My Disney Wedding

Another year has come and is almost done. 2012 was a life changing year for me – I left one job, started another, made the decision to go back to school and got married. While all of those things had their importance, I believe that getting married was the most significant for me. It also had the most Disney elements, including a perfect honeymoon aboard a Disney cruise ship.

 

When it came to my wedding, I knew I wanted to have some Disney elements to it. At the same time, I didn't want to go overboard.  My husband Scott and I were able to to find settle but noticeable ways to incorporate Disney into a variety of elements.

 

To start things off, my wonderful mother organized a wedding shower for us.  She had a cake done up which had a picture of Mickey and Minnie in wedding attire.  It was a nice highlight to a lovely afternoon and it tasted great!

 

My wedding shower cake
Photo from personal collection

Leading up to the wedding, I knew that I wanted my main colour to be red and since my favourite flowers are roses, it made perfect sense to have red roses for my wedding flowers.  It was also another way to add a Disney element.  As I've said before, my favourite movie of all time is Beauty and the Beast and the rose is such an important symbol of it.  So by adding it as a part of our wedding, I was adding a little more Disney, but in a settle way.  My sister-in-law made all the flower arrangements for us using crafted flowers, which looked incredible.  She did up four bouquets; one for me, one for her, one for my sister Mary as well as a throw-away one for the bouquet toss.  She also personalized all of them with unique decorations, including a picture of my late grandfather in mine.  As well, she did up two corsages our mothers, seven boutonnieres for my groom, the groomsmen, the fathers, and the ring bearer as well as a flower girl wand. 

 

My sister's, mine and my sister-in-law's bouquets

Photo Courtesy of Jenn Slauenwhite

 

When people began to arrive at our beautiful outdoor ceremony location, they received programs designed by mother.  I love that she put a Disney item on every page.  On the cover and back, she used wedding Mickey and Minnie pictures.  On the second page, she used a rose, similar to the one seen in Beauty and the Beast.  On the third page, she included a picture of the cruise ship we were going to be sailing on for our honeymoon.  It turned out really great and I'm lucky my mother knew just what to include, especially with the Disney elements.

 

An early draft of our wedding program designed by my mother

Photo from personal collection

 

After the ceremony ended, it was time for our reception.  We had it at my former university's pub - not the first place you might think to have a wedding reception but it was a perfect size for the amount of guests and it was a casual, comfortable environment for everyone.  Our tastiest Disney element was right here and it was our cake.  It was designed by a local cake decorator, Claire Arenburg, who did an incredible job, both with the appearance and the taste.  Along with the cake, which layers were chocolate and vanilla with Oreo cookies mixed in, she also did up some very tasty cupcakes, including some that were dairy free.  The Disney element for this wonderful creation came with our cake topper, which is one that Scott and I picked out.  Not only was it great for keeping with the theme, it was very us - I knew the first time I saw it, that it was meant for our wedding cake.

 

Our Disney Wedding Cake Made by Claire Arenburg

Photo Courtesy of Jenn Slauenwhite

 

At the reception, I shared two very important dances with the two most important men in my life - my new husband and my father.  Both songs were performed live by singer and musician, as well as one of my dad's best friends, Mike.  My first dance was with my husband and we danced to Johnny Reid's Dance With Me, which is our song.  My second dance (the Father/Daughter one), was a classic Disney song, You'll Be In My Heart, from the movie Tarzan.  I was struggling for months to find the perfect father/daughter song and the only ones I had even considered were just not right.  Then one day, I was listening to this song and I knew this was it.  I looked over the lyrics and listened to it a few more times and I could really feel it speaking to me.  Although the song is sung by a mother to her son, it works well for any parent to their child, no matter what their age.

 

Dancing with my father, as Mike sings in the background

Photo taken by Mary Belliveau

 

So those are the simple ways I had a Disney wedding.  However, the biggest Disney element wasn't something you could see, it was the feeling I experienced the entire day.  I felt like a princess, all dressed up in a beautiful dress, having all of my family and friends there to witness one of the most important events of my life.  But the most important thing was being able to marry my Prince Charming.  Scott is everything I could ever want in a husband.  He is kind, hard working, funny and most importantly, he loves me for me.  He is without a doubt the most important person in my life and I am proud to be able to call him my husband.  Now that is a dream come true. 

 

Scott and I on our wedding day

Photo Courtesy of Jenn Slauenwhite



 

In addition to my husband, I would like to thank everyone who made our wedding day as special as it was.  Without you, things wouldn't have looked as beautiful or meant as much.  You all have a special place in our hearts and we are truly lucky to have all of you in our lives.  Thank you for making our day truly magical.   

 

A wedding gift from my Aunt Rose Marie

Photo Courtesy of Jenn Slauenwhite