Some of the best Disney stories are stories about how much Disney is just a part of our lives, and looking back on how significant of a role it plays throughout. Today’s story comes from Cory, who tells us of how a connection started with Disney being just one of the aspects, but played a very important role as a relationship progressed.

“Though my wife Ashley and I don’t live and breathe Disney like so many wonderful super-fans, Disney has had an important place in every major step in our relationship.

We met through our workplace. I am an educator in a museum and she began at the same museum as a member of the security team. That was when I first took notice of this beautiful, curly-haired girl who looked like she just stepped out of a Medieval painting. She moved on to the education team, and we discovered in the course of our first conversation that we both had a lot of love for the Middle Ages, fantasy and fairy tales, and for Disney films in particular.

After a year of resisting my charms, she condescended to date me. A few months thereafter, we took our first trip together, to Disneyland U.S.A. I had been to Disneyland twice before, as well as Paris and Tokyo, and she had been to Disneyland Paris herself. This, however, was her first trip to the first Disneyland and her birthday, so we pulled out all the stops. There wasn’t a tour or a dessert party we didn’t do. We even finagled a trip to the Disney Studios! Most importantly, it proved that we were able to travel together and further cemented what a good match we were.

Another year and a bit later, we took a trip together to Paris which, naturally, included Disneyland. At one point, Disneyland Paris even came to our rescue: we accidentally boarded the wrong train in the city of Tours, and could have ended up at either Bordeaux or Disneyland Paris. Thankfully it was headed in the right direction! More importantly, it was at the end of our full, planned day in Disneyland that we got engaged.

I planned to propose to Ashley at some point during our trip, as everyone including herself guessed I might. I just didn’t know when that would be! But after the evening performance of Disney Dreams, as the crowds filtered out and we sat on the edge of a fountain, admiring the castle, the conversation turned and I knew that was the moment. I presented her with a ring inside of a tiny pumpkin carriage, slipped to one knee, proclaimed her my fairy tale princess come true, and asked for her hand. She replied with ‘hold on a second’… and then presented me with a ring of her own!

Of course, some of our friends and family thought it odd that, with all of France at our disposal, we would have gotten engaged at Disneyland. Those who really knew us knew better. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Besides, you couldn’t visit the Eiffel Tower without tripping over a couple getting engaged. There wasn’t enough room for us!

Our wedding just over another year later was fairy tale themed. We didn’t have the money for a Disney destination wedding, and would have balked at the idea anyways. Instead we “settled” for a meadow overlooking a valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains near our home and a fairy tale themed reception. Each table had a centerpiece themed to a different story like Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Little Mermaid, Wizard of Oz, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and guests first had to figure out their table from the page of the story they were given. Then, each table had to guess when it was time to head to the buffet when the song associated with their story was played. “The Unbirthday Song” and “Heigh Ho” were easy… I was frankly surprised that anyone knew “Whale of a Tale”! The song for our first dance was “Beauty and the Beast”, though I’m not sure what that says about me.

Our honeymoon was spent at Walt Disney World, in our first trip there for either one of us. That we went at the beginning of September was a climatic oversight for a pair of Canadians, but we still had a wonderful time!”

Common bonds. Magical destinations. True love.

Cory, you and Ashley are living your own fairy tale, and we at Confessions wish you a very wonderful “Happily Ever After.”

Cory is the author of the wonderful blogs, Voyages Extraordinaires: Scientific Romances in a Bygone Age, and Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy: An Unofficial Guide to the World Beyond Disney (co-authored with his lovely wife, Ashley!). Make sure to visit these sites for hours of fascinating and highly recommended reading.

Do you have a “Disney story” you’d like to share? Confessions of a DisNerd would like to hear from you! For more information, please contact us at COADisNerd@cox.net or send a direct message through our Facebook page.