Anyone married at the Swan or Dolphin?

[Tiffer]

I want an intimate wedding and I'm on a very limited budget, but we have a large immediate family. we will have 25 guests and going through WDW, we can only have 18. To go above that, will bump our cost from $4,600 to at least $12,000.

I want a ceremony, then maybe dinner at California Grill.

 

[CinderelliT]

There are a few brides on here who have been married there. I have heard that some love it, and others not so much. I was looking at going this route for my VR at first. I had to contact Michelle Butler with JustMarry as the Swan would not talk with me directly. My quote for what I wanted - which was small and very simple, came in at $5000. For that much money, I would rather do it at Disney through the DFTW!!!! Is there anyway that you can do an escape package ie cut people out of the ceremony, but then invite them to dinner? I hate to say that, but it might be the way to save money.
There were a lot of things that I wanted to get at the Swan to have a touch of Disney, and they charged about double than DFTW did for the same things. Just be cautious of this. You may end up spending the same amount for something not as magical. In the end, I changed to DCL, way less money and still magical!

 

[jennjones1]

Hiya,

I am getting married at the swan and dolphin in October this year, i have booked the ceremony hire and sit down meal for 20 people and then i have got a wedding planner who is independant and not with justmarry and she is organising all the details for me.

In total mine is costing around $4000 this includes hire of venue, sit down meal, flowers and decor ~ wedding arch, photographer, cake and the planners fees.

Hope this helps.

 

[Disneychix]

I did a Swan wedding for the same reasons as you OP! We had too many people and also having it at the Swan allowed us to have a great reception at home as well.
We did save a ton of money by having a Swan wedding. Our wedding price included flowers for bride and groom (mine were gorgeous!), minister, chairs, bridal arch (think I paid extra for this) 1 musician, photography for ceremony, cake and champagne reception. I'm not remembering how much this cost because it was 4 years ago but I'm thinking $3500ish. I loved that you didn't pay per person or for any 'extra' people.
We also got a GREAT rate on a room at the Dolphin for 1 week.

After the cake reception we went to Ohana's for dinner. It was a blast!

We also added a fruit and veggie tray to the cake reception and soft drinks. The had a cd player for us and we were able to bring in more champagne and just pay a cork fee.
We did work with Just Marry but I didn't have any problems. It did rain for my wedding and we had to be moved indoors in a conference room. This wasn't Just Marry's or the Swans fault but they don't really have a back-up plan for rainy days. That was the only bad thing.

 

[CinderelliT]

Wow! That's a great price!! Good job on that! I hope that your day is really magical.

 

[Tiffer]

Hiya,

I am getting married at the swan and dolphin in October this year, i have booked the ceremony hire and sit down meal for 20 people and then i have got a wedding planner who is independant and not with justmarry and she is organising all the details for me.

In total mine is costing around $4000 this includes hire of venue, sit down meal, flowers and decor ~ wedding arch, photographer, cake and the planners fees.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so very much. Would you be willing to share your coordinator's name & contact info?

I did a Swan wedding for the same reasons as you OP! We had too many people and also having it at the Swan allowed us to have a great reception at home as well.
We did save a ton of money by having a Swan wedding. Our wedding price included flowers for bride and groom (mine were gorgeous!), minister, chairs, bridal arch (think I paid extra for this) 1 musician, photography for ceremony, cake and champagne reception. I'm not remembering how much this cost because it was 4 years ago but I'm thinking $3500ish. I loved that you didn't pay per person or for any 'extra' people.
We also got a GREAT rate on a room at the Dolphin for 1 week.

After the cake reception we went to Ohana's for dinner. It was a blast!

We also added a fruit and veggie tray to the cake reception and soft drinks. The had a cd player for us and we were able to bring in more champagne and just pay a cork fee.
We did work with Just Marry but I didn't have any problems. It did rain for my wedding and we had to be moved indoors in a conference room. This wasn't Just Marry's or the Swans fault but they don't really have a back-up plan for rainy days. That was the only bad thing.

It sounds awesome! Do you have any pics you'd share?

I called Disney dining to inquire about dinner at California grill and then they gave me the number for catering for larger groups, as we may be up to 30 ppl, and I was told that because it is a post wedding dinner they may not let me, and I might have to go through DFTW!!

I explained that it's not a "reception" its just dinner. He said he would do everything he can to help me but........

So I guess I will see.

If that turns out to be the case..I will just book at Shula's.

 

[jennjones1]

Yeah no worries,

She is really helpful and is also a trained officiant so she is going to marry us too!

Her name is Sue totterdale and you will be able to get her contact details through her website www.floridaweddingsonline.com

She is organising all the details for me and has even been to visit the swan and dolphin for me.

Although she has got her own vendors she normally works with she still let me pick Misty for my photos and beaute speciale for my hair and make up!!

She also even phoned me, which i was surprised about because of living in the UK.

 

[Tiffer]

Thanks so much for your help!

Anyone have any pics to share?

 

[hiwaygal]

TIFF!!! I didn't even notice you had posted this earlier!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

I've heard of quite a few brides who have had S/D weddings...let me do a search and see what I can find for you!

ETA: Take a look at some of these threads...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1875386

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=27472232&posted=1#post27472232

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1874326

Also...is your heart set on S/D or would you consider other locations at Disney? You might want to check out some of the hotels in DTD and see what kind of packages they offer (i.e. Royal Plaza, Doubletree, and Hilton)

 

[Tiffer]

TIFF!!! I didn't even notice you had posted this earlier!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

I've heard of quite a few brides who have had S/D weddings...let me do a search and see what I can find for you!

ETA: Take a look at some of these threads...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1875386

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=27472232&posted=1#post27472232

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1874326

Also...is your heart set on S/D or would you consider other locations at Disney? You might want to check out some of the hotels in DTD and see what kind of packages they offer (i.e. Royal Plaza, Doubletree, and Hilton)

ROADIE!!!

 

[hiwaygal]

ROADIE!!!

I'm so happy for you!!

 

[XmasPixie]

Congratulations, Tiffer!

I just recently had a Swan & Dolphin wedding and do not regret it at all. We booked through JustMarry and I had no problems whatsoever. We did a very basic package - the ceremony at the Crescent Terrace, a harpist, wedding officiant, bride's bouquet, groom's bout, MOH bouquet, 2 tier cake, 2 bottles of sparkling cider, wedding arch with fabric swag, rose petals for just about $2900.

I noticed in the S&D thread that you were looking for a location along the waterway. The Crescent Terrace is along the waterway, but it is not right on top of it. But I have heard of weddings on their beach - though I have not seen any pictures. I, too was worried about all the concrete and the peach colored buildings, but found the location to be very lovely - it was like our own little corner of the world. It was shady, breezy and we felt like it was a bit private although a couple of ferries traveling between the resorts and Hollywood Studios did beep at us during our ceremony, and we noticed folks watching us from the bridge when we viewed our wedding pictures (which we got a kick out of).

Keep watching my trip report (I am very behind but plan on getting the wedding day posted very soon). We did feel that our event was magical. And we added lots of Disney flavor. One of the things we did was hire our own photographer and took a lot of our pictures along the Boardwalk after the ceremony. We also had a Desert Party in Epcot that night instead of having a traditional reception.

Trying to find a few pictures at the location where you can see the water. These are the best I could find that show the water:

I think if you find the right person to work with this is a great option. Good luck to you in your planning!

 

[Tiffer]

Thank yo so very much. My DF and I just know we don't want to be on the concrete. Grass or sand.

I want to do the desert reception at epcot the night before, but to save $$ the idea of doing it in lieu of dinner sounds good too. We are probably going to all go out to Atlantic Dance hall later that night too!

As you probably read above, Disney Catering is giving me ahard time for quotes for a desert party or dinner at Cali Grill, as it is "wedding related".

Oh, well.

 

[Disneyaddict1973]

Hi Tiff, sorry I am replying to you in some many places lol. I just read Lisa's post (XmasPixie) and I am totally mystified as I had the same wedding package but I paid more than $1000.00 more. Weird. Especially since I got married in the "low" season and had SUCH a crummy rain location. Guess things really can fluctuate. Ok, as far as the post wedding meal. I made my ressies at GFC for our group and never told them what we were coming in for. You do have a few more than we did but the GF gave me NO trouble. Their staff even helped us take our pictures there! The older gent that is "the doorman" is ADORABLE and has been with Disney forever so we made sure he got in several pics they also cleared the stairs for us. It helped that we were the only Bride and Groom around that day (could it have been the hurricane lol)? as we heard that another (a DFTW) wedding got cancelled. But, they were thoroughly accomodating with the pics at both the Grand Floridian and the Wilderness Lodge where we stayed. No idea why the contemporary is giving you static but the GOLDEN rule of Disney wedding planning is "it's a hit or miss with who you get on the phone". I have heard it form SO many Brides and dealt with it myself. Keep trying. After our wedding we strolled the contemporary and wished so much we had chosen the wave for our reception and had our pics taken at the contemporary. The Mickey sculptures by the pool would have made for some awesome pics. Best of luck!

 

[XmasPixie]

Planning our Dessert Party was the most frustrating part of our whole trip. It took about 6 weeks for me to actually speak to anyone at Disney - between finding who to contact, then getting transferred from person to person, then waiting for the right person to get back to me, and then finally the lack of response from the girl in charge of my planning. In the end it did all work out and it can be done. I'm sure you know that anyone can have a dessert party - you can do it for a birthday, a family reunion, whatever. I think the key is not to call it a wedding event. I called mine a post wedding celebration and no one ever gave me a hard time. They only asked and made sure that we would not be wearing our wedding clothes.

FYI - I finally got somewhere with Disney when I got in touch with Disney Catering Services. They put me in touch with Ericka Perry at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort Catering & Convention Services who was our coordinator. Her number is 407-939-1080. I just had to be very patient waiting for her to get back to me. But when it came time for our BEO, she did have everything I had requested and the event was great.

(Hi Amy!)

 

[lurkyloo]

I just wanted to add that if you call Disney's Catering & Convention Services dept. at 407-828-3200 they will assign you an event planner at the resort where you are staying to coordinate the dessert party. We worked with a woman at the BoardWalk Inn for our anniversary dessert party, and it was really easy!

 

[Tiffer]

I just wanted to add that if you call Disney's Catering & Convention Services dept. at 407-828-3200 they will assign you an event planner at the resort where you are staying to coordinate the dessert party. We worked with a woman at the BoardWalk Inn for our anniversary dessert party, and it was really easy!

I have called them already & am having a little difficulty thus far. I am still awaiting a call back since Friday, so we shall see if it goes any smoother!

 

[Tiffer]

Planning our Dessert Party was the most frustrating part of our whole trip. It took about 6 weeks for me to actually speak to anyone at Disney - between finding who to contact, then getting transferred from person to person, then waiting for the right person to get back to me, and then finally the lack of response from the girl in charge of my planning. In the end it did all work out and it can be done. I'm sure you know that anyone can have a dessert party - you can do it for a birthday, a family reunion, whatever. I think the key is not to call it a wedding event. I called mine a post wedding celebration and no one ever gave me a hard time. They only asked and made sure that we would not be wearing our wedding clothes.

FYI - I finally got somewhere with Disney when I got in touch with Disney Catering Services. They put me in touch with Ericka Perry at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort Catering & Convention Services who was our coordinator. Her number is 407-939-1080. I just had to be very patient waiting for her to get back to me. But when it came time for our BEO, she did have everything I had requested and the event was great.

(Hi Amy!)

Thanks so much!

What did you ladies have at your dessert parties and may I ask about what the cost was?

Where exactly are they held?

TIA

 

[lurkyloo]

I don't mean to take this thread too far off topic, but....

You can hold private events at all the same places in Epcot that weddings & conventions do, but there are minimum numbers of people required at each one and a per-person food and beverage minimum, so the availability and cost will depend on the size of your group.

Because our party was just the 2 of us, we had it at UK Pubside, which is a tiny patio between UK Lower and the patio of the Rose & Crown.

The food & beverage minimum at UK Pubside is only $220 total (so I guess that's Epcot's $22/person food & beverage minimum x 10-person minimum). When you add in the $100 venue-rental fee, it's $320 plus tax and service charge.

If you wanted to do, say, UK Lochside, you would need at least 20 people or have to pay the food and beverage minimum of $22/person for 20 people even if you didn't have that many. Then add in the venue-rental fee of $325 and a setup fee of $75 and that'll give you an approximate idea.

Info on the venue-rental fees and minimum # of guests can be found in the various dessert party threads posted on this board over the last few months....

 

[Tiffer]

I don't mean to take this thread too far off topic, but....

You can hold private events at all the same places in Epcot that weddings & conventions do, but there are minimum numbers of people required at each one and a per-person food and beverage minimum, so the availability and cost will depend on the size of your group.

Because our party was just the 2 of us, we had it at UK Pubside, which is a tiny patio between UK Lower and the patio of the Rose & Crown.

The food & beverage minimum at UK Pubside is only $220 total (so I guess that's Epcot's $22/person food & beverage minimum x 10-person minimum). When you add in the $100 venue-rental fee, it's $320 plus tax and service charge.

If you wanted to do, say, UK Lochside, you would need at least 20 people or have to pay the food and beverage minimum of $22/person for 20 people even if you didn't have that many. Then add in the venue-rental fee of $325 and a setup fee of $75 and that'll give you an approximate idea.

Info on the venue-rental fees and minimum # of guests can be found in the various dessert party threads posted on this board over the last few months....

Thanks-I will do a search for them. I will have about 23 adults & 7 kids.