A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes: A March 2011 Disney Wedding/Honeymoon Trip Report

It’s official! Brett and I are finally married and I couldn’t be more excited. We had the most perfect wedding day ever, at our most favorite place in the whole entire world. And of course, as expected, it went by all too quickly. I’m not going to lie, coming down off the high that was our Disney wedding/cruise/honeymoon has been tough. In fact, I'm hoping that writing up/posting this trip report will help me work through some of that. However, I’ve spent much of my spare time in the last few weeks staring at a blank word document... writer’s block? Never heard of it! :lol:

For the first time ever, in all my trip report writing, I did a pre-trip report. It lays out most of the wedding-related details, but for those of you out there who are like me and rarely read pre-trip reports, here’s a quick rundown of events:

Wednesday, March 16, 2011: Drive down, check in offsite for the night
Thursday, March 17, 2011: Check-in, Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Friday, March 18, 2011: Wedding Day, Sunset Pointe
Sunday, March 20, 2011: Board Disney Dream for a 4 night Bahamas cruise
Thursday, March 24, 2011: Check-in, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Sunday, March 27, 2011: Check out and head home

We kind of saw this trip as having three legs: Wedding/Cruise/Disney!

A look back at our Disney trip reports: September 2008 (Contemporary), December 2008 (Old Key West), January 2009 (Port Orleans Riverside & Disney Marathon), July 2009 (Wilderness Lodge Villas/Animal Kingdom Lodge), December 2009 (Beach Club Villas), March 2010 (Pop Century & Princess Half), June 2010 (Coronado Springs), August 2010 (Polynesian & Engagement), December 2010 (Kidani Village)

This was our first time on DCL, however, we’ve cruised a handful of times before. So if anyone is interested, those trip reports can be found here: May 2009 (Carnival Liberty), December 2009 (Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas), May 2010 (Emerald Princess), June 2010 (Norwegian Sky)

Oh dear. I feel like I’m embarking on what will be the longest trip report EVER (and I’ve written some long ones). My apologies in advance, as it will likely take awhile to get this report up in its entirety. The good news though, is that I’ve completed the text all the way up through the wedding, so we’ll get to that part fairly quickly!

With all that said, let the memories begin...

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[COLOR="Black"]Your Dress Is PERFECTION!!!! I love it and you looked perfect in it !!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!!!:wave::sohappy:[/COLOR]


We hopped off at the Grand Floridian… for the first time ever, I think I felt dressed appropriately for the place. :D

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I knew I wanted shots right at the monorail entrance where the grandeur of the Grand is at its best.

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Brett’s favorite:

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cathyy

New Member
Oh my gosh.. this report just keeps getting better and better!!! I love all the pictures-- you are a stunning bride and groom!!
It is wonderful that Jason was such a fun photographer and must have really made you both feel as ease!!!
I don't think I could tell you one picture that I didn't absolutly love!!!
 

DisneyFan1003

Active Member
Props to you for probably the MOST anticipated trip report in a long time! It's funny how you feel like you "know" people on the forum after reading their reports! I remember us both commenting to each other on that day "today is the wedding...I hope the weather is perfect!" We got back from WDW right as you were getting ready to arrive. A week or so ago, I noticed your report was up and yelled to my wife "Holly & Brett's wedding report has been posted!" She ran over and we sat and read it together like we were there with you!

- Awesome report! Your narration cracks me up!
- Your planning was fantastic! My wife was wrapping up her masters while we were planning our wedding, and I do events for a living, so most of the details of our wedding fell to me. Hats off to you!
- The wedding looked perfect. Chrissy and I seriously considered a Disney wedding - we were engaged down there and used the (now defunct) Fairytale Engagement Center for my proposal. We met with the wdding folks, but opted for the big church wedding with 250 people, etc. While it was a perfect day for us, we often wish we could go back and do it again!
- Ya looked beautiful....leis were excellent (printed stuff was brilliant!) and I really liked all the subtle, personal touches.
- Loved all the references to "hands" in the ceremony - we both got a little choked up!
- Excellent music selections!
- Comments about the cake cracked us up! We had the SAME conversation prior to our wedding and a few "warnings" to each other under our breath while we were cutting the cake. I've been to weddings where it's a literal food fight and never understood why that would be fun!!
- Regrets - you'll have that. Eight years later, and we still look back at things we would have done differently. You'll think about those regrets less and less as time goes by. Now we always say "write that down - we'll renew our vows and do it then!"
- Photographs are amazing. I'm a firm believer that your photographer can make/break your day! I will admit a twinge of jealousy when looking at all those awesome pics at the Poly, Floridian and MK! Amazing memories!!
- Looking forward to the rest of your report...we did a week in the parks and 7-night cruise for our honeymoon and it was easily one of my favorite trips! We've cruised twice and loved it...looking forward to taking our on a cruise daughter in a year or two.

Thanks again for sharing....looking forward to reading the rest! Our best to both of you...enjoy the adventure together!

Mike & Chrissy
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This trip report should win a Golden Mickey for best of the year! I have been dying for you to return and finish it. Each morning as I turn on my computer, I immediately check to see if anything has been updated. Gorgeous...absolutely gorgeous! We are going on the Dream in October, so I am anxiously awaiting the honeymoon update. Thank you so much for sharing such an intimate part of your life with us!

Oooh, a Golden Mickey, I totally want a Golden Mickey. :sohappy: Speaking of, I can't wait to report on the Golden Mickey's show aboard the Disney Dream!!!

Thanks for checking in every morning... it might take a couple days before I get to the Dream portion of the report, but it's coming up. You are going to have soooooo much fun in October! Will this be your first cruise? Or first with Disney?

All the pictures were wonderful. Especially loved the dip shots and the ones infront of MK are beautiful! Jason looks as though he would be alot of fun.

I wanted "dip shots" so badly... you can see the strain in my neck on the ones under the monorail because we kept waiting and waiting for one to come by. Turns out you couldn't even see it that well in the background anyway.

Ok I have been fine until this moment, I am all teary eyed here and I am so so happy for you and your Mom that is unreplacable for sure, you are both adoarable for sure. You're Mom is a doll!!!! It's defianetly very touching all the sweet things she did for you :>). I LOVE LOVE LOVE these pictures too, you look amazing!!! /FONT]


I'm especially thankful for all the kind words about my mom and I. She is truly amazing!

That is one of my favorite songs!!!!

YAY! Mine, too!

I am totally with you on the cake thing, who ever thought smashing cake in each others face, was either high or totally drunk!!! no thank you very much, we didn't do that either!!!

Yeah, you know, I wonder where the tradition actually came from. First off, why do we not use silverware for this? And second, why oh why the smashing?!

You got me, I do that all the time... hehehe..sorry I promise I did start from the beginning today and still reading through it. I love it all, you had me in tears more than once already. Thank you again for sharing your day with all of us here. I am enjoying this so much :>) Congrats again. You both make a perfect couple for sure!!! Your whole family is very sweet!!! :>)

Thanks for going back and reading it all the way through, Lucille. :lol:

Your Dress Is PERFECTION!!!! I love it and you looked perfect in it !!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Thank you... I thought she was a real beauty! The first picture at the GF is one of my favorites, with the focus on the bottom detail and the leis hanging from my hand!

Oh my gosh.. this report just keeps getting better and better!!! I love all the pictures-- you are a stunning bride and groom!!
It is wonderful that Jason was such a fun photographer and must have really made you both feel as ease!!!
I don't think I could tell you one picture that I didn't absolutly love!!!

Aww, thank you, Cathy! After much deliberation we decided on the one of us kissing in front of the train station for our thank you cards. I'm really excited to work on an album.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Props to you for probably the MOST anticipated trip report in a long time! It's funny how you feel like you "know" people on the forum after reading their reports! I remember us both commenting to each other on that day "today is the wedding...I hope the weather is perfect!" We got back from WDW right as you were getting ready to arrive. A week or so ago, I noticed your report was up and yelled to my wife "Holly & Brett's wedding report has been posted!" She ran over and we sat and read it together like we were there with you!

You make such a great point, Mike... after a while we really do start to feel like we all know one another around here. It's one of my favorite parts of writing reports, and reading others'. It's so fun to share with people who "get it." There's no time spent explaining the magic.

- Awesome report! Your narration cracks me up!
- Your planning was fantastic! My wife was wrapping up her masters while we were planning our wedding, and I do events for a living, so most of the details of our wedding fell to me. Hats off to you!
- The wedding looked perfect. Chrissy and I seriously considered a Disney wedding - we were engaged down there and used the (now defunct) Fairytale Engagement Center for my proposal. We met with the wdding folks, but opted for the big church wedding with 250 people, etc. While it was a perfect day for us, we often wish we could go back and do it again!
- Ya looked beautiful....leis were excellent (printed stuff was brilliant!) and I really liked all the subtle, personal touches.
- Loved all the references to "hands" in the ceremony - we both got a little choked up!
- Excellent music selections!
- Comments about the cake cracked us up! We had the SAME conversation prior to our wedding and a few "warnings" to each other under our breath while we were cutting the cake. I've been to weddings where it's a literal food fight and never understood why that would be fun!!
- Regrets - you'll have that. Eight years later, and we still look back at things we would have done differently. You'll think about those regrets less and less as time goes by. Now we always say "write that down - we'll renew our vows and do it then!"
- Photographs are amazing. I'm a firm believer that your photographer can make/break your day! I will admit a twinge of jealousy when looking at all those awesome pics at the Poly, Floridian and MK! Amazing memories!!
- Looking forward to the rest of your report...we did a week in the parks and 7-night cruise for our honeymoon and it was easily one of my favorite trips! We've cruised twice and loved it...looking forward to taking our on a cruise daughter in a year or two.

Thanks again for sharing....looking forward to reading the rest! Our best to both of you...enjoy the adventure together!

Mike & Chrissy

Brett was actually wrapping up school while we were planning, it's one of the reasons why we waited this long to get married. He did get involved with parts of the planning, for example, important things like the ceremony, we did together. He didn't string any leis though. :lol:

I didn't know Disney once had a Fairytale Engagement Center... I wonder if some of the same things are now offered through Disney Fairytale Weddings (DFTW). Deciding between the small wedding and a big one is probably a tough call for most couples. Music is extremely important to us, and I think that's one aspect of a big wedding that we would've had SO much fun planning. But because we were at Disney, we figured we'd just go with some of our movie favorites.

You aren't kidding about the photographer making/breaking the day. I had done extensive research and knew Jason would be great, and yet I still ended up making myself physically sick waiting to get the pictures back. This was only heightened by the fact that I had NO candids from the ceremony.

You mentioned a vow renewal... I'm thinking Disney would definitely be the way to go. Plus it would be an opportunity to get some of those fun shots around the resorts! :animwink:

Have you cruised with Disney or other lines? Cruises are so much fun, and I'm sure your daughter would have a blast.

Thanks for all the kind words, and thank Chrissy for me as well!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm sorry to say, from this point on... no more Jason. :cry:

The “Reception...”

We said our goodbyes to Jason, who promised to be in touch, and then we scurried over to the check-in area at Ohana. All the while I was talking a million miles a minute about how much fun we’d had running around taking pictures. Seriously, for Brett and I both, it was one of the highlights of our entire day. You know how little kids don't take a breath between words and speak in run-on sentences when they're talking excitedly about something? Totally me, right here. When I finally came up for air, I was feeling a little lightheaded. I’m pretty sure I was just dehydrated from all the running around in the sun we’d been doing. My parents ran off to Samoa Snacks to get me some water, while we waited on Danny to return from his room before checking in. See, Brett’s family had left their leis behind and I *suggested* that someone go and get them because I wanted everyone to wear them for the rest of the evening. Danny happily obliged, of course. I just thought as a group they unified us and I felt they added an element of festivity to the whole day. Plus, they were kind of my little special stamp of personalization on the wedding and I wanted everyone to wear them. You could even call them our favors for the guests, seeing as how we didn’t give anything else out.

I am bridezilla, hear me roar! :lol:

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While we were waiting for everyone to return (we all had to be present to check in), these two guys came up to me and asked if they could take a picture with me. Sure, why not?! As they started to walk away I was like, “hey, hey, hey, don’t put that on the internet... at least not UNTIL after I have a chance to post mine first.” Kathy got the biggest kick out of this. Here I am trying to control things again. Hmm... I had forgotten about it until now, but I’m wondering if that picture is out here on the interwebs anywhere!

We actually weren’t doing too bad on time. Yay, us! Our reservations were for 5:15pm and it was exactly 5:15pm when we walked up to the podium to check in.

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The only problem was, the CM couldn’t find our reservation. I was trying to keep my cool, as was Brett, but this picture tells another story. :lookaroun There’s my poker face, again! The funny thing is Brett’s isn’t much better.

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Kathy’s vantage point? Yep, pretty much tells the same story.

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These three clearly aren’t aware that their dinner may be in jeopardy...

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Luckily, Juan (to Brett’s left in the first picture) stepped in and found our reservation. I’m not sure what the deal was, but it was apparently stored on a completely different screen from the normal reservations. But he found it... three cheers for Juan!!! After that, we waited around, only briefly, before being led to our table.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Fortunately, we had a round table, which is much more conducive to conversing if you ask me. Unfortunately though, it was the one stuck in that back corner of the restaurant near the kitchen entrance. That part was kind of disappointing, but we settled in and it wasn’t so bad. I was spent by the time we sat down. You know how, if you don’t eat for a long time, you’re both starving and not hungry all at once when you see food? Or is that just me? Because that’s how I felt. In fact, I still couldn’t get enough water and didn’t even order a tasty drink. For shame!

The lighting in the corner made picture taking difficult without a flash. Silly me, there was a camera with a flash lying in my lap and yet I didn’t think to use it. Told you I was floating along in a dream world all day.

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However, like a good little trip reporter, I did remember to photograph the food. :animwink: Well, at least the stuff that came plated. You all know how I am about pictures of half-eaten food on a plate.

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Derek decided to help me out with the sides… can you tell he’s dined with me before? :lol:

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I was a little worried about how I would devour this meal in my wedding dress. It wasn’t too bad though. I made Brett peel my shrimp for me! :D

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Mmmm… dessert. Tell me that’s not the most delicious thing you’ve ever seen?!

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Our “cousin” also brought us complimentary champagne with strawberries to toast the occasion.

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As if all of this wasn’t enough, the chef appeared with a special congratulatory dessert for us.

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OMG… is that the white chocolate cheesecake from Kona?! It is! It is! This is easily one of our favorite desserts on property. There were other delicious goodies on the plate, as well, but neither Brett nor I could see past the heavenly cheesecake.

Our compliments to the chef!

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Dinner was absolutely wonderful and it was so nice to just relax and enjoy everyone throughout the meal. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to participate in the hukilau while we were there. That and our favorite Samoan must’ve had the night off. We adore the ukulele player who has been there on almost all of our trips to Ohana. In fact, we adore him so much we considered seeing how much it would cost to have him play the ukulele at our wedding, or be our officiant! But alas, he must’ve had the night off. Apparently there was a couple celebrating their 5 year vow renewal that night as well, because the entertainer for the evening did come out more than once and encourage everyone to give the couple in the middle of the room a round of applause. Hey, how about us, too!? Shout out over here in the corner?! Pretty please?! :lol:

As we were waiting for the bill to come (thanks, mom and dad!), we enjoyed the rest of our champagne.

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Okay, so at the risk of sharing too much information, at the end of dinner it was time for a bathroom break. It clearly wasn’t something I could do on my own. What’s a good mom for, if she can’t hold your dress up in the bathroom?! :ROFLOL: We didn’t have enough time to go back to one of our rooms so we made our way to the “family” restroom outside of Ohana. Honestly, the whole experience was hilarious. And, of course, that area is always packed with people waiting around for their reservation. I think we got some crazy looks, but I remember one lady exclaiming, “that takes me back to my own wedding!” Brides?! C'mon, fess up!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We still had a few minutes before the limo was supposed to pick us up out front so I asked my mom if she would take some pictures of us out on the bridge, since we missed that spot with Jason. It was a gorgeous evening and I absolutely LOVE these two pictures she got of us as we were walking out of the Great Ceremonial House. I was only going to post one, but I couldn’t pick a favorite.

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LOVE this bridge...

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I look more like me now:

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Yes, Brett is on his phone in that shot. I can’t really remember, but I think Derek or Danny, or maybe both, went back to the room for something and Brett was making sure they knew what time the limo pick-up was.

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As we were walking back through the GCH, all the CMs at the check-in/concierge desk started clapping for us. It was so cool. Two of the guys motioned us over to share something with us. They called Mickey and Minnie and then handed over the phone. It was a congratulatory message similar to the one we received in our room the previous day. Only it was the post wedding version and not the pending nuptials one. The fabulous CMs wished us well and we were off to the limo.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Okay, so I have yet to mention where we are going. Well, as a gift to our families we handed out the following fastpasses (my favorite of the printed materials):

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SURPRISE! It’s an Illuminations pontoon cruise (in our honor :lol:)! HOORAY!

We had Jason grab this shot of one of the FPs when we were alone with him earlier in the day:

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Very early in the planning process we knew we wanted to include Illuminations into our wedding somehow. It’s by far the night show of choice for the both of us. One option for including Illuminations into our day would’ve been to book an ever-popular dessert party for one of the event spaces at Epcot, but it wasn’t the best choice for us for a couple of reasons. First, we knew no one would want to eat anything, and you can’t book the space without booking food/beverage. Second, it required an event “escort/guide” from the International Gateway to the preferred viewing location. Third, even at the most basic prices, it’s pretty expensive. I didn’t mind this so much, but we didn’t want everyone to feel like they were being herded into World Showcase and then herded back out. We wanted a more relaxed vibe from the night. :)

Enter... the pontoon cruises that set sail from the Yacht and Beach Club marina. It was perfect! We’d heard it was tough to get your preferred date, so we made sure we were both up at 6am on the 180 day mark to make reservations. In fact, I was actually at my parents house (it turned out to be one of those marathon dress shopping weekends), sneakily plotting the event that morning. Brett’s call went through first and he confirmed our booking! Wooooohoo. I was ecstatic. Illuminations (specifically the musical score) is another one of those Disney “things” that immediately turns me to mush when I hear/see it because it brings back all the ooey gooey feelings of love I have for the early days of my and Brett’s relationship. It was also my first Disney fireworks experience... and it’s hard to top something like that.

So, back on track... we handed out the fastpasses and hopped in the waiting limo, but not before getting a shot in front of our waterfall:

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Derek took care of us... he had the champagne popped and poured before we got out of the Poly parking lot!

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I wish I knew what we were laughing about here, but I don’t have a clue. Let’s say it was at the fact that Derek had Kathy completely convinced that the surprise event was going to be mini golf! For those who don’t recall, Kathy doesn’t have the best track record with mini golf. :lol: And that probably would’ve been the worst surprise ever for her. Not to mention a major let down after I built the surprise up so much.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We arrived at the Yacht Club and hopped out. I didn’t immediately notice that we hadn’t been dropped off at the resort entrance until we were walking down one of the long conference center corridors. I guess the main driveway was being refurbished at the time.

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Brett went on up ahead to the marina to check us in and pay for the cruise. Now, here’s one minor complaint I have with regards to the pontoon cruises – you can’t pay for them ahead of time. While I realize most guests probably prefer not having to pay for it early, I still think it should be an option for those of us who want to. I realize this way they don’t have to deal with issues over refunding money if/when they can’t go out due to rain, but it’d still be nice if it were an option. First, I wanted everything paid for in advance, so we wouldn’t be paying for it AFTER we came home from the wedding/Disneymoon. And second, I simply didn’t want to have to worry about it. We decided to put the necessary amount on a gift card to use when we arrived. This worked out well for us and we were able to pay for it back in January.

So, where were we? Oh yes, Brett checked us in and met our Captain, Scott, who told him that we had about fifteen minutes before we could board. Being the smart cookie that he is, Brett remembered to ask if it was possible to bring drinks aboard. Why yes, yes it is! Super. My dad, Derek, and Danny went off to Hurricane Hanna’s at Stormalong Bay to get us some drinks, while we took more pictures.

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These are two of my favorites, as I think *my husband* looks so incredibly handsome and relaxed:

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Kathy and I leaned our heads together and laughed that we would be stuck that way. I think there was a whole can of industrial strength hairspray between the two of us.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Mmmm... margaritas! Thanks, dad.

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With drinks in hand we headed back out to the marina...

Yeah... chiffon flowers don’t do so well with splintered wooden boards. :eek: That’s right, as soon as I stepped out onto the boardwalk and took off, there was a loud ripping noise. OMG, is she hurt?!... Will she make it!?... How ever am I going to make this up to her!? The glow of charcoal on the bottom of my dress just added character; however, raveling flowers would likely make ME unravel! So from that point forward... we looked like this:

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We boarded our watercraft, which as a bonus... had balloons and a “Congratulations” banner. :D I knew you could pay extra for “decorations” but I’m pretty sure we didn’t. We talked about it when we booked it and decided not to because it didn’t seem necessary. And I don’t know how it could’ve been any more decorated than it was when we got there. So I guess it was a little gift to us, I don’t know. The decorations definitely added a splash of color and celebration, it was a nice touch.

This one’s a keeper, although I really wish you could see all of Danny’s face:

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I’m going to comment, again, on the weather... the night couldn’t have been more beautiful; it was mild with a light breeze. And the leisurely boat ride was only enhancing this. We cruised over to the Studios while Scott filled us in on some little Disney tidbits. Honestly, I don’t really remember what he was sharing with us, it wasn’t anything earth shattering, I don’t think. Just the usual Disney touches here and there.

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Meet our Captain, Scott!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hmmm... I wonder what mom was more interested in, us? Or the Flying Fish?! :lol: Although, I can’t blame her if it was the Fish, because after all it is the best signature restaurant on property!

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That’s better...

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About ten minutes ‘til nine we headed into international waters, and with 5 minutes to spare before the show we were tied up under the bridge between England and France. What a way to arrive... it certainly beats having to elbow someone out of your space when they try to squeeze in at the last minute. :rolleyes: I think there are six pontoons, and they all tie up together; notice how we are back to back with our neighbors. I vaguely recall all of us singing happy birthday to a little boy one or two pontoons over. It was so cute.

This is another favorite shot of mine... don’t we just look content?! Looking at this picture makes me smile and then take a deep breath and exhale... we just look so relaxed and at peace. OMG! We’re married. :sohappy:

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
"Good evening, on behalf of Walt Disney World, the place where dreams come true, we welcome all of you to Epcot and World Showcase. We're gathered here tonight, around the fire, as people of all lands have gathered for thousands and thousands of years before us; to share the light and to share a story. An amazing story, as old as time itself but still being written. And though each of us has our own individual stories to tell, a true adventure emerges when we bring them all together as one. We hope you enjoy our story tonight; Reflections of Earth."

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We got even luckier when I realized that the smoke wasn’t coming our way, the tiki gods were even controlling the wind for us on this fine evening.

Best view ever...

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Seriously, I’m all choked up just writing about Illuminations. I remember leaning over to Brett during the show and whispering, “thank you.” Thank you for this day, thank you for the love that we share, thank you for fulfilling my dreams, thank you for being you.

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“With the stillness of the night – There comes a time to understand
To reach out and touch tomorrow – Take the future in our hands
We can see a new horizon – Built on all that we have done
And our dreams begin another – Thousand circles 'round the sun
We go on, to the joy and through the tears – We go on, to discover new frontiers
Moving on, with the current of the years – We go on, moving forward, now as one
Moving on, with a spirit born to run – Ever on, with each rising sun
To a new day – We go on – We go on”

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Anyone else crying along with me?! :cry:

Okay, so the Illuminations cruise falls into the BEST DECISION EVER category, hands down. When we first talked about it, I was actually kind of leaning towards paying more for the dessert party. However, Brett talked me into the pontoon cruise, instead, saying that regardless of price, he thought it was a better option. Here’s the thing, he was right. There was a level of leisure present on the cruise that wouldn’t have been there if we had done a dessert party. It was simply relaxing, especially after such a long and exciting day full of intense emotions. Everyone was talking about how great it was the next day. It was magical - and for all the right reasons, too. Plus, as a bonus (and this was super special to me), I got to witness my dad truly experiencing the Disney magic for the first time. I think Illuminations was his “aha” Disney moment. And what a spectacular one it was.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We made a little loop and headed out, while the people overhead shouted out their “congratulations” to us. So surreal. It’s blurry as can be, but you can see how all our boats were tied up:

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Scott, who was fabulous, took another shot for us... not too bad!

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And then we were dropped back off at the marina. Brett took off at lightning speed for the restroom, a couple glasses of champagne and a gin and tonic will do that to you. :lol: The rest of us weren’t far behind. This time mom and I had to make do with a handicap stall and not an actual family restroom. It was a hoot... there was a handful of ladies in the restroom when we got there and they were all laughing along with us.

Meeting back up with everyone in the hall, I just kinda took a deep breath. Initially, during the planning stages, we thought it would be fun to either go to Downtown Disney after the fireworks or possibly go to Jellyrolls; however, when we got off the pontoon I knew neither of these things was going to happen. I think we were discussing it here:

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Illuminations (by boat) was THE perfect way to end the night, and as much as I didn’t want the night to end (and I wanted to wear my dress FOREVER :lookaroun), I knew within my heart that it was best not to mess with what had turned out to be the perfect day and instead accept that it had come to a fabulous close. If Wednesday night was any indication, we would’ve been trampled at Downtown Disney, and Jellyrolls isn’t something we wanted to chance this early in the night. Plus, our limo was set to turn into a pumpkin at 11:30pm, so if we waited around for Jellyrolls to “get fun,” then we wouldn’t have a ride home. And I couldn’t really see us busing from the Boardwalk to DTD and then to the Poly from there, so we reluctantly called it a night, albeit a magnificent one. :)
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Brett called the limo driver and we started making our way out to the conference center entrance. Taking pictures along the way, of course:

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Something I meant to have Jason get a shot of... Brett twirling me!

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The night’s not quite over yet... one last hurrah with the champagne in the limo.

“Gimme, gimme, gimme!”

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Hooooooray!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Okay, so when we got back to the Poly, again Brett took off before I ever made it out of the limo. Not sure where to this time because I don’t think it was a bathroom break! I wanted to keep the empty bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee (of course), so here I come crawling out of the back of the limo, all by myself, with an empty bottle. There was a couple sitting on one of the benches outside who started cracking up laughing. “You lose the groom already?,” the man asked! :ROFLOL: Yes, yes I did. But lucky for me I just polished off this bottle of champagne, so I don’t even care. OM NOM NOM!

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My husband did come back, whether it was for me or for the champagne, we’ll never know!

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Can you tell I was creeping into the Great Ceremonial House as slow as humanly possible? It can’t be over, it just can’t! They may or may not have had to drag me, kicking and screaming... but I’ll never tell. :animwink:

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Now, you just know I couldn’t make it through the entire day without taking at least one mirror shot!

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As if we hadn’t been blessed enough, as we were saying goodnight to everyone we walked out of the Great Ceremonial House to see the finale of Wishes...

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Another favorite moment of the day, just a tinge bittersweet (but mostly sweet), was Brett helping me take down my hair. It took us a solid 20 minutes, working together, to get all the bobby pins out. And you know what, we were already reminiscing... right then and there. Reflecting on our day, while it was still our day, is a memory I will forever cherish.

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So sad... wedding OVER!

However, this report isn’t over yet folks... we still have a day in the parks, four days upon the Disney Dream, and a mini Disneymoon at the Wilderness Lodge... all coming up!
 

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