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

[disneybarbie]

Some photos of our reception room...

My uncle wore a special tie for the occasion - Winnie the Pooh!

Everyone stood & clapped when the MC announced the arrival of the bride & groom

 

[disneybarbie]

We started our reception with the speeches – traditionally they are after the meal but we wanted to have them before; get them out the way so that my Dad, Steve & his Dad could all relax and enjoy their food!

(Steve's childhood bear made an appearance!)

All three speeches were excellent – nothing too embarrassing, just some amusing anecdotes about Steve and I as children and when we started dating.. quite a lot of football-related jokes – as well as some sentimental things that brought a few tears!


Then it was time to eat! The food & service was superb – I couldn’t eat a lot due to wearing a corseted dress but I enjoyed what I had – the lemon tart for dessert seemed to be particularly popular with everyone!

The beer that Steve's Dad had brought for the reception had been given a new name.. !!

After eating, it was time for us to cut the cake.

Then we were led out of the room, followed by our guests – so that the hotel staff could turn the room around for the evening reception.

This was when our MC had finished his duties – he also seemed to be genuinely happy for us and gave us the champagne cork from the bottle that we’d toasted with during the speeches as a souvenir.

It was already after 6.30pm by this time – we couldn’t believe how quickly the day was going by!

We stood and chatted with our friends & family for a while.

Steve was still carrying our wedding certificate in his jacket, so we popped up to our suite to put it away safely – Steve also hadn’t seen our room yet! It was a bit of a mess where we’d been getting ready in there; but we also found out that the bridesmaid ‘fairies’ had been … there was confetti, balloons & banners all over the bed – as well as fruit & champagne from the hotel manager!

 

[disneybarbie]

Very soon the reception room was ready for the evening – the DJ and singer had set up, some tables had been removed to make room for the dance floor, and the sweet buffet appeared!

The photographer said to me that he’d only ever seen one of these before, but thought it was a great idea – many of our guests said the same thing, I noticed so many people with bags of sweets throughout the evening!

The DJ played a little background music while our evening guests arrived, and soon it was time for our first dance – “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas.

Most people there didn’t know this song (one of my friends even used an app on their iphone to work out who was singing it! ), but we loved it – dancing in front of 100+ people was quite awkward, but Steve & I just kept talking about the day so far and singing along!



After that, our wedding singer began. He was a Frank Sinatra/Michael Buble style artist, and was a huge success! We were a little worried that some of our friends/younger guests wouldn’t like this style of music, but everyone was dancing and lots of people commented what an amazing voice he had!

When he sang ‘New York, New York’ – Steve & I danced in the middle of the dance floor while our guests formed a circle around us.. it was very spontaneous and the song became our ‘second’ wedding song!

Throughout the evening I kept looking around the room to take it all in – it was surreal but fantastic to have all my family, Steve’s family as well as all our friends in one place a the same time.

The evening buffet began about 9pm, apparently the food was all very good but the only thing I managed to have from it was a smoked salmon open sandwich!

The DJ took over at about 10pm and carried on until 1am.. the party was fabulous, so many people were up dancing.. I danced a few times but tried to circle the room a lot to make sure I spoke to all our guests!


The signing frames (rather than a guest book) worked really well – I think everyone signed them and they look really good now finished.

Just before 1am, the DJ played ‘New York, New York’ again and we danced in a circle of our guests… he then played ‘The Wonder of You’ by Elvis Presley (this is Steve’s football team’s unofficial theme song) – I’d asked my Dad to ask the DJ for this.. it took Steve & his parents completely by surprise and I think I saw a few tears!

The DJ finished and the lights came on, our last few guests headed off to their rooms or to their taxis back to nearby hotels. It was almost 2am by the time we went to bed… I didn’t want the day to end but was exhausted!!


Everything was absolutely perfect – all those months of thinking & planning paid off and I got the impression that everyone there had a great time.. as Steve put it… “I might be a bit biased… but that was the best wedding I’ve ever been to”



Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

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.

Thank you so much!

Sorry the photos look so small - they are just the samples for now but hopefully I'll be able to post some clearer, larger pictures soon

We were so lucky with the weather! It's so changeable here that even though we'd picked a date in the middle of June, we really didn't know what to expect ... the weather is always a popular topic of conversation in England.. most people have said to me since the wedding "how was the weather?!"

Emma x

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Emma, I think Steve was right! That really does sound like a perfect day! Everything at the ceremony was so beautiful and the reception sounds like it was so much fun! It's so great that you made so many wonderful memories that day!!

Now let's get on to the honeymoon!!

 

[Tracy161]

Everything was breathtakingly beautiful Emma!!! What a lovely day you had!!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Wow Emma I loved reading about your wedding day. Everything looks amazing

I love that you started the day with Starbucks and took pictures whilst getting ready as well as of the ceremony. You look amazing!

I loved the candy buffet - but I knew I would!

 

[ronnmel]

Posted too quick, you were not done posting pictures! Everything else looked great too.

I love Michael Buble, so I'm sure I would have loved the singer as well.

Mmmmmm, sweet bar. My friend had one at her wedding, it's great!

Great party! But I agree with Nikki, now on to the Disneymoon!

Sorry the photos look so small - they are just the samples for now but hopefully I'll be able to post some clearer, larger pictures soon

Emma x

Cool, I'm looking forward to seeing the bigger photos.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Emma, I am so happy for you and Steve! It looks like you had an absolutely beautiful wedding day! I still can't get over how breathtaking your venue is. I love the pictures of just you and Steve with the gardens and the castle (is that what you call it? It looks like a castle to me!) in the background. They are so beautiful! And all of the flowers were stunning! I love the one that is above the head table! All of your hard work really paid off. Everything looked absolutely amazing!!!

I know what you mean about not being able to eat in the corset dress! I had the same problem!

 

[klacey1]

It seems like your day was just wonderful-- long and fun! The cupcake tower looked amazing!!

 

[centipede]

Subscribing! I can't wait to spend my afternoon catching up

 

[Sweet Pea UK]

Hi Emma

I haven't been on the Dis for a few days and I am so pleased that I logged on today and got to read your wedding update.

Firstly - pleased you liked the rock but secondly WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an absolutely wonderful day. Your planning was exquisite and your attention to detail incredible!! Everything looked perfect. You looked beautiful, as did your bridesmaids and entire wedding party.

The receiption venue was lovely and the room looked perfect.

It will be a day that you remember for always and Steve must be so proud that you "pulled it all off".

I can't wait to hear all about the honeymoon now.

Sara xxx

 

[wishspirit]

It look like a simply stunning wedding! Congratulations!

I am glad the photographer went to Disney on honeymoon! I like the sound of him too!

 

[disneybarbie]

Emma, I think Steve was right! That really does sound like a perfect day! Everything at the ceremony was so beautiful and the reception sounds like it was so much fun! It's so great that you made so many wonderful memories that day!!

Now let's get on to the honeymoon!!

Thank you Nikki! Steve & I were talking about the wedding afterwards and that was the exact word we agreed described the day.. 'fun'! There was nothing to worry about, just everyone we loved in one place to party & celebrate our marriage

Hehe don't worry.. I'm organising my photobucket account and getting ready to start typing up the honeymoon trip report!

Everything was breathtakingly beautiful Emma!!! What a lovely day you had!!!

Thank you so much!

Wow Emma I loved reading about your wedding day. Everything looks amazing

I love that you started the day with Starbucks and took pictures whilst getting ready as well as of the ceremony. You look amazing!

I loved the candy buffet - but I knew I would!

Thank you! Yes I just had to start the day at Starbucks ... actually my cousin & sister told me after I left in the morning, they had a slight panic that I was running away and not going to Starbucks... runaway bride!

Posted too quick, you were not done posting pictures! Everything else looked great too.

I love Michael Buble, so I'm sure I would have loved the singer as well.

Mmmmmm, sweet bar. My friend had one at her wedding, it's great!

Great party! But I agree with Nikki, now on to the Disneymoon!



Cool, I'm looking forward to seeing the bigger photos.

Thank you again! Yes the sweet buffet went down really well.. my Mum had been unsure it was a good idea but I think the reaction we got from everyone showed it was pretty popular.. I only had one strawberry bonbon from it in the end... never mind!
I asked someone the next day if he could give the remaining sweets to the wedding & events team's office; I think they liked it!

and yes TR will begin soon! x

Emma, I am so happy for you and Steve! It looks like you had an absolutely beautiful wedding day! I still can't get over how breathtaking your venue is. I love the pictures of just you and Steve with the gardens and the castle (is that what you call it? It looks like a castle to me!) in the background. They are so beautiful! And all of the flowers were stunning! I love the one that is above the head table! All of your hard work really paid off. Everything looked absolutely amazing!!!

I know what you mean about not being able to eat in the corset dress! I had the same problem!

Thank you Courtney! The grounds at our hotel were really beautiful - there were also lawns & lakes that could have been used for our pictures but due to the earlier rain shower, the photographer didn't want me to walk through any mud!

I was so pleased with the flowers - we had lots of compliments about them; the piece above the head table was actually the 'small' version of what we could've had... the florist picked some beautiful flowers for us

It seems like your day was just wonderful-- long and fun! The cupcake tower looked amazing!!

Thank you! I was so pleased with the cake - our cakemaker made exactly what we had described to her.. not only did it look amazing, but the cakes tasted so good too! The top tier was a fruit cake which I don't normally like, but we tried some last week and it was really nice

Subscribing! I can't wait to spend my afternoon catching up

Thank you for reading along

Hi Emma

I haven't been on the Dis for a few days and I am so pleased that I logged on today and got to read your wedding update.

Firstly - pleased you liked the rock but secondly WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an absolutely wonderful day. Your planning was exquisite and your attention to detail incredible!! Everything looked perfect. You looked beautiful, as did your bridesmaids and entire wedding party.

The receiption venue was lovely and the room looked perfect.

It will be a day that you remember for always and Steve must be so proud that you "pulled it all off".

I can't wait to hear all about the honeymoon now.

Sara xxx

Hi Sara! Thank you again for the rock - it was a fabulous surprise for the day before the wedding - thank you for all your comments; I still keep thinking back over the day and almost can't believe it happened and everything came together! My Dad made a comment in his speech about the 'meticulous planning' that had happened to make the day possible.. then glanced meaningfully at me hehe.


Trip Report is on its way everyone.. I'll just do a quick recap of the Sunday after the wedding - and then we'll be on our way to Florida!



Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Sunday 19th June – Day After

Despite the long & exciting wedding day, I still woke up at 5am again (this had been my wake up time for the last two weeks – mind full of wedding & honeymoon thoughts!) – it was very exciting to wake up and remember that we’d got married the day before!

We went down for breakfast about 9am, about 30 of our friends & family had stayed at the hotel too and the staff put all of us in a separate dining room for breakfast. It was also Father’s Day so it was nice to be able to see both my Dad and Father-in-Law at breakfast to give them their presents.

We went back up to our room to tidy up and pack – then we went over to the reception room. The hotel staff had done a phenomenal job at tidying everything up – all of the left over name cards/table names etc were all placed in boxes, and we were able to hand out the flower arrangements & remaining cupcakes to family & friends before the headed home.

Steve & I had a walk around the hotel grounds before we headed home…

Back at home, Steve carried me ‘over the threshold’ back into our house – my Aunt & Uncle had come over for a cup of tea before they drove home, so there are photos of this somewhere!

In the afternoon, we sat and opened all of our cards & gifts ..

We were pretty overwhelmed by how many things we were given! I made sure to write everything down so we could do thank you cards when we got back from honeymoon.

My cousin & her husband were staying with us Sunday night so that they could take us to the airport – but they left us at home alone for a few hours so we had time to open the cards and I could finish the packing and finding temporary homes for all the boxes of wedding things we had brought back with us!
I also checked us in online for our flight & printed out all of the travel documents.

That evening, the four of us went out for a drink & dinner at an Italian restaurant in our town (it was the same place we took them the day after their wedding last year!) – but to our surprise, my cousin had already been to the restaurant earlier in the day to decorate the table & put a ‘just married’ helium balloon there! (She has photos of all this I think!)

They ordered champagne and we had a really delicious meal. While they’d been out that day, my cousin had taken her camera into Boots and printed several of the photos she’d taken during the wedding.. and put them all in a little album for us to take on honeymoon with us!
I hadn’t properly cried throughout the whole wedding day – but when she handed me this album, I burst into tears (The waitress was a little concerned I think!). It was such a lovely idea for my cousin to think of, and looking through some photos made me think “wow… we did it!”. It was great to have it while we were away too, I looked through it every few days!

We got home, I washed my hair & then shut the suitcases and weighed them (20kg each and we were allowed 23kg maximum, phew!) – by the time we went to bed it was nearly midnight – and I hardly slept all night because I knew in a few hours.. we’d be on our way to

DISNEY WORLD!!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Sunday 19th June – Day After

I hadn’t properly cried throughout the whole wedding day – but when she handed me this album, I burst into tears (The waitress was a little concerned I think!). It was such a lovely idea for my cousin to think of, and looking through some photos made me think “wow… we did it!”. It was great to have it while we were away too, I looked through it every few days!

Isn't such an overwhelming feeling? Like over a year of your life has been dedicating to every little detail of this one day and to see the amazing, seamless results of it in that little album.....I totally understand why you cried!

 

[disneybarbie]

Isn't such an overwhelming feeling? Like over a year of your life has been dedicating to every little detail of this one day and to see the amazing, seamless results of it in that little album.....I totally understand why you cried!

I think that was exactly how I felt Nikki - just really overwhelmed by it all! crying in a restaurant was a little embarassing for everyone though




and..... I've started the trip report for our honeymoon!

Click here!!

I'll post more photos for the wedding here as & when we get them from our photographer and guests



Emma x

 

[Sarah84]

The wedding photos are gorgeous Emma, you looked beautiful and it sounds like you had a wonderful few days over the wedding

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Oh my goodness, my sweet Emma, what a beautiful bride you were and what a pretty wedding you had!!! Everything looked like it was perfect!!

 

[Mindy5767]

Emma, I think Steve was right! That really does sound like a perfect day! Everything at the ceremony was so beautiful and the reception sounds like it was so much fun! It's so great that you made so many wonderful memories that day!!

Now let's get on to the honeymoon!!

I totally agree!!! I love everything about it. The sweet table with the little candy striped bags was a fabulous idea! I hope I remember it in 4 years to use for Heidi's Bat Mitzvah. The cake was beautiful, everything was beautiful and so perfect. I'm so happy for you.