're looking on Brandon's camera at this picture:

Boys!

(Side note: Brandon's aunt had his camera and took pictures for us all day. It was so wonderful because, at the end of the night, we got to see pictures of our wedding.)

 

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Our poor photographers had to stand in the rain for these photos! They're dedicated!

I love this one!

 

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I love all of these of Brandon. I know I'm biased, but he is such an attractive man!

Brandon wanted a super close shave-- so much that his skin ended up really irritated. Apparently he changed shirts after portraits because he had little red dots on his collar.

And my absolute favorite:

 

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Brandon with his dad

 

[MrsDuck]

I love all the groomsmen pictures!! Your photographers did a great job!

 

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Brandon and his grandmother

I love this picture, it's so sweet

 

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Dad and his boys

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Awwww. I love all of the pictures! Also, I really like your... SILs? Is that who she is? Dress. The black, lacy one. Really nice.

 

[lilsqueakrr]

color="teal"]holy moly that's a lot of the groom! haha. he's very photogenic and very handsome. you 2 compliment each other perfectly![/color]

 

[One_Song]

I love all the groomsmen pictures!! Your photographers did a great job!

Thank you! I'm so happy with how bright our portraits look despite the gloomy weather.

Awwww. I love all of the pictures! Also, I really like your... SILs? Is that who she is? Dress. The black, lacy one. Really nice.

Yes, that's my SIL! It was such a cute dress.

holy moly that's a lot of the groom! haha. he's very photogenic and very handsome. you 2 compliment each other perfectly!

Believe me, there are far more pictures of me and the girls-- coming up! And thank you! We are going to have some fair-skinned, dark-haired, blue-eyed children for sure, though!

 

[One_Song]

It was time for the guys to clear out of the lobby to make way for us ladies. Meri had some golfcarts ready for them...

(these are the same kind that shuttled us at the Polynesian)

The boys waited in Franck's for a bit.

That's Brandon's friend Joe. He loves to take these kind of awkward looking pictures.

Around this time, Brandon spent several minutes inside the Wedding Pavilion working with the lighting guy. The lights were initially up all the way, and Brandon knew I wouldn't like how bright it was. They turned the lights off, but that was too dark (remember, no sunlight outside). Then they tried turning the lights on just a bit, but that made some of them flicker. They turned the lights up until they stopped flashing and settled there. The photographers were concerned that the lighting wasn't ideal for pictures, but Brandon thought (correctly) that it would be more important to me for the lighting to be right.

 

[BethieTink]

Michele!!!!

OMG!!!

All of photos are lovely!!! You looked stunning! And Brandon looked very dashing.

Your dress is to die for. Wow!

Can't wait to see more. Everytime I see her photos, I am so glad that I have requested Regina for all of my events.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[One_Song]

Now back to the Polynesian.

I was with my family and bridesmaids, waiting for the golf cart to pick us up at the end of our building. The photographers, makeup artists, and hair stylists were gone. The carts were taking a long time to get there. Maybe there was a demand for them because of the weather. Anyway, standing around in the room with nothing to do made me very antsy. It was the only time of the day that I had real wedding jitters, and I did not care for it! I felt restless and nervous but couldn’t pinpoint why.

After what felt like an eternity, our phone rang to let us know the carts were there. We headed outside, careful to stay under cover, and half of us loaded into the cart. It took us up to the front of the Polynesian, then circled back for the rest of the group. My cousin and his wife (the parents of my older flower girl) and their son (the ring bearer) were there waiting for us. My little cousin was so adorable in his toddler tux—although he had already ditched his bow tie! His mother was trying to force it back on him, but I told her it was fine if he didn’t wear it. He hated it!

Once we were all there, it was more standing and waiting. I didn’t know at the time about the limo hold up, and I was a little miffed that the limo was late. It made me feel more anxious.

One limo arrived, and my bridesmaids, mom, godmom and I climbed in. The driver hopped out to talk to my sister and cousin. It frustrated me, because I felt like we were already rushed, but he was apparently explaining the traffic jam situation to them. They followed behind the limo in my cousin’s car. Thank goodness they had a car at the Polynesian.

On the ride to the Grand Floridian, I tried to relax and think about exciting things. I hated being stressed and I don’t miss that part of the day at all! I turned to my MOH Erica and whispered “I need a drink”. Not very ladylike, I know! Desperate times call for desperate measures!

At the Grand Floridian, we waited for the all-clear that the boys were gone, then headed to the lobby. I passed Brandon’s family on the way in (Disney didn’t let this slip—they told me in the limo that his family was still there, but I wanted OUT of the limo right then!) They all waved and smiled at us. It was actually kind of nice.

 

[One_Song]

People wished us congratulations and complimented me as we walked through the lobby. It was so exciting, everyone was just really kind and friendly. I’ve seen so many brides in the GF lobby, it was exhilarating to actually be the bride.

We paused for a moment while the photographers chatted with Danny (I’ll get to that later—Disney was very good at hiding anything negative from me). A woman and her little girl were standing just a few feet from me, and the little girl had the sweetest, awe-filled look in her eyes. Her mother had a camera in her hand, and said “Go take a picture with her!” The little girl looked hesitant, so I gave her a little come-here wave. She skipped over, I kneeled down, and her mom snapped the picture. It was such a touching moment. I have fond memories of seeing brides around Disney as a child; I hope I become one of hers.

 

[One_Song]

Then we were ready.

Richard was the most wonderful cast member. He walked everywhere with me and carried my train and veil. He loved that my dress was vintage-inspired. He kept saying things like, "They just don't make dresses like this anymore" or "This is just beautiful, it will be beautiful forever". Too sweet!

My niece was not being very cooperative, so the sassy came out!

My girls helped me get my veil on

And I was ready!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Oh he is just the cutest little cast member ever! I love him.

And I am so excited! I can't wait to read about the ceremony.

 

[One_Song]

Michele!!!!

OMG!!!

All of photos are lovely!!! You looked stunning! And Brandon looked very dashing.

Your dress is to die for. Wow!

Can't wait to see more. Everytime I see her photos, I am so glad that I have requested Regina for all of my events.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! I was (and am) so in love with my dress. I hated taking it off that night because I knew I wouldn't really get to wear it again. Regina is amazing, you will love her!

Oh he is just the cutest little cast member ever! I love him.

And I am so excited! I can't wait to read about the ceremony.

He really is such a sweet man!
Ceremony coming soon!