If you were married at Disney...

[cheerbearsmiles]

We were married in a Memories wedding on Luau Beach on April 21, 2012.

There are only two things that could've made my wedding better:

Extending the trip by a few days to have some pre-wedding park time. We arrived Thursday, spent Friday with friends at Epcot/Boardwalk for our "engagement" photoshoot (our friend's husband took photos that night and during the wedding) Saturday was the wedding, and Sunday we left for our honeymoon on the Dream.

Having a "goodbye" breakfast the morning we left. We weren't scheduled to leave for the cruise until 11, but hubby is an early riser (so therefore, I am an early riser, although I could have easily slept until 10 and still have made the bus), so we were up by 8:30 and in the lobby by 9:15, where we just waited and chatted with the DVC guy until it was time to board the bus. I wish we could've spent that time either asleep or with the aforementioned friends who flew in from Wisconsin for our wedding (coincidentally, it was the first time we'd actually met them in person).

I DO NOT regret:

Packing a small suitcase inside my larger suitcase to fill up with things that we would accrue during the course of the 3 days we were in WDW for (but didn't want to bring on the cruise with us--namely, the things from our in-room celebration). I gave that suitcase to two friends who drove down from NJ for the wedding, and they brought them home for me. These same wonderful ladies did my hair and makeup for the ceremony so I didn't have to do it myself (which is good, because they made me look better than I could have on my own).

Declaring my wedding "casual" and buying blue slip-on sneakers to coordinate with my wedding dress--they looked super cute and were extremely comfortable for the rest of our time in the parks/on the cruise.

Having one of our wedding guests be a mutual friend whose sole responsibility was to photograph the wedding. In exchange for his airfare, he took pictures the night before the wedding, during the wedding, and in the parks after the wedding. His pictures are a million times better than Disney's were--they didn't seem forced or posed like the Disney ones did.

Allowing our friend (who was a CM in concierge at POR: FQ at the time) to spoil us--we ended up getting upgraded to an MK view room, getting real flower welcome leis, and chocolate-covered strawberries in our room over the course of our 3-day vacation.

Finally, I wish I had strengthened my wrists a bit prior to the wedding--my bouquet was friggin' heavy!!

My advice is once you're in Disney, enjoy your wedding. Don't spend time stressing about the what if's--what's going to be is going to be, and there's no point in worrying about it. For example: my wedding day was predicted to have rain, high winds, and even tornadoes. It ended up being slightly overcast for our ceremony, which was perfect because it meant I didn't have to squint at my husband, and then the sun came out at lunch and it was a gorgeous day.

 

[aristocatz]

...looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

Was there any expenditure that you would take back if you could?
Was there any expenditure you would add/spend more on?

What is your BEST advice for a to-be Disney Bride?

Thanks in advance!

We got married at the Swan, but had alot of the same elements that DFTW brides have.

I have no regrets on anything we booked for the actual wedding. It was a perfect day The only regret I have was related to our honeymoon. We did a split-stay of Poly & WL. If I could have gone back, I would have stayed at the Poly the entire time-maybe even splurged a bit more and stayed in a Poly suite.

I guess if we had a higher budget, I would have loved to have had a confetti cannon for our exit from the ceremony/entrance to the cocktail hour. We opted for bagged rose petals, due to our budget, and they were nice, but the confetti cannon would have shown up better in pictures.

My only other regret is I wish we had videotaped Illuminations the night of our DP. My BIL was kind enough to video the finale, which I am so grateful for, but I would have loved to have had the entire show on video for that night.

My biggest advice for any bride to be would be-on your wedding day, don't sweat the small stuff. Things might go wrong, there might be errors in flowers or food, don't let it ruin your day-these things are so insignificant. You are about to marry your best friend, your soulmate. You do NOT want to look back on your wedding day and have memories of being annoyed or angry. You want to have memories of happiness and bliss.

 

[bigr3ddog]

We got married at the Swan, but had alot of the same elements that DFTW brides have. I have no regrets on anything we booked for the actual wedding. It was a perfect day The only regret I have was related to our honeymoon. We did a split-stay of Poly & WL. If I could have gone back, I would have stayed at the Poly the entire time-maybe even splurged a bit more and stayed in a Poly suite. I guess if we had a higher budget, I would have loved to have had a confetti cannon for our exit from the ceremony/entrance to the cocktail hour. We opted for bagged rose petals, due to our budget, and they were nice, but the confetti cannon would have shown up better in pictures. My only other regret is I wish we had videotaped Illuminations the night of our DP. My BIL was kind enough to video the finale, which I am so grateful for, but I would have loved to have had the entire show on video for that night. My biggest advice for any bride to be would be-on your wedding day, don't sweat the small stuff. Things might go wrong, there might be errors in flowers or food, don't let it ruin your day-these things are so insignificant. You are about to marry your best friend, your soulmate. You do NOT want to look back on your wedding day and have memories of being annoyed or angry. You want to have memories of happiness and bliss.

If it makes you feel any better, illuminations videos are very difficult because the fireworks are both low and high and the camera can't catch everything. I've tried.

 

[Reizo]

Just to reiterate what some have already said, the biggest advice to give is to Plan, plan and plan like many do here on Dis anyway and never be afraid to ask questions. The biggest rule is for brides to relax and enjoy the moment and this is coming from a former groom here lol.

I do think that hiring an outside photographer is the best thing to do regarding DFTW (thanks Randy Chapman!) because it just works out so much better but I think doing the EpCot bridal shoot turned out to be very fun and although we didn't opt for videography, it's fun to look at photos today reliving the whole event