Missy and Brandon's PJ 12/04/09 Fulton's- Wedding Day Report with PHOTOS!

[missy0107]

The favors are a bust! Disney ran out of them, they had 2 left, not 20 so I'm back to the drawing board on that.

Raglan Road is easy to work with and very reasonable! I would suggest calling them to get more info. The girl I spoke with is Wendy and she has gone above and beyond to answer all my questions. Unfortunately I think I'm going to have to relocate as their room with no minimum is a smidge too small for my party and the next biggest room has a minimum that I can't make work for my budget. I'm looking at the Swan restaurants and Portabello at DTD.

In an overall recap of planning lately: Looks like I am going to cancel my DFTW and move everything to the Swan. I think I will save a couple thousand dollars overall and that means I can use that money for a nicer Welcome Party on Thursday night.

The guest list is growing and that's part of the reason for my location change. A handful of family members decided they can afford to come and I can't imagine telling them they can't just because Disney has a 25 person minimum for my budget. I am still waiting for my package quote for the Swan from JustMarry! so I haven't made any final decisions! It stinks that I already made my deposit with DFTW! But I think that might still work out in the end as well.

 

[DiSnEyFrEaK22]

Congrats Missy! I think I am going to contact Raglan Road, do you know if they have a private room?

 

[missy0107]

Yes, they have several! They have a semi-private room with no food&bev minimum and they have a larger, private room with a $4k min!

 

[DiSnEyFrEaK22]

Awesome!! Thank you!!!

 

[missy0107]

So the initial counts are in, looks like we'll save almost $3k by having the wedding at the swan! we are arranging everything through JustMarry and so far so good! And I get everything I want: an outside ceremony, violinist, officiant, flowers, sit-down non-restaurant reception, cake and open bar! talk about customizing a package! I have a few more unanswered questions but I really like what I'm hearing so far.

I'm just waiting to hear from Disney on their alternative plan on my budget but I'm sure they will want to use it all up. I like the idea of saving some so we can do an Illuminations DP!

 

[missy0107]

I think we're going to get a caricature artist too!

 

[aristocatz]

So the initial counts are in, looks like we'll save almost $3k by having the wedding at the swan! we are arranging everything through JustMarry and so far so good! And I get everything I want: an outside ceremony, violinist, officiant, flowers, sit-down non-restaurant reception, cake and open bar! talk about customizing a package! I have a few more unanswered questions but I really like what I'm hearing so far.

Would you mind sharing around how much this will cost? Ceremony and reception? If you don't feel comfortable announcing the number, just a ballpark range? Under 5K?

It sounds wonderful!! Could you describe the reception package in more detail?

Sorry for all the questions! We are currently saving up for our Swan wedding & I'm trying to get an idea about budget. We want similar to what you described, but a harpist instead of a violinist and possibly a brunch reception.

 

[missy0107]

I don't mind at all! Here is a preliminary budget:

Apparel (for bride and groom, inc rings): $807
Gifts (welcome bags, etc): $154
Photography (inc photopass cd): $885
Reception Portion (apps, dinner, drinks, private room): $2676
-champagne toast $300
-cake $230
Stationary (newsletters, invites, save the dates, programs): $115
Ceremony (officiant, transportation, flowers, location, bouquet, boutenierrs, mothers corsages, pomanders, violinist): $2353
Misc (steaming, beauty, caricature artist, centerpieces, cake boxes): $760

Est Total: $8280

*adjusted 6/27 - found my own violinist, found cheaper cake

 

[aristocatz]

I don't mind at all! Here is a preliminary budget:

Apparel (for bride and groom, inc rings): $807
Gifts (welcome bags, etc): $154
Photography (inc photopass cd): $885
Reception Portion (apps, dinner, cake, drinks, private room, chapagne toast): $3000
Stationary (newsletters, invites, save the dates, programs): $115
Ceremony (officiant, transportation, flowers, location, violinist, basic flowers): $2900
Flowers (upgrade bouquet, flower girls, mothers, father, officiant) $175
Misc (steaming, beauty, caricature artist, centerpieces, cake boxes): $760

Est Total: $8796

Which is still about $2k more than what I really wanted to spend! I'm exploring other reception options (bluezoo, Portabello), though the price is still good and I based it on a few more people than I expect to have.

Thank you so much for sharing that!!

Wow, dinner reception is actually less money than I thought. We are looking into a brunch in hopes that it might be cheaper.

Also, not sure if you are interested, but I've read about another bride doing a sillouette artist instead of a caricature artist (like the sillouettes they do on Main St in MK!). I think it's cheaper and they come out really cool!

 

[missy0107]

I was looking into a brunch too when I was planning DFTW and dinner in a private room at the Swan turned out to be cheaper AND we get open bar!

Thanks for the tip on the silhouette artists, I thought about that too but decided I'd like the caricature artist more!

 

[missy0107]

I just got pricing from Fulton's Crab House for a dinner in their Third Deck Lounge and it is VERY comparable! I have hesitations about a ballroom at the Swan (not my style) so this looks like a good alternative!

 

[aristocatz]

I was looking into a brunch too when I was planning DFTW and dinner in a private room at the Swan turned out to be cheaper AND we get open bar!

Thanks for the tip on the silhouette artists, I thought about that too but decided I'd like the caricature artist more!

Wow, your dinner price includes an open bar??? That's fantastic!!

Do you have any documents or weblinks that lists their reception package prices that you wouldn't mind sharing with me?

Where can I find photos of the Swan ballroom? I'm trying to keep my reception in the BW area if possible.

I love your Fulton's idea though!! What a pretty place to have a reception!

 

[missy0107]

Wow, your dinner price includes an open bar??? That's fantastic!!

Do you have any documents or weblinks that lists their reception package prices that you wouldn't mind sharing with me?

Where can I find photos of the Swan ballroom? I'm trying to keep my reception in the BW area if possible.

I love your Fulton's idea though!! What a pretty place to have a reception!

I can't recall right now where I saw their reception menus with prices, I had to ask for them to be sent to me. I can send you the menus I was sent, pm me your email addy!

Once I contacted JustMarry, Susan spoke with the folks at the Swan and created a package to fit my budget...and they did a fantastic job! I had contacted them at first as well, but when I started to talk about a ceremony being held they referred me to JustMarry.

I haven't seen any photos of the rooms but the Westin sit has a good diagram with capacities. https://www.starwoodhotels.com/west...p.html?propertyID=1018&buildingKey=1001089583

Unfortunately, the person handling my food and beverage quote at the Swan went on vacation for a week before contacting me so I haven't seen a proper BEO yet and Fulton's got that to me within a day, mostly within budget.

 

[missy0107]

I just cut my ceremony down to $2353 by arranging the ceremony music myself. And a cake is half price when ordered from Publix and delivered than from Disney!

 

[princess22]

I just cut my ceremony down to $2353 by arranging the ceremony music myself. And a cake is half price when ordered from Publix and delivered than from Disney!

Mmmm... I love Publix cake. That is where I'm getting mine from. I just went in and ordered it the other day. I went in to order one I saw on their website but saw another one on display that I fell in love with. It's in my PJ if you want to see a pic. The ladies at the Publix bakery are super nice though! Easy to work with and will work with your colors and ideas!

I'm all about saving money also! It's an awesome feeling when you can cut back in areas!

 

[minniebride]

I just cut my ceremony down to $2353 by arranging the ceremony music myself. And a cake is half price when ordered from Publix and delivered than from Disney!

Swan/Dolphin ALLOWS PUBLIX CAKES????? No way!!I didn't think this was allowed & we were originally thinking of this idea.

Any catches? Extra fees from the S/D to be able to use the Publix cake??

 

[missy0107]

Mmmm... I love Publix cake. That is where I'm getting mine from. I just went in and ordered it the other day. I went in to order one I saw on their website but saw another one on display that I fell in love with. It's in my PJ if you want to see a pic. The ladies at the Publix bakery are super nice though! Easy to work with and will work with your colors and ideas!

I'm all about saving money also! It's an awesome feeling when you can cut back in areas!

I think yours was where I got the idea to look around at other cake options, I love the one you chose! I think I'm going to go with the Let's Celebrate cake, but smaller than they picture it.

Swan/Dolphin ALLOWS PUBLIX CAKES????? No way!!I didn't think this was allowed & we were originally thinking of this idea.

Any catches? Extra fees from the S/D to be able to use the Publix cake??

I'm not actually serving that cake at the S/D, this will be my cake option if I choose Fulton's for my reception. S/D catering's quote included a cake they provide.

 

[missy0107]

So plans are coming together! I love it! Here's a recap of my final(ish) plans, I also update my first post with vendors and more details:

Thursday night we will host a no-pressure welcome party at our Old Key West Suite. We plan on getting a couple of pizzas, a big tray of salad, some beer and soda, and maybe some pasta. I figure we'll save a ton plus we get an excuse to upgrade our room from the studio we had to a one bedroom!

3:30 ceremony on the Beach Terrace at the Swan and Dolphin. DF and I are thinking of spending the morning together and getting ready in our Hospitality Suite together, I know totally against the norm, but soooo like us! My hair and make-up is scheduled for 12-1:30, dress will be steamed at 11. (I'm trying to figure out if I can do this myself an save the $$!) Flowers should meet us at the Swan.

Randy is set to start at 2:30 and I would love some pictures at the Boardwalk so I am thinking about meeting him there. I don't know how tight this timeline is considering the ceremony is supposed to start at 3:30. Maybe we need him to start earlier?

I'm renting a large van with a driver for 4 hours to get people to the S/D and then over to Downtown Disney for the reception. The reception is set to start at 5:30 with cocktails and appetizers, then an hour for dinner, then an hour of cocktails and cake. We'll have a caricature artist, this along with a Selma's Cookie will be our only favors. The cake will be made and delivered by Publix!

After the reception we MIGHT stay in DTD for a bit. We'll have everyone take regular Disney buses back to their resorts.

 

[missy0107]

Here's a montage I submitted to my planner. The bouquet we cam up with is described: a mix of Black Magic, red, and white roses (18-24 total) , Green Hydrangea, Bluperum, Hypericum Berries, Silver Dollar Seeded Eucalyptus, Lycopodium and magnolia leaves. Based off of 3 of the 4 bouquets pictured (all but the one with the grass around it.)

Now that I am probably getting the cake from Publix I have to wait awhile to give them the photos. Their 3 tier cakes are about $230 with filling and delivery. Less than half of the price of a 2-tier Disney cake!

 

[minniebride]

Everything seems wonderful so far!!!