Another Birthday Trip, Oct 2019 - Day 13, The Wedding Day

[Lisa29]

The previous day is HERE.

I'll get the disclaimers out of the way now:

1. This is a family wedding so I am rather biased!
2. There are SOO many photos!
3. The photos are pretty much all Phil's unless he is in the picture WINK, though some of them are Dan's. I don't actually have many of Randy's photos, but I will give him credit for the ones I do have.
4. This is long so I have broken it into a few posts in case you can't read it all in one go.


Tuesday 15 October 2019

The Wedding Day was finally here. This was the original reason for our trip, and why we were all here again.

The morning of the Wedding and getting ready was different this time around. Under the original plans before we changed dates, we were all staying in different resorts, except Mum and Dad and Dan, Dave and Cole who were at the Poly, so getting ready on the morning was never going to be the same as last time, where we were all at OKW and had rooms next to each other.

We had considered having Michelle, Sydney and Kori come to the house to us to get ready but that would have been 16 of us there and it would have been difficult to keep Michelle hidden without taking over one of the bedrooms and en suite.

They decided that Mum and Dad would use their DVC points to rent a studio at SSR for the night before. Mum and Dad stayed there overnight, then Dad came back to the house in the morning. Michelle, Sydney and Kori went over to SSR first thing and got ready and left from there.

Anyway, I was woken by the alarm at 7.30pm. I got up and put some washing on (as you do on a Wedding day! ) and had a shower, before waking up Phil and the girls.

Everyone else was also up. Dave and Ryan went to IHOP to pick up breakfast again, and while they were out, my Dad came back.

Madison took a picture of us at the dining table whilst we were eating

Then took a selfie of the kids at the kitchen table

When we had IHOP before, I hadn't noted what we had, just the price. The price today was the same so I imagine today's order was the same as Saturday's. Phil had the Sampler Breakfast

And the girls and I shared two short stack pancakes

This was all really good. Our food cost $24.26 again.

The washing had finished so I sorted out what could go in the dryer and put on another load. The kids were all watching the TV

I haven't made a note of the times for most of the morning so I'm not sure what time it was when Bethany and I started doing Piper and Madison's hair

Adding the finishing touches

Madison's finished hair

Phil was doing his usual arty photos too

I had practised both Madison and Kaley's hair at home a few times so it didn't take too long to do.

Cole wanted the water bottles

While I was doing Madison's hair, Bethany was doing Piper's

Piper's finished hair

Bethany had also practised Piper's hair beforehand and it didn't take her long either.

I had gotten started on Kaley's hair as soon as I had finished Madison's

Finishing touches

And Kaley's finished hair

And her arty photo

Posing for photos while she was waiting

I loved the three girls' hair. They hadn't been difficult for us to do but they looked so pretty and it kept their hair out of the way and off their necks on what was a very, very hot day.


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[Lisa29]

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The second load of washing had now finished. I folded it all and left it as there wasn't time for the first load to finish drying and get this on and dried too.

Once I had done this, I went upstairs to do my hair. I had wanted to curl it but I couldn't get it to look right at all. I was running out of time so started to straighten it instead.

Phil was already ready. He helped Madison and Kaley with their suncream and they then got into their dresses,

It was now 11am, I was still doing my hair and the mini coach Michelle and Jamie had booked to take us arrived! It was early as we weren't due to be picked up until 11.30am, but it did make me stress a bit as I don't like to be late or keep people waiting. I quickly carried on with my hair, trying to get it finished ASAP.

The kids were all dressed and ready so Phil took some photos of them outside, starting with Madison, Kaley and Piper

They look so gorgeous. Madison's dress was from Lipsy, Kaley's playsuit was from Abercrombie and Fitch and Piper's dress was from Ted Baker. We had been able to get all of them in the sale during the summer.

While they were having photos taken outside, Cody was happily watching something on Bethany's phone while she finished getting ready

I had managed to finish doing my hair and quickly took out the drying and folded it all, before getting dressed.

At some point around 11am, Dan, Dave, Cole and my Dad left. My Dad was going in the car with Mum, Michelle, Sydney and Kori so they were taking him to SSR. With having Cole in a baby car seat, they were driving themselves to the Wedding and were going there after dropping my Dad off.

I was finally all ready by 11.20am and went down to have some photos with Madison and Kaley

My dress was also from Lipsy, and was also in the sale in the summer.

I love this photo

Cody had come outside and was happy to have some photos taken now

And then on his own

He looked so gorgeous too, so smart in his little shorts set.

Cole fell asleep on their way there

We were all about ready now so locked up the house and got on the mini-coach.

It was lovely inside, the seats were really comfy and there was plenty of room for us.

All ready to go

We left at 11.30am as planned and started the drive to Art of Animation, which was our first stop. We were picking up Jamie's sister and her family here first. We got there at 11.50am and they were waiting outside for us, along with his other sister and niece. They quickly got in and we drove to All Star Music to pick up Jamie's BiL.

We were driving out of here and on our way at 12pm.

Jamie, Saxon, and his Mum and Dad had been picked up from Beach Club in an SUV and were also on their way there.

I don't know all the details of Michelle's morning at SSR, nor do I have any photos. I do know that they had their hair and make up done fine by Beaute Speciale, my Dad was dropped off by Dan and Dave at their building and they were then waiting for their SUV to pick them up.

This is where they had a problem. For some reason, their driver didn't arrive at their building. Michelle was calling to find out where he was, they were also calling the front desk to ask and it turned out that the car wasn't able to come to their building. I'm not sure if he didn't want to drive to their building or he wasn't allowed to.

The CM at the front desk said they would need to make their own way to the main building. Michelle explained that she was wearing a wedding dress and heels and was there no way the car could come to them. In the end, they sent one of the golf cart buggy things they use to transport you and your luggage to collect them to bring them to the main building to then get in the car. Bit of a faff for them and not what they needed at all.

Anyway, soon enough, all of us were on our way to Cypress Grove.

We had to quickly take a picture of these signs, it's not often we see Kaley's name anywhere

At some point on the way, Dan and Dave had taken a wrong turn

And they had to drive quite far to be able to turn around and go the right way. They ended up arriving at Cypress Grove after Michelle arrived.

It was 12.30pm when we pulled up outside the entrance to the venue, but the driver had just gone past the turning into it so we had to go and turn around. It was 12.36pm when we pulled up outside the house.

We all got off the coach and went inside. It was lovely in here and the aircon was very welcome. We stood in here for a few minutes and then went out to the ceremony area.

Where the ceremony took place

Looking back at the house

Looking out at the water

Some of the houses over the other side looked beautiful. Some of them even had boats and boat docks

A little pathway the kids loved

Over to the right, as you looked back at the house

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[Lisa29]

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Since we had come outside, Jamie had been having photos taken with Saxon and his family, as Randy had arrived. While he was doing this, Phil was taking more photos.

Standing in the shade as it was SO HOT!

Posed photos

Look how smart Saxon looks, in a suit like his Dad's and matching shoes.

Happily exploring

Phil took this as Randy was taking it

Kaley looks so hot here, you can see her face is red

Still just happily exploring and walking round

Sitting waiting

Exploring together, look at them holding hands

Phil got the kids to pose for some photos

(You can see he is saying cheese here. )

I don't know why I am sitting in the sun, I was holding my hair away from my neck because it was so hot.

Michelle, Sydney, Kori, Mum and Dad had arrived by now and had some photos taken inside. Soon after, Dan, Dave and Cole arrived too.

He looked so cute, he had a little shorts and polo set that had braces on

Just before 1.30pm, we were all asked to take our seats. My Mum was outside, Michelle, my Dad and the girls were in one room inside and Jamie, Saxon and Jamie's Dad were in another room to then be able to walk out

(Their officiant was the same gent who officiated Dan and Dave's Wedding.)

Dan had taken this picture before she came outside, as she had been inside helping with last minute dress faffing, etc.

Don't they look gorgeous. They had had their hair done this morning and they had chosen their dresses with Michelle. Sydney can be very shy and doesn't usually wear dresses so they wanted something that wasn't too 'bridesmaid-y' and these were perfect. They had chosen their own shoes too. They were both very happy and excited.

She also got a photo of Michelle and my Dad

Doesn't she look stunning! She loved the pockets on the dress. My Dad looks so happy too.

Bit of back story on the dress buying - We had gone to the same bridal shop that Dan had bought her dress from as the owner and her staff were so lovely. Michelle didn't really have an idea of what sort of dress she wanted, she just knew she wanted Jimmy Choo shoes!

We all had a look at the different dresses and between us, picked some out for her to try. There were a couple she put on and was she just like, nope, not for me, I'm not even showing you, and the ones we did see looked lovely but not amazing. Kelly, the owner, could see that Michelle wasn't liking any so said to give her a minute.

She went away and came back with a dress and said something along the lines of "don't look at me like I'm crazy, I know you all looked at this dress and just passed by it, I know it doesn't look anything special but I know what I'm doing". Well, she absolutely knew what she was doing. The dress itself was the plain gown but with adding the belt and with Michelle's colouring and dark hair, it looked beautiful on her. We all knew that was THE dress and they ordered it there and then.

Anyway, back to the ceremony. Jamie watching Sydney and Kori walking down the aisle

And Sydney and Kori when they got to the front

The instrumental version of At Last I See The Light from Tangled started playing and Michelle and my Dad were walking down the aisle

I love her hair, it looked so pretty.

Kisses and handshakes

This one is lovely, the way they are smiling at each other

Photos during the ceremony

And then they were husband and wife

I don't remember much of the ceremony, I know it didn't take long though.


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[Lisa29]

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I was rather rubbish with my notes today. I didn't write down what music was used, though I do remember what Michelle walked down to. I'm sure Jamie and Saxon walked down to something like the Foo Fighters but I have no idea what they walked back down the aisle together too.

Quick photos before they walked down

And walking down the aisle

Cole looking very serious

Sydney looking very happy

After Michelle and Jamie had walked down the aisle, Sydney, Kori and Saxon followed them. They stopped for a hug when they got to the steps.

I love these photos, I think they're so lovely.

They then walked back down the aisle together

Quickly grabbing a pic of Michelle and Jamie, I love the plait in her hair you can see from this side

The Officiant, I think his name is Glenn or Glynn, had seen Dan and Dave and remembered doing their Wedding so asked for a photo of both families

They were now posing for photos for Randy

Love this one

I think this next one is brilliant

Saxon had done so well, he had been in lots of photos before the ceremony and then obviously needed to be in more after and I think he was a bit fed up of having his photo taken by now.

Cody and my Dad

Another lovely photo of the new Mr and Mrs

I love Kori's face here, she looks so happy

Making use of the refillable mugs

Michelle and Jamie had some photos with his parents, then had some with Mum and Dad

Best friends

Michelle and my Dad

They got the kids back for some more photos

Distracted by this on the water

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[Lisa29]

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I think here is a good time to share some of Randy's photos. They're all from after the ceremony but I don't actually have many of his, so this is just a selection of the ones I have.

I love this one, the way they are looking at each other

Something/someone was making them laugh

We all had a photo together

Then one of the four of us

And the six of us

I love these next photos; they are finding something so funny! We were talking about this the other day, none of us can remember who or what was making them laugh so much.

Look how cool Cody looks

We asked Randy to take a photo of the four of us

And he took one of Dan, Dave and Cole too

Like I say, I don't have many of his photos, and none he took of just Michelle and Jamie, but these ones I do have are so good.

There were also lots of pictures taken with Jamie's family in too, but I haven't asked if I can share them so I have just shared our family pictures.


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[Lisa29]

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So back to where I left off and we were all having photos. Phil was taking some of Dan, Dave and Cole by the water

Proof Phil was actually there!

Beautiful

Cody loved walking round the whole area here. He has his dummy here, he was starting to getting tired

Pictures of Dad and Mum, I love how Mum's hair had been done

Another lovely, happy one, Jamie, Sydney and Kori

Saxon having a hug from his Mum

Phil was taking some of the same photos Randy was taking, but from a different angle

Sydney was holding Michelle's flowers for her

Another angle of the six of us

I have to be honest and say I only had these shoes on for photos, I had taken them off and swapped for my sandals long before the ceremony started!

Another close up of Cody

And one last photo outside of Sydney, Kori and Saxon

We had been outside for quite a while now and it was so hot. It was just after 2.30pm when we all went inside so that everyone could grab some water (Ryan was the waterboy for us again, he had a huge backpack filled with bottles of ice water) and for Michelle and Jamie to cut the cake.

Their cake

Cutting the cake

And feeding it to each other!

Kori now had Michelle's flowers and Phil got this lovely photo of her and Kaley

And then Piper joined them, I love this one

Cole was happily playing with water bottles again

Having a rest

Another of Dan, Dave and Cole

Michelle and Jamie had gone back outside to have some photos taken of the two of them while we all had some of the cake

There had also been champagne and orange juice, along with the cake, and Michelle had made a brief toast thanking us all for being there.

Cypress Grove was a lovely ceremony location. The setting outside was gorgeous and the whole area was so picturesque. It was lovely having the use of the house too, which was very pretty inside. It was another gloriously beautiful day, but it was very hot sitting in the sun while the ceremony was happening.

We were all stood around chatting while they were having their photos and at 3pm, it was time for us to leave. My Dad's back still wasn't right so he went in the car with Dan, Dave and Cole. The rest of us all made our way out to the coach

Still non-stop chatting to each other

Cody had gone very tired

Michelle and Jamie getting on the coach and this time it was Jamie holding Michelle's flowers

It was about 3.05pm when we left and were on our way and it wasn't long before Cody had fallen asleep

We seemed to go a different way to start with, and came across an accident so we had to turn around

The driver made a couple of wrong turns on the way but it wasn't long before we were driving back onto property

We do love the purple signs!

He drove past the Poly by mistake so had to drive to Shades of Green and do a U-turn in there, before taking us back to the Poly and dropping us at the entrance at 3.50pm.


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[Lisa29]

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Cole had been very happy in the car

When it came to choosing where to go for their Wedding meal, there was no need to research different restaurants, Michelle and Jamie knew they wanted to got to ‘Ohana.

Once we were off the coach, we all went through the lobby and upstairs to 'Ohana, with Michelle and Jamie going over to check us in

Our tables were ready for us as soon as they checked us in. I think it had been during this year (2019) that the dinner service started at 3pm so Michelle had been able to make bookings at 4pm for us. Unfortunately, they weren't able to seat us on one big table but we were on four tables next to each other, just behind the screen as you walk into the restaurant.

We sat with Ryan, Bethany, Piper and Cody

Dan, Dave and Cole sat with Mum and Dad

Michelle, Jamie and the kids were on a table for themselves

And then Jamie's parents, sisters and their families were sat on the fourth table.

The coconut-pineapple bread had been left on the table as we sat down

This was really good. We were hungry now, though we had had some cake, it had been a long time since the IHOP breakfast.

Phil took a couple more photos

I love how it looks like Mum has Tinkerbell wings on here!

We had all been give leis too

They had also brought water out to us as soon as we sat down but it took a long time for us to be able to order our drinks. We seemed to have different waiters and we didn't have one coming to our table . As you will see from the next picture, we still only had water when the salad was brought to us

I haven't made a note of what the salad was but it was very nice. Our drinks came out, quickly followed by the two dipping sauces

And then the noodles, veg, pot stickers and chicken wings

This was really good, it was all so tasty. Kaley loved the chicken wings, so much so that we asked for more as she ate so many of them. I really like the noodles and pot stickers.

They also came round with the steak, chicken and shrimp. I didn't have any shrimp, but really enjoyed the steak and chicken, though I only got a picture of the steak

We ate quite a bit between us, we really must have been hungry. It was all so good though, and when the food is in front of you, it's hard to stop eating it.

Cole had been quite upset during dinner, he wasn't very well and just wanted to be held and walked around. Dan and Dave had been taking it in turns to do this while the other ate, so when I had finished, I went over and had a go at walking him around the tables while they both got to eat for a few minutes. It didn't last very long as he just wanted cuddles from his Mum and Dad.

Though we had the issue with ordering drinks and that taking a long time, the food service seemed very quick. We hadn't had to wait long before each different food was brought to the table.

As soon as the table had been cleared, the coconut-banana bread pudding with ice cream and caramel sauce came out

They had also brought some rice krispy squares for the kids. The dessert was really good, I'm not a huge fan of coconut and I really don't like banana but you can't taste either of these and I always avoid the bananas in the sauce.

Phil doesn't like bread pudding so we asked for more ice cream and they were happy to bring some out

Couple more pics

We were all finished in here by 5.30pm, not long really considering how many of us there were. Michelle and Jamie had used their dining plan credits for our meals so I'm not sure what the cost was for this. Jamie's sister had excess credits so they had kindly offered to use theirs for the rest of Jamie's families meals.

We all made our way out of the restaurant and to the monorail station.

Michelle and Jamie were meeting Randy again to have some photos around the Poly for an hour, so they went off to meet him.

Michelle and Jamie originally hadn't known what to do after we had dinner. They wanted us all to be together but the total number of us (27) had made the (affordable) options limited. It was a Halloween Party night so tickets for all of us were very expensive. Doing an event with Disney, something like a dessert party, was so expensive that also wasn't an option. They looked into Illuminations cruises but that would have meant us being on different boats so defeats the purpose of celebrating together. Dan then suggested renting points to book a Grand Villa at Bay Lake Tower with a theme park view for the night. They looked into this and it wasn't hugely expensive so they booked it.

Dan, Dave and Cole had driven over there after dinner to check in (more on why soon). They had hoped to do this before we went to 'Ohana but that would have meant them leaving the reception at least 30 minutes before we all did so they decided to do it after dinner.

While they were doing this, we had got on the resort monorail, which was the Toy Story 4 one. I'm not sure if I said it before on another day, this monorail looks fantastic from the outside but is horrible on the inside as you can't see out properly because of the wrapping on the outside. It didn't take long to get there and we were soon walking across the walkway from the Contemporary to BLT.

Phil took some photos while we were waiting

The green and lime green monorails

I like this one

Going back to Dan and Dave doing check in for BLT, this was because they were named on the booking, along with Michelle and Jamie, us, Ryan and Bethany and Mum and Dad. You can have 12 people staying in a Grand Villa and as we were now staying offsite (Michelle and Jamie were still at Beach Club and Jamie's family were also onsite), they had said they would add our names to the booking so that we could use the magic bands for parking tomorrow, on our last park day.

Anyway, we didn't have to wait long for Dan, Dave and Cole to come over after they had checked in. We were on the 14th floor, in room (if you can call it that!) 8422.


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[Lisa29]

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We went in the lifts up to the 14th floor. Cole had fallen asleep again

And went to 8422

Madison posing for a photo outside the door

We all went in and had a look around. The living area, stairs and mezzanine area

Kitchen and dining area

Laundry room

Downstairs bathroom (bathroom 4)

Looking up at the mezzanine again

Mezzanine area; the sofa is a sleeper sofa so is where the 11th and 12th people can sleep

You can see from here the full double height windows you have when staying in a Grand Villa. Upstairs is where the second and third bedrooms and bathrooms are.

Bedroom 2

Bathroom 2

Bedroom 3

Bathroom 3

We didn't get any photos of the master bedroom so here is one from our 2010 trip

The open sliding door you can see is into the bathroom, you could have that open and see straight through if you were sitting in the bath.

And another photo from 2010 showing the living area a bit better

There are also four balconies; one off each bedroom and one off the kitchen. These grand villas really are incredible and it was amazing having the theme park view.

Phil spent some time out on the balcony off the kitchen taking some photos of the views

Then took some pictures of the kids

We hadn't been there long when it started to get dark out, so Phil got some more photos

He was back on the balcony off the kitchen and spotted Dan and Dave taking a photo of Michelle and Jamie on the CR viewing area

They had gone down to meet them to bring them up to the room

Looks like Jamie was bombarded with some form of confetti when he walked in!


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[Lisa29]

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I don't remember the details of how it happened but Michelle and Jamie had bought loads of drinks, crisps, sweets, etc. and they had all been brought up and put in the fridge and the kids had made a dent in the sweets!

Couple more photos

Madison and Kaley had money burning a hole in their pockets so Phil and I took them down and over to the CR, to the Fantasia shop to have a look

Madison bought herself two Kingdom Keeper books, a Cinderella notebook and novelty pen. Kaley was looking at toys that would have been difficult to get in a suitcase so she just bought a couple more of the Wishable teddy things.

We walked back over the walkway to BLT and up to the GV. We spent time chatting with everyone, taking photos and enjoying having somewhere to relax and be together. Cole still wasn't feeling well so Dan and Dave took him home, which was a shame but there was no way he could stay up, or not be able to sleep peacefully, until the fireworks.

We sat out on the same balcony again and took more photos

We saw the Electric Water Pageant go by

It was a MNSSHP night so it was soon time for Disney's Not So Spooky Spectacular fireworks (that is what the Disney website says they are called, HalloWishes is much easier to remember!) to start. I filmed this while Phil took photos

Phil had been able to get some pictures of the projections on the castle.

More fireworks

These were really good and great fun to watch. If I'm honest, I do prefer HalloWishes, I loved the 360 fireworks they used to do.

It had been a lovely night and getting to see Disney fireworks at the end of the day was a perfect ending.

It was gone 10.30pm now and it had been such a long day for us all. The kids had all been incredible. It was a long day, it was very hot and they had been brilliant, they were all so well behaved all day and really enjoyed themselves.

It was time for us to go now. Michelle and Jamie had ordered Lyfts for us so we got our stuff together and said our goodbyes, so that we could go down to the lobby to wait for them. One last photo of the castle before we left

Phil, Madison, Kaley and I were ready to go first, along with Piper who was really tired, so she came with us. We got in the first car (Mum, Dad, Ryan, Bethany and Cody were only a few minutes behind us) at 10.45pm and were back home at 11pm.

I helped Piper get ready for bed while Madison and Kaley got ready for bed too. The others were back a few minutes after us so Bethany and Ryan took over sorting Piper and the four kids were all in bed and asleep by 11.25pm.

We all stayed up talking for a while, before going to bed around midnight, all absolutely shattered.

We had had a fantastic day. Michelle was the last of us to get married and we were lucky to have had brilliant days at all of our Weddings. Though Dan and Dave also got married in Orlando, the two weddings had been completely different, as had mine and Phil's and Ryan and Bethany's here at home. Thankfully, they all had the same thing - fantastic days how we wanted them, surrounded by family.

Thank you for reading if you make it this far, I know it is long and there are so many pictures!


My steps for today - 12,550
Phil's steps for today - 9,173

Next up, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Swimming and Millers Ale House is HERE

[mick]

A brilliant day everyone looked lovely


Joan