Yep, you read that right- an engagement session at Disney World. Doing a session within Disney World was a dream I didn’t even know I had until the opportunity came along, and I’m so excited to share my favorites from it.
Back in March we traveled down to Disney for spring break. Mollie, my youngest cousin and photo assistant, is in her high school marching band. This was her year to march down Main Street in Magic Kingdom. This is something we’ve all done- I did this in high school (oh so long ago), and so did Meghan and Moira (Mollie’s older sisters). I went for their trips as well, but this time my husband was along for the ride. Malachi absolutely hates theme parks, but it melted my heart when Mollie asked him to go because he was part of the family. He didn’t even hesitate to say yes to her.
This clearly wasn’t my first rodeo to Disney. I’ve actually been several times and it’s usually our girls trip location- a tradition that started when we were too young to rent cars. Fresh out of high school, we wanted to go somewhere fun, warm, and be independent from the parents. And we chose Disney because it was parental approved, had free transportation and we couldn’t leave the Disney bubble. Then one year Meghan worked at Epcot through the college program and we had to visit her (I mean how cool is it to get a chance to work there). Even though we’re old enough to rent cars now, it’s just a tradition to do a girls trip to Disney every few years. Disney has a lot of sentimental memories for us!
This spring break ended up being a wild trip, but all we can do is laugh about it. Our flight to Orlando was delayed by a few hours because of “severe mechanical issues” to our plane. They announced they had to find another plane entirely, but then they fixed our original plane. Meanwhile, we could totally smell whatever was burning while the techs were fixing the plane & then while we were in the air for a short while. I’m already an anxious flier, so cue the extra anxiety about that. Poor Meghan had been in Orlando since 7am and couldn’t get into our room without us. I think we finally arrived around 9pm.
Then the next day I broke my foot on Main Street, which is really when the adventure began. We were in line to get our picture taken in front of the castle when the family in front of us ran over my foot with their double stroller and then stepped on it. It hurt, but I was determined that it was fine. Probably an hour lately I looked at it and it was bruising pretty badly so I just taped my toes together (thinking it was just a toe broken) and kept on. Not even half way through the day we found a table outside the ice cream shop and sat there until it was Mollie’s marching time. We watched Mollie, and then went back to the table for her to meet us for ice cream later. We couldn’t leave because we were doing a family fireworks cruise but my foot was hurting more and more, so we hung around the ice cream shop all day.
The next day was my engagement session with Moira and Parker. Moira is getting married in June- we’re so happy Parker is joining the family! Malachi is especially happy not to be the only guy when the cousins get together. Since we were already in Florida, it just made sense for us to do their engagement session when we were already together. We met up at Disney’s Boardwalk before their flight home for a cute, early morning session. There was absolutely no way I was cancelling it just because of my foot. The Boardwalk was the perfect location for them. Casual, but sophisticated with a bit of fun. We didn’t want it to be super “Disney” with ears and the castle. We wanted more of that beach town vibe that Boardwalk has. Also, I took winter photos of Moira and Parker pre-engagement (like right before they got engaged), so we wanted something different than before. Being related to a photographer has its perks.
When we got home, I went to the doctor who confirmed my foot was broken. He booted me up because I had a wedding the next day and a few other events following it. I was able to work those events with no issues once I was booted. Thankfully I’m no longer in the boot and all healed up for my upcoming weddings this month!
Moira and Parker will be getting married in one month at Baker Events in Holland, and I can’t wait to be a part of their day!
Getting Married at Disney?
At this point in life, I’m a Disney pro. I’ve been traveling and staying on property almost every year since I was 4 years old. If you’re getting engaged or married in Disney World, I’d LOVE to be your photographer. I know all the ins & outs of Disney’s rules and the best locations.
