Our Great Escape - Morocco/Canada/Attic/Sago Cay TR *DisneyWeddingBlog Nomination*

[Boardwalk_bride]

Originally Posted by kcampbell

Sorry to Karen and Bridget...I'm gonna hijack and correct Bridget- The Attic is on the 3rd floor of the Villas.

Did they not put a sign out with your names & directions to the Attic at the entrance of the lobby? It points you to the Villa elevators and tells you where to go. Then there should've been more signage on the third floor pointing guests in the right direction. Weird.... We even took our sign from the 3rd floor after the rehearsal and it's in my scrapbook!

Karen....I'm glad Bell services/luggage transport worked out well for you. Hopefully our experience was an "exception" and not the rule.

I love the M&M picture frame! We didn't see that, but if we head to the world this weekend (we're still debating) I might just have to pick one up.

Can't wait to read more!

There were only signs on the 3rd floor (that I saw anyway). Kathleen actually gave me the signs, since she was changing the names over! I am totally going to scrapbook them too!

[shippedtosea]

Oh I missed stuff! I want pretty much everything you bought!

I have never seen the mickey ear frame or album....where did you get it?

Also I have seen the wooden personal one before but I was wondering how much it is? I LOVE it.

Great stuff

[Boardwalk_bride]

Originally Posted by shippedtosea

Oh I missed stuff! I want pretty much everything you bought!

I have never seen the mickey ear frame or album....where did you get it?

Also I have seen the wooden personal one before but I was wondering how much it is? I LOVE it.

Great stuff

We only saw the Mickey ear frame in 2 places (and we went almost everywhere). One was at the GF gift shop (which was one of the few places that had the album too) and one was tucked away in a corner in the World of Disney store (sort of behind the cash register in the middle back part of the store, where the other wedding stuff is). I was honestly surprised how hidden a lot of the stuff was in most places, we really had to look to find things!

[brer rabbit 28]

Congratulations on what sounded like a fantastic wedding

Can't wait to see your photos

[Boardwalk_bride]

Originally Posted by brer rabbit 28

Congratulations on what sounded like a fantastic wedding

Can't wait to see your photos

Thanks I can't wait to see my photos either!!!

[Boardwalk_bride]

Glad I did/Wish I did/Wish I didn't

Glad I did

Married DH: An obvious I guess, but after over 4 years together, I am happy I can refer to him as more than just my boyfriend, and I am so happy we are legally a family now.

Had a DFTW: Seriously, this is one of the best decisions I could have ever made in my life. It just worked so perfectly for us. I don’t think it is for everyone, especially the way we did it, but we had the more fantastic wedding, and it was a dream come true for us.

Gave everyone a gift: We decided since our group was so small, and everyone paid so much to come to WDW, we would buy everyone a gift, which we gave out at our welcome/rehearsal dinner. Everyone was really surprised and seemed really touched. Definitely worth it!

Ceremony at Epcot: Originally, we were going to have our ceremony at SBP, because it was our favourite out of the Escape options. While I still think it is a gorgeous location, I always wanted an Epcot ceremony (because I LOVE Epcot) and am so glad we got to do this. This also leads me to…

Had a morning ceremony: At first, everyone, including DH, was not a fan of an AM ceremony. However, all the comments afterwards were positive. People LOVED having a breakfast reception, not having to stress all day, and escaping much of the afternoon heat.

Did a “Trash the Dress”: Seriously, this was so much fun, and I love the pictures! My dress came out looking back to normal after the cleaning, which was nice, but I wouldn’t really have cared that much if it didn’t. When else will I wear the dress again anyway.

Wish I did:

Lost the weight: I hope this doesn’t get me in trouble on here, but I felt I had to post this. I gained so much weight after the 6 years I spent at university, and the 1 year in between I spend chained to an office desk. I don’t feel like myself, and I swore to myself I would lose some of it before the wedding, and I think I only lost about 5. I am trying not to be too hard on myself, since being a graduate student had me chained to a computer, and now I have a degree, but I am worried I will not like my pictures as much as I would have if I did lose it. The good news is, I am done school now, and can finally work on getting healthier!

Had a “wishes” wedding: Only because the receptions were too short at both the Attic and Sago Cay. We spent way more than the Wishes minimum (with our rehearsal party added to that, so I guess we would have been right around the min without that) but by the time I found out the wishes min was lowered, it felt too complicated to switch everything.

Had alcohol at the DP: I didn’t want to pay for the bartender fee, and I didn’t want to encourage people to drink too much when we had such an early morning, but because we were all drinkers, I think people were a bit upset it wasn’t there (even though they were told ahead it wouldn’t be). I think it would have helped me relax too, and have people socialize more.

Wore my hair down: Everyone (at home) kept telling me I should wear my hair up, and the magazines all said so as well (yes, I read a lot of bridal mags) but I look so much better with my hair down. From the pictures I have seen from guests, I look better at random meals with my hair down (which I did for TTD) than with my hair up for the ceremony. This has nothing to do with Patricia, she did a wonderful job, I just should have known to wear my hair down.

If I could have afforded it:

-- I would have had a photographer @ Sago Cay. The location was so beautiful, and the fireworks were a lot closer that I thought, so the pictures would have been nice. My guest pictures didn't turn out well there, so it would have been nice to have professional ones.

--I would have splurged to have a character. I mostly didn’t because I thought people (friends and family) would judge me, but after seeing how much fun everyone had with characters in the park, it would have been fun. Plus, I shouldn’t have been worried about what others thought on my day. It isn’t a huge regret to me that I didn’t have it, but if I could go back, I would do it.

--I also sometimes wish we would have had the MK bridal portraits, but I am not sure getting up earlier than we already had to would have worked. Maybe we will do it for an anniversary or something.

Wish I didn’t:

Have a group meal after the wedding: We didn’t want to ignore people after we got married, just because we rarely ever see any of the people that came to WDW, since we all live in different cities. However, the one group meal we had after just wasn’t good. I don’t know if people were tired, or didn’t feel the need to be super nice since the wedding was over, but it definitely wasn’t as fun as everything before the wedding.

Cake upgrade: I am not sure if it was really needed, although we did really like the cake.

Had a DP the night before: I don’t totally regret this (it wasn’t a waste of money) but I was disappointed in the layout of Morocco, and I think because the wedding was the next morning, I didn’t really get a change to relax and enjoy it.



**Okay, after reading this, it sounds like I had a lot of problems/regrets with my wedding, but I didn't. I pretty much LOVED everything. This is just a reflection that I hope will help other brides**

[shippedtosea]

well i'll have to keep my eyes peeled for them! Which i'm sure will drive DF crazy Thanks!

[shippedtosea]

I like your list! I don't think it sounds like you have a lot of regrets. I guess everyone second guesses things that didn't go exactly right but if you didn't do it you might have regretted not doing it? My biggest fear is I will regret not loosing the weight before mine. So I am glad you made that point (tho I saw your TTD pictures and you look awesome) I am working out now 4 times a week (all I can fit in with my schedule) and being really strict with dieting. I guess this is always a problem for brides.

[daisygirl902]

I think that's a great list! It makes total sense to me...

I am above the Wishes minimum right now and wondering if it would do anything for me to change it...I'm going to call Amy today and see actually. With the add ons, even without the dinner we'd still be above!

[girli565]

Originally Posted by daisygirl902

I think that's a great list! It makes total sense to me...

I am above the Wishes minimum right now and wondering if it would do anything for me to change it...I'm going to call Amy today and see actually. With the add ons, even without the dinner we'd still be above!

Changing to a wishes from an escape is really easy. None of your already planned events change the only thing that's a bit of work is that you'll be sent back to your sales consultant and they will draw up the contract for a wishes wedding. You sign the new LOA and send it back like you did with the escape LOA. You'll send in the remaining deposit bc a wishes deposit is $2000 and an escape is less than that.

But nothing needs to change if you don't want it to. My contract was just changed from an escape to wishes but my venues and times stayed the same. It's really easy and no hassle at all. It took about 4-5 days for everything to be taken care of. My contract was sent within a day and I sent it back the day after that.

I think that if you're spending the wishes minimum then you should go for it!! And with the $10k minimum they have now you can really save a lot of $$$!

[Chilly]

A great list for future brides.

[pink_tink8i8]

I agree with chilly

[Boardwalk_bride]

Originally Posted by daisygirl902

I think that's a great list! It makes total sense to me...

I am above the Wishes minimum right now and wondering if it would do anything for me to change it...I'm going to call Amy today and see actually. With the add ons, even without the dinner we'd still be above!

Originally Posted by girli565

Changing to a wishes from an escape is really easy. None of your already planned events change the only thing that's a bit of work is that you'll be sent back to your sales consultant and they will draw up the contract for a wishes wedding. You sign the new LOA and send it back like you did with the escape LOA. You'll send in the remaining deposit bc a wishes deposit is $2000 and an escape is less than that.

But nothing needs to change if you don't want it to. My contract was just changed from an escape to wishes but my venues and times stayed the same. It's really easy and no hassle at all. It took about 4-5 days for everything to be taken care of. My contract was sent within a day and I sent it back the day after that.

I think that if you're spending the wishes minimum then you should go for it!! And with the $10k minimum they have now you can really save a lot of $$$!

If you think you want to change, I would do it, just from personal experience. The only thing is , if you are using DPS, it changes the prices (it is more $$$ for Wishes photography than Escape). That, and time, are the only reasons I didn't change it.

Originally Posted by Chilly

A great list for future brides.

Originally Posted by pink_tink8i8

I agree with chilly

Thanks ladies, I really hope it helps, since so many past brides helped me so much on here!

[Sarah84]

Congratulations on the wedding, can't wait to hear all about it & see your photos.
The list is great and helpful/interesting to read for me as a Disney bride to be

[Boardwalk_bride]

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