Break between reception and DP - what to do?

[DVC Bride 2011]

As of right now we are tentatively (for 20 more days) penciled in for 12:00 at the Wedding Pavilion and the pre-reception & reception at Ariel's, which will end at 6pm. I haven't 100% decided where the DP will be - however, I am leaning towards Illuminations, either at Italy West or one of the UK locations.

I think - someone correct me if I am wrong, that the DP in Epcot would begin at 8pm? I've also read that we can extend the DP at no charge as long as we don't extend the food service? I'm not sure on all these details yet.

My question is, what should I do with my guests during this down time? I am afraid I don't have enough of a break for them to go back to their resorts - it's looking like around a 2 hr break. I'm inviting 50 people, hoping that 40 come. I was thinking about taking them to the Poly for group pictures and having the chartered bus go straight from the Poly to Epcot, but again, not sure if there's enough time to do that. I'm not even sure if this is allowed - I emailed my consultant on Monday but have not heard back yet.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[lurkyloo]

I think - someone correct me if I am wrong, that the DP in Epcot would begin at 8pm? I've also read that we can extend the DP at no charge as long as we don't extend the food service? I'm not sure on all these details yet.

The start time depends on when IllumiNations starts. If it starts at 9pm, generally they run the desert party from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, but you can (as you said) request to start it earlier and just have the food service stop after one hour if you don't want to pay extra. Otherwise, they charge you a pro-rated amount per person to extend food service.

My question is, what should I do with my guests during this down time? I am afraid I don't have enough of a break for them to go back to their resorts - it's looking like around a 2 hr break. I'm inviting 50 people, hoping that 40 come. I was thinking about taking them to the Poly for group pictures and having the chartered bus go straight from the Poly to Epcot, but again, not sure if there's enough time to do that. I'm not even sure if this is allowed - I emailed my consultant on Monday but have not heard back yet.

You can keep the charter bus for as long as you like, and it may be more cost effective than (or at least the same price as) hiring one for the ceremony and one for the dessert party, since they both have 5-hour minimums. I'm too lazy to do the math right now though...

One thing to consider is that your guests may not stay all the way to the end of your reception anyway, especially if it's, what, 5 hours with the pre-reception? So they might make enough time to get to their resorts for a break and back just by leaving early.

I've heard of people filling smaller time gaps with impromptu cocktail hours at resort lounges, or maybe you could all hang out around the BoardWalk or at Shipwreck Beach? It is a tough call. Any chance you might consider moving your ceremony 2 hours earlier or lopping an hour off your reception? That would solve the problem *and* save money!

 

[DVC Bride 2011]

I had considered moving the ceremony to 10am but DF is most definitely not a morning person so I didn't want to make him get up that early. I would like the cheaper minimums for F&B though

My consultant did mention that if we had decided to go with the 2:30 ceremony, we'd have to cut an hour from our reception to make it to the DP on time. I was hesitant about this because I really wanted to have a DJ and to have dancing after the meal. If we cut an hour from our reception to have it end at 5 rather than 6, we wouldn't really have any time for dancing, would we? Besides the first dance, F/D & M/S dances, of course. I guess the other thing I could think about doing is taking photos with DF before the ceremony to avoid having a pre-reception but I really wanted us to see each other for the first time at the ceremony.

I also have some guests staying off property and I really don't want them to attempt going back to their hotels! I really worry about people who are not familiar with Disney not making it to the DP because of transportation issues. I will have to look into the earlier ceremony some more. Would it be weird to have a DJ and dancing during a brunch reception?

Thanks for your advice! There are so many different things to consider.

 

[lurkyloo]

I had considered moving the ceremony to 10am but DF is most definitely not a morning person so I didn't want to make him get up that early.

Tell him it's just one day out of his whole entire life of sleeping in!

If we cut an hour from our reception to have it end at 5 rather than 6, we wouldn't really have any time for dancing, would we? Besides the first dance, F/D & M/S dances, of course.

Let's see... if you guys show up at, say, 1:30 at the latest, lunch should only take about an hour, and then people would have 2 1/2 hours for dancing. However, regarding this part...

I guess the other thing I could think about doing is taking photos with DF before the ceremony to avoid having a pre-reception but I really wanted us to see each other for the first time at the ceremony.

OK, I am hugely biased because I loved our "first look," but... what if you did a first look so you could skip the pre-reception? For us it was way more magical to see each other for the first time in private (OK, with photographers) before all the hubbub of the wedding day began, and to be able to tell each other how great we looked cutie instead of having to wait til the end of the ceremony to talk. Also, photographers *love* it when you do this.

I also have some guests staying off property and I really don't want them to attempt going back to their hotels! I really worry about people who are not familiar with Disney not making it to the DP because of transportation issues.

We provided a motorcoach for the DP for that very reason. We had a large contingent of off-site guests, some of whom went "home" and some who went to the parks after the ceremony. They all grabbed the DP bus from whichever of our bus' four stops was closest that evening.

I will have to look into the earlier ceremony some more. Would it be weird to have a DJ and dancing during a brunch reception?

I don't think so, but maybe that's cuz I've read about so many of them on this message board over the years! I know there's kind of a stigma about daytime wedding receptions not being as formal as evening ones, but I think it's all just personal taste. And if people wanna dance, they're gonna dance!