Barbie finds her Prince Charming- our English wedding & Disneymoon June 2011!

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I've been surprised that I haven't had any post wedding blues, either. Now I have definitely had post Disney blues! I am about to start delving in to the name changing, too. It seems like such a big job! I finally got the certified copies of our license, though, so now its off to the various different offices...

 

[Stefy]

Glad things are going well, drag changing all your personal detail stuffs.

Looking forward to seeing more wedding photos and reading about your Disneymoon

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi everyone!

Ok I think I have all the photos uploaded and can begin writing about our wonderful wedding day

So... on the Thursday before the wedding - after taking all the decorations to our venue & picking up the men's suits, I had a fun afternoon of packing for our honeymoon!

There had been some really heavy rain in the days leading up to the wedding.. and this afternoon I saw a double rainbow - I took it as a good luck sign!

That evening, Steve & I went out for a meal & drinks.. one last date before we got married! As we ordered champagne at the restaurant, our waiter asked us if we were celebrating.. so we said "well, we're getting married on Saturday!" and he got very excited for us!


Friday 17th June 2011 - Wedding Eve!

Friday morning I got up and went to the gym (one last workout before wedding & honeymoon!) - then I went to get my engagement ring cleaned at the jewellers, make sure it was super sparkly for the big day!

My parents & sister arrived around lunchtime - and about this time, a parcel arrived from the postman..

Specially made wedding rock (seaside candy) from DISer Sara!! (Sweet Pea Uk) - it was incredibly kind & such an amazing surprise

My sister drove me to the salon to get my nails & toes done - the owners there gave me a wedding card, so lovely!

We got back to my house and had to wait a while for my cousin (MoH) and her husband (usher) to arrive - they had a really bad drive down from Yorkshire because of the torrential rain!
About 6pm they arrived... and very soon, I gave my fiance one last kiss and the boys headed off to Steve's parents house for the night!

So it was time for a girl's night in with my two Maids of Honour!

Starting with some pink champagne..

In personalised glasses

My two MoHs..

They made us a lovely dinner while we watched Grease..

And my cousin gave me another gift.. a scrapbook & poem of our lives together so far!

and also a storage box for my wedding shoes!

My cousin gave me one last pre-wedding present (she & my Aunt had been sending a gift each month in the year leading up to the wedding)

After dinner we all had showers... and the girls put confetti, flowers & banners in my room!
Then we ate sweets, drank champagne & watched my favourite wedding movie... "Father of the Bride"

and pretty soon it was...

WEDDING DAY!!!!


next update coming soon......

Emma x

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Oh my God, I'm so excited!!! Sounds like such a wonderful pre-wedding day with your family.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Woo hoo! I am SO excited that you started the wedding report! What a fun way to spend the night before the wedding. I really enjoyed the alone time with my two MOH's, too, although I wish we had of had time to do all of the fun things that you guys did! Yay! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[belle2211]

and also a storage box for my wedding shoes!

Oh my! I need this! Do you know where she got this?

 

[lilsqueakrr]

Um, that wedding shoe box is FABULOUS! I agree with Andrea, where did she get those?!

Everything looks so fun for your night before and I'm getting excited!

 

[Disney Bride To Be]

I third that.... Your shoe box is AMAZING. I'm in love.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Yay, you started!!!
Your packing looks far more organized than mine ever is!!! I agree about the shoe box!! Where did she get it? Spill, spill please!!

 

[Stefy]

Ooh very exciting What a lovely gift from SweetPeaUK, so cute

 

[TanzUnited99]

What a great way to spend the day before your wedding! Love all the gifts you received and yay on seeing a rainbow!

 

[disneybarbie]

What a great way to spend the day before your wedding! Love all the gifts you received and yay on seeing a rainbow!

Hi! it was such a lovely day - I'm so glad we had a couple of days off before the wedding to get all the 'to do' list done & then relax!

Ooh very exciting What a lovely gift from SweetPeaUK, so cute

It was such a fab gift from Sara! I opened it with my sister and she said "I think I might cry!" hehe

Yay, you started!!!
Your packing looks far more organized than mine ever is!!! I agree about the shoe box!! Where did she get it? Spill, spill please!!

Hi! I started getting things out ready to pack the weekend before the wedding.. made sure everything was ironed & ready to be packed... on the way home it was a different story, we ended up having to buy an extra suitcase at WDW!

I third that.... Your shoe box is AMAZING. I'm in love.

Um, that wedding shoe box is FABULOUS! I agree with Andrea, where did she get those?!

Everything looks so fun for your night before and I'm getting excited!

Oh my! I need this! Do you know where she got this?

I was so impressed with the shoe box too.. it's something I'd never thought of but is such a fab idea!

From a quick search, I've found the same box on a few wedding websites & eBay - the wording on it says something like "the shoes you took your first steps in as a married lady, and danced your first dance to"
It would be very easy to make something similar if these aren't available in the USA.. I've also puy my tiara in the box!

Oh my God, I'm so excited!!! Sounds like such a wonderful pre-wedding day with your family.

Hi Nikki! It was a really fun day... what you can't see from the photos I guess is just how excited the three of us were.. we kept squealing & dancing/singing!

Woo hoo! I am SO excited that you started the wedding report! What a fun way to spend the night before the wedding. I really enjoyed the alone time with my two MOH's, too, although I wish we had of had time to do all of the fun things that you guys did! Yay! Can't wait to hear more!

Hi Courtney! I am waaay behind you but I promise to try catch up and get going on the wedding report!

We have a cd of proofs from our photographer now, they're not the best quality yet but I think will be good enough to put here, you'll get the idea!



Emma x

 

[Tracy161]

Emma, what a lovely way to spend the day before your wedding!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Wedding Day Saturday 18th June 2011

I woke up about 5am on the wedding morning, but luckily went back to sleep around 6am for another hour – needed to get as much ‘beauty sleep’ as possible! My sister (Verity) and cousin (Sarah) woke up too so we had a cup of tea and sat chatting for a while.

The weather forecast on the radio said there was going to be heavy rain, scattered thunderstorms and hail showers… we couldn’t believe it! We’d woken up to bright sunshine and blue skies, so I took a picture of the sky – just to prove that it had been sunny on our wedding day (it turned out I didn't need to worry though!).

At about 8am, I had a quick shower and got dressed (Disney ‘bride’ tshirt today!) then drove to our nearby Starbucks – I’d always planned to do this.. have 10 minutes by myself before the big day got under way!
I bought a newspaper (so it had the date on it) and breakfast for my three bridesmaids and me (3x grande skinny lattes, one coffee caramel frappuccino, one croissant, one skinny blueberry muffin, one skinny iced ginger muffin & fruit toast) – after taking my order, the server said to me “wow that’s going to be a good breakfast!” so I said it was for my bridesmaids, then she noticed my tshirts and was so excited for me! As I left with our breakfast to go, all the Starbucks staff were shouting “Good Luck! Congratulations!” to me!

Back home, my sister had been to pick up Steve’s younger sister (Katie), she had spent the night before with her family – sounded like my groom had a fun night too!

We ate our breakfasts, then it was time to load up the cars with wedding things!

And at about 9.30am, we were on our way to the hotel! Verity & Katie went in one car & Sarah and I in the other – we had on a wedding cd that I’d made (‘going to the chapel’, ‘today I met the boy I’m gonna marry’ etc)

The venue is only 20 minutes from where I live, so soon we started seeing the signs for it..

And we arrived!

As we drove up the driveway, there were squirrels & bunnies in the gardens … just like a Disney movie?!

A porter came over to us as we got out of our cars – and he & another porter carried all of our bags into the hotel lobby. I checked in, we would be getting ready in the same room Steve & I would be staying in – the ‘Duke Suite’.
While we were there we saw Steve’s Aunt & Uncle, and then also his Dad, one of our usher’s and flower girl too because they’d come to set up the beer barrels in the reception room!

Soon we were walking up the grand staircase to the room – I led the way, felt like I had an entourage as there were about 10 people following me, carrying all our bags!

The room was absolutely stunning! It had a separate lounge..

Bedroom with four poster bed…

And a huge bathroom…

Views of the gardens…

We were all running around checking everything out, there was even a mirror on the dressing table that my flower girl & I agreed looked just like Belle's!
Eventually we unpacked,

Katie filled the flower girl’s basket with petals…

continued...

 

[disneybarbie]

I gave my bridesmaids their gifts..

I think they liked them!

My parents came up to the room to see us (they had stayed there the night before, as had a few other family members) and then I had a big bubble bath before the hair & makeup lady, Natasha, arrived.

Steve had given Katie a card & gift to give me – she placed them in the room without me knowing, so it took a while until I noticed them!

Verity had bought sandwiches, pastries & fruit for us to snack on during the morning – it was going to be a long day and our meal wouldn’t be until about 5pm. I didn’t feel at all hungry but made sure I ate a little!

Natasha started on my hair first, then make up – and then she did my Mum’s hair. She was the nicest lady and kept us all calm and organised - she said she’d never know such excited bridesmaids as mine!

Their dresses...

The girls all did their own hair & make up, with a little help from Natasha to fix the hair slides in place.

The florist delivered the bouquets and button holes to reception, ours were brought up to us – I hadn’t been quite sure what they would look like but everything was beautiful!

At one point during the morning, there was a very heavy rain shower (reminded me of Florida!) – the sky was purple and it looked very bleak, but I honestly didn’t mind anymore, nothing we could do about it .. but an hour later it had all cleared up and the sun shone for the rest of the day, perfect!


About 12pm, Steve’s Mum and older sister came up to see us (that also meant that my groom & his groomsmen had arrived at the hotel! I believe they spent time in the lounge and may have had a beer while they waited )

Mother of the Groom..

I asked Verity to pop down to the reception room to check how the decorations & flowers were looking – she came back saying everything looked great, nothing to worry about.




Soon it was 1pm and time to get into our dresses. Verity & Sarah laced up the corset on my dress, and Natasha put the finishing touches on my hair & makeup.

The adrenalin was starting to kick in now, I didn’t feel nervous just bubbling with anticipation – it was really happening!

continued..

 

[disneybarbie]

My parents came back to the room once they were ready, and we opened some rose Moet champagne while we waited for the Master of Ceremony to come and collect us.

Unfortunately, the catch on the necklace I’d bought Verity had broken .. but luckily my parents managed to fix it (This lead to a lot of photos of my Dad helping her put her necklace on!) – she also got champagne on her dress when opening the bottle.. but luckily all was ok as it was pink champagne on a pink dress!

continued...

 

[disneybarbie]

Meanwhile, our guests were arriving and gathering in the library bar – I loved seeing photos of this afterwards.

our ushers..

my Dad greeting some of my school friends..

my Grandma, uncles & aunt

At 1.45pm, the ceremony room was opened and people made their way in.

Order of Ceremony scrolls..

Ceremony table flowers..

My groom waiting at the front!

Just before 2pm, there was a knock on the door of the hotel room, and it was time to go!
We all made our way down the staircase

My Mum & the bridesmaids were led to outside the ceremony room, while my Dad and I went to meet the registrar.. I was starting to feel a bit shaky now but couldn’t stop smiling!
I answered a few simple questions from the registrar, and she talked me briefly through what would happen during the ceremony – she was such a lovely lady and seemed genuinely excited for us.

Then we waited outside the ceremony room with the bridesmaids… we heard lots of clapping & cheering inside the room – my Dad joked that we were too late and Steve had married someone else! (it turned out that the registrar asked everyone to give the groom a round of applause, because after this moment all eyes would be on the bride!).

Then – I heard the start of the entrance music (“When you wish upon a star”) – and the doors were opened!!

I could feel many pairs of eyes on me – but there was just a sea of faces! Then I saw Steve standing at the end of the aisle – I think I heard him say ‘wow’ and then his eyes filled up with tears! He rarely ever cries and I was worried he would set me off too, luckily we both kept quite composed – just very emotional.

 

[disneybarbie]

The ceremony was lovely – even though it was a civil service and not in a church, the registrar really personalised it to us and said some really touching things about marriage & family.

When we first planned our ceremony with the wedding coordinator, we had said that we wanted to stand up, not sit.. however, I was so glad on the day that there were chairs for us .. my legs were like jelly & I think Steve's were too!


One funny thing happened, when the registrar said “does anyone know of any reason why these two shouldn’t be married?” .. and Steve’s 2 year old cousin shouted “noooo!” – everyone laughed!

Our Mums and Steve’s older sister read poems during the ceremony - this was quite emotional parts for all of us!

And my Dad gave me away (this was an optional part of the ceremony but I’m glad we chose to do it)

Steve’s Dad (also Best Man) hands us our wedding rings

Soon it was time to sign the marriage register – we asked Sarah and her husband, Paul, to be our witnesses.

And so.. we were married!! Everyone clapped as walked back down the aisle.

 

[disneybarbie]

The rest of the bridal party left the ceremony room..

We were met by the MC and given a glass of champagne each – then we went out to the terraces to meet out guests. I had a chance to speak to a few people before it was time for the formal group photos – my Aunt gave me a lucky horseshoe (she’d had it made especially so it had pink flowers & butterflies on it).

Once all the group pictures were done, Steve & I went with the photographer around the grounds to take some more photos. We both agreed we really liked this part of the day as it was nice to be (almost) alone together to talk & let it all sink in that we’d just got married!
Our photographer had noticed our wedding favours when he was taking photos of the room – and told us that he had also been to Disney World for his honeymoon (I knew I liked him!)

We went back to the library bar where our guests were waiting –

Verity got her ‘maid of honour’ kit out and wiped up some mud that had got on the skirt of my dress, and fixed my hair for me (it had been a bit windy outside).

The MC then led our guests across the courtyard of the hotel to the Chestnut Suite where our wedding breakfast was going to be held.

Steve and I waited until last, and then we met up with our parents & bridesmaids outside

 

[ronnmel]

Gorgeous! I love the way the hotel looks from the outside, like a castle. And lots of lovely places for pictures.

Your dress looks amazing, and so do you.

Very glad it ended up being sunny for the better part of the day.