20 Years of Magic: Planning

I'm breaking this down into several posts because there is a lot to write about.  I hope you'll bear with me.

Let me start this off by saying that I do not have many photos to share of our actual event.

In this Facebook-Instagram-Blogger world – of which I am an active member! – I think that too often we experience life through our cameras.  I am exceptionally guilty of this, particularly when we travel.  Thousands upon thousands of photos that eat up storage on my phone and computer.  Phone at the ready.  Always.

I wanted this to be different.  I wanted to live and breathe each second of these two days.  I didn't want to be looking around for what would make a great photo.  I just wanted to be present in the moment.

Obviously we hired a photography team, and I put my trust in them that they would capture everything important moments.  I didn't have pockets or a purse, so C carried my phone for me.  Out of sight, out of mind.  As you'll see, I did snap a few quick photos when there was brief downtime, but in general, my phone did not come out of C's pocket.

I asked our family and friends to not take or share pictures of our event.  I asked them to enjoy everything along with us.  And that any photos they did take would be for them and not for the world on social media.  Because they are amazing people, they graciously indulged my request.

I would also like to apologize how many times my writing includes the following words:  awesome, amazing, fabulous, fantastic, wonderful, and the like.  There are only so many such words in the English language and I will unapologetically rave about everything.  I loved every minute.

I have waffled over the past three weeks about what to share because part of me wants to keep it all to myself.  I know that sounds selfish.  And believe me, the other part of me wants to bore you to death with every little detail.  I think I've struck a nice balance and I hope you enjoy reading about our renewal!

I feel like this is the point where I need to give a little background about how we planned our event.  As you know, we got married at WDW on New Year's Eve in 1994.  And that was perfect.  We would not have changed a thing.  With one exception:  the next year, Disney's Wedding Pavilion opened and we fell in love with it and wished we could have had our ceremony there.

So when our 20th anniversary was on the horizon, we started thinking about how we would celebrate and naturally though of WDW.  We started planning everything in September 2013 and overall, the experience was the same as 20 years earlier – Disney wedding planners are in the business of making dreams come true and they excel at every turn.  I cannot say enough positive things about them.  Our wedding planner's name is Jamie and she was beyond fabulous – as was each and every other person who played a role in our event.

In September 2013, we actually first met with our original wedding planner, Cheri.  Yep, she still works there!  She's now higher up, so she is no longer a wedding planner, but our initial meeting was with her and it was great to see her.  Cinderella's Coach was there for a wedding, so I was able to get a few photos of it!    We selected the venue with Cheri and this is where the date came into play.  Our anniversary is December 31, but, as you might imagine, this is a popular day for Disney Weddings.  And they only do so many weddings a day.  So we told Cheri that we had gotten the date we wanted in 1994, and that because we were only focused on getting the Wedding Pavilion, we were flexible on the date for our vow renewal…December 29, 30, 31, January 1, 2…it really didn't matter to us.  We decided that December 30 would be our first choice, hoping it would be a less popular day and therefore increase our odds, and then we had to wait because the venues are only booked a year in advance.  When we found out in early January of 2014 that we had gotten the Wedding Pavilion, we were over the moon!

In June 2014, my mom and I took a weekend trip to WDW for her birthday, and I also happened to have a planning session with Jamie that same weekend.  This took place at Franck's, which is where the wedding planners' offices are located (it is named after the wedding planner character in the movie Father of the Bride).  My mom and I spent the morning meeting with Jamie choosing cake and flowers and linens; we then spent the afternoon at the Grand Floridian Convention Center seeing the room where the reception would be held (Whitehall Room and Patio) and tasting menu items.  This was a super fun afternoon and we got to go "backstage" – which is Disney-speak for areas where guests are usually not permitted.  We went into one of the kitchens and met with a chef and the whole experience was amazing.

In September 2014, C and I took a trip to WDW to go to their Fairy Tale Weddings Showcase, which was another chance to see Jamie and an all-around wonderful event to attend.  Once again, we saw Cinderella's Coach, which we had worked into our day, and we imagined how awesome it was going to be to actually ride in it.

Other than those few in-person meetings, every single detail was handled by email or over the phone.  Very little stress on my end because they took care of everything.  When we went to WDW in early December, we stopped by the Wedding Pavilion to sign our final paperwork, and that was that.  So easy!

When we got married in 1994, it was a very small wedding – only 12 people, counting the two of us.  We had two people stand up with us – my two brothers, and it was absolute perfection.  If we could go back in time, we would do everything exactly the same way.  We had the ceremony in the morning at the Wedding Gazebo, lunch at the Yacht Club, we took a large pontoon boat out on the water, we had a string quartet play Disney music, we had Mickey, Minnie, Pooh Bear, Eeyore, and Tigger join us for cake and photos, and again, we would not change a single thing about that day.  Complete and utter magic.

So when we were planning our renewal, we definitely experienced feeling of doubt that we could top our wedding.  Could the magic be replicated?  Indeed, it could. Jamie and her team made every wish we had come true.

Next post:  The Rehearsal and Welcome Dinner

Happy Tails to you!