Swan & Dolphin Weddings FAQ

I can't answer as to their photographers but since they didn't disclose who it would be we hired randy chapman on our own. We are also having characters and he is on the disney weddings preferred list so we felt comfortable with him being able to capture the disney magic.
 
SarahSummer said:
I have our date and time approved for our wedding at Crescent Terrace and I'm getting ready to put down the deposit. My biggest fear is rain. Has anyone had to use the indoor rain backup?

We are using JustMarry because it seems from the Swan Dolphin website that is the only option. I wanted a Disney wedding but Disney won't do a character appearance for a memories package. But without having guests or wanting anything elaborate, the Escape collection is way more than we would need. So, we turned to the Swan wedding to solve this. For the Swan wedding I am getting officiant, venue, and photographer and it's $2600ish. Mickey and Minnie will be $1450ish for 30 minutes. I was surprised that Disney agreed to send them for such a small affair when they won't even do that for their own small weddings. There is obviously something I don't understand there but oh well. We are staying at the Boardwalk so Crescent Terrace will be very convenient. It will be just the 2 of us plus Mickey and Minnie.

Do they have several different photographers they use? I'm most concerned about the photos. When you pay this much for a 2 person wedding it's kind of all about the photos. We don't care at all about any photos that don't have Mickey and Minnie in them and they will only be there 30 minutes. I want to make sure to get good photos. Can you look at the portfolios of the photographers and choose or do they choose for you? Does it take any special skill to photograph weddings with characters?

Thank you!
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Not sure if things are different now (I got married in 2011), but we could basically choose any vendor we wanted. JM had a list of preferred vendors for floral, cake, photography, etc, but we were not bound to them. We were deadset on Randy Chapman for photography (which was not a problem for JM) & we ended up going with the florist and harpist that they recommended. We were more than happy with all of our vendors. That's the beauty of a Swan wedding-they are completely customizable to suit your preferences :)
 
Hi all! This is my first first DIS post. I joined DIS after having used it many times in the past as a source of information! I am also a Swan bride - June 9, 2015. I'm glad to find a site where others have the same questions, or have been married there in the past! Michelle at Just Married is my coordinator and so far my plans are coming along. The biggest hurdle I have found is working with with Disney Catering for my dinner and Dessert Party. Where Just Married and my vendors have been friendly and quick in communicating, Disney Catering is extremely slow in replying to phone and email messages.

My advice to Swan brides even thinking about calling Disney Catering about having a dinner at the Attic or Napa room, or an EPCOT dessert party is (1) allow for plenty of time (and be patient and/or have a backup plan) 2. When you call them do not use the W word (wedding). If you are not DFTW and you say WEDDING, they go into NO mode. Tell them you are getting married, and this will be a get together, celebration, etc. do yourself a favor and don't say wedding or reception or anything like that. They will tell you you can't wear your dress and you can't have a wedding cake. Other options are one of the Dolphin restaurants, Grand Floridian, Downtown Disney, and elsewhere.

We are having our ceremony at the Crescent Terrace. We've hired a harpist and will have 28 guests. We're thinking about floral and decor. Photos are super important to me and I want to dress up the place a bit, since there is no existing structure or gazebo or anything. What are other's thoughts on this? What did you do- or plan to do? I don't want to spend a fortune, but would like something more than people standing beside a musician.
 
Hey All!

Does anyone know a round about of what it would cost to have Minnie and Mickey come to our wedding directly after our ceremony for pictures/cake cutting?

I know they are allowed to come for 30 minutes but I am finding mixed pricing, all over from $800-$1450?
 


The price is $975 for one character and $1,425 for two. So $1,425 for Mickey and Minnie.
 
Sarah-
We went with Swan & Dolphin because we had to many people foe DFTW Escape, and we were automatically in the Wishes category- but it didn't suit what we envisioned. We wanted less, basically. S & D it is! Yes, Just Married seems to be the coordinator for them as well as other local places. I have had good experience with them so far. They have recommended vendors, and can provide services- but you can use your own too. Like you mentioned, I asked them a few times for the names of the photographers they use, and after no reply- I decided not to chance it. Photos are important to me as well and I hired my own for a similar price as JM's rates. I did a lot of research into photographers who are used by Disney brides and am happy that I went this route. I also hired my own harpist, florist, hair/makeup person, and officiant. I'm sure that the people they offer are just fine, but I wanted to know exactly who I was getting beforehand! Lol. Good luck! I'm excited to follow along with your plans. Sharon
 
Hello, my fiance and I just got engaged and we are planning a wedding for spring 2016. He came up with the idea to have a Disney wedding, so we can then have a disney world honeymoon right after. We have not contacted Disney yet as we feel it may be too early. We have been looking into the DFTW, and were considering the memories package. We were planning to have a very small ceremony, just the two of us with no reception, so the memories package would have been perfect. But now our parents and some other family member would like to come. Without being sure of the guest count, I don't want to pick the memories package and have to leave people out. But I also don't want to spend $5,500+ for the escape package. Also, with the memories package, I wasn't quite happy with the location choices. To me the three of them are just kind of blah and there isn't much for decor. Plus, I think I read somewhere that you have to provide your own officiant.

Then I stumbled upon the swan and dolphin weddings. After reading the posts on here, and looking at the just marry site, it seems like the way to go. There are decor options, I like the locations better, and my guest count won't matter, but I do have some questions and I wonder if anyone could answer them. As far as my honeymoon goes, we want to stay in a resort and get tickets to the parks for 4 days. It seems like it would be cheaper to stay at one of the more moderate resorts, and not the swan and dolphin. Does the swan and dolphin offer a limo service like DFTW? Say for example we stay at the animal kingdom resort, is there a limo service to take us to our S&D site, and then take us back to animal kingdom after the ceremony? Also, there was something that said it costs $18 to park your car at the S&D, is that accurate? Just trying to get a better idea of how to plan my day.
 


Jenni,
You don't have to stay at Swan/Dolphin if you are being married there- so I would definitely shop around for a hotel that fits into your budget. It is obviously somewhat convenient, but price wise maybe not so much. They tack on a $20/night Resort Fee to posted rates which adds up And charge for parking. For the wedding day, you can arrange to pay for guests parking so any of your off-site guests don't have to.

Just Married provides a list of services they can arrange for you (I don't know that it is the Swan that does this). On the list, it has Limo, 40 Passenger Charter Bus, 2 Passenger Horse & Carriage, and a request for specialty transportation. It seems as though they can help you get what need.
 
We stayed at the Swan the night before our wedding & then moved to the Poly for our honeymoon. There were some definite perks to staying at the Swan. Aside from the obvious location, we got upgraded to a suite with Epcot views, as did our parents. We also got a complimentary room for my DH & the guys o get ready in. The bed was also super comfy. We had no interest in staying at the Swan for our entire trip, because we needed the Magical Express & wanted the dining plan, but the night before our wedding was perfect :)
 
Toolulu22 said:
When you call them do not use the W word (wedding). If you are not DFTW and you say WEDDING, they go into NO mode. Tell them you are getting married, and this will be a get together, celebration, etc. do yourself a favor and don't say wedding or reception or anything like that. They will tell you you can't wear your dress and you can't have a wedding cake. Other options are one of the Dolphin restaurants, Grand Floridian, Downtown Disney, and elsewhere.
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Even if you tell them you are just having a get-together, does that mean you still can't wear your dress or have a cake? How does that work? I also may have to stay away from DFTW in the future so that's a bit concerning to hear.
 
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myadventurebook said:
Even if you tell them you are just having a get-together, does that mean you still can't wear your dress or have a cake? How does that work? I also may have to stay away from DFTW in the future so that's a bit concerning to hear.
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You can certainly wear a nice dress, but if it looks like a wedding dress, it may cause some difficulty or put in an awkward situation. We had a wonderful experience with them for our dessert party. We did not say we were getting married, we simply just told them it was a holiday get together (we were married the week before Christmas). We didn't want to risk running into any trouble. We had our dessert party as an event for our guests the night before our wedding, and it turned out to be perfect timing scheduling it this way. It was a wonderful way to relax the night before our wedding & our guests thought it was a great way to kick off the festivities :)

I don't know anything about having a cake at a DP. If it is allowed, I"m going to guess it would need to be one catered through Disney (not an outside vendor) & it cannot be a wedding cake.
 
aristocatz said:
You can certainly wear a nice dress, but if it looks like a wedding dress, it may cause some difficulty or put in an awkward situation. We had a wonderful experience with them for our dessert party. We did not say we were getting married, we simply just told them it was a holiday get together (we were married the week before Christmas). We didn't want to risk running into any trouble. We had our dessert party as an event for our guests the night before our wedding, and it turned out to be perfect timing scheduling it this way. It was a wonderful way to relax the night before our wedding & our guests thought it was a great way to kick off the festivities :)

I don't know anything about having a cake at a DP. If it is allowed, I"m going to guess it would need to be one catered through Disney (not an outside vendor) & it cannot be a wedding cake.
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Interesting! Thank you for the info. I definitely want to wear my dress to my wedding reception so it looks like I am going to have to go through DFTW when the time comes. I am probably going to use your idea of holding the dessert party (or brunch in my case) on another day instead in order not to have any awkward situations. Is it okay to say that you are having a rehearsal dinner/farewell brunch/etc, or is that frowned upon as well? It's nice to get all this info before I've started to do any major planning so I don't make any big faux pas!
 
myadventurebook said:
Interesting! Thank you for the info. I definitely want to wear my dress to my wedding reception so it looks like I am going to have to go through DFTW when the time comes. I am probably going to use your idea of holding the dessert party (or brunch in my case) on another day instead in order not to have any awkward situations. Is it okay to say that you are having a rehearsal dinner/farewell brunch/etc, or is that frowned upon as well? It's nice to get all this info before I've started to do any major planning so I don't make any big faux pas!
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Honestly, I would just keep it simple when it comes time to book your dessert party. Just say it is a get together & you should be fine. They are not going to pry for details.

You can certainly wear your wedding dress for your reception through the Swan/Dolphin! We got married at Crescent Terrace & then had an outdoor cocktail hour & a traditional reception in one of the Swan ballrooms. It was a wonderful event & Swan catering is amazing :). If you are looking for a smaller event, you can also have your reception at one of the restaurants at the Swan or Dolphin & of course wear your wedding dress as well.
 
myadventurebook said:
Interesting! Thank you for the info. I definitely want to wear my dress to my wedding reception so it looks like I am going to have to go through DFTW when the time comes. I am probably going to use your idea of holding the dessert party (or brunch in my case) on another day instead in order not to have any awkward situations. Is it okay to say that you are having a rehearsal dinner/farewell brunch/etc, or is that frowned upon as well? It's nice to get all this info before I've started to do any major planning so I don't make any big faux pas!
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This is the tricky part- you can't wear your dress at locations wear DFTW weddings are held (I will have to change into a different dress and I can't have a wedding cake at The Attic), however other Swan brides chose dinner locations where they are allowed to wear their dresses- they are mostly the Dolphin Restaurants and Downtown Disney. As for the DP, I am having one right after my dinner and staying in my regular dress. I didn't want to change AGAIN, but I didn't even ask if I could. My Disney planner knows that my dinner and DP are for my wedding- she put in my paperwork no dress, no wedding cake at dinner. I don't know if this is helpful. I know that when I was deciding on where to hold my wedding I was so confused. The information is not clear, and it matters how you frame questions. My vendors honestly have been the most helpful in providing me information and contacts. Be patient and collect as much information as possible before you decide. Carries passporter book was very helpful if you haven't already bought it.
 
Hello first time poster and swan bride December 2015! :yay: Interested in sharing budgets, information, questions, and excitement!! I have put a deposit in and am still considering outside vendors vs. packages for the dolphin, and just began exploring the idea of receptions! Any advice information? Working on a small budget and appreciate any tips!
 
Has anyone used the Bridal Suite prior to your ceremony at the swan. We were just advised by JM that we have it from 5am the morning of our wedding until 3pm. If you have experience with this is it just a plain room, is it two rooms how big is it? Thank you very much.
 
Your complimentary room is actually called the Bridal Suite? I'm not sure how that differs from the other hospitality suites they have. Ours was the Sandpiper room, which was a small conference room with a balcony, kitchenette, bathroom, and some folding tables and chairs. I was able to call down and have extra tables, chairs and linens brought in. There was plenty of space for eight women and one little girl to get ready, plus two people from Carolyn Allen steaming/pressing our attire, four stylists from Beaute Speciale working on our hair and makeup, and a manicurist from the Mandara spa fixing my nails. So at one point there were probably 16 people in the room, and we weren't pressed for space at all.
 
thats what we were told unless they are just referring to the room we get as that . Thanks Melissa, we dont have many people but are checking out of the dolphin the day of our wedding and into the boardwalk - and wanted to make sure that room was big enough to keep our stuff during the ceremony and brunch reception. we wont have much just an overnight bag, the wedding is next weekend i am so excited and just hope the weather behaves.
 
Pix13du5t said:
Hello first time poster and swan bride December 2015! :yay: Interested in sharing budgets, information, questions, and excitement!! I have put a deposit in and am still considering outside vendors vs. packages for the dolphin, and just began exploring the idea of receptions! Any advice information? Working on a small budget and appreciate any tips!
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I had a Swan wedding in December (2011)!!! It was a great time of year to get married in WDW! :) The holiday decor around the hotel were just perfect for photos. You don't need a ton of decor, depending on which ceremony site you choose (we chose Crescent Terrace). Are you planning on a larger wedding or small? We had about 60 guests & we had a ceremony, cocktail hour, & traditional lunch reception in one of the Swan ballrooms. We also did a casual bridal party/family dinner followed by a fireworks dessert party in Epcot the night beforeIt was a truly magical day & everyone we worked with were just amazing. Please feel free to ask any questions :)
 
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