Melissa & Nicolas' wedding planning - Aug. 1 2015

[PoshMeld]

Here is the cake i am getting quoted for at It's Tasty Too:



Instead of the random placed pearls, I'll make them put them in mickey heads
I was quoted 5$ a piece, so for 40 people, 200$ - that sounds reasonable...
I decorate cakes myself but I wouldn't have the time and mind!

Mickey & Minnie cake topper of course:

 

[PoshMeld]

I'm making hangers!!

 

[PoshMeld]

1 day until my visit!!

 

[Bewitch324]

I really like the cake design you chose...I think it will be so cute with the little mickeys!!

Your hangers are turning out great! I haven't seen them with the pearls, that's a great idea!

Your shoes are so cute, I'm glad they're comfy...

I'm excited for your trip! Sounds like you've got a lot planned, looking forward to hearing all about it when you get back...

Brooke

 

[lcataldimay]

Have a great time! I can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[PoshMeld]

Okkkk, so it's time to break down my visit report...
I visited and met with:
- Catering at Swan & Dolphin
- Il Mulino private dining
- Visit of Bluezoo and Shula's
- Just Marry wedding coordinator Diana
- Lora Ritzie Wardman floral
- new Four Seasons (still a construction site)
- Il Mulino supper
- Jesse Giles photography
- B resort
- Buena Vista Palace private events
- It's Tasty Too

Here we go...
Catering at Swan & Dolphin
The person I met was a doll and made me visit many private rooms at the Swan. There seamed to be already a convention. I visited the smallest room which had a connected terrace. All together the private room area looks nice but I go to conventions for work all year round, so I do not want to feel I am at work at my wedding.We might be around 40 people so the room just looked too big for what I want to it be... an intimate wedding.
Plus, although the terrace just seems great, in August, I don't think there will be much people actually going outside for some humid hot heat. lol







Guestrooms at the Swan
Now I did get a visit of the new guestrooms that will be the sample of the renovated rooms throughout the Swan and Dolphin by 2016. They are really nice. Now I couldn't really compare but since I did have the idea that the S/D was a dated hotel, I was afraid that the day of my wedding I was going to have this old looking room (ok, I know the hotel was not built in 1800 but still old for the day of your wedding!)
I was relieved to see that the room looked good and that I was told that the Swan rooms will be finished first.

I did ask Diana from JustMarry to ask if the conference rooms will also be renovated as they are the backup room for ceremonies. I still have to get an answer for that.

Il Mulino & private dining
Il Mulino restaurant is really nice but not too chic and a little homey. I'm half italian and to see a more casual restaurant was ok with me. I mean, the private rooms are ok and I mean, with the floral arrangements I'm sure it will look fancier. Anyways, it's nice to have a nice restaurant, but the food to me is more important.

I talked with Julia and anything goes with her pretty much. Group menus are workable...I still have to work on that actually as I don't know exactly which plates I want to offer. That night I had a reservation and I wanted to taste a plate on the group menu not offered on the regular menu and she asked the chef if it was possible, and it was!
Looking at the space, the connecting rooms are less narrow than pictured and there is a first connecting door that fits a few more people with opening door (instead of the sliding doors) and I think this area should be rented anyways as cake and book entrance room... just an area were people can be without being sitting all night.

Myself being half-Italian, I was wondering if this restaurant really served authentic Italian, and not american-Italian food... and I was surprised. That night when I ate at that night (I got to meet up with a fellow Dis-Bride!!), everything was superb! REALLY! And talk about great PR! Our bottle of wine and desserts were taken care of! I cannot rave enough of how we were treated at Il Mulino.















I'm going to have to continue this another day since I have a long review to make...

 

[PoshMeld]

Bluezoo
Bluezoo was nice and the restaurant looked a bit chic-er than Il Mulino. The private room looks more classy. It's really two types of restaurant really. Bluezoo is on the Dolphin side of the hotel.

As my fiance is not too much of a seafood lover like myself, I just didn't mind but the restaurant was really nice and the private room seems a bit more private than Il Mulino with door instead of panels.





Shula's
Really nice but a bit too testosterone-ey for me. Looks like a nice steak house but the football player pictures just didn't do it for me.

I only have a video so no pic sorry.

 

[PoshMeld]

Just Marry
Between meetings, I was able to walk over to the Boardwalk and eat lunch. I went over the boardwalk bridge twice. When I visited the Crescent Terrace with Diana, I swear that it has nothing to do with pictures and videos you see online.

I was really not impressed with the Terrace and was looking for something more intimate, like the West courtyard.
I am so happy I visited as I changed my mind very quickly.

The Courtyard is minuscule and as much as I love my family, I really think that everyone in the courtyard is a bit hectic! Since it's in a circle, I would feel cramped and it would seem that everyone would be walking on everybody's toes having the ceremony in front of the fountain.

When Diana showed me the Terrace, first I had passed by it without even noticing it when I went on the Boardwalk bridge.

This is how I imagined the area from online pics/videos:


And it really isn't that big. It is bigger than the courtyard of course, but it's very intimate with the trees all around.Actually, having the wedding in August will be a good thing because just my visit in June was hot and being under the trees was a few degrees cooler.

I liked better having the wedding facing the Dolphin, but we'll see with the shy fiance...

Here's a video of my tour of the area (it just had rained):

http://youtu.be/o--5J_6E0vU

So this was a relief.

Diana suggested to have the ceremony near 7pm so I skip the rain chances and this way it will bring us to a later dinner which we want (that's another topic - the reception!)

All in all, Diana was great and I really liked her suggestions and chemistry. Nothing bad to say.

Afterwards, I met with the florist Lora Wardman and she is just precious. Ready with her drawing pad. We went outside, and looked at the area to decorate. The restaurant... I really like her and her prices are more than reasonable. What I also liked is that even though her office is 30min away, she took the time to drive over instead of me going to her office. This was much appreciated.

When we were consulting, there was a wedding at the Swan and it was so beautiful... I didn't notice who was the photographer, but there was the Il Mulino door pose which I have seen a couple of times online.

Anyways, everything was going well on my visit.

 

[alyaki]

It's really interesting to hear your review of the spaces and vendors. I'm looking forward to hearing your reviews about the other places you had on your list to visit, since they were places I had originally thought about considering. Looking forward to reading more, and this could end up being really useful for others who may want to get married around Disney, but don't want to go through DFTW itself for one reason or another.

 

[MsKatie]

Thanks for the information about the Swan & Dolphin! I am pretty much set on having my ceremony there, but we may not be able to make it to Florida for a planning trip, so it is nice to read about someone else's recent experience. I look forward to hearing more about your plans!

 

[Bewitch324]

I really like the private room at Blue Zoo very pretty!

I'm glad you found a ceremony location you'll be happy with...

I'm enjoying hearing about your visit...

Brooke

 

[omgitsdaniellie]

all so cute

 

[elphie101]

Everything looks great!! So exciting to see little pieces fall together. Can't wait for more!

 

[PoshMeld]

I have been crazy busy this summer and will update with the second half of my trip report soin am- sorry!! Here are my shoes with stickers though:

 

[PoshMeld]

 

[PoshMeld]

Ok, a little break from work: Here I continue:

Lora Ritzie Wardman floral
I was suggested Lora from another Swalphin bride and she is really amazing. We met at the Swan and we went over the venues. She always had her sketching pad and pencil ready. We went over every detail and she sent me a quote by email afterwards.

Her prices are reasonable and she sent me ideas that are right on track.

She also does coordinate weddings so I am wondering if she would be able to get me a package at the Swan...

Anyways, she is a doll, very artsy as I like and her prices are great.
She communicates really well by email too!
I strongly suggest!

 

[PoshMeld]

Voilà!! My post on the new Four Seasons!
I had to visit this place with a hard hat as it was still a construction site...

My impressions:
This place will look amazing

My final thoughts:
Wow!... this will be expensive!

My contacts were great! and they would reply to my emails quickly.

I cannot post pictures per se, but after its opening I might be able...

Ok, I gotta give it to them that even without the site being finished, decor and basically everything looked amazing! My initial thought about the ceremony site did stay the same though - it's basically a lot of cut grass in front of the pond.

We tried to find another ceremony space and there is in front of the reception halls... This whole area looked awesome and intimate but of course, we were the only ones there... Now when the hotel will open, not too sure how intimate this place is going to be with people walking around.

The main expense is supper and we do not have the budget to cater a reception hall. The option would be a private dinner at the Capa restaurant's private room. The menu actually just came out and at the looks of it, it's not too fancy and well a bit overpriced compared to what you are getting from Il Mulino.

http://orlandocatering.fourseasonsemenus.com/index.asp?nav=112098

Now they will cater up to 35 people but I am now really not loving the menu :-/
PLUS it costs 750$ extra to get the private dining?... that doesn't make any sense to me!

The ideal would be to have a catered reception, but the room will look silly with not even the half full. The rooms looks astonishing and nothing to do with good old convention halls... The light fixtures are to die for!

Anyways, I know I'm not fresh from my visit to give all the details - but I just felt that the hotel was out of my league. I didn't feel that I would be able to offer such an expensive option and would just like to have a more "us" feel to the evening.
I was starting to think that I would need a high-end photographer, a high-end this, that...

Some important details:
- The Magic Kingdom is a tiny, tiny little speck in the view from the hotel. I'm not even sure what fireworks we would actually see from the hotel. Really!
- I asked the coordinator "so, would all the vendors be coordinating with you for the day-of?" Both staff members looked at each other saying, we got to clarify this up...
Well guess what? Even though the cost of having a ceremony at the FS is the same price as the Swan - well, this doesn't cover a day-of coordinator... so what does the cost of the ceremony venue cover? the venue and chairs I guess...

I dunno, the hotel looks great but just a little too much hype. I know the FS is reknown, but hey - you guys are NEW! wouldn't you want to encourage weddings?

Plus, I really didn't feel in Disney anymore at all... The hotel is in a little VIP secluded area in Orlando that you don't really feel anywhere than in a upscale snobby area of town. At 500$ a night, I'm pretty sure not everyone will be staying at this hotel!

My DF would love to have the wedding at this venue, but I don't think it will be possible.

 

[PoshMeld]

Jesse Giles photography

I met with Jessica at her office in Kissimee and we had a nice conversation. We didn't go into much detail but something did spark.
I like her pricing and her work, but there was missing information and that bond between a photographer and the client.

I know she knows the venue, and there are many pictures of hers that I appreciate - but it just didn't click I guess. I was thinking she was going to take pictures of me since I was there just to show me her work...

I'll be going with another photographer who I didn't get the chance to meet but did talk on the phone with. She is ready to give me the price I am looking for AND might actually come to Montreal to offer an engagement session! Talking about service.

Her name is Kristin Hakes.

 

[PoshMeld]

B Resort

This hotel is new but definitely no romance in the air. This is a conference/ work atmosphere hotel.WiFi everywhere, etc...

The ceremony venue is smack in the middle of nowhere, I'm sorry... and private dining in a restaurant is not an option unless you don't mind a very casual restaurant. Catering would be an option, but without a nice ceremony area...

So a big nono...
I wouldn't mind at all suggesting this hotel for guests to stay, but not for the wedding.

The rooms were nice and many rooms have a nice view of downtown Disney which I didn't know had fireworks??







Middle of no where area for ceremonies...


Restaurant...

 

[PoshMeld]

Buena Vista Palace

This hotel is nice although very conference oriented (they have a huge conference area). t is located walking distance from downtown Disney. It has a very nice and intimate ceremony venue and a nice private veranda for a small catered reception.

Now, I would think this would be a back up if something would happen with the Swan.

The catering options at acceptable prices (100$ pp?) - they just changed them recently. My only hesitation is the Disney factor... It's downtown Disney but not as inside Disney than the Swan.





ceremony area:




reception veranda: