Why Disney World??

This is the typical question I get as soon as I tell people that we are getting married in Walt Disney World.  For us, getting married in WDW was a no-brainer.  In fact, we didn't even consider having it anywhere else at any point in time, despite some negative feedback and resistance to a destination wedding.  Let's go back in time....

Picture it.... Orlando 2007.... Labor Day Weekend.  My Pontiac Grand Am filled to the brim with clothes, our TV, some necessities and the cat.  We raced down 95 to make Orlando, Florida our new home.  Immediately I convinced Kevin that we NEEDED to go to Disney ASAP.  So the second day we were there, we got up and headed off to the Magic Kingdom.  I hadn't been to Disney in quite a few years at the point and Kevin had never ever been to Disney World!  I couldn't wait to show him the parks!

As luck would have it, he LOVED it!  I couldn't believe it!  Kevin jumped on the Disney bandwagon without any whining from me or begging to go to the parks.  Our first day there was super hot, but there were absolutely no lines and it was as if we had the park to ourselves!  This was the beginning of our Disney Magical Fairytale.

Note:  This picture was taken right after Splash Mountain!!

With us being new to Florida and all, we didn't know anyone!  So instead of friends, we basically just went to Disney.  Most of the time we didn't have any money to actually get into the park, so we would walk around Downtown Disney and shop or just people watch. Sometimes we would hang out on the patio of the Grand Floridian or the balcony of The Contemporary and watch Wishes (fireworks).  It was romantic and a lot of fun. 

Once I started working for Disney, we started really enjoying the parks.  We met our first friends -- Jeff and Amy Dick. By chance, I met Amy at Disney training and found out we are pretty much the exact same person, Our friendship grew when Kevin and Jeff became instant friends and we became neighbors!  Amy and Jeff adore Disney as much as we do, so naturally our dates became Disney-centered.  They showed us parts of Disney we didn't even know existed!!

When we moved back, Kevin promised that we could visit Disney a lot because it is "our place."  It's where we went when we were bored, stressed, sad, happy or homesick.  It covered all basis of sports, shows and eating.  It was why we were in Florida... plain and simple.  And when he promised we could visit, boy did he deliver.  Since we moved back, we have visited NINE times in a year and a half!  That boy is good to me!

So, if there is any place that feels "right" to have a wedding, it is "our place."  We feel it's special and we have so many special memories there.  We can't wait to show all of our friends and family the magic that Disney holds and we hope this trip will create special memories in all of our guest's lives as well!

So, that's why we're getting married at Disney and hoping that our fairytale beginning will lead to a long life of happiness, magic and love.

                                                

Rodents and Ducks are expensive

Long before our Disney wedding was official, Kevin and I debated over which characters to have at the wedding.  We had planning on having a character "couple" and couldn't decide.  Once we got engaged, we ruled out Mickey and Minnie.  Truth be told, I am not that much of a Mickey and Minnie Mouse fan.  I think they are cute, but I really only like Mickey because he is the symbol of Disney.  I enjoy seeing Mickey around, but in the 20 or so times we've been to Disney, I have never once met Mickey Mouse.  I know... strange.

We don't really have a character we both love together.  In fact, although everytime we are there (and next time I am insisting on it) we never see any characters.  The only time we've ever seen a character together was on our first trip together in September 2007.  We were coming off of Aladdin's magic carpets and there, with no one around them, was Briar Bear and Briar Fox.  We got our picture, vowing to frame it with all of our Disney character pictures, but as it turns out, it is the one and only! (And also our very first picture together at Disney World!)

So being that there were no characters special to our relationship, we narrowed it down to Chip and Dale, who are my absolute favorite, or Donald and Daisy Duck.  After looking at so many wedding pictures at Disney we were really leaning toward the ducks. 

I mean seriously, how cute are they!  So, it was all settled, Donald and Daisy it was.... until....

We were going over our wedding budget (which I might add I am doing a really good job of keeping under budget, although it is extremely hard!)  Well, to invite these adorable ducks for a half-hour to our reception (during which no alcohol can be served while they are there) is $1200.  Yes, TWELEVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!

That is too much, even for me who can usually rationalize everything!  So after really thinking it over, we have decided that we can do so much more with $1200 than spend a half-hour with Donald and Daisy, or any character really.  So the ducks got cut. 

I appologize if you were really hoping to get some quality time in with the ducks at our reception.  You're going to have to go to the parks and wait in the ridiculously long lines to get your picture with them unless Dinsey drops their prices drastically (not going to happen!) or we hit the lottery!

Engaged!

Well... it's official... we're ENGAGED!

Oh I have waited so long to say those words! After a rough year of ups and downs, moving and losing my mom, I thought there was nothing in 2009 that could make me happy.  WRONG!

We decided back in September to spend a week in Disney World for Christmas since I knew this wouldn't be an easy Christmas and it would be nice to get away.  On top of that, our good friends were moving from the Orlando area back to Iowa and we wanted to spend some time with them before they left, so what could be better than a Disney trip?  And what is better than a Disney trip but a Disney trip with a proposal involved!

I'm not going to lie and say I didn't see it coming.  Truth be told, I totally knew it was going to be in Disney over Christmas, I just didn't know when or how!  He did a great job of throwing me off too!  The first few days I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for him to ask my and dying to see the ring.  I was convinced he was going to do it Christmas Eve on the beach of the Poly during fireworks.  The boy just couldn't sit still.  But no luck.

Finally on December 26 he took me to the Magic Kingdom (my favorite place!) and we were just walking around enjoying the day.  It was too crowded to ride anything so we were just strolling along, people watching.  He led me down to the rose garden, where we were all alone.  I waited and then he just walked right out of the garden.  I was puzzled but just figured it would be later in the day.  After lunch I wasn't feeling well so he suggested we go back to the hotel and relax.  I was so confused as I was SURE he was going to do it this day since he pestered me about what day we were spending at Magic Kingdom.  As we were walking around the side of the castle, we noticed the show was going on, Dream Along With Mickey. 

Kevin suggested we wait for it to end before exiting the park, so we were just standing on the side bridge looking at the castle and chatting.  We were talking about the different parts of the castle we had never noticed before like the wishing well and just talking about the people we saw, when I noticed we were oddly alone on the bridge.  Kevin looked at me and said "We're at a really great place, but something's missing, there's nothing to seal the deal."  (gets on one knee) "Meagan, love of my life, will you marry me?"

OF COURSE!!!!  Now for those of you Sex and the City fans out there like me, you will recognize that this proposal was loosely based off of the proposal Mr. Big gave Carrie at the end of the movie.  Kevin thinks that makes him sound ridiculous, but I think it's cute.  Before we had cable, we used to pop that DVD in to fall asleep at night.  I think we both know every word to the entire movie.

But anyway, We're Engaged!  We knew that without a doubt there were two things that were non-negotiable for our wedding:

1.  It had to be in Disney World
2.  We wanted each person to have the same magical Disney experience that we always have, so we needed to make it fun, personal and economical!

Since we were already in Disney World, what better time than a nice reception site tour and meeting with Disney Fairytale Weddings!?  We went in with an open mind and came out with a time and location!

Although the way DFTW works is that you "tentatively" ask for a date and they let you know exactly 12 months before the day if your day and time is available.  So for us, we need to wait one more week to know if our wedding is able to be January 7, 2011 at 5 p.m. in the Disney Wedding Pavilion with reception immediately following at the Grand Floridian Resort!   Crossing my fingers!

This blog will be filled with planning, DIY ideas and all kind of information for guests about the events surrounding the wedding!  Only one year and three days to go!!!!

::UPDATE::  We got our date!!  We can confirm all space and times in May, but our wedding coordinator, Kristi, told us not to worry.  It is highly unlikely that something should change!