Dilema with venues...need advice?

[puente0629]

Hi,

So here's the situation...I'm having a vintage Paris theme wedding and I was initially going for the France Pavilion and the Attic but we would have to use a Disney Photographer for the ceremony and would not be able to have a DJ at the Attic. We are now considering the Wedding Pavilion and the Whitehall Room...my hubby is saying it's just another ordinary wedding at the Pavilion and Whitehall Room (I disagree)...any advice?

My family loves to dance but it's going to be a small wedding of 30 guests and we really do not like the Disney Photographers.

Thanks,

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

Hmm... that's a tough one. While I don't think a Wedding at the WP would be ordinary (that's where we are getting married, and I LOVE it), I can see his point about the Whitehall room. I really love Paris and the Attic, and for that amount of people I think they might be better choices. As far as photography, I don't know if you have Carrie's Passporter's book, but Disney does offer a three hour package for $1,700 yes still very expensive, but you could do that and then get an outside photographer for the reception. As far as a DJ, if you are only having 30 guests, you could deff. get away with an IPOD. That way you could have all the songs you really want played in the order you want. It's deff. a tough choice, to me locations are the most important choices.

 

[puente0629]

$1700 dollars!!! Even if the ceremony is only 30 minutes??? I just can't imagine paying for that and then for our photographer as well.

 

[MainStMandy]

Way back in the beginning we were planning a ceremony in France with a reception at the Attic. Our plan was to have an outsdie photographer for before the ceremony and then for the reception and use DPS for the ceremony and some EPCOT shots. It was the best cost effective way to have an outside photographer and have an in-park ceremony.

We ultimately decided the ceremony was most important so we are doing our reception in park with no photography. Maybe you could do your reception in France and do an outside ceremony (outside the parks)??

 

[Pirate's Princess]

If it's the whitehall room your man is not a fan of what about Atlantic dance hall? It's a different and unique out of park venue.

 

[ColeV]

What about SBP then the Attic or Ariels? We had a vintage themed wedding ceremony at SBP and it's lovely for that (1940s style gazebo), while Ariel's has a very Art Deco look without being so big as ADH. At the reception we had an Ipod with old jazz music and big palm leaves & mercury glass for the decor. We had a silhouette artist and vintage hats for everyone to wear during their sittings. The bridal party wore vintage-style gowns and morning coats with top hats. All of that did more than the location did. I had originally wanted a vintage French style too, but the photography and early hours of Epcot made me go with a vintage Seaside look at SBP and Ariel's.

 

[puente0629]

What about SBP then the Attic or Ariels? We had a vintage themed wedding ceremony at SBP and it's lovely for that (1940s style gazebo), while Ariel's has a very Art Deco look without being so big as ADH. At the reception we had an Ipod with old jazz music and big palm leaves & mercury glass for the decor. We had a silhouette artist and vintage hats for everyone to wear during their sittings. The bridal party wore vintage-style gowns and morning coats with top hats. All of that did more than the location did. I had originally wanted a vintage French style too, but the photography and early hours of Epcot made me go with a vintage Seaside look at SBP and Ariel's.

SBP is unfortunately booked for the morning, that was my first choice with the reception at the Attic. I like the Wedding Pavilion and the Whitehall room but I do understand my hubby when he says that the Whitehall room is just another ballroom in a resort.

 

[girli565]

I say stick with your original ideas. You'll only need DPS for the ceremony which is very short. Maybe an hour tops? Then hire your outside photog for the reception and bridal portraits at the boardwalk.

 

[tiggerrifficheidi]

I have to put a plug for DPS. We loved our Escape pics (Mike Strickland) and our MK/Epcot Pics (Ty). We did go with the Roots for our Wishes wedding, but I have seen some amazing wedding pics from DPS lately. Particularly Amy and Regina (Check out Bridget and Rich's TR!).

But, if it's not your style, I would say I don't think the WP is ordinary. It seems ordinary, just because so many DISbrides get married there, but when you see it, and it's YOUR wedding, it is NOT ordinary. Your guests won't think so, either.

If it's the "ballroom" look he doesn't like, consider a restaurant at GF. We also didn't want a ballroom, and when we outgrew the WHR, we switched to Narcoossee's. We had 68 guests, and the entire top tier of the restaurant was free for dancing. Citrico's would also be easy to set up a Vintage Paris look, I think. The colors are a little bold, but they can be in Parisian restaurants, anyway. Plus, where the reception would be held has tons of windows and lets in great natural light...so does Narcoossee's.

 

[weedee]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but can you just get married at WP and then have a dessert party in France or whatever?

In my opinion, the wedding pavilion isn't at all ordinary. Okay, yes I'm getting married there so I love it. But beyond that, though there are a lot of Disney brides that get married there...all of your guests and friends will only know about YOU getting married there and might not ever see other pictures of a wedding there!! Disney brides are a minority in general. I think it's a picturesque venue location that people who weren't able to make it to your wedding would really find amazing. How often do you see such a fairy tale location like that in a wedding?

 

[bunny_pop]

Also what about the gazebo at the Yacht Club? It's really lovely with the flowers around it. Honestly, I originally was planning to get married at the WP and I was going with an overall vintage feel. I feel that it has Edwardian charm there...ditto with the Grand Floridian. Also Heidi makes a great point about the restaurant. It's a great way to change up the whole ballroom feel if he isn't a fan of that. There's always even the Napa Room at the Contemporary. There are many ways I'm sure to bring in the vintage French feel.
If you are really set on getting married in France, go with it. Go with your gut in the end seriously.

 

[Bridie1996]

just to put my 2 cents in here...

Don't be scared off by some of the DPS pictures up on here. While some of their photographers can have sporadic work, I've seen consistently great pictures from both Amy and Regina. Request either of them, and you'll probably get one of the two.

Regina was a pro to work with, and was very willing to listen to what we liked and our suggestions.

If I were you, and the venue was that important to me, I'd stay with your choices and request Amy or Regina as my photographer.

 

[puente0629]

Thanks for the advice everyone, my hubby and I are going to discuss it over the weekend. My gut is telling me for the reception the Attic but I'm still on the fence about the ceremony because it also comes down to our budget and having two photographer might put us over. Does anyone know how much a Disney Photographer would be for an hour?

Thanks again!

 

[MainStMandy]

Thanks for the advice everyone, my hubby and I are going to discuss it over the weekend. My gut is telling me for the reception the Attic but I'm still on the fence about the ceremony because it also comes down to our budget and having two photographer might put us over. Does anyone know how much a Disney Photographer would be for an hour?

Thanks again!

My WP told us the minimum amount of time is 3 hours. Hopefully you'll figure everything out this weekend. Good luck!

 

[puente0629]

My WP told us the minimum amount of time is 3 hours. Hopefully you'll figure everything out this weekend. Good luck!

Three hours for an hr reception...sheesh!

 

[DisneyDJChuck]

Hmm... that's a tough one. While I don't think a Wedding at the WP would be ordinary (that's where we are getting married, and I LOVE it), I can see his point about the Whitehall room. I really love Paris and the Attic, and for that amount of people I think they might be better choices. As far as photography, I don't know if you have Carrie's Passporter's book, but Disney does offer a three hour package for $1,700 yes still very expensive, but you could do that and then get an outside photographer for the reception. As far as a DJ, if you are only having 30 guests, you could deff. get away with an IPOD. That way you could have all the songs you really want played in the order you want. It's deff. a tough choice, to me locations are the most important choices.

At the risk of sounding biased and getting flamed...

iPods are extraordinary tools, and used correctly, can be wonderful. For example, if you are having a 90 minute lunch/dinner (with no entertainment afterwards), an iPod can save you a LOAD of money.

But consider this, what if you have 2 or 3 hours after the meal? Will an iPod be enough? Is there a willing MC/Host to direct the flow of the party? Of course, you may very well have someone with the technical know-how and the desire of taking on that responsibility. And in that case, DIY entertainment may be the best choice for you.

However, if your are spending thousands of dollars on your wedding, you may want to consider spending 7%-10% of that budget on the entertainment. Check out this video of a real iPod wedding. It's about 5 minutes long and sometimes hard to watch... but it looks like the couple took it in stride. Again, I am not saying this will happen, but it might.

http://www.classicdj.com/video-ipod.html

Hope this helps... and best of luck no matter what route you take!

 

[ColeV]

A DJ is a great idea if you're planning on your music and dancing to be the main entertainment for the evening (or if you have a large guest count). In my case, we were thinking about having one, but by the time I picked up enough jazz music to make a play list for them I had a full night of music. I realized that our guests were not the dancing type and I knew the music would just be a nice background rather than a focal. We had a silhouette artist which I know provided our particular group with more entertainment than a DJ would have. There were only 30 people at our reception, so an Emcee wasn't necessary either. But it does come down to your guests, venue, and wedding style. With a vintage wedding, unless you can find a DJ who will dress/act in that style, anything other than a live band or an Ipod would seem a bit out of place in my opinion. My wedding it wouldn't have worked, but with my cousins 200+ guest count modern wedding I don't know how she would do without!

 

[girli565]

We're big partiers so when we switched to a Wishes event we were so excited to have a DJ. We're latin and love a good party, even when it's only 40 people. So while we're a small group I still know we are going to have a great party and need someone to keep that party alive.

 

[puente0629]

Here is my question...can we hire someone from Disney to work the ipod for us? Also, let's say you sign the LOA but at the planning session want to change the locations (if available of course) is that even possible?

 

[girli565]

You can change locations even after the LOA is signed, I just changed my reception site and my LOA had been signed for months.

As long as the place you want to change it to is available you can do it.