Kristin Samuel & Geoff Sholler

Welcome

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Welcome to our wedding site! We're excited to have you join us for our big day!

Meeting at FIEA

Our first photo

Vancouver!

Future proposal site

In a wedding

Proposal!!

Engaged!

Engagement party

Sun
Apr 6
2014

12:00 pm

The Ceremony

4401 Floridian Way
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
United States

(407) 824-3000

disneyweddings.disney.go.com

Map to venue

Sun
Apr 6
2014

1:15 pm
TO 7:15 pm

The Reception

2101 Epcot Resorts Blvd
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
United States

(407) 939-6200

disneyworld.disney.go.com

Map to venue

Sun
Apr 6
2014

7:30 pm
TO 9:30 pm

Dessert Party

Our dessert party is taking place at Italy Isola in Epcot. The Italian Pavilion features a plaza surrounded by a collection of buildings evocative of Venetian, Florentine, and Roman architecture. Venetian architecture is represented by a re-creation of St Mark's Campanile (bell tower) and a replica of the Doge's Palace. The pavilion's design is inspired by other hallmarks of Italian architecture, such as the Neptune Fountain (reminiscent of Rome's Trevi Fountain) and the Il Bel Cristallo shop (meant to resemble the exterior of the Sistine Chapel). The dessert party will take place at Isola, a private island just in front of the Italian pavilion, with beautiful views of the World Showcase Lagoon and the Illuminations fireworks.

The dessert party will be held immediately after the reception. Our reception is at the Boardwalk, a resort right next to the International Gateway (the back entrance into Epcot's World Showcase).

Our reception will be ending at 7:15 pm. At that time, you will have two options for getting to our Dessert Party:

* The first option is to walk to the Boardwalk Lobby, where buses will be available to take you to the backstage of the America pavilion at Epcot. From there, guides will escort you a short walk to the Italy Isola dessert party.

* Your second option is to walk to the dessert party. Guides will escort you from the International Gateway (the back entrance of Epcot, located right next to the Boardwalk resort) through France, Morocco, Japan, America, and Italy as you make your way to the party. (If you are unsure where the International Gateway is, we are walking to the dessert party, so feel free to follow us!)

After the Dessert Party, you again have two options for getting back home. Guides will be happy to escort you back to the America pavilion, where we have buses waiting to take you back to the Boardwalk, Grand Floridian, and Pop Century resorts. Or if you prefer, you can walk back to the International Gateway, where you'll be just a short walk from the Boardwalk and other Epcot resorts.

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FAQs

What's the dress code?

We request comfortable cocktail attire.

Men - Think a suit, or slacks and a blazer. Ties are optional.

Women - Think of a fun dress you'd wear on a nice date!

One suggestion, particularly for the women in attendance (and any men who like to wear snazzy but not comfortable shoes) - if you are planning on walking to the dessert party, wear comfortable shoes. From the reception venue to the dessert party in Epcot is approximately a 10 minute walk, so pack some comfortable shoes if you don't want to make the trek in heels! If you don't want to make the walk, buses to the Dessert Party are available.

Where should I stay?

Check our travel page for information about resorts and transportation. We have a room block set up at Disney at all different price points!

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Do I have to stay at a resort on your room block, or can I stay at another Disney resort? What if I want to stay off property?

You're welcome to stay at any resort of your choice. However, bus transportation to the ceremony will be offered from room block resorts only.

If you choose to stay at a different Disney resort than our room block, please let us know the reservation number so we can manually add it to our room block agreement with Disney.

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I want to stay at a room block resort, but I get a better discount through DVC/Annual Pass/Florida Resident/etc. Can I use that discount instead?

You sure can! If you're staying at a room block resort booked through other means, just let us know the reservation number so we can let out room block planner know. You're still welcome to use the buses to the ceremony from the resorts.

If I'm staying at a room block resort, how do I get to the ceremony?

We will have buses coming to the Boardwalk and Pop Century lobbies at set times (look below for times!). If you're staying at those resorts, those buses will take you directly to the ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion.

If you're staying at the Grand Floridian, the Wedding Pavilion is only a few minutes stroll away!

For guests staying at Pop Century, the bus will be LEAVING the front lobby at 11:15 am. Please be there before, as the buses will not wait for any latecomers.

For guests staying at the Boardwalk, the bus will be LEAVING the front lobby at 11:30 am. Please be there earlier, buses do not wait for latecomers. If you are staying at the Swan & Dolphin or Yacht & Beach Club, you are welcome to make the short walk over to the Boardwalk lobby to grab the bus.

If you miss your bus, we do not have backup transportation available. However, cabs are available at any resort location - please talk to one of the Cast Members at the front lobby for assistance.

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If I'm NOT staying at a room block resort, how do I get to the ceremony?

Addresses to the ceremony and reception venues are located on the travel tab. You have a few transportation options:

* Driving - The Wedding Pavilion has its own parking lot. If you pass through the Magic Kingdom Parking gates, let them know you're going to a wedding at the Wedding Pavilion and they will let you through free of charge. PLEASE NOTE: The Wedding Pavilion parking lot is ONLY for current wedding guests. After the ceremony, we request you drive to the Boardwalk for the reception, and free up parking spaces for the following weddings later in the day. Show your invitation (or tell the security guard that you are there for a wedding reception at Atlantic Dance Hall) to the Boardwalk guard, and request convention space parking, which is complimentary. Buses will transport you from the Boardwalk to the Dessert Party and back.

* Disney transportation - Please allow for plenty of time if you choose to use Disney's public bus transportation. There are no resort-to-resort buses, so you will need to take a bus to the Transportation and Ticket Center, followed by either a bus or a monorail to the Wedding Pavilion.

Please allow for at least an hour travel time if you choose to take the Disney public buses in case of any delays.

* Taxi - All Disney resorts can call you a taxi from the lobby entrance. You can then be driven straight to the Wedding Pavilion.

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How do I get to the reception?

If you have driven to the ceremony, we request that you drive to the reception venue as well (instead of taking the provided buses) to allow the parking lot to remain open for brides later in the day. We recommend taking along a copy of your invitation to show to the Boardwalk parking guard for the reception. Guides will be meeting guests leaving the buses in the front lobby at approximately 12:45 pm to escort them to the reception location. You can meet the guides there, or proceed to the Atlantic Dance Hall.

If you arrived at the ceremony through any other means, buses will be available to take you directly to the reception at the Atlantic Dance Hall.

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Wait, how do I get to the Dessert Party?!

Not to fear - our reception ends at 7:15 pm, and you will have two options at that point. You can meet the buses at the Boardwalk lobby, which will take you behind the scenes at Epcot. You'll have a very short walk from the American Adventure pavilion to the Italy Isola area, where our party is held. Or, if you'd like to stroll through Epcot, you can go to the International Gateway next to the Boardwalk. You will then be escorted through the World Showcase to the dessert party!

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Where is the International Gateway?

The International Gateway is located between Disney's Boardwalk and Beach Club Resorts. It's just a few minute walk from our reception venue, Atlantic Dance Hall. The Dance Hall is on one end of the Boardwalk, and the International Gateway is past the other end.

If you have questions, Cast Members can always direct you exactly where the Gateway is - and no worries, we are planning on walking to the dessert party, so you can just follow us!

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Do I need a pass to get into Epcot for the dessert party?

Not at all! You will be able to get into Epcot for free. We do request that if you already have a ticket into the parks, please bring it along, so Disney can waive the viewing fee included in our dessert party.

If you don't have a pass, no worries. Just come in and enjoy!

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Can I get into Epcot earlier?

Unfortunately no, unless you have your own pass. Should you choose to go in earlier, you're welcome to meet us at Italy Isola in the World Showcase. Your own pass will be required for early entrance, however.

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Had a great time! Now how do I get back to my hotel?

If you are not attending the dessert party, we will have a chartered bus making trips every hour on the hour during the reception to any Disney resort. You can use that at any time until the end of the reception. Or, if you've driven to the reception, you can leave at any time.

If you attend the dessert party, you have a few options:

* Guides will escort you behind the scenes again, backstage of the American Adventure pavilion. You will then be able to board a bus that will take you back to the Grand Floridian, Pop Century, or the Boardwalk.

* You can also walk back to the International Gateway, where you'll be just a short walk from the Boardwalk and other Epcot resorts.

Bridesmaids

Rachel Gassen

Matron of Honor

Rachel has been my best friend for years - we met when we were 10! The saying 'opposites attract' is so true in our case - Rach is an amazing chef and super talented at anything crafty & domestic, while I'm better at microwave cooking and video games. Through the years we've had fun Disney adventures, numerous coffee dates, shared apartments, and now we're sharing weddings - in 2012 I was Maid of Honor in Rach's wedding, and now I'm psyched to have her standing by my side!

Katie Sholler

Bridesmaid

Katie is my future sister-in-law! It's been wonderful getting to know her along with the rest of Geoff's family - my favorite memory of ours so far was a trip to Carowinds, where Katie managed to get me to go on all the crazy roller coasters I was terrified of! It was one of the best theme park days I've had, fear of heights and all. I'm excited to have Katie at my wedding as as a sister, though I may be biased since she has an adorable dog (Dot) and cat (Yoshimi), and has indulged my love of macarons at Christmas time! ;)

Bethany Glading

Bridesmaid

Bethany is one of my cousins - we're closest in age, so growing up we were always super close. Along with many memories up in our homeland, New Jersey, we have lots of fun memories from staying at Disney together! I'm excited to have her with us at our wedding.

Alyssa Aviles

Bridesmaid

Alyssa and I met twice in undergrad - we had a class together, and went to Campus Crusade, where we recognized each other, well, from class! Our friendship started then, and has lasted through numerous art classes, photographing weddings together, and numerous trips to theme parks (Lyss is another one who's convinced me to go on some crazy roller coasters!). Lyss is the laid back counterpart to my hyperactivity, and I'm glad she'll be a chill member of the wedding party!

Emily Fields

Bridesmaid

Emily and I were coworkers at Chick-fil-A and hit it off right away! We became close friends as we worked together, and had lots of fun (and pretty nerdy) escapades as teens (using lipstick to do Queen Amidala makeup, for one). Emily was the first in our group of friends to get married, and now she'll be at our wedding!

Sophie Skiles

Bridesmaid

Sophie is Emily's younger sister, and I also met her through working at Chick-fil-A. We became close friends and kept each other sane at work, and now you can find us having in depth Doctor Who conversations (or comparing our various Doctor Who tshirts) whenever we get the chance!

Groomsmen

Andrew Heyward

Best Man

The best man. We met when my family moved into a house three doors down from his in the summer of 1990. We've been best friends ever since. We've gone to war together, we've saved worlds together, we've killed more zombies than I can count, and that's just the adventures inside of video games. By every count that isn't biological we are brothers, and as such that made the best man decision pretty straightforward.

Eric Dusel

Groomsman

My brother in law. Can't pinpoint when I first met Eric, but I would presume it would be relatively shortly after he began dating my sister. Even then, it wasn't long before I felt as though we'd known each other a good bit longer as we were able to discuss video games and other such things. He and Katie are a good fit, and I had the honor of ushering at their wedding and now, he will do me another honor and stand up there with me at mine.

Andrew Gassen

Groomsman

Yet another FIEAn, and the Lead Designer for the previously mentioned Nexus project. He was also present over the many late nights, usually trying to come up with some way to fix our game from a design standpoint. His desk was right next to mine and we spent a lot of time prototyping things. Ideas would come from him and then I'd make them happen in what we like to call "The Danger Room." All in all a solid workflow. I was a groomsman in his wedding, and now he'll be one in mine. Nice how things work out.

Fernando Rivera

Groomsman

One more FIEAn. He didn't work on Nexus, but was our chief designer for The Elementalist. As with all the other FIEAns, many many later nights working on projects. Said late nights would sometimes get a little wacky, and many of those sometimes found Fernando right in the thick of the antics. As part of the group that would usually be playing the previously mentioned board games or tabletop games, there were many hours spent outside of school hanging out as well, and as such, I look forward to having him standing up there with me as a groomsman.

Andrew Bertino

Groomsman

A fellow FIEAn and teammate on the big project we worked on, Nexus. We spent many a late night trying to fix some terrible problem or another, only to discover some random, seemingly unrelated checkbox needing to be checked or unchecked. With Bert involved, I can rest easy knowing that spreadsheets will be tracking any details needing to be tracked and feel confident that everything will be on schedule.

Matt Bloise

Groomsman

Another fellow FIEAn, however not someone from the Nexus team. Matt and I worked on a smallish project together and also the biggish 4th semester project, The Elementalist. I feel like that fourth semester alone would be enough to warrant groomsman status, but even without that, the countless hours spent playing board games or running through a table top campaign or even just hanging out with some friends and talking about stuff makes Matt someone I want up there with me.

Ushers

Stephen Norris

Usher

We met in high school Spanish class, and from talking a fair amount there, discovered we shared a fair number of interests ranging from football -both real and fantasy- to basketball to math to books to comedians. We've been close friends ever since, watching Panthers and Bobcats games and spending the occasional day at the lake. Whenever we're both in Charlotte, video games and Tokyo Noodles are on the agenda without fail.

Jonathan Hopkins

Usher

Jon and I initially met at a coffee meetup between Kristin and Alyssa. His fervor for video games and superheroes meant we got along immediately. We've hung out a good number of times since and are always eager to discuss our views on the newest superhero movies out there.

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort is Disney's most luxurious hotel, beautifully themed after Victorian beach resorts.

Our wedding ceremony will be located at Disney's Wedding Pavilion, which is part of the Grand Floridian. Resort rooms are just a short walk away from our ceremony!

The Grand Floridian is also conveniently located on the monorail system, which connects the resort to the Magic Kingdom, Transportation and Ticket Center (where you can take buses to all other theme parks & resorts) and the Polynesian and Contemporary Resorts. The Grand Floridian also offers several fine dining locations, and a wonderful beach view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.

The Grand Floridian is a Disney Deluxe resort. Deluxe resorts are the highest priced in the park, and the Grand Floridian is the highest priced out of those, but it also offers the highest level of service and luxury. It's a beautiful resort if you're looking to splurge!

If you choose to stay at the Grand Floridian, the ceremony will only be a stroll away from your room. Buses will transport you from the ceremony to the reception; after the dessert party, buses will be available to take you back to the Grand Floridian!

Cost per night (including tax): $510.75

Please call Disney reservations at 407-827-6799 and mention the Samuel/Sholler wedding to get your discounted price!

Disney's Boardwalk is a beautiful resort that evokes Atlantic City in the 1920s-1940s.

The resort is the most convenient in our room block for wedding events - the Boardwalk is the site of our reception, and is only a few minute walk from our dessert party in Epcot.

The Boardwalk is located right next to Epcot, and is only a walk or boat ride to Disney's Hollywood Studios. The resort features amazing dining, a lounge, and a pool with a pretty epic slide. At night, the Boardwalk comes alive with entertainers and carnival games!

The Boardwalk is a Disney Deluxe resort. Deluxe resorts are the highest priced in the park, but offer the greatest amenities, themeing, and luxury at the park. It's a splurge, but a fun one!

A bus will be available the morning of the wedding to transport you to the ceremony location, and from the ceremony to the reception. After the dessert party you can take our bus back to the lobby, or take a stroll back through the International Gateway!

Cost per night (including tax): $406.13

Please call Disney reservations at 407-827-6799 and mention the Samuel/Sholler wedding to get your discounted room price!

If you choose to stay at the Boardwalk, please note that buses leave promptly at 11:30 am the morning of the wedding. Buses do not wait for latecomers.

Disney's Pop Century resort is themed after decades from the 1950s through the 1990s! Enjoy flashbacks to your favorite decades, from jukeboxes to Rubik's Cubes.

Pop Century is just a quick walk away from Art of Animation, another Disney resort. Pop Century also features multiple themed pools (our personal favorite is the jukebox and bowling alley themed pool in the 1950s section!) and complimentary nighttime movie screenings of your favorite Disney films!

Pop Century is a Disney Value resort. Value resorts are the lowest priced of the Disney resorts. While they may not be as fancy as Deluxe or Moderate resorts, they still offer great themeing and the signature Disney service. If you're looking to keep your resort costs down, a Value resort is the way to go.

A bus will be available the morning of the wedding to transport you to the ceremony and other wedding festivities. After the dessert party, Epcot buses will take you back to Pop Century!

Cost per night (including tax): $153.00

Please call Disney reservations at 407-827-6799 and mention the Samuel/Sholler wedding to get your discounted room price!

If you choose to stay at Pop Century, please note that buses leave promptly at 11:15 am the morning of the wedding. Buses do not wait for latecomers.

If you are staying on Disney property at a different resort, please note that bus transportation to the ceremony will only be offered to room block resorts. You are welcome to either get transportation to one of those resorts, or direct transportation to the wedding pavilion. If you arrive by bus, you will be transported to the reception; if you drive, please be prepared to drive to the reception location at the Boardwalk (directions are available on the reception section of the site). After the dessert party, Epcot has buses at the front of the park available to all Disney resorts.

Please keep in mind that Disney's public bus system can take awhile, as there are no direct resort-to-resort buses - you will need to take a bus Transportation and Ticket Center, and then either take a bus or monorail to the Wedding Pavilion. Allow around 1 hour for public bus travel.

While staying at a non-room block Disney resort will not allow you to take advantage of our wedding discount, it can count toward our room block guarantee with Disney. If you don't book through the provided phone number, please let us know your reservation number so we can add it to our room block guarantee! Thank you!

Kristin & Geoff

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