Dinner timing for dessert party?

[pixie921]

I'm trying to decide if we have enough time between our ceremony for dinner and transportation to Epcot for an Illuminations dessert party, and would love some input.

We're scheduled for a 5pm vow renewal ceremony on the Whitehall Patio, followed by dinner there as well. We will have taken most of our photos before the ceremony, and the ceremony itself will be short and sweet. We'll take some photos afterward and family will be able to have fruit and cheese in the Whitehall room during photos.

We want Mickey to come for the cake-cutting and photos, which we plan to do before dinner. There will be no dancing and we're not having a bar; just dinner for 13-17 people. And no one's a pokey eater except my mom, LOL!

My coordinator gave us a timeline that would go something like this:

5-5:20 - Ceremony
5:20 - 5:55 - Photos/Pre-reception
6:00 - 6:30 - Mickey and Cake-Cutting
6:30 - 8:00 - Dinner
8:10 - Leave for transportation to Epcot

Does that sound like it would work, or would it be too rushed do you think?

TIA!!

 

[soarin_over_nj]

I think as long as your transportation is on time you should be okay. Have you considered seeing Wishes/Summer Nightastic (depending on the time of year) at the Magic Kingdom? They offer cruises for that too. I am an Illuminations fan myself, but since MK fireworks are later it might be less rushed.

 

[pixie921]

I think as long as your transportation is on time you should be okay. Have you considered Wishes/Summer Nightastic (depending on the time of year) at the Magic Kingdom? They offer cruises for that too. I am an Illuminations fan myself, but since MK fireworks are later it might be less rushed.

We did consider Sago Cay for Wishes since we'll already be at the Grand, but we really prefer Illuminations and love the idea of having the dessert party right on the edge of the lagoon at Morocco. Our VR is in October, and looking at the last couple years' worth of calendars, Wishes and Illuminations are both at 9, so our only difference would be the time it takes to get over to Epcot.

I appreciate the input!

 

[Brit_Jude]

If you planner thinks it is "doable" then I would trust them. Are you cutting dessert from you dinner menu so people will want (and be able to eat) desserts, this would then make it flow from dinner to desserts just at a different location. You should probably factor in some time for people to go to the restroom etc after dinner and before leaving for the DP.

Also think about what time of year you are having your wedding and the attire - if the men are in suits and it is August they are going to be miserably hot at an outside DP as there is no option to be able change clothes.

As you are having your ceremony at the Whitehall Room and not one of the main Disney locations can you move the events to 30 minutes or one hour earlier? Just to give you a little bit more time.

 

[pixie921]

If you planner thinks it is "doable" then I would trust them. Are you cutting dessert from you dinner menu so people will want (and be able to eat) desserts, this would then make it flow from dinner to desserts just at a different location. You should probably factor in some time for people to go to the restroom etc after dinner and before leaving for the DP.

Also think about what time of year you are having your wedding and the attire - if the men are in suits and it is August they are going to be miserably hot at an outside DP as there is no option to be able change clothes.

As you are having your ceremony at the Whitehall Room and not one of the main Disney locations can you move the events to 30 minutes or one hour earlier? Just to give you a little bit more time.

Yes, we're going to save dessert for the party, and will hopefully be having Disney move our cake to the DP, too. And we *always* leave time for pottying, LOL!!

We're having our VR in late October, and the only people in suits will be my dh and ds -- we're telling everyone else just "business casual" attire, so they should be nice and comfortable.

And that's a good idea about possibly moving up the ceremony time. We'll have to run that by our coordinator and see if it's possible.

Thanks!!

 

[DisneyBride1207]

I'm also curious -- has anyone out there just waited to do cake cutting at the dessert party? Our reception is from 3:30/4 ish - 8:30...and followed by a dessert party at UK lochside for illuminations. I am considering doing cake at the dessert party,...does this make the reception boring to wait and do cake at the DP? don't mean to hijack the thread,...just wanted to add that thought/question since I am also concerned!!...

 

[pixie921]

I'm also curious -- has anyone out there just waited to do cake cutting at the dessert party? Our reception is from 3:30/4 ish - 8:30...and followed by a dessert party at UK lochside for illuminations. I am considering doing cake at the dessert party,...does this make the reception boring to wait and do cake at the DP? don't mean to hijack the thread,...just wanted to add that thought/question since I am also concerned!!...

I think that's a good question! I actually thought about that, too, but since we want to have Mickey and he can't come to the DP, we need to do it at the reception.

 

[DisneyBride1207]

That's a good point for those reading that are having characters!

 

[Chilly]

How many courses are you having at dinner?

It does seem a tiny bit rushed, I think bringing the ceremony forward slightly would be a good idea.

 

[pixie921]

How many courses are you having at dinner?

It does seem a tiny bit rushed, I think bringing the ceremony forward slightly would be a good idea.

We're not actually sure if we're going to do a buffet or a plated meal yet. If we do go with the plated meal, there would probably be a salad, an appetizer and a main course, so nothing too extensive.

We're going to check with our coordinator next week, but in the past when I'd asked about flexibility in ceremony times, she didn't seem too positive about the idea. But maybe since everything is in one place, they'll be willing to work with us a bit on the time.