Escape Brides..BEWARE!!!!!!

[Lilacs chosen]

I'm soory your wedding wasen't all it should have been. and this really worries me now as were planning on having a wishes wedding in Dec or Jan. I'm really getting freaked out now omg I just can't imagine. Vicki

 

[tommymomo]

I am really sorry that your wedding didnt live up to your expectations. I have to say though, some of the problems seem a little manufactured. I am not looking to pick this apart, and by no mean am I trying to defend the disney wedding planners, as I have had my own issues with them. However I have a few questions that were left out of the details.

1-Who calls the bride to go and get them breakfast the morning of her wedding? thats what a best man or a maid of honor if for. and that made you 1.5 hrs behind schedule?

2-I understand the the weather moved your ceremony inside, but you have at the most 18 guests, if you noticed they werent there, why did you start? why didnt one of the guests go to where it originally was to bring them in, or wait by the front desk to direct them?

3- you asked for certain shots and the photographer didnt take them? While he may have been lost, couldnt you have grabed him and tell him to take those shots? and if i read it right, your friend as a wedding gift was there to shoot the wedding? might explain why he didnt take them, thought the other one did and since you didnt say anything...

4-I understand that certain people need to be seperated,and I certainly have the same issue at my upcoming wedding, but with such a small guest list they are going to be together no matter what. If they cant get along, they shouldnt have been there. I told my parents point blank, if you cant get along for one day, dont come. also when is there assigned seating at a ceremony? if they dont like each other sit on the other side of the room.

5-yes, the waiter should have brought you chiars, and I find it odd that they set a place setting with out them, but this really shouldnt have ruined dinner. Grab a chair from another table or walk up to the front and get a mgr , and really, that guest was going to leave?? Some friend they are.

6- IF your planner is no where to be found,go get them. Francs is ont he grounds of the GF.

7- The floral not showing up is a strange one for me? According to our BEO, the bouquet is be delivered almost 2hrs before the ceremony. If you didnt get your bouquet why didnt someone call? again, you hired 2 florists?

8- Are you really telling us that the planner is rushing your ceremony? seems odd, but if if they did, say no and move on.

I appologize for picking this apart, and i am not trying to pile on here, but these types of posts make every future bride(mine included) even more nevous than they already are. It just seems to me while yes the planner should have been more on top of things, some of the problems could have been fixed by yourselves as well.

I am sure I will be beaten up over this post, and that is eveyones right to do.

I wish you nothing but happiness on your honeymoon.

 

[wendy46001]

1-Who calls the bride to go and get them breakfast the morning of her wedding? thats what a best man or a maid of honor if for. and that made you 1.5 hrs behind schedule?

I'm also going to agree with tommymomo on this one
I'm sorry you had so many issues but this one stands out

Why did you even deal with this???

I would have simply said it’s my wedding day and then hung up

 

[KStarfish82]

I have to agree with some of Tommymomo's statements as well. I think some very valid questions have been brought up. But I also think there are always two sides to every story.

I hope that you have documented everything that happened and definitely lodge a complaint if you feel the need. Hopefully Disney will accommodate you in some way.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your honeymoon!!!!

 

[kmg148]

This stuff always makes me worried about thinking of spending $10,000 on an escape wedding!

 

[TootWhistlePlunkBoom]

[...] but these types of posts make every future bride(mine included) even more nevous than they already are.

Haven't you made numerous references on these boards to your own issues with DFTW? Including a topic about problems with your coordinator?

I admit the breakfast thing is a bit irrelevant, but, if nothing else, I find it absurd that guests couldn't be properly directed to a rain location.

 

[tommymomo]

Haven't you made numerous references on these boards to your own issues with DFTW? Including a topic about problems with your coordinator?

You are 100% right, I did have problems with my coordinator, and as you can see I said that right at the top of my reply.

I am not looking to pick this apart, and by no mean am I trying to defend the disney wedding planners, as I have had my own issues with them. .

 

[Tink&PirateMama]

Oh, it just makes me so angry to read this!

I was married at WDW earlier this year, and it was a ridiculously unprofessional disaster. I haven't even had a single photo printed, as I can't think of our wedding without feeling absolutely sick to my stomach and crying.

They just blew off our complaints afterward.

If it's any consolation, we had a Wishes event, so I don't think it's about the amount of money you throw at them.

I'm so sorry to both the OP and Tootwhistleplunkboom! Reading the above made me feel terrible for you. How awful to feel that way!! I hope you both are able to find peace with this

 

[aduck126]

im sure if you make a big enough fuss you will get some type of freebie

 

[momplus3]

I just had to repond to this. We were married on September 16, 2009 at SBP and we had an Escape wedding as well. It was absolutely wonderful! Amy was our coordinator and she was absolutely amazing. All of the flowers were waiting for us when we arrived (first my husband at 9:15, then me at (9:30). My flowers (the tropical bouquet option) was GORGEOUS and all of the changes that I asked for (flower colors and 6 crystal Mickeys) were exactly as I asked. My Disney photographer Ty was really great. He took shots of me inside the resort before the ceremony before the ceremony, took many shots during the ceremony and spent at least and hour after the ceremony taking pictures - he asked us what shots we wanted and had many suggestions of pictures to take. Our cake was amazing (we had the one with gold Mickeys) and the waiter who helped with serving made sure my kids had enough soda and that the water station was filled. The violionist even helped set up or sand ceremony - and he was a great musician as well (he played blue grass music during the cake part for my dad). And kudos for Rev. Kevin Knox - the ceremony was just as we wanted!

I just want other brides to know that even though you don't spend top dollar on upgrades (ours were a total of $100!), an Escape wedding can be a gorgeous and wonderful event!

FYI - you should receive your proofs on a website 3 weeks after your wedding - there was a notice in the bag that our planner gave us after the wedding. You will be notified by e-mail.

 

[29apr00]

I have to agree with everything Tommymomo said. As an Escape Bride, wouldn't you have been responsible for setting up your reception dinner at Boma on your own? And Boma is a buffet, right? is there a private room there or did you just book a group reservation in the restaurant? I can't see how the restaurant's inability to have a proper table for your guests in any fault of the wedding planner.

 

[Lorelei528]

WOW!
I have been on these boards (this forum) for about 1 1/2 years now and I have never heard of these types of numerous problems!
I also have to agree with Tommymomo on a few things.

Also, I was an Escape bride on May 1, 2009 and my co-ordinator told me they decide first thing in the morning if they need to move a SBP ceremony inside due to any possible weather problems.

I don't know who your co-ordinator was and it seems like many of the issues were co-ordinator related. That being said, the title of the OP certainly isn't fair to any future Escape brides.
I don't know how these problems occurred to Donaldsgirl, and I am so truly sorry she feels Disney did not deliver the magic on her wedding day, but I am only one Escape bride whose day really went off perfectly, seamlessly and really without problem. Probably the only thing I can complain about was the wrong bouquet was given to me for our MK and EPCOT shoot that morning, but as soon as I got in touch with my coordinator after the shoot I was rest assured it would be fixed and when I was met in the BW lobby by Tanis my coordinator, the bouquet brought the first tears of the day to my eyes. I was also assured that the situation with the CM from the Floral team who had brought my flowers was taken care of....

Again, I can say I can stand behind my Escape Coordinator 110%. Tanis was mine and she was AMAZING.

I would also ask, did you feel like were you able to build any sort of relationship with your coordinator during your planning? It sounds like a real disconnect in your case. If you felt (like some have, including tommymomo) that your coordinator was not on top of things during the planning, you always could have gotten in touch with a supervisor during that time as well.
What did your coordinator say when you pointed out the mistake in the SBP floral? Did she/he apologize at all?

Again, I'm so sorry you were not happy with the way your Disney wedding turned out. I really hope when you present them with all your backup, they do something to compensate you.

Keep us posted!

 

[PrincessShea]

Wow. First of all I am sorry that you had so many problems. I assume you have the BEO and everything in your email, so when you get home you need to fax that to whoever and raise hell about not getting the things you paid for and arranged for in advance.

I know personally for me, every minute detail of my escape wedding was outlined in my BEO...that includes all the floral and details down to how the chairs were supposed to be arranged. If that wasn't followed, you need to be compensated.

I am confused though as to how you were able to get outside floral as I was under the impression that was not possible for outdoor weddings (with the exception of personal things like bouquets).

 

[dakcp2001]

I am sorry that things did not go as planned! For the amount of money that goes to a Disney wedding, I would hope they would have a handle on things and keep things moving.

Can you at least tell us what went right? There must have been something good, like the vows and your new hubby

It is normal for one or two small things to go wrong, but sounds like you had quite a few. I would be dissapointed as well! I think if the resteraunt knows how many guests you are having, they should have enough chairs, perhaps they got the guest count without including the bride and groom? No flowers is a major problem!!!! Guests not getting directed to the correct rain back up is a major problem, and I think it is unreasonable that the bride should have to count the guests before she walks down the aisle, someone else should be handling that. Sounds like the coordinator dropped the ball.

Who was the coordinator and bad photographer? Get there names, at least then you can save other brides from the same fate, and they will get the recognition they deserve for how your wedding turned out.

Try not to dwell on the bad, but definately make sure you get what you paid for or get a refund. But you have no choice but ti pick up the pieces and ENJOY your honeymoon. Do not let one bad day turn into a honeymoon of angry feelings.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Just wanted to chime in and say that all the instructions on how to view your photos is in your BEO

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

I'm confused. Technically the dinner and flowers had nothing to do with Disney weddings right? Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[honey2741]

I am sorry to hear about your disappointment and the experience you went through. However, I am always glad to hear of such experiences because no matter whether people agree or not, the truth of the matter it helps any bride to stay on top of details and to just be mindful of what's going. Kudos for posting this thread. I appreciate it!

 

[meryll83]

So sorry you had a stressful day!

Is it standard not to have a co-ordinator onsite for an Escape wedding?

 

[honey2741]

So sorry you had a stressful day!

Is it standard not to have a co-ordinator onsite for an Escape wedding?

What I was told by my WC is that once the Escape wedding/champagne celebration is over, the Coordinator leaves. It doesn't matter if you have a meal or private dinner set up elsewhere. That isn't a part of the package.

 

[meryll83]

What I was told by my WC is that once the Escape wedding/champagne celebration is over, the Coordinator leaves. It doesn't matter if you have a meal or private dinner set up elsewhere. That isn't a part of the package.

Okay, that makes sense.
And at what time do they arrive before the ceremony? I just realised I don't actually know what to expect from a co-ordinator at all, but having read the OP's problems, I figured I should know this stuff really!!