Brunch Reception at Ariels or Atlantic Dance Hall

[lpizzuro123]

I was wondering if anyone did a brunch reception at either Ariels or Atlantic Dance Hall. We are hoping for a morning ceremony in Italy in Epcot. We would then go to either the Boardwalk or the YBC for the pre reception and reception. I was wondering what type of food would be served at the pre reception and brunch reception and what the costs would be. I would love to hear some info from anyone that has had a reception at either of these locations.
Thanks,
Linda

 

[karentan]

mary626 had an epcot italy wedding then a reception at ariels. here's a link to her very detailled trip report:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1106848&referrerid=&highlight=trip+report

 

[JJClemson]

We're doing a brunch reception at Ariel's after our Sea Breeze Point ceremony. Basically, you can choose anything for your reception and pre-reception menu. Just to let you know, Ariel's is buffet-style only. We are just having cheese & crackers and fruit for our pre-reception. Then for our reception we're having items such as a salad station, omelet station, pasta station, carving station, challah french toast, fruit crepes, etc. Disney weddings can show you menus, but if something you want is not on the menu, they can probably do it. Good luck

 

[lpizzuro123]

Thanks for all the reponses so far. I will start doing some research on the two locations.
Linda

 

[dannirose]

I am having an Italy ceremony and brunch reception at ADH in November and my planner has just started going over some of the food choices with me. The brunch buffet menu includes a variety of items: omelette station, crepes, fresh fruit, pasta salad, ham, chicken, shrimp and some other things I can't remember right now. One thing not on the standard brunch menu was a beef/steak offering but when I asked if we could upgrade and include one I was told of course, they are always happy to upgrade!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Thanks so much for the information. We'll have to start looking into food. I hava a questions about the table setups at ADH. I though I had read somewhere that they are small tables that will sit only 4 people - but I am sure I saw pictures of someones wedding there with larger tables. Do you know the size of the tables and how many each table sits? If they are small tables with only 4 to a table did you do assigned table settings and give everyone a table number or are you planning on open seating?

Also, are you doing a pre reception and if so where are you doing it? I thought I had read somewhere that there is an upstairs to ADH and that is where they do the pre reception. Another question is are you serving drinks at both?

One more thing - how are your guests getting from Italy in Epcot to ADH. Will they be walking over or are you having a bus take them over? I though since it is so close they could just walk over.

Thanks for all your help.
Linda

 

[dannirose]

When we met with Pam at our site visit we asked about the table set-up because the existing tables are cocktail tables which seat 4 people. She told us that we can use the existing set-up (there are enough to seat 170) or we can have larger tables brought in and placed on the dance floor. This does cut down the size of the dance floor - we will probably do a combination of both: mainly use the cocktail tables but have a few larger tables placed off to the sides of the dance floor for our bridal party and parents' tables.

Pam was really great when we talked to her about seating suggestions because we had no idea how we were going to work with 4 person tables and what we will most likely do will be to divide the room into sections and include 4 cocktail tables in each section and instead of assigning a specific table to a guest we'll assign them to a section and they can mix and mingle among themselves (or stick their kids at a different table but within watching distance).

As for the pre-reception yes it is upstairs and one of the things we loved is there is elevator access (we have a few handicapped and elderly people that wouldn't be able to do stairs). We are also planning on using bus service - we are going to need it to get into the park for the ceremony so it might as well take them to the reception and it will also take them back to their hotels after the reception - I feel funny at the thought of making them Disney transportation to get back to their hotels so we are going with the private bus.

We are still up in the air about alcohol - we plan on having it but we have relatives on both sides that would be dumb enough to get loaded during the pre-reception. One idea we are toying with is having one of the characters come to the reception at the beginning to slow down drinking since alcohol service has to cease when a character is present. The other is just to skip alcohol at the pre-reception and not have it offered until the reception begins.

HTH

 

[lpizzuro123]

Thanks for the quick response. I like the idea of assigning sections. As of now there are 80 on our list and I would think the number would go down to about 50 - 60 people attending - so I would not mind using some of the dance floor for larger tables. I think having a combo of large and small tables is a good idea. We have some family members on his side that do not talk and will not sit together.

I did not know that no alcohol could be served when the characters are there. I just figured that since it is early and a brunch/lunch maybe we would just go with a punch or memosias. We still need to think about this. There are not big drinkers on either side. Some of the guys would probably appreciate beer.

It is a good idea to take people to the reception and I would not want them going back to their hotel after the reception using regular Disney transportation.

We are hoping for an IllumiNations desert party later that night so I guess most people will go back to their hotel to rest and change and then meet back at Epcot later that night.

Thanks for all you answers. Hopefully you do not mind all my questions. November is a great time to get married. I would like either April (during the Flower and Garden Show) or October (during the Food and Wine festival).

Where are you from in NY? We live in NJ now but grew up in Queens and lived their till about 7 years ago.
Linda

 

[liberty]

I'm having a bruch reception to, at ariels, as were getting married at epcot germany.

 

[dannirose]

Thanks for the quick response. I like the idea of assigning sections. As of now there are 80 on our list and I would think the number would go down to about 50 - 60 people attending - so I would not mind using some of the dance floor for larger tables. I think having a combo of large and small tables is a good idea. We have some family members on his side that do not talk and will not sit together.

I did not know that no alcohol could be served when the characters are there. I just figured that since it is early and a brunch/lunch maybe we would just go with a punch or memosias. We still need to think about this. There are not big drinkers on either side. Some of the guys would probably appreciate beer.

It is a good idea to take people to the reception and I would not want them going back to their hotel after the reception using regular Disney transportation.

We are hoping for an IllumiNations desert party later that night so I guess most people will go back to their hotel to rest and change and then meet back at Epcot later that night.

Thanks for all you answers. Hopefully you do not mind all my questions. November is a great time to get married. I would like either April (during the Flower and Garden Show) or October (during the Food and Wine festival).

Where are you from in NY? We live in NJ now but grew up in Queens and lived their till about 7 years ago.
Linda

80 people - you're so lucky! We were hoping for between 100 - 130 but we will be lucky if we can keep it at 150 lol. Still it's better than if we were getting married up here - then we'd be looking at close to 400 guests.

I loved the assigning sections as opposed to tables idea when Pam suggested it because our families haven't really had a chance to spend alot of time together and we want them to mingle a bit. He's black and I'm white and some of them are still getting used to the notion of love being colorblind.

I don't mind the questions at all. I love this board - it has been so helpful to me with planning and ideas. April and October are great months for a wedding, we picked Nov. 2nd because that is when we had our first date and when we saw it falls on a Friday this year we thought it was perfect.

Right now I live in Queens Village but I grew up in Astoria and then moved around to Manhattan, Flushing & Bayside (and Tennessee for a couple of years, aah I miss it). Where in Queens were you and what part of NJ are you in now? My parents are in Old Bridge so we used to split our time between there and Astoria.

Danni

 

[lpizzuro123]

November is a great time also. And the Food and Wine Festival is still going on. We were watching our video last night from when we in WDW this past November (Thanksgiving week and the week after). I love the way it is decorated for the holidays and I want all red accents for my wedding so that would be perfect. We also watched the Candlelight Processional and IllumiNations (with the Holiday ending) and would love to have my guests experience this. First week in December (right after Thanksgiving) would be great for this.

I was thinking of a Monday or Tuesday. This way people could come down Friday night or Saturday - we could do our Welcome/Rehersal dinner on Saturday - have Sunday to relax and get last minute things done (if any) and then have the ceremony on Monday. This way hopefrully less time people have to take off work. If they want to go back home Tuesday - they would only have to take 2 days off work. Or hopefully most would try to stay most of the week. We have been together 14 years so I really want to experience WDW with all my friends and family and maybe just a little bit of alone time for the two of us.

Right now we live in South Brunswick but I am from Flushing/Bayside and my boyfriend is from Middle Village/Glendale area.

I am sure if we had the wedding up here it would be more like 150 - thats why I like a destination wedding - not as many people. We went to a wedding New Years Day on Long Island. There were at least 160 people in a space for about 130. "Each table had 12 people and we were really in tight. Once you sat down you could not get up - there was no walking around and the dance floor was really small. The bride said it would be really tight and more people said yes then she expected to. I think the only thing she did all night was walk around from table to table saying hello to everyone. I don't think she enjoyed her wedding at all. Not how I want mine to be.

Anyway, thanks to all fror all the great info on these boards.

Linda

 

[Rustyflwr3]

November is a great time also. And the Food and Wine Festival is still going on. We were watching our video last night from when we in WDW this past November (Thanksgiving week and the week after). I love the way it is decorated for the holidays and I want all red accents for my wedding so that would be perfect. We also watched the Candlelight Processional and IllumiNations (with the Holiday ending) and would love to have my guests experience this. First week in December (right after Thanksgiving) would be great for this.

I was thinking of a Monday or Tuesday. This way people could come down Friday night or Saturday - we could do our Welcome/Rehersal dinner on Saturday - have Sunday to relax and get last minute things done (if any) and then have the ceremony on Monday. This way hopefrully less time people have to take off work. If they want to go back home Tuesday - they would only have to take 2 days off work. Or hopefully most would try to stay most of the week. We have been together 14 years so I really want to experience WDW with all my friends and family and maybe just a little bit of alone time for the two of us.

Right now we live in South Brunswick but I am from Flushing/Bayside and my boyfriend is from Middle Village/Glendale area.

I am sure if we had the wedding up here it would be more like 150 - thats why I like a destination wedding - not as many people. We went to a wedding New Years Day on Long Island. There were at least 160 people in a space for about 130. "Each table had 12 people and we were really in tight. Once you sat down you could not get up - there was no walking around and the dance floor was really small. The bride said it would be really tight and more people said yes then she expected to. I think the only thing she did all night was walk around from table to table saying hello to everyone. I don't think she enjoyed her wedding at all. Not how I want mine to be.

Anyway, thanks to all fror all the great info on these boards.

Linda

I think you have some great ideas about the timing of your wedding!! We tried to work out the same kind of thing for our wedding. We had it on a Saturday, but the following monday was a holiday so most people would be able to come on Friday and leave on Monday or Tuesday without having to take a lot of days off from work! It surprised me though that a lot of our guests came and stayed for an entire week! (Disney weddings are great excuses for guests to take a vacation!! )

I agree that destination weddings limit the people who attend, that way you can have more fun yourself!! The people who come are usually the ones that mean the most to you, which is always an awesome thing!! It was so great to see who came to our wedding and who didn't. The ones who were the closest to us and who meant the most went out of their way to come--and those are the types of people you want there!! Eventhough we had about half our list come, I did find myself talking to a lot of people and spending a lot of time being pulled in for chit chat and pictures, but it certainly wasn't as much as it would have been if we had had an at home wedding!!

Sorry for the rambling, but I think your plans sound great!!

 

[lpizzuro123]

A holiday weekend would be great but just want to make sure the parks are not more crowded for the holiday. I would imagine the parks are crowded Presidents Weekend and Memorial Day weekend. I was thinking of the first weekend in December but remembered they tape the Christmas Parade Saturday in the MK - even though that should not effect the other parks and I need to check when Pop Warner is - I have heard horror stories on these boards.

Rustyflwr3 - so great you are moving - or have moved - to orlando. My boyfriends dad lives in Orlando - near Sea World. It makes it great for trips to Florida - we usually spend a few days with him and a few days at a Disney hotel. We want to experience the Disney magic and use the EMH.

Linda

 

[Rustyflwr3]

I know what you mean about a holiday weekend. Our holiday wasn't as huge as others but there were no crowds. Maybe it was just because of the time of year. I really don't know about the crowds around December! We moved to Orlando about three weeks ago! We love it here!! Thats great that your boyfriends dad lives here!!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Silly me - Ididn't realize you just got marrid. Congratulations to both of you - glad you had a wonderful wedding and enjoy living in Orlando. Where did you have your ceremony and reception - not sure if you said.

Linda

 

[Rustyflwr3]

lol, not a problem

Nope, I didn't say!! We had our ceremony at the WP and our reception at The Magic of Animation building in Disneys MGM Studios!! How are all your other plans for the wedding going?

 

[lpizzuro123]

I didn't realize you could do a reception in that building.

There is a Lenox warehouse by us and they were having a huge sale last weekend. They had the Lenox Mickey Ears (where you put the persons name on them) on sale. They had both Mickey and Minnie - when I saw them there in October I bought one for 4.99 - which I though was a great price. Last weekend they were 3.61 each and 60% off. Also, if you spent 100.00 you saved another 15%. I bought 55 Mickey's and 20 Minnies. I am hoping to use them as favors - or maybe putting the persons name in front and table number on the back.

Thats all for now. I am just reading these boards - and doing screen prints of all the information I want. I have put everything in a 3-ring binder with tabs. This should help me keep everything together. I have also started an excel spreadsheet with names of guests, locations for the ceremony and receptions and prices of everything. I love learning new information.

Thanks to everyone on these boards.
Linda

 

[dannirose]

Congrats on the Lenox Mickey ears - they'll make great favors and/or place cards.

 

[Rustyflwr3]

Wow, what a great deal on the mickey ears!! They sound great Yup, that space is available for receptions. I believe we may have been the first wedding reception, but I think they have had conferences there before!!

You really sound on top of it!!