DFTW vs Swan and Dolphin

[FutureDisBride2013]

Hello Ladies.... I have been lurking on here and the Facebook group for some time now and eventually I will start my own PJ but til then I will just ask you for your thoughts and advice. I am currently waiting for the one year mark to officially book our Disney wedding for 8/29/13. Initially I was set on a ceremony at the WP followed by a reception in one of the ballrooms at the Yacht & Beach club. Mostly because I want to stick to a budget close to the min. and use outside vendors as well. Then I read all these wonderful PJ's and my mind spins. I recently requested info from the S/D as I have read there is more flexibility and I am confused as it seems close in price. Ultimately what I am looking for is a beautiful ceremony, followed by a meal, dancing and drinking. My family has some big drinkers and I just want to dance the night away and have a memorable experience along the way. I am planning to do as much as I can to save costs. I would love to hear everyone's suggestions and appreciate your reading so far....

 

[fireofmarajade]

Just stopping by and I noted ur date will our one year anniversary! That will be sure to send good vibes ur way! I do not know anything about swan weddings but DFTW has been my dream come true where I hope to have no regrets bc they can do anything.... For a price. Just watch everything like a hawk and know ur budgets! Good wishes to ur wedding!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi sweetie!!!
I will try not to give too biased a view, but as you probably know, I am an enthusiastic past S/D VR bride!!!
I think you will probably find that as your planning goes deeper, the S/D will become quite a bit cheaper than a similar DFTW. Certainly, it will be easier to use more outside vendors, as DFTW has a number of rules and regulations regarding this (eg. All floral decorations at outside venues must be through their florists, all cakes need to be made in-house etc)' and whilst, from what I have seen, the DFTW florists and bakers are extremely good, they are also extremely expensive!!! The flexibility at a S/D event is fantastic. Your planner will be happy for you to research and book as many vendors on your own as you wish, but will happily make suggestions and take over the reins wherever you wish!!!

For me, booking an event, without any kind of planning session, from the UK, meant that communication was a very big factor. I needed my planner to answer my questions and queries very promptly and send photos etc of ideas and plans, as it was impossible for me to get to see her in person. Karen (my planner) never once disappointed me and was for me, the perfect person to help me. I asked hundreds of questions and she was always prompt and concise with her answers. She never once seemed irritated when I, for example, asked for yet another quote on the floral or the transport. She was happy to tweak things until they fitted perfectly with both my dream and my budget!! My understanding from the DFTW girls is that their planners are not always such good communicators.

It really depends on what you want. But, if you want a beautiful wedding in the happiest place in the world that is excellent value for money, I highly recommend looking to the S/D team. I am sure you wouldn't be disappointed.

 

[FutureDisBride2013]

Just stopping by and I noted ur date will our one year anniversary! That will be sure to send good vibes ur way! I do not know anything about swan weddings but DFTW has been my dream come true where I hope to have no regrets bc they can do anything.... For a price. Just watch everything like a hawk and know ur budgets! Good wishes to ur wedding!

Aww that's awesome!!! Thank you.... Same to you!

 

[FutureDisBride2013]

Hi sweetie!!!
I will try not to give too biased a view, but as you probably know, I am an enthusiastic past S/D VR bride!!!
I think you will probably find that as your planning goes deeper, the S/D will become quite a bit cheaper than a similar DFTW. Certainly, it will be easier to use more outside vendors, as DFTW has a number of rules and regulations regarding this (eg. All floral decorations at outside venues must be through their florists, all cakes need to be made in-house etc)' and whilst, from what I have seen, the DFTW florists and bakers are extremely good, they are also extremely expensive!!! The flexibility at a S/D event is fantastic. Your planner will be happy for you to research and book as many vendors on your own as you wish, but will happily make suggestions and take over the reins wherever you wish!!!

For me, booking an event, without any kind of planning session, from the UK, meant that communication was a very big factor. I needed my planner to answer my questions and queries very promptly and send photos etc of ideas and plans, as it was impossible for me to get to see her in person. Karen (my planner) never once disappointed me and was for me, the perfect person to help me. I asked hundreds of questions and she was always prompt and concise with her answers. She never once seemed irritated when I, for example, asked for yet another quote on the floral or the transport. She was happy to tweak things until they fitted perfectly with both my dream and my budget!! My understanding from the DFTW girls is that their planners are not always such good communicators.

It really depends on what you want. But, if you want a beautiful wedding in the happiest place in the world that is excellent value for money, I highly recommend looking to the S/D team. I am sure you wouldn't be disappointed.

Thank you so much for your insight, I truly appreciate it. I absolutely want "a beautiful wedding in the happiest place in the world that is excellent value for money".

 

[MrsDuck]

S/D bride here!

We are getting married 12.22 at 5pm at Crescent Terrace. For the whole wedding (everything included) we are spending about $10k. I found that it was cheaper to go through the S/D for what we wanted and I liked the flexibility that was offered by the S/D.

For us, it was just the only way to go.

That said, if budget is a factor, I know that it's possible to stay close to the DFTW minimums. It's tough but it's been done. I know that there is some sacrificing required but if you'd prefer to go that route, it's certainly an option!!

There's only 2 things you can't have if you're going with S/D: a MK photo shoot and the use of Cinderella's carriage.

My best advice? Read a ton of planning journals. S/D journals, DFTW journals. AND, price out both. From there, the decision will probably be easy!

Best of luck! And, if you have any S/D questions, check out our thread or join our S/D Facebook group {message me for details!}

 

[fireofmarajade]

It is a matter of finding out what is important to you.
Do you want an in park ceremony? if yes, you have to use DFTW
I believe S/D brides still have in park dessert receptions though!

Do you like how close swan and dolphin is? Don't forget how beautiful these ceremonies are.

What is your budget? Knowing a ballpark $# helps a lot. I started with the minimums posted and KNEW that was okay and now it is over that... but everyone is on board.

HOw many people about? it affects your numbers! $75 a plate x 100... 7500 already!

LIST YOUR TOP 3 THINGS YOU REALLY WANT AT YOUR DESTINATION WEDDING. ... My list was Castle, Carriage, and Magic Kingdom Bridal Shoot... 4 was minnie/mickey showing up, 5 was having a castle cake, and the list goes on.....

I also listed things i was willing to cut back on or cut out - Floral is NOT very big to me. i will sneeze. So personal floral is coming from Seashells in Bloom and there are few arrangements around the area..... I cut a few corners that no one will notice ----- upgrading chairs did NOT happen!

Hope this helps more specifically!

 

[MickeysStarTrader]

I am not having a DFTW or a S/D wedding, so I can't really comment on either besides what has already been said. There are obviously some things you can't have with S/D, but there are many rules and regulations to follow with a DFTW.

Have you considered other "alternative" Disney wedding locations? For example, you can get married on the Fulton's Crab House riverboat in Downtown Disney or you can get married at Rix Lounge in Coronado Springs Resort. It's also possible to get married in some restaurants in Downtown Disney, such as Planet Hollywood and Bongos Cuban Cafe.

Just some other options for you to consider if you haven't already I was thrilled to discover there were options other than a DFTW because that wasn't quite what I wanted

 

[mb187143]

We're having a wishes wedding for 60 guests, and we're right on track with the minimums. We never had a problem with communication from our planner, or with her assistant, and she's been very flexible since we were assigned to her in November. Our floral proposal from disney is actually less than from the outside vendors we quoted, and our cake is extremely reasonable - it can be done without costing an arm and a leg. Research is your best bet. If you decide to go with DFTW, i'd reccomend you get the Passporter for Disney Weddings, it's really a necessity. Carrie, the author (lurkyloo here on the DIS), has pretty much walked you through what to expect, what you can ask for, and has provided a LOT of information that has been invaluable throughout this process for us.

We're using the WP and one of the ballrooms at the grand floridian, and we can use our own floral vendor and photography, and transportation, etc. We're providing our own favors and some other decor. So really, for us, since we want the WP, and we've told our planner the budget from the beginning, we're getting exactly what we want, where we want, for the price we wanted to pay, without having to compromise the ability to do an MK photo shoot (exclusive for DFTW brides), which is important to us.

I've seen many positive reviews of the swan and dolphin experience, so i agree with a pp that you should make a list of your most important priorities and then decide which suits your needs. What works well for some people may not suit your style.

 

[Jilian]

We did a swan vow renewal and it was fabulous! It seems like the saving with a Swan versus DFTW comes when you have a larger guest count. If you have 20ish people it is probably close in price for both types of wedding. Once you get up into higher numbers and it becomes a Wishes vs Swan then the savings start adding up. BUT, IMO it isn't about savings, it is about having the wedding that you want. That is why we chose Swan because we could customize every single last detail. We used some of their vendors and contracted some of our own. We had an amazing VR with 42 people and a dinner after at Il Mulino for an amazing price. I have a breakdown of what we spent in my PJ linked in my sig. I think it was around $11,000 for every last thing (including our trip to Disney, dress, season passes, EVERYTHING!).

 

[FutureDisBride2013]

Ladies, as always your comments are greatly appreciated. I think the problem lies in hearing everyones wonderful stories and then rethinking what I already have considered. This waiting to book thing is not helping...lol Anyways, I am looking at 40-45 people. I would like to stay under 15K and other than wanting to dance and have a bar, I am pretty easy going. I have read the Passporter, a ton of planning journals and am constantly researching. I think it can be done. Ultimately I think I can do a DFTW at WP, use a ballroom, provide my own decorations and eliminate floral since I am not a fan anyway and still have a lot of fun and entertain my family and keep my budget in check. I just wonder if I can do more by doing a S/D wedding.... I know in the end it will be wonderful, I just have to stick with my gut and stop overthinking it. Thanks everyone!