Wild Africa Trek, a Disney Wedding, AoA photoshoot, and more!Aug 2013 TR update 12/21

[librarygeek]

Ugh, sorry I've been slacking on the updates again! I've been trying to tackle Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month, if you haven't heard of it), and so November has felt extremely busy. Every time I'm at my computer I've just been working on my novel! But a lazy Sunday is a good time for an update, so here we go! Plus I head back to Disney in 2 weeks, 3 days, so I'd love to finish this TR before then!!

The Wedding - Ceremony

We started off the morning with a breakfast at Boma. You can see the review in my dining thread, but we weren't overly impressed. It was fine, but for us it was just nothing really all that special.

After breakfast I brought my stuff over to my friends' room, who were also staying at AKL. We figured it would be fun to do some girl time and get ready together! And good thing too, because I needed their help zipping up my dress. I didn't gain weight, I swear, it was just a sticky zipper! We did our hair and make up together, and then DH picked me up so we could head over to the wedding pavilion. (My friends were at Kidani and we were at Jambo house). However, DH forgot the wedding gift in our hotel room... so back to Jambo house we went, and ran all the way back to the room to grab it before being on our way!

Luckily we weren't at all late, but the only bummer was that I didn't manage to get an aisle seat, which I normally love for taking pictures. It was a gorgeous morning and perfect for wedding!



The wedding pavilion is definitely a picturesque fairy tale place for a wedding.



I loved the colors of the bridal party - their colors were red and turquoise. The dresses were so pretty, and I loved the accent colors with the belts!



And of course, the bride looked absolutely stunning. Her dress was magical, and she was just radiating with happiness



The flower girl was also too cute. She was very friendly, and we had a lot of fun dancing with her at the reception later too!



The ceremony was short but sweet, pretty much exactly the way it should be. They both seemed so happy, and it was a lovely thing to watch. The only thing that went slightly wrong was the fact that the officiant skipped over the sand ceremony! We saw everything set up for it, and it was in the program, but I guess he just forgot. Luckily the couple was completely unfazed by this.



And as a fun surprise, they had the major domo come in with the rings! They staged a cute little bit where it looked like the best man had forgotten them, and he looked all panicked... but then in comes major domo to the rescue!





Husband and wife!





And off they went, whisked off in Cinderella's coach!



It was a beautiful ceremony, and after it was all over we got ready to head over to Atlantic Dance Hall for the reception!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, what a beautiful ceremony.

I can't imagine how magical it would be to be driven away in Cinderella's coach IN Disney World.

 

[JessM]

I love the bridesmaids dresses too. I've never seen that combination before but they look great!

 

[wiigirl]

Beautiful pics!

 

[librarygeek]

Wow, what a beautiful ceremony.

I can't imagine how magical it would be to be driven away in Cinderella's coach IN Disney World.

I know, it would be incredible! DH and I are talking about maybe someday doing a vow renewal in Disney, so hopefully I'll get to experience it one day

I love the bridesmaids dresses too. I've never seen that combination before but they look great!

The colors worked really well together!

Beautiful pics!

Thank you!

 

[RGirl]

What gorgeous wedding pictures! I just love to see Disney weddings.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Becky! I'm forever catching up - sorry!

What a great photo shoot. The piggy back photo was my favorite. I loved your dress, it was adorable just like you.

That is a beautiful wedding venue. I've wondered what the chapel looks like on the inside. Those windows are just gorgeous. It's quite impressive that major domo came to the rescue with the rings. How fun that you got to be a part of their special day.

You will be back at WDW in 2 weeks! We'll be there at the same time.

 

[librarygeek]

What gorgeous wedding pictures! I just love to see Disney weddings.

I know, I want to keep getting invited to Disney weddings so I can see more of them! Pictures are good too

Hi Becky! I'm forever catching up - sorry!

What a great photo shoot. The piggy back photo was my favorite. I loved your dress, it was adorable just like you.

That is a beautiful wedding venue. I've wondered what the chapel looks like on the inside. Those windows are just gorgeous. It's quite impressive that major domo came to the rescue with the rings. How fun that you got to be a part of their special day.

You will be back at WDW in 2 weeks! We'll be there at the same time.

I know exactly what you mean about always catching up... I am SUPER behind on TR's right now!!

Thank you! I love that dress - now I just need an excuse to wear it again!

Oh, how fun! I can't wait to be there in 2 weeks... I haven't been during the Christmas season yet so I'm definitely pumped about it!

 

[librarygeek]

Wedding Reception

November is over - and I finished the 50,000 words this month I needed for my novel! It needs a lot of editing, but at least it is done. The next life project is to put up all of the Christmas decorations! I was hoping to finish this TR before my next trip, but it seems that wasn't meant to be - I'm leaving for Disney on Wednesday!

I hope you all like photos of Disney weddings, because I've got some more to share with you now!

We made our way over to Atlantic Dance Hall for the wedding reception on the Boardwalk:



It's a really nice space, especially for larger weddings. I think it's well themed and I loved it! For the first hour, the cocktail hour, we were only in the upstairs balcony part. They had some really nice appetizer foods and drinks. It was definitely a pleasant start to the wedding. We also got a good view of the downstairs. I loved how their colors looked:



We also got our escort "cards," which doubled as our favors. They were adorable chocolate Mickey ears!



We could also go out on the balcony while we were upstairs, which was a good place to get pictures! And yes, I did color coordinate with my husband. He wanted me to get him an outfit that matched my dress, so this is what I found for him!



We were then allowed to go down and find our seats. The major domo was back to announce the wedding party. They had some really unique centerpieces that I liked:


After the bride and groom were announced, they went into their first dance. I had some fun experimenting with my camera during this part:





And then we got dinner (or was it lunch? It was around 2:30 so I'm not sure haha). It was a buffet, and the food was absolutely fantastic. Go to my dining review to learn more, but I loved it. The highlight was the lobster mac and cheese. That was incredible!

They had two cakes: the wedding cake a groom's cake. Both were really fun. I loved their wedding cake, and the groom's cake was Haunted Mansion themed!





And once the food had been consumed it was time to dance! We had a lot of fun, especially because I was with some of my friends. It was a really good group of guests, as they had a ton of people out on the dance floor. The DJ was good too. Definitely a super fun time!



And then, for the cake cutting, some surprise guests arrived: Mickey and Minnie! They were looking lovely, and I managed to steal a pic with Minnie:



They helped cut the cake, and shared some dances with the happy couple:



The last thing they did was the bouquet toss and the garter toss:



And then a few more songs before the reception was over. It was such a fun time! But the party wasn't done yet, because as we left Atlantic Dance Hall we made our way over to Epcot for the private Illuminations dessert party!

 

[RGirl]

WOW! That reception looks amazing! I can't believe that Mickey and Minnie came. That right there is enough to make me want to get married.

Seriously - what a fun time. The cakes were gorgeous!

I showed Willow the picture of the bride and groom with Mickey and Minnie, and she was all, "Awwwww, that's so adorable!"

 

[librarygeek]

WOW! That reception looks amazing! I can't believe that Mickey and Minnie came. That right there is enough to make me want to get married.

Seriously - what a fun time. The cakes were gorgeous!

I showed Willow the picture of the bride and groom with Mickey and Minnie, and she was all, "Awwwww, that's so adorable!"

Aww, I'm glad that Willow liked it! Maybe in about 20 years or so you'll be planning her Disney wedding and Mickey and Minnie can come!

The Atlantic Dance Hall was a stunning reception venue. It would've probably been my dream location if I had the money to get married at Disney.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh WOW!!!!! That is just so precious to be sharing a dance with Mickey and Minnie and those cakes are FABULOUS!!!

Well, you're actually IN Disney right now, so I'll just add that I hope it is the best trip EVER!

 

[librarygeek]

Oh WOW!!!!! That is just so precious to be sharing a dance with Mickey and Minnie and those cakes are FABULOUS!!!

Well, you're actually IN Disney right now, so I'll just add that I hope it is the best trip EVER!

I know, there is truly nothing on earth like a Disney wedding!!

And now I'm back from Disney - had a fantastic time! I'll be starting that trip report as soon as I finish this one

 

[librarygeek]

Illuminations Dessert Party

As soon as the reception was over, we made our way to Epcot for the Illuminations dessert party! If you're not familiar, you can do a private event in Epcot to have a prime fireworks viewing spot, and they will serve desserts during it. Because it had rained earlier that day we got moved inside for the dessert portion, but still watched the fireworks outside. I don't remember where the original outdoor location was, but we were in the Odyssey Center for the desserts this time.

They had flambéed donuts, ice cream, white chocolate, rice krispie treats, and brownies. For more details on the food check out my dining review! It was all very good, but I was still really full from the reception so I didn't eat too much.



And as a special treat they brought a bride and groom Mickey krispie treat for the bride and groom! Apparently they have a tradition of eating rice krispie treats during Illuminations so they requested two for the dessert party - but instead of getting the regular ones they were brought these really cute ones!





After enjoying some of the desserts, we headed out for our Illuminations viewing area. I forget where we were - France, maybe? But if you've ever seen those areas that are down close and roped off in Epcot, that's where the parties are and that's where they led us. My feet were killing me in my heels by this point, but we made it and enjoyed Illuminations!











They also gave us 3d Mickey glasses - when you looked at the fireworks they formed little Mickey heads! It was actually really cool looking. I tried to put the glasses over my camera and take a picture. It didn't come out too well, but you get the idea.



After the fireworks we made our way back to AKL. I think my friends were considering going to Jellyrolls, but I was tired and my feet hurt! I just wanted to get some rest, so DH and I made our way back. It was a really fun evening after a great day!

 

[JessM]

Those bride and groom mickey rice krispe treats are too cute! Mickey head rice krispe treats is one of my WDW favorites!

The wedding looked and sounded great! I'm glad you had a great time!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

See I just learned something. I didn't know there was an Illuminations Dessert party. Pretty neat.

And those bride and groom rice krispie treats are super adorable.

OK, that Mickey head thing is awesome!!

 

[RGirl]

Wow - the bride-and-groom krispy treats are adorable!

What a great view of IllumiNations. So cool.

The 3D glasses thing is blowing my mind!

 

[librarygeek]

Those bride and groom mickey rice krispe treats are too cute! Mickey head rice krispe treats is one of my WDW favorites!

The wedding looked and sounded great! I'm glad you had a great time!

Mickey Rice Krispie treats are great! They are a Disney parks classic

See I just learned something. I didn't know there was an Illuminations Dessert party. Pretty neat.

And those bride and groom rice krispie treats are super adorable.

OK, that Mickey head thing is awesome!!

Yes! If you have any sort of private group that wants to arrange an event, you can contact Disney catered events and have an Illuminations dessert party. You can also do a Wishes one but it has to be at the Grand Floridian, I believe, so you have to pay more to have the music piped in and you're not as close. But any group can do it (though obviously it can get a little pricey). You could even arrange a group of Disers to have one! We did a Disney Brides meet up and had a private dessert party - it was about 25 people and I think it ended up costing about $45 per person? So it wasn't awful!

Wow - the bride-and-groom krispy treats are adorable!

What a great view of IllumiNations. So cool.

The 3D glasses thing is blowing my mind!

The 3D glasses were very cool - and the best part is they were just paper glasses, so we got to keep them. Now I can bring them back to Disney with them to use whenever I want!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[librarygeek]

Great pics!

Thanks so much!