Rob and Scott's Big Fat Gay Disney Wedding-TR Pg 92; Photo Update pg 133

We wanna see the "puffy" shirt...don't we guys????



YEAH!
 
:wave2: That's us!

Just spent two days catching up on the planning thread. I gotta say it was a little like cheating and reading how the book ends, but I loved knowing it all worked out so beautifully! (By the time we met at dinner on Night 2, they had had their spa treatment and Rob was mostly over his sea sickness. They were relaxed and content. And we were thrilled to hear all about their AC ceremony and ADH reception!)

We thoroughly enjoyed cruising with y'all. What do you say we do it again to celebrate your 5th and our 20th :-)eek: ) in 2013?? And, Rob, next time? Wear the puffy shirt! pirate:

Congrats and best wishes all over again! (I promise not to be pushy for pictures or details. But I'll be waiting, just the same. ;) )

Mary Kaye

Hi, Mary Kaye!

So glad you found us! Two days catching up on the planning thread? Wow. You must read quickly! :rotfl: If you're up for the challenge, check out the virtual shower. But be warned, it's not for the weak. :lmao:

Cruising again! Sure! Do we have to wait 5 years though? :rotfl2:

Our crazy friends are trying to talk us into the Northern European route in 2010. :eek:

And I promise, the trip report will begin shortly. And more pix are coming!

Rob
 


We wanna see the "puffy" shirt...don't we guys????
YEAH!

Learn to live with disappointment.

I didn't wear it, therefore there are no pictures of me in it.

I could go put it on and take some pictures, but that would delay the trip report from the wedding . . . .
 
Learn to live with disappointment.

I didn't wear it, therefore there are no pictures of me in it.

I could go put it on and take some pictures, but that would delay the trip report from the wedding . . . .

And yet, I don't see a trip report :confused3
 
Okay, as promised, here's the trip report.

I debated starting a whole new thread, and thought it'd be better to just keep this one going.

So, we start with Day One. Thursday, September 25th

My parents and sister had arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and were staying at our house except for the three nights that we were checking into the Boardwalk Villas for the wedding. They were staying home and relaxing on Thrusday night while we did our own thing.

Thursday morning, Scott got up early and drove me in to work. The plan was for him to pick me up after work and head directly to Pleasure Island to stand in line for the 6pm opening time for the Adventurers Club.

Luckily, I'd managed to keep myself caught up at work and even a bit ahead, so I was able to get out of work early and we were at Pleasure Island by 4:30pm. We waited for our friends who we were meeting for dinner (they were stopping at Panera and gettng sandwiches for all of us) and were relieved that there wasn't yet a line for the Adventurers Club. That meant we'd be able to eat at the tables near Comedy Warehouse under the shade of umbrellas instead of having to sit on the steps of the club and wolf down our sandwiches. Soon after we staked out a table we were joined by our friends Sharon & Joe, Pippa & Glen (all the way from Eastbourne, England for our Big Fat Gay Disney Wedding), and Tyler (who was also one of Scott's attendants). They had the sandwiches, Scott got the drinks, and I brought out two dozen "Triple Chocolate Caramel" cookies that my sister had baked. We ended up keeping the cookies with us and they came in handy as we spent 8 hours at the Adenventurers Club that night. After eating, we went over and stood in line, we were about 10 people back, still assured of getting into the club when it opened a little less than an hour later. We got a lot of comments on the matching groom ears/top hats. As this was to be our last night as regular guests at the Adventurers Club, we had declared it our "Bachelor Party" and wore the ears. We had a great night. Despite the insane crowd levels (sardines have more room to move around.) We took the chance when we could to get pictures with as many of the cast members as we could. Throughout the night, the performers kept announcing that "Rob & Scott are here for their bachelor party and they're getting married right here at the club on Sunday!" Honestly, it was awsome. Thougha confused Fletcher Hodges asked why we weren't off having separate parties. :rotfl: Having seen them give extra attention to newlyweds & recently engaged couples in the past, it was amazing that they treated us exacly like all the straight couples we'd encountered over the years. Maybe even a little bit more enthusiastically, because they knew us, and knew that we'd met at Pleasure Island and that our first date started at the Adventurers Club. They went out of their way to make us feel special, and we were very thankful to them for that. The amazing thing is, that the capacity crowd at the AdvClub that night also went out of their way to congratulate us and tell us "I think what you're doing is great!" I was floored. And really touched. I was told by one older gentleman and his wife that we were "very brave, and an inspiration". I got choked up. Several people told us how brave we were throughout the weekend. We'd never thought of ourselves as brave. We're just doing what everyone else does. We met, we fell in love, we were getting married. What's brave in that? Apparently a whole lot. Heck, I don't think we're brave. I think we're ADVENTUROUS!

Okay, time to break up this long post with some photos:

Here we are with Club President Pamelia Perkins (played by an amazingly talented actress)
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Here we are with Dashing Club Aviator Hathway Browne (one of the funniest men we've ever had the priviledge to meet)
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And Here we are with two more fantastically talented and funny people: Graves the Butler and Yvette the French (Canadian) Maid
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Yes, I realize that the top hats don't fit. They weren't terribly comfortable either, but we were going to wear them all night no matter what!

More to follow soon
 


Overall it was a good night at the club, just way too crowded.
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We managed to get in to see a couple of shows in the Library, most specifically "Samantha's Cabaret", which has always been one of our favorites. Sadly, they were running long and had to cut our favorite song, "Mutual Admiration Society". And we lined up two hours ahead of time to see the "Hoopla!" at the end of the night. It was our last Hoopla, and it was bittersweet to say the least. Lots of fun, high energy, and it was over way too soon (even though at 2:00am, we'd been in the club for over 8 hours). As we were standing in the Main Salon after the show, not wanting to leave, I completely lost it. I literally broke down and just cried. And not quiet dignified crying either. I was a mess. I got lots of hugs from the dear friends who have become our "Florida Family" and finally managed to regain my composure long enough to take a group photo before we had to leave.
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In this photo we have (from left to right) Tyler, Joe, Me, Sharon (in front of me), Scott, Pippa (in front of Scott), Glen, Lyne, Jodie, & Rande (Lyne, Jodie, & Randy joined us shortly after the club opened). You'll see more about these folks throughout the weekend, they are our family, and they celebrated our Big Fat Gay Disney Wedding like it was their own. They are one of many positive things that has come into our lives because of the Adventurers Club. We met all of them there. As the last line of the club creed says, we entered as strangers, we left as friends. The numerous friends and the countless happy memories of the Adventurers Club were the positives that we were all trying to focus on, as we said our good-byes.

This was the hardest part of the whole weekend. I've said it before in other places, but I'm going to say it again now. Part of me died a little bit that night. The part of me that claps because he believes in fairies isn't as strong as it was before. We had clapped and clapped and clapped, but the magic was still being taken away from us, far sooner than it should have been. My inner child had to grow up a little bit that night, and it sucked.

Just as I had had a small melt-down in the club, Scott had one in the parking lot. We sat in his car, and I held him while he sobbed. I am so glad that Scott and I have each other to lean on in times like this, but this is not one of my favorite Disney memories. The drive home was pretty much silent. There simply were no words that were going to be able to make us feel any better.

By the time we got home and to bed it was 3:00am and we had to be up and out the door by 8:00am on Friday. We were exhausted.

If you haven't clicked on the links in my signature and sent a letter to Disney telling them how wrong it was to close the Adventurers Club, please do now. I know it's probably futile, but I can't imagine that Peter Pan would want us to stop clapping for Tink, so . . . .

Since I now find myself crying all over again, I'm gong to stop for tonight.

I'm going to close out the description of our "Bachelor Party" with a line from one of the songs sung at the club, and the club creed. Feel free to join in if you know the words . . .

"Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end. We'd sing and dance, forever and a day. We'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never loose, oh yes, those were the days."

"We climb the highest mountains
Just to get a better view
We plumb the deepest oceans
Because we're daring through and through
We cross the scorching deserts
Martinis in our hands
We ski the polar ice caps
In tuxedos looking grand
We are reckless, brave and loyal
And valiant to the end
If you come in here a stranger
You will exit as a friend
Kungaloosh!"
 
YAY for the start of your TR!!!! Great start and I can't wait to see and read more!!! I can only imagine how wonderful your wedding was!!! :goodvibes Keep it coming! :banana:
 
Im IN!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, here's a creepy question.

Lynn, were you at the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday, October 1st? I could have sworn I saw two people that looked like you and your hubby entering as we left.
 
Yay for Wedding TR's... :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

It looks like you had a great time regardless of the emotions surrounding the closing of the club.

Cannot wait for more! popcorn::
 
And we move on to Day Two - Friday September 26th

I'll let you know right now, that we neglected to take pictures on Friday, so we sadly have none that I can share with you. There will be pictures of subsequent days though. All through the day on Friday, we got deliviries of wedding presents from UPS, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service. I know we said we weren't doing this for the presents, but danged it it wasn't fun getting them! LOL

After the very long and emotional night we'd had on Thursday, we didn't get up and going as early as we had originally planned. We slept until nearly 9am. The extra rest was nice, but we were now running late.

We packed up all of the remaining welcome bags in the car (Scott had already delivered the ones for people arriving on earlier days) along with our centerpieces, toasting flutes, cake serving set, cake topper, guest book & pen and the CD of music for the ceremony. My sister Sofia joined us as we ran our errands, while my parents stayed behind to tidy up the house and get ready for that evening's barbecue.

We only managed to drop off the one welcome bag for our officiant (she's local, but she and her husband and son decided to take the opportunitiy and stayed at a Disney resort for the first time) at the Yacht Club before we had to head over to Franck's to meet Marion, our wedding planner, and drop off all of the items for the reception.

While dropping off our items with Marion, we briefly met Meri, who had been the wedding coordinator for a gay couple who had done a commitment ceremony the night before. That's right, we were one of two commitment ceremonies at Disney World that weekend. How cool is that. I wish we could have met the other two guys.

We also looked around Franck's a bit to see what had changed in their brief two day refurb, the week before. All new paint, and replaced carpeting throughout (same pattern, I believe). The display cakes were back, and were the same ones we'd seen before (except that our style, the "Moderne" wasn't on dislplay yet). Quite a bit else was different, as the floral design team (who does pretty much all of the decor items for weddings) had taken the opportunity to pull everything back to their department and re-do everythng. It looked quite nice. We then walked over the the Wedding Pavillion so that Sofia could see it. She thought it was beautiful, but agreed that the Adventurers Club was a much better fit for us.

After leaving Franck's, we dropped off welcome bags at Old Key West, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach Resort, and the Boardwalk before heading home.

We had a quick lunch of cold cut sandwiches and chips (picked up by mom and dad who had done some shopping for the BBQ) and got to work setting up tables and chairs, icing soft drinks and beer, and generally preparing the house for a party.

At one point, we had to stop because Dad had to head over to the airport to pick up my brother, Dennis, along with my Uncle Kevin (his partner of 27 years, Randy, would be joining him Saturday evening) and my Aunt Kathy. They were all arriving on the same flight. While he was doing that, Mom, Scott and I took Tolliver and MacGregor (my parent's Westie) to the vet to be boarded until Tuesday morning. We really didn't want to leave Tolliver, but we knew it was the best thing for him. And he's so happy to see the ladies at the vet's office that it certainly wasn't a trauma for him. Especially, since his new buddy MacGregor was joining him.

We got home, were able to catch a very quick nap (thank goodness, we were still very tired) before Dad got home with Dennis, and Surprise! with Uncle Kevin & Aunt Kathy. They opted to go to their hotels after the BBQ and were there to pitch in to help us get ready.

At around 6pm my Aunt Dolores and Uncle Dick arrived (with a beautiful hand made quilted throw that she had made for us. She matched it to our Family Room decor, and it was on the back of the sofa in a matter of minutes). Shortly after that our friends Joe and Tyler arrived (see, I told you that you'd hear about our friends more) and then Jodie and Randy after them. They had decided that the crowds at the Adventurers Club were just too unbearable, so they'd made Thursday their last night at the club, too, and were joining us at our house for our family get together. Dennis started cooking the burgers and the rest of us reflected on how nice it is to have a chef in the family. :rotfl:

After we'd begun eating, my Uncle Barry arrived with his lady friend, Maureen, and my cousin Kelly. This ended up being a very good weekend for Barry and Kelly. My uncle had been having difficulties with his daughter for the past few years since she's come out of the closet as a lesbian. Being around us, and seeing Uncle Kevin and his partner talking about being together 27 years really helped Barry to reconnect with Kelly a little bit. Especially since she started telling us about her girlfriend Katie and how happy she is to have met her (they've been dating for 6 months). Barry hasn't met her yet, but is now going to do so.

We had a wonderful time on our patio, spending a fairly relaxing time with everyone who was able to make it. We wish that my Aunt and cousins from my mom's side of the family could have made it, too, but they arrived too late to join us.

As we wrapped everything up, our friends Randy & Jodie talked to us about our plan for the Hospitality Suite/Welcome party the next night after our rehearsal dinner. I told them that I'd leave a key to the Grand Villa at the desk for them, and that we just needed them to hang out there in case anyone showed up before we could get back from the rehearsal dinner. I showed them all of the food and drink items we had ready to pack into Scott's SUV the next day (Two huge plastic bins, a cooler, several fridge packs of sodas, a couple cases of beer, and a small suitcase filled with liquor bottles wrapped in bathtowels). They told us that it was silly for us to have to worry about all of that stuff and that they'd take it for us. So they loaded up their SUV, called our friend Kyle and his wife Rande (more of the Florida Family) and cooked up a plan to meet and set up the Hospitality Suite for us. They told us they didn't want us to worry about it and that they'd take care of it. I was floored. We really do have the best friends in the whole world. They worked so hard to make sure that our Hospitality Suite/Welcome Party was a huge hit. They didn't have to do it, they wanted to do it for us. I'm still touched and overwhelmed by how awesome they are.

So, after a long day, and not enough sleep, we crashed hard and slept very well.

Up next, Day Three and we check into the Boardwalk, Attend the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and close the night with this family and friends in the Grand Villa.
 
Truly awesome friends! It's really great that under the influence of others in your family, and because you brought everyone together to share in your ceremony, that Barry and his daughter were able to move toward a better level of understanding.

Looking forward to reading more! :goodvibes
 
I must say I did disappear from this thread for a while ( I do that sometimes) and for that I am sorry, BUT I am really enjoying the TR!!!!! :thumbsup2
 

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