Alyssa & Matt’s Beauty & the Jedi Disney World Wedding
Orlando FL
“Catherine Ann Photography is the absolute best photographer that we could find and we booked her as quickly as we could for our Disney World wedding! Seriously, you can stop looking because she is so amazing that there is no reason to continue looking. This is it. You’ve found the best photographer. Congratulations. You can move on to planning other parts of your wedding. Contact her today to make sure she has your date available. You are not going to regret Catherine Ann Photography as your wedding photographer!” – Matt
Ahhh I am just SO happy and excited to show off Alyssa & Matt’s Disney World wedding! What started off as a Beauty & the Beast themed wedding quickly morphed into a Beauty & the Jedi themed wedding (-; Alyssa & Matt, fellow Charleston wedding vendors (Re-Peet Productions), know that a wedding should be a combination of the bride & grooms personalities and I think they blended theirs well.
Matt & Alyssa’s mom took Alyssa’s getting ready room to another level by decorating it with signs & banners and framed photos of the two of them! They had a custom designed wedding suite where the designer watched Alyssa’s Disney snap chats to get an idea of what they liked. Alyssa had a lot of rings for me to photograph – not just her engagement ring and their wedding bands, but her mother & grandmothers wedding rings as well, which she wore. The bridesmaids wore gold glitter maxi skirts paired with different navy blue tops & Alyssa wore white glitter Kate Spade sneakers (and Im totally stealing her smart move – she said her feet didnt hurt at all!). Matt and the groomsmen wore Star Wars socks, hand made boutonniere’s that Alyssa, her mom & matron of honor made and gray suits, with Matt wearing a gold & navy bowtie & vintage looking microphone cufflinks (hes a podcaster). Alyssa gifted him a Star Wars Rebel watch. One of my favorite moments that happened was when Matt & Alyssa separately opened their giftsand busted out laughing because they got each other the SAME GIFT but tailored to the others taste! While opening hers, Alyssa laughed and said “We got each other the same thing!”. Alyssa got Matt an all white record player with a vintage Star Wars record & he got her a vintage looking record player with a few Disney records! She put on the Beauty & the Beast record while she got in her dress.
Most weddings run behind schedule, and though they tried so hard, Alyssa & Matt’s day was no exception (-; Jay and I were almost to the Grand Floridian to set up the first look (which was originally going to be at their hotel), Alyssa called me and said “You’d think we’d be better at this kind of thing, since we’re in the industry – but Matt was waiting for someone to tell him it was safe to come down to the lobby, so he just left. He’s probably 10 minutes behind us.” I just laughed and said we’ll roll with it! They handled the lost time so well and were so happy & relaxed during the first look & portraits! They know that you cant control anything on the wedding day and you just have to…let it go.
The ceremony took place in the newly renovated Wedding Pavilion. Before the ceremony Alyssa’s grandmother prayed over her in the bridal suite. Matt walked down to Star Wars music and his brother, sporting a Millennium Falcon tie, presided over the ceremony. Matt & Alyssa wrote personalized vows to each other and washed each others feet & built a cross together that they’ll display in their home. Guests sent the bride & groom off to the reception with a light saber exit – Alyssa says they can thank Jay for that since he threw the idea out to Matt at their engagement session (-;
Their reception was at the Grand Floridian outside. While I was shooting their details, their lovely Disney Fairytale Weddings planner Mikki told me how Cast Members who were working another wedding at the venue kept sneaking over to look at Matt & Alyssa’s decor because it was so gorgeous! The ceremony was mainly Star Wars centered but the reception was straight out of Beauty & the Beast – candles and roses, navy blue and gold. It was perfect! My favorite pieces though were the name cards – Alyssa & Matt wanted each guest to have something personalized, so the name cards are magnets that looked like FastPasses for our favorite rides – thats right, they included us in that! Of course, mine is the Haunted Mansion & Jay’s is Its a Small World! Dinner on the patio concluded with the Wishes fireworks show. After that, guests mingled and danced with the groomsmen hamming it up on the dance floor!
Photographer: Catherine Ann Photography
Venue: Disney World – Grand Floridian Resort
Videography: Film Anywhere Productions
Music: Dance Doctors (Earl)
Hair & makeup: Beaute Spéciale
Wedding invitations: Adam Grason
Planning, florals, cake, rentals: Disney Fairytale Weddings
Brides gown: Gown Boutique of Charleston Pronovias
View Alyssa & Matt’s engagement photos
Katie + Jay of Catherine Ann Photography specialize in colorful, fun & candid Disney World Wedding Photos
