Joyce & Chuck; Memories 1-15-18 @ Polynesian

Yesterday was a dream come true. It could have not been more perfect.

I woke up early and couldn't go back to bed. Waited for my fiance and daughter to wake up. Everyone was up by 7. Dana Fletcher from Once opon a Beauty arrived at 8am and we got to work. She asked me a few questions but I left everything to her since I am not a make up person. We talked and laughed. I loved how she did my hair and make up. She was done by 10am. By this time my BF arrived. She lives in Orlando and was going to be my only guest before my daughter arrived.

My coordinator called to introduce herself and provided me details and a timetable. Her name was Barbara and she asked about our trip so far, inshared with her the Southwest magic. My fiance was already dressed and had been kicked out of the room earlier while i was getting ready. I wrote my thank you notes, picked up the room a bit and got dressed. We were all dressed and ready to go, kust waiting for the coast to be clear.

Call came at 11am. We met Barbara and Rev. Knox in the lobby of the Poly. She helped me add 2 lockets with pictures of my 4 kids to my bouquets and Rev. Knox gave me some pointers. He had to make a modification to our ceremony to include my daughtrer as she would be walking me down the aisle and giving me away. I was already tearing up. Barbara was telling me that she had shared our strory with her colleagues and was so glad to be a part of our day.

The weather was perfect. The sun was out and the sky clear. We walked to Luau Beach. We were positioned at our marks and waited for my air. The violinist started and we started walking to Luau Beach. The ceremony was flawless, Rev. Knox was funny and interjected jokes into the ceremony. And just like that we became husband and wife!

Our photographer was Darren. He was amazing and I will be waiting on pins and needles for the next few weeks to see the pictures. He spent extra time with us taking pictures on the beach, in the decor around and he even recreated a picture I took of my daughter next to the fertility status on the path. I loved him.

We walked back to the Poly lobby and said goodbyes to Darren, my BF and daughter. My BF would be driving her to MCO for her 2:25pm flight.

Barbara asked us if she could take some more pictures of us. She said she really felt a connection with us and liked our story. We walked to the Wedding Pavilion and took pictures inside, at picture point and at the gate. I couldn't believe I was there. She left us at that point to write her recap of the ceremony but asked us to meet her in the GF lobby. We were headed there to meet Richard. He was on break so we went to Gasparilla's and had the best flatbread pizza ever. The cast members provided us a celebration dessert. We sat and talked and tried to catch our breath.

We went back to the lobby to wait for Barbara. She said that she was trying up some lose ends and would be longer than expected. She asked about our Tuesday plans and wanted details about when we would be heading to AK. We agreed to meet up on Tuesday.

My HUSBAND and I rode the monorail back to the Poly. Guests and cast members were congratulating us the whole way. Got back to the room for a well deserved break.

Headed to MK at 4:30pm. I wanted to maim our announcements from Main Street and take some pictures. Left MK for our ADR at Les Chefs at EPCOT. We were tight on time and it was a mad dash to get there. We had never been there before and were pleased. Walked back through the park, took some pictures, went through some shops and looked as some of the Festival of the Arts vendors. Monorail back to the Poly.

Came back to our room and it had been decorated with the in room celebration. Caught up on pictures and called it a night.

Yesterday I modified all of our AK FP+ times and we are having a lazy morning. We are meeting Barbara before we leave for AK.

We are having the time of our life.
 


Beautiful!! Sounds like it was an amazing day!!! Glad your daughter was there with you both!!
 
Already at MCO, waiting for our flight. Tired. Very tired. Will post more recaps after we get back and I decompress. It was such an awesome trip.
 


A few observations from our Wedding

Music - I can't remember a single note the violinist played. I took great care in selecting music that was important to me/the groom. The violinist could have played AC/DC and I wouldn't have noticed.

Back up location - this wasn't a concern for me until the week before we left when the weather for our week was projected to be unusually cold. If 40% chance of rain or 40° we were going to be moved inside at Citricos. I have never been there and imagined a restaurant setting and kids in the background. It ended up being a moot point since the weather on our Wedding day was perfect! The weather did take a turn for the worst and when we left it was colder in FL than it was in TX. I later found our from our day of coordinator she had arranged for the Wedding Pavilion.

Our pre planning coordinator - we had a changed mid way through the process but the second agent picked up right where she left off

Our day of coordinator - her name was Barbara K. and I can't say enough nice things about her. She called me/the groom the morning of and I introduced herself. When we finally met it was like we were old friends. She even had a mutual friend with my best friend who was the only guest present. She even checked in with us throughout the remained of our week and made a point to see us as we waited for ME for our return trip to the airport.

Photography - our Disney photographer was Daryn. I loved him. He was so entertaining and helped us feel relaxed. We were pleased with his pictures. Even though we had not planned for my daughter to be present he did take some awesoome shots of her.

We received the online access relatively quickly and USB shortly after. I haven't done much with either. Need to select our album shots.

Resort check in - throughout the course of our trip planning I must have called in to DVC member services 16,458,827,263 times. Each time I was asked why we were traveling and I said we were getting married at our home resort. When we checked in the CM noticed I was carrying a dress bag asked me if we were there for a wedding. I had the dress, bride button and bride shirt so it was more than obvious. There wasn't a single note on my account. He actually asked me why I hadn't mentioned it when I booked the room. I was a little disappointed about that.

My bouquet - the only thing I paid for outside my Memories package was a boutonniere and the Swarovski crystal MM heads. I don't think they are Swarovski crystals. I could have done without them.

I didn't do any research about preserving my bouquet nor did I know how it was put together. The center bundle of stems is a separate piece from the blooms. After the ceremony I did put it in water and it held up the week were were at WDW. The second I took it out of the water and put it back in the bouquet box the Lily's started to brown. When I got home I ended up just hanging it upside down until it was dried. Honestly I don't know what I'm going to do with it.

I think if you want to use the silica beads or get it freeze dried you would need to take immediate action the day of of the wedding.

The sweetest gift all week - after the ceremony Barbara took us to the Wedding Pavilion to take pictures and then we went to the GF to meet Richard. While we were there we ate lunch at Gasparilla grill. The staff asked us where our family was. We told them we were there alone and our families were at home. They gave us a dessert plate and said that they were our family. It was really sweet and I may have teared up a little.

Wedding brain - you know how when you get pregnant you turn stupid and lose brain cells because the baby is sucking out your essence? Planning this wedding had the same effect. The week before we left it was a wonder I could still the my shoes. I wasn't myself. I am almost back to normal.

Marriage license - DON'T FORGET like I did, see WEDDING BRAIN ABOVE. Rev Knox and the county clerk who took pity on me saved the day. I sent him a HUGE gift basket. He is probable still eating sausage and cheese.

When we got home I placed an order online for additional copies of our ML. Order was processed immediately.

Rev Knox - I really liked him. He was like a mix of Alex Trebek and Bill Clinton.

Cosmetology - I booked Once Upon A Beauty, Dana Fletcher. She was great. I told her what I didn't want and she took it from there. I absolutely loved how she did my hair and make up.

My daughter the surprise guest - I was really glad she was there. She had been with me at all the dress fittings and knew how to fasten my bra and bustle. She helped me get ready while my BF helped the groom and coordinator. I was so glad to share that with her.

We really had the best week ever and it was the best most relaxing trip. The week prior we had cancelled all but one of our ADR's and decided we would take it easy and not go commando. That was the best decision. We took our time and saw exactly what we wanted. We slept in and changed plans throughout the week. I didn't feel exhausted on our way back like I usually do.
 
I've enjoyed reading through your trip report. I was always curious how the Memories collection ceremonies worked. It sounds like such a great surprise to have your daughter there. We forgot so many things at our wedding.... we had to send a cousin into my parents' house to get things to send with guests who were coming a few days after us. Later we discovered we had still forgotten our favors at home, so ended up sending them later as a thank you. We also had a problem with our marriage license. We totally forgot to have everyone sign it and had to go hunt people down after our dessert party to get it signed. This was all for our wedding in 2008, thankfully for our vow renewal last month things went a lot more smoothly! Hope to see more pictures from your day :bride::groom:
 
Great recap, thank you for sharing. I see you posted this in Feb. Why I received an email notification this morning, is beyond me :rolleyes: Sometimes I get notifications from threads and sometimes I don't. Congrats again and glad all went well!!!
 

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