Best idea of all you did?

[keenercam]

I am already dreaming of the Disney vow renewal DH and I will do, hopefully 12/05, or spring '06.

We decided 20 years ago to get married on 15 days' notice right before Christmas. We had NOTHING to do with planning our wedding, except that we planned our Catholic ceremony, chose the readings, etc. My parents chose my gown, my underwear, the flowers, the cake, DH's tux, etc. We are grateful that they wanted to give us a wedding, but DH has always promised me someday I'd have the wedding of MY dreams, instead of the wedding of my mother's dreams.

I have such definite ideas for the gown (ivory or ice pink off the shoulders w/sleeves & swarovski crystals) and the cake (different flavored tiers w/the castle on top). Other than that, I am gathering suggestions.

What was your favorite part of your Disney wedding? What would you tell us we should definitely incorporate in our plans?

I have been lurking here for months and all of your pictures and trip reports/recaps are absolutely GORGEOUS! Hoping you will all help me plan something equally wonderful!

 

[CA disney lover]

Originally posted by keenercam
What was your favorite part of your Disney wedding?

uhhhhhh....all of it???!!!

Seriously though, my answer would be "keeping it casual". Yes, I wore a traditional dress, long and slinky with a chapel train and a tiara because it was what I wanted, but everything else was pretty low-key, ESPECIALLY in comparision to a lot of the custom weddings you hear about.

I could have had a fancier to-do and made my family gussy up for the day and sit down to a "pinkies in the air, hoity-toity" proper reception and they would have done it. But in the end everyone had a LOT more fun and a much more memorable experience because we kept the affair from being too shall we say "stuffy". In the end, that's just not my family and they wouldn't have enjoyed themselves as much.

One thing I regret, not having characters. It's a DISNEY wedding for goodness sake, get the characters! DUH!

 

[Firefly Girl]

Let's see...

Having a buffet was great for our group, everyone found something to eat and all the food was awesome!

We decorated our cake table with antique cake toppers, including our parents and grandparents, and a few surprise mousy guests in wedding attire, and it was beautiful.

Having an Illuminations welcome party the night before the wedding was a blast. We kept it very casual and everyone loved it.

Having Mickey as a surprise guest at the reception was so fun, everyone danced with him and he took pics with all of our guests.

 

[Meliechick]

I think the best thing we did was also the surprise Mickey Character. We almost cut it and I am so glad we didn't. We had very few children attend so we thought it would be a waste. I think the adults loved it as much as the children. Everyone took pics with him and they turned out great!

 

[JoD]

We also had Mickey & Minnie and everyone loved them. Watching the video you can see everyones face when they walked in and the adults and the kids had a ball . We also had the cinderella's slipper dessert and the confetti cannons which were both BIG hits with everyone. The cinderella slipper dessert was GREAT everyone pulled out there camera to take a picture of it. The confetti cannon's went off while everyone was on the dance floor for the last song, none of our guests expected anything like this.
I hope this helps.
Good Luck with your planning.

 

[bubbaloo311]

The absolute best thing we did was stick to our guns and have the Disney Wedding of our dreams, with 80 of our nearest and dearest family and friends, as opposed to the 200+ people we didn't really want and couldn't afford back at home in NYC.

Once we made that decision, everything eventually fell into place - though there are a few things that stick out in my mind:

1) Had Mickey and Minnie at the reception but kept it a surprise from everyone, including our parents. This way everyone was truly surprised (the video of my brother running to hug Minnie is priceless to me) and we avoided the "Why would you want Mickey and Minnie - that's not very elegant, you're not having many kids" BS. The adults went nuts, danced the YMCA and the Conga with the mice and took more pics than I can count. It was the best $1K we spent.

2) Had an Illuminations Welcome Party the night before at the II - Again, this was a wonderful way to extend the magic of our wedding weekend. We got to see everyone the night before - and Italy and the fireworks were so beautiful. Our guests were blown away by something only Disney can do, and I will never forgot dancing on the bridge with my soon-to-be Husband. Our guests still rave about our wedding - but the Fireworks party in particular.

3) Had our cocktail hour at Sea Breeze Point - it was so beautiful out there. I am glad we asked Disney for alternatives to the SJR. It made our reception even more beautiful - with our sparkling glimmering cocktail hour by the lake.

4) Used Raining Roses for Floral. I was just blown away by our flowers.

5) Included special Disney touches to our menu - especially the Cinderella Slipper Dessert and our gorgeous castle cake. Also, for the menu, we were not tied to the printed menus - but rather worked with Disney to create a menu that totally reflected us.

6) Made Welcome Bags - our guests loved that these were given to them upon check in. It adds to the idea of your wedding as a vacation - not just a one day event.

That's it for now. Good luck planning your VR.

 

[disneylovr1]

We had an intimate wedding, and we took all 12 people on an illuminations cruise the night of the wedding. I think it was one of the highlights of the trip for the guests that had never been to disney before, and my husband who isn't a big disney freak like me LOVED it!!

 

[Kristi1357]

Another vote for a surprise visit from Mickey & Minnie! Our guests couldn't stop talking about how fun that was. And we only decided to splurge and add them a couple weeks prior. We are so glad we did. Those pics are priceless!

Also, if you can afford it - our guests loved the IllumiNations dessert party.

Kristi

 

[ahutton]

The photos we did in EPCOT 2 days later. The flowers were still perfect, and we treasure the things that we were able to capture. On the wedding day there is so much going on you don't get a lot of time to just be the two of you and have it captured - there that was all we did.

 

[keenercam]

I have heard so much here that I wouldn't have thought of. I definitely want Mickey & Minnie there because DH and I are HUGE fans (read my tag!)
Hadn't heard of the confetti cannons-- sounds like fun.
Bubbaloo-- what was in your welcome bags? That sounds like such a sweet touch, especially as a way to thank everyone who will be travelling a distance to attend.
ahutton -- I wouldn't have thought of doing pictures on anything other than "the day". Did you choose the location? How did you and DH dress?
I definitely would love to do something the night before, for the people who can fly down a little earlier -- both the Illuminations dessert party and the cruise sound like great ideas -- what is the largest number of people who can be on the Illuminations cruise?
Where is Sea Breeze Point? Hadn't thought of a cocktail party, but that would be nice if the "bridal" party was off having pictures taken for a little while.

Firefly girl -- your use of the antique cake toppers is so wonderful and sentimental -- it must have been so much fun to bring all that tradition into your event.

I am such a castle "NUT" -- if we want pictures taken there in our wedding finery, does that get done the day of the event? or the next day?

Thanks for all your help everyone. DH says I should plan for everything we want this go 'round!

 

[ahutton]

I actually - after promising a while back to do so - posted a link to our photos taken at EPCOT in our wedding attire. They did it before the park opens. Disney Photo Services will arrange for a session, you can do MK too and get your castle pictures! If you go in early enough in the morning it might still be dark when you start and the castle would lovely!

Seabreeze Point is at the Boardwalk, it is an outdoor covered terrace on the lake with a view of the Yacht Club and Boardwalk area beyond the water. Very pretty.

I believe the boats can hold 10-12 people, the Illumination parties can do groups up to hundreds depending on the location.

I'm sure you'll love the entire planning process. Just remember to always ask if there is something you want to do. We were allowed to do many "special" things that aren't part of a normal plan, either because we asked or our EM was bright enough to think of it... We even got to see the Candlelight Processional as part of our reception!

 

[Fantasia Sam]

So hard to choose but I think our best ideas were :

1) Mickey, Minnie and Chip'n'Dale - I think a few had an idea about Mickey but not Minnie and no-one knew about Chip and Dale not even my hubby.

2) Choosing the theme "Under the Sea-Little Mermaid" it went so well with having our reception at Ariels

3) Swapping some of our desserts at our Illuminations Dessert Party for Tuxeo Strawberries - we paid a little extra but they were worth it

4) Honeymoon session at Magic Kingdom