mariapicardikenyon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2013
That's exactly what we are having 6/14, can't wait to see your next update!
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Christie and Nick- 9/1/13- WP, Italy Isola, AAR- Change of Venue
- Thread starter Cmdbuddy
- Start date
That's exactly what we are having 6/14, can't wait to see your next update!
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Saw this over on FB. Excellent news! Congratulations! It may be more work for the next couple months but you are going to so much happier looking back knowing that you didn't compromise on your dream location! It's going to be breathtakingly beautiful!
Well, on Tuesday the announcement was made that DFTW will now let outside photographers into in park events, which makes it a lot more affordable. AAR has always been my dream location, and this kind of pushed it over the edge. I think we'll come out about even (or maybe a little under) because we were just about to add a Soarin ride mix in, which won't happen now. We'll be losing about 4k worth of desserts from the dessert party (since we'll be doing cocktail hour now), so that definitely helps balance things out. The venue rental fee is more and we'll need some more decorations and transportation. Funny thing is, we sent our invitations to be printed Tuesday morning at Michael's. When I saw the announcement, I called and told them HOLD THE PRESS! lol while it got all sorted out.
Oooooh I can't wait to see pictures! Do you mind telling me what you're doing decoration wise in AAR?
Thanks! I agree!
mariapicardikenyon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2013
Hi. I think you misunderstood. Our date hopefully will be 6/28/14 so it's a bit of time. Getting great ideas from these boards! Looking forward to your posts!
Mel*Pie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
Just now joining in!
I love your engagement photos!
And how exciting to be changing the reception location to inside the park. Photography is really important to me too and that would have changed the whole ballgame for me too! Looking forward to the next update!
I love your engagement photos!
And how exciting to be changing the reception location to inside the park. Photography is really important to me too and that would have changed the whole ballgame for me too! Looking forward to the next update!
I feel like a terrible Disbride. I had all the intentions in the world of keeping up this planning journal, and to be truthful, the facebook group makes me neglect this thing! But I figured since we are almost at 100 days out, I should fill you guys in on everything! I don't even know what I need to update you guys on, so sorry if anything is redundant!
Many things have changed since we changed our venues. The main things are: more decorations needed, a much later timeline during the day, more transportation, and our menus. I'll talk about all of them in case you guys are ever considering a reception in park after the park closes.
Timeline:
- If you're having an in EPCOT event after the park closes, they really encourage you to use the Illuminations "Dessert Party" as your cocktail hour. That leaves you with two choices for ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion. 5:00 and 7:30. It was easy for us since 5:00 was already booked, but 5:00 would have left an awkward hour or so before the cocktail hour anyways. So this is what the breakdown looks like on our BEO
- 5:30- Limo picks up groomsman from The Boardwalk
- 6:00-6:30- Groom's photos at Grand Floridian
- 6:00- Limo picks up me and bridesmaids from Bay Lake Towers
- 6:20- Limo picks up my parents, my flower girls, and my ring bearer from Bay Lake Towers
- 6:30-7:15- Bride's photos at Grand Floridian
- 7:10- Cinderella's Coach picks up my dad and I at GF main lobby
- 7:30- Ceremony
- 8:00- 9:30- Cocktail Hour at Italy Isola (truthfully I see this being from 8:30-9:30)
- 8:20- Limo brings us from Wedding Pavilion to backstage at EPCOT for cocktail hour at Italy Isola
- 9:30-1:30 AM- Reception at American Adventure Rotunda
It's going to be a tight squeeze to get everything done. We won't have a staged exit either. After we walk out of the WP, we will circle around back to photographs at picture point with our photographers. Our planners will line up everyone for our real exit to the carriage. We will then come out, do a real exit, and everyone (including my family) will get on the buses to go to the park. We won't be doing family shots in the WP (although we are going to get as many individual family shots beforehand... just not combined). We will run back inside the WP with our photographers and get a few shots of us inside, and then the limo will take us to the cocktail hour just in time for the fireworks. We will do family shots during the reception at the American Adventure.
Transportation
We already had two chartered buses for our guests staying in the room block, but we now had to take care of the people that will be driving to the WP as they will not be allowed to drive to EPCOT for the cocktail hour and reception. We had to add one round trip bus for those people. Also, buses will be available at the top of the hour to bring people back to their hotel or to the Wedding Pavilion to get their cars. I added a one way van ride for Nick and I after the reception to take us to The Polynesian. The thought of riding around on a bus with all of our guests to their drop offs made me slightly... anxious? Well worth the $40.
Floral/Decorations
The cost for this definitely went up with the change in venues because we have a lot more tables to decorate now. Before, at ADH, we only had 6 rounds on the dance floor and we were going to use the existing tables as additional seating. What we are doing with the tables now is still keeping the 6 centerpieces on the innermost tables around the dance floor and doing something smaller on the other tables.
Food
We had to switch from a buffet to a plated meal whenever we switched venues. This was hard because we did our menu tasting planning on a buffet meal, so we are going off the cuff here. Here's what we have now
Cocktail Hour- Not totally in love with this menu, may change it
Caprese Skewers
Duck Pot Sticker with Plum and Tamarind Dipping Sauce
Chilled Main Lobster Spoon with Truffle Jelly
Chicken Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce
Meal
Salad: Seasonal asparagus and greens, tamari lacquered duck, brie, candied walnuts, hazelnut oil powder, and white balsamic vinaigrette
Main Course: Grass fed beef filet and tanglewood farms french-cut chicken breast with blackberry demi with coconut milk steeped boniato sweet potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables.
Trying to decide if we are going to add a dessert or just stick with the wedding cake. I feel bad because I cut out the whole dessert party list of desserts! I'm just not that impressed by the dessert options that Disney has on their menus. I know I can come up with something on my own, but honestly, racking through all the desserts at Disney World makes my brain hurt. Maybe the creme brulee from Le Cellier?
In Other News
- I'm not sure if I ever told you guys that I picked out my bridesmaids dresses. They are really pretty and formal, which is ok especially with our new venue and the time of day. It even has a small train that will be bustled after the ceremony. This is the dress, but it will have a silver sash. My sister is picking up hers on Monday, and I can't wait to see it in person.
- My first bridal shower (hosted by sister/MOH) is next weekend in New Orleans! I'm super excited about it! This is the dress I'm wearing for it:
- I think we are like 2 room nights away from hitting our guarantee of 60 room nights. I'm a little stunned by how few people have made reservations so far.
- I'm still trying to decide what jewelry I'm going to wear with my dress
Things Still Left To Do
- Make second newsletter for all of our attendees. This will be in exchange for a welcome bag since it's going to be hard to do welcome bags on our time frame
- Make the programs
- Make the menu cards. EPCOT will provide these, but that makes me nervous so I'm just going to make our own
- Do seating chart and print off our Fastpass escort cards accordingly. Stuff those in our favors and bundle them up for Disney.
- Card box?
- Guest book made with our engagement photos
- Buy our rings (hopefully this weekend!)
Well that's about all for now. Ttfn, tata for now!
Many things have changed since we changed our venues. The main things are: more decorations needed, a much later timeline during the day, more transportation, and our menus. I'll talk about all of them in case you guys are ever considering a reception in park after the park closes.
Timeline:
- If you're having an in EPCOT event after the park closes, they really encourage you to use the Illuminations "Dessert Party" as your cocktail hour. That leaves you with two choices for ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion. 5:00 and 7:30. It was easy for us since 5:00 was already booked, but 5:00 would have left an awkward hour or so before the cocktail hour anyways. So this is what the breakdown looks like on our BEO
- 5:30- Limo picks up groomsman from The Boardwalk
- 6:00-6:30- Groom's photos at Grand Floridian
- 6:00- Limo picks up me and bridesmaids from Bay Lake Towers
- 6:20- Limo picks up my parents, my flower girls, and my ring bearer from Bay Lake Towers
- 6:30-7:15- Bride's photos at Grand Floridian
- 7:10- Cinderella's Coach picks up my dad and I at GF main lobby
- 7:30- Ceremony
- 8:00- 9:30- Cocktail Hour at Italy Isola (truthfully I see this being from 8:30-9:30)
- 8:20- Limo brings us from Wedding Pavilion to backstage at EPCOT for cocktail hour at Italy Isola
- 9:30-1:30 AM- Reception at American Adventure Rotunda
It's going to be a tight squeeze to get everything done. We won't have a staged exit either. After we walk out of the WP, we will circle around back to photographs at picture point with our photographers. Our planners will line up everyone for our real exit to the carriage. We will then come out, do a real exit, and everyone (including my family) will get on the buses to go to the park. We won't be doing family shots in the WP (although we are going to get as many individual family shots beforehand... just not combined). We will run back inside the WP with our photographers and get a few shots of us inside, and then the limo will take us to the cocktail hour just in time for the fireworks. We will do family shots during the reception at the American Adventure.
Transportation
We already had two chartered buses for our guests staying in the room block, but we now had to take care of the people that will be driving to the WP as they will not be allowed to drive to EPCOT for the cocktail hour and reception. We had to add one round trip bus for those people. Also, buses will be available at the top of the hour to bring people back to their hotel or to the Wedding Pavilion to get their cars. I added a one way van ride for Nick and I after the reception to take us to The Polynesian. The thought of riding around on a bus with all of our guests to their drop offs made me slightly... anxious? Well worth the $40.
Floral/Decorations
The cost for this definitely went up with the change in venues because we have a lot more tables to decorate now. Before, at ADH, we only had 6 rounds on the dance floor and we were going to use the existing tables as additional seating. What we are doing with the tables now is still keeping the 6 centerpieces on the innermost tables around the dance floor and doing something smaller on the other tables.
Food
We had to switch from a buffet to a plated meal whenever we switched venues. This was hard because we did our menu tasting planning on a buffet meal, so we are going off the cuff here. Here's what we have now
Cocktail Hour- Not totally in love with this menu, may change it
Caprese Skewers
Duck Pot Sticker with Plum and Tamarind Dipping Sauce
Chilled Main Lobster Spoon with Truffle Jelly
Chicken Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce
Meal
Salad: Seasonal asparagus and greens, tamari lacquered duck, brie, candied walnuts, hazelnut oil powder, and white balsamic vinaigrette
Main Course: Grass fed beef filet and tanglewood farms french-cut chicken breast with blackberry demi with coconut milk steeped boniato sweet potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables.
Trying to decide if we are going to add a dessert or just stick with the wedding cake. I feel bad because I cut out the whole dessert party list of desserts! I'm just not that impressed by the dessert options that Disney has on their menus. I know I can come up with something on my own, but honestly, racking through all the desserts at Disney World makes my brain hurt. Maybe the creme brulee from Le Cellier?
In Other News
- I'm not sure if I ever told you guys that I picked out my bridesmaids dresses. They are really pretty and formal, which is ok especially with our new venue and the time of day. It even has a small train that will be bustled after the ceremony. This is the dress, but it will have a silver sash. My sister is picking up hers on Monday, and I can't wait to see it in person.
- My first bridal shower (hosted by sister/MOH) is next weekend in New Orleans! I'm super excited about it! This is the dress I'm wearing for it:
- I think we are like 2 room nights away from hitting our guarantee of 60 room nights. I'm a little stunned by how few people have made reservations so far.
- I'm still trying to decide what jewelry I'm going to wear with my dress
Things Still Left To Do
- Make second newsletter for all of our attendees. This will be in exchange for a welcome bag since it's going to be hard to do welcome bags on our time frame
- Make the programs
- Make the menu cards. EPCOT will provide these, but that makes me nervous so I'm just going to make our own
- Do seating chart and print off our Fastpass escort cards accordingly. Stuff those in our favors and bundle them up for Disney.
- Card box?
- Guest book made with our engagement photos
- Buy our rings (hopefully this weekend!)
Well that's about all for now. Ttfn, tata for now!
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Yay, for the 100 day mark! Your plans look like they are really coming together. That is a seriously intense timeline, but it looks like you'll be getting everything you want fit in without any awkward waiting around time for you or your guests, always a plus! The BM dress is really pretty! And I love your bridal shower dress, that is so cute!
charliegirl76
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2012
Wow! You really did change everything! I'm not sure I could change the menu without tasting, BUT Disney is so great with food that I think it will turn out perfect....and really, it's the only place I'd go eat something I've never heard of before. The bridesmaid's dress is beautiful, and I love your shower dress.
Less than 100 days!!!
Less than 100 days!!!
Thought I would let you guys know how everybody has been thus far in the planning process in case you're trying to make any decisions. I also think it will be interesting to see how they compare after the wedding.
Pamela Mattack- DFTW Planner
Rating: A
Overall, Pamela has been great. The only reason she doesn't have an A+ is because we once had a long phone call about certain aspects of the wedding, and it never made it on to a BEO so we had to go over everything again. I think once you realize that Disney planners have to coordinate with other aspects of Disney before they give you answers, you're a little more tolerant on wait times to receive emails. She was amazing with the venue switch and didn't give me grief that we had to basically redo most of the BEO. She's been great with suggestions as well.
Jessica Rawlings- DFTW Assistant
Rating: A+
Jessica rocks my socks off. She is very quick to respond to emails and gives me accurate and complete responses. It amazes me how many weddings she is an assistant for and how she keeps them all straight!
Michelle Sanderson- Disney Floral Planner
Rating: A+
Michelle has been awesome as well. I wish she would have told us that our budget of $2500 was a bit unrealistic at the PS, since our initial floral proposal came back at double that. She has been great with providing ideas, showing me pictures if I requested that, and sticking with what she has told me in previous communications. I especially appreciate the integrity she exudes, plus she knows her stuff. I can't wait to see how they decorate the American Adventure Rotunda.
Tim Herring- Officiant
Rating: A
Very little to go off of here. His booking process was incredibly easy and his website provided a lot of information. Love the fact that he will perform a Catholic style ceremony and guided us towards resources for developing our own ceremony.
Beaute Speciale- Hair and Makeup
A
Had Jenny do our hair and makeup trial in December for engagement photos. She handled my emotions well (it was crazy around our room), listened to what I wanted and added her own flair too. I wish they offered online booking and also had a separate form for trial and actual wedding contract. Excited to see what they do with my girls on the wedding day.
David and Vicki Arndt- Photography
A+++++
If you've seen me anywhere else around the boards, you'll know that I can't say enough good things about this team. The biggest thing is how comfortable they make you feel and how beautiful they make you look. Within 5 minutes of meeting them, they make you feel like family. We had so much fun with our engagement photos even though I dread being in photos. I feel like they truly took the time to read the information packet we sent them and go over the shots that we wanted. I've said this before and I'm sticking to it: photography is the one thing I have absolutely zero anxiety about as we approach the wedding. I know it will be handled to the utmost perfection.
Trinity Wedding Cinema
Rating: Undecided
I have heard so many great things about David and Christina from former brides, that I truly am looking forward to working with them. I do have a song choice that I would like to use for our sneak peak, and David is very set on only using certain songs that he can get licensed (Which I understand). He suggested that I contact the band directly for permission, but I had to send the poor lady 3 different emails because they weren't specific enough for David. I love their work, though, so hopefully I'll be able to give them an A+ after the wedding. Their website is nice, especially when it comes to booking them.
Pamela Mattack- DFTW Planner
Rating: A
Overall, Pamela has been great. The only reason she doesn't have an A+ is because we once had a long phone call about certain aspects of the wedding, and it never made it on to a BEO so we had to go over everything again. I think once you realize that Disney planners have to coordinate with other aspects of Disney before they give you answers, you're a little more tolerant on wait times to receive emails. She was amazing with the venue switch and didn't give me grief that we had to basically redo most of the BEO. She's been great with suggestions as well.
Jessica Rawlings- DFTW Assistant
Rating: A+
Jessica rocks my socks off. She is very quick to respond to emails and gives me accurate and complete responses. It amazes me how many weddings she is an assistant for and how she keeps them all straight!
Michelle Sanderson- Disney Floral Planner
Rating: A+
Michelle has been awesome as well. I wish she would have told us that our budget of $2500 was a bit unrealistic at the PS, since our initial floral proposal came back at double that. She has been great with providing ideas, showing me pictures if I requested that, and sticking with what she has told me in previous communications. I especially appreciate the integrity she exudes, plus she knows her stuff. I can't wait to see how they decorate the American Adventure Rotunda.
Tim Herring- Officiant
Rating: A
Very little to go off of here. His booking process was incredibly easy and his website provided a lot of information. Love the fact that he will perform a Catholic style ceremony and guided us towards resources for developing our own ceremony.
Beaute Speciale- Hair and Makeup
A
Had Jenny do our hair and makeup trial in December for engagement photos. She handled my emotions well (it was crazy around our room), listened to what I wanted and added her own flair too. I wish they offered online booking and also had a separate form for trial and actual wedding contract. Excited to see what they do with my girls on the wedding day.
David and Vicki Arndt- Photography
A+++++
If you've seen me anywhere else around the boards, you'll know that I can't say enough good things about this team. The biggest thing is how comfortable they make you feel and how beautiful they make you look. Within 5 minutes of meeting them, they make you feel like family. We had so much fun with our engagement photos even though I dread being in photos. I feel like they truly took the time to read the information packet we sent them and go over the shots that we wanted. I've said this before and I'm sticking to it: photography is the one thing I have absolutely zero anxiety about as we approach the wedding. I know it will be handled to the utmost perfection.
Trinity Wedding Cinema
Rating: Undecided
I have heard so many great things about David and Christina from former brides, that I truly am looking forward to working with them. I do have a song choice that I would like to use for our sneak peak, and David is very set on only using certain songs that he can get licensed (Which I understand). He suggested that I contact the band directly for permission, but I had to send the poor lady 3 different emails because they weren't specific enough for David. I love their work, though, so hopefully I'll be able to give them an A+ after the wedding. Their website is nice, especially when it comes to booking them.
ddevito
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 30, 2013
I was reading through all your plans because your day is a few weeks ahead of mine and then I saw the sig. that counts down the days. Eeeek - so much closer than I thought. I am feeling a slight anxiety attack. Have you been feeling the same when you think about how close the date is?
MiaBella05
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
joining in Tink2182014
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
Hi! Congrats on your wedding I love you post. I'm planning a wedding for the same amount of people and something we are having a hard time with is the bar packages. Do you have any suggestions? Majority of our people don't drink or will only have at most 2, our friends drink a bit, and we do have a chunk full of kids. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
mariapicardikenyon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2013
Hello. You might want to consider joining the DisBrides group on Facebook. Lots of great info there and a wonderful group of girls! Very helpful. Regarding the bar, the consensus seems to be instead of having a bar pacakage do a BOC (based on consumption). Most of the brides realized a huge savings by doing this.
mariapicardikenyon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2013
Christie, thanks for rating the vendors. It really helps all of us!
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