Three days of Disney Cruise fun with Nakiya and Reese! We had so much fun and their wedding was so lovely on Castaway Cay with a beautiful reception at the Pink Lounge. Princesses, Star Wars and lots of roses filled our day. We were also lucky enough to have photographed their Magic Kingdom engagement here, and Nakiya’s birthday bridal portraits at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, here. Thank you and Congratulations Nakiya and Reese! Cake and Flowers Disney Fairy Tale Weddings Wedding Dress – Alfred Angelo Shoes– Lace and Love UK Bridesmaid dresses– Davids Bridal Menswear – Menswear House Make up:Kristy’s Artistry Design Team Cinematographers:Black Mountain Cinema
From Nakiya:
Describe your wedding day style in one sentence:My wedding day style was a Romantic Fairytale. Favorite memory of the day:My favorite memory of the day was finally being able to say I Do! What songs?Bridal Entrance- Part of Your World, First Dance song- Beauty and the Beast/ Every Little Step I Take/Amazed Wedding day color scheme– Wine/Blush/Gold Describe your wedding planning process:My wedding planning process was easier than most brides since it was on a cruise. I just had to choose from the options that were given and could bring items along with me to make it more personalized. The hardest part was getting everything to the cruise ship since we live in a different state. What advice would you give to future brides for their wedding day?My advice to future brides is just to relax and enjoy the process. The day goes by so fast and a lot of moments will be a blur.What seems important now will not be important on that day. Anything you would have done differently? I would have chosen a longer cruise. Three days went by so fast! The most memorable moment during the planning process: My most memorable moment during the planning process is getting approved to have our first dance in the atrium! We were the first couple to be able to do that! What are you most looking forward to as a married couple?Starting a life together. Which moment are you the most excited to see in photos?The first kiss as husband and wife. What was your wedding inspiration? Beauty and the Beast was our overall theme.
I wanted to put up just a few of my favorites from Nakiya and Reese’s magical Disney cruise wedding on the Dream! Lot’s more to come. Thank you Nakiya and Reese for including is on your amazing adventure xo
We met Nakiya and Eris last year when we did their engagement session (see it here) and we are SO excited for their cruise wedding this winter on the Disney Dream! Nakiya wanted to do a special shoot for her 30th birthday at Animal Kingdom Lodge. She brought an Alfred Angelo Belle dress with her and had make up done by Kristy’s Artistry Design Team. We had a lot of fun and got to see exotic animals out on the savannas ? if you are interested in an engagement portrait session, contact us today!
Courtney and I had the most wonderful wedding anniversary last November, our 6th. We spent it with 20 new amazing friends and 2 we knew well – Yvonne and Eric. We were all on the wonderful Fantasy Disney Cruise for their wedding! We were so honored to be there and to photograph their beautiful wedding. They treated us like family which meant so much to us. We’ve had two other shoots with them, an engagement shoot in Florida and one in New York, both so much fun and just re-enforced our friendship. Getting to meet and spend days on a cruise with them and their friends and family was icing on the wedding cake! Thank you Yvonne and Eric for including us in your lives. We are so lucky and honored to be there xo
I asked Yvonne and Eric to give us some insights on their Disney Cruise Wedding – in their words: Planning our wedding was surprisingly really simple. The two of us enjoy cruising very much and it was an easy decision to do a cruise wedding. I think I can speak for the both of us that we enjoy the company of our close friends and family very much. Because of that, we wanted them to also enjoy our wedding and hopefully make it as their own vacation.
Choosing a cruise line wasn’t that hard either. I always wanted to sail with Disney but never could justify the cost for a week long cruise. Disney had to be for something special and something that would make me disregard the cost entirely. It is the best decision we made. Disney just made everything so much easier. That’s why I said planning our wedding was really simple. They took care of almost everything. Flowers, cake, champagne flutes, music… and of course Disney’s unbelievable customer service. They really go up and beyond for you. Aside from the cruise line planning guide, I added some extra detail to make it more personal to us. Instead of ordering all fresh flowers for the groomsmen and bridesmaids, I ordered silk flowers from Etsy for them. It was fraction of the price if I were to get fresh flowers from Disney. Best thing about the silk flowers, you can keep it for as long as you like. They turned out so beautiful and real looking. We also gave our guests little tote bags with goodies in it to use for the cruise. It’s our thank you/ favors for them.
Every day/night on the cruise has been amazing. I think what made it so incredible is the fact that we had 25 of our closest friends and family with us on this amazing week long vacation. We were so overwhelmed and grateful that they took time off just to be there for us. It really is….there’s really no words to express how great they all are. To ask us what our favorite thing about the cruise is, it’s hard to give you one thing. We loved everything about it. From the rotation dinners, to pirate’s night, and knowing some of our friends were stalking their favorite cabaret singer. Speaking of which, our pianist, Cara Oman (the bridal party’s favorite cabaret singer) for the wedding ceremony was fantastic. We were so pleased to find out that she was going to play the piano and sing at our wedding. Actually I think the bridal was more ecstatic than we were. I mean they really stalked her, haha. But if I really had to choose a moment to stop time, it would be that very moment when I walked up to the aisle with my dad by my side, and me seeing Eric standing up, there waiting for me with that smile of his, being surrounded by everyone we love. You can just feel all that love and happiness just radiate off everyone. I tear up just thinking about it now.
This is one of those events in life that you can never forget, at least not for us. We will always treasure the memories we had on this wonderful cruise and we will always be thankful to have just wonderful friends and family. They mean the world to us and our wedding wouldn’t be that amazing without them.
Dream Vacation Planner – Pixie and Pirate Destinations – Lisa Reese
Planner- DCL-Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding and Honeymoon
Floral- DCL- Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding and Honeymoon, bouquet of white calla lily. BM floral: from Etsy : Songs from the Garden: Lavender real touch calla lily
Shoes- Custom Chuck Taylor converse, beach: Badgley Mischka– Naomi T-strapped Decorated wedge, and reception: Menbur ‘Strass’ pump
Dress- Mori Lee– Elegant Alencon Lace style 1862
Bridesmaid Dresses- Bill Levkoff style 764 color Amethyst
Menswear- Jcrew lightweight chino urban slim in khakis and Jcrew linen shirt in purple and Eric in white.
Officiant- DCL- Bahamian officiant
Cake- DCL- Touch of character, Marble cake flavor with 2 fillings: lemon butter cream and raspberry butter cream
Reception venue – Fantasy Outlook
Ceremony venue – Disney’s Castaway Cay
Courtney and I are ridiculously excited to be leaving Saturday for our Fantasy Disney Cruise Destination Wedding to Mexico – Western Caribbean! Mostly because we absolutely LOVE our amazing couple Yvonne and Eric from New York. We (and 20 of their closest friends and family) are off to an amazing week that includes a beautiful wedding on the beach of Disney’s Castaway Cay and a Trash the Dress photo shoot on Grand Cayman Island! Plus fun shopping time in Cozumel and some Mayan ruin sightseeing in Costa Maya.
Almost exactly a year ago Yvonne called me from New York while we are on our annual wedding anniversary trip to St. Augustine. When she told me she wanted us to photograph her Disney Cruise Wedding for the week of November 9th, I told her, “oh we would love that – that will be over our wedding anniversary!” she pretty much hired us on the spot – “It’s fate,” she said. “You have to be there with us then.” On November 10, Courtney and I will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary, dining in the exclusive (fancy!) French restaurant Remy. (Happy Anniversay honey!)
Through the year we have become good friends with Yvonne and Eric. They came here to Orlando for an engagement shoot, which we have some of our favorites below, and we went to New York for another shoot there over the summer (see it here.) They are the type of couple that are so easy to talk to, laugh with. They sent lovely notes all year, sent flowers for my birthday and for Christmas.
Leu Gardens is one of our favorite places to shoot, so pretty and peaceful there. Every spot is a beautiful backdrop. Especially when you have a couple as sweet and in love with each other as these two. Yvonne and Eric – we CAN. NOT. WAIT for our next adventure together! See you in a couple of days. xoxo
