Friday, September 27, 2013

Wedding Trip Recap- September 24, 2012

On Monday, Eliot and I had our Magic Kingdom photo shoot first thing in the morning. Our photographer Stephanie was picking us up at Pop Century right at 6:15 am to take us over to the Magic Kingdom.  I got up at 3:00 am to take a shower and to get ready for my 4:00 am appointment with Beauté Spécialé for my hair and make up.



Eliot stayed in bed for part of my hair and make up appointment.  (Grumble.)  I was glad that I got to work with Jessica again.  At this point, we'd seen each other 3 times in a week and I knew the drill.  In no time she had my hair and make up looking amazing.  I had my Mom help me into my wedding gown and my Dad helped tie it up.  (Stephanie still had to help get the ties put away.  She rocked!)

Right at 6:15, we were off for our photo shoot.  I was so excited to see the Magic Kingdom empty!  (Or so I thought!)  Stephanie was a great tour guide and she showed us all of the behind the scenes sites.  I wish that'd I'd asked if I could take pictures of it.  She used her Disney Cast Member ID to get us in through the backlot.  I don't know what I was expecting, but we literally drove through the entire back stage area.  Stephanie showed us the back side of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  We also saw some of the ride vehicles that were being serviced.



What I wasn't expecting, was how busy and not empty the park was.  Stephanie explained that it would be pretty busy with everyone getting ready for park opening.  We literally drove right out onto the walkway in Frontierland next to Splash Mountain.  There were cars and trucks parked all along the sides and workers were everywhere fixing the flowers or delivering supplies to the restaurants and stores.  It was insane to see cars parked where people are usually walking!

We pulled over near Liberty Square so we could be closer to Cinderella Castle.  Stephanie had us walk onto the grass through a gated entrance and she set up a tripod on the bridge facing the castle.  Her assistant set up lights down on the grass where Eliot and I stood.  We took a few photos at the castle with us looking at the camera.  Then we took a few photos of us looking at the castle.



After that, Stephanie had us come up closer to the walkway.  She had asked me to make sure that I brought one of our paper umbrellas, and now I knew why.  She helped position us behind the umbrella.  The result was breathtaking.  This is one of my favorite photos from our photo shoot.



Next, I got to play Cinderella!  We moved over to the Castle and I got to take a few photos looking like I was running up to the castle.  I love how they came out with the lights still on with the windows and clock lit up.  I truly felt like a real Disney Princess.



We also got to go inside the Castle to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where we took a few photos in the mirrors.



And a few photos with our wedding shoes and stickers.  You can tell that mine are still brand spankin' new since I didn't wear them during our ceremony… me and my stupid black sandals!



Afterwards, we made our way towards Fantasyland where we got to use my other wedding shoes, my glass slippers.  I'd told Stephanie that I wanted to do something with them.  She had us set up by Cinderella's Fountain.  I thought it was a perfect location for Prince Charming to give Cinderella her glass slipper.  (Plus, I got to rest my foot on the fountain so I didn't tip over!  Score!)



We noticed that the other couple getting their bridal wedding photos done got to actually go onto the castle so I begged Stephanie to let us.  She had us walk up the back stairs with our "And They Lived Happily Ever After" sign.  I love how these photos came out!



She also took a few more once we came back down the stairs with the castle in the background.  Simply stunning!



Eliot and I had wanted to take some pictures in the New Fantasyland, but since it wasn't opened, we decided that we'd do a few by the new entry gates.  We decided to use the back of our sign with "Here Comes the Bride" since we didn't get to use it on our wedding day.



Finally, we finished our shoot at the Haunted Mansion.  If there's time, the Disney photographers will let you take pictures in the park that aren't in Fantasyland or at the Castle.  We both really wanted to take some here and Stephanie knew exactly what she was doing.  Some photographers take the pictures so that they Photoshop the groom's head onto the bride's hands (like in the ride when Constance beheaded all of her husbands).  



Stephanie decided that was too morbid so she had told us that she had something else planned.  I loved it!  She took a few photos with me in the background with my veil over my face.  Next, she took a few photos with just Eliot in them.  Then she told us that I'd be a ghost in the background.  We didn't get to see how they turned out until we got our wedding photos, but the result was fantastic!  I love it!



The Magic Kingdom photo shoot was well worth it, and I'd love to do it again someday. The only disappointment was with how dark it was when we took our first castle photos.  If we did it again, I'd make sure that it was brighter at 7:00 am so the photos would come out a little brighter!  But it was cool to get some photos with Cinderella Castle lit up pink in the background!

After our bridal photo shoot was over, we jumped back into the van and Stephanie gave us a gift.  She had printed out two of our wedding photos for us to see.  I was so excited that I couldn't wait to see how the rest turned out!  We told Stephanie that we might be back for a Trash the Dress session during our honeymoon, and she told us that Typhoon Lagoon was a great backdrop for photos.  We also said that we'd make sure that we booked her if possible. (We didn't end up doing the Trash the Dress on our honeymoon but it's still on our Disney Wishlist!)  All too soon, we were back at Pop Century and we had to say goodbye to Stephanie.



But there's no rest for this bride and groom, no.  We also had to do our video shoot from our wedding video package.  We could have opted to have Disney film our rehearsal, but since we were eating off property, it didn't seem worth it to waste the two hours of video on our 30 minute rehearsal.  Eliot and I decided to do the Love Story Interview instead.  We were given the option to film at a bunch of different locations, but ultimately, we decided to go to the Wilderness Lodge since we'd never been there before.

Once we got back to Pop Century, we changed out of our wedding attire and back into something a little more comfortable.  Then my Dad drove us over to the Wilderness Lodge for our 10:00 am appointment.  We got there a little early and explored the lobby while waiting for our video team.



Eliot and I aren't really camera people, but I'd gotten a little more used to it during our wedding day.  Although, I quickly realized that having a camera watching your every move is totally different from someone interviewing you with a camera a few feet away looking right at you. The wedding was a lot less nerve wracking!  

Eliot and I were seated on directors chairs right in front of the Silver Creek waterfall. Kirsten, our video coordinator, asked us a few questions about how we met, how Eliot proposed, why we decided to get married at Disney.  After a few questions, we eased into it and it was less terrifying.  She asked us how we felt a few days after our wedding, how it was and what we have planned for the future.



After that, they separated us to do individual interviews so we'd be surprised when we got our final video.  Eliot went first so I hung out by the lodge and took a few pictures of him. When it was my turn, they asked me about what I felt when I was walking down the aisle.  I laughed and told Kirsten that I couldn't see Eliot since I didn't have my glasses on!  But that I knew it was him obviously.  She also had me film a special message for him.

After that, Kirsten left us with our two videographers to film a B-roll.  The B-roll was basically supposed to be shots of us holding hands, kissing and having fun together.  We took some footage at the creek and Eliot started splashing me.  It was funny because anytime we did something spontaneous, they'd have us do it again for the camera.


Wilderness Lodge map. (Photo from Disney.)
Afterwards, we walked along the trail way and took some footage by the trees.  We also got some video of us on the boat dock.  We found the location where they rent out bicycles and we got to ride on one of those for free!  That was hilarious.  Finally, we ended the session with Eliot and I on the beach making hearts in the sand.  (I had NO idea what to expect, but the final result was really nice.)  We called my parents to let them know that we were done and we hung out in the gift shop while we waited for Dad to come pick us up.

Later that afternoon, it was time for Mom, Dad, Nana and Papa to leave and start the long drive back up to Maine.  I was pretty upset to have them go.  At that point, everyone else had left Pop Century and it was too quiet after having us, our families and all of our guests occupy the entire wing of our 50's section.  They were the last ones to leave and I was pretty depressed that it really was coming to an end.  Eliot and I helped them pack all of our wedding stuff into the trailer and they took everything that we wouldn't need for the next two days with them.



After a tearful goodbye, the car, truck and trailer all pulled out of the Pop Century parking lot, and Eliot and I went back to our room to take a nap after our super early morning.  I was completely emotionally wiped out at this point.

When I woke up, I felt a lot better.  We still had that night, the next day and part of the following day to enjoy the rest of our time at Disney. We decided that we were going to call our extra few days our "mini moon" since we were planning on doing a Disney Cruise or another trip to Disney the following year.  (We should have called it our "Minnie" Moon!)



We decided that since it was our last  night to watch whatever show we wanted, we would go back over to Epcot to see IllumiNations again.  We hadn't really been able to watch it the night of our wedding since we were so busy taking photos and video footage.  We didn't get there early enough to get a good view, but I was still happy to see the show.  



Afterwards, we danced to Promise for a few minutes before heading back toward the front of the park.  On the way we stopped at Mouse Gears to get a look at some of the wedding items that they had.



When we got back to Pop Century, we started to pack up all of our stuff since we were spending our last night at Disney at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and we had to switch hotels the next morning!  °o°

4 comments:

  1. The photos alone make the whole shindig completely worth all the time and effort (maybe a little drama ;o) it took to get your wedding week together. Beautiful bride, handsome groom... happily ever after! <3

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    1. Aww thanks! It was all definitely worth it! :o)

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  2. Gorgeous photos, Melissa! It looked like you and your husband had quite a great time during the photo shoot! Your inner happiness radiates and shows in your smile. I'm so happy for you! Best wishes to you and your man!


    Jama Toth @ KristaPattonPhotography

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    1. Thank you so much Jama! We had an amazing time! I'd love to do another photo shoot there someday! :-)

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