Brunch/lunch reception and dessert party?

[LuluLovesDisney]

Has anyone here had an early reception and a dessert party with a gap in between?? How did that work out with transportation and guests? Was it a problem? Any advice??

Thanks!

 

[figmentfan814]

We did that and actually it worked out perfectly. Most of our guests headed back to Epcot after the bus took them to their resort and spent the afternoon then they just met us at the Lower French Island in time for the dessert party. Other guests spent the afternoon at the pool and it gave my DH and I time to move our luggage from POR to the Grand Floridian. Plus, many people were tired after the morning wedding, so they were able to take a nap (inside Epcot at 9 a.m.)

We didn't provide evening transportation. We just gave our guest instructions to take the buses to Epcot and to meet at the front gate. I know a lot of people come through the International Gateway, but I was afraid that would be too difficult to explain how to get there. Plus, our guests enjoyed the walk through the park.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Yay, Vanessa!!! Thanks so much for posting! I thought you had done that!
It is great to hear transportation went ok, that's my biggest worry!!
Sorry to be obsessive, but do you have a general timeframe?

LIke,ceremony 10-11, 11-12 pictures, 12-4 reception, etc.

 

[lpizzuro123]

We are doing pretty much the same as Vanessa. Our reception, which will be at ADH, will be over at 3:00 and we have a bus to take people back to their resorts. We will be having everyone meet at two spots for the Desert Party. For those staying at POFQ and All Star Movies - they will meet a guide at the front of Epcot and be escorted in. For those staying at The Boardwalk and the Yacht and Beach Club - they will be meeting a guide at the International Gateway and be escorted in. We were going to have everyone meet at the International Gate Way but for those staying at POFQ and All Star Movies it would be too complicated to have them get to the International Gateway. My DF and I are staying at The Boardwalk so we will be meeting at The International Gateway. The extra fee for having two guides is $90.00. This is worth it rather then reserving another bus. If anyone will be in Epcot before the Desert Party we will tell them to meet us in the UK.

Linda

 

[figmentfan814]

Yay, Vanessa!!! Thanks so much for posting! I thought you had done that!
It is great to hear transportation went ok, that's my biggest worry!!
Sorry to be obsessive, but do you have a general timeframe?

LIke,ceremony 10-11, 11-12 pictures, 12-4 reception, etc.

Our timing was a little different since our wedding was at 9 a.m. The ceremony was done by 9:40 and our guest were shuttled off to the pre-reception which lasted from 10-11 a.m. During this time we did our pictures in the World Showcase. Our reception was then from 11-1:30 p.m. (pretty short) so our guests were back to their hotel by 2:00 p.m. We then took the bridal party on one bus over to the Grand Floridian to get some shots on the beach. We arrived back at POR around 3:00 p.m. Then we met our guide at the front of Epcot at 7:30 if I remember correctly.

 

[lurkyloo]

We LOVED having a break in the middle of the day! DH and I sat around in our hotel room talking about the wedding and giggling like school girls, and we got to take a nap! Our guests went to the parks, swam, took naps, hung out at Downtown Disney, etc.

Our timeline:

9am Ceremony in Morocco

9:30 pictures with all guests in Morocco

10am bridal party and guests took a boat to BoardWalk for reception (we took pictures together before the ceremony so we never left our guests after the wedding)

10:15-11am Pre-reception

11am-2pm Reception

2pm-8pm break

8pm bride and groom walk to Epcot

8:20 guests arrive backstage at Epcot

 

[AeriellDawn]

Oh my goodness- this thread is just what I've been needing! I was also worried about the time gap/ timeline of the day. Thanks for the great info!

 

[JonetteA]

We did this. The break was nice for people with children. It was also nice for us to have some downtime. We told everyone where to meet, in front of international gateway, and gave them directions on how to get their from their resorts. We did lose a few guests, meaning I guess they were so tired they didn't come. We didn't tell them what was involved just where to meet and what to wear. We did tell them that their picture would be taken so that they knew not to look like they had been in the park all day! The guests who did come were blown away. I like to think that the ones that did not come, after they heard what happened were a little regretful for not showing up.

 

[figmentfan814]

The guests who did come were blown away. I like to think that the ones that did not come, after they heard what happened were a little regretful for not showing up.

This is so true! We only lost a few people, but one of the groomsmen who skipped out came up to us at our at-home reception last week raving about the fireworks. He couldn't believe what he had missed after seeing the video. He was really disappointed that he skipped out on it.

 

[lpizzuro123]

That is such a shame that some people did not show up and I am sure they were sorry after.

We are just saying a "Desert Party in Epcot". Not everyone knows about IllumiNations and how wonderful they are and I do not think they realize that fireworks are included with the desert. We wanted to keep it a little bit of a surprise but not totally.

We are having our Desert Party in the UK and some guests that we have spoken with have said "what type of deserts is the UK famous for - you should have the party in France and have french pastry" - they do not realize that all the deserts are provided by one provider.

Oh well - hopefully some will be surprised - but hopefully everyone comes.

Linda

 

[lurkyloo]

I wish we could have kept ours a surprise, but if we hadn't told them, most of them would have flown out a few hours after our wedding. So we just kept going on and on about the fireworks and the dessert party to entice them, and of course they all loved it!

 

[scubaminnie]

That is such a shame that some people did not show up and I am sure they were sorry after.

We are having our Desert Party in the UK and some guests that we have spoken with have said "what type of deserts is the UK famous for - you should have the party in France and have french pastry" - they do not realize that all the deserts are provided by one provider.
Linda

You actually can have some of the desserts from the French shop added in if you choose, we asked our WP and she sent us a price list for the items, since we are going to have about 30 people we didnt want people fighting over desserts and it wouldnt have been a good price deal for us, but for a smaller party its an option that you could add some on if you wanted to.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Wow - I didn't know that. Of course, it's Disney, you can get anything. As I think we will have between 50 and 60 people at our wedding - we're going to stick with the planned menu - but that would be very interesting.

Linda

 

[scubaminnie]

If I knew how to post links, or was allowed (dont think I have enough posts yet ) I could put it up for others to see since I still have the email attachement from our WP.