Sarah & Fred - 1.11.07 - AK/MK - The Perfect Midnight Stroll

[princessdisneybelle]

Is this the wedding that was won from a magazine? I read somewhere that the recent night time MK wedding was from a contest. Is this it?

I don't think Sarah's was. Sounds like she did most of the work and planning herself.

 

[lpizzuro123]

I saw some of that on ET about a week or two ago. It was a daytime wedding. If you search somewhere on these boards someone from here was there and took pictures and posted some of them.

Linda

 

[aprincess72]

I can't wait to hear the rest of this story and see the pictures!!

 

[Sarah&Fred]

First of all, thank you all so much for your wonderful comments.

I just wanted to let you all know that there was a brief time yesterday when the photos were not loading correctly on the website. The photos haven't been pulled

To answer your questions:

Because our dinner was before the wedding, I didn't really want to wear my huge fancy dress. I wanted the dress to be reveled in proper fashion and well I couldn't really imagine that dress in Tusker House. So, there was simply no other conceivable option . . . but to have two dresses!

We were not the couple that received the dream team wedding. As the others have said, that wedding ceremony was held in the daytime when the park was opened.

We've both been really busy at work lately, but I feel confident that another installment should be ready sometime this weekend.

 

[princessdisneybelle]

Thank you for the update Sarah. Can't wait to hear more. Take care.

 

[StephSFL]

Thank you for the update! Just amazing! Hope you are doing well.

 

[JJClemson]

Thanks for the update. We all understand about being busy, take your time

 

[Kashmir104]

I showed my mom and grandma your wedding page today and they thought it was fantastic and so magical! I can't wait to see more pictures on there when they post! The new Wishes option in the MK is definitely not as gorgeous as your wedding. I still don't understand why they always tell people that "we are no longer offering Magic Kingdom Weddings." No matter how many times I tell my consultant I am interested in a nightime MK wedding no matter the cost, I get the same response! It looks like you went through a similar situation, but came out successful! That's awesome and congrats! You really are a princess!!!!

 

[mermaidbride1108]

I really just wanted to suscribe to this board so I can know when there is new posts - You had a lovely wedding Sarah! Thank you so much for sharing it all with us. I can't seem to look at the pictures on the website you gave, but I'll look at work tomorrow.

Thanks again!

PS. Whats the 'other' board everyone was refering to?

 

[honeybee5517]

Thank you so much for sharing your wedding story here. Your wedding looks beautiful.

 

[aprincess72]

I feel like such a stalker... I keep waiting for Sarah to come back and give us the rest of the story!
I just checked her web site and there is a slight update that many of you may find as interesting as I did! Her DH wrote about how he persuaded Disney to do a MK wedding when they were not doing them.

Sarah - You are one lucky girl!! I wish my DF were so persuasive!!!
I'm just going to have to live vicariously through you!

 

[StephSFL]

I just read the update- what a wonderful story!

It makes the stress I went thru seem like nothing. Four months to prep and sign the contract- wow! Sarah & Fred- I congratulate you all on your persistence and making your dream happen with all the obstacles put in front of you. This is an amazing story and I am so glad it was everything you both dreamed of.

Thank you again for sharing.

 

[Sarah&Fred]

Sorry for the delay, but we recently got our raw video and well nothing else happened until we watched every bit of it!


http://www.sarahandfred.com

Now, back to our regularly scheduled recaps already in progress. We woke up in port, got our remaining things together (let me just say that one aspect of our cruise that I hated was checking all our baggage by midnight the night before!), and went to the balcony for one final look. Low and behold, the Queen Elizabeth 2 was docked right next door. So, out came the camera once more. After taking a bazillion photos we finally vacated our stateroom promptly at 8am.

We had to run by the photo shop before we left to retrieve a photo we had ordered the night before, so by the time we did that and made our way to the grand lobby, they were calling our ticket color. SWEET! Over the gangplank, into the terminal, and strait to our waiting luggage. The terminal was very empty at that time so we had our pick of the very nice and attentive porters. Fred called the park and cruise people and within no time we were back in the car on our way to Disney.

Because we had decided to forgo breakfast at 6am that morning, we decided to stop at the first service plaza on the turnpike. I think I took twice as long to eat my muffin as I needed because I knew what was going to happen when I was through. PROGRAMS! Oh and we still had to decide on how to tie the darn ribbon. Bow? Knot? Something else? I created a few different options and told Fred to choose because frankly I could have cared less at that point. He chose the knot because it was easier for me! So, I cut out my ribbon into little strips and start tying 80 little knots. Would you believe that I didn’t get finished until we got off the turnpike in Orlando! Who knew it could take so long to tie knots.

We checked in with my mother and found out she hadn’t even left home. (She was bringing our puppies to Orlando so that they could stay in doggie day care during the wedding.)We field several other calls before we arrive at the Contemporary: the groomsmen/practically bridesmaid called to give me an update on the weather forecast (hey, I’d been on a boat!) and another groomsmen called to say he would be late to the rehearsal because they had a problem at work he needed to quickly handle. Fred pulls up to the guard shack and I realize I don’t have my ears on! Silly Woman! So, I go digging in the backseat and emerge with the ears just in time for the valet to get a nice view of my large tucus through the windshield. The valet manager just happened to be there, evidently saw the ears, and got the whole crew whooping and hollering. (Our first bit of Disney Magic!) He wanted to know when we had gotten married, we told him that we weren’t yet and told him the wedding was tomorrow. By that time the concierge had made his way down to get us and we were whisked away.

We arrive on the fourteenth floor, greeted by name, and start the check in process. She wanted to make sure that I was alright having a room without a bathtub before she assigned me a room. (I suppose Fred doesn’t matter as much. ) She said she could probably get me another room, but I told her I was fine without a bathtub. That was a dumb thing to do because she was going to upgrade me to a suite! It didn’t really matter to me though as I was flying high on excitement. So she gave me my room and then gave Fred his room. She made sure that we were not next to each other because I guess she figured out that we didn’t want to see each other tomorrow until we were supposed to.

We get the keys, I grab a few drinks and snacks, and we unload everything into my room. (I got a king sized bed and that room had more floor space than Fred’s room.) We sort out the luggage and because we were only staying one night decide to pack most of it back up and go ahead a load it into the car. Our planner calls to make sure we are on property and to find out when she needs to meet us to retrieve the rest of our stuff. We explain the parent predicament and she tells us not to worry, because she can just pick up the stuff later that night before the rehearsal dinner. COOL! Don’t have to worry about that I suppose.

Then well ... the afternoon of endless phone calls begins.

My mother calls to tell us they are about to get onto the turnpike and wants to know if there is a shorter way to get to the doggie daycare place since we had pretty much decided by that time that there was no way that we could take them ourselves. I tell her we will look into it and call back. So Fred attempts to use the free internet in the new Contemporary rooms to get directions.

We learn that my mother can cut a significant piece of the trip by taking another exit off the turnpike going to the doggie daycare place and then on to WDW. Ok, problem solved. “Wait! What about my step-father? He has to be here at 4pm for the tux fitting, and what about your mother?” After a little thought, we decide to play musical passengers. The plan was to have Fred’s mother follow my mother off of the turnpike, stop at the nearest convenience store, and pick up my step-father. My mother would then drop the puppies off a daycare and Fred’s mother would go strait to WDW. Sounds like a plan huh?

So, we call both parents and explain what they are to do. Surprisingly, neither one complains! I was getting off with my mother when Fred tells me we had an e-mail from Reverend Kevin asking for the final draft of the ceremony. Um...I thought we did that before we left! Evidently, we didn’t, the e-mail didn’t go though, or something because he didn’t have it. We first e-mailed the final ceremony draft in case he checked his e-mail between then and the rehearsal. Then Fred took the handy dandy flash drive to the concierge desk and asked her to print a copy. She happily obliged and presto ... Crisis averted.



Suddenly, all blankedy blank blank broke loose! Both cell phones ran at once. Of course one was my mom and one was Fred’s mom. Turns out that the “exit” wasn’t really an exit; more of an interchange. Everyone was acting insane! We got everyone calm, found out where they were, and found a place for them to stop and switch passengers. After we were reasonably assured that everything was fine, we decided to make a trip over to the Wilderness Lodge to see if anyone was there yet.

On the short drive over, my father called and gave us their room numbers. Way to go dad! At least one parental unit can correctly follow directions! So we get to the Wilderness Lodge and proceed directly to their room. We walk in to a variable smorgasbord of snacks! Way to go step-mom! I grab something to much on and go out onto the balcony to see what all the fuss was about. My Aunt had the room directly under my father and my cousin (that aunts daughter and also a bridesmaid) had the connecting room. So we were in essence having a balcony party!

Meanwhile, Fred gets another call. (Hey, I’m no fool. I left my phone in the room!) His mother is downstairs awaiting instructions. I suggest that he go down to the lobby and ride with her over to the Contemporary so that they can unload the various wedding junk and Fred’s father, brother, and my step-father can get fitted for their tuxes. My father, step-mother, and crew (she has two children from a previous marriage and a best friend that made the trip) wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom to purchase their annual passes, so I said I would escort them to the Contemporary via the boat and they could catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom after my did was fitted for his tux. So, Fred left to meet his parents and we left for the boat dock.

We were lucky! I saw that the small boat that goes to the contemporary was at the dock, so I ran ahead to stop them from leaving. So, I’m getting on the boat and who should I spy but our friend. (groomsmen/practically bridesmaid that called with the weather forecast earlier in the day) We chatted on the way over and he met my step-mother (she is a recent addition). After arriving at the contemporary we start our journey down the insanely long dock. Nope, didn’t realize it was that far from the building. My father is a rather heavy man and he problems walking long distances, so I slow it down considerably even though they were already 5minutes late for the fitting. After all they can’t fit all 9 people at once! We make it to the end of the dock and we decide to take a brief break. My dad gets all silly and tells us to go ahead without him. We all ignore this “request” because it’s just not going to happen. (In reality he knows that too! He just likes to offer I guess.) Anyway, we turn the down time into silly photo time!

With everyone rested we start the journey to the building and who do we meet? MOM! She had successfully dropped the puppies off at doggie day care. We chatted a few minutes about the place, whether she was comfortable with it, how the dogs behaved, and how the check in process worked. We had pre-registered the week before by filling out all the paperwork and sending proof of vaccinations, but we were a little worried that one of our puppies would not respond well to strange people. She has always been a rather spooky dog (meaning she barks at everything, everyone, and nothing), but we had been taking her to the park and petsmart and she was doing a lot better. Anyway, turns out when my mother first walked her in the building she started backing up and growling. They don’t take “aggressive” dogs and weren’t going to take her until my mother explained that she was just scared. Then well for some reason they had received our proof of vaccination, but didn’t have our paperwork indicating our puppies likes and dislikes. UM … Everything was faxed at the same time! So, my mom had to fill that out (to the best of her ability) as well. Needless to say dropping off the puppies didn’t go as smoothly as planned. Oh and she said that they said all three dogs baths! Um . . . could that be because my mother let them do this while we were on our cruise.

Finally we all manage to get into an elevator and off we go. Anyway, I took my father to Fred’s room for the tux fitting and then my mother and step-mother when back to my room. So, I start opening boxes and find that one entire box is filed with a garment steamer! LOL I turn around to my mother and ask her why in the world she brought a garment steamer??? She says, “Well, um I thought my dress might need to be steamed.” I’m cracking up by this time, but manage to ask her if she remembers the many conversations we’ve had about the woman from the tux place coming to steam my dress and all the bridesmaid’s dresses (she was the MOH). She cracks a smile and says, “Well, what do you expect ... I’m old!” Evidently, in the last minute rush to gather all relevant material she had forgotten our many conversations and convinced herself that she was suppose to bring the steamer. So, needless to say ... we were going to have neatly pressed gowns one way or another.

Our next task was putting together the favors. We decided to focus much of our attention on the welcome boxes, so we opted for a slightly smaller and inexpensive favor: a goodnight sweet treat from our three dogs. We procured white food boxes and placed three dog bone shaped cookies in each box. To secure the lid, we made cards with a picture of our dogs dressed as mice. (These also served as our at home cards.)

Anyway, the boxes and cards were already prepared, but to conserve space and preserve the freshness of the cookies we decided to wait until the last minute to actually put the boxes together. Well, considering it was around 5pm by that time and our planner would be there around 6 to pick everything up, the last minute had arrived. We set up an assembly line of sorts. My step- mother places the cookies in the boxes, my mom closes the boxes, and I slap a card full of glue on the top of each. We were rolling right along!

Sometime around 5:30 the fitting is over and everyone leaves! Fred comes back to my room where I’m hard at work finishing the remaining boxes. Fred and I finish the remaining cookie boxes and stack everything up for our planner. About the time we finish, she calls from the California Grill to check on our progress. Fred tells her we are done and she says she’ll be right down. When she gets there it dawns on us that we probably needed to call a bellman because we have way too much junk for her to carry on her own.

While waiting for the bellman to arrive we decided to go ahead and give her the gift we got for her. As you can probably tell from Fred’s story on the “About Us” page it wasn’t exactly easy to plan this wedding. Some of problems were due to the fact that it had been almost three years since the Magic Kingdom was the site of a wedding, some of the problems stemmed from changing Magic Kingdom event coordinators half way through the process, and the majority of the problems were a result of the inefficient Disney bureaucracy. In light of the process our planner had guided us through (and well what she had accomplished) we thought this was particularly appropriate.

After our planner left, Fred and I decided to practice our dance out on the balcony. I had never danced with the new crinoline or shoes so I wanted to practice. I get all dolled up and we are in the middle of our little routine when my mom returns to the room. She takes one look at me (At this point I have on a crinoline, fancy shoes and mickey bridal ears.) and bursts out in laughter. And well then our dance practice turns into a photo shoot. Unfortunately, my mother hasn’t yet learned how to take a proper photo, so this is all I got!

By this time it’s about 6:45, so we start getting ready for dinner. Fred arranges to have the concierge take the rest of our gifts (bridal party and parents) to the California Grill and mom and I primp. I have to endure a little motherly advice about my lipstick and my eye makeup and my earrings, and my . . . well you get the idea and we are finally ready to go.

Fred comes back to my room and says that he’s gotten a few phone calls from family asking where to meet. (This was on their information sheets!) So we assign my mother with the task of making sure everyone is where they need to be. She goes to both the first floor and fourth floor of the contemporary and finds the remaining stragglers that either didn’t read their instruction booklet or mistake the words fourth and first for second!

I kinda wanted to be the last to arrive at the rehearsal dinner so I drug Fred kicking and screaming (no not really) out to the balcony to practice our dance. (Can you tell yet that I’m obsessed with the dance??) We practiced a few times and Fred went to check his e-mail one more time to make sure Rev. Kevin had received the latest revised ceremony.

I spent a few more minutes outside gazing at the castle and briefly reliving the past year of planning. There was something so surreal about that moment. I was standing there on the night before I was going to marry the love of my life at a wedding that was literally plucked straight from my dreams.

 

[princessdisneybelle]

Great update thank you. Love the pics of your dogs. Too cute.

 

[Codie]

Sounds like the day before a wedding...super hectic!! You were smart to leave behind your phone for a bit...but that would have made me crazy nervous!! Can't wait to hear more

 

[aprincess72]

I LOVE the Vision poster. I bought it as soon as I saw it. I think it's my favorite Walt thing ever!
A very appropriate gift considering everything you two were able to accomplish!

 

[angel*lady]

Wonderful update! Your babies are just adorable!!!

 

[SRUAlmn]

I am really enjoying reading this! I especially loved the pics of your puppies because we have a cocker spaniel too (that's what yours look like, is that what they are? ) I'm interested to see how the puppy care went. We were considering it since we would be down there for about a week and a half, but don't you have to go walk them 2-3 times a day or something? That might be too much to worry about during the 3 days directly surrounding the wedding.

I was glad you reported that the dock from the WL boat to the CR was long because my grandmother has trouble walking and we are staying at the CR and then going to eat at the WL one night, so we might need a wheelchair.

We were considering a similar gift for our coordinator and now I'm worried we might have had the same one. We have Marion. Let me know

 

[D&R love Disney]

Sarah, thanks for the new installment. I can't wait to read more. Was your CR room right next to the concierge lounge? If so, we've had that room too.

 

[Sarah&Fred]

http://www.sarahandfred.com


Fred returns to the balcony and after taking one last look at the castle, we’re on our way. Now even though we were literally one floor below the California Grill, could we just hop on the elevator and go up one floor . . . uh NO! We had to go all the way down to the check in desk! (Yes, I do realize why they do it this way, but truthfully If someone wanted to go to the California Grill bad enough, they could get there!) Anyway, we told the woman at the check-in desk that we were having a private party and she waived us over to the elevator. Well we are either way to nice or an abnormal number of parents think they can let their children run free at Disney. We had to wait for three elevator loads of people before we were able to go up because some small child would rush into the elevator right when it opened and his or her family would completely fill the elevator. This happened three times! I know they’re at Disney, but they don’t have to let their children run around like raving lunatics, do they??

Anyway, we finally manage to get up and to our room. Our planner is waiting on us and informs us that everyone has arrived but my father and his wife. At this point it is 7:45 and the fireworks were set to begin at 8pm. We briefly think about waiting a bit, but um I wanted flatbreads! So off we went. The doors opened and it was beautiful. Contemporary, with a splash of elegance, complete with the warmth of family and friends. It was truly better than I imagined.

We went in and made our way around the room. Caught up with friends, reminisced with family, and basically enjoyed life. Our photographer came up to me after a while and said she brought the equipment needed for firework shots if we wanted to do that. I’m sitting there thinking we really did just invite you to eat, but um ... I’m no fool so I said absolutely.

We also found out that placing freshly baked bread products in welcome boxes isn’t exactly the best idea. Being the obsessive person I am, I set out to confirm that each guest had received their welcome box. Moreover, I wanted to know how they liked the boxes and if anything was wrong. (I could conjure up broken jam jars, horrible tasting sticky buns, etc.) Everyone had received their boxes and no one mentioned any problems. That was until one of my bridesmaids started talking about the blueberry croissants she got in her box. I’m like . . . we didn’t make blueberry croissants and the room exploded with laughter. It turns out the boxes must have been stored in a dark warm place because all the croissant molded. The bridesmaid was mistaking mold for blueberries!!!!!!! Luckily, she didn’t actually attempt to eat the thing.

We started handing out bridal party gifts to pass the time. Groomsmen got a nice Mickey writing pen (there real gift came the next day) and my bridesmaids got a monogrammed bag full of goodies. We had also purchased very nice frames to give to our parents with the promise of a wedding photo. We got through all the bridal party before it was time to go outside for fireworks.

My father and step-mother finally arrived, and I got Fred to announced that we all needed to make our way out onto the catwalk for fireworks. We stepped out of the door and it was FREEZING! I realize it was January and it was on the top of the Contemporary, but it was still much colder than I expected. I hadn’t brought my sweater, so I did what any soon to be bride would do in that situation . . . I stole Fred’s suit jacket!

Your all going to think I’m loony, but it was actually a very fun way to “watch” Wishes. Like most of you, I too know the darn show by heart so we all knew when good fireworks were coming and passed the remaining time singing and imitating a famous cricket.

Yes, this is Fred with his cell phone. He actually picked it up and started talking to one of his groomsmen. The groomsmen had a problem at work (he did let us know earlier that day) as he was leaving and had just managed to arrive. Fred was attempting to tell him how to get to the California Grill since he hadn’t checked into his room and received his welcome box.
After Wishes is over, we head back to dinner, and hand out the remaining gifts. Finally it’s time to eat! I chose to seat all the grownups at one end of the table so they could talk, which left all the cool kids at our end of the table. This worked really well for our group and we really enjoyed catching up with our friends during that time.

I do have one piece of advice for future California Grill brides, if your group consists of beef eaters ask about having the beef served first. We had the basic menu and they served the chicken dish first, then the pork about five minutes later, and finally the beef five minutes after that. Don’t get me wrong, everyone enjoyed the chicken and pork, but they were all disappointed because they were full when the beef finally came. Now each guest did have a menu directly in front of them listing the entree choices, so I’m not really criticizing the California Grill. I just think it may be something to request if your guests are anything like the majority of mine!
Back to the rehearsal dinner . . . We finish our entrees and dessert is served. We are presented with our desserts first, which our photographer captured for your viewing pleasure.

We say our goodbyes and give instructions to those who will be joining us at the rehearsal. Our planner comes back in and leads part of the group to the waiting van. Fred and I stop briefly by our rooms to procure my sweater and any other coats we can find for the rest of the bridal party and arrive in the lobby just in time to ride in separate cars to the MK. (Yes, they all though that was sooo funny!)

So, I’m in the van with our planner and we head out of the contemporary parking lot, turn right under the monorail track and enter the MK behind the right side of main street. After getting out of the van and finding Fred, we spot Reverend Kevin Knox. Now, I was rather weary of having someone I had never met marry us, but he was very personable from the moment we met. He assured us he had received the updated ceremony and was ready to go. He even made sure he knew how to correctly pronounce our names.

Our planner gathers the group and briefly explains that we will be walking through the castle to the lobby area of Cinderella’s Royal Table for our ceremony briefing. She then herds the group on stage through the cast member passage to the right of the Plaza Restaurant. Because I frankly didn’t need the ceremony briefing (I mean come on I had already committed the detailed second by second time lines to memory at that point) and had a rather insignificant role in the rehearsal because the coach wasn’t there, I wasn’t in any hurry to make it to the castle. (Oh yea, and I was warm because I had my sweater.)

As I made my way on stage, I caught my first glimpse of the castle and almost lost it.

Not only was I actually standing in the Magic Kingdom at 10 o’clock at night, but I was standing there on the night before I was going to marry Fred in front of that very castle. We had finally made it! In that moment the broken promises, disappointments, stress, and tears of the last year faded away and I began to believe in the magic of Disney once again.

Little did I know, but the same sort of thing was happening with the rest of the group. Even though the majority of our group was freezing because they hadn’t headed my warning that they needed to bring a jacket for the rehearsal, it took us quite a while to make our way to the castle. There’s just something about being in the middle of the Magic Kingdom at night with no one around. At first it’s eerie because it isn’t crowded like it’s suppose to be, then you get this brief feeling that your breaking some sort of rule, and finally you get the strong urge to plop down in the middle of main street and quietly stare all around. (Well at least I did.)

We all finally awoke from our dreams and made our way to the castle. Each group of the bridal party was assigned a Magic Kingdom cast member and a weddings cast member and our planner went through the time line of the ceremony. Then after a brief question and answer session, we were off to practice. (Sorry about the quality of the first photo . . . Mom doesn’t seem to have a grasp of “night” mode.)

After we ran through the ceremony once, the bridal party was herded back into CRT, so Fred and I could watch our surprise. This is how they passed the time. And then there are the infamous coat of armor photos


Anyway, back to us! After fireworks were prohibited, we began searching for a substitute and finally decided on a light show on the castle set to the year of a million dreams theme music. (For any of you interested it’s actually the sound track of a live action peter pan movie.) Because we wouldn’t get to see the light show the next night we got our own special viewing.

There I am standing some fifty feet from the symbol of everything magical, in the middle of the night, watching the castle twinkle in all its glory, in an empty Magic Kingdom. What else can I say . . . It was absolutely PERFECT.