Lisa & John Surprise Swan Wedding 12/09/08 ~ TR begins Pg 7 ~ 5/22-Wedding Day Part 3

[XmasPixie]

Hello Everyone - hope you are having fabulous holidays!

I am very excited to get this TR started. I have to tell you that I had another picture mishap which caused me to delay this. I am thinking about banning myself from touching my digital camera.

I had planned on filling in some of the blanks and adding the pictures from my shower and the favors and other crafts I worked on to finish of the PJ portion of my journal. Well, I cannot find the pictures anywhere. They were not on the same memory card as the one I wiped out. I believe I took the memory card out of my camera and put it away before we left on our trip. The problem is, I cannot find the dern thing! I hope that it is just lost because then there is hope that I will find it. I hope that I did not wipe out another memory card and just not realize it - I had a ton of pictures on there.

But now that Chrismtas is over with, I have time to get things started. So I am not going to dwell. When I get home tonight I plan on getting the first installment up. I've already uploaded a couple of days worth of pictures (that I did not lose) to Photobucket, so I should be good to go.

Be back later

 

[Lisella]

For those of you who do not already know, I am XmasPixie. I will continue posting as XmasPixie in my journal so not to make things more confusing and so I can edit the titles and such. Some of you figured it out and a few of you PM'd me to ask - and I had no problem telling anyone who asked.

I apologize for confusing anyone who may remember me. It was just so important for John & I to try and keep the surprise part of the wedding a surprise. I was very much hoping to keep a fabulous PJ and the only way I could think of doing so without getting caught by any of our family members or friends was to change my name and never post pictures and such. I was successful with the name change and the surprise, but the fabulous PJ never really took off because time just kept getting away from me.

I figured I'd make a post here now that the wedding has happened to include the link to my old Preplanning Journal so you could read more of my back story (if interested). The link is included in this signature.

I thought this might be a good way to start and the first (big blank) to fill in. Enjoy...

 

[XmasPixie]

Day 1, Part 1 – 12/7/08

Good Morning!

Today was the day we left for Disney World. I was a bundle of nerves because there was so much to do before we left and I was nervous for the flight. I was also full of anxiety hoping that all of the preparations and planning would work out – all of the things I’d been dreaming about and wishing for were about to happen, it was time to face the music. I was so excited because John and I had been waiting for this for so long and it was hard to believe that it was all actually about to happen. I was also worried about what our family and friends would think. I was pretty sure that the ones we would be surprising in Florida would be happy, but the ones we were leaving behind might feel sad or left out.

John reminded me that the kids were all happy for us when we told them. Remember, they all thought we were going to elope on our Disney trip last year. He told me not to forget that we don’t have the money for a big wedding, that I’d been dreaming of a Disney wedding and that we were saving a lot of money doing it this way. And we are going to have a big party in a couple of months so we can celebrate with the rest of our family and friends. He always seems to know just what to say to calm me down and make me feel better, I love him!

Of course, it was snowing out! Why wouldn’t there be something to add to the commotion? Wow, I could not wait to get out of the winter weather and get to a nice warm Florida!!

As the morning went on I manage to get all of my packing done. I calmed myself down a little by putting my trust into the people I’d hired and the work I had done. What was going to happen was going to happen. I did not expecting perfection, I was just hoping for smoothness and amazing memories. It was time to be on vacation and enjoy.

I took a couple of pictures at Logan…
John patiently putting up with me LOL

A stow-a-way

Our plane had to be de-iced. This freaked us out a little as we both hate to fly. Neither of us had ever been on a plane that needed to be de-iced. It was kind of interesting to watch. Felt like we were in a giant car wash. But in the end, we only took off about 10 minutes later than scheduled. I think we landed right on time and our flight ended up being the smoothest flight and smoothest landing ever. We were off to a great start!

 

[toocherie]

Yay--the story begins (or, err, re-begins!)

and I hate flying and de-icing too--have only had it happen once but that was enough!

 

[XmasPixie]

For whatever reason it seemed to take a lot longer to get off the plane and make our way through Orlando Airport to find the Magic Express. And although the Magic Express lines were not long at all, it really felt like forever to get squared away, get on our bus and arrive at our hotel. We landed about 6:20pm and we were not at Coronado Springs until just after 8:30. Maybe this is normal but I don’t remember it taking that long in the past and in any case, it definitely felt like it took forever.

Let me back track just a little. When we left home it was freezing and snowing so I had my winter jacket on. I questioned leaving the house with it, but knew I would freeze with just a sweatshirt and was worried what type of weather we would be coming home to the next week. When we got off of our plane, I took off my jacket and said to John that I hate to have to carry this thing around. He told me not to worry about it and stuffed it in the front pouch of his garment bag (which was holding his tuxedo). Now when we ever stepped off of our bus at Coronado Springs, I almost died! It was freezing!! We could see our breath. Within moments I had that jacket of mine out of John’s bag and right back on me. I was actually quite mad. I did not travel all the way to Florida to escape winter to be freezing! Who knew it could be so cold at Disney World?!?

Our check-in was not the smoothest experience I’ve ever had at Disney. Our cast member was very nice but she seemed very young and did not speak English well at all. There was some confusion because we had requested a king size bed. But we had also requested a water view (which was the more desirable option for us) but I think that option was not included with our reservation. She was concerned and made a big deal out of the fact that there were no king sized beds available. Before we knew it she disappeared to check with someone about the room and came back to tell us that they found one, but it was far away. I am not sure how many of you are familiar with just how big the Coronado Springs Resort is, so let me tell you that John and I joked that our room was so far away that we were in Alabama. Yikes! If there hadn’t been such a language barrier, I would have asked where exactly the room was (we’d stayed at this resort before) and definitely suggested a different room before agreeing to this one. But it was such a big to do for her to get us this room and so hard for us to understand what we were being told and we were so tired and anxious to get settled, that we just went along with it all.

During the check-in process, we were given an envelope from the hotel. Inside it contained a certificate to go to the Laguna Bar for a complimentary champagne toast as a honeymoon gift. We were also told that a package had been delivered for us to the hotel and given instructions on how to retrieve it. I had shipped a box containing our wedding favors to the hotel the previous week and had hoped to be able to get the items when we checked in. I was hoping that John and I could put the favors together that night or the next morning.

Once we were finally all checked in and given our map to get to our room in Alabama, we headed to Bell Services to request a ride on the little shuttles they have. Thank goodness we did. It was freezing outside, we were exhausted and I think we would have gotten lost finding our way.

When we finally made it to this room, which I nicknamed the nursing home room (so not impressed – and no water view), the phone started ringing. John’s family had arrived to their vacation house the day before and were wondering where we were. None of us thought it would take so long for us to arrive. We found out that they had spent the day at Seaworld, which we were kind of hoping to do with them during the week. Unfortunately, I could not get any plans scheduled with the family ahead of time other that to make sure they left Tuesday free. I’m not sure how this went so wrong other than communication issues. It’s too bad because I tried. As most of you know, Disney is not the place to go without a game plan – especially with a group. Anyways, they had told us that they would catch up with us tomorrow. This was absolutely not acceptable to me! I was determined to drop the surprise that night! There was too much to be done the next day to wait. I had big plans. John completely understood and our next mission was to get an address and a cab. Can I stress how much I love John?

 

[CinderelliT]

Xmaspixie,
I am doing a VR at the Swan in Dec.'09, so I am so glad to see your pictures!! There is very little information available out there on the Swan. So keep it coming!!!
About your pictures. I am a professional photographer, so I know a few things about SD cards and such. Your pictures can still be retrieved off of your card if you still have it. Take it to a place like Ritz Camera - If they have them where you live - down here they are usually in the mall. They are able to use the magic of computers to retrieve the files. I know that with some of my software, I can still see the deleted files too, after they have been taken off, so they still lurk somewhere on the cards. Good luck!!!

 

[XmasPixie]

Originally posted by CinderelliT
Xmaspixie,
I am doing a VR at the Swan in Dec.'09, so I am so glad to see your pictures!! There is very little information available out there on the Swan. So keep it coming!!!
About your pictures. I am a professional photographer, so I know a few things about SD cards and such. Your pictures can still be retrieved off of your card if you still have it. Take it to a place like Ritz Camera - If they have them where you live - down here they are usually in the mall. They are able to use the magic of computers to retrieve the files. I know that with some of my software, I can still see the deleted files too, after they have been taken off, so they still lurk somewhere on the cards. Good luck!!!

Thank you so much for that information. I will have to look into that!!

And I will absolutely keep the information coming about my wedding as I hope it will be of some help for future Swan brides...

 

[figmentfan814]

It must have been so frustrating without a plan; I definitely would have gone crazy with our group! I can't wait to hear how everyone reacted about the surprise

 

[dakcp2001]

I have really enjoyed your PJ, cant wait to see and hear more tr

 

[Disneychix]

Just joining you now! I was a 2005 Swan bride! Can't wait for more TR!!

 

[pjstevens]

I want to hear how the surprise went...

 

[XmasPixie]

I'm so glad you are all enjoying my report. And now what you've been waiting for...

Day 1, Part 3

Getting a cab was quite the adventure! We finally figured out the address to the house where John’s family was staying. This was also a project as they kept giving us directions, “take a right at Publix, watch for the white picket fence”…I don’t think they understood that we had no car. I think they thought my sister was already with us with her car, but she was not coming until the next day. Of course at that point, no one was certain about the street address. When we thought we had it, I was on the phone with the taxi company and John was on the cell with his brother clarifying whether they were in Orlando or Davenport because the taxi company could not find the address on the GPS…what a fiasco. We got our $27 one way trip quote and waited for the call that the taxi was there. We were cold, hungry and tired but excited to be going to see John’s mom and the family and surprise them.

Of course there was more confusion when the taxi arrived at Coronado. The two of us were walking around the parking lots near our building looking for a taxi, no taxi. I called the company back and got someone who had to try to track down the driver. After a few minutes of confusion we were told that the Disney people would not let the taxi back to our building, we had to go to the lobby. I asked that they please wait the 15 minutes it was going to take us to get out there because our room was in the boonies. I think we ran – well, I am pretty sure I did because like I said, freezing!!!

The taxi was waiting for us (thank goodness) but he had no idea where we were going. He kept saying “you know exactly”, I could not understand him at first. John figured it out and said, “no way, man, we aren’t from here.” The people who answered the phone when we ordered the taxi needed all the specifics, they had the GPS, tracked out the trip, gave me the mileage, and said no problem. The poor drivers don’t have this stuff in the cabs. With the help of the cell phones and a little luck, we made it to our destination.

Tara, my SIL was waiting outside for us. There was lots of hugging and chatting. It was so nice to see everyone. We joked with the friends that were there from our hometown. There was Judy & Darryl and their grown children Kassandra & Brian. They are very good friends with John’s brother and wife who recently moved to FL from MA. I think the last time we saw Judy & Darryl were when Jeff & Tara came up for a visit last May – so the joke was that we had to come all the way to Florida to see them.

John’s mom, Jeff & Tara’s daughter, Jessie, and Kassandra’s baby, Trey were also there. And also Brian’s sort of girlfriend, sort of ex-girlfriend Alicia (I’m not really sure – it depends on who you asked) and daughter Alana were there, too. So there was a house full.

After settling in and getting some water (did I mention how hungry we were) I decided it was time for the surprise. So I walked over to the table and picked up my Santa gift bag and began passing out the invitations. I got a lot of “what is this” “I bet it’s a Christmas card or an invitation”…people have been waiting a long long time for our wedding, I think the guess was it was an invitation for a upcoming spring wedding ha ha ha…

John’s mom was the first one to realize what was in the envelope. She screamed and the hugging and the tears began. It was awesome and overwhelming all at the same time. We got a thousand questions. How could we keep it a secret, how did we manage to pull this off, what about the kids, what about John’s other brothers and sister. And lots of “Oh my God” and “this is amazing” and more hugs and tears and some phone calls… I think Jessie had it posted on her myspace page within minutes of the reveal. It was emotional, amazing and something we will never forget.

SIL Tara, Jessie on couch (her dog Bailey) reading the news:

Jessie, Kassandra & BIL Jeff after reading the news:

John's Mom on the phone with his sister in VT spreading the news:

We stayed for about an hour or two and then went through the same fiasco to get a taxi back to Coronado. At least this time our driver spoke more English and we sort of had an idea or where we were going or at least how to get out of the area we were in and towards Disney. We did not get back to the hotel until after 1am (after a detour through Hollywood Studios gigantic empty parking lot – oops wrong turn). By then all of the restaurants were closed and we needed food bad. We were dropped off at the lobby and asked the first cast member we saw how we could get food. They told us that there might be some sandwiches at the front desk, if not we could order pizza but it would be delivered to the lobby only (so there was the chance we’d be hanging out in the lobby for quite a while).

Fortunately, there were a few sandwiches for sale at the front desk. They came in little plastic containers with apples. They weren’t very good, but they weren’t horrible and it kind of didn’t matter as we hardly ate a thing all day and needed something! We crashed about 2:00 am in the nursing home bed in the nursing home room in Alabama. But we were very happy with the outcome of our surprise. That made all the commotion, confusion, and crappy sandwiches worth it!

**I will post a picture or two of the invitations I made once I get then uploaded. I never did get them into the PJ...

 

[pjstevens]

Lisa,


So glad all you planning and sneaking paid off. Sounds like they were tickled with your surprise! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[XmasPixie]

Thanks, Patty!

No time for an update tonight - but I have pictures of our invitations. They were pretty simple - and probably about the 8th or 9th prototype that I tried...boy did I have issues

 

[Disneychix]

Beautiful invitations!!!!

 

[Donald'sGirl]

Lisa those invitations are beautiful! I love the opening line!

 

[purple250]

Xmaspixie,

I looove your bouquet? The color of your roses were gorgeous! How many roses were in it?

 

[Disneyaddict1973]

Thanks, Patty!

No time for an update tonight - but I have pictures of our invitations. They were pretty simple - and probably about the 8th or 9th prototype that I tried...boy did I have issues

Omigosh, Lisa....I USED THE SAME INVITE only, I used a daisy where your snowflake(?) is...I even put a tiny swarovski mickey at the bottom of the text. Crazy! I have to send u a pic...Of course they are GORGEOUS invites
I am loving your TR!! !! Happy New Year, newlyweds!!!

 

[XmasPixie]

Beautiful invitations!!!!

Lisa those invitations are beautiful! I love the opening line!

Thank you!

Xmaspixie,

I looove your bouquet? The color of your roses were gorgeous! How many roses were in it?

Thank you, I loved it, too! They got my color perfectly. I think there were 2 dozen roses in there. I specifically asked for one that was not too big. I didn't want it to be too heavy and I like simple and dainty.

Omigosh, Lisa....I USED THE SAME INVITE only, I used a daisy where your snowflake(?) is...I even put a tiny swarovski mickey at the bottom of the text. Crazy! I have to send u a pic...Of course they are GORGEOUS invites
I am loving your TR!! !! Happy New Year, newlyweds!!!

Aimee, that is too funny! We are so on the same page. And thank you!!

 

[XmasPixie]

12/8/08 Day 2, Part 1

Our day started out on the crazy side. We both woke up quite early and very sore, neither one of us slept well at all. The bed was so uncomfortable, our necks and backs were killing us. Inside, I was so upset about this. I really hated our room and I started feeling like I would quickly fall apart. I decided not to tell John what I was feeling because I knew I would lose it and then make him upset. I figured I was tired from our late night last night and the traveling. I hoped that once our day got going and we made our way to one of the parks, things would improve.

John decided he would go for breakfast while I took a shower. This way we could eat in the room while I finished getting ready. John had to make sure he ate a decent breakfast as he was still on a lot of medication from his surgery and could not take it on an empty stomach. I wasn’t sure how successful a trip to Pepper Market for breakfast would be since we were so far away, but he was all for it.

Well, the shower was awful and really put me over the edge. Like I said earlier, we were in a handicap accessible room. Unlike some of these rooms, we did have a bathtub with a shower but the shower head was connected to a moveable hose that unhooked. You could hold the hose and move it to you should you need or want to. I did not realize this at first. Instead I kept trying to straighten the nozzle to make the very low water pressure shower spray to the middle of the tub and on me instead of toward the wall. I thought it was going to take an hour alone to rinse my hair out. I think I cried while I was in there and decided this was definitely not magic. By the time I was done I did figured out that I could pick up the nozzle and bring it to me to get a more effective rinse, but overall it was nightmare.

I walked out of the bathroom about the same time John arrived with our ice cold breakfast. He was all sweaty from walking. He said he tried to walk real fast to get the food back to the room before it got cold. He was not happy either. I looked at him and told him that I was calling the front desk to see if we could change our room, our room was room was ridiculous and we were not feeling the magic. This was not what we wanted for our honeymoon and we needed to try to make things better.

The cast member on the phone said that they did have another room available and ready in Casitas 4 but it had 2 queen beds not a king. I told her we would be very happy with that. She said we’d have to come to the front to get new room keys. I looked at the clock and panicked a little. I was sitting there with wet hair, in my PJ’s, picking at my cold breakfast, the mess of a room and just a little over an hour to get myself together, pack up the room, make our way to the lobby to change rooms, bring our stuff to the new room and get to the salon for my manicure. I also would have to call the delivery people that I left a message with the night before to have my package (with the favors) switched to the new room instead of our current room.

It was like a race. John and I laughed that we felt like we were on Amazing Race. I don’t know how we did it, but we did. There was a little snafu at the check-in desk when the cast member gave us new keys and they were for the room we had just left. When I questioned this, she said the new room was not ready. I had to stop myself because I just about burst into tears. All I could think of was poor John standing there with all of our luggage that we just dragged across the resort to get here, and what was the poor guy going to do with it all and himself while I went to get my stupid nails done. But the cast member looked at a couple of things in the computer when I said that we were told there was a room in Casitas 4 available and thankfully she found it and we were all set. We practically ran all of our stuff down to this room and I had just enough time to drop my stuff, make a quick call to the package delivery people and get over to the salon with 2 minutes to spare. Thank goodness a manicure is a relaxing event.