Disney Weddings on Food Network

[hmp2z]

For those of you who weren't on the DM list about a year and a half ago, I have some thoughts - please don't be envious of those people who spent so much money on their wedding, or feel inferior, because, believe me, spending a lot of money does NOT buy you happiness. If you could see the planning recaps from one of the weddings shown on the special, you would know that - most of us spending less would be THRILLED by a free tasting and the special treatment that this couple received, not constantly comparing Disney negatively to other locations they could have chosen but didn't. So money definitely doesn't equate to happiness.
I know that my husband and I had a high-end intimate wedding, spending around $16,000 on our 8 guests but when it actually came down to the ceremony, we could have been anywhere in the world, because I didn't see or hear anything except the love in his eyes and the sound of his voice, telling me how deeply he loved me.
It actually sounds to me like the couple received a lot of very expensive freebies as a result of the show, for which we, personally, would be grateful. The television can't portray anything that's not actually there, and if guests make comments that the couple considers stupid, well, that's part of having other people at the wedding. I've seen couples have their ceremony drowned out by a shrieking flower girl, but again, that's just one of the risks you run when you invite others to the wedding. I think that reality TV often gives an unwanted look into the subjects, so it meets with resentment from the subjects, while those of us watching at home find nothing strange in it - we know that people all have their own, um, quirks, and it's not unusual to see these quirks portrayed on TV.
Honestly, from the photos I saw of one of the weddings shown, I think of it the same way - as the orange wedding, because it struck me as such an unusual wedding color theme. I would have never thought of orange in conjunction with Cinderella, which is possibly why the producers did not portray this as a Cinderella wedding - maybe they just didn't pick up on it.
Just my thoughts on the show...
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[RubySlipperGirl]

Heather -- VERY WELL SAID!

All the brides that were featured on the show received many freebies and upgrades from Disney to make their weddings look that much more incredible for television. If I received that much stuff, I would just be so happy that it was all captured on national television in a manner that I will never forget. Not only did the brides receive (extra) lavish attention from Disney, they will always have a tape of this show to remember it by. I just cannot see any good reason for complaints.

Moving on...

For those of you who don't know, I'm the girl who got engaged at V&A's. (And, yes, I really was very surprised when it happened. Although on the show I didn't seem too surprised, I was just very nervous because so many people were watching! Before the ring was presented, I suspected it was going to be "the moment." by how nervous my fiance was. But, Bravo for him! He did a great job and I was so happy.)

Regarding the $70K figure, the most important thing to understand is that the cost included EVERYTHING (well, almost everything) that you can possibly throw into a Disney wedding. This includes the bridal tea party the day before ($$$$), the rehearsal dinner, ALL the "FAB-FIVE" Disney characters ($$$), as well as the over-the-top mini-cakes, decor, flowers, "crown-service" etc. etc. Most brides don't even get all this stuff, but the producers (because I know them) wanted to show an example of the most high-end wedding that Disney could create. No one should be discouraged by the $70K figure. I am planning my fabulous Disney wedding for approximately 100 people and will spend right around the amount quoted as the average cost of a custom Disney wedding ($20-25K). I could even knock off about $3K worth of extras I've chosen to add in, and it would still be an amazing wedding that absolutely could not be recreated anywhere else!

As for Ann's orange wedding, I absolutely loved it (because I, too, am having an orange wedding!) I thought the editing was perfect and showed as much of each wedding as possible. Remember, they couldn't show every aspect of all the weddings. And, most importantly, the producers are interested in showing the MOST UNIQUE elements of each wedding and quite frankly, the Mad Hatter Tea Party is much more unique than an IllumiNations Dessert Party. (Although I do agree that a dessert party is amazing -- I'm having one myself! -- those are done around here much more frequently). Also, the Mad Hatter cake made for great television because the cake was so beautiful and unique. They absolutely didn't want to edit that aspect out! (Perhaps the Dessert Party footage wasn't as captivating as the cake footage? Don't know!) It's just a fact of life that some things have to "hit the cutting room floor" because there's not enough time to show everything. Trust the editors to do their jobs...they make great television.

As a matter of fact, you only saw about 90 seconds of my engagement, but the whole ordeal actually lasted for more than 3 hours. I'm not upset at all that they couldn't show more of our experience. We enjoyed the most amazing meal of our life and now have this amazing memory on tape. I will never complain!

In addition, I've seen lots of inquiries about the intimate weddings and "why did they not show one?" But, if you remember, they did show the very beautiful African-American couple having an intimate ceremony at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Afterwards, they showed the FABULOUS dinner enjoyed at JIKO. Remember, this is the FOOD NETWORK and they are interested in showing the "foodie" aspects of a wedding. If you think about it, unfortunatey, there's just not a whole lot of food-related planning that goes into an intimate wedding (versus how much food-related planning goes into a custom wedding). After an intimate wedding, most couples opt for a nice dinner at a Disney restaurant anyways (which they did show!) But, I do agree that they should have shared the average cost of an intimate wedding as well.

Overall, I thought it was an excellent show and the response from the viewers have been overwhelmingly strong. It's probably even going to get more positive responses after the two re-airings this weekend. Tell your friends to watch! Way to go FOOD NETWORK, Disney FTWs and the production company ... YOU ROCK!!!

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Firstly a big thanks to Ann for coming on here and posting your thoughts with usbut I'm sorry and sad that you had to do so. It is always hard when entering into the TV world. LOL I once did a soap commercial for Dove and I was filmed for an hour and half whilst being interviewed and they cut down to a 30 second commercial - it's always a shocker the first time. Got to love the editing world of TV but as the party involved it can be hard to understand why things were edited the way that they were. Regardless of your thoughts I still think this was so wonderful that it was YOUR wedding that was chosen and please try to hold onto the fact that that in itself was a HUGE compliment to how YOU had planned and themed your wedding.

To hmp2z (Heather) I am quite surprised at your response here - as a Disneymooner one of the rules of that board is confidentiality and for you to talk publicly here about a bride's precaps and planning session from that particular board in my opinion is contrary to the rules of that board and I am disappointed that you should share what can only be described as your opinion on something that the members on here who are not members of the Disneymooners cannot come to their own unbiased view on - having not seen what you have seen.

Heather you say that these are "just your thoughts on the show" but I'm interested to know how some of the points you make are "just your thoughts on the show"? It seems clear to me on what you have written above that you had access to other information before the show i.e. a bride in questions pre-caps or details of her planning session. In my opinion I construe that as making a judgement on more than the show itself.

I personally did not read into Ann's post above that she was disgruntled with Disney in comparison to a big wedding in NY - what she was doing was trying to explain costs to those not aware of what a wedding costs in Disney and how that compares to a wedding that she could have had, but again did not choose, in NY - I don't see that as complaining about the cost etc etc she is just giving facts.

I laugh when I read that "money doesn't equate to happiness" well I can certainly say from my own point of view that getting married to Paul in WDW was so magical and if it had just have been the two of us then we would have still been happy but having the good fortune to be able to spend more $$$ on our wedding sure helped along way with that happiness and I didn't feel sad at all, so $$$ deffo helped bring happiness to me LOL and I paid Disney $17,000 for that pleasure for myself and our 40-45 guests from the Rehearsal Dinner to the Illuminations Dessert Party afer our wedding and reception. Disney sure were good at helping me stretch my $$.

I believe that whatever a bride wants to spend on her wedding is hers and whoever else is paying's perogative - if they want to spend 2K fine and if they want to spend $100K fine - who am I to judge that ? But whatever you spend you are paying for a service and that in my opinion means that the customer is entitled to have an opinion on how their money was spent and what value they feel they got for their $$$. If someone wants to say that there were aspects of their wedding that they weren't happy with regardless of where it was or how much they spent then they are entitled to share those comments - yes there are always two sides of a story BUT that's up to the reader to keep an open mind on.

I didn't read at all that Ann and Michael were not grateful for their wonderful freebies, how lucky for them, especially as she had orginally had to cut them from her budget - I know it was for the sake of the program but still how wonderful to recieve.

Now I personally would equate orange with Cinderella because of the pumpkins but that's just my take on it and looking at Ann's pictures that she posted on here I can see how that tied in nicely with the Cinderella theme.

Back to the actual show and in order to understand this in my own brain - of course I haven't seen this Food Network Special being in the UK but that doesn't mean that I cannot have an opinion on all that I have heard. I think the reason that an Intimate wedding may not have been shown is because the show was for the FOOD network and if you are having an intimate the only food you get in that package is the cake isn't it ??

Finally I hope that any bride on here who feels that they have to "criticize" a fellow DIS member on their wedding has skin thick enough to take criticism on their own wedding.........

 

[hmp2z]

To FantasiaSam,
If you read my post carefully, I do not mention specific details about the planning session recaps - merely state that the couple I am referring to was extremely dissatisfied and critical of pretty much the entire experience. Anyone on the DM board is more than welcome to search through the archives if you are curious as to what I am referring to. My point is that all the money and lovely planning sessions in the world won't make a dissatisfied couple happy with their experiences. However, as you were not one of the DM moderators when the incident I am discussing took place, and as I am no longer on the DM board, I fail to see the relevance here.
I hate it when I see posts about people feeling bad about their own weddings, because they aren't able to spend as much in comparison to other brides. It's not the money thrown at Disney that will make your wedding day special, but rather, how happy you are with YOURSELF and your fiance as a couple. If you don't feel the need to impress others by spending a lot of money on a big show, then kudos to you, and I don't think you should ever compare yourself to those who do feel this need. For some people, a big wedding is necessary, but for others, it's just not.
I think that in the rush to praise those who were lucky enough to be selected for this experience, and were lucky enough to receive so many free gifts from Disney, some posters may lose sight of the fact that having more characters or a bigger cake is not going to make your marriage any better or worse. Yes, the wedding day is a lovely, magical day. But it's over, and what's left is your relationship with your husband. Whether you spend $100K or $1K on your wedding, the relationship itself is not going to be any better or worse.
I think that all the brides on here would be wise to keep this in perspective. Yes, it was a TV show, and a few couples were selected to get some free things that Disney wanted to showcase in the show. It's rather random, like winning the lottery - those couples happened to be planning their weddings at the time that the Food Network wanted to create a special on Disney weddings. Had those weddings taken place a year ago, it would have been a different set of couples on the show - it's nothing personal. So, while it's fine to admire what takes place on these elaborate weddings, it's probably for the best if you don't compare your own weddings to the ones shown.
Yes, FantasiaSam, I get your point that money makes things easier, but, again, it doesn't equate to personal happiness. My sister-in-law, who was married in her own backyard, was happier on her wedding day than a friend of mine who had a trust fund created solely for her wedding. The trust fund friend had many family issues going on, that, if I was judging solely by the amount of money spent on her dress and reception, I would never have noticed.
A bit rambling, but I stand by my original position, that no one should feel bad about their wedding in comparison to the more costly weddings. It's a cliche, but you can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't judge a wedding by its total costs. There's too much going on in life to feel the need to compare yourself to others, or to justify your own wedding to others. Each wedding is a personal thing, and should be the most magical day of a woman's life, no matter what the bottom line is.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Firstly Heather I am not a DM moderator I am a DIS moderator.
As a member of the DM board I am sensitive to what I post on that board stays on that board and that it is confidential and I would not it discussed outside of that forum.

Heather you talk about a planning session where the couple in question was disatisfied with their tasting - and I believe on your previous post you mentioned that any bride who got that opporunity to have a wondeful tasting should be grateful - well I was grateful, grateful that I had had the tasting so that I could make a sound judgement on the food that was going to be served at my wedding and if I didn't like something I would tell Disney so that they could put it right which they had to do - this was part of my planning process and a right that Disney had given me in order to make that judgement - If Disney didn't want to open themselves to dissatisfaction from a custom bride at a tasting then they shouldn't offer one in the first place. Personally I also think that every bride whether they are spending a small amount of money on their Disney wedding and just being provided with a cake or a large amount and getting the full monty should have the right to taste the food in advance so that they could check that it is within their taste boundaries. Do you not agree with that ?

I think that in the rush to praise those who were lucky enough to be selected for this experience, and were lucky enough to receive so many free gifts from Disney, some posters may lose sight of the fact that having more characters or a bigger cake is not going to make your marriage any better or worse

Yes, it was a TV show, and a few couples were selected to get some free things that Disney wanted to showcase in the show.

Heather are you insinuating that the couples in the show only decided to do it because of the freebies ?

I would say that I think any sensible person who was in love would not think that having any more characters or a bigger cake woud make their marriage any better or worse - it's the fact that you have to make this point that upsets me because I'm interested to know if you state this because you believe one of the showcased wedding couples to believe that is the case as I must have missed that.

What I am trying to say is yes I agree that if I spent 1k or 100K only me and my honey can make the wedding be about our love for each other and our eternal happiness but regardless of what I spend on a Disney wedding I am still in my right to complain if it is not all it should be so if I did spend 100K on my wedding and things didn't go according to plan and I wasn't happy I still have the right to complain about it, unless ofcourse Disney had got me to sign a confidentiality agreement and given me a sweetner I would also want to share my disatisfaction with other future brides so that in turn their expectations can be managed.

I also standy by my opinion that the Food Network did not show a cheaper Intimate wedding because apart from the cake other food is not part of the package.

 

[hmp2z]

Originally posted by Fantasia Sam
Heather are you insinuating that the couples in the show only decided to do it because of the freebies ?

I am insinuating no such thing - I think the freebies were a nice bonus, and obviously one that any couple should be grateful to receive. Neither you nor I can know every motive that went into the decision of these couples to participate - I'm sure there were plenty of other motives, besides the free things that they would get for participating. I can think of at least one other motive that played a large role in at least one of these couples participating. What I'm not sure about is why you are taking my comments so personally. No one is attacking YOUR wedding, and I think you need to keep that in perspective, instead of trying to scan through my posts, looking for any possible insinuations, and crediting me with motives other than the ones I've stated. As a moderator, I would expect no less from you, and would hope that you would maintain a level of professionalism that I've come to expect from other moderators.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[inloveindisney]

I still think that things are being blown way out of proportion! I read through the posts and I don't see anything that is degrating to anyone. Just remember that computer posts cannot show emotion. I don't think anyone is going to bed at night grubling about that lady who spent 70,000 on her wedding. When someone says that it is a lot of money and they could never spend that, it is because they can't and that is fine. They are just making a comment. I really doubt they were meaning it to hurt anyone.
I feel terrible that this is what has come of such a beautiful thing. why is everyone dwelling on the cost anyway? We all know after reading other posts on this board and researching our own disney weddings that if you get married in Disney, there is a pretty good chance that you are going to spend a lot of money. I just don't see why it is such a suprise.
Also, the reason they didn't show intimate weddings is becasue it was a show on food. The only thing you eat for an intimate is cake. That would be kinda boring right?
I think we should all write-not to food network-but to TLC or something and have them do a show on just weddings and the different options that disney has to offer.
I hope I didn't come off weird to anyone. I am almost afraid to write something in this section because everyone is reading into things way too much.
Let's all smile and dance!!

 

[scarlett873]

Originally posted by inloveindisney
I still think that things are being blown way out of proportion! I read through the posts and I don't see anything that is degrating to anyone. Just remember that computer posts cannot show emotion. I don't think anyone is going to bed at night grubling about that lady who spent 70,000 on her wedding. When someone says that it is a lot of money and they could never spend that, it is because they can't and that is fine. They are just making a comment. I really doubt they were meaning it to hurt anyone.
I feel terrible that this is what has come of such a beautiful thing. why is everyone dwelling on the cost anyway? We all know after reading other posts on this board and researching our own disney weddings that if you get married in Disney, there is a pretty good chance that you are going to spend a lot of money. I just don't see why it is such a suprise.
Also, the reason they didn't show intimate weddings is becasue it was a show on food. The only thing you eat for an intimate is cake. That would be kinda boring right?
I think we should all write-not to food network-but to TLC or something and have them do a show on just weddings and the different options that disney has to offer.
I hope I didn't come off weird to anyone. I am almost afraid to write something in this section because everyone is reading into things way too much.
Let's all smile and dance!!

very well said!!

 

[vettechick99]

Originally posted by inloveindisney
Let's all smile and dance!!

i like that part best!

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Just because I am a moderator Heather does not mean that I am here just to be impartial or sit on a fence I am still entitled to voice my opinion just as you are to yours.

And now I will dance

 

[dallastxcpa]

I would just like to say that while the food is not served with the intimate wedding I have not known of any intimate brides who did not host a dinner of some sort after their wedding. I thought the AKL was an interesting setting, but at the same time that couple did not put as much thought into their reception as many intimate brides do. We had an Illuminations reception with a full buffet dinner. We did favors and decorations for the table and had many little extras for our guests.

 

[bubbaloo311]

Just to clarify - the event at the AKL was a wedding rehearsal dinner - not a Wedding. The couple definately had a custom wedding - as they had at least 40 guests - probably more - at the Jiko dinner. I did thing it was nice that they incorporated their culture/ethnicity into their wedding. Very cool.

 

[bubbaloo311]

Originally posted by inloveindisney
I still think that things are being blown way out of proportion!

Let's all smile and dance!!

Thank you! I certainly smiled and danced at my wedding - celebrating the fact that I had just married my best friend who would hold my hand for the rest of my life, the man who had shared in the planning and preparations for our fairy tale. And it certainly was ours!

Thanks!

 

[inloveindisney]

the jiko thing reminded me that the other day, I believe it was on ABC, there was a special on weddings and this couple got married with an african theme. It was really neat. They had traced their roots and they actually got married on the plantation where their ancestors were slaves. they said that at first it felt uncomfortable because it was such a place of pain, but once they saw it, they knew they couldn't do it anywhere else. They and all of the family members dressed in traditional african wedding attire and had a traditional african ceremony. It was really neat. they had some other weddings stuff on there too, but I found this story to be the most interesting.
since the show was just on this week, it may be replayed sometime. I think it was just called weddings.

 

[ncmvp]

Ann

I can't believe i am actually posting on this board (my daughter is only 16). I loved seeing your wedding on the tv special. Being a big fan of Cinderella all of my life I totally got your pumpkin theme and I loved it! Also being from NY when I heard the $70K for the other wedding I thought it was really cheap LOL! Anyway congratulations to you Ann and to all you Disney Brides I think you are all special Disney Princesses. Now act like Princesses!

 

[ellieb]

Now act like Princesses!

LOL!!!!!!! GOOD ONE!!!!

IM DANCING TOO