Andreah and Brian - Dec 8th, 2009 (Reception Photos Posted)

[acwinsett]

How was the food at the bar? The appetizers look pretty good and I have been curious to know how everything is there.

Hi Vanessa! We really enjoyed the Tequila Bar . . . they had an amazing selection of specialty margaritas, and a few "tapas" style food items. We had the guacamole - very fresh and tasty, taquitos and tostadas. It was good food, and the perfect amount to allow you to sample a couple of things and still have room for a couple of other tasty treats in other World Showcase pavilions.

Hi Kelly! Thank you for the comments! You are so right! It's easy to overwhelm yourself in Disney - there's so much to do in so little time, and there's a lot of pressure to pack in as much fun as you can. But, fun isn't "fun" if you're tired and cranky or sick

Hi Bec! You'll be just fine if you plan well, and give yourself plenty of break-time. If you keep things in perspective, realizing that the reason for being there is for the wedding more than anything else, then it will all be great! My mistake was that, even though I know my limitations and I know that when sleeping and eating patterns change I get migraines, I didn't plan well. I should have let Brian and Gavin go ahead to Epcot without me and met up with them later in the morning / early afternoon. I also should have brought the medicine I needed in my handbag instead of leaving it in the resort room.

But, even still, rest is what I needed most, and everything was great by the evening - I was at 100%!

 

[Chilly]

Sorry you missed a bit of your trip but it could have been worse. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[BecBennett]

I didn't plan well.

WHAT?!?!

If you didn't plan well, what hope is there for the rest of us!!

 

[acwinsett]

WHAT?!?!

If you didn't plan well, what hope is there for the rest of us!!

LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!

 

[acwinsett]

I'm pleased to say that I was feeling 100% by the time it was time for us to meet everyone at Yachtsman Steakhouse for our pre-wedding dinner!

Brian and Gavin and I were ready in plenty of time, so we walked over to the Magic Kingdom and took the bus from there instead of taking a cab from Contemporary.

This is me in "event planner" mode, trying to round everyone up.

A few photos while we wait:

We were seated in this area at three tables adjacent to each other:

Dinner was sooooo tasty!

Cosmopolitan:

Lobster Bisque:

Tomato and Mozzarella Salad:

The Scallops Appetizer (Which I ate as my entree):

I love this photo of my dad . . . making mouse ears with onion rings!

As we were finishing our meals, I presented my husband-to-be with his special gift . . . iPhone cufflinks. His reaction?

 

[acwinsett]

We were all waaaayyyyy to full for dessert, so everyone took a boat over to Epcot's International Gateway:

We got some bellini's and were amazed by IllumiNations! (We "borrowed" some photos of IllumiNations . . . but you get the idea!)

It's time to go back to our hotel and rest . . . we have a BIG day tomorrow!!!!

Not so fast . . . we got stuck on the monorail and it took us over an HOUR to get back to our resort!

 

[acwinsett]

We've received wedding wishes from a few notable people who were, unfortunately, not able to attend our wedding due to prior obligations:

 

[kmaclou]

Very cool! I didn't know you could get one from Cinderella!! Did you mail her an invite?

 

[29apr00]

I"m sorry you were sick at Epcot....not fun. But you did the right thing by going back to rest. Looks like everyone else had fun!

i just loved your outfits for MVMCP! The pink jumpsuits were adorable!!

I got the picture from Cinderella but not Mickey! And i sent the invite to Mickey!

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I'm sorry some of your friends couldn't make it, but at least they sent you something special

I love looking through all your pics, you all look like you are having so much fun, and it makes me sooo excited to go back! Oh, and I love your pink/purple shirt!!

 

[Chilly]

Great letters! I forgot to do that.

 

[BecBennett]

Those letters are great. I'm considering sending invites to the president and to the queen as well as mickey and minnie and everyone else, but I haven't decided yet.

 

[PrincessEmily87]

Those letters are really cool. Did you just send them all invitation, and if you did where did you send them to??? It sounds like a lot of fun to do that.

You wedding looks like it was beautiful!!! I am having a Christmas wedding at home but honeymooning in WDW, I wish I was able to have a disney wedding, but oh well. I am so excited to hear more about your wedding trip!

 

[acwinsett]

Very cool! I didn't know you could get one from Cinderella!! Did you mail her an invite?

Those letters are really cool. Did you just send them all invitation, and if you did where did you send them to???

Thank you! We just send a modified invitation (the panel only, without all the pocketfold stuff) to the following addresses:

The President & Mrs. Obama
The White House
Greetings Office Room 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Cinderella & Prince Charming
The Magic Kingdom
1675 N. Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

(I addressed the FL to Mickey & Minne Mouse, but it was Cinderella and the Prince who responded . . . )

Mickey & Minne Mouse
Disneyland Guest Communications
PO Box 3232
Anaheim, CA 92803

 

[acwinsett]

Our wedding day is finally here!

The agreement was that Brian and Gavin would leave the hotel room once the Carolyn Allen's rep arrived for gown steaming. Promptly at 9am, there was a knock on the door, and it was time to send my fellas packing.

About that time, the guys came and picked up Brian and Gavin and dropped off the ladies so that we could all head over to our brunch together:

Carolyn Allen's did a great job with the gown steaming!

Bridesmaids' gown complete with a very important accessory:

While waiting for the gown steaming, we took turns playing with Baby Brendan (my Matron of Honor's adorable little boy). Ellen looks like she needs one of these, I think:

At about 10am, the gowns were steamed and we needed to book it over to the Grand Floridian Cafe if there was any hope of getting them to seat us all together. Unfortunately, we had to split the reservations into two groups since group dining wouldn't handle that location.

All us ladies caught the resort monorail at the Contemporary and rode all the way over to the Grand Floridian . . . very convenient!

Girls . . . poles . . . nobody else in the car . . . who could resist?

 

[acwinsett]

When we got to the Grand Floridian Cafe, I explained our situation to the hostess about having two separate reservations and, fortunately, they had a perfect area coming available that would be large enough to accommodate us all.

Pretty Ainsley takes a quick photo op while we wait to be seated:

The rest of our guests arrived and we took our seats:

Wait . . . NO BOYS ALLOWED! Okay, we'll make an exception for Brendan:

The first order of business . . . Grand Mimosas all around!

 

[acwinsett]

While we were waiting for our meal, I presented gifts to all of the ladies. The bridesmaids each received necklace and earring sets to wear that evening, and the rest of the guests received little Mickey Mouse stud earrings.

Our food soon arrived . . .

Fruit and pastries

Eggs Benedict

I rationalized ordering the stuffed croissant by thinking that anything I ate that day wouldn't end up on my waist until at least the next day . . . and a few bites wouldn't hurt, right?

Before:

After (I did NOT do this all by myself . . . this was a group effort):

Brunch was absolutely lovely, but I soon realized that Patricia LeJeune was going to be arriving at the hotel room in about 15 minutes, so I paid the check and excused myself from the table . . . I needed to run! Amber came with me and the other ladies were going to follow at a more leisurely pace.

So Amber and I were on the monorail at the GF station. We were just about to pull away when Sonja - my Maid of Honor - came running out of the hotel saying "Wait! Wait! Wait for me!" She got in the monorail car just in the nick of time and told us that she had just run smack into a large column inside the Grand Floridian. We were like, "Are you OKAY?!?" and she was just sort of laughing it off. She had a little mark on her face and her wrist had started to swell a little. By the time we were at the Magic Kingdom station, though, her tune changed quite a bit . . . she was visibly shaken up. Once we arrived at the Contemporary, I had to go and meet up with Patricia who was already there, and Amber took Sonja to find some medical attention. (Apparently there are people on site at each hotel to assist with this sort of thing.)

More to come . . . next up: The ladies getting ready and what are the guys up to while all this is going on?

 

[29apr00]

the brunch looks great, but OUCH for your MOH! Hope she was OK!

 

[Chilly]

Brunch looks good.

 

[acwinsett]

So while the ladies were sipping Grand Mimosas at the Grand Floridian, they guys went to Hollywood Studios so they could "Take the Plunge" with Brian . . . literally . . . on the Tower of Terror!

And, when they were done, they enjoyed lunch at "last drinks" at the Brown Derby, one of Brian's favorite restaurants. When the Brown Derby staff found out what was going on, the manager came out and took a few photos of the guys. As they were about to leave, the manager presented Brian with this special momento:

The guys then retired to Todd's hotel room to get ready for the big event!

Todd and Amber were sooooo sweet! They had though ahead that Gavin might be a little bored in their room while Brian was showering and such, so they gave him a puzzle game to play with. It's a little maze with a teeny silver ball. If he completes the maze, then he unlocks the $20 bill that was trapped inside.

And here's the little guy all set and ready to go!