Geralin & Arsenio's Complete TR & PJ - Wishes Italy/BW/Upper France – 02/02/2015

mzzgera

Earning my crowns..
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Wedding Details

Date
Monday, February 2, 2015 9:00 am

Locations
Ceremony: Italian Pavilion (Italy Plaza) in Epcot
Reception: Disney's BoardWalk Inn Promenade West
Dessert Party: Terrace des Fleurs in Epcot

Guest Count
Number Invited: 219
Number of Guests: 62

Disney Staff
Disney Wedding Planner: Diane Bowen
Disney Wedding Assistant: Courtney Hogg
Disney Florist: Elizabeth Davis
Disney Room Block Coordinator: Jason Louis
Disney Chef: Chef Redgie
Disney DJ: DJ Chuck Johnson

Outside Vendors
Officiant: Pastor Les Cody (personal friend)
Photography: Jason Angelini
Videography: Trinity Wedding Cinemas
Dress Steaming: Carolyn Allen’s
Stylist: SSKnight Artistry
Collateral: Elevate 11 Designs

Floral
Disney: Bridal bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets, groom's boutonniere, groomsmen's boutonnieres, officiant's boutonniere
Lauren (personal friend): Parents' boutonnieres and corsages, sponsors' boutonnieres and corsages, toss football bouquet
Arlyn/Mona (cousins): Flower girl's pomander ball, bible bearer's Mickey boutonniere

Honeymoon Resorts
Disney's All-Star Sports (Touchdown!): 01/31/2015 - 02/06/2015
Disney's Art of Animation (Lion King Suite)(Bridal Suite): 02/01/2015
Disney's Contemporary Resort (Theme Park View): 02/06/2015 - 02/07/2015

Other Wedding Festivities Locations
Bride's Rehearsal Brunch: Chef Mickey's
Groom's Super Bowl XLIX Party: David's Club Bar & Grill at Hilton Orlando

Attire
Bride: Alfred Angelo, #2361, Ivory
Bridesmaids: David’s Bridal, #F15586, Marine
Groom, Groomsmen: Men’s Wearhouse, Black by Vera Wang Gray Slim Fit Tuxedo
 
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Why We Chose Walt Disney World (extended)
Obviously, a Disney wedding didn't miraculously spawn on me. I had never been to Disney World in my life! I had no idea it was possible; the only wedding photos I've seen in magazines and ads were in grand hotels and large churches. And it's not like our local Texas theme parks such as Six Flags, Sea World, and the State Fair of Texas offered any such thing. I would wonder who in the world would want to get married in a theme park?!

Months in advance, I received word that my cousin, Mona, and her now-husband, Jay, were getting married in Disney World in September 2008. Even with that far advanced notice, most of my family were VERY skeptical over the first destination wedding on my mom's side of the family.. that "most" didn't include me. I was so game!

When I attended the wedding (I was actually part of it), marriage wasn't in the plans at the moment.. so the thought of a Disney wedding was a "wouldn't it be nice" type thing. Some of us cousins asked Mona wedding details afterwards, she kept mentioning how easy everything was and how Disney really took care of her. Hearing this was pretty absurd seeing I was use to hometown weddings where family and friends had to set up and clean up before and after the event.

Fast forward to 2013, my other cousin, EJ, and his now-wife, Erika, decided to have a Disney wedding as well! This time, Arsenio was invited to attend with me. And by then, he and I were already in the talks of marrying one day. We had our heart set on the Bank of America Plaza in Downtown Dallas for our wedding day with a city, 1920-30s glamour themed wedding, so we arrived in Disney World with no plans of a Disney wedding. Besides, though he likes Disney movies, Arsenio wasn't a big Disney fan. In addition, his family is not big travelers so a destination wedding seemed out of the question.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the wedding, even caught the bouquet and garter! We enjoyed the parks with Mona and Jay. Since I saw that Arsenio was getting into the Disney spirit, I decided to randomly ask him "Why don't we get married here?". Expecting him to say "no", he surprisingly agreed! After receiving the previous couples' blessings, my heart was almost set.. I had to fence it out with my parents and Arsenio's mom.

I thought I was going to have a hard time convincing Debbie seeing that her family aren’t the traveling type. Surprisingly, I received her blessing almost immediately! She did warn that most of her family wouldn't make it.. but she also concluded that they wouldn’t make the Dallas wedding either.

Next was convincing my parents. My father’s a one-stop shop type guy. He doesn’t like making multiple payments, he likes making one payments and everything is inclusive. So the fact that Disney takes care of many things for a wedding was a breeze to sell. My father is also a numbers guy.. so when I introduced a Disney wedding to him.. it was in a form of a PowerPoint project, hahaha! But due to family emergencies, I had to present the PowerPoint project to him days before his trip to the Philippines. He was pretty skeptical on the price and what was included, so he didn’t have an answer right away.

While he was in the Philippines, our LOA was due. By then, he made his decision and approved of our plans to get married in the most magical place on earth!
 
Event Locations
As previously mentioned, my wedding is following behind two other brides in my family, Mona and Erika. When I inquired about what venues are available, they basically replied "Anywhere!". With that, and seeing a few pictures here and there, I had high hopes for the Be Our Guest restaurant in Magic Kingdom.. especially since I'm a huge Beauty & The Beast fan.

Not until after I took the survey on the DFTW website did I find that my locations are limited because of my big crowd (my family is BIG!) and Be Our Guest was not listed. Scrolling through different venues, I immediately nixed out the venues previously used by Mona and Erika (Japan Courtyard, Atlantic Dance Hall, Wedding Pavilion, Grand Floridian). I asked Mona why she picked the venues that she picked; she answered "I wanted a park location so it's convenient to visit again!" That stood out to me. I opted for an Epcot location. Then after listening to different brides on the Disney Wedding Podcast, I was determined to choose a venue that needed little to no decorations.. and WALA! The Italy Plaza was my spot!

When it came to the reception, I knew I didn't want it outdoors; I didn't want to deal with the weather, outside noise, etc. during that time when my guests are dressed up. American Adventure Rotunda was my ideal pick, however, I had to have an evening wedding AND 100 guests (definitely not financially appealing). And then I remembered the scene from Beauty & The Beast when they danced below a beautiful chandelier. With that ideal setting, the BoardWalk Ballrooms was my spot!

When trying to book with these two venues, we were having difficulties with the BoardWalk ballrooms because they were always taken by conferences and conventions (hence the name of the building, hah!). We originally planned for our wedding to be February 25, however, we eventually had to settle with February 2. This actually worked out perfectly seeing it fell right after the Super Bowl!

We ended up being neighbors to Mona's wedding! :goodvibes
 


Music
Parents, Wedding Party, Groom Processional: "Nobody (You & I)" by John Legend
Originally, Arsenio and I wanted "All Of Me" by John Legend, especially since we had planned to upgrade our ceremony musician to a pianist (and you'll see why in a minute). However, with two weddings in my family occurring before mine, we had an idea that this beautiful and popular song would be used by these couples. Indeed, it was used for one of the first dances.. but we weren't upset by it. To cut costs on our wedding, we decided to downgrade to a guitarist. And in the same John Legend album laid another beautiful song, "Nobody (You & I)". When I searched different guitar versions of this song on YouTube, my decision was made!

Bridal Processional: "Beauty & The Beast" by Jim Brickman
During some part of my undergraduate career, I liked listening to classical music while studying. As my iPhone was playing piano pieces on Pandora, this beautiful song surfaced! I immediately took note of the song and the pianist! It was the song from my favorite Disney movie, I couldn't resist! The song stuck with me until the (Disney) wedding plans came about and I was insisting about walking down the aisle to this song. Sure, people made jokes "So Arsenio's the beast..? xD".. but with this rendition, you'd really have to be listening to know it's Beauty & The Beast. And it was an awesome Disney touch! This is why we originally wanted a pianist, however, our guitarist was able to render this song just as good!

Recessional: "Your Precious Love" by Marvin Gaye
I am an old school junkie. I love artists like Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Isley Brothers, and more! According to Arsenio, this was a plus when he was getting to know me. It was a definite plus for my mother-in-law! I thought about having this song as our first dance to add a personal touch (I don't know too many couples that go that far back for their first dance song), but I decided to incorporate it this way.

Reception Introductions: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson (w/ Bruno Mars)
Among our similar love for traveling, the New England Patriots, and old school R&B music, Arsenio and I love to dance! When being introduced into the party, Arsenio and I wanted a fun introduction. We bounced different ideas of songs from "Shake Your Groove Thang" by Peaches & Herbs to "September" by Earth, Wind, & Fire. Then Arsenio found this song on YouTube and shouted "THIS IS IT!!" He was right, this was it! And we informed our wedding party that they had to dance their way out to the reception!

First Dance: "The Last Time" by Eric Benet
My sister originally introduced me to this song. She and I are very fond of big band sounds which this song utilizes. When I originally pictured my wedding at the Bank of America Plaza, I was geared towards a 1920-1930s glamour theme. My theme changed when I decided on a Disney wedding, however, I couldn't let this song go. It's so beautifully written and sang. Luckily, my officiant and his wife, Les & Nikki, are worship leaders at their church! They were gracious enough to learn and perform this song for our first dance!

Father/Daughter Dance: "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder
I originally wanted to use "Your Joy" by Chrisette Michele, however, my father and I.. aren't exactly emotional or mushy, lol! Though it's a sweet song, it wouldn't match our personalities. This Stevie Wonder piece was played throughout my first birthday (I know because I have the VHS, lol!). So everytime my parents and I hear it, it reminds us of each other and my parents' love for me.

Mother/Son Dance: "A Song For Mama" by Boyz II Men
Now, Arsenio and his mama.. are definitely butter balls for each other! I call Debbie "a real thug" for raising two respectful and loving men by herself without their fathers. With that, Arsenio has a very close bond and appreciation for his mother. Though a popular m/s dance song, I felt this was perfect for their relationship. They, along with other guests, cried throughout the dance. It was really sweet!

Farewell Dance: "Always & Forever" by Heatwave
As previously mentioned, I'm an old school junkie. This is a song my father played throughout the house while growing up, singing with a booming, low voice "ALWAYS AND FOREVERRRR!!". And the runs the guy does towards the end of the song are always fun to sing along to. As Arsenio and I danced to this, other couples joined the dance floor and our bridesmaids and groomsmen created a circle around us. Always and forever, Arsenio! :love2:
 

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