Brett & Jo's 'Not So Scary' Wedding Adventure : Day 12 - The Grey Wedding

[Happyhaunt1000]

Hello there, and welcome to our long-awaited, much-anticipated, over-hyped, sure-to-be-a-letdown, far-too-lengthy day 12…. The Wedding Day! Apologies for the lack of photos in places (and the excess of photos in others)... you'll probably notice that some of them are better than others, that's because we've used a mix of our professional ones and the ones that our guests took. Now, it’s already the size of a short novel so I won’t waffle on... and in the words of the great Mickey Mouse… it’s on with the show!



She’s up… and she’s pacing about! It’s 7:45 in the morning, and even though my alarm wasn’t due to go off for another half an hour, Jo was obviously determined not to let me have any more (much needed) beauty sleep. I can hear her moving about in the room… she’s hardly making a sound… but just her walking around is enough to wake me up.

When I do finally open my eyes and start to focus, she’s sitting on the sofa, TV remote in hand, flicking through the channels. I don’t even have to ask what she’s doing… I already know... she’s looking for a weather forecast. I ask her if she’s ok and she tells me she feels sick. (Excited about becoming Mrs Harding later in the day, no doubt! ) Funnily enough I feel sick too… but I think mine is down to not really eating properly the previous day (yes, yes, yes… I know we had a lovely late night feast from the Boardwalk Bakery but my guts are telling me it’s not enough!) The WESH weather report isn’t sounding good… they are predicting a 90% chance of rain today and the live pictures they show of various locations around the Orlando area show nothing buy grey skies, rain and people travelling to work wrapped up like it’s a winter’s day in the UK!

Many words entered my mind at this point… all of which are banned by the DIBB and unprintable here! But… there was a part of me that was optimistic. I say to Jo that hopefully it will have passed by lunchtime and everything will be alright for the afternoon. She doesn’t look convinced… in fact, she looks downright miserable!

I don’t want to press her any further because the previous night when we were busy packing all our stuff to come to Boardwalk, I’d asked Jo if she was ok and she’d started sobbing! She was feeling nervous about the wedding ceremony… and about standing up there in front of so many people. It didn’t matter that they were our friends and family… she’s just not someone who likes to be the centre of attention.

We’re both up, showered and dressed, and basically killing time until the lady we’d booked to steam all the suits and dresses. She was due at 9am but arrived 8:45 and got straight to work on the suits.

As she’s talking to us about the day ahead, the weather report is back on the TV and it’s still looking like it’s going to be complete dogs’ plop all day! But I’m still mildly optimistic that it will all pass and we’ll have good weather by the time of the service. Looking back, it’s strange that I was so optimistic... especially seeing as the weather for the last 2-3 days had been really quite bad!

I figured that the best thing for us would be to get some food inside of us… so I head over to the Boardwalk Bakery to grab something from their breakfast menu. It felt like an autumn day outside… there was a chill in the air… it was spitting slightly… and the sky was nothing but grey misery. (Deduct 10 optimism points!) It was then I had the realisation that our dream outdoors Disney wedding could indeed be taking place inside! But I wasn’t going to show my disappointment to Jo… and vowed to carry on ‘trying’ to remain upbeat. At the bakery, I got a couple of orange juices, a sausage and egg biscuit, and a bacon and egg biscuit. (Sorry… there are no pics… had other things on my mind at this point!)

Back in the room and I ask which biscuit Jo wants. She couldn’t have cared less… so I gave her the bacon one. I was trying to tuck into mine, but the problem with using biscuits instead of proper bread is that it keeps breaking apart. In the end I had just sausage and egg in my hands and a lap full of crumbs! Jo had taken one bite of her breakfast and put it down. It was nothing to do with the state I’d gotten myself into, and more to do with the fact that she was too nervous to eat! I tried to get her to eat some more but she left it on the side and went off to do something else as I scooped handfuls of biscuit crumbs out of my lap and into the box on the table.

Nothing else really happened for the next hour… the woman keeps steaming, Jo keeps pacing, and I have no recollection of what I did! Jo’s pacing actually turned into a game, as she spotted a couple of Hidden Mickeys in the room… and to keep her occupied she’s started hunting out more.







But it’s now 10:15 and the woman has finished steaming all but 1 item… Jo’s dress. We’ve stayed away from most wedding traditions, and even though I’ll be seeing Jo before the service for photos, I won’t lay eyes on the dress until then.

The plan for this morning is for Steve (Jo’s dad) to drive over to the Boardwalk, drop off Beryl so she could get ready with Jo and the bridesmaids. Meanwhile I go back to the Rosen Inn with Steve, get ready at the hotel with him and Cocky, and the three of us get a cab back to the Boardwalk around 3pm for some pre-ceremony photos… simple!

Because the steaming lady was just waiting about, Jo thought she’d give her mum a quick call to see how long they were going to be. Here’s how that call sounded:
“Hello……. No, nothing……. We’re fine……. We’re fine…… No, nothing’s wrong, we’re fine…..”
(It’s at this point I heard Jo do something she doesn’t really do, and that’s raise her voice to her parents!) “No, just listen! Nothing is wrong, I’m just calling to see where you are as the lady steaming the clothes is almost done and it’s just the wedding dress to do.”

Turns out they were just a few minutes away, so I went up to the lobby to meet Beryl and bring her back to the room. “Hello dear… you alright?” were Beryl’s first words to me. I was fine… but I warned her that she probably shouldn’t ask Jo that as it was likely to set her off! Back in the room, I grabbed the suits, kissed Jo, told her to chill out and that I’d see her in a few hours. I could see in her eyes that she was stressing, but there was nothing I could do now… it was down to the bridesmaids to ply her with enough liquor that she stopped being worried and started enjoying the day. Just as I reached the reception the three of them were walking in with big smiles on their faces. “Hiya… how you feeling?” (I think all of them said this at the same time.)

I told them I was fine… wasn’t nervous… wasn’t excited… just worried a little about Jo. Then I told them the same thing I told Beryl… and warned them not to ask Jo how she was! I simply told them to get her drunk… but obviously not too drunk!

Outside, Steve was waiting in the car. I filled him in on the events of the morning and he said Beryl was acting the same as Jo. Like mother, like daughter eh! Back at the hotel, we went our separate ways and I said I’d give Steve a call when me and Cocky were starting to get ready. I got to the hotel door, and like a child that leaves a trail of clothes as it gets undressed, I walked in the room and took my shorts off. My plan had been to get fully undressed and get into bed… but I somehow stopped after just my shorts. So there I lay, on my bed, in t-shirt and pants, when suddenly… BANG BANG BANG on the door. I thought it was Steve, or somebody else from the wedding party… so I get up, go to grab my shorts… but before I could even get to them, my door was wide open and there stood what I can only assume is a cleaning supervisor!
“Oh… err… I’m so sorry sir” she stammers as she goes to quickly close the door.
“It’s ok” I say… and take a step towards the door. She’s trying to get the door closed and get away from the awkward situation, but I’m not letting her off the hook.

As she tried to pull the door shut, I grabbed the handle and pulled it open. In my pants and t-shirt, I’m now standing in the doorway… and for some reason, I’ve adopted this kind of superman/hero stance! Legs shoulder width apart, one hand on the door… the other on my hip… I ask her what she wanted (making sure to keep eye contact!) She wants anything but eye contact… she just doesn’t want to be here! She stammers that she’s checking that the maids have been round to do their duties. I tell her that I’ll be staying elsewhere for a couple of nights, so there’s no need for a maid service for the next two days. She says she’ll make a note of it and hurries away.

I close the door, slump back on the bed and find the remote. I can’t find anything on the TV worth my time and I end up just leaving it on an episode of Dr Phil. It’s sad, but I kinda got into it… I wanted to know if the ‘off the rails teen’ was going to forgive the heavy handed father who had slapped her to ‘try and make her see sense’. Then… as if I’d been slapped myself, I realised how sad my current situation was! It was my wedding day… and here I was, sat alone in a hotel room… scantily clad... watching an episode of Dr Phil!

I grabbed my phone, called Cocky and said I needed to get out of my room and spend a few hours doing something. He was on his way back from the mall with Emma and James, and said he’d be back at the hotel in 10 minutes and could meet me in 20. I then called Steve and asked if he’d want to come out with us too… which he did.

(Turns out Steve had been having his own adventure! When he got back to the hotel, the maids were doing his room and banned… yes, BANNED him from coming into his own room. He’d tried to call me to ask if he could come and wait in my room while they did his, but he couldn’t get through… so he went off and had something to eat at the restaurant!)

Down at the lobby 20minutes later, the three of us took a stroll across the road and decided to have a game of golf at Hawaiian Rumble. Man… that’s a bad mini-golf course! It’s like they’ve painted some patches of dirt green and stuck a flag in the ground. I had a horrible round. Cocky (who wasn’t even trying) was 2-putting every time. He’d be stuck behind a post… and somehow bounce it off a rock, through a tunnel and into the hole! And you know what makes losing at crazy golf even more fun? Being told by the person that’s spanking you “I don’t even like golf… I’m not even trying! ”

By the end, he’d beaten me by an embarrassing 16 shots! (Steve was only 8 or so behind.) Still… it had eaten up about an hour of time, so we made our way back to the hotel. Walking back I commented on the sky. It wasn’t as grey and miserable as it had been at 9am this morning… in fact it looked to be clearing.
There was certainly more pockets of blue sky showing… so my optimism rose a little
(+15 optimism points!) Steve went back to his room to get changed, while me and Cocky grabbed a sandwich and a couple of beers and went back to my room to start getting ready.

As I put my shirt on, I’m suddenly wide eyed and full of terror. This bad boy is tight! I know I’ve been in Florida for a week… and I know I’ve had Tony Roma’s a couple of times… but surely I haven’t put on this much weight?!?! My trousers fit perfectly… and if anything they would’ve been the things to feel tight! In my head I’m calculating exactly what I can and cannot eat later on. I’m wondering if keeping my jacket on is the only way I’m going to get through the day without a button popping off and hitting someone in the eye!

“Man… I love Florida” Cocky says and breaks me out of my button-popping daydream, “I’ve been eating like a pig since I’ve got here and I’ve actually lost weight!” Suddenly it dawns on me… the steaming woman has put Cocky’s shirt with my suit, and vice versa! We swap shirts… panic over… and everything is right with the world again and we’re back on track! There will be no buttons popping today… not on my watch!

It’s at this point that I present Cocky with his best man gift… an engraved pocket watch. It says on the back ‘Best man for a day… Best friend for life’. This warrants one man hug, one “I love you buddy” and one tapping together of beer bottles.

A few minutes later, Steve’s at the door and we’re ready to get back to Boardwalk. Down at the lobby a cab pulls up, and thankfully we don’t have another “BORKWARK” incident. What we have instead is a driver, speaking broken English telling us that his English friends tell him he’s too ugly to go to England! They’ve obviously never been to Dagenham… because this guy looks like Denzel Washington compared to some of those guys. The 20 minute journey feels like 40… because the driver insists on starting new conversations with Steve (who’s up front sat next to him)… but he can’t hear what the guy is mumbling, so I have to keep poking him, then repeating what the guy has just said! And just in case we didn’t hear it the first time round… he busts out the “I’m too ugly for England” story again! Finally though… we’re back at Borkwark.

And it’s at this point that I’ll stop writing (hooray I hear you cheer!)
I asked at the end of the last post if you wanted this to just be my point of view for the whole day, or if me and Jo should co-write this day. Well… you, the DIBBERS have spoken… so here is what happened to Jo while I was posing like a superhero for scared housekeeping supervisors! Take it away Jo…

Before I get into the ‘details’ of my day so far (of which I’ll admit there aren’t many seeing as we made the notes the following day), I think I should make you all aware that I’m basically rubbish at being a girl. Lots of you wanted to know about the hair/make-up/pampering element of the day, but as it was probably the bit I was looking forward to the least, I just kind of wanted that part over with. I normally try and avoid venturing into a beauty salon (if that’s what they’re even called... see, told you I was rubbish), or hairdressers for as long as possible, so being faced with a few hours of people fussing over me made me a bit nauseous! BUT, I figured it would only be a few hours, and seeing as I’m a big and brave I could put up with that so that I didn’t look back at my wedding photos in years to come and regret that I didn’t make the most of it and try and look my best.

So, back to what actually happened... Brett had left with my dad to go back to the Rosen Inn, and my mum was sitting in the room with me whilst the lady finished steaming my dress. Mum asked if I was ok, and I think all I could manage was a ‘yes’, and then there was a bit of silence. In true British style she asked if I fancied a cup of tea, which I actually thought may help, so she wandered down to the Boardwalk Bakery. Whilst she was gone I carried on trying to eat the bacon and egg biscuit thing, but seeing as I was feeling sick with nerves (as always) it was a real struggle to get anything down. What really didn’t help was that it had a slightly fishy tang to it... and as much as I like fish, when I’m eating something that apparently doesn’t contain any, it can be a bit off-putting! There was a knock at the door and I opened it to a lady who handed me a vase of gorgeous white flowers... which were from our Disney Florist, Jennifer, wishing me luck for today. I know they probably do it for all their brides (we definitely spent enough money to warrant it), but it really was such a lovely surprise... the fab Disney customer service strikes again!



There was another knock on the door a few minutes later and Shell, Jay and Carly where there… and not empty handed I must add! They’d stopped off and bought a six-pack of Hard Lemonade! Mum then came back armed with our tea and mini Babycakes cupcakes. I clearly am my mother’s daughter as I’d bought a pack of those the night before thinking we might want some snacks whilst we were getting ready today.

By about 10.50 the lady was done with my dress, so I paid her and when she left the girls cracked open the drinks… my fishy biscuit (!) went in the bin and our liquid brunch began! We all cheers’d and the girls gave me a bag of gifts. It was totally unexpected, and I got a bit choked up as I started to open the first one... which was a silly picture of all of us on my hen night, in a personalised frame. I love this



I began to unwrap the second one, which felt a bit like a game of pass the parcel with a million layers of tissue paper, and saw this!



Again, I felt a bit choked up but was managing to hold it together... that was until I opened the book and started reading. I got two pages in, my eyes filled up and I couldn’t see or speak! (Only my second big wobble in the run up to the wedding, so I’d not done too badly.) On every other page of the book there is a photo of someone who came on my hen do, and on the page opposite they’ve written a little message to me.



Like I said, I’d got two pages in and started blubbing... just as the first hair/make-up lady arrived with her giant box of tricks. As it was time to get down to business, I packed the book and photo away, gave the girls big hugs and promised I’d read it properly tomorrow, as my eyes were red and puffy enough already!

(I feel terrible as I can’t remember the names of the ladies who were doing the girls’ hair and make-up... the only one I remember is Patricia as she’s a) the owner of the company and b) the one who worked her magic on me! So to make it easy, we have Hair Lady, Make-Up Lady, and Patricia.)

Hair Lady, who was the first one to get there, had a quick look around the room and decided where to set up separate hair and make-up ‘stations’. As she was getting numerous things plugged in, laying out brushes and combs and other tools I’ve never even seen before, and bottles and cans and jars of god knows what (I recognised one of them as hairspray... one girl point to me), Patricia turned up dragging a second massive box which it turned out was home to all the make-up. She put it on the table under the so-called brightest light in the room and started opening up its drawers and pulling out trays. I just remember looking at the hundreds of different colours of powders and creams and lipsticks (ding! another girl point to Jo), and thinking it looked like the bit of Debenhams I rush through as quickly as possible before I’m sprayed with something noxious!

This is the point where everything becomes a bit of a blur! Luckily my mum and the girls had taken some photos throughout the day, which has helped jog my memory, as the voice memo I did was literally useless.

Hair Lady and Patricia asked what styles we all wanted for our hair, and I’d said months before to the girls that I was happy for them to have whatever they wanted. I was determined not to be one of the bridezilla types (don’t think there was much chance of it anyway), and never really had a ‘vision’ for my wedding, so I just wanted them to be comfortable and enjoy it as much as possible. So being the amazing friends they are, they all turned up with photos of styles they liked saved onto their phones for reference. After looking at them all, Patricia and Hair Lady decided Carly should be first in the hot-seat, as she wanted a waterfall braid with curls (I think that deserves girl point number three), and her hair would need longest to set once curled.



Jay was next for hair... she has a lot of it, and I’m sure she won’t mind me saying it’s pretty wild so needed a lot of taming!



Meanwhile Patricia got started on my eye make-up. I’d had my trial with her in May, and as lovely as it was, I said I’d like to go a bit darker and smokey this time, which she totally agreed with seeing as it was an overcast day (apparently this meant I could ‘get away with it’). She had suggested, when I had my trial, that I should think about having some cluster eyelashes added, and at the time I politely declined saying that it just wasn’t ‘me’. She asked if I’d thought any more about them, and to be honest, until she mentioned it again, I hadn’t. But I told her as I was slightly worried anyway about going heavier with the eyeshadow, I thought the lashes might be total overkill and I’d look like a circus reject... so it was a no thank you again.

Shell was up next for hair prep, and more curls were needed for her up-do (the curling wand got a lot of use that day!)



Mum was having her make-up done by Patricia at the same time, and I kept looking over and could see she wasn’t exactly enjoying the experience. Like me, she’d never had her make-up done before, and I think the invasion of her personal space by a complete stranger might have been a bit much. But like the trooper that she is, she got through it and I thought she looked lovely.

Whilst this was all going on, the phone rang, and as I answered and heard Amy (our Wedding Planner) say ‘Hi Jo’, I knew exactly what she was going to say. She said a decision had been made by her manager that our reception was going to be held indoors, rather than outside in the Eau de France area, due to there being a 50% or higher chance of rain. Having been glued to the weather forecast for the last few days it wasn’t a surprise, and I think I’d already accepted that the day wasn’t going to go exactly as planned.

Originally we were told our indoor back-up location was the American Adventure Parlor (to give it it’s ‘proper’ spelling), and having googled it I was quite happy. But when we got to a couple of months before the wedding, we were told the back-up had been changed to the Norway Loft as the AAP was no longer available. I’d then googled that and to say I was gutted is a bit of an understatement. All I’d read were stories about how awful the Loft suite was, and how it was drab and dull and barely even fit for a business meeting, let alone a wedding. And the two photos I’d managed to find didn’t really do much to make me feel any better. I didn’t tell Brett at the time but I actually considered changing the reception completely to the Living Seas Salon, as it was something a bit different, and if it rained it didn’t matter. But I hadn’t, so when I saw it was likely to rain on our wedding day, I just had to deal with it. Like I said before, I had no ‘vision’ for the day, and wherever everything took place I knew we’d all have a good time as we had such great friends and family around us (super cheesy I know, but it really is true).

So, getting back to the girly stuff... mum went from make-up to having her hair done, no curls this time! Make-Up Lady turned up, just in time to start on Jay, who decided to have the lashes added. I was sitting around watching all this going on, and feeling quite relaxed. No panicking, no nerves, no sick feeling. Just calm and, dare I say it, actually enjoying the whole experience. (I blame this on the fact I’d had two bottles of Hard Lemonade and no food up to this point!) I think once mum was completely done she also relaxed a little bit and was happy with how she looked... I’ll say it again, I thought she looked lovely.



Once Jay’s make-up was done, it was Shell’s turn, and Patricia and Hair Lady got on with curling my hair and pinning it up to set. Just as they started, the fire alarm sounded. It was only then I remembered reading a leaflet left in our room the night before, saying there would be a fire alarm test between the hours of 10am and 2pm on Wednesday 25th September. It was SO loud. I was basically sitting right underneath the alarm as well... talk about deafening. But it’s ok, it’s just a test, not to worry, it’ll go off in a few seconds. About five minutes later (no exaggeration) it was still ringing. Patricia and Hair Lady couldn’t stand it so moved me over to the patio doors, the furthest point from the actual alarm.





Another couple of minutes later it was going, so Hair Lady went out of the room to see if we should be evacuating... and one of the nice firemen out in the corridor said no, it was just a test. Just a hunch, but I think it might have been working! After about ten minutes they finally turned it off and we all just sat there enjoying the silence for a bit... I was just hoping my tinnitus was temporary!

Someone suggested after that ordeal we needed more alcohol, and I said I’d seen a margarita stand down on the Boardwalk... so my mum all made up, and Shell with her hair all done, walked down to grab five drinks.



My hair was curled and pinned, and then it was time for the rest of my make-up.



When I’d booked it I was offered about five different types, and I opted for the airbrush make-up and just assumed the girls and mum would also be happy with that. I’d done some research and it seemed like as much as it would cover everything and give a good finish, it wasn’t too heavy, which I figured would be good if it was hot. I fancy look like that Nazi from Indiana Jones! The airbrush was strange... the actual make-up was quite cold which I didn’t expect, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all! As she was doing some finishing touches, Patricia asked one last time if I’d changed my mind about the lashes. I heard one of the girls say ‘I think you should have them, we have’, and I said I wasn’t sure but would trust her judgement, if she really thought I needed them then go for it. Five minutes later I looked at myself and all I could focus on were these massive, thick eyelashes. I can’t say I hated them, but I felt so fake! They’d looked so natural on Jay and Shell but seemed to really stand out on me.

Everything seemed to suddenly speed up again from now on... people had always warned me to try and take everything in as it goes by in such a blur, and up until this point I’d done quite well. But we were down to the last two hours before the ceremony and it felt like the ‘lightspeed to Endor’ bit of Star Tours! Carly’s hair had been done whilst my make-up was finished, then we swapped so my hair was being finished whilst Carly’s make-up was done.

[Happyhaunt1000]

At about 3.30pm two massive boxes were delivered… our bouquets! I’d also ordered some wired flowers in case the girls wanted them in their hair, which they did. Patricia pinned them all in place quickly before her and the other two left and we then had a few minutes to relax before getting into our dresses.





This was when Brett and Cocky arrived to drop off a couple of bits in the room.



Brett commented on how nice I looked in my outfit... a baggy shirt, jogging bottoms and some Mickey Mouse socks from Little Miss Matched... and then they left to go and start their photos.

I think it was now that it really hit me I was getting married in just over an hour... my stomach flipped, I felt ridiculously nervous, but I took a couple of deep breaths... and then felt totally fine! I took the opportunity to have one final wee before I got into my dress (TMI?), as I figured it’d be a bit more difficult later, and mum and the girls started getting into their dresses. I was the last one to get into mine, as I needed everyone’s help... the lacing up part seemed to take forever!



We finished our margaritas, and took a few photos once we were all ready.



Then at 4.10 it was time to make our way up to the lobby to meet Brett, Cocky and my dad. The walk along the ridiculously long corridor suddenly seemed even longer!



All my nerves had disappeared though, and I was feeling really excited for what was going to be happening next. I’m sure the bit of alcohol and no food had probably played its part, but it was such a nice feeling to finally be here after all these months of planning. Before we left for Florida, everyone I spoke to had given me the same advice… just enjoy the day and make sure you take a step back to appreciate everything as it’ll all be over so quickly. So that was my plan. As we got to the lifts, a family was already standing there waiting. They all said congratulations and I replied with a thank you (not realising how many times I’d be hearing and saying the same things over the course of the day). The doors to the lift opened, the family said they’d wait for the next one (yet another thank you from me) and the five of us bundled in. I took a couple of deep breaths as we arrived at lobby level, and when the doors opened I could see Brett with my dad and Cocky posing for photos. The next person I saw was Amy, who had a big smile on her face, beckoning me forwards.

And now I’m handing the keyboard back to Brett to give you his version of how the next hour played out!

After leaving the group of excited, slightly tipsy women, me and Cocky went back up to the lobby where I met Mike and Brittany. Mike was our appointed Disney Photographer, and Brittany was his assistant. Mike would be dealing with all the serious posed photographs and Brittany would be taking the candid more natural shots. Within 2 minutes of being there, Mike had me posing.
“Turn left… now face me a little, now tilt your head… lean a bit…”

Pictures of me on my own, me and Steve, me and Cocky… by the door, by the flowers, by the sofa!







After a while I’d had enough and started ignoring Mike’s instructions and instead started pulling faces and being stupid which Brittany loved.



Mike came over again and asked me to do just a few more serious ones. It was at this point I reminded Mike of the telephone conversation we’d had earlier in the year where both me and Jo had said we’d prefer not to spend ages properly posing for photos, and holding positions that made us feel awkward or uncomfortable. As I’m saying this, I spot Amy walking into the lobby. I haven’t seen her since we did our planning session back in May, so I give her a big hug and she asks me how I’m doing. I tell her (like I’ve told everyone) that I’m fine and glad to see the weather is holding out.

She says that she’s really sorry that the reception is now going to be held inside… but with the chance of rain being so high, it was a decision that was out of her hands. She then assures me that the suite in the Norway Pavilion is lovely and it’s going to look amazing for us. With this, she disappears off to do Wedding Planner stuff. And for me… it’s back to Mike asking me to “give it more lean” as I pose for more pictures.

It feels like this is going on forever… and as I’m mid-pose again, Amy comes over and says
“I’m really, really sorry Brett… but we’re going to have to hold the ceremony inside as well.”
I just stared at her and didn’t say anything… I was trying to process what she was saying.
After a moment or two… all I could manage to say was “it’s ok, it’s not your fault” (which it really wasn’t). She could clearly see I was disappointed (as anyone would be). She says sorry again, and goes off to join her assistant who’s standing off to the side.

Cocky comes over and asks me what’s up. I tell him what Amy has said and he then asks me if I’m alright… and for the first time today… I’m not! I don’t know how to describe what I was feeling as it was a complete mish-mash of emotions. We’d wanted to have this amazing service by the lake… with the beautiful surroundings of the Boardwalk as our backdrop. But now… not only were we having the reception inside… but now the service as well. We’d paid all this money, spent months planning… our friends and family had made huge efforts to be with us… and now, when it came down to it… me and Jo were getting married in basically a function room which could have been anywhere! Now I know that was a risk we’d accepted when we chose to have the wedding outside… but we’d always stayed positive and believed that it would be a nice day and the Tiki Gods would look kindly upon us. But they hadn’t… they’d been massive Helens(!)

I went outside onto the patio on my own… I needed a moment to gather my thoughts. I was looking up at the sky… not only did it not look like it was going to rain… but to my untrained meteorologist’s eyes… it looked to be brightening up even more! Sure there were some clouds, but they were all shifting away leaving blue sky behind them! Then it hit me that I’d have to break the news to Jo when she came to the lobby. “Hey babe… you look great. Listen… you know we had this amazing outdoor ceremony planned by the lake… well that’s not happening now. Instead we’re getting married in a broom closet! ” To be fair… Amy hadn’t even said where the ceremony would now be taking place… so for all I knew, it could well be a broom closet!

I go back inside to speak to Amy but she’s nowhere to be seen… so Mike thinks this is an ideal opportunity to have me do yet more poses, this time with the rings (another clichéd wedding picture that both me and Jo had said we didn’t want). I’m still thinking about how to break the news to Jo about the ceremony and mindlessly agree to whatever Mike wants.



About 10 minutes later, Amy appears and she’s looking stressed! (Aren’t wedding planners meant to be cool calm and collected?) “Brett… can I have a word” she says. Brilliant… what now?!?! Has Rev Tim cancelled? Has Disney found out I don’t keep my arms inside the vehicle at all times when riding Rock ’N’ Rollercoaster and now I’m banned from the parks and resorts for life?
“I just wanted to let you know that the service is now back on at Sea Breeze Point.”
“Are you serious?” I ask.
“Yes… I’ve… err… had to pull a few strings, but it’s back on!”
I give her a massive hug and thank her profusely.

“Did you have to threaten someone to make this happen?!” I joke. At this point, her assistant (who’s only said a handful of words to me since she’s arrived) cuts in and answers for Amy. “She’s really put her neck on the line here. The bosses were adamant that this service should take place inside, but Amy has gone against that. She’s in so much trouble if it rains!” I give Amy another big hug. Every step of the way Amy has been there for us… taking so much of the pressure and stress away from us and making it so that our big day goes without a hitch.

Once she manages to wriggle free from my bear hug, she gets serious again and says that the chance of rain is pretty high, so we’ll need to work through the service as quickly as possible. She then says that as soon as the guests arrive, instead of hanging around the Boardwalk until the service begins, we should get them moved over and seated at Sea Breeze Point as soon as possible. Reverend Tim has arrived and Amy rushes over to him to explain the situation, and how he’ll need to keep things moving at a swift pace if we’re to avoid getting rained on.

It’s at this point that Jo arrives.



She looks amazing. I’d obviously seen her a little earlier with all her make up done… and as lovely as she looked in her jogging bottoms and mis-matched socks… I’m glad to see she’s changed into something a little more fitting for the occasion. The dress isn’t how I imagined it (not that I’d had sleepless nights or anything, wondering what her dress would look like!) I’d thought she would go for something without a train… something more… slinky. I give her a kiss… tell her she looks amazing... and tell her it’s been all go out here in the lobby.

Rewind back to when I went wedding dress shopping six months earlier… I’d only booked an appointment at one shop, as I was convinced I’d find something that ‘would do’ and I was also convinced, like Brett, that I wanted something slinky and lightweight. I think I tried on seven dresses in that first shop, and actually really disliked all of them. (My mum and the girls had even made me try on the huge Alfred Angelo Disney Fairytale Wedding ‘Cinderella’ dress for a laugh… I don’t know how anyone manages to even walk in a dress like that, let alone sit, eat or go to the loo!) Anyway, Carly got on the case whilst I was getting dressed, and in the space of five minutes she’d booked appointments for me at another two shops that day. In the second shop I picked out a few dresses to try, but it seemed like all the slinky dresses were actually pretty heavy… either being made from lace or satin. After explaining to the sales assistant what I thought I wanted, where I was getting married etc, she picked out a couple for me to try. And hey presto, one that I’d never have even considered brought my mum to tears when I came out of the changing room. I guessed that was ‘the one’!

Now some of you may wish to here that I was swooning at Jo’s feet… that I was waxing lyrical about how amazing she looked and how happy I was to be on the verge of marrying her… but that’s just not us. We are deeply in love with one another… but I knew that if, even for one second, I was to get serious and start telling her all these sweet loving things… it would have set her off crying… and probably lead to her being nervous… and that was the last thing I wanted. Hence me keeping everything upbeat, light and fun.

I tell her all about the goings on with the ceremony being moved to inside… Amy taking a big risk for us regarding the weather… and how it was now back on outside. She takes this all in her stride and doesn’t really react to anything. I now realise after reading her portion of the TR that she was as drunk as a skunk! (Ok… a little bit tipsy!)

Like I said before, I was feeling too excited to let this kind of thing faze me. I honestly don’t think I would have minded too much if we had been moved indoors… we all know Disney are the experts at customer service and putting on a show, so I’m sure it would have been lovely wherever it had been held. (I’m usually a pretty sarcastic so-and-so, but I’m typing this with a completely straight face!)

Mike comes over and sets about taking pictures of Jo on her own, Jo with me, Jo with her parents, Jo with her bridesmaids… you get the idea.

[Happyhaunt1000]

We then all venture outside onto the patio. Mike has all of us (bride, groom, best man and bridesmaids) lining up and leaning over the railing, while him and Brittany go down onto the lawn and shoot pictures of us from down there.



As you can see… we were happier pulling faces and mucking about.





Then… in possibly two of the most awkward sets of poses for me and Jo, Mike takes us both off to one side. He gets Jo to do these ‘over the shoulder’ poses. He keeps saying “give me attitude”. Jo rarely ‘gives attitude’ and normally only when I wind her up… so I’m not sure how Mike expects to elicit this response from her!

This was literally the worst part of the whole day for me… I don’t do sultry, I don’t do attitude… I do do smiles, and tongue out, and stupid scrunched up, big-eyed faces. So the resulting photos from Mike getting me to do this are so horrific that I can’t put them out there for public viewing. Instead you can have a smiley one!



He then sits us down on the stairs and tries to get us to be all cuddly. This all feels false and not the type of wedding photos we want.




Look at my gorgeous shoes!

In between Mike shouting instructions at us, I pull faces and Brittany laughs and takes photos.







Mike, realising he’s fighting a losing battle with us two, gives up and me and Jo go back to join everyone else up on the patio.





Just before me and Jo had been dragged off, Beryl asked if I wanted a drink. To which I’d obviously replied YES! Upon my return, she presented me with a frozen margarita that she’d gone down to the booth on the Boardwalk and bought! I make a rookie mistake and take a couple of big gulps through the straw. Within seconds I’m suffering from brain freeze! You’d have thought that considering my earlier experiences in the holiday with frozen margaritas and how I’d had brain freeze each time, I might have learnt my lesson… but quite clearly not.





As we’re up on the balcony enjoying the views of Boardwalk and commenting on how it’s now starting to get hot (as the sun is now well and truly out), the guests arrive! They are being herded along by Amy’s assistant who is taking our friends and family direct to Sea Breeze Point to get them seated and ready. We quickly wave at everyone, but like Amy said… no time wasting… no dilly-dallying… we need to get the ceremony started asap.



We make our way downstairs and join up with everyone. As me and Jo are walking along the Boardwalk, people are shouting ‘congratulations’ and ‘good luck’ as we pass. Some huge, burly biker with a massive beard starts whooping and shouting “way to go man… congratulations!” I give him a salute and say thanks.




Ooh look, the margarita stand!

We’re approaching a mother and her little girl who are stood off to the side and I can hear the mum saying to her daughter “go on then… tell her…” At this point the little girl shyly walks over and stops in front of Jo. She looks behind at her mother who rushes over and says… “tell her then, don’t be shy!” The little girl looks up at Jo and says “you look beautiful, like a princess!” Now, I don’t like kids (most of the time) but that little girl melted my heart! Jo obviously said thank you to the little girl and we both said how pretty she looked in her dress too. Where was Mike? It’s moments like this that he should’ve been capturing… not us sitting on the stairs looking bored and awkward!

We get to within about 50metres of Sea Breeze Point and Jo is told to hold back with her dad and the girls, while me and Cocky take our places up front with Rev Tim. I’ve heard people say that even when they weren’t nervous all day, as soon as they got to the ceremony, nerves suddenly hit them. But in all honesty I didn’t feel that way. If anything, I felt a huge sense of relief that after a couple of years of planning and the last minute stresses about the weather and venue changes, I was just happy it was going ahead at our chosen venue.



As me and Cocky walked in, greeted by the smiling faces of our friends and family, I was actually a little bit distracted. This was because the harpist was playing It’s a Small World! Yes, you did read that right. As mentioned in the Pre-Trip Report, we’d decided against traditional wedding music, instead we’d picked pieces of music from the Disney parks… attractions, parades, and even area background music. I’m not sure how many of our guests picked up on what was being played, but I found myself humming along.



While me and Cocky were standing there talking to Rev Tim, one of the Friendship boats passed by and honked its horn, and everyone on board was waving as I saluted back. That exact scene is how I described getting married at Sea Breeze Point… bright blue sky… sunshine… boats honking their horns in the background… perfect!

[Happyhaunt1000]

The only thing left now was for Jo to join me front and centre.





When Brett and Cocky walked on ahead, Amy turned to my bridesmaids and asked who would be walking in first. This is another thing I hadn’t really thought about. I’d been pretty useless with the details, so just said the girls could decide between themselves. Amy then mentioned that the order they walked in determined the order they’d be standing up the front, so if they wanted to be in height order then it would have to be Shell (the shortest) or Carly (the tallest). Why was there so much to think about! There was a bit of a discussion, and for no particular reason Jay said she’d go first.



Amy was chatting to her assistant through her earpiece (it was all very ‘24’), and my mum was given the nod to go and take her seat. She said a quick ‘good luck’ to all of us, and walked up the side ramp into Sea Breeze Point, laden down with everyone’s bags!



Next we were given the go ahead for the bridesmaids, and my stomach flipped as she gave Jay a countdown. Obviously as the girls were walking in I was half hidden behind some hedges with my dad, so didn’t see any of what actually happened. I hear it all went very smoothly, no tripping up or anything, which is quite an achievement for those three, especially Carly! Also, not being there meant I didn’t hear what the harpist was playing, but I’d asked for some Magic Kingdom area music, and can only assume that’s what everyone heard as they walked up the aisle (whether they recognised it is anybody’s guess!)

After that initial stomach flip, when the magnitude of what was happening suddenly dawned on me, I accepted my fate(!) and felt absolutely fine… I decided I really do like Brett quite a lot and could definitely do a lot worse. My dad looked at me, asked if I was alright (he surprisingly didn’t give me the option of legging it), and as I said yes Amy got word that everyone was in place and ready for my big entrance. This is the bit, in the months leading up to the wedding, that I had been dreading the most… everyone looking at me! But, as she sorted out my train, and my dad took my arm, all I felt was really happy. Looking back, I’m sure there were lots of things that helped… the margaritas… how me and Brett had opted to have the photos done before the ceremony so we’d had a chance to talk and laugh, and all the pressure was off… the fact that everyone had already seen me when they arrived at Boardwalk… but the bottom line is, I was in my favourite place in the world, marrying my favourite person, with all my other favourite people around me! The only thing that really could have topped it off would have been if our dog was there as a fourth bridesmaid!

Enough with the slush! Me and dad got our countdown, and as we started walking Amy was trotting along still trying to tidy my train.



We turned the corner and I saw everyone smiling and snapping away with cameras and phones, and all I could do was smile and try not to fall over my dress.



I even remembered to listen out for the Spectromagic theme, which was my chosen music (‘The Bridal March’ is so not me!) We got to the front next to Brett, and Rev Tim asked everyone to be seated. And as is the norm with weddings, he asked who was giving me away, so my dad answered. I’m sure at this point Rev Tim said something like ‘are you sure you’re ok with this?’, so my dad laughed and nodded, and he said he could take a seat, so he gave me a hug and a kiss and went and sat down next to mum.

When we met with Rev Tim back in May, we’d asked for the service to be short and sweet as we weren’t sure how hot it was going to be for everyone, and we didn’t want one of those long drawn out ceremonies, as (no offense intended to anyone reading this) we find them pretty boring. So that’s what it was… he read a quick poem about love, nothing too schmaltzy… then we exchanged rings and said our vows. Again nothing too lovey-dovey, but there was definitely no obeying of any kind!











Surprise, surprise, this supposed rain that was forecast never made an appearance. In fact, we had gorgeous sunshine with a bit of white fluffy cloud… the Tiki Gods were obviously feeling guilty! All the way through the service me and Brett were facing out towards the water, directly in to the sun. BUT, we really cannot complain at all, and it made for some funny, squinty photos!



Once all those necessities were out of the way, it was time for ‘the kiss’. Or two kisses to be exact. I’d read in one of the emails from the photographer that we had to remember to hold our kiss for at least 10 seconds so they could get some good photos… so, that’s what we did. But being in front of parents (well, being in front of people in general), we kept it pretty PG.



When we turned to Rev Tim for the next instructions, he told Brett to ‘do it properly’, so he grabbed me and leant me backwards like in that bloody VJ day photo of the sailor and the nurse! I wasn’t expecting that at all! So obviously there were more photos taken (I’ll spare you from seeing any of those), I managed to right myself, and Rev Tim then gave us a wink and signalled for us to walk back down the aisle. For our ‘recessional’, we’d asked the harpist to play ‘There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’… again, it was lost on all but a couple of the guests.

Cocky and Jay, Carly and Shell, and my mum and dad followed us out, and everyone else filtered out behind. It had gotten a bit busier on the Boardwalk and there were even more people walking past us waving, shouting ‘congratulations’ and generally being nosy. Considering I’m such a shy person normally, it felt weird that I wasn’t embarrassed at all.

Amy came over and asked me and Brett to go and wait down at the end of the walkway at the side of Sea Breeze Point, whilst everyone else was told to line up along the sides of the ramp itself. As usual, Brett can’t just wait… he has to entertain the crowds!







Amy’s assistant then went round with a basket of petals (or leaves, as Brett put in the notes) and everyone took a handful for our ‘staged exit’. Once everyone was in position, Mike shouted for us to walk slowly forwards and for everyone to throw the petals up in the air in front of us as we walked by. Yet again, Brett’s inability to do anything seriously is pretty evident!






I’d just like to reiterate a line Jo has just written…

‘Mike shouted for us to walk slowly forwards and for everyone to throw petals up in the air and in front of us as we walked’.

What happened to me was ABH! As you will see from the pictures posted below… Mr Parsnip is seeing if it’s possible to dislodge someone’s eyeball from the socket by forcibly throwing rose petals into their eye! Ladies and Gentlemen of the court… I’d like to draw your attention to the steely look of determination on Mr Snip’s face… the gritted teeth… I'm sure you can see, this is clearly a premeditated attack. Possibly something he’d been planning for a while! I'm pretty sure one went in my mouth too! No further comments your honour.

[Happyhaunt1000]

I ended up with petals stuck in my hair, down my dress, and even in one of my shoes! Thankfully we had a couple of minutes to grab a drink from the water stations that were set up for us, and make ourselves look vaguely presentable again before the next round of photos… the formal family and group shots!















Once those were out of the way we could take a proper breather, and we all milled around chatting, taking photos, and generally enjoying the sunshine.

















Brett then called his mum to fill her in on everything, and it’s a real shame the wifi wasn’t very strong as we’d planned to Facetime her after the ceremony but couldn’t get a connection.



We then quickly posted this selfie to Instagram as Amy and her assistant started rounding everyone up to make their way back up to Boardwalk to go and pick up the coach.



Mike asked us to hang back a bit so he could get a couple of specific shots. First he borrowed our rings and my bouquet to get this one.

[Happyhaunt1000]

He then put us in position, holding hands with our backs to him, as if we were walking along… and then he laid on the floor to take some pictures!





I got a fit of the giggles, especially when he had to try and get up again! We walked along chatting with Amy, her assistant and the photographers, to more shouts of ‘congratulations’ all the way back up to the lobby of the hotel.





It was here that she introduced us to Art, who would be our Event Guide for the reception. Mike and Brittany then said they’d meet us at the Norway Pavilion, as they had to go back to their car and pick up some special lenses and technical ‘stuff’.

As me and Brett hadn’t actually seen the coach that picked the guests up from the hotel on I-Drive, and had been told it was operated by Mears, I was fully expecting one of those bright yellow monstrosities… but I was very pleasantly surprised when a ‘Disney Cruise Line’ coach pulled up with a big sign in the window saying ‘Wilson & Harding Wedding’.



I climbed aboard fairly gracefully, which in itself was an achievement, as I normally trip up getting on and off of coaches when I’m wearing sensible clothes and trainers! Everyone else managed to find a seat they were happy with, and we were off on our tour of ‘backstage Disney’. To keep us entertained, Art treated us to a Walt Disney World trivia quiz. It literally took everything in my power not to keep shouting out the answers, as I wanted to give everyone else a chance at getting them right! A few times nobody even guessed, so me and Brett muttered the answers thinking Art wouldn’t hear, but he did and after the first couple of times he turned and said ‘wow, you guys really do know a lot about Disney!’

I have no idea how we actually got there (cos I was too engrossed in the trivia), but I looked up and recognised part of backstage Epcot from when Amy took us to the kitchens for our menu tasting session. We went past the back of Test Track, and the Mexico Pavilion (which are so close they’re almost touching), and everyone had been asked not to take any photos, but I don’t think they quite appreciated what they were seeing! Someone behind us even said ‘ooh, is this Blizzard Beach?’ as we went past a building with loads of silver pipes coming out of it!

Art explained to everyone that we would be getting dropped off at the back of the China Pavilion and going through a backstage door into the main shop, then it would be a short walk round to Norway. We all clambered off the bus, and he took us through a door that literally opened up into the shop! So next time you’re in China, hang around towards the back corner of the shop and you might get a glimpse of the (very unimpressive) backstage area!





He asked us all to wait there until everyone was with us (a couple of those with babies had waited to get their buggies off the coach), so we took some more silly photos rubbing the giant golden Buddha’s belly for luck.



He then reappeared holding what can only be described as a mini lightsaber! Needless to say, certain male members of the group were in total awe, *cough* Ben! He led us out of China, and along the route to Norway, in a packed Epcot, even more people were shouting their good wishes to us, and taking photos. Brett was walking ahead with Art, whilst I was with Jay, Shell and Carly a little way behind. At one point a little girl shouted to her mum ‘look mom, it’s a Princess Parade’. We all waved and smiled graciously as only princesses could Out of earshot of the star-struck little girl, Jay then shouted at Brett to slow down and walk with me!

Now, China and Norway are technically next to each other in World Showcase, but it takes a surprisingly long time to get a crowd of wedding guests from one to the other without losing any along the way! We finally arrived at Norway at almost dead on 6pm (good job, as that’s when we’d paid for the bar to start), and Art took us in the Fastpass entrance to Maelstrom, and through a very unassuming door. We went up some stairs and I just remember holding my breath, as I really didn’t know what I was going to be faced with. All I can say is I’m glad I’d read all that horrible stuff about the Loft, as my expectations were pretty much as low as they could be. And, maybe it’s just me, but I think whoever wrote those reviews were either just particularly harsh critics, or hadn’t actually been in there, because it was nice. Definitely not ‘pretty’, no frills or swags or fairy lights like most weddings I’ve been to, but it was nice. The few decorations we’d paid for to be outside in the Eau de France had been used in here, and I was happy with how it looked. It was probably a bit more fitting for us anyway than the American Adventure Parlor, with all its floral curtains and chintzy furnishings!



As we walked in to the first room, I could hear the harpist playing a random Beatles song… we didn’t specifically ask for that, but maybe she thought it’d be a good idea seeing as we’re from the UK! Art then ushered us straight over to the bar (good man!) and I got a very large rum and coke… just want to point out I didn’t specifically ask for a large one, but the bar-tender’s obviously dealt with brides, and maybe Brits, before so he could tell it was much needed! Everyone else was then invited over to get their drinks, so they formed a very orderly queue with passports and driving licences in hand, as we’d warned them the bar staff would want to see ID at the beginning of the night.

Some of our hors d’oeuvres were already out when we arrived and my stomach was rumbling at the sight and smell of them… remember I’d barely had anything to eat all day, and it was now gone 6pm! The wait staff finished bringing the last couple of trays out and we were let loose! I know Brett kept the food a secret in the Pre-Trippie as we wanted it to be a nice surprise for the guests (as some of them did actually read it), but the three items we settled on were:

Chilled Maine Lobster Spoon with Truffle Jelly – when we’d tried this at our Menu Tasting session we both thought it tasted amazing and looked so pretty it was definitely on the list! It was also something we figured, funnily enough, most people wouldn’t really eat on a regular basis, so would be something a bit different.



Mini Cuban Sandwich – we also picked this to try in May, thinking it was something those who were a bit less adventurous might be happy to eat (my dad, Brett’s dad), as it’s essentially just a ham and cheese sandwich. But, I cannot describe how good a ham and cheese sandwich this was! When they came up at the tasting session, I was amazed at how big they were… I always thought hors d’oeuvres were meant to be two mouthfuls at most, but these things were huge! When I asked if that was the size they came up, the chef looked a bit shocked and said ‘well, they are only meant to be small’, thinking I wanted them to be bigger! We obviously had a bit of a giggle about that, and she said they could be cut smaller if we wanted, but they were still pretty substantial… not that anyone complained at all!



Brie and Caramelised Onion Tartlets – these were our veggie option, and again, something for those who didn’t fancy anything too exotic (I don’t think I mentioned the Cuban sandwich had mustard and gherkins in it did I?!) We hadn’t tried these before, but I’m really glad we changed our mind at the last minute and picked these, they seemed to go down really well with everyone. No picture of these but I’m sure you can use your imagination!

As soon as a tray was two thirds empty, another fresh tray of food was brought out, I really couldn’t fault it at all. I think every time I looked over at Brett he had another Lobster spoon in his mouth… but I can’t really talk, I think I had about 10 of those lovely little ######s, on top of about 10 of each of the other two… I was suddenly ravenous!

I was shoving yet another Cuban sandwich in my gob, when Art came over and asked me to go with him and meet our Maître D’ (for want of a better description), T.J. He took us through to the second room where five tables were set with our centrepieces, napkins etc, and again, I thought it was quite nice.



It was maybe a little dated, but I figured it’s literally somewhere to sit and eat, and as an added bonus we had some ‘interesting’ Norwegian artefacts to look at!





We both then turned round and clapped eyes on our cake! This was one of the things we were both most looking forward to… I’m a cake lover at the best of times, and get a bit obsessive watching all those Cake Boss/Cupcake Wars/Ace of Cakes type programmes. Brett isn’t quite as big of a fan as me, but I think having seen the sketches of our cake in an email, he was really excited to see (and taste) it!

When I saw the cake, I think I actually squealed a bit… I absolutely adored it, but it suddenly dawned on me that it was going to have to be ruined to be eaten!



As you can see, it was based on our favourite, not-so-well-known character from the parks, the Orange Bird, and his home, the Sunshine Tree Terrace (if you don’t know it, it’s the building next to the Enchanted Tiki Room in Magic Kingdom). This little guy has made a bit of a comeback in the last few years, after disappearing from Sunshine Tree Terrace sometime in the late 80s/early 90s. We’re also huge fans of the Citrus Swirl, and think it’s totally underrated, and overshadowed by its less deserving cousin, the Dole Whip. Doesn’t bother us really, as it means there’s hardly ever a line at Sunshine Tree Terrace, unlike Aloha Isle which is always manically busy!

T.J. explained to us that at around 7pm he’d call everybody through to take their seats and the food would be brought out. This meant we had about another 10-15mins to get a bit more mingling done, so we did the rounds.

[Happyhaunt1000]

I didn’t even notice that Mike and Brittany had been snapping photos of us and our guests during the cocktail hour.













When T.J. announced it was time for the main meal, I couldn’t help but think I’d maybe gone a bit overboard with the hors d’oeuvres… I was pretty much full, and I’m sure a saw a few people do a heavy sigh at the thought of eating more! As we went through, A.J. showed me and Brett to our seats… which was a bit of a surprise as we’d deliberately not done a seating plan. We were right in the middle of the room, and our places had been set with champagne glasses with a strawberry on each, and between us there was a little box with a picture of Cinderella and Prince Charming on the front.



Amy came over and explained that the box was a gift from Disney Fairytale Weddings… we untied the ribbon and there was a pair of watches inside. Apparently the only way to get your hands on these is to get married at Disney… or eBay I’m assuming! I really can’t see either of us ever wearing them, but they’re a lovely keepsake. She also said she’d arranged for us to have a few bottles of sparkling wine to toast with, as a kind of apology for moving us indoors. Yet more nice little touches, that, having not been married before, I’m not sure you’d get from many other companies or venues!


Once everyone had taken their seat, the bar staff came round and filled everyone’s glasses with the wine, and T.J. called to everyone to toast ‘the Bride and Groom’. He then came over to us with one of the servers and said we were to go up to get our food before everyone else. It looked absolutely amazing!

Again, we’d kept this all secret, but we’d tried to offer some interesting options for everyone… and we’d managed to whittle it down to two salads, two sides and three mains:

Watermelon, Smoked Blackberry and Feta salad with Citrus Vinaigrette – we tried this at the Menu Tasting, and although Brett isn’t a big fan of fruit in salads, this was too good, and too different to pass up. When we’d picked it we thought it would be nice and refreshing seeing as we’d be outside in the humidity… it was still nice and refreshing indoors though!



Mixed Garden Salad with three dressings – I can’t really say a lot about this… it’s just a salad!

Saffron Scented Rice – this was something we didn’t try back in May, we know what saffron rice tastes like… but we were told by the chef it would go really nicely with at least one of our main dishes so went on her recommendation.

Yukon Gold Potato, Applewood Smoked Bacon and Gruyere Tart – this was one of our favourite things from the tasting session, it was so lovely and cheesy and bacony (yes, that is a word) and moist, as soon as we tasted it, it went on the definites list! It was basically grated potato, with big chunks of bacon mixed in and all held together with a thick cheesy sauce… a bit like potato gratin but a bit more stodgy and solid. They’d made a tray of this and cut it into portions, but after talking with the chef we decided on individual round portions, rather than one big tray. In hindsight, I kinda wish we’d stuck with the original, as I think cooking them individually dried them out slightly. Nobody complained though so they can’t have been that bad!

Oven Seared Free-Range Chicken, Forest Mushroom Ragout and Red Pepper Drizzle – this was one of the three mains we tried in May, and even though we weren’t absolutely blown away by it at the time, we thought it was probably quite a safe choice for certain guests! It was just chicken at the end of the day, but it was cooked to perfection, and so moist and flavourful.



Crab Topped Mahi Mahi, with a Light Curry Sauce – I absolutely loved this… I need to find out if they have it on a restaurant menu anywhere in WDW, as I need more of this in my life! It was exactly as it sounds, a fillet of Mahi Mahi, topped with crab meat with a very light and mild curry sauce drizzled over the top.



Pan-Seared Beef Strip Loin with Merlot and Crimini Mushroom Compote – this was Brett’s favourite, and I think it may be mine too. As much as I loved the Mahi Mahi, this was probably one of the best pieces of beef I’ve ever had. When we tasted this in May they served us two pieces of fillet steak each, which is apparently one portion. They said that was one option, or suggested we have one large joint of beef and someone carving to order. Both Amy and the chef said it would look much nicer if it was a ‘carving station’ rather than lots of individual steaks in a serving pan. And I’m really glad we did go with that, as the beef was even better than the first time we’d had it!



So for my first plate (yes, I had more than one) I had some watermelon salad, a potato thing, a piece of the chicken and two thick slices of the amazing beef… I struggled so much to get the last few mouthfuls down, but battled through and cleared that plate. Then I HAD to go and get a piece of fish and another bit of beef, and some rice to make it look like an almost balanced meal. Needless to say I had one forkful of rice, decided as nice as it was I liked the other things on my plate more, so polished off the fish and meat! I should also probably mention there was some warm bread and butter, and I’d had a piece of that with my first plate too! I felt so unbelievably stuffed, I’m so glad my dress was double-knotted as I was at serious risk of bursting out of it.

I think everyone was being quite polite at first, as Brett had to go round and let them know they could go up as many times as they liked for more food... there were more than a few return trips up to the buffet! Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, and I think they appreciated the choice of dishes. Even the kids got their own special menu, which consisted of Mickeyroni and cheese, chicken tenders, corn and fries, and a Worms in Dirt chocolate dessert.

The drinks had been flowing freely for a couple of hours at this point, especially for me and Brett, as once we got down to our last couple of mouthfuls another drink miraculously appeared on the table in front of us! I remember looking round and seeing everyone laughing and chatting… I just loved that everyone was getting on so well. Some guests were already best friends before they’d flown out, some had only met each other once, some had never met at all, but after a few days in Florida everyone seemed so relaxed with each other, it was brilliant.



I don’t quite know who started it, but someone must have said ‘Hands Up!’ If Brett hasn’t mentioned this before (I’m too lazy to go back and re-read the previous 11 days’ worth of report), it’s a stupid game that started with just my family, but at our ‘Pre-Florida Meet ‘n’ Greet BBQ’ everyone got involved and it was now a staple for whenever a group of us were together. I hear a few of them even played it at Gatwick as they were on the same flight out! The aim of the game is to not be the last one to put your hands up... simple! Whoever is last has to do some kind of punishment, usually a shot of nasty alcohol. So, we’re sitting around, getting noisier and noisier, and I didn’t hear the words myself, but spied a couple of people quickly put their hands up, so I did the same. I can’t remember who was last, but thankfully it wasn’t me. Whoever it was got away with it too, as we said they just had to finish their drink.



Ten minutes later, another call of ‘Hands Up’ was heard, and everyone was a lot quicker this time... we were all sitting there with our hands in the air except poor Rich, Brett’s uncle, who was still engrossed in his food. Everyone started laughing, and Brett shouted over that he had to do a shot, so he obligingly went up to the bar and they handed over something that was probably pretty awful!

T.J. then came over to me and Brett, leaned in and said ‘I’m sorry, I just need to let you know that Disney doesn’t encourage shots’. We just looked at each other, said ‘oh, ok’ and carried on talking to Cocky and Emma who were sitting next to us. He must have also had a word with the bar staff, as one of them nonchalantly came over to us with a big glass of Hurricane, and some empty glasses. As she handed them to us she said ‘me and Barman* love this game, it’s hilarious, so we made you some Hurricane to pass round to the losers’, gave us a quick wink and went back behind the bar. The Hurricane was just as bad as any shot could have been, but being the good boys and girls that we are, we didn’t waste any!

*I don’t remember any of the wait staff or bar staff’s names unfortunately, they were all amazing and lovely though.

The smokers in the group had been going outside to the nearest Designated Smoking Area, and every time they came back in were saying how lovely it was out there... no rain, hardly a cloud in the sky, and a gorgeous sunset to top it off. Me and Brett had been hoping it would piddle down to justify us being indoors. BUT, they had also said there were quite a few love-bugs around, and it was pretty humid so they were really glad to get back inside with the air-con. Ok, so maybe Disney do know what they’re doing!

By about 8.15pm, everyone had had more than enough to eat, and the plates were cleared away. T.J. announced it was time to cut the cake, which, as I said before, I had very mixed feelings about! I really wanted to eat it, but didn’t want to destroy it in the process! He got us to stand behind the cake, both holding the giant knife, and as tradition states, we made the first cut.



Then he cut two small pieces and we had to do the feeding each other thing. I’m not a huge fan of this, and again, without wanting to offend anyone, I just find the whole thing really cheesy... especially when the bride and groom smoosh it into each other’s faces. Me and Brett had talked about this, and as he feels the same way, we decided to be proper grown-ups and just do as we were told without making a mess. I don’t quite know what I was thinking as I picked up a bit, as I deliberately went for the smaller one of the two, thinking that way I wouldn’t end up with it all over me when I tried to get it into my mouth. Great plan, except I was going to be eating the bit Brett had in his hand, which was a pretty decent size! Glad I didn’t want the photos of this anyway! That one mouthful of red velvet cake tasted amazing, and dare I say better than when we tried it at our planning session.

Brett had been saying all night that he wanted to lick the buttercream Citrus Swirl on the top of the cake... so at this point I figured it was all going to be cut anyway so just said to go for it.





After a few more photos and another couple of drinks, T.J. took the cake away and said it would all be cut ready for us when we got back from watching Illuminations.

It’s one of those days where I’m not even looking at my watch… and the day is going by so fast. It’s now 8:30pm and Art comes over to say we’ll have to start making a move to get to our location to watch Illuminations. We were told back in May during the planning session that if we had to move our reception inside due to the weather, Disney would section off a viewing area just for us when it was time for Illuminations, but the location wouldn’t be known until the day of the wedding because it depended on what other events were being held in the park that day. As I make an announcement to the wedding party that we’re off to watch the fireworks, and that everyone is to meet downstairs in 5 minutes, Amy comes over and tells me and Jo that the area sectioned off for us is the Italy Isola! We’re both literally overjoyed at this, as it was the original area we’d wanted to have our outdoor reception, but knew we’d not get enough guests to cover the minimum number to book.

The smokers were right… it really is a lovely evening… just look at the sky!

[Happyhaunt1000]

Everyone gathers outside Norway, waiting for the signal to start walking.







With Art and his mini lightsaber leading the way… our party make the (quite long) walk from Norway to Italy. Once again, people were coming over to congratulate us, taking pictures and generally being very vocal. By this point, the alcohol is really starting to kick it. I’m walking along with a drink in each hand, as just before we’d left they’d told us we could take our drinks with us… so I grabbed a double rum and coke, and a cocktail on my way out! I can see that most people have made rookie mistake and only brought 1 drink with ‘em, the fools. (Later we found out that’s because we were the only ones who were offered two drinks… one of the perks of being the bride and groom!)

On the walk, I’m weaving through the group telling them that tonight, they’ll have the most unhindered view of Illuminations that they are ever likely to have. Mike the photographer overhears me say this and sidles up to me. “You’re absolutely right… where you’re going is the prime location to view the fireworks, people wait hours to get a spot here.” He then tells me that there’s a specific shot he loves to get when he’s in this area and asks if we’d be up for doing it?!? As dubious as it sounds, I say that’s fine and that I’ll tell Jo.

Art has used his lightsaber like a wise old Disney Jedi and guided us all to our destination! The group (and me included) can’t believe how big the area they’ve sectioned off for us is, there are only 37 of us! As the Cast Member guarding the rope unhooks it, and everyone starts to walk in, other park guests are walking over attempting to come in. “I’m sorry, but this is a private event” the CM says as I stand next to her confirming who’s in our party. I know I shouldn’t… but I do take a little bit of joy from hearing this. There’s no way our group will fill a fraction of the viewing area available to us… but this makes up for all those times I’ve stood in a spot waiting for a parade or the fireworks to start, only to have some loser dad run down the street 2minutes before it starts, then ask me to move over a little so him and his idiotic family can squeeze in and ruin the view for me! And don’t get me started with those cretins who use iPads held above their heads, or hoist up their 14yr old child on their shoulders making them an 8ft tall obstruction to my view! But no… not tonight… not on mine and Jo’s day.

The usual announcement comes over the tannoy that Illuminations will begin momentarily. This is mine and Jo’s cue to go with Mike and get in position for this sacred photo. He emphasises that this is a one shot deal. Ok… so no pressure then! He has us stand with our backs to the water… facing him. He says to make sure we’ve got our eyes open and big smiles on our faces! He’s waiting for the first BIG fireworks to go off. You know the ones… after the initial… sreeeeeeeeeech as the screamers (as we used to call them back when I was a kid) go off into the air.

I think I should’ve blinked just before the lights get ‘blown’ out… then I would’ve been fine. But no… I decided to not blink from the moment the narrator starts talking at the beginning! I’ve gone back and looked at someone’s video on YouTube… and from the moment the guy speaks, to when the first (all important) firework goes off… its 1minute 22seconds! Now that might not sound like a lot... but Mike has said this was a one shot deal… not to blink… and to make sure we were smiling… so I was feeling the pressure and wanted more than anything to blink! My eye was starting to do that twitchy thing it does when you’ve held your eyes open for too long… I was sure I was going to not only blink, but also stop smiling. As you can see though… you can’t notice my twitchy eye and the moment was captured perfectly!



After that, Mike and Brittany mingle around taking pictures of not only the fireworks, but of our guests enjoying them.





As me and Jo stood there I wasn’t really watching the fireworks… I was looking at our guests and watching their faces and reactions. A culmination of mine and Jo’s wish to get married in Disney… of friends and family wanting to be there to celebrate with us… and of all the hard work of the Disney staff who had made today run without a hitch! This was the moment I’d waited for. Some of you may think it’s weird that I felt that now was THE moment, and not the wedding ceremony itself. But that’s because I was too far into that moment... I wasn’t able to detach or take a step back to look at it as a whole… but here I was… seeing people I loved and cared about with their own loved ones, experiencing that awe that you get the first time you see Illuminations. Sorry… got all ‘real’ there for a minute… I’ll try not to do that again!







Once the fireworks were over, the group stayed in the Isola, taking photos and having a giggle with one another. Mike and Brittany’s time with us had come to an end… we thanked them for their hard work and apologised for not being a typical wedding day couple! They tell us that they know already that they’ve got some amazing shots, and bid us farewell.

[Happyhaunt1000]

Whilst everyone was standing around chatting, Art came over to me and said a couple standing in the area next to us had just got engaged, and he wondered if I wouldn’t mind going to say ‘congratulations’. I’m a pretty nice person, so of course I said yes. The CM unhooked the rope for me and as I walked over I suddenly felt pretty awkward… I’d gone totally out of my way just to say one word and then turn around and go back to everyone else… I needed to think fast! Luckily, as I approached, they saw me first and said ‘oh wow, congratulations’, so I could then come back with ‘and congratulations to you both too, Art just told me your good news and I wanted to pass on my best wishes!’ They asked a couple of questions about having a Disney wedding and we made small talk about the fireworks for a minute or so, and Art then rescued me before it got too awkward and said we’d have to make a move. As we went back to join everyone else, he kept saying ‘thank you’, like it was a major thing… at the time I didn’t think so, but looking back now, I know that if it was me who’d just gotten engaged, that would have made my day!

Jedi Art wanders over to me and says it’s time for us to head back to Norway… so I begin rounding up the wedding posse. Just as Art is walking away I ask him if when we get back, there’s any chance that we can ride Maelstrom! (Told you the alcohol was kicking in!) His immediate answer is no, sorry… as the park is now closed. I point out that it’s Extra Magic Hours till 11pm tonight, so he said he didn’t realise that and he’ll see what he can do when we get back.

The walk back to Norway takes longer than the walk to Italy. Mainly because the bridge has been raised so that the globe barge can get out of World Showcase Lagoon and back to its home.



Luckily though… there are some bongos on hand… which keeps not only the wedding party entertained… but also the huge group of park guests watching us!







We’re back in the reception room and no sooner had my bum touched the seat, than Art comes over and says that he’s had a word, and yes, we can have a ride on Maelstrom! “Err… is that just me and Jo, or anyone who wants to?” I ask. “Oh… I guess anyone can” says Art.

Up I stand and say out loud “anyone who wants to ride Maelstrom with me and Jo… follow us!”
Everyone cheered and stood up! Well… not everyone. I think those with babies stayed behind, but there was enough of us that we would fill 3 boats! As we came out of the hidden doorway and into the fastpass queue area, we saw that we had stopped anyone else from entering the line so we could all get out of the door! We reached the front of the line and the looks of shock on the poor Norwegian CMs’ faces was priceless.







There were two young couples stood on the dock… but they were told to wait there as we boarded. The guys (must’ve been late teens) were making some hilarious comments from the dock about how I’d thrown my life away… and that marriage was for losers… oh how we all laughed(!)

As the boat pulled away from the dock… me and Jo were shouting “back, back… over de falls” (which was lost on most… again!)







We both continued to quote lines as the ride went round. We’ve done this ride a hundred times… and we still have no idea what it’s really about…except that it’s meant to highlight Norway’s beauty and charm! I have no idea what those who’d never ridden it before thought of it. As I said though… we’ve done it a hundred times and it’s always been a weird little favourite of ours… but from now on… it really holds a special place in our hearts. (Damn... I went sappy again didn’t I?! My bad!) As we got round to the unloading area, there was loads of whooping and cheering from our boats… and again, shocked looks from the CMs.

Off the ride and back upstairs… it’s now gone 10pm and all the cake has been cut. I managed to get a piece of each and it was delicious. I wish I hadn’t eaten so much earlier in the evening or I would’ve had more. Our guest book is being handed round for signing… I say guest book, it was actually a blank 9inch Vinylmation.



Now we hadn’t planned on having any speeches… I certainly hadn’t prepared anything… but earlier in the day, Steve had asked me about saying a few words, and I said he was more than welcome. I then felt bad… so I said I’d say a few words… and Cocky was itching to get up there as well, so he was on board. At a little before 10.30 Steve stood up… tapped his glass and the room feel silent. He made a fairly short, touching speech… saying how beautiful Jo looked… welcoming me to the family… and managed to let just one tear escape. I looked over at Jo and she’d lost it! She was all watery eyed and wrinkled chin… so I grabbed her hand, which seemed to make it worse and make her cry a little more! Once Steve had toasted us and the room had stopped clapping I stood up for a little impromptu speech.

It wasn’t really about me or Jo… it was more a speech on behalf of the pair of us thanking everyone for making such a huge effort in being here with us, letting them all know how humbled and privileged we felt. I did of course let everyone know that I knew Jo was my better half… the sweet to my sour… and without a doubt, the best thing that had ever happened to me. Short, sweet and to the point… my speech is a little under 10minutes long. Not bad considering I hadn’t actually thought about saying anything!

I sit down, and then Mark stands up. Famously, at his own wedding, he stood there for 45minutes using more swears in that time than Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction put together! Thankfully for everyone here tonight, this wasn’t another 45minute jobby. (There were a few swears… but nothing we couldn’t handle!) It was however 25minutes long… and basically that meant that everyone missed last orders at 11pm as nobody wanted to interrupt or stand up and walk over to the bar while he was talking! It was a speech straight from the heart… saying that the number of people who were here showed just how loved me and Jo are. How we are the party couple… how we’d go out of our way to help others… and by all these people being here, was just a small sign of how much we both meant to everyone. Speech over… in fact… that’s it… wedding over!

Well… not quite. That’s it for the official Disney Fairytale Weddings part. I stand up and inform everyone that for those wishing to get back to the Rosen Inn, they are to go back to the coach at the China Pavilion, and it will take them back to I-Drive. But… for those wanting to carry on the night’s entertainment, me and Jo will be heading over to the Boardwalk and going to one of the clubs over there.

It’s been a long day for Amy and she’s looking exhausted. Me and Jo both give her a huge hug and thank her for all her hard work… not only today… but since we met up six months. We tell her she’ll never know just how much we appreciate her putting her neck on the line earlier in the day and insisting the service was held outside.

Next up is TJ… who apart from the whole ‘shot’ thing... has been great at keeping everything running smoothly during the reception, so he gets a handshake from me and a hug from Jo. We also thank the bar and wait staff… especially the two that sneaked the drinks over so we could play ‘hands up’… more handshakes and hugs all round. The centrepieces are being dished out to anyone who wants them… and all our other stuff (including my camera bag) is being handed to random people just to get us out of the room. And then we’re off… following Jedi Art once again.

At the China Pavilion we say goodbye to most of the group. For some of those we say goodbye to, tomorrow is their last full day in Florida! Siobhan & Tracey are heading back to the UK on Friday, and we won’t see them before they leave. They keep telling me they wish they’d booked a full 2 weeks as they’ve loved it.

Art is staying with those of us heading to the International Gateway, and a different CM takes those going back to the hotel off through China. The park is now almost empty. The people who are still with me and Jo are taking pictures of the empty Pavilions and out over World Showcase. (Just so you know who’s still with us… here’s a roll call: Brett, Jo, Shell, Jay, Carly, Ryan, Ben, Chris, Gary, Tamsin, Parnsip & Krebsi.)

We’re not walking at a fast pace at all… we’re just strolling, chatting with Art and with each other. As we get to each new Pavilion there’s a group of Cast Members. It’s kind of like a check point. We are basically the last park guests still in World Showcase… and not only does that feel cool… it also makes the park feel really eerie. I’m taking it all in… knowing I’ll never get to experience the park like this again in my life… well… not until my second wedding anyway!





I start chatting to the CMs who are now walking with us. They let me into a few little CM secrets. I promised I wouldn’t divulge what they do/say, so long as they let me take a picture of me with them… which they did.



Needless to say… if you’re being a rude, arrogant guest, and the CM is still smiling back and being polite… there’s a phrase they all use which basically means you can Foxtrot Oscar! It’s along the lines of ‘have a magical day’ but obviously not that… because that’s what they all say to you! Oh wait… or is that just me?!?!

When we left the reception, we were allowed to take our drinks with us in plastic cups, so a few of us are loaded up with drinks… but with all the talking I’m doing with Art and the CMs I’m spilling more than I’m drinking (which is obviously a cardinal sin!) We get across the bridge between the France and the UK… which is where Art bids us a fond farewell. He says he’s had a lot of fun being part of our day and wishes us all the best. Both me and Ben want to give him a tip. Problem is, just like the queen, I’ve got no cash on me right now (I have no idea why… I knew we’d be going to a club!) I ask Peep Show (Ryan) to lend me $100… which he does. Art then says that he can’t accept tips. We tell him to take it and make a donation to a charity of his choice. He accepts the money… more hugs from Jo… and he disappears into the night. Well… not quite… he’s still got his lightsaber… so we can clearly see him as he walks back over the bridge.

[Happyhaunt1000]

Whilst this is going on, a few of us dive into the shop that’s still open. Myself and Shell can’t pass up this opportunity to try on some hats and ears!




The guys quickly stop off at the little boys’ room. I don’t know who said it… but someone shouted “Junior Boys’ wee”. I was then told I had to do the JBW.



I feel I need to explain this. Basically… when you’re a young lad, (I mean like 4 or 5) your first attempts at standing at the big boys’ urinals normally ends with you getting it all down your trousers and pants. So… I have vivid memories of figuring out the only way to avoid this was to totally drop everything! And there you have the JBW.

Sometimes in the gents’ bathroom the only urinals that are free are the ones that have been lowered so kids can go. If you’re that busting, can’t wait for a normal sized one to become free and you use the little kids one…and then someone sees you… they shout “Junior Boys’ wee” and you have to do it old school style. Even though I wasn’t using the lower urinal… I was told that because it was my wedding day, I had to JBW. Alcohol + peer pressure + not giving a flying flip (not flip) at this point, I did it.

Then post-JBW, you have to tuck everything back into your pants.



Anyway…

We spot a Friendship boat in the dock and ask if it’s running. Indeed it is… it’s the last boat of the night… and it’s empty! We hop on board and all in the open at the back of the boat.







The trip to the Boardwalk is over in a couple of minutes. I get my photo taken with Brandon (the Second Mate) and I ask where the Captain is (he’s still inside turning off the engines).



When he steps off the boat I do one of those things you only do when you’re drunk… I got excited because someone has the same name as me!



Captain Brett hasn’t got a clue why this drunk man in a suit is getting all excited at meeting him. I slow down my speaking, try not to slur… and explain we have the same name. He still doesn’t appear impressed… just a little scared if anything!



As we walk along towards the clubs (still undecided which one we’re going in) I bump into this guy. Now… I’m not saying he’s the reason why I decided to grow a beard… but you have to admit… it’s pretty epic!





So there are 2 clubs on the boardwalk… Jellyrolls and Atlantic Dancehall. Simply because it was the first one we came to, we go to head inside Jellyrolls… but are abruptly stopped. The guy at door simply says “$12 a person.” Nothing else… just “$12 a person.” So I ask if we can get a group discount.
“No, $12 per person.”
“C’mon mate… it’s our wedding day… we got married on the Boardwalk and just had the reception at Epcot… c’mon… how about a discount for the bride and groom?”
“No, its $12 per person.”

I’m really not one of those people who tries to blag stuff for free. I never ask someone if they can ‘do a deal’ on the price of something… but I figured it was my wedding day and maybe he’d cut us all a little slack. But no. I know, I know… he’s just doing his job… and if he’d been a little more engaging, that would’ve been ok… but sweet baby Fonzi… this guy clearly hated his job, and probably hated people as much as I do… and he was just so obnoxious I didn’t want to pay him the $12 each. I think I said “flip this, (not flip) lets go to the other place” and walked out.

Standing outside Atlantic Dancehall is a lady doorman (a doorlady?) and she’s built. Not fat… just broad… and, err… thick set (is that ok to say?) I ask her if I can quickly look inside and she says that’s fine… I poke my head in and the place is huge… it’s also empty… which honestly doesn’t bother me. I come back outside and the bouncer (whose name I know but won’t be giving you, for a reason you’ll see in a minute) tells me she needs to see ID for everyone. I kinda felt like Obi Wan Kenobi at this point as I say something along the lines of “you don’t need to see their identification”. It was nowhere near as cool at that line… but I did say that clearly me and Jo had just got married and that all these people had flown all this way to be with us and… I’m pretty sure I was waffling at this point and saying something about ‘this is where we always dreamed our wedding night would end’. Anyhoo… she smiles at me and tells us all to go in. YESSSS! (Double fist pump!)

The dance floor is empty (but not for long) and we immediately make our way to the bar for a round of shots and some drinks (charged to our room of course seeing as I didn’t have any money on me)… then we make our way onto the dance floor! I can’t even remember what music was playing, but we were all just having a laugh.