Wendy & Chuck's PJ and TR Merged 2/4/08 Escape SBP/JIKO: Updated 9/19-Pleasure Island

[29apr00]

Even if your wedding wasn't all you had envisioned, i hope your married life is bliss. (except for MIL's of course)

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

I haven't made it to my first day in my trip report yet and if I tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth (which I will try my best to do), my sister brides will find out all the mistakes I made and hopefully learn from them The first two days I was there, only my Mom and Dad were with me, therefore my life was pretty peaceful. All hell started to break loose by Sunday night and our vow renewal was Tuesday morning...believe me, you are not alone,Wendy My PJ/TR is in my siggie. I am here with you all the way!!

 

[irisbud]

Wendy, I really appreciate that you are choosing to come bad and share your trip with us, the good, bad, and ugly. Rest assured there will be no flames from me! Maybe your experiences can help future brides!

Your ILs showing up in your room when you just want to sleep...Yeah, I can totally see things like that happening to DF and I.

Can't wait for the next installment!

Amy

 

[inkedupmomma]

oooh i like your tr.. i love the raw honesty huggs

 

[Mama of Indybride]

Learning many things not to do to Val on her wedding trip!

Thank you for sharing!

 

[MadamMim]

That is where Carolyn Allen's is located. My DF's father lives right around the corner in the Williamsburg development. We have been going down for years and never realized it was right there until we came home from our planning session this past November. I was checking out the info Disney gave me when I got home and found I had been walking past this place tons of times (always going to that CVS and Publix). Where did you live and how long ago did you move.

Linda

I lived at Broadwater for about a year and then moved down the road at bit to the Villas off Int. Dr South (near Gaylord Palms). I was there until August of 2006 when I moved to Scotland.


But enough about me... more trippie!!

 

[figmentfan814]

I totally agree, it's important to completely honest with your report to help future brides as much as possible

Sorry to hear that you were so overwhelmed. I know we suffered from a severe lack of sleep the week leading up to the wedding from the several nights in MI before heading to Disney and the first few nights there working on Welcome Bags, etc. It was so exhausting mentally and physically; I completely understand your stress

 

[emilymad]

I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your trip report. I am a hopeful future Disney bride, not even engaged yet, but it is really wonderful hearing your story. When you dream about having a Disney wedding you think how perfect it will be. Nothing ever works out 100% as planned so it is great to hear how you handled these problems. So thanks for all of your effort!!

 

[disprincessatheart]

Hi Wendy. I was an avid reader of your PJ and now I'm excited to see you back doing your TR. While I get off easy where inlaws are concerned (MIL is out of the picture 364 days of the year) I definitely still know where you're coming from. It's hard to idealize this day and trip for so long and then to have parts of it (and the people involved) not live up to expectations is no fun. I was upset with my family for a while feelling like they spent way more time that week worried about my niece and nephew enjoying their trip (they've already been to WDW 3 times and they're still in preschool) than making my wedding memorable. It is what it is, and it was still a great wedding, just not the way I expected people to be.

Ok, back to you!!

 

[XmasPixie]

Hey Wendy,

Glad to see you came back to post a report for us. Sorry if you don't recognize my name...I'm now planning a little surprise wedding for our forethcoming Disney trip (so excited) and I don't want the family & friends that will be joining us to somehow find their way over here and figure us out. But enough about me.

I very much appreciate your honesty and am so sorry that you had such a stressful time. From following along with your PJ and learning about your in-laws, I bet you would have had lots of stress and loss of control no matter where you had the wedding. At least you got to have it in one of your favorite places, have a unique and special story to tell, and got some gorgeous pictures.

Looking forward to following along and sending you good thoughts and wishes for that party.

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Wendy...Just got caught up with your TR and you are one strong woman!!! I thought you handled everything alot better than I would have. This just shows that if you can make it through the wedding planning and the wedding itself, you can make it through anything. Can't wait to hear the rest of your story.

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

Wendy, WOW! How in the world you dealt with all of that and still looked so gorgeous and rested and pulled together on your wedding day, I have no idea. What a miracle. It was so sweet of you and Chuck to deal with the phone issue, though I'm sorry that it seems everyone around you two were kind of egocentric and not at all interested in making your lives easier. You are right, sweetie, I'd give you a huge hug if I could. I feel like you worked so hard for so long to make sure all the details were tended to in such a thoughtful way for your guests and it doesn't seem like anyone was too thoughtful for the bride and groom. And the fact that it wasn't yet your wedding day does not mean that you didn't deserve the love and consideration in the days leading up to it. Okay, sorry. Off my soapbox. Sending you a huge hug. BTW, I am so glad that Chuck "wrapped" you up and tried to reassure you. What a sweetie!

Thanks Cam! You summed it up quite eloquently.

Yes Wendy - I am using the Mickey Lenox ornaments (I am so touched that you remembered) and I have not written on them as of yet. Our wedding is 4 months from today so I better think of something. My cousin gave me the Minnie and Mickey Wedding Lenox Ornaments and had her daugher in law write on them with a gold pen so I need to get the pen from her and check it out.

Thanks,
Linda

A friend of a friend did the actual writing for me, but I bought 8 gold pens, I think, trying to figure out what looks best. If you can't get the gold pen from your cousin let me know and I'll let you know exactly what I used. I thought they turned out wonderful with the names in gold!

so sorry for insensitive family, but good job to Chuck for doing his best to make you feel better

Thanks! He's a good guy and he tries. He's just so woefully clueless sometimes and he really doesn't understand why I get so upset about things.

Oh Wendy,

So sorry you had such a rough day 1. From the sound of it, it may not get better anytime soon. I sure hope so. You looked so amazing, you'd of never known what you had been through.

Thanks! I don't want to come across to pitiful here. I think some of the stuff that everyone was doing was frustrating, but I think I had just as big of a part in making myself stressed as everyone else. There are some things I'm sure I could have handled better. You will see this for sure coming up in the next installment!

Even if your wedding wasn't all you had envisioned, i hope your married life is bliss. (except for MIL's of course)

Oh it is! it is! With the exception of the in-laws, we're very happy and good and fine and happy. Oh and in loooooove!

I haven't made it to my first day in my trip report yet and if I tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth (which I will try my best to do), my sister brides will find out all the mistakes I made and hopefully learn from them The first two days I was there, only my Mom and Dad were with me, therefore my life was pretty peaceful. All hell started to break loose by Sunday night and our vow renewal was Tuesday morning...believe me, you are not alone,Wendy My PJ/TR is in my siggie. I am here with you all the way!!

Ooooh... I'm going to have to go read that now. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who went through some unpleasent experiences.

Wendy, I really appreciate that you are choosing to come back and share your trip with us, the good, bad, and ugly. Rest assured there will be no flames from me! Maybe your experiences can help future brides!

Your ILs showing up in your room when you just want to sleep...Yeah, I can totally see things like that happening to DF and I.

Can't wait for the next installment!

Amy

Thanks... it's good to be back, I think. I do really hope that someone can learn from my experience. For example, I hope others can learn how not to plan and budget time, how not to deal with difficult people and family and in-laws and how not to treat your bride-groom in the days leading up to your wedding.

oooh i like your tr.. i love the raw honesty huggs

Then you'll love the next installment. It's raw. It's honest. And it makes me feel like an idiot.

Learning many things not to do to Val on her wedding trip!

Thank you for sharing!

I know it must be hard as a mom to get or understand the bride perspective, but just being aware of the idea that your visions/expections/ideas for the wedding events may different is great. Not trying to push your wants onto the couple is even better!!! I'm sure that just the fact that you're here on this board proves that you're pretty enlightened!

But enough about me... more trippie!!

Okie dokie... coming right up!

I totally agree, it's important to completely honest with your report to help future brides as much as possible

Sorry to hear that you were so overwhelmed. I know we suffered from a severe lack of sleep the week leading up to the wedding from the several nights in MI before heading to Disney and the first few nights there working on Welcome Bags, etc. It was so exhausting mentally and physically; I completely understand your stress

Thanks! I knew it was going to be stressful. Really, I'm wasn't shocked about that. I guess I was shocked at HOW stressful it really was. I wasn't expecting to feel so overwhelmed to the point that I did. And I really though I was going to have a better grip on things.

I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your trip report. I am a hopeful future Disney bride, not even engaged yet, but it is really wonderful hearing your story. When you dream about having a Disney wedding you think how perfect it will be. Nothing ever works out 100% as planned so it is great to hear how you handled these problems. So thanks for all of your effort!!

Hey! Thanks for reading. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I hope there's some wisdom that you can pull from my TR and stock up on for the future!

Hi Wendy. I was an avid reader of your PJ and now I'm excited to see you back doing your TR. While I get off easy where inlaws are concerned (MIL is out of the picture 364 days of the year) I definitely still know where you're coming from. It's hard to idealize this day and trip for so long and then to have parts of it (and the people involved) not live up to expectations is no fun. I was upset with my family for a while feelling like they spent way more time that week worried about my niece and nephew enjoying their trip (they've already been to WDW 3 times and they're still in preschool) than making my wedding memorable. It is what it is, and it was still a great wedding, just not the way I expected people to be.

Ok, back to you!!

Yeah! Yeah! What you said! But then sometimes I worry that really it was me being super selfish and perhaps I could have delt with things better. Thanks for reading!

Hey Wendy,

Glad to see you came back to post a report for us. Sorry if you don't recognize my name...I'm now planning a little surprise wedding for our forethcoming Disney trip (so excited) and I don't want the family & friends that will be joining us to somehow find their way over here and figure us out. But enough about me.

I very much appreciate your honesty and am so sorry that you had such a stressful time. From following along with your PJ and learning about your in-laws, I bet you would have had lots of stress and loss of control no matter where you had the wedding. At least you got to have it in one of your favorite places, have a unique and special story to tell, and got some gorgeous pictures.

Looking forward to following along and sending you good thoughts and wishes for that party.

Yes, yes, yes. I have to say that at least I got to have my wedding at Disney. It was where I wanted it. And we did almost everything the way we wanted despite the MIL now telling people that we didn't have a real wedding and cousins looking at our wedding pictures and laughing and asking if they're halloween pictures. I would have been 10x as angry if we had a different wedding and I still had to endure the stress and loss of control for the type of wedding I didn't want!

Wendy...Just got caught up with your TR and you are one strong woman!!! I thought you handled everything alot better than I would have. This just shows that if you can make it through the wedding planning and the wedding itself, you can make it through anything. Can't wait to hear the rest of your story.

Well just wait, because this next installment is and embarassment to the strong woman theory!! So, here goes...

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

Day 2, Part 1 – Saturday, February 2, 2008

The morning started much like the night before ended. Miserably. I answered the 6:30am wake-up call and was immediately annoyed by Stitch. Sorry to all of you blue fur lovers, I just can’t stand him. I got up and crawled into the shower. I was exhausted and cranky. After I got out of the shower, Chuck occupied the bathroom. I can’t be sure what set me off. Perhaps it was the lack of decent sleep. Perhaps it was the increasing stress levels. Perhaps it was being annoyed at having our honeymoon shoot before our wedding. Needless to say, I was on edge. It may have been Chuck’s easy going nature that really set me off as I felt like he was dawdling, especially when he turned the television on. Never mind that it really only takes him a fraction of time to get ready compared to me. I apparently woke up seeing red. I was angry. I was pushy. I was touch. I was in a fighting mood. So fighting is what we did.

Normally, Chuck is really good at weathering my morning attitude, especially before breakfast. Typically, if you can get food in me, I improve 100%. So the plan was to eat at the resort and then head to the Magic Kingdom. BUT I had been pushing so hard, that Chuck would not tolerate it. And then when he gets angry, I get even more upset. We went to the food court, Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, for breakfast. This is the only time we would eat there and the breakfast was pretty standard for food court fare. I didn’t try anything special, just had the mega breakfast or whatever it is with the eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes and biscuit. I can’t remember what Chuck had, it may have been the same. While we’re eating, I’m upset, Chuck is angry. Finally, while I’m still eating, he finishes and gets up and leaves. I just hated being those people. The ones who have a break down, in public, in front of everyone, at the HAPPIEST place on earth. So I finish up and clean up and head out to the car where he’s waiting and we make our way to the Magic Kingdom.

On the way I’m panicked, because I’ve been crying. Not the kind of crying where you can just wipe your eyes and move on. I get all swollen and puffy. My nose gets red and I don’t even look a bit normal. We end up parking and I don’t want to get out of the car. I’m even more upset now and I cry even more. I’m just so upset about everything. I feel so overwhelmed. And here’s where Chuck stops being mad and angry and realizes that I’m just a stressed-out, fruit cake. He convinces me (or tries at least) that I’m beautiful, puffy eyes and all and we head to the monorail. We get to the Magic Kingdom and head into City Hall and we are a solid half hour late. There is no photographer. The Guest Services CM tries to help. Makes some calls, but really, we can’t get a hold of anyone. I end up leaving a voicemail for someone with DPS, a supervisory maybe?? Well, he ends up calling me back after we’ve already decided to leave and we’re heading back to the car. He gives me the name of the person we can contact if we want to reschedule the shoot. It’s Dara Blonde, the same person that emailed me before the wedding to confirm our address. I found this odd considering I was told it had to be this trip and now the impression I was getting was that it didn’t have to be. I never called. I chalked the whole thing up as a bust. I’m sure you can get some great pictures, but I have thousands of pictures of us at all the parks. And I certainly wasn’t feeling photogenic at that point anyhow.

We get back to the car and I decide that I want to drive. This is when I learn that I want a 4Runner. Forget that they are huge and unnecessary for us. Forget that they’re out of our price range. It drove just like a car. I never felt too big. It was wonderful!! We exit out of Magic Kingdom parking and I pull off into the auto care center. I’m still all puffy, but I’m calm at this point. I buy a pack of cigarettes and a couple of drinks for us since it is hot and it is Florida and I’m thirsty because I cried all my hydration out. I proceed to have a smoke. I had finished my last pack the night before while we were waiting for my family at HOB and I don’t know what made me think that I should try to abstain two days before my wedding. It was a good cigarette. I know that’s awful and smoking is bad, etc... But at that moment, it’s what I needed.

 

[mla1977]

You really need one of those. I'm glad you are posting this for us. I can only begin to imagine the stress that you were feeling.

I never did make it to Detroit for my Tae Kwon Do tournament. I've been working too many hours to make it to regular classes, let alone the extra time I needed to tournament practices.

 

[Goldeelox9]

I am gla dyou are posting the E True Hollywood Story of your wedding and not the fluff you sometimes read on here! It really will help us other brides expect the best, but plan for the worst! BTW your pictures are so good!

 

[lurkyloo]

And we did almost everything the way we wanted despite the MIL now telling people that we didn't have a real wedding and cousins looking at our wedding pictures and laughing and asking if they're holloween pictures.

WHA....?!!!! Who ARE these people?

And where's the slack-jawed yokel smiley...? "It ain't a weddin' if the bride don't look like a cupcake..." Close enough....

 

[lpizzuro123]

What are they talking about. You pictures are just beautiful. Of course a Disney wedding is a real wedding.

Linda

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

You really need one of those. I'm glad you are posting this for us. I can only begin to imagine the stress that you were feeling.

I never did make it to Detroit for my Tae Kwon Do tournament. I've been working too many hours to make it to regular classes, let alone the extra time I needed to tournament practices.

Oh yeah, I remember you talking about hte Tae Kwon Do. That's too bad that you didn't make it to "the D". It's not all bad here!

I am gla dyou are posting the E True Hollywood Story of your wedding and not the fluff you sometimes read on here! It really will help us other brides expect the best, but plan for the worst! BTW your pictures are so good!

It is the E True Hollywood Story!! That's perfect. Again, it's not to say that I didn't love my wedding. And we had some good times. But this is stuff that really happen. And there are things that really bothered me. And you know what, they kinda still do.

WHA....?!!!! Who ARE these people?

And where's the slack-jawed yokel smiley...? "It ain't a weddin' if the bride don't look like a cupcake..." Close enough....

I know! It's awful. She keeps telling people that we're having this party at home because we didn't have a "real" or "normal" wedding. When in all actuality, we're having this party at home so she can further torture me.

What are they talking about. You pictures are just beautiful. Of course a Disney wedding is a real wedding.

Linda

And yes, we were at a birthday party for one of Chuck's aunts and his cousin who is 10 years older than us took one look at our wedding pictures on my iphone and asked if we were just messing around. "Those must be halloween pictures. That's not really your wedding!"

 

[Lindsay22]

And yes, we were at a birthday party for one of Chuck's aunts and his cousin who is 10 years older than us took one look at our wedding pictures on my iphone and asked if we were just messing around. "Those must be halloween pictures. That's not really your wedding!"

I would have smacked him

 

[FIREFLY01]

I AGREE WITH LINDSEY!!!!!

JUST REMEMBER:: despite everything that went wrong one thing still went right on Monday!!!!

I tell ya when I met you at Ohanas Sat.night, you looked so calm and relaxed, while my dh was having his bridezilla moment at all the problems we have been having between ohanas and 1900 park fare. I guess despite it being the happiest place on earth, they still have their problems!!!!