A Wedding & Some Friends Make One Awesome Trip, May 13-16, 2008 -Wedding Day Complete 8/3 About This Page:

[piratefreak]

Yum....margarita looks delicious. Can't wait to hear more.

[wdwlovers]

Rest of Day One!!!

Jason finished eating and we made our way out of Mexico, into Norway. I had my new camera (Nikon D40) and was planning on taking LOTS of photos this trip with it. And I got started right away. As we crossed into Norway, I’m trying to balance my margarita with getting the camera out of the bag and the lens cap off. Jason ended up taking my FB before I spilled it. Snagged a couple photos, but bypassed going into the pavilion.



Then onto China where we found the FGF Year Of… pieces. And Mulan & Mushu.

I just fell in love with this tree.


Came across the drummers & dancers. We stopped to watch for a few minutes.


Found these two...


Took a quick look through Germany and Italy.





We sailed through the American Adventure and into Japan. Jason was anxious for his ritual Kaki Gori. We found a spot behind the pagoda to enjoy the snack and the group started playing. We had a behind the scenes view.



I noticed the koi fish going beserk and found they were being fed. I’ve never seen them move so fast, they are usually lazily swimming around. Checked out bonsai trees and watch the group from the front area.

Then as Morocco came into view, I sped up. Jason spotted Jasmine and had to snag some photos. I offered to stop so he could wait in line, but it was rather long and he didn’t want to get in line by himself. Coward. It’s totally okay if you have a thing for her.


I was hoping to find more bellydance pieces and I wasn’t disappointed. Too bad I couldn’t afford any of it this trip. I’ve been taking bellydance classes for almost two years and recently became part of a local group, so I was in my element. Found lots of things that make my wish list for the future.

I stopped near one of the outdoor backyard displays as I found these beautiful purple & white flowers that I had to take a photo of. They were gorgeous.



Then we were off to France. Where we bypassed it entirely. There was a photopass photographer taking pictures, but Jason wasn’t interested and I was overruled. Plus I was hungry and the fish & chips were calling to me.

We arrived in the UK to find Mary Poppins. We remarked that we cannot wait to see Phoenix’s reaction when he sees MP. That’s his true love. We got our fish and tried to find a spot to sit down to eat. I noticed at this time that my arms were turning pink and starting to hurt. So, I wanted shade. And every table on the patio was full. As we were walking away, this lovely couple from St Louis offered to share their table with us. They are DVC members and we had a very enjoyable discussion with them about Disney and football. They wished us a wonderful trip and a congrats to the bride & groom, and we were on our way again.

I was getting tired, but we decided to pop into The Land to check out Soarin. The walk there was like torture for me. All I wanted was a nap. I was so tired for some reason. Maybe it was the frozen beverage?

Soarin had a 75 minute wait to which I said, no way. I will pass out if I have to stand in line for an hour. We chose to leave Epcot at this point and on the way out of The Land, I called to find out our room number. Got that and headed out of the park. And I was hoping against all hope that our room was close to the parking lot.

We find our room in the Alligator Bayou and settle in a bit. I unpacked most of my stuff and then we laid down for an hour and a half. I was so tired, I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Jason set the alarm for 6:30pm and to be honest, I just did not want to wake up. But eventually, I crawled from the warm comfortable bed and got ready to explore our resort. We stopped in the food court for dinner. I picked up a cheese pizza, and I have to say that was the MOST delicious pizza I”ve ever had at WDW. It was soooo tasty. We also picked up our mugs and I was in Fanta heaven.




We browsed quickly through the gift shop and then it was out to see what POR offered. We walked to the main pool and found the big oak behind it. That was very cool!



Then we strolled over the bridge into the mansions section. We found POR to be very peaceful and serene.




It was almost 8pm when we got back to the marina area and we settled into a bench to wait for our carriage ride time. One of the horses & it’s driver came back and had a snack just after 8pm. Jason went to let him know we were scheduled for 8:30om. Paul, the driver, said hop in. We’ll go now. So we loaded up. I left my camera in the bag as I wanted this to be a relaxing ride, but I could have gotten some terrific photos. I was expecting a particular route as we had seen both carriages around POR, so when Paul guided Ralph in the direction of POFQ, I was surprised. On our way there, Jason’s cell phone rang. Um, dear….turn the darn thing OFF! It was his mom, so he said he’d call her back. Then I made him turn off the phone. From there on our, the ride was magical. The sun was setting and we traversed the streets of New Orleans. It was beautiful. I highly recommend doing the carriage ride near sundown if you are looking for a romantic ride. Much too soon our ride was over and I gave Ralph a quick pat and Paul a handshake as we paid.

We made it back to the room at 9pm and Jason called his mom back. On the way back to the room we talked about going to play minigolf that night, so he invited them along. We hopped over to CSR to pick them up. Bernie, my MIL, met us in the lobby and we went to their room to get Kim. She was telling us that their original room at CSR was waaaayy in the back of the resort and the CM at checkin said that none of the wedding vendors could get back to their room. They’d have to come to the lobby. To which, Bernie asked to be moved closer to the lobby since we’d have to walk there to get to the limo. (This turned out to be false) They were moved that morning, and they had a short 3-4 minute walk.

We hopped in our car and drove to Fantasia Gardens, listening to how their trip was going so far. They had been there since Saturday and were at AKL for their first two nights. We chatted about the wedding the next day and before we knew it, Fantasia Gardens was on our left. We walked up and there were quite a few people waiting to play. There was a 25 minute wait and it was already just after 10pm. The CM suggested we head over to Winter Summerland, which we had never played before. There was NO wait and we got right on the course. I had free passes for minigolf, and I used my AP discount to buy the inlaw’s round. It was fun, and we got a kick out of the décor.




My inlaws, Bernie (Jason's mom) and Kim (his step-dad)

It was just after 11pm when we left and drove back to CSR to drop off Mom & Kim. We got back to our room a bit before midnight and quickly went to bed. The alarm would be going off at 6am for Jason’s round of golf, and the wedding festivities would be starting when I was picked up at 9am.

[DyanKJ130]

Just catching up, Denise!! Great updates! the photos. Sounds like a fun time at Epcot and with the in-laws. The carriage ride sounds wonderful! Can't wait to hear more

[ArielsMomto2]

Wonderful update Denise. We love POR. It is such a peaceful place to come back to. Hurry back with more.

[KrisLuvsDisney]

Love the update! Sounds like you guys are having a great time so far!

In all of our visits we have yet to do mini-golf...gotta add that to the growing list of things we must do!

[chezp]

What beautiful photos of the Flower and Garden Festival. It is looking so good, better than ever. And what a great idea about taking the Port Orleans carriage ride near sunset - that does sound romantic.

[Colexis Mom]

Great update Denise! Love the pics You certainly got a lot done today The carriage ride sounded great (barring the phone call )!! More please

[B.M.]

Great update and great pictures! More Please.......

[wdwlovers]

Hoping to get the wedding day up here in the next day or two. The at-home wedding reception was yesterday, so we've had a busy week getting ready for it.

[mcc0313]

Great updates...loved your pictures of the WS

[DyanKJ130]

Take a breath, Denise! You've been so busy!! Hope the at-home reception went well!

[wdwlovers]

I've got part of the wedding day morning typed up, just want to add a bit more and throw in some photos. Will get it up yet today.

[Colexis Mom]

Can't wait Denise

[chezp]

Looking forward to it.

[wdwlovers]

Wed, May 14 -- Amber's Wedding Day!

Jason had the alarm set for just after 6am as he was heading out to golf this morning. I don’t think I even heard the alarm. His movement and subsequent noise did wake me up. He was set to go pretty quickly and headed out the door with excitement all over his face. His round of golf was an early Father’s Day gift and it’s something he has wanted to do for so long.

At 7am I got out of bed and headed straight to the shower. I needed ample time to work with my hair before I was picked up by my MIL at 9:30am. After the shower, I made sure I had all the items I needed for the wedding together in my bag. And then the fun with the hair began. Originally I had an appointment with the hair lady that was coming to do the bride’s (and the moms’) hair. But it was going to cost me $65 plus tip for an updo. And we are on a budget, so I decided to wing it and do my own hair. I also was thinking of booking a spa treatment this morning and had even booked a pedicure & manicure, but I knew I’d be cutting time short so I ended up canceling that too. I gave myself a French manicure before we left home and was able to touch it up this morning so it still looked good. I fussed and mussed with the hair for a while and I just wasn’t feeling it. So I put half up and left it at that. I’d curl it later since I knew the curls would leave my hair within an hour or two of doing it. I applied basic make-up as I knew I’d do that as well later on.

Then I called home to check in with the kidlets. They were having fun with grandma. After I hung up, I simply enjoyed the peace and quiet for about 20 minutes. Then I had to pack up and head to the front of the resort to await my MIL. I had a slight wait as she was picking up Amber at AKL, the groom’s mother at POFQ, and then me. I got some lovely looks as people took in my armload of a David’s Bridal dress bag, a backpack, and a bag filled with shoes, makeup, curling iron, etc. No one asked, but you could tell they wondered what was going on.

They drove up and I hopped in. Asked Amber is she was excited and she replied, “Everyone’s asking that.” Well, it IS your wedding day. Show some excitement please. We made our way to CSR, where my inlaws were staying as us ladies were getting ready in their room. The hair lady was due at 10am and we had about 20 minutes yet, so we headed out for a quick breakfast. I got the most delicious Danish ever. And a huge brick of a rice krispie bar for later. Then it was back to the room and Anna from Beaute Speciale showed up minutes later. Anna got Amber set up with curlers and then Mary, the groom’s mother, was under the curling iron. Then it was time for my MIL, Bernie.

Amber & her mom, Bernie
Amber & her MIL, Mary

While Bernie was getting her hair started, I ran out to take a peek around CSR and grab some photos of the resort. CSR is beautiful, that’s for sure.








When I arrived back at the room, my MIL was almost finished. Right after I got back, the people from CarolynAllen’s showed up with Amber’s dress. They gave it a quick steaming to get out any wrinkles that occurred during transport, and we gave my dress a looksie. Amazingly, after being folded into a suitcase my dress was NOT wrinkled. I had one crease in the back, but I decided that I’d leave it as it would probably show up again with sitting in the limo. Amber paid them and they left. About 2 minutes after they walk out the door she freaks. “Where is my veil?” Um, hanging on the wall. She completely missed it. Whew, small crisis averted. Amber was up next for the hair and I kept snapping away, as did my MIL. Mary made a comment about how many photos we were taking. She isn’t the camera fiend that we are, obviously. Since they didnt' have the photographer for the getting ready part of the day, I figured I'd take lots of photos in case she wanted them later. I know those are some of the best photos from when I got married.


A glimpse of her gown

Both moms were unsure about their hair, but Amber & I thought they looked smoking!
The hot mom's

While Amber was getting her hair finished, I got my the rest of my make-up on. Before I knew it, Amber was finished and looking mah-vah-lous. She put on her make-up and then the butterflies started to set in. She had that nervous-excited feeling going on. But she looked great and it was a beautiful day to get married.