Malaea's PJ&TR: Randy Chapman Pics/Video Blog Online; Disney Videography

[malaea3]

Wooo hooo, Im married...well at least in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Our legal ceremony is at Disney.
The ceremony was very pretty, a little longer than anticipated, but nice. His family was happy (they wanted the church to ok the marraige) and that is what matters.
Dinner afterwards was relatively painless. My DF and I took everyone out to eat and our families are totally different. My family is eating and drinking and well, talking and his is having water and were quiet. Oh well, it all worked out. His dad did complain to DF about the cost of going to WDW for the wedding though. Totally makes me mad since they just put like 70 grand into their house and just got back from Alaska....oh and after complaining about the $ he proceeds to tell us about the 3 weeks trip and and his wife are taking in the fall. Sheesh!

Anywho here are some pics:

Church-Shrine of the Immaculate Conception-Atlanta

We're hitched!

The whole family

DF best friend, DF, my lil sister, and me

Us with gift from his sister and neice. Mickey & Minnie woodwork

 

[mla1977]

So nice! Glad you could make it happen. Did you have to go through any classes before the ceremony?

 

[camara381]

The church is beautiful!!! You guys looks so good together

 

[keenercam]

You looked GORGEOUS! I am so happy that is behind you and now you can look forward to some Disney FUN!!! Enjoy!!!

 

[starrzone]

Just gorgeous! You guys look so cute together, and the church was beautiful. Can't wait to hear about the Disney part!

 

[2BoysMom]

Hi
I have been enjoying your PJ very much, and your gown is one of the nicest I have seen.

Could you talk more about the Catholic ceremony? I am helping my bestfriend who wants to get married at Disney. They are both Catholic, and although her family might be OK if she just did Disney, his may not be. As someone else asked, did you have to take classes? How did you arrange for this simple ceremony? Is there a special name for this type of wedding ceremony? I got married in the Church, but it was a large affair.

Could you discuss how you arranged this and how much time in advance did you have to plan for it?

Thanks!

 

[malaea3]

So nice! Glad you could make it happen. Did you have to go through any classes before the ceremony?

Yes we have to do the regular marriage prep. Find a church, do marraige classes. We actually did a "Engaged Encounter" weekend. It wasnt bad at all. Im a bad catholic and frankly it was 1. nice too get away, 2. made us talk about really important stuff ($, kids, etc. )-we had already discussed but we got into more depth. A few things: You do not have to be Catholic to do the weekend; There are alternative hourly classes or a one day cram you can do instead; Most state give you a discount if you complete and marriage prep class.

The church is beautiful!!! You guys looks so good together

Thanks

You looked GORGEOUS! I am so happy that is behind you and now you can look forward to some Disney FUN!!! Enjoy!!!

Thanks. Yes, Im super excited about Disney

Just gorgeous! You guys look so cute together, and the church was beautiful. Can't wait to hear about the Disney part!

Thanks to you too

Hi
I have been enjoying your PJ very much, and your gown is one of the nicest I have seen.

Could you talk more about the Catholic ceremony? I am helping my bestfriend who wants to get married at Disney. They are both Catholic, and although her family might be OK if she just did Disney, his may not be. As someone else asked, did you have to take classes? How did you arrange for this simple ceremony? Is there a special name for this type of wedding ceremony? I got married in the Church, but it was a large affair.

Could you discuss how you arranged this and how much time in advance did you have to plan for it?

Thanks!

Thanks! I love my dress too. Took me forever to find it. Im picky.

As for the Catholic ceremony. It was VERY stressful at first for us because his uncle, a priest, wanted to do it but we couldnt find church who would let him come in and do the ceremony. After that idea finally died down I had to find a priest who would be ok with us marrying legally in Florida. It took FOREVER for this Challenges you run into are that most times you need to be a member of the church. Now, the church Im a member of and the one DF is a member us the priests were very conservative and would not accomodate us. Thankfully, where we got married, happens to be the prettiest church in Atlanta and the oldest. The monsignor there is VERY liberal. He was happy to work with us. Basically we met with him and he oked us to do our vows in the church and the legal ceremony in Florida. We still had to do the classes of course, but that is painless and frankly I think its good for the relationship.
The easiest way to make everyone happy is to get married in the church (tiny ceremony with just parents maybe) and then go to Disney for the big shabang/event. People dont need to know you are already married. Personally I did not want to do that so I had to work my booty off to make what we did work but it's your friend's discretion. If she has a priest that is ok with just performing a ceremony and not the legal one then she is set, but warn her that finding a liberal priest isnt easy. She may actually get told off. I had a priest freak out on me. Totally ticked me off.
Best of luck

 

[OceanGdss]

I just found your PJ and i LOVE it!!! All of your pictures are so beautiful and you looked amazing at your Catholic ceremony.

If you don't mind, could you PM the info about your rehearsal dinner?? We're having ours at Narcoossees too but haven't been able to get any info/prices. Thank u SO SO much!!

Excited to see more!!

 

[Goldeelox9]

Awe, you looked so pretty! I am glad everything went smoothly!

 

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Thats what vinnie and I are doing, getting married in the church when we get back for the families....
Beautiful though... You mustbe excited

 

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Yes, Im getting hitched at the Grand and they will do a custom wedding, but you have to ask you planner. It was actually a bit stressful narrowing down what to serve. Lets just say I will also be serving tums at the wedding
We did 2 tasting which really helped. The kibbi balls took a few rounds to get right. They (the chefs at the GF) actually offered to roast the pork on a spit!! Can you believe that. I told him there was no need to go overboard. I think I disappointed him though. He was so excited about doing something different that they put a lot of time and effort into the menu.

We are very excited about the food.

Omg, if we did it the way my father wants it would be "my big fat greek wedding meets Disney world"

 

[2BoysMom]

Thank you for answering the Catholic questions.

Because I have been married in the Church, I know all about the conservative priests and the arbitrary rules they make up at their own discretion, that's why I wanted to know how you handled it.

I took the weekend encounter myself with my husband, and I liked it, too. Most people complain about it, but the conversations they make you have I think are very relevant.

My friend and I both go to church, but lately it is not a Catholic one. His family is in Virginia, hers in Florida, so even a little Catholic ceremony would be "destination wedding" for someone.

Egads! There is always some type of hurdle (or two, or three..) you have to jump over just to get married, huh ladies....

 

[2BoysMom]

Hi
I thought of one more Catholic question. Did you by any chance, ask if a Catholic priest was available for the Disney wedding, or did the Wedding Coordinator's have any local Orlando priest/church recommendations?

Thanks, I promise not to dwell on this. But as a Catholic, you know what they are up against....!

 

[pink_tink8i8]

Hi
I thought of one more Catholic question. Did you by any chance, ask if a Catholic priest was available for the Disney wedding, or did the Wedding Coordinator's have any local Orlando priest/church recommendations?

Thanks, I promise not to dwell on this. But as a Catholic, you know what they are up against....!

I think I read somewhere that the Catholic diocese in Florida refuse to do ceremonies outside of a catholic church so in other words they don't do Disney weddings.

 

[malaea3]

I just found your PJ and i LOVE it!!! All of your pictures are so beautiful and you looked amazing at your Catholic ceremony.

If you don't mind, could you PM the info about your rehearsal dinner?? We're having ours at Narcoossees too but haven't been able to get any info/prices. Thank u SO SO much!!

Excited to see more!!

We arent doing a dinner there. We are doing a brunch so Im sure the numbers I have will be lower than what you will be quoted for a dinner. Let me know if you will want me to PM you. Im happy to but I just wanted to let you know that brunch is cheaper than dinner.

 

[malaea3]

Omg, if we did it the way my father wants it would be "my big fat greek wedding meets Disney world"

HAHAHAAAA Yes, I understand. It's the same for us. His family will just have to deal with the fact that mine is crazy

 

[malaea3]

Thank you for answering the Catholic questions.

Because I have been married in the Church, I know all about the conservative priests and the arbitrary rules they make up at their own discretion, that's why I wanted to know how you handled it.

I took the weekend encounter myself with my husband, and I liked it, too. Most people complain about it, but the conversations they make you have I think are very relevant.

My friend and I both go to church, but lately it is not a Catholic one. His family is in Virginia, hers in Florida, so even a little Catholic ceremony would be "destination wedding" for someone.

Egads! There is always some type of hurdle (or two, or three..) you have to jump over just to get married, huh ladies....

I totally agree about the weekend. Worth every moment. Yes, there are hurdles galore. Just remember the day is for you and your DF, no one else.

Hi
I thought of one more Catholic question. Did you by any chance, ask if a Catholic priest was available for the Disney wedding, or did the Wedding Coordinator's have any local Orlando priest/church recommendations?

Thanks, I promise not to dwell on this. But as a Catholic, you know what they are up against....!

In short, the answer is no. I called the archdioceses of Atlanta and Orlando. Got "no" after "no". The Orlando dioceses is REALLY strict and basically have a terrible distain for the DFTW's. Even the liberal priest said if he marries people outside he comes early to bless the ground. I spent months trying to find a way to have the whole service in Florida but had no luck.

One suggestion is to book a Catholic church near WDW and then transport your guests to your reception on property. It's a little more of a hassle and probably will cost a little more due to the extra transportation but people have done it.

As for Disney planners they can do nothing in terms of getting approval for a Catholic ceremony. It's out of their control. I asked a bunch of people at DFTW and they basically said they couldnt help.

No worries about dwelling I totally understand.

 

[malaea3]

I think I read somewhere that the Catholic diocese in Florida refuse to do ceremonies outside of a catholic church so in other words they don't do Disney weddings.

Yea, it's not only Orlando, it's the world. It's Catholic law that you need to be married in the church though some priests tweak the rules on occasion and fudge paperwork.

 

[2BoysMom]

Yeah, I used to be a lector and alter server at my church in Washington, DC, so I know that they cannot marry you outside of the church. But I was so impressed by the intimate "Church" wedding you had in Atlanta for your immediate family...I guess I was wondering if a church in Orlando might do something as nice.

You've killed two birds with one stone (for lack of a better expression). You've been married "in the church," so that the Church will now recognize your union, AND you are getting the Disney Wedding of your Dreams. It worked out wonderfully for you.

My apologies to the non-Catholics reading these few posts. As Catholics, we often have to jump through some ridiculous hoops for the sake of our religion (even though people are leaving the Church in droves, and there is a desperate priest shortage). Catholicism and Flexibility are generally not two words that go together! That's why what she was able to accomplish is such a big deal (to me anyway)!

Hopefully, if there are any Catholic Disney brides-to-be lurking on these boards, maybe this dialogue (or Maria's accomplishment) is answering some of their questions, too.

 

[camara381]

I don't know how I missed it but I just saw your engagement pics on Randys site - they came out gorgeous!!!