**Ben and Sarah Disney World Wedding (12/16/12) WP, LSS- UPDATE Engagement Photos**

[Crofttobe]

Hello All!

 

[Stacirella]

Hi and welcome...although I am a newbie also! Can't wait to follow along with all your details! Also, your pictures are beautiful...I'm kind of in love with the last one (the black and white one)! Congratulations, looking forward to hearing all your news!

 

[Crofttobe]

Hi and welcome...although I am a newbie also! Can't wait to follow along with all your details! Also, your pictures are beautiful...I'm kind of in love with the last one (the black and white one)! Congratulations, looking forward to hearing all your news!

Thank you so much, my brother-in-law took our engagement photos, so I got pretty lucky! I hope you do a thread as well, I love getting to see all the insights, and i look forward to sharing/getting opinions as well!!

 

[Crofttobe]

We are doing a Wishes Ceremony, with about 80 people (+ 15 kids). Our colors are white and black, with pops of red and grey.Which is one reason we are trying to change venue (Living Seas I know has blues and greens everywhere). I have an appointment with Michelle Gilhooly Wednesday to see what our options are! I got my dress a few months ago, fitting is in September! I'm currently in talks with both Beaute Speciale for makeup/hair, and reverend Tim Herring as an officiant. (If anyone has any comments on any of those, it would be greatly appreciated!) As of right now we are trying to figure out all the other little details, as well as where to stay (it's between Contemporary Hotel and the Grand Floridian) so any suggestions would be awesome! My fiance and I love the Modern, so the Contemporary would be great. But I've heard the service and style at Grand Floridian is impeccable; and it's right next to the Wedding Pavilion so I assume it would be more convenient.


***After talking to tric8783 she recommended Rev. Jack. Does anyone have any thoughts or preferences on the two?

 

[tric8783]

Sorry I am slow! I'm here!!

Basically a few girls have not had such great experiences with him recently. Since I didn't have a bad experience with him I don't really want to spread rumors, but I'm sure girls who have had experience with him will chime in!
There was more talk about it in our FB group a few months back now. I had communication issues with him in that I couldn't get him to respond to me and I wasn't sure whether he was actually holding our date for us or not. I heard a ceremony by Rev Jack (Michelle/ OneSong's) and loved it, so I looked more into Jack and we ended up going with him.

 

[Stacirella]

Thank you so much, my brother-in-law took our engagement photos, so I got pretty lucky! I hope you do a thread as well, I love getting to see all the insights, and i look forward to sharing/getting opinions as well!!

Here is the link to our planning journal...although we are a LONG way off from our vr date! But I guess it's never to early right? http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2941422

 

[Crofttobe]

Sorry I am slow! I'm here!!

Basically a few girls have not had such great experiences with him recently. Since I didn't have a bad experience with him I don't really want to spread rumors, but I'm sure girls who have had experience with him will chime in!
There was more talk about it in our FB group a few months back now. I had communication issues with him in that I couldn't get him to respond to me and I wasn't sure whether he was actually holding our date for us or not. I heard a ceremony by Rev Jack (Michelle/ OneSong's) and loved it, so I looked more into Jack and we ended up going with him.

I'm glad you found it!! From reading the boards it seemed like if I wanted input, like being able to have more of a say in what went on in the ceremony, he wasn't the guy. You would definitely recommend Rev Jack? It's so hard being from out of town, and I definitely wanted the ceremony to be more personal. I understand too how not hearing back right away about certain things could be stressful, as there's already enough stress planning a wedding from afar!! I am definitely appreciating the advice!! Also, you said you had beaute speciale?! Did you bring in a picture for them, and were they pretty true to the picure, or did you have more of a general idea of what you wanted?

 

[Stacirella]

We are doing a Wishes Ceremony, with about 80 people (+ 15 kids). Our colors are white and black, with pops of red and grey.Which is one reason we are trying to change venue (Living Seas I know has blues and greens everywhere). I have an appointment with Michelle Gilhooly Wednesday to see what our options are! I got my dress a few months ago, fitting is in September! I'm currently in talks with both Beaute Speciale for makeup/hair, and reverend Tim Herring as an officiant. (If anyone has any comments on any of those, it would be greatly appreciated!) As of right now we are trying to figure out all the other little details, as well as where to stay (it's between Contemporary Hotel and the Grand Floridian) so any suggestions would be awesome! My fiance and I love the Modern, so the Contemporary would be great. But I've heard the service and style at Grand Floridian is impeccable; and it's right next to the Wedding Pavilion so I assume it would be more convenient.


***After talking to tric8783 she recommended Rev. Jack. Does anyone have any thoughts or preferences on the two?

Yes, Grand Floridian is more convenient to the Wedding Pavilion (it's a short walk). As for decor if you really love modern you can't beat The Contemporary...(Be sure to eat at the California Grill there, it's our favorite restaurant in the world!...request a table by the windows or in the wine room. The restaurant has breathtaking views of the Magic Kingdom and you can even watch Wishes from there with the music piped in...but make sure you have reservations). The Grand Floridian has a grandeur about it that none of the other Disney resorts has. It is timelessly elegant. We love to just sit in the lobby and listen to the pianist play in the afternoon or listen to the band in the evenings. We also love that you can take an open air surrey boat from the GF to the MK (it's a little more romantic than the monorail). But really you can't go wrong with any of the deluxe resorts! Hope that is helpful!

 

[Crofttobe]

Yes, Grand Floridian is more convenient to the Wedding Pavilion (it's a short walk). As for decor if you really love modern you can't beat The Contemporary...(Be sure to eat at the California Grill there, it's our favorite restaurant in the world!...request a table by the windows or in the wine room. The restaurant has breathtaking views of the Magic Kingdom and you can even watch Wishes from there with the music piped in...but make sure you have reservations). The Grand Floridian has a grandeur about it that none of the other Disney resorts has. It is timelessly elegant. We love to just sit in the lobby and listen to the pianist play in the afternoon or listen to the band in the evenings. We also love that you can take an open air surrey boat from the GF to the MK (it's a little more romantic than the monorail). But really you can't go wrong with any of the deluxe resorts! Hope that is helpful!

It's never too early to start planning, wish I would've joined the forum a year ago when we had already decided on a Disney Wedding, congrats to you by the way love your wedding photos. I have heard great things about the Contemporary hotel, and I think that's where my fiance would prefer to stay (but he's leaving it up to me, as he calls it, "It's my Disney Dream") lol. I am thinking of doing a girls weekend the Friday and Saturday before my wedding (the wedding is Sunday); and I was thinking of doing Tea at the GF as one of the bridesmaid gifts. While the convenience of the GF is great, I also want to make fiance very happy, as it is his day too. Especially we are thinking of having a rehearsal dinner at either the California Grill, or somewhere in Epcot- so that convenience would be nice as well!! We're just trying to figure out our budgets, and costs as well! SO much to do still!! lol Inputs definitely welcome!

 

[tric8783]

I'm glad you found it!! From reading the boards it seemed like if I wanted input, like being able to have more of a say in what went on in the ceremony, he wasn't the guy. You would definitely recommend Rev Jack? It's so hard being from out of town, and I definitely wanted the ceremony to be more personal. I understand too how not hearing back right away about certain things could be stressful, as there's already enough stress planning a wedding from afar!! I am definitely appreciating the advice!! Also, you said you had beaute speciale?! Did you bring in a picture for them, and were they pretty true to the picure, or did you have more of a general idea of what you wanted?

Yes, I definitely recommend Jack! He was very sweet. He sent me his "Jack Pack" lol, which has about 5 different ceremonies you could choose from or you can make a "custom" ceremony, which I did. I copy and pasted together lines from several of them so that there were only a few religious references since DH didn't want it to be religous, I also added in our own reading that we had a friend do. I wrote out my whole ceremony in my TR if you want to see what it was, if you havent already He called and confirmed he got it no problem and performed it flawlessly. He wasn't great on email, but I also got down to the wire so that might have been my fault. I called him and felt assured immediately. He was early to rehearsal and everyone commented how great he was.

I did use Beaute also, there were 12 of us for hair and 7 for makeup, so they sent 5 girls (3 hair and 2 makeup) and it took them about 4 hrs to do all of us. They went back over us one by one before they left and touched us up too. I didnt have a specific picture for my hair, but I showed her a few pictures of what I liked and that I wanted loose curls. It was so much prettier than I even pictured! For makeup, I showed her a picture of very natural makeup and she nailed it. (I got airbrushed makeup also) Definitely recommend them as well!

just an FYI, there is a boat to the MK from the CR too. It goes to CR and WL and then to MK. It used to stop at Fort Wilderness too but I'm not sure if thats a separate boat now or not. Maybe someone else will chime in

 

[Crofttobe]

Yes, I definitely recommend Jack! He was very sweet. He sent me his "Jack Pack" lol, which has about 5 different ceremonies you could choose from or you can make a "custom" ceremony, which I did. I copy and pasted together lines from several of them so that there were only a few religious references since DH didn't want it to be religous, I also added in our own reading that we had a friend do. I wrote out my whole ceremony in my TR if you want to see what it was, if you havent already He called and confirmed he got it no problem and performed it flawlessly. He wasn't great on email, but I also got down to the wire so that might have been my fault. I called him and felt assured immediately. He was early to rehearsal and everyone commented how great he was.

I did use Beaute also, there were 12 of us for hair and 7 for makeup, so they sent 5 girls (3 hair and 2 makeup) and it took them about 4 hrs to do all of us. They went back over us one by one before they left and touched us up too. I didnt have a specific picture for my hair, but I showed her a few pictures of what I liked and that I wanted loose curls. It was so much prettier than I even pictured! For makeup, I showed her a picture of very natural makeup and she nailed it. (I got airbrushed makeup also) Definitely recommend them as well!

just an FYI, there is a boat to the MK from the CR too. It goes to CR and WL and then to MK. It used to stop at Fort Wilderness too but I'm not sure if thats a separate boat now or not. Maybe someone else will chime in

I sent an e-mail to Jack so we will see if he is available as well! Beaute has gotten a ton of great reviews, so I think I'll move forward with them. Especially because it's free for them to travel to a Disney Hotel!

I definitely appreciate the feedback on the hotel situation. I will let you know which hotel we decide as we get closer to the day. Contemporary Resort is more up our alley, but the Grand Floridian speaks volumes in terms of a once in a lifetime experience. I also know the Grand Floridian is going through rennovations. What are thoughts on rehearsal dinner, in terms of pricing/ambiance? We were thinking California Grill, or somewhere in Epcot?

Also, I have my phone meeting with Michelle tomorrow to finalize where we want our reception, so I will update as soon as I know!

 

[belle2211]

Hi! And welcome! I second both Beaute Speciale and Rev Jack! I've used Jackie from Beaute Speciale for my engagement shoot, wedding, MK Bridal Shoot, and just used her this past Sunday for my anniversary shoot. We had 10 ladies and 2 girls getting hair and makeup done. They sent 5 people to do all of us and it was great! I had a really specific idea of what I wanted for my bridesmaids. One of the new girls did one of my bridesmaids wrong, but the owner of the company quickly took over and they all looked amazing. I loved Rev Jack. I never had any problems with him (although I think I only emailed him once in the beginning to check dates and then at the end to send the ceremony). Like Tricia, I copy and pasted parts from different ceremonies I liked and then added my own lines. He was great. He makes you feel special and like you've known him for a while!

 

[Crofttobe]

Hi! And welcome! I second both Beaute Speciale and Rev Jack! I've used Jackie from Beaute Speciale for my engagement shoot, wedding, MK Bridal Shoot, and just used her this past Sunday for my anniversary shoot. We had 10 ladies and 2 girls getting hair and makeup done. They sent 5 people to do all of us and it was great! I had a really specific idea of what I wanted for my bridesmaids. One of the new girls did one of my bridesmaids wrong, but the owner of the company quickly took over and they all looked amazing. I loved Rev Jack. I never had any problems with him (although I think I only emailed him once in the beginning to check dates and then at the end to send the ceremony). Like Tricia, I copy and pasted parts from different ceremonies I liked and then added my own lines. He was great. He makes you feel special and like you've known him for a while!

Congratulations, and thank you so much for the input! I will definitely be using Beaute Speciale, and I will wait to hear back from Rev. Jack.

...On a sidenote, does anyone have any recommendations on reception sites for around 80 people? I was thinking Italy Isola, but I know they're really specific about food, and not sure if you can have a DJ out there? Also, the wedding is in December, so I am a little hesitant to have an outside reception. I definitely want to utilize one of the parks, but I won't be able to go to a planning session, so I'll have to rely on pictures and advice!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

I am using Beaute in just a few days as our wedding is so close now. I wanted to toss in Reverend Teresa Knox wife of Rev. Kevin Knox. The ceremony planning kit they send you is PHENOMENAL! Not only that but they like to hear from you as many times as you email them or as many times as you want to call them!!! I am so excited to have her! I highly recommend getting in contact with them. I switched from Rev. Tim Herring to them and we chose Teresa Knox to do our ceremony.

Teresa

 

[tric8783]

Yes there is a GF DVC being built, and while it is an eyesore currently, come December hopefully the structure will be up and the construction will be inside. I haven't heard anyone complain about it affecting their stay at the GF, for what its worth

I think for a RD it depends what you're going for and what you want to spend. You can make a normal dining reservation for up to 30 people through the reservations ph #. We had ours at 'Ohana in the Poly because we wanted a really atmosphere and of course we love the food! It was a big hit! It was about $35 for food and we picked up the bar tab as well (my in-laws did).

Having an RD in the park is definitely a unique experience that would go through disney catering unless you booked a reservation at a restaurant there. I would be nervous to plan anything outside in December, only because the decision of temperature isn't up to you, once it drops to a certain temp they move you inside (this happened to Ashley last December, she had a welcome party and DP planned for Italy Isola I believe and it was too cold to they moved it inside to LSS). Hers was still amazing looking, just be aware of all the possibilities

Were you looking for a ballroom or something different for your reception? We had 75 people and had our reception in the BW ballrooms and we really enjoyed it, we were trying to keep everybody in one contained area so it really worked for us.

 

[CityGirlLost]

Hi and welcome!!! We're using the same wedding colors! Take a look at the Whitehall Patio if you're not completely sold on LSS for your reception. It's an enclosed, covered, outdoor space at the Grand Floridian. Because it's not in the building, it doesn't have that same Victorian feel to it that the interior does.

 

[Crofttobe]

I am using Beaute in just a few days as our wedding is so close now. I wanted to toss in Reverend Teresa Knox wife of Rev. Kevin Knox. The ceremony planning kit they send you is PHENOMENAL! Not only that but they like to hear from you as many times as you email them or as many times as you want to call them!!! I am so excited to have her! I highly recommend getting in contact with them. I switched from Rev. Tim Herring to them and we chose Teresa Knox to do our ceremony.

Teresa

Teresa Thank you so much for input, I will look into Teresa Knox as well! (Congratulations on your Wedding btw, can't wait for pictures, everything looks beautiful right now!)

 

[Crofttobe]

Yes there is a GF DVC being built, and while it is an eyesore currently, come December hopefully the structure will be up and the construction will be inside. I haven't heard anyone complain about it affecting their stay at the GF, for what its worth

I think for a RD it depends what you're going for and what you want to spend. You can make a normal dining reservation for up to 30 people through the reservations ph #. We had ours at 'Ohana in the Poly because we wanted a really atmosphere and of course we love the food! It was a big hit! It was about $35 for food and we picked up the bar tab as well (my in-laws did).

Having an RD in the park is definitely a unique experience that would go through disney catering unless you booked a reservation at a restaurant there. I would be nervous to plan anything outside in December, only because the decision of temperature isn't up to you, once it drops to a certain temp they move you inside (this happened to Ashley last December, she had a welcome party and DP planned for Italy Isola I believe and it was too cold to they moved it inside to LSS). Hers was still amazing looking, just be aware of all the possibilities

Were you looking for a ballroom or something different for your reception? We had 75 people and had our reception in the BW ballrooms and we really enjoyed it, we were trying to keep everybody in one contained area so it really worked for us.

Tric8783-
Love all your advice, hope you stick with me until the end! lol We have decided to keep the Living Seas Salon as a reception. After a long chat with Michelle, she helped me envision different ways we could incorporate our colors into the reception area. The Living Seas was always my number 1 choice because it was in a Disney Resort, and my fiance and I got engaged in Hawaii (and we went on a snorkeling trip the next morning) the fish, turtles, and the tank in general pulled in me in for that reason! I'll post pictures later on what I'm thinking for the reception decor. Also, if you have any recommendations on how to incorporate white, black, (red flowers), and grey; I would love the advice! We are going for a romantic/intimate feel!

For rehearsal dinner, I think we're going to stay away from the Parks- and look at things like the California Grill, Ohana, or other resorts as well. Ohana looks so fun!! What would you recommend in terms of food?!

(On a sidenote, I was finally able to go through your entire WJ. ANd i have to say that you looked stunning, and everything turned out beautifully! You did an amazing job planning, and everything looked impeccable. I love your bouquet (will definitely be inspiration for mine )

Hi and welcome!!! We're using the same wedding colors! Take a look at the Whitehall Patio if you're not completely sold on LSS for your reception. It's an enclosed, covered, outdoor space at the Grand Floridian. Because it's not in the building, it doesn't have that same Victorian feel to it that the interior does.

Thank you so much for the help! We're going to keep LSS as the reception venue, Michelle was a huge help! However, I looked at your Wedding Journal and it SO helpful!! Especially because my wedding will be pretty similar to yours! The BEO was extremely helpful, and I wanted to ask you about how you decided on the flower packages. Also, we're looking at food- and I noticed you customized your buffet, and was wondering how that is done or who I can contact? Also any other food rrecommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks ladies!!!!

 

[kagsinbotley]

YAY!!! another LSS bride, looking forward to following your plans x

 

[woofiejd]

We"re getting married a week before you at WP with reception at the California Grill. I cannot say enough good things about the California Grill and if you can have your Rehearsal Dinner there you should. The food is tremendous, the service is always wonderful and you can go out ont the balconies and see Wishes.
Welcome to the boards and Congratulations.