Thank you, everyone! I feel so blessed to have you all being so nice!
So, here it is....continued! Thank you for reading!
So the carriage arrived and putting our emotions aside, I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me as I managed to get into it without causing embarrassment to myself, and I started to worry instead about them getting everyone else in with the size of my dress...
The carriage itself is much bigger once you are in it. When I was climbing the steps, as well as fearing the dress ripping, head whacking, tumbling or wedging incidents that could easily happen to someone like me, I was looking at the space and thinking that they had clearly thought I was bringing stick people with me in the carriage and not my dad and two nieces. There seemed nowhere to sit at all! In the back of this photo you can see Bill, our Sales Manager who promised me he would be there on our day so we could thank him
The footladies could clearly see me panicking about where to sit and one of them leaned in and showed me where the best seat was, so I shuffled across on the Royal blue cushion and put my trust in them!
First they sent up my eldest niece and I felt so proud of her. Shes the eldest of four in her family and there is a large gap between her (11) and her next sibling (6). She has taken a lot of responsibility in her family and never seems to ask for anything in return. I adore her and I would give her the World if I could.
When we were getting fitted for the bridesmaids dresses that I designed, she overheard my mum (who kindly paid for them!) talking to the dress-maker about the prices. You see, before she arrived at the shop I had told her that she had a choice between a floaty, princessy dress like her little sister or she could have the grown up dress like her mum.
She tries so hard to be dependable and cause as little fuss as possible and be as grown up as she can and she smiled. I could tell she was really stuck between the two ~ wanting to show her mum that she was a big girl and wanting to be a Disney princess. So we got to the shop and she was stood by my mum as she talked about the prices.
Chase came down the few steps to me (the shop is like a mini ballroom) and said Ill have the grown up dress, Bob (this is what she calls me) so I said of course and they slipped her into a similar shape to get an idea for her. She was happy enough and said thank you as always and then she got changed again and sat on the seats to wait for her sister.
Dylan, her sister, came out of the changing room in the dress that I had had made for her and it was a big, white, organza and silk, crystal dotted dress with a big Cinderella bow on the back. Her sister was twirling and dancing and singing to herself and couldnt take her eyes off herself in the big mirror.
I looked across at Chase and her face was so deflated. Her little blue eyes were watery but she was still smiling that I have to be happy smile. I moved seats whilst they altered Dylans dress and asked Chase if she was sure she wanted the other dress. She told me that this one was more money and it was okay, she didnt mind. I told her that my dress was more expensive too, but I wanted to be a Princess and it was her chance to be one too. I told her she deserved it and it would make me happy to have more Princesses with me on my day. I told her she was one of the main reasons we were getting married in Disney World, because I thought she deserved to be a Princess in the most magical place on earth. My mum leaned over and said to her, you dont have to be a grown up in Disney, even your Granny (my mum who was talking) wants one of those dresses really. and so I told the dressmaker that Chase would need a floaty dress too.
I remember the day we went to have her fitted into it. She had the biggest smile on her face and for a girl with little confidence in her own self worth, she couldnt take her eyes off herself, twirling and smiling in the mirror. She is such a special, wonderful little girl. I love her with all of my heart.
So, anyway, back-story over, Chase concentrated hard on getting into the carriage without head-butting me or standing on my dress, and we sat together, looking at Dad and Dylan waiting to board.
Notice my smile is about to break my face
lol
Dylan was passed up next. She was still in awe of the carriage and had the biggest eyes on her that I have ever seen. She was silent (very unusual for her) and sat in her seat as my dad joined her. We were all in! People were shouting and cheering and it was the happiest time, not least because the moment was here, there was no holding it back ~ we were on our way! We waved and I heard the chinking of the ponies reins as they started to move us away from the Yacht Club.
Our ride was very long. I know that some people say it is such a lot of money for something that you are only in for a few minutes, but it seemed like a very long few minutes. Maybe because I wanted the time in there to last forever, maybe because I was heading towards a future I had waited for forever, or maybe because I wanted this happy moment with my dad to last, I dont know. All I know is that carriage helped make my dreams come true.
So, we wound around the back of the Boardwalk and Dylan waved to EVERYONE. The rest of us waved to everyone we came across, all of the Disney maintenance crew, the Mousekeepers and so on, but Dylan never stopped waving, even when there was no one there! Her hand never stopped moving and her smile never faltered
.
After a while I asked Dylan if she was happy and she asked me if it was really Cinderellas. I told her to remember the night before when I had gone to the castle and she said yes, and I told her I had asked the Fairy Godmother if I could borrow it. Her eyes lit up like Christmas morning. RealIy Cinderellas, Chase. she said. This seemed to make her even more happy and she carried on waving at the trees and flowers.
After forever had passed we came to the front of the Yacht Club, but out of view. People on the Boardwalk were walking along and we were chatting to them as we carried on towards our stopping point. Whenever we have been in Disney people have talked to us, but this was even more special, it was like having everyone in the World being your friend!
The carriage stopped and Diane (Wedding Planner) came over and helped the girls out with their flower buckets. I gave them kisses and they set off to finish the bridal processional.