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...

 

[blackthidot]

Thanks, John. By the kitchen, do you mean Basin (the bath shop at GF)? If so, it’s funny you say that because everyone who sees those pictures asks if we’re in a candy store.

Hahaha yeah sorry, I am an idiot and was too lazy to read any of it yesterday. I planned on doing that Monday when I got to work. So I am sure I will have amore detailed comment then!

 

[Pluto Princess]

Hi, Melanie! What made the view of Illuminations from the pontoon so great was the reflection on the water. I was amazed by how much it enhanced the show.

The DREAM – great honeymoon choice (obviously!). I haven’t actually started the text on it yet, but I can’t wait to write about it. We really loved it. Has Adam cruised before? If so, which lines? Of the ones we’ve been on other than Disney (RCI, Carnival, NCL, Princess), Princess wins, hands down, in my book. Check out my cruise reviews if you’re at all interested… if nothing else, there are lots of pictures to browse through.

And thank you, she was my dream dress!

Thanks for the info Holly! Adam has been on a few Royal Caribbean cruises, but nothing else, so we are really going to do our research on various lines. I think I just might check out your cruise review as some of that research! :wave:

That picture of all of the Bobby Pins that came out of your hair is classic! That is a TON of pins! lol... It really shows how much hard work it takes to keep beautiful up-do's looking beautiful all day long!

 

[BringMeHome]

Holly, all of the photos were absolutely breathtaking! Your dress was gorgeous. As a long time lurker on here, this TR is so wonderful already that I just had to comment.

You and Brett are such a cute couple and I wish the best for your marriage.


I cannot wait to read the rest of this TR!

 

[Sarabell]

Hi Hollybelle! This is coming from one of your trip report stalker/lurkers! I LOVE your trip reports and this one tops them all! (In fact your marathon one inspired me to run this past one and my husband and I had a blast!) I spent most of the morning reading it and getting all teary eyed. I am not usually a mush for weddings, but the story of you guys and your day was the best! Congratulations on your marriage! You guys look like such an awesome couple. Your pictures are amazing and you are making me wish I could do my wedding over and have it a WDW! Hope to see you one day in the world and thank you for your inspiration! :wave: In the meantime, I will continue stalking :ROFLOL:

Hello fellow stalker!! I'm actually relieved seeing your post, I was becoming really worried that I was the only stalker (I know a lot of people are following the report, but a lot of them are actually friends with Holly). I totally feel kinda like you, except that I've never wanted a wedding until now, but I don't have to worry because a WDW wedding wouldn't fit my budget in my wildest dreams!, so still, no wedding for me!

 

[meganw1985]

That’s what I call a bachelorette party made of WIN! The Circle of Life Club Mix, who knew? I’m thinking you said you were having a May wedding. Is it this weekend or next weekend? I’m soooooo excited for you. Any butterflies yet?

Next weekend. My sister (my only sibling, mind you, so it's just the two of us) is graduating from high school tomorrow. So my mom is on a serious emotional rollercoaster. I feel like it's kind of like a bandaid. Just rip it all off at once.

Not really butterflies, it's just every once in a while I get this fleeting feeling of OMG I'm getting married next week! And it's totally surreal and weird feeling, but it lasts only a second, and then I feel normal again. It's difficult to explain. :lol:

 

[HouCuseChickie]

OK- I'm just getting caught up. The pictures are all so beautiful. I was going to try and comment on which one was my fave, but there are just sooooooo many great ones! But that's the way it should be

I had a mini-heart attack with the part about you guys checking into 'Ohana. While this is a far cry from them "misplacing" your ADR for your wedding dinner- it brought me back to the prayers I was saying when checking into CRT hoping they didn't have any issues w/our info.

That's too funny about the little girl calling you a princess...i.e. what the mom initially said. Every mom should know the proper response is something along the lines of what you suggested. I know I've responded to similar comments from my girls with "she sure does look like one with her pretty gown and sparkly tiara"- or something like that.

The part with your dress hem turning various shades brought back memories as well. I have all of these pics of people playing with my posterior trying to bustle my dress, but we all forgot how to do it come the big day. So I got to walk around with a very long (and dirty) train all evening. Big fun!

The Illuminations cruise looks AWESOME!!! Your TR had me totally hooked for booking it until the bathroom part at the end. I could see the boat getting in place and DD2 saying "mommy- I gotta go potty." So, maybe someday.

 

[Rose99]

I feel like Rex from Toy Story....."Whats taking so long !!!!......" I'm dying here waiting to read more !!! I'm living vicariously through you and I feel like I was dumped overboard !:ROFLOL::ROFLOL:

 

[Soaringirl]

Ooohhh, the surprise was well worth waiting for! What a way to cap off the perfect day. Your sweet comments to your husband while watching illuminations were so very touching. All your pictures are beautiful, but I loved loved loved the pictures right in front of the Magic Kingdom!!! :sohappy: That must have been amazing. I'm patiently waiting to read more about the Disneymoon.

 

[Rach&Eric]

Amazing pics, I'm so glad your day was perfect. The dress, the hair, the make-up....everything about you just gorgeous and of course Brett was very handsome as well. You two are great together and you can certainly tell from the pictures that you're so very much in love. It's a great thing to see and I wish you a long and happy life together!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

You know, there is more than one shot of him with those flowers!

It definitely seems like he was jealous you had those flowers! haha :animwink:

 

[Kristia]

Hello fellow stalker!! I'm actually relieved seeing your post, I was becoming really worried that I was the only stalker (I know a lot of people are following the report, but a lot of them are actually friends with Holly). I totally feel kinda like you, except that I've never wanted a wedding until now, but I don't have to worry because a WDW wedding wouldn't fit my budget in my wildest dreams!, so still, no wedding for me!

Hello back at you fellow stalker! :ROFLOL: Always glad to meet someone like me! I don't have a lot of time to post but I do try to read as much as I can so I don't know a lot of people on here either but I feel like I do after reading so much!

 

[grwnupprincess]

So glad you came out of lurkdom, grwnupprincess! I love it when people post in my trip reports. It makes writing them all the more rewarding. Thank you for the sweet words and well wishes!

So, how'd the 2010 half go? Is the hubby a fan of the Happiest Place on Earth now?! I hope so. The January 2009 reports is one of my favorites to reread... I'm so glad I put that experience into words.

we "survived" the half...we had just gotten married in september '09 and then spent 2 weeks in thailand...our training program was planned to kick in when we got home to Chicago...but we didn't stick to the plan as much as we should have...little did we know that winter running in Chicago would have prepared us perfectly for the freezing temps we experienced in Orlando...needless to say the farthest we had run before the half was 6 miles...(hence the "survival" aspect) it was an amazing experience and I would love to do the full (sans husband probably) at some point! still lovin' your trip report...the photos are amazing (I especially love the ones taken at Basin...super cute!!)

 

[HollyBelle]

Hi Hollybelle! This is coming from one of your trip report stalker/lurkers! I LOVE your trip reports and this one tops them all! (In fact your marathon one inspired me to run this past one and my husband and I had a blast!) I spent most of the morning reading it and getting all teary eyed. I am not usually a mush for weddings, but the story of you guys and your day was the best! Congratulations on your marriage! You guys look like such an awesome couple. Your pictures are amazing and you are making me wish I could do my wedding over and have it a WDW! Hope to see you one day in the world and thank you for your inspiration! In the meantime, I will continue stalking

Hi, Kristia! :wave: I’m loving the fact that my marathon report actually encouraged others to try it out. Isn’t it the most amazing feeling in the world to cross that finish line?!

We got lucky with the most beautiful day ever for our wedding. Thank you for the well wishes, but mostly I’m happy you came out of lurkdom to post!

We loved the Wishes cruise, as did our guests, so we were very happy we decided to go with it. I thought the view was great - we were right in front of the train station, but set back a ways.

I’m thinking we’re going to have to try it sometime! Thanks.

Hahaha yeah sorry, I am an idiot and was too lazy to read any of it yesterday. I planned on doing that Monday when I got to work. So I am sure I will have amore detailed comment then!

No problem! Trip reports are the perfect cure for a boring day at work. :lol:

Thanks for the info Holly! Adam has been on a few Royal Caribbean cruises, but nothing else, so we are really going to do our research on various lines. I think I just might check out your cruise review as some of that research!

That picture of all of the Bobby Pins that came out of your hair is classic! That is a TON of pins! lol... It really shows how much hard work it takes to keep beautiful up-do's looking beautiful all day long!

In my opinion, there are more similarities than differences among the lines. Let me know if you have any questions.

I’m glad I took that picture… I had no clue there were that many pins in my hair.

Holly, all of the photos were absolutely breathtaking! Your dress was gorgeous. As a long time lurker on here, this TR is so wonderful already that I just had to comment.

You and Brett are such a cute couple and I wish the best for your marriage.

I cannot wait to read the rest of this TR!

Thanks, BringMeHome! And welcome to the boards. It may be awhile but eventually I’ll have the whole report posted.

Hello fellow stalker!! I'm actually relieved seeing your post, I was becoming really worried that I was the only stalker (I know a lot of people are following the report, but a lot of them are actually friends with Holly). I totally feel kinda like you, except that I've never wanted a wedding until now, but I don't have to worry because a WDW wedding wouldn't fit my budget in my wildest dreams!, so still, no wedding for me!

It's interesting, because we’ve all kinda become *friends* through the trip report forum. It’s so much fun to get to know one another through our trips.

While Disney weddings can be insanely expensive, they don’t have to be. Right now they’re even offering the Memories collection for $2,000. Escape weddings start at $4750 (this includes taxes and fees). Mine cost $4775… I added a flower for my dad ($15) and the shepherd’s hook to hold the leis ($10) and that was it. The other thing is that the Escape package comes with annual passes for the bride and groom, which is easily worth $1,000.

Next weekend. My sister (my only sibling, mind you, so it's just the two of us) is graduating from high school tomorrow. So my mom is on a serious emotional rollercoaster. I feel like it's kind of like a bandaid. Just rip it all off at once.

Not really butterflies, it's just every once in a while I get this fleeting feeling of OMG I'm getting married next week! And it's totally surreal and weird feeling, but it lasts only a second, and then I feel normal again. It's difficult to explain.

Good point about the band-aid! I totally get your explanation and I’ll be thinking about you this weekend.

OK- I'm just getting caught up. The pictures are all so beautiful. I was going to try and comment on which one was my fave, but there are just sooooooo many great ones! But that's the way it should be

I had a mini-heart attack with the part about you guys checking into 'Ohana. While this is a far cry from them "misplacing" your ADR for your wedding dinner- it brought me back to the prayers I was saying when checking into CRT hoping they didn't have any issues w/our info.

That's too funny about the little girl calling you a princess...i.e. what the mom initially said. Every mom should know the proper response is something along the lines of what you suggested. I know I've responded to similar comments from my girls with "she sure does look like one with her pretty gown and sparkly tiara"- or something like that.

The part with your dress hem turning various shades brought back memories as well. I have all of these pics of people playing with my posterior trying to bustle my dress, but we all forgot how to do it come the big day. So I got to walk around with a very long (and dirty) train all evening. Big fun!

The Illuminations cruise looks AWESOME!!! Your TR had me totally hooked for booking it until the bathroom part at the end. I could see the boat getting in place and DD2 saying "mommy- I gotta go potty." So, maybe someday.

Thanks, HouCuseChickie! I thought the mom’s comment was hilarious, especially how she corrected herself. I can totally see why you were nervous about CRT. Having to tell your own little princesses that they can’t meet the princesses would be awful.

Some bustles look really complicated. My dress had three pick-ups and they were color coded to help keep it straight. Isn’t it crazy how some of the easiest things go out the window on the big day?

I can totally visualize your little pontoon boat scenario with the girls! :lol:

I feel like Rex from Toy Story....."Whats taking so long !!!!......" I'm dying here waiting to read more !!! I'm living vicariously through you and I feel like I was dumped overboard !

OMG! Your comment actually has me laughing out loud. My apologies… the next part will be up in a little bit though. :sohappy: But I've got to admit it's not nearly as exciting as everything that's been posted thus far.

Ooohhh, the surprise was well worth waiting for! What a way to cap off the perfect day. Your sweet comments to your husband while watching illuminations were so very touching. All your pictures are beautiful, but I loved loved loved the pictures right in front of the Magic Kingdom!!! That must have been amazing. I'm patiently waiting to read more about the Disneymoon.

Thanks, Gloria. I was so excited when Karen said we could stop at the Magic Kingdom. I’d envisioned what kind of pictures we could get there, but Jason really took it over the top!

Amazing pics, I'm so glad your day was perfect. The dress, the hair, the make-up....everything about you just gorgeous and of course Brett was very handsome as well. You two are great together and you can certainly tell from the pictures that you're so very much in love. It's a great thing to see and I wish you a long and happy life together!

Aww, thanks, Rach! I really appreciate the kind words and congratulations.

It definitely seems like he was jealous you had those flowers! haha

Oh yeah! :lookaroun

we "survived" the half...we had just gotten married in september '09 and then spent 2 weeks in thailand...our training program was planned to kick in when we got home to Chicago...but we didn't stick to the plan as much as we should have...little did we know that winter running in Chicago would have prepared us perfectly for the freezing temps we experienced in Orlando...needless to say the farthest we had run before the half was 6 miles...(hence the "survival" aspect) it was an amazing experience and I would love to do the full (sans husband probably) at some point! still lovin' your trip report...the photos are amazing (I especially love the ones taken at Basin...super cute!!)

First, two weeks in Thailand?! AMAZING!

I totally understand your survival reference… sounds quite familiar actually. :lol: One of my colleagues did the Goofy in 2010 and everything I’ve heard about the freezing temps that year make me so thankful for the mild weather we had.

 

[HollyBelle]

Before we get started... let's just say this day wasn't nearly as exciting as the previous one!

Saturday, March 19: Park Hopping with the Family

Initially, we wanted to have our wedding the day before we left for the cruise. But that turned out to be a Saturday, and weekend escape weddings have to meet a minimum expenditure of $7500. I don’t think so! So we booked for Friday instead and figured we could just hang out with our families the day after the wedding. This worked out much better than a Saturday wedding would have, mostly because we didn’t have to get up, pack, and get out the day after the wedding. I would have felt so rushed and stressed out had this been the case. Definitely another decision that goes in the “glad I did” column.

Still though, not ones to sleep in at Disney World... we were up and over at the Great Ceremonial House by 8:15am that morning. We met up with our parents and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Captain Cook’s. You know what, I think this may be the very first time I’ve ever ordered a Mickey waffle... :lookaroun Sure, I’ve had the mini ones that they put on buffets and bring around at Ohana, but not one of these babies:

Looks like my mom must’ve had a blueberry muffin:

Kathy was all set to go support her Braves with her new t shirt!

We finished up with breakfast and hopped on the monorail. Ahh, the convenience of having a monorail at your resort can not be treasured enough! As you can see from this picture... I didn't still have my wedding dress on. You're proud of me, aren't you!? :lol:

 

[HollyBelle]

We arrived at the Kingdom shortly after rope drop and started making our way down Main Street, USA.

We hung a right towards Tomorrowland...

First stop... Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin!

For the first time ever, I was beating Brett throughout the ride... and then, of course, in the final room he caught back up and surpassed me. I swear, I can never tell which little laser dot is actually mine. :lookaroun :lol:

 

[HollyBelle]

Stitch was waiting for us when we exited the ride! Dad's first character meet and greet.

After this, Derek and Danny headed off for Space Mountain, and the rest of us made our way to the TTA.

It was funny because all five of us were going to hop in a cart together and as we were trying to position ourselves the door automatically closed, leaving dad on the outside. So he ended up with his own cart; at least he was still attached to us though!

 

[HollyBelle]

Kathy split up from us after the ride to meet up with Danny and Derek... they had a Braves game to get to! The rest of us headed on into Fantasyland, where my dad tried unsuccessfully to pull the sword out of the stone.

We watched Philharmagic before making our way on around to the Haunted Mansion. I don’t think the new queue was open, if it was we didn’t realize it. As you can see the tarps were still up:

Now, as much as I sometimes want to, I usually avoid taking pictures of crazy looking people in the parks because, let’s face it, it’s mean-spirited. But I really couldn’t help myself in this case. Really? How old are these girls?! I can’t believe mom let them go out like that, especially "Cinderella," given how incredibly short the "outfit" is.

Moving on... we made our way on around to Adventureland to ride Pirates, but unfortunately, it was down.

 

[HollyBelle]

As we made our way back to the hub we talked about what to do next... and decided that Epcot would be a great place to get some lunch. Of course, I just had to snag a shot in one of my favorite mirrors on property:

Just before the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! street party came barreling down Main Street, I offered to take a picture for the cutest family. Of course, mom caught a shot of this:

We watched the street party creep on by...

I love Frozone, don’t get me wrong, but someone needs to explain to me what in the world the Incredibles are doing at the Magic Kingdom. It just doesn’t seem right.

While we were photographing the street party, Brett went on ahead to Guest Relations, to cancel our Plaza reservations. Apparently, along the way, he ran into Daisy who was standing by the fire station and the two of them danced along to the street party for a minute or two. He was like, “really, of all times for you not to be there with your camera?” Oops.

 

[HollyBelle]

The Flower and Garden Festival was in full swing over at Epcot. And I thought the Lotso topiary looked amazing. The fact that it actually smelled like strawberries was a pretty awesome bonus. :sohappy:

The classics were set up right behind Spaceship Earth, so we stood around taking a bunch of pictures while Brett took off for the Land in search of potential Soarin’ fastpasses! At one point I had both my camera and my mom’s around my neck, and I think people took that as a sign to ask me to take their picture. I took no fewer than four or five families photos in front of the topiaries while I was standing there waiting around.

 

[HollyBelle]

I love the floating flowers all over the water during Flower and Garden... they’re just so vibrant and pretty.

The Winnie the Pooh characters were set up along the pathway between Future World and World Showcase, and then Lightning McQueen was parked where the two lands come to a point. Now, here’s the thing, while all the topiaries looked great... I couldn’t get over the fact that it was all a big advertisement for the upcoming features. Seriously, all the signs surrounding the topiaries were so blatant, with release dates stamped right on them. I can’t recall a F&G festival from the past where it was like this. I'm definitely not a fan. I much prefer the themes used in recent festivals, like the "great outdoors" and "beach" themes of 2010 and 2008, respectively.

We hit up the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico and then decided to have lunch at La Hacienda! I love the sit down restaurant, and I’m happy to say that the counter service was pretty darn tasty, itself. Very good. In fact, I’ve been back twice since then. :slurp:

The best part? Why, the MARGARITAS, of course!

Love the cockatoo topiaries, these were a definite favorite of mine back when they first incorporated them. Nice to see that they found a home in Mexico for this year’s festival.