Reception : The Grand Finale!

Alright everyone! Ready for the Grand Finale???

The main reason we wanted our reception at the Grand Floridian Marina was for the prime fireworks view.  I was so excited to end our wedding day with a bang!

Randy got us set up in the perfect spot with Cinderella Castle behind us. He warned us that we wouldn't be watching the fireworks due to all the posing, but our guests could!

We had so much fun! We could hear the music from across the lake and our guests were loving the fireworks. It was such an amazing few moments. Even though there were people all around us, it felt like it was just Adam and I.







This is where I really started getting emotional. I don't know if it was the "wishes" music, the fact that the wedding was coming to a close, or what. I couldn't help shedding a few tears. The day went off without any problems and it was better than I ever could have dreamed it would be. I felt one hundred percent loved and blessed in that moment. If I could go back in time to any moment during our wedding day, it would be for the fireworks.



Adam could see I was getting emotional so to lighten the mood (and get a good picture) he decided to resurrect the "dip" again.





This made me and everyone else start laughing! It ended up becoming an endurance test for Adam. Randy kept telling him to stay in the "dip" for a few more seconds, which turned into minuets. In that last picture i'm holding on for dear life!

As a special treat I have a video for you! Please ignore the ridiculous commentary in the background... MD and Adam's brothers were having alittle too much fun!



This concludes our very magical wedding day at WDW.  Hope you all enjoyed it! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask!

I thought about ending this post with "And they lived happily ever after..." But I am in no way finished. Ever wonder what happens to Cinderella after she married Prince Charming? I always did!

Coming up next... "The Wish I did, Glad I didn't" post and the "Where are we now" post.

Reception Cont. That's Candy... Right?

After dinner, it was time for the cake to make its return.  We all got little dessert plates with a slice, and a scoop of ice cream.  Everyone was commenting on how good it taste.  The bottom tier was Almond flavored with Amaretto filling and the top tier was red velvet with butter cream filling.  Oh, just describing it is making my mouth water all over again!

Once we were finished with our cake Randy approached Adam and I.  He told us we had time before the "Big Finale".  He wanted to take us around the Grand Floridian for more pictures.



We took some pictures on the large staircase in the lobby. I could hear the noises of the monorail in the distance.......


After some begging we made our way to the monorail station.  Randy snapped some pictures while monorail powder blue was stationary, and then a few as it was leaving.  We could only get so close before a cast member alerted us about the safety hazard, oops :) Being the awesome cast member that he was, he gave us two fast passes. SCORE!


This was absolutely a highlight for me!

We headed back in and Randy snapped these pictures of us in front of that amazing chandelier


This is one of my favorites!

After the chandelier pictures I saw this store across the way. I could see these glass jars filled with what I thought was candy inside of them. Randy thought it would be a great spot to get some pictures of us eating the candy. So we walked in and took these pictures...


In this picture here Adam is saying (with teeth clenched) "Ummm this candy smells like soap" I began to laugh and in between a couple pictures looked around.... We were in BASIN Co. Which is a soap store. What we were pretending to eat in these pictures are not jelly beans, but bath beads.
Oh well we continued anyway....


Hey, what do you want? I'd never been to the Grand Floridian I had no idea! hahahahaaa

We had a good laugh with Randy about the soapy candy. On the way back to the Marina, Randy took these pictures. I love the angle and the look of the staircase.




Up next... The grand finale!

Reception Cake, Speech, Dinner... and yes in that order!

I need to start this post with a confession... I had never officially been to the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. I know, I know,  bad Disney fan, BAD! Moving on...

The vans pulled up to the Grand Floridian and I was floored. I'd only seen the outside and photographs but to see it in person is a totally different experience. We walked into the lobby and the jazz band was playing, the atmosphere just overwhelmed me completely. Everyone filtered in and I heard the boys say they wanted to use the restrooms before we headed outside to the Marina at Sago Cay Pointe. So while they went and did their business the rest of us took in all the sights and sounds.

One of the things that I had worried I would regret by having a small wedding in WDW was that I wouldn't be able to have a first dance with Adam. We had talked about it before and we had said that if we were to have a first dance it would've been to "Just the way you look tonight". (The Frank Sinatra version of course) Are you ready for another tear jerker moment? And believe me when I tell you that this is all 100% true. The Jazz band started playing a new song and wouldn't you know it, they started playing "Just the way you look tonight"! Adam came out of the bathroom and I made a B-line for him! We both started dancing right in the middle of the Grand Floridian lobby! It was our first dance!!! I'll never forget that and how special that was to me.

After the song we headed out to the marina and saw our table all set up for us. It was more beautiful then the pictures Amy had sent me! It really took my breath away.





You can't see it in that first picture but we had a view of Cinderella Castle across the lake. We could hear the train, and see the monorail. Oh, it was seriously an amazing location and I highly recommend it to any bride looking for a unique location!

Amy came over to us and asked us if we minded cutting the cake before dinner. The October weather was still pretty hot and humid and the cake couldn't sit outside for too long. The way I saw it, I got a little preview of dessert before dinner! YES!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... THE CAKE CUTTING!





Oooooh Yeah!!! let me at that cake!



Om nom nom nom!

Kissy time!!

And the collective "AWWWWWE!" from our audience.

Next was the best man speech! Most of it was filled with jokes about Adam, which were hysterical! But it ended on a really sweet note. The boys did a great job of getting everyone laughing. Best speech EVER!





After the cake cutting and speech the head chef and the head server came out to introduce themselves



We thought this was just amazing. My dad STILL to this day talks about how we were treated like royalty.

We started off with a yummy cheese and fruit display...



Then came the soup, salad, and then the entrees...




All of the food was to die for! All I can remember was just how hungry I was. I inhaled my dinner and then started picking off of Adam's plate. (I know, so classy right?)  The chef's did an excellent job of not only preparing a wonderful meal but they were so attentive to us. It was honestly a wonderful experience.