Disney Area wedding

[disbridemimi]

Has anyone done an offsite wedding or looked into an offsite wedding in the Disney Area?

I found the Swan & Dolphin thread, the other places we are going to look at are

Paradise Cove
Leu Gardens
Celebration Hotel

Does anyone have any info/experience with any of these places? The Swan & Dolphin has mixed reviews, so Im a little weary of doing it there.

 

[beachprincess23]

We are having ours at the Marriott World Center. It's about a mile and a half from Disney. I can not say enough great things about the experience we've had so far. They have been so accommodating and easy to work with. From our welcome dinner to post-wedding breakfast, discount hotel rooms onsite, etc. It's been such a personalized experience. They are even giving us a complimentary suite for 3 nights since we are coming from so far and so we don't have to switch rooms they are giving us the suite for the rest of the nights we are there at our guest discounted rate. Just amazing and so nice... def. on the pricey side, but I guess that's what you get when you customize things... so worth it!

 

[beach bride 2010]

Leu gardens is very pretty and does beautiful weddings. It is very popular with local brides because it is so pretty and so reasonably priced. They have info on their wedding packages on their website. Be warned though that if you decide you want Leu Gardens, book it asap. They fill up very fast! Also, don't forget to take the time of year into consideration. A friend of mine was going to get married there at the rose garden until she saw what the rose garden looks like in March. She got married at the Dr. Phillips house in downtown Orlando instead, which is also very pretty.
Paradise Cove is a beach setting and if I can't afford a Disney wedding I am going to get married there and do a dessert party at Disney afterwards or do an escape wedding at Disney for immediate family and a reception at Paradise Cove afterwards for everyone. Their price is a lot higher than Leu Gardens but it is much closer to Disney. You do have to use their approved vendors for some things.
I haven't looked into Celebration Hotel because I don't really want to get married at a hotel. I attended an event there once though and they did a great job with it. I'd imagine the backdrop for a wedding would be the lake.
Two other popular places amongst local brides are the Lake Mary Events Center and Winter Park Farmer's Market but both are a bit of a drive from Disney. I've also heard Gaylord Palms does nice weddings and that is right by Disney.
I recommend you join the central Florida board on the knot website. There are bride-to-bes on there that are getting married at many different Central Florida venues including the ones you mentioned.

 

[dizzydina]

The Leu Gardens are beautiful, but they are quite far from Disney. A good 30 minutes away.

I live in Orlando, and my dream reception would be on the veranda of the House of Blues. I just don't know where to hold the ceremony.

 

[Bride-to-be]

The Celebration Hotel is really pretty. It sits right on a big lake and is in the middle of town so there are lots of great shops and restaurants and a movie theater within walking distance. Have you seen the town before? Its really charming.

My dad is going to a wedding there next Saturday. Friends of ours are getting married and I have heard all about it. I know they have weekday packages that are really really reasonable and the weekend stuff is a bit more. The pictures I have seen are really really beautiful and I know my dad was excited to hear he was being served filet and lobster. I think I heard that they are having the ceremony inside, but if you could do it outside it would be AMAZING.

The hotel itself is part of LHW (leading hotels of the world club) its very very old fashioned. When you go to check in they have a paper log book on an old fashioned desk that they use to check you in. All of the computers are hidden in a back room. It really has a lot of character. The food is also really really good.

The only thing that I don't like is that in the lobby there is a big stuffed aligator that kind of scares me - but thats all.

Our friends flew down for a weekend and got their entire wedding planned in two days. Although I haven't personally been to a wedding there - I would recommend it.

 

[FairyTaleWeddingDJ]

You absolutely cannot go wrong with a wedding/reception at the Celebration Hotel. Melissa Jones is the Social Events/Wedding Planner onsite and she is one of the top pros in the industry- and quite respected in the Orlando Wedding Community. Her office number is 407-566-6004.

As you know- The Celebration Hotel is a "boutique" Hotel and the level of service is on par or above Disney's. A very wise choice for a non-Disney "Disney" Wedding!

 

[PixyDusted]

My fiance and I live in Orlando - looked into Celebration Hotel and it was a strong contender for a while before we decided on a DCL CC wedding. It's worth looking into, for sure! They do pretty stuff! And Party Flavors does their cakes. They do good stuff as well.

 

[lurkyloo]

Some other popular places to get married in the area (Maitland/Winter Park), with web links:


Maitland Art Center - $400 for a 2-hour block plus a $400 deposit; up to 50 people

Kraft Azalea Garden - $150 for 2 hours plus a $100 deposit; 20-person limit

And my fave, Casa Feliz

 

[dizzydina]

I live down the road from Casa Feliz. I saw people setting up for a wedding there Saturday--it was beautiful. I would highly recommend it as a less-expensive-but-still-elegant venue.

 

[eacosta1120]

We just made a trip to FL to look at various Orlando area venues, including Disney. We like the Grand Bohemian, Buena Vista Palaca, and the Hyatt Grand Regency...however they all cost around the same as Disney (or within a couple thousand), so we decided that if with go with FL, Disney is the best option.

 

[disbridemimi]

We are actually leaning toward an Intimate Ceremony at the Hyatt grand Cypress right now,with Narcossees and a Dessert Party After.

Ecosta, how was your site visit there?! I LOVe their Gazeebo pics online, and the intimate with tax is like 2K total, then we need to add photos.

We will be checking out places in person in MAY. I cant wait!!

 

[beach bride 2010]

We just made a trip to FL to look at various Orlando area venues, including Disney. We like the Grand Bohemian, Buena Vista Palaca, and the Hyatt Grand Regency...however they all cost around the same as Disney (or within a couple thousand), so we decided that if with go with FL, Disney is the best option.

I totally agree with this. If you are having an escape/intimate wedding, you can probably do it cheaper offsite but I don't know that the same is true for Wishes weddings. Originally when I started planning my wedding I did not want to have a Disney wedding, mainly because I thought it would be very overpriced. I researched costs at several different venues around Orlando and even narrowed it down and started looking more in depth into the one I liked best before I decided to make the call to Disney. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the price of a Wishes wedding is VERY comparable to what other places around here charge. Plus everything is pretty much in one place and it takes away the headache of having to meet with multiple vendors and worrying that the stuff you get on your wedding day will be good quality. There are also a lot of small hidden costs you have to factor in when you go offsite (i.e. transportation, will you have a planner or at least a day of coordinator?). All of the places listed in this thread would be very pretty for a wedding though.

 

[receptionist]

Mydaughter's future in-laws live in Celebration and we had the rehearsal dinner at the Celebration golf club. It was very casual and all we had was hamburgers and hot dog, etc. They made it a baseball theme so it was alot of fun. The did the food and everything was very good! It is a very nice place if you are looking for a venue for the rehearsal dinner as well.