Woo Hoo - I finally made it to our reception!!! So far I have narrowed down our reception photos from a couple thousand to around 700 - so I still have some more work to do, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!
Our guest had arrived before us, but one thing almost everyone noticed was the marquee. We had gotten copies of most of the photos our guests took and just about all of them had a shot of the marquee!
Compared to the standard little sign, we think the marquee was money well spent!
The sun was setting on the Boardwalk by the time we made our way to ADH. We took a couple pics outside before we were rushed inside to talk to the DJ and have a quick drink/snack before the cocktail hour was over. We walked in to ADH and I got the first glimpse of my "vision" coming to life. It was so surreal! Maxine was talking to me when I walked into ADH. I couldn't tell you what she was saying, but I was so blown away by how perfect everything looked! After a really long day and a roller coaster of emotions, I gave her a big hug and started to tear up. Everything looked perfect!!
Our DJ, Steve Dunlap, came to talk to us and go over the evening's program. I think we changed a couple things and gave the pronunciations for a few peoples' names. He was so nice and energetic!
So meanwhile, our wedding party had joined everyone upstairs for the cocktail hour. Randy also went upstairs to get a few pics before the dinner started. Maxine had everything set up upstairs during the cocktail hour and then moved it all downstairs while we were eating.
We had a table with our card box and engagement album.
Then there was a separate table for the guest book. I had a friend take the pages and pass them out during the cocktail hour, so the guests could each complete it. I also had someone pass out the pages to the guys while they were getting ready and I passed pages out to the girls while we were getting ready. Reading them later was so much fun! We now have the book in our living room as a coffee table book.
And our signature frame.
We had the Mickey chocolate heads as escort cards. They were set out on a table as well.
There was a bar upstairs and a center table with the cheese display. It looked super yummy!!! We sampled a little bit, but I was sad to miss it!
The guests found their escort cards and made their way to the dance floor for dinner. Meanwhile, Maxine hid us in the other staircase. Literally, we waited in the staircase. I have to admit, it was kind of fun! It was at this time we learned that people who said they were not coming had in fact shown up!! At that point I was so over caring about the minor details. DH and I just looked at each other and shook our head. Maxine was so great! She said they are on top of it and can fit her in at table 3. So crisis avoided I guess. But still, who does that!?! Getting our final numbers was crazy to begin with. We didn't know how many people my brother from Brazil was going to bring with him. After my brother's wedding last summer, I was aware of it, so I was prepared. He only ended up inviting an extra couple, which wasn't too bad. And we had a cousin who didn't show up... didn't tell us she wasn't coming... just didn't get on the flight (and she was one who changed her mind and we had to make room for at the last minute)!! Oh well, I guess this experience has taught me that you can't plan for everything no matter how hard you try. Disney is so completely on top of everything. They have this happen all the time and will make everything run so smoothly regardless. Picking Disney was the best choice we made during our wedding planning (aside from having Maxine, but that was more luck, not choice)!
Up next, introductions and our first dance...