Checklist for DFTW Planning session.

[magdog79]

I have been told that once we are assigned a WP that they will give us things for us to bring ideas when we visit to Disney. I was curious if any created or had a good checklist geared towards a Disney wedding. At time there just seem too much to remember of things we need to do or have ideas about for when we head down columbus day weekend.

 

[PrincessBride07]

I am interested too. I have my planning session in June. They did give me a form to fill out as best as possible to bring. It had stuff like wedding music, cake flavours, bm's, etc. If they have unlocked the rest of your wishbook, you can see the form there.

 

[druidia]

Well, its been 2 years for us, but I would basically go down your BEO:

Accomodations - who is staying where, and for how many nights? Where do you want you r comp night to be?

Transportation - limo, coach, busses? How many trips? Who is using what and when? Don't forget the town car to help you get back to your resort at the end of the evening if you aren't in walking distance. And at the end of the night, "walking distance" is VERY subjective. Also, how do you plan to get to your reception?

Welcome Party, Rehearsal Dinner - how many, what time, where?

Rehearsal - location, time, how many, do you want anything special there?

Officiant - who?

Makeup trial run? - where, who, how many people?

Bring a sample of your dress fabric and pictures of it if possible for floral.

Music choices and how do you want it played? This is separate from Reception music if you have a DJ.

Ceremony procession - who? Order?

Photos - who? Will you want to take pics anywhere else besides ceremony and reception locales?

Same for video.

Floral - very important - bring as many idea pics as you can, especially if you don't know your flower names. Bring color samples of what you want if it's a little off (I had green roses and purple lisianthus, so a little weird). Have ideas for your bouquets, bouts, corsages, any ceremony decor, aisle petals, unity candles, memory candles, reception centerpieces, etc. They will show you a lot of stuff if you let them, but you can narrow the field if you want.

Reception table setup - chairs, sashes, table coverings? You will get to pick your linens and your napkin folds at your tasting.

Head table - what kind?

Lighting at your reception?

Entertainment at your ceremony/reception? Characters, etc?

Food and Cake - 2 big decisions. You need to be doing your research on what you want to eat - buffet or plated? Dietary needs? Choices? Do you have a favorite resort or park dish? Ask them to include it. Just beware that if you're asking for an MK menu item in Epcot, the chefs may not execute it exactly the same way. Our food was mediocre at best to me, but our guests enjoyed it. The food at our tasting was not great, so I should have known. We were not overly impressed with Epcot's catering.

Also consider what you want for cocktail hour food if you're having one. We just had cheese & crackers, but Disney did it nicely with fruit and the guests really enjoyed it before dinner.

Cake - possible flavors? They will only make a large sample cake in one flavor and bring it to the cake tasting, so try to make it your predominant favorite; they provide smaller cake and filling samples to pair and try, but it isn't everything. You have to narrow the field ahead of time for them.

Cake style - VERY IMPORTANT - you probably have many ideas on this. It's best to go with a cake from their catalog as it is less likely to be screwed up (unlike ours), but be as explicit as possible about your design. You won't get a sample ahead of time to approve, and this is the centerpiece of your reception. Our cake tasted FABULOUS; it just looked a little funky.

Beverage - package or open bar? Beer and wine or liquor too? Estimate who your non-drinkers, avg drinkers and heavy drinkers are to help you make the best decision on this. Also, what do you want to toast with?

Don't forget place cards, table markers, cake boxes, favors, toasting glasses, cake knife, programs, aisle runner, guest book, etc.

Phew! I'm tired just recalling all of this stuff.

At my PS, we spent the most time on floral discussion, cake tasting, and menu tasting. The rest was just logistics, but I had a lot of decisions made already. My WP said that we were one of the easiest couples she ever worked with because we had so many decisions made ahead of time.

I do wish I had given Floral an opportunity to present more of their ideas, especially for centerpieces, but I had a really hard time on spending so much money on floral that was just going to be thrown out. It all still turned out beautiful, and on your wedding day, you will be so happy it just won't matter if it wasn't perfect.

A fee more things to think about:

Don't forget to work out your ceremony and/or reception exit with your WP...some people like it spontaneous, some people want it staged for photos and video. Make sure about this and discuss it with your photo/video people so it is captured for you the way you want. Are you using a petal toss, bubbles, etc?

Also, I left out the special stuff like the bouquet toss, garter toss, dances, because we didn't do that stuff. We didn't want a very traditional wedding, so it was different for us, but I know many people do those things. Be sure to discuss the timing and music used for those events, and make sure someone is keeping your photo/video people informed on when these things are done.

We had some confusion in our wedding because we had a few problems that popped up and had to be worked around on the spot. Just make sure those changes are communicated to whoever is handling your reception. Often, your WP is there for the ceremony only, and hands off all reception stuff to the EM/Catering Manager, so they must both be informed.

 

[DisneyFairy19]

Wow thank you for posting this... I am going to print this out for me.. This helps me alot...

 

[druidia]

Wow thank you for posting this... I am going to print this out for me.. This helps me alot...

You're welcome! I thought of some more stuff this morning and added it above.

Keep in mind that you don't have to make all of these decisions at the PS. You should have plenty of time prior to your event to work out many of these details.

For the PS, focus on decor, floral, food and cake and have fun! It's a once in a lifetime experience!

 

[magdog79]

Thanks for all your help. Its hard to remember everything when you have 2 mothers, a bride and a DF and FFIL giving ideas and overloading you. At least this way I can have a more comprehensive list.

 

[skiqt323]

I was wondering if you wouldnt mind telling me how much the planning sessions cost?

 

[pixie08]

I was wondering if you wouldnt mind telling me how much the planning sessions cost?

The planning session is a perk that is free when planning a custom 9or now what they call wishes) wedding. The travel costs however are not included.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks for all your help. Its hard to remember everything when you have 2 mothers, a bride and a DF and FFIL giving ideas and overloading you. At least this way I can have a more comprehensive list.

Did you mean that all these people were attending your PS? If so, if I recall, they only allow 4 people to attend the planning sessions.

All the above posters have been very comprehensive for you. One more thing. Don't worry if you don't know the answers to EVERYTHING yet. We had our PS in January and there are still areas of our BEO that are listed as TBD