True Love Conquers All - Disney Fairytale Wedding & Disneymoon Sept 2011

I wake up every morning wondering if it was a dream. It was my dream come true – I got married at the Wedding Pavilion in Walt Disney World. I married my best friend who shares my love for Walt Disney and his legacy. I am just the luckiest girl in the world!

How It All Began

My name is Shelley and like many little girls, I always dreamed of being a princess. Here’s a picture of 15 year old me donning the Bride ears back in 1996. I love this picture for so many reasons but I mainly miss the 2 floor Centorium. I like Mouse Gear but I miss my Centorium

When I was in my mid 20’s I became jaded towards love. One night in September 2006, I went out with some of my girlfriends for a girls’ night out. I remember telling them that I just wanted to meet a nice guy who liked Disney. Yep, those were my criteria: nice guy, likes Disney. We proceeded to our favorite bar and it was still a bit early so the bar wasn’t very full. While I was ordering drinks, a guy came up and started talking to us. The funny thing was, he was all by himself! It’s not every day that a guy has the guts to walk up to a group of girls and just start talking. At first I ignored him thinking he was just another jerk. But then he spotted my Kingdom Hearts cigarette case and matching lighter. (Kingdom Hearts is a video game series, sorry – it is the best video game series to grace God’s green earth. If you love Disney and video games, you must play this series.) I remember the face he made at me, like he couldn’t believe we were meeting. He also loved the Kingdom Hearts series and his name was Jason. I remember so much of that night because it changed my life forever. We talked about everything Disney and he told me that his favorite Disney movie was The Sword in the Stone. I found that very interesting because that is not a well-known animated classic. I told him I had a cat and that I had named her after a character in Aristocats. After a few guesses, he said “Oh I know, so you named her Duchess?” (RIP Duchess, we lost her this past June ). I couldn’t believe I had met my nice guy who liked Disney. I don’t think we ever really dated; we were always in a serious relationship from that point forward.

In 2009 we went on our very first Disney World trip together with my Mom (see the trip report here). At this time, my career was not going well and neither of us had been to Disney World since 2003. This trip changed our lives forever and both of us have made major career strides since then. I have also lost a ton of weight since then Let’s take a stroll down memory lane…

We went back a little over a year later in September 2010 (see the trip report here). On my 29-and-12-month birthday, Jason proposed to me while we were flying over London on Peter Pan’s Flight during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, September 21, 2010. I loved his proposal, it was absolutely perfect!

 

[Fashionista007]

Great shots from the portrait session!

Thanks Tom!! I can't stop looking at them...and planning our vow renewal with portrait sessions at DHS and AK

Absolutely stunning. All of them!

I think one of my favorites is where you and Jason are looking at the fountain in France. *sigh* Sooooooo romantic! And I gotta say your shots in Japan turned out quite nicely.

And I'm so jealous that you got to walk around EPCOT in your wedding dress. When (not if) I have my vow renewal I might have to convince my husband to shoot some pictures around World Showcase. :lookaroun

Aww thank you, I love the pics from France too! I will never forget the feeling of being in EPCOT in my wedding dress...twice!! I'm so lucky :sohappy: I definitely think EPCOT was more value for the money. We spent about 1 hour at the Magic Kingdom which costs something like $1100 and then we tacked on 2 hours at EPCOT for just $300 more. I guess you pay for being at the castle in the Magic Kingdom but I wish they would let you stay longer and do pictures in all the lands. I would have loved a picture of Main Street!

 

[Fashionista007]

Bear with me people, I will finish this TR! Christmas + work + blogging + more blogging = AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH :hammer:

I think part of me is procrastinating because I don't want to finish it. Then it will really be over!

I did want to share with you what I'm doing for the family gifts for Christmas this year. I did think about scheduling our wedding near Christmas so we could give wedding/Christmas gifts at the same time to cut costs a bit. If you read my planning journal, you know that Jason and I went to great lengths to pay for this wedding so we need to cut costs wherever we can! So, on Black Friday, I ordered digital picture frames for each family and I loaded them with all of the pictures from the wedding. That's about 500 pictures, not including the 400 some Jason and I took with our camera (those are on our digital frame only). I also had some family photos printed in all sizes and framed them. Since Jason and I are getting ready to move in 4 MONTHS, my Mom had the bright idea of re-gifting frames we already had. We would have sold them or donated them to Purple Heart anyway. It's shaping up to be a magical first Christmas as newlyweds!!

I was thinking about what to do with our bridal portraits once we move to Orlando and if we could afford it, I would go with a giant 32" digital frame that they mainly sell for stores and advertising. I work in technology and I think it would be SO COOL to have one hanging on our wall constantly rotating all of our bridal portraits! I can't pick just a few to print on canvas!!

 

[Fashionista007]

Day 7 New Friends at Food & Wine!

For some reason, we were still awake after being up since 3AM and taking bridal portraits for 3 hours. We changed and tried to go to EPCOT but after waiting for over 30 mins the bus never came. Apparently there had been an accident at Saratoga Springs and we ended up taking the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then hopped a monorail to EPCOT. The whole trip took almost 2 hrs. Ridiculous!

When we arrived at EPCOT, we hightailed it over to the Food & Wine Festival! This was the first time at Food & Wine for both of us and we LOVED it! We started with Australia and then Brazil. A guest in line told us that we could get passports at the festival center so we went there and got our free passports! I highly suggest this for anyone at Food & Wine because the menus aren't always visibly accessible from the line. After that we got dessert, champagne, and beer while we were at it! Too bad I didn't take any pictures, everything was amazing! Oh well there's always next year!

I had been tweeting with people all morning about meeting up and my WDW Magic forum friend, Jess, was on her way to EPCOT for Food &amp; Wine too. We waited for her and her Mom, Diana, by the benches across from the Desserts &amp; Champagne kiosk. I love connecting with other Disney fans and I was so excited to meet Jess because she had followed my entire <a title="wedding planning journal" href="http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=644129" target="_blank">Wedding Planning Journal on WDW Magic.com</a>. I couldn't wait to tell her all about the wedding! It was so lovely to meet them! We definitely made new friends for life

We parted ways with our new friends and made plans to meet up later in our trip. Jason and I headed over to where we left off on the Mexico side of the World Showcase. Our next kiosk was Argentina! This was my #1 favorite, but I don't know if that's saying much since we hit less than half of the kiosks on our trip. I really need an entire month to sample everything. I get full (and drunk) too quickly!

We had the Beef Empanda (my favorite!!) and the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree

MMMMMM FOOD !!!!!!

It was really hot and sunny that day and for some reason I decided not to wear sunscreen. NOT a good idea. Since I didn't want to pay a 500% markup on sunscreen, we went to find some shade by the old Odyssey building. Another WDW Magic friend and Disney Castmember, Karen, texted me to meet up. She is also a future Disney Bride!__It was great meeting her too! I am so happy that I got to meet my online friends! It really added more magic to our trip

Jason and I still weren't tired so we continued having fun at Food &amp; Wine. We hung out for a bit in Mexico and found more shade. Mexico had really good food at the kiosk and I'm sad I wasn't more hungry. Jason ate most of the food!

Super yummy shrimp tacos, the sauce really complimented it well

The beef taco and margarita were also great! I think it's funny how the food is small portions but they give you a regular sized alcoholic beverage. We definitely saw people staggering around

 

[Fashionista007]

Jason got a reprieve from wearing his Groom ears because he wanted to wear his awesome Indiana Jones hat!

By the middle of the afternoon, we were both pretty zonked and needed naps. We got fastpasses for Soarin and then left for much needed naps.

When we got back to the resort we had to find an ATM (Food &amp; Wine is a bit pricey...) and I took some pictures around the lobby of the different Disney horses. I LOVE horses and I can't believe I had missed these when we checked in!

When we got back to the room, this was on our bed! What a nice surprise!

After our nap, we went back to EPCOT in time to ride Soarin and went to watch Illuminations in France so we could enjoy some grey goose lemon slushes After Illuminations, we chatted up a group of girls who were in the Disney College Program. We got to talking about the wedding and one girl, Dawn, wanted to add me on Facebook!! Ah, I love technology. I added her right from my phone. 15 years ago we would have had to exchange phone numbers and/or addresses. It was just more difficult to keep in touch back then! It was a wonderful end to a magical day!

Oh boy WDW's 40th Anniversary is up next!

 

[Figment82]

I'm loving the trip report! So wonderful - you looked absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad everything worked out perfectly. The large digital display sounds like a great idea - how fun would that be to have hanging in your house!

Just think, when you move down here you'll be able to visit F&W all the time! We like to go for dinner (albeit an expensive one!) and sample a few countries each time. Just one of the many things you have to look forward to!

I can't wait to read the rest!

 

[WDW_Princess24]

Wow!! The pictures from the portrait session are beautiful, I especially love the ones from Japan and Morocco! Hopefully in a few years I will get to experience all this, it's my dream to have a bridal portrait session in MK.

 

[flipadeeflop]

Wow!! The pictures from the portrait session are beautiful, I especially love the ones from Japan and Morocco! Hopefully in a few years I will get to experience all this, it's my dream to have a bridal portrait session in MK.

Everything you've done is exactly everything I wish for!!!

 

[lbrad]

Your pictures are GORGEOUS !!!

You & Jason look FABULOUS!!!
So happy for the both of you :sohappy:

 

[Fashionista007]

I'm loving the trip report! So wonderful - you looked absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad everything worked out perfectly. The large digital display sounds like a great idea - how fun would that be to have hanging in your house!

Just think, when you move down here you'll be able to visit F&W all the time! We like to go for dinner (albeit an expensive one!) and sample a few countries each time. Just one of the many things you have to look forward to!

I can't wait to read the rest!

Thank you! We can't wait to move down to Orlando. My friends down there helped me nail down a zip code and now we're looking seriously at houses :sohappy: Funny, we were just talking about F&W the other day and how we're going to have to save up $500 to eat around the world next year!

Wow!! The pictures from the portrait session are beautiful, I especially love the ones from Japan and Morocco! Hopefully in a few years I will get to experience all this, it's my dream to have a bridal portrait session in MK.

I always dreamed of having the portrait session in the MK too :sohappy: I sold my car to pay for it and it was totally worth it!!!!

 

[Fashionista007]

Everything you've done is exactly everything I wish for!!!

Thank you so much! I replied to your PM, I'm happy to help if you have questions

Your pictures are GORGEOUS !!!

You & Jason look FABULOUS!!!
So happy for the both of you :sohappy:

Thank you I cannot wait for everyone to open their digital frames and framed family photos on Christmas! I'm hoping for tears from the Moms

 

[Fashionista007]

WDW's 40th Anniversary!

We woke up early and hightailed it to the Magic Kingdom for the 40th anniversary! Unfortunately there was a bus accident at Saratoga Springs, so we took a cab to the Transportation & Ticket Center instead. We took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. It was a madhouse!! We were lucky enough to get a spot right at the turnstiles.

Then the opening show started! I had never actually seen it in person but of course I've watched it on YouTube a million times so I know the script. Needless to say, I cried nearly the entire time. It was just so magical!

After the show, the park was officially open and we were herded to Main Street. We picked up our special 40th Anniversary buttons and maps on the way!

We saw people jacking handfuls of maps and buttons but that was stopped quickly. I can't remember how many times I heard Castmembers say "One per person". As we walked up Main Street, I checked Ebay to see what the maps and buttons were going for. $35 for the set. Ridiculous!!

We walked up Main Street and grabbed popcorn and a coke for breakfast (only on vacation!!). We found a pretty good spot for the dedication ceremony at the Castle. I'm pretty short so I had to look through people's heads but my camera had a good view!

I can't begin to tell you how awesome it was to be at the Magic Kingdom in person on the 40th Anniversary. The Disney Geeks came out in droves and we met so many awesome people that day. While we waited for the ceremony, we talked to a lady wearing an AllEars.net hat. I saw people wearing shirts from other well known Disney sites but it was so crowded I couldn't talk to everybody!

Then the show started. I have to tell you, I cried nearly the entire time!! The Main Street Philhamonic and Dapper Dans were very moving. But, near the end, there was a crowd sing along to When You Wish Upon A Star. I still can't believe I was there! It was amazing.

After the ceremony, we met up with Lou Mongello &amp; his crew from WDWRadio by the castle. He interviewed me about the carrot cake cookie vs butterfinger cupcake! I do love both but my heart lies with the carrot cake cookie. I just love the atmosphere of The Writers' Stop.

Lou and his crew were so sweet and they congratulated us on the wedding. We said goodbye to them but we planned to see them again at other meets later that day and over the weekend. We turned around and there were Jess and her Mom again!! It was too funny to see them unplanned like that. We had been tweeting that morning but I knew a ton of people who were there and I never saw them! It's pretty funny to bump into someone you know randomly in the parks and it happened twice to us on this trip!

The herd was heading toward Fantasyland and Tomorrowland so we went to Adventureland. __We wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean but the line looked pretty long. We're so spoiled since we usually visit during off peak times, we never want to wait more than 15 minutes for a ride. Instead, we decided to eat at the new Tortuga Tavern. I'm trying to branch out from chicken strips and burgers so I got the nachos. Yum!! I would definitely eat there again.

Since the park was a madhouse, we decided to just take it easy and shop on Main Street. We stopped by Crystal Arts and I bought engraved mugs for us and our good friends who just got married this year. I had them engraved with our wedding dates Plus as an extra bonus, Crystal Arts will ship your order home for free! I was so happy and I will cherish those mugs forever. Not only are they from our wedding, but I bought them in the Magic Kingdom on the 40th Anniversary.

We loved watching them make the glass and crystal pieces! But don't stare into the fire too long, I was a bit blurry eyed afterwards!

We shopped a bit more on Main Street. I'm always looking for the special phone that you can pick up and hear a funny story and I can never find it! We stopped at a bunch of phones but never found it.

 

[Fashionista007]

October 1st is also my Mom's birthday so I had to take a break at our favorite white and yellow tables on Main Street to call and wish her a Happy Birthday! As we were talking, the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade went by so she got an extra special birthday present!

After the parade, we made our way to Swan Boat Landing for the WDWRadio 40th Anniversary Meet. I can't wait to move to Orlando so we can do this every month! We had so much fun talking to everyone I've met on forums, twitter, and the WDWRadio chat.

I love meeting other Disney fans. I feel like my entire life people at home have thought I'm a bit weird because I have such a huge fixation on Disney and especially Walt Disney World. It really helps to know that I'm not alone!!

We also got to meet Amy Petermann from TheRelocatedTourist.com. I found her blog over the summer by searching google for relocation information. Low and behold, I found a blog about a family who relocated to Orlando because of their love of Disney and it's chock full of great emotional and financial information!! Plus she's a WDWRadio fan?? I HAD to meet her!

We met so many new friends at the meet and I cannot wait to see them again in the future. There were so many people there! I highly suggest these meets for any Disney fan.

After the excitement of the meet, we decided to start making our way back to the hotel for some naps. I wanted to see if they had any of the special 40th Anniversary cupcakes left at the Main Street Bakery but they were all gone. Jason got a turkey sandwich and I opted for a croissant...and an eclair! Hey, I was on vacation

It was nice, we got to watch the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade while we sat and ate. After we were finished, we ran into Jess and her Mom again!!! Too bad we were getting ready to leave or we would have hung out with them a bit longer.

We were making our way out but I wanted to make one more stop at Casey's for some corn dog nuggets and cheese sauce. I hadn't had that in years and I was having a craving! Yum! I didn't get a picture because they were too delicious and I had cheese sauce all over my hands. It was a perfect moment, standing on Main Street eating corn dog nuggets and drinking an ice cold coke with my Husband on our Disneymoon on the 40th Anniversary. Finally it was time to go back to Saratoga Springs for naps.

After the excitement of the day, we ended up staying in that night. We had a LOT to pack, some boxes to ship home, organizing to do, etc. The next day we would be checking out early AM and our flight home wasn't until 8PM so we needed to be fully charged. We had one last dinner at The Artist's Palette and watched a bit of Hocus Pocus on the big screen by the pool. We were very excited for the next day because we had 3 more meets planned and one that I had planned myself!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh wow! Just spent the last 2 hours reading from start to the end of the 40th. I won't even say I'm "late to the party" because that's a huge understatement at this point. :lol:

I loved the excitement that built up to your wedding. You were the perfect princess, too. Loooove the hair. It was the perfect choice. How awesome that everyone around you made you feel so special. I love that. So sweet! The Illuminations dessert party looked wonderful!

BTW, Tracey loves to jack with newlyweds and tell them "Don't do it! You're ruining your life!" Of course he always follows that with how I'm the best thing that ever happened to him. Not that I have him whipped into submission after 18 years or anything........ :ROFLOL:

What a fabulous honeymoon to have! I love the relaxed pace and savoring of all the little things. So beautiful!

Your portrait sittings were amazing! Love love love your pics! You're so right about Italy. I loved our family shots there. I'm with you on Moroco. I never spend much time there but it really photographs beautifully. Definitely intruges me now. I also lean towards the black & whites. Those are so timeless.

I knew you were a techie but didn't know y'all were gamers! What all do you play? Brian is huuuuge in the games like Assassins Creed, Uncharted, and the Batman ones. He plays more of a variety than Chandler. Chandler used to be all into the Need for Speed series but that's subsided over the years. Now he lives and breathes CoD. I had to take him for the release of MW3 which was nuts. We were camped at Game Stop for 7+ hours. At midnight the line stretched the entire strip center, around the corner, down the side of the building, then halfway along the back of the building. When he's not playing it he's on YouTube watching other people play. Nuts! He still plays Rock Band every few days. I don't think he'll ever tire of drumming. He kills me how he picks that stuff up so fast. There's not much he doesn't hit 100% on expert. I'd love to say I play but who has time for all that?! I'm doing good to make time to work my Rock Band guitar skills and make my way thru watching the 6 seasons of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends with them. I swear, I totally identify with Cheese! Gotta go gotta go gotta go gotta go!!!! Never ends. LOL!

I loved how sweet your TR has been all the way thru. Love love love it all! Definitely a contrast to my latest which Tracey says is his least favorite because it's not as happy as my others. Oh well. I'll just send him to your report for upbeat reading! LOL!

Congrats again, sweetie. I'm so glad your special day was all you dreamed of and then some. Here's to dreams that really do come true! :sohappy:

 

[DiPSU224]

I'm so sad your TR is almost over

I think you did actually find the Gossip phone but maybe it wasn't working? It's located in the chapeau in the back room. It's one of my favorite little hidden Disney details and I always have to pay it a visit on every trip. Hopefully it was just broken and not turned permanently off!

 

[Cetta]

You had the best wedding ever! (just spent most of my work day reading your trip report). I am getting married in June and I wish I was getting married at Disney World. I also have the Cinderella Alfred Angelo dress and I am so happy I found this trip report so I know what is it going to look like in photos and I just love how in the photos you can see the sparkle/glitter. Thank you and many happy wishes that you and your new husband live happily ever after!

 

[Fashionista007]

Oh wow! Just spent the last 2 hours reading from start to the end of the 40th. I won't even say I'm "late to the party" because that's a huge understatement at this point. :lol:

I loved the excitement that built up to your wedding. You were the perfect princess, too. Loooove the hair. It was the perfect choice. How awesome that everyone around you made you feel so special. I love that. So sweet! The Illuminations dessert party looked wonderful!

BTW, Tracey loves to jack with newlyweds and tell them "Don't do it! You're ruining your life!" Of course he always follows that with how I'm the best thing that ever happened to him. Not that I have him whipped into submission after 18 years or anything........ :ROFLOL:

What a fabulous honeymoon to have! I love the relaxed pace and savoring of all the little things. So beautiful!

Your portrait sittings were amazing! Love love love your pics! You're so right about Italy. I loved our family shots there. I'm with you on Moroco. I never spend much time there but it really photographs beautifully. Definitely intruges me now. I also lean towards the black & whites. Those are so timeless.

I knew you were a techie but didn't know y'all were gamers! What all do you play? Brian is huuuuge in the games like Assassins Creed, Uncharted, and the Batman ones. He plays more of a variety than Chandler. Chandler used to be all into the Need for Speed series but that's subsided over the years. Now he lives and breathes CoD. I had to take him for the release of MW3 which was nuts. We were camped at Game Stop for 7+ hours. At midnight the line stretched the entire strip center, around the corner, down the side of the building, then halfway along the back of the building. When he's not playing it he's on YouTube watching other people play. Nuts! He still plays Rock Band every few days. I don't think he'll ever tire of drumming. He kills me how he picks that stuff up so fast. There's not much he doesn't hit 100% on expert. I'd love to say I play but who has time for all that?! I'm doing good to make time to work my Rock Band guitar skills and make my way thru watching the 6 seasons of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends with them. I swear, I totally identify with Cheese! Gotta go gotta go gotta go gotta go!!!! Never ends. LOL!

I loved how sweet your TR has been all the way thru. Love love love it all! Definitely a contrast to my latest which Tracey says is his least favorite because it's not as happy as my others. Oh well. I'll just send him to your report for upbeat reading! LOL!

Congrats again, sweetie. I'm so glad your special day was all you dreamed of and then some. Here's to dreams that really do come true! :sohappy:

Hi Kelly! You're not really late to the party since I'm just now finishing up this TR I'm glad you got to catch up and I'm gearing up to post the final day

The portrait sessions were so worth it!! If I had all the money in the world I would have done all 4 parks. I've seen a few from AK and a bunch from DHS and they're amazing. I guess we'll save that for our Vow Renewal :sohappy:

You are a fantastic Mom for taking Chandler to midnight game releases at GameStop! You are giving him memories that will last a lifetime He will definitely love the World of Gaming at Downtown Disney! When we move, Jason and I are planning to get the premier annual pass just for DisneyQuest. We've only spent 30 mins there and we want to go back to experience everything!

I really need to catch up on TR's, I know I have some to read from you, Holly, and Tom. I'll do that this week while work is quiet (knock on wood!!!). Thanks again for following me through my entire planning process, your support helped me SO much! <3

 

[Fashionista007]

I'm so sad your TR is almost over

I think you did actually find the Gossip phone but maybe it wasn't working? It's located in the chapeau in the back room. It's one of my favorite little hidden Disney details and I always have to pay it a visit on every trip. Hopefully it was just broken and not turned permanently off!

The Gossip phone, that's what it's called! I couldn't remember. That definitely wasn't it, that photo was taken in the front of one of the clothing stores I think. I'll look for it next time, thanks for the tip!

You had the best wedding ever! (just spent most of my work day reading your trip report). I am getting married in June and I wish I was getting married at Disney World. I also have the Cinderella Alfred Angelo dress and I am so happy I found this trip report so I know what is it going to look like in photos and I just love how in the photos you can see the sparkle/glitter. Thank you and many happy wishes that you and your new husband live happily ever after!

Haha yeah for a slow work week after the holidays Congratulations on your engagement and wedding, I'm sure it will be beautiful!! And you're the 4th person from the forums who is also wearing the Cindy dress. Can you believe they sell it without the sparkles too? Who would want that?? People said I shimmered while I walked, I wish we had some video of my walk from backstage France to UK Lochside because it was dusk and the lights all reflected in my dress Oops, our dress!

 

[Fashionista007]

Day 9: The Final Countdown

On the last day of our Disneymoon, we decided to wake up early at 5:45AM, we had a lot to do! We got up, got dressed, and finished packing. I couldn't believe it was almost over but to tell you the truth this trip had been so hectic that I wasn't really sad it was over. I was ready to go home. But I was so sad to throw away some wedding cake

We got our bags over to the Magical Express Airline Checkin and the Castmembers recognized us from our Bridal Portraits a few days before! We had fun telling them all about the wedding and the portraits

We had been to the Artist's Palette for dinner but never breakfast so we went to try it for the first time. I love breakfast food and this place did not disappoint! Yummy! After that we hopped a bus to Hollywood Studios, and then a short walk to the Boardwalk for another WDWRadio meet!

Jason had never been to the Boardwalk before and we had fun walking around so early in the morning. There were just a handful of people there, mostly around the Boardwalk Bakery which was where we were headed!

 

[Fashionista007]

This is for you, Jackie I can't wait to see your wedding pictures!!!

And this one is for you, Jess...we think so alike that we took the exact same picture

MMM time for some Tea at the Boardwalk Bakery! Too bad we were stuffed from breakfast at the Artist's Palette, these are for next time!

Of course we were the first ones there so we sat and enjoyed some hot tea and coffee.

Slowly others began to arrive at the meet we got to talk to so many more new friends! We hung out till around 11AM and then split to go meet some of my WDWMagic and Twitter friends for slushies in France!! This was an impromptu meet that I sort of organized during the week while we were honeymoonin'.

 

[Fashionista007]

We entered through International Gateway and when we came over the bridge into France, I spotted a really nice camera and thought, hey Holly has a camera like that...omg that is Holly!! It was a slow motion moment in my life as she ran towards me. I can just hear the Running montage music now...

We were all there nearly an hour early. Love it!! It was so great meeting them!! They were both so sweet. Of course Holly and I bonded over being Disney Wedding Alumni

Not too long after, Jess and her Mom met up with us so we all got a picture. It was wonderful!! WDWMagic girls represent!!

Then Holly & Brett went for more Food & Wine and we hung out to meet my twitter friend, Bobby. I'm looking forward to more slushies with you, my friend!

After the impromptu meet, we ended up hanging out all day with Jess and her Mom, Diana. It was so fun! I feel like they are family now. We walked around sharing Food & Wine for awhile and it was perfect! There is so much food there that you cannot eat it all and all I wanted was a bite anyway. It was nice to share a bunch of things between the group. Unfortunately, I never took pictures of any of it! I think by that point, Jason and I were done posing for pictures and wanted to just enjoy our last day.

The last order of business for our trip was the Touring Plans meet at La Hacienda. We made our way over there and I stumbled into a few people that I follow on Twitter who were wearing name tags with their Twitter info. That was so smart and I'm definitely going to start doing that! I had to take a picture of me and another Shelley because we both spell our name the same way!

I saw Henry Work from TouringPlans and immediately gave him a big hug which must be difficult for him since I'm so short and he's so tall!! We also got to meet Sara Bricker and she was just so sweet. We walked in with her chatting about our Disney obsession. It was a fantastic meet and I was so pleased to be in the presence of so many Disney fans!! Next time we need nametags for sure!

This was the first meet that I've been to where they provided food and alcohol! Everything was delicious!

As we ate, we got to talk to different people passing by including WDWMagic's own Tom Bricker! Too bad we didn't get a picture. Next time, my friend!

The meet went too fast and it was time for us to get back to Saratoga Springs to catch the Magical Express to go home On our way out, we took a photo with Matt Hochberg of StudiosCentral.com!

And that's a wrap! I am so happy that the wedding and honeymoon went so well. It actually exceeded my expectations and I feel so incredibly lucky that we not only had a great time but we were able to share it with so many new friends! I wasn't sad to be going home. I made friendships on this trip that will last a lifetime and I cannot wait to go back in February 2012 to begin our relocation to Orlando!!

I want to thank everybody who invested the time in reading this trip report and those who participated in my wedding planning journal. You are all my friends and I hope we can meet in person someday.

HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!!!