Update: got the pics from Randy to work on my work computer! Shhhh! So these are mostly Randy shots below now...
*******************************************************
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I'm going to post another installment because I'm too excited not to. The bad news is that the CD Linda Chapman gave me today is actually a DVD and my computer won't open it. So I'm going to do placeholders for now and go back and put in the actual photos later. Make sense?
OK, here goes...
We woke up fairly early on April 23 and grabbed some breakfast from the concierge lounge and started getting ready. Our officiant (our friend BM) showed up a bit early in the lobby downstairs so Steve had to rush a bit to finish getting dressed. He looked fantastic. Steve, not our officiant.
He went downstairs to go hang with BM and also sent Shana, BMs girlfriend and also our friend, up in the elevator. See, if youre concierge level, floor 5, you have to have a key to get in. This gets humorous later, as we realize that neither Anna (make-up lady) or Randy (photographer) can get up without our assistance. So Shana shows up in the nick of time, right after I had just finished panicking because I realized that even after speaking up about it on a Disboard thread, I had still forgotten to pack a button-down shirt to do my hair/makeup in. I realized at the last-minute that (duh) my pajamas were button-down so I just stayed in my pajama top.
Lesson learned: be sure to actually *look at* your packing list and dont just assume youve remembered everything off the top of your head!
At this point Anna is running a little late: she said shed be in my room at 11 and its already 11:10 and Juliana is supposed to call at 11:30 and I dont know what to do and Im nervous. Ive sent Steve on a mission to seek out Anna (shell be the one lugging around a tool box filled with makeup) since I cant get ahold of her on her cell phone to tell her to look for him so he can send her up in the elevator. I learn later that I had been calling her business line, not her cell phone, so she never got the message.
Lesson learned: double-check to make sure not only do you have your phone numbers, but also the right ones!
I call Steve several times to make sure he's looking for Anna, putting out the favors, programs, and tissue boxes (also in this pic; there's Mickeys on them!) and that he hasn't run off. Just kidding!
Anna calls from the phone downstairs and says she cant come up. I call Steve on my cell (Anna in one hand and he on the other, it was pretty comical) and get them to meet up. Around the same time, Randy miraculously shows up. He realized what had happened and was in the right place at the right time and snuck up with some other hapless concierge level guest. I told him if the photographer thing doesnt work out, he could always be a spy!
I shouldve trusted Anna because she was able to get my hair and makeup down and get me in the dress with time to spare, even though she kept stopping to tell us random stories. She was great, very nice, very efficient, and I was happy with the results. Makeovermajic.com, by the way.
My hair
Before I forget, here's my something old (bracelet from high school), something new (shoes), something borrowed (my grandfather's hankerchief, which you may see me holding in some other shots), and something blue (Mickey toe ring, an idea I believe I "borrowed" from KT27).
Then it was 11:40, Juliana called, and it was showtime! I met Juliana down in the lobby. And I mean that literally; I had never met her before! She was very nice and super excited to be there. She had also brought along another coordinator, Karen, to help her out. The first thing she did was hand me my bouquet.
The good news was that there was a tiny hidden Mickey in the stem and the ribbon was exactly what I had asked for.
The bad news was that the hydrangeas werent quite the deep purple I had envisioned them to be. They were more of a lilac/lavender. This was not a reflection of Rosie in any way; *I* had asked for hydrangeas and this was probably the deepest they could get. I just wish she couldve sent me a color swatch or something somehow so I wasnt totally surprised by the color. Secondly, the flowers looked fake to me. I think I said in another post that because it was Disney, I assumed everything would be over-the-top gorgeous but I guess silk flowers always look like silk flowers. *shrugs* In any case, it turned out very nicely in the photos (couldnt tell they were silk) and that was the important thing.
Lesson learned: dont be afraid to ask for pictures, descriptions, or swatches of anything that has to do with color. And silk flowers are going to look like silk flowers no matter who puts em together.
Next, Juliana told me that two of the three ladies had received their corsages like I had asked. Uh, what?
The flower presentation was supposed to be part of the vows; Juliana herself had told me what a sweet moment it would be! But now the ladies already had their corsages. Oops. Wait, what do you mean two of the three? Apparently the third corsage was misnamed and said mother of the bride, which Juliana wisely remembered was not true because my mother and I havent spoken in years and she was certainly not coming to the wedding. The third corsage was meant to go to Steves mom. I groaned because I could just picture his side of the family watching Karen pin the corsage on both my grandmothers and wondering why Steves mom didnt get one. No matter. Karen rushed out and pinned the corsage on Steves mom and we were all square.
Putting the corsage on one of my grandmas
Lesson learned: some things are going to get confused, no matter how clear you and your planner are. There are other people involved and *they* may get confused.
Randy got a couple of shots moments before I walked out.
This one was up in the hotel room before Juliana called. It was so pretty that I had to include it.
Then it was time to go, for real! Except
I had forgotten to tell my dad I wanted him to walk me down the aisle! How could I possibly forget that?? Luckily, Juliana had remembered to talk to my dad about that so when we reached the end of the sidewalk, there was my dad waiting for me.
Lesson learned: youre going to forget to do something, inevitably. Hope your planner has it together. If something falls through the cracks, odds are it isnt a big deal and no one will notice anyway.