Contract Surprises

[Princess SarahK]

When you got your contract was there anything that surprised you or worried you at all? Maybe something that ruined your plans or ideas of what/how you wanted things? I am worried about unwanted surprises after getting 2 bad news emails today about things I was planning on/had my heart set on because I (my fault, yes) assumed it would be okay. Im just a little disappointed and worried about what else will be denied.. Hopefully nothing but I still want to be prepared! TIA gals!

 

[mjshorses]

That's a good question! I'm interested in this as well.

Sarah, can I ask what the bad news was, just incase I was thinking something similar to you?

 

[pixie921]

The only thing in our contract that I would say surprised me was the $50 small party fee that gets tacked onto every event you have except the ceremony for less than 20 people. I hadn't heard anything about that before, and our consultant hadn't mentioned it, so it kind of annoyed me. I sort of felt like, "Ok, I'm being restricted to certain venues because of our party size, then I have to pay venue fees, setup fees, minimum fees and NOW a small party fee!!" I felt like we were being nickel-and-dimed to death, you know?

I'd also be interested to know what you were told no to in your planning if you're willing to share. I think every piece of info is helpful, because Disney really isn't forthcoming with a lot of things!

 

[PartofDisney'sWorld]

I can honestly say that there were no surprises for us when we got our LOA. Our coordinator was very thorough in explaining everything, so I was relieved because I was also worried that there would be surprises, but luckily there wasn't. I didn't know anything about the $50 small party fee but my coordinator probably didn't say anything because we're having about 100 people at our wedding, so the fee doesn't apply to us. But I would be mad if we were having less than 20 people and nobody told us about that "extra" fee.

 

[sambycat]

the prices or the total could be a surprise, but there wasn't anything in it that was a surprise per se. just the seeing the whole budget in one spot!

i can't imagine how something you discussed or didn't could be on the BEO and be a surprise in that way, it's more a matter of odd little fees here and there, and maybe something odd perhaps in how something is described? by the time you are doing the planning session and getting the BEO its more of a confirmation of things and then you can tweak and adjust. before that point is when you are nailing down the site and maybe site specific extras, so you would know that stuff was available before the PS/BEO, generally, assuming you began planning more than a year out.

 

[Princess SarahK]

Hey girls! Yes, weve been planning for some time and have the excel spreadsheet budget thingy down to a science. Ive allowed for the worst possible situation-maxed out guest lists and more expensive dinner so I know what to expect...money wise at least. Weve got the gratuities, svc charges, everything that could possibly pop up is in that budget!!

Today I found out that I cant combine Disney's pedestals and chiffon draping with my floral that we are bringing. We cant use real candles at the reception, and the favors we were wanting are now not allowed. We wanted to do Cannolis since DF is Italian, it would be cute but since the dairy in it could spoil if a guest doesnt eat it right away they could be liable. Now were thinking maybe cannolis instead of a grooms cake or maybe not at all. Then what will our favor be? I dont knoooowwww!!! Dont get me wrong...all of the reasoning behind the "No's" makes sense and I understand it just kind of caught me off guard and let me down a bit. You expect something one way and have it in your head and it suddenly changes..so Im revisiting my drawing board for a few things. Weve come up with some alternatives and I need to talk to DF about them and figure it all out.

I was really just wondering if there was something else to expect or be ready for later. ---in a few days I might add..hehe. We should get our LOA on Monday since our 1 year mark is on Saturday...hoorrraahhh!!

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

Hey girls! Yes, weve been planning for some time and have the excel spreadsheet budget thingy down to a science. Ive allowed for the worst possible situation-maxed out guest lists and more expensive dinner so I know what to expect...money wise at least. Weve got the gratuities, svc charges, everything that could possibly pop up is in that budget!!

Today I found out that I cant combine Disney's pedestals and chiffon draping with my floral that we are bringing. We cant use real candles at the reception, and the favors we were wanting are now not allowed. We wanted to do Cannolis since DF is Italian, it would be cute but since the dairy in it could spoil if a guest doesnt eat it right away they could be liable. Now were thinking maybe cannolis instead of a grooms cake or maybe not at all. Then what will our favor be? I dont knoooowwww!!! Dont get me wrong...all of the reasoning behind the "No's" makes sense and I understand it just kind of caught me off guard and let me down a bit. You expect something one way and have it in your head and it suddenly changes..so Im revisiting my drawing board for a few things. Weve come up with some alternatives and I need to talk to DF about them and figure it all out.

I was really just wondering if there was something else to expect or be ready for later. ---in a few days I might add..hehe. We should get our LOA on Monday since our 1 year mark is on Saturday...hoorrraahhh!!

Wow, I'm glad you posted this, I was planning on doing two of the above things! You are referring to the pedestals and draping like this, right?

We were hoping on doing the same thing, renting the pedestals and chiffon draping through Disney, and then bringing floral to set on top (and having someone from our party set up the floral). That stinks! We were also planning on using candles as part of the centerpieces! Did you get any quote on prices for floral to go on top of the pedestals? If so, would you mind posting this info. or PMing me. Thanks so much.

 

[pezaddict231]

The candle thing definitely put a damper on my plans, but the LOA didn't mention anything about it... So I would just advise checking with your planner on things to make sure so there isn't a problem on your wedding day.

 

[Firefly09]

I think the details that you're concerned about will be addressed during your planning session. The LOA isn't going to talk about what type of floral you can or cannot have specifically or whether or not you can have open flames. Mine simply stated the time/date/location, minimum expenditures, when payments are expected, etc. pretty standard contract.

 

[ChocoKat]

I didn't have any surprises, even the budget we had estimated correctly, bute that is thanks to DH, he is so good at budget estimates.

We are bypassing the candle dylemma by using the battery operated tea lights Disney suggested, we have a lot of candle lights on some of our center pieces, and we have several small children on the guest list, so it is a win-win; we obey fire code and we don't have open flames around hyper little ones.

I am sorry about the cannolis, maybe add them to a dessert bar and have other traditional italian pastries too?

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Hmmm...maybe there's a limit to the number of candles? We had a few tea lights scattered around the venue, because I specifically remember one of our more eccentric guests blowing out the candles on the cake table!

 

[ChocoKat]

Hmmm...maybe there's a limit to the number of candles? We had a few tea lights scattered around the venue, because I specifically remember one of our more eccentric guests blowing out the candles on the cake table!

yup, there is a limit of candles per table, etc. I can't remember what it is, but it was just normal fire safety stuff.