LuvLuvLuv's Memories TR Starts Pg 73 - Honeymoon Day 6.1

[mebbradley]

You looked amazing!

 

[mjshorses]

Congratulations!!! You looked gorgeous!!!!

 

[megsters]

Congrats!!!

You both look so happy!!

 

[Sccrmnky2005]

Love your pic! You look stunning! Love your flowers! Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[ladyemz]

Congratulations, you looked stunning! You both look so happy. Enjoy your honeymoon

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I can't put into words how thankful I am to have had all of you behind me through my journey!! It was a crazy one, but I survived!! I was supported more by my DISfriends than I was by our families and friends and I don't

I am home, back to work, and ready to start this!!

I may do some writing and insert pictures when I get them uploaded and am at home.

Ready... Set... Here we go!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Okay! So I left work early the previous day to get my hair fixed, nails done, finish packing, and color my hair. We were done fairly early compared to our rat races on previous trips.

The morning was a bit intense with nerves. I wanted to make sure everything was packed, that all was good.... and his brother shows up 20 minutes early and just wants to get into everything in our house. You can't do anything or think when he is around--he doesn't stop talking or touching stuff. I just wanted him out of the house. I suggested they go to the ATM while I finished getting ready--but he's like.... oh... CVG has ATMs. Ahhhhhh just go! I made them load the truck because I just needed a few extra minutes of peace.

We get to the airport, check our bags, breeze thru security, get some Chik-fil-a for breakfast and wait at the gate. Luckily the 3rd person in our row was a no show and we had some extra space. The lady behind me on the right talked from the time we got on the plane, till the time we got off to the stranger beside her. She was loud and just kept going without a breath for 2 hours. I was wore out just trying to tune her out. I occasionally gave the poor man a look of sympathy. We got off the plane and made our way down to baggage claim. Our town car driver, Steve met us with the name plate. I felt fancy just having someone with my name on the plate looking for me at the airport, lol. He was from Tiffany Town Cars which came recommended on the Transportation Board. The car was beat up on the inside pretty bad, but Steve was so nice that it kind of made me forget about all that. We got to CR in no time and went straight to check in.

I give the lady my ID, I'm all chipper and excited.... and she says.... I see your #1 request is for a King Bed. There is not one King Bed available in the entire Tower. Let's go ahead and get out of the way that DH and I are not small. We have a queen at home and get horrible sleep every night, and I am normally on the couch by 3am. The one part of vacation that I love is being able to enjoy sleeping in the same bed without one of us getting injured or pushed off the side of the bed. So I look at her, like... ummm really? She said the resort was sold out and that she would get me a manager. The manager comes out--says that she will check other resorts if I wanted, or she had a King bed in the Garden Wing. All I kept thinking was Garden Wing = No Castle No Good Pictures No Castle No In-Room Dining During Fireworks. I had her check the other resorts--just to see my options.

She comes back 30 minutes later. She tells me she has a King room available at Carribean Beach. I looked at her like she lost all her marbles. The look on my face could have probably said everything I was thinking which was highly obscene. She said not one deluxe resort had a King Room available except the Garden Wing. At this point, every stress had caught up with me and I was crying hysterically--the type of cry you don't do in public--but I was wide open in the lobby. DH wasn't even mad I was crying He was really nice. I was so undecided about what to do--I just wanted to go home and start over. DH realized we didn't have a dinner since we canceled to do InRoom for fireworks, and we wanted Castle Balcony pictures.... at that point he was frustrated with the CR... not me. So at this point after we voice alllllll the reasons we booked that room, the manager said that the garden room was a deluxe king and was a huge corner room, that we would get $300 back, and she would give us 14th floor CL access for our stay that way we will have full access to offerings, can take pix up there and watch fireworks. The $ and CL sweetened the deal and I started to perk up a bit--apologized for being crazy and went on our way. I just wanted to wash my face--I was a hot mess.

So we get to the Garden Wing. we were on the first corner so we weren't very far in which was great... really close to the tower, pool, etc. The room was huge! Way better than I imagined, and perfect for getting ready for a wedding!! I have to recommend this room for sure--even though I threw a livid fit because I lost out on my castle, lol!! I can't wait to post pix!! We unpacked a bit, got our park stuff together, I washed my face, called all my people with my room number, and we went to start our day. We stopped up to the 14th floor to check it out and introduce ourselves. It was really nice and I liked it better than the YC-CL!

After we checked it all out, we were off to Epcot for our Food and Wine lunch!! Check out my dining report for all that loveliness!! I'm going to get that started this weekend! We had a blast trying everything!!

We left there after eating the entire world and went back to the resort to settle some more. Our In-Room Celebration was set up and was just amazing!! I loved it... DH LOVES his towel! It made the room really magical! We ended up taking a little nap, ordering In-Room Dining which was delish, and went up to the CL lounge for fireworks! When we got up there, everyone knew us and were asking about the wedding, etc---it was awesome! The view was amazing!! After fireworks, it was time for sleep---there was a bigggggg day ahead of us!!

I'll try to get day one pictures up tonight!!

 

[sjs314]

I really am glad you were able to get a King bed and still stay at CR for the convienence. Can not wait to read more and to read your dining report.

 

[PixieDust1969]

Love your picture on the monorail! It is too bad you had all of the disappointment at check-in but so glad it all worked out! Can't wait to read more!

 

[librarygeek]

Sorry you didn't get the room you originally wanted, but it sounds like they really made it up to you! Disney can be awesome sometimes, I'm glad they were so accommodating. It sounds like an awesome room!

 

[elleinad16]

You're coming with me to check in next time I want club level! That was at least a great trade off, glad the manager had the courtesy to offer that to you two. I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE YOUR PICTURES! The teaser is beautiful! Yayyy! (Let's go back to Disney...I miss it already. )

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Oh, I was SO hoping you'd start your TR today! I am SO sorry about your meltdown though. <3 But the room sounds kickbutt! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Jilian]

Woohoo! TR! Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Deena sweetie - Great start!! So glad that you were pleased with your room in the end!!

 

[princess_ariel_85]

Yay! Trip report!

Sorry about your checking in dissapointment but I'm pleased you liked your room in the end.

You look absoultely beautiful in the pic you posted, I really can't wait to see more. xx

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

I really am glad you were able to get a King bed and still stay at CR for the convienence. Can not wait to read more and to read your dining report.

I can't wait to start the food stuff too!! You'll be there soon doing your own castle dance!

Love your picture on the monorail! It is too bad you had all of the disappointment at check-in but so glad it all worked out! Can't wait to read more!

Everything happens for a reason right? Thanks for reading!

Sorry you didn't get the room you originally wanted, but it sounds like they really made it up to you! Disney can be awesome sometimes, I'm glad they were so accommodating. It sounds like an awesome room!

Yay!

You're coming with me to check in next time I want club level! That was at least a great trade off, glad the manager had the courtesy to offer that to you two. I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE YOUR PICTURES! The teaser is beautiful! Yayyy! (Let's go back to Disney...I miss it already. )

Lol... stick with me at check in for sure! I wanna go back too--like right now, lol. Of course that's why I booked for next November yesterday

Oh, I was SO hoping you'd start your TR today! I am SO sorry about your meltdown though. <3 But the room sounds kickbutt! Can't wait to hear more!

I wanted to get a jumpstart! The pictures weren't cooperating with photobucket last night, but I'll try again tonight!

Woohoo! TR! Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

Yay!

Lisa sweetie - Great start!! So glad that you were pleased with your room in the end!!

Thanks!!

Yay! Trip report!

Sorry about your checking in dissapointment but I'm pleased you liked your room in the end.

You look absoultely beautiful in the pic you posted, I really can't wait to see more. xx

Thank you!!! I can't wait to get more up!!!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Well I was going to start the Wedding Day report, but I had trouble with Photobucket last night and didn't get Day One pictures up yet. I figured while it's still fresh that I should do reviews.

Originally being a Wishes Bride, and knowing what Disney is capable of--I still had very high expectations of DFTW. I knew that dropping to Memories would take some attention and care off which I expected. I have very high expectations when I pay someone for a service and expect to get the best care for the money spent. Based on that--you may find my reviews to be harsh--but I'm being 100% honest with my feelings.

I'm going on a scale from 1-10.

Getting Married at Disney: 10
I would never want to get married somewhere else, as this is "our" place. No matter what the disaster, nothing could change the magic of actually getting married on property.

Going Alone: 9.7
Going alone was the easiest and probably best thing for us. There was no family/friends there to cause un-needed drama, we didn't have to spend our vacation hanging out with other people and were able to do what we wanted, and no one to feel uncomfortable around--we could just be ourselves. Aside from that--I had to get in my dress alone, carry a tacky bag around with my "stuff", and missed out on a few digital camera pictures that a guest would have taken. It took me about 10 minutes and a million tries to get the little thing on the top of the dress clasped--but when I finally got it--I felt that if I accomplished that.... the rest of the day would be a breeze

Carolyn Allen's: 10
We had a husband and wife come for his suit and my dress. The guys were talking football, and I was talking plans with the wife. Then I was plucking DH's eyebrows and he was throwing a fit and they were just laughing. We had a good time They came promptly on time at 7:30am. She also recovered my dress so he wouldn't see it. Had we had a regular room--I'm not sure they would have been able to hide it from him. I tipped them and they were very appreciative. I also used their pre-paid service that I faxed in--very easy.

Niki Bryan Hair Services: 10
Prompt, Friendly, Did exactly what I wanted---Very highly recommended. They sent me an email prior to with the invoice so there were no surprises. She was very appreciative of her tip. The hair held up as nicely as it could, even though we were in the wind for 3 straight hours. I can't speak on the makeup part as I did my own.

Photographer Booking: 10
I chose my photographer based upon the amazing communication and customer service when I booked. I loved past weddings and photos that I saw and also liked the economical pricing.

Photographer Pre-Wedding: 4
After the initial booking and payment, there was a span of time. I had been sent the planning pack which needed to be sent in a month previous to the wedding, and was also told there would be a phone conference or two prior to. I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for photos that I wanted, putting them together and printing them out for the planning pack. Writing out what I wanted, and what I didn't want, and I got the pack in promptly on time. I also advised in there that my planner needed him to call her for timing. I never got a call that they recieved it--nothing. As time time for the wedding got closer, I still hadn't heard anything, but being that I've never been married before I didn't know what to expect and didn't want to stalk. Finally a few days before we left, I sent an email asking if they had contacted my planner, if they got my package, and where I needed to call with my room number. I got an email back a couple days later with no mention of them contacting my planner, saying the pack had been recieved and the number to call the day I get my room. No mention of a conference call--so I figured maybe we'd just talk the day I get my room I felt very out of touch at this point which is not what I felt when I booked. When I called with the room number, it was obvious he was tied up with famliy stuff (which I understand), that he scribbled the number on something near by and got me off the phone. So we never got to talk about anything. This made me a little nervous because pictures were so important since we went alone.

Photographer Wedding Day: 6.5
The plan was for him to be in my room at 11am, take photos of the dress and then we had to goooooooo since we had to go to the 14th floor lounge for the pictures. DH was already up there waiting for the "first look". At 11:05, he still wasn't there, I felt a bit of panic. I went ahead and got myself dressed and decided to bypass the hanging dress photos. I was disappointed, but since we only had him for a couple hours, every minute was counting. He arrived at 11:15--I was dressed and ready so we went up to the lounge. We took pictures up there, around the CR, over to the Poly for the ceremony, then the ceremony, then to GF. Here's where the honesty comes in. We took pictures I did not want and missed the vast majority of what I wanted. I did want to let him work his magic, but felt the creativity compared to other photographers was lacking. I didn't want monorail pix, I didn't want a ton of kissing pix as we're a foot apart and I have a stretched out chicken neck and he has to hunch over. You could clearly see the awkwardness after the first one. I felt like 65% of our pictures were instructed to kiss. We spent time waiting for monorails, and the time and energy of what I put together for the vision wasn't even looked at. I wanted photojournalistic pictures and I am not sure that there was even one. Everything was posed like I asked it NOT to be. I also asked a few times for him to contact my planner per her request for timing. That was never done and I had to do the instructing about the other bride in the GF. I also feel like other photographers would stop and say... Deena powder your nose, time for more lipgloss, lets brush your hair. Not one time was this said. I'm fairly certain with all that time in the sun and wind that I was a mess by the time we were at the GF which was the most important to me. I tried to be a good customer and let him direct--so I let the whole thing go and went with what he wanted to do. I'm sure things will come out great. I can never go back and re-create the pictures I wanted that I didn't get. He was truly one of the nicest people I ever met which makes it so hard for me to write all these disappointments. I have been debating on sugarcoating it, but it's all for real--and I am disappointed. Maybe it was an "off day", but it was also my wedding day. He really was so nice, and I feel terrible for not loving my experience. I'm anxiously awaiting my edited pictures to come back. At that point, I will then review those.

Photographer Wedding Photos: 3 (updated 12/19/11)
I recieved the link to my photos. There are 13 photos that I would even consider printing out of the 24 pages of nonsense that I recieved. I would not consider blowing up more than 2 of them bigger than a 4x6. I was fortunate enough back in the day to work with a photo studio as their ambassador, and I'm possibly spoiled by the fact that they wanted the pictures to look great for their benefit. I feel that if a giant piece of hair is in your face or out of place, that they will tell you to fix it, or fix it before they take a ruined picture. If your dress is twisted or not laying properly, they fix it before making a picture look stupid. When I was 19 and took a journalistic photography class we were told if you are taking photos of bigger people that it is more flattering to take from above because taking from below will make them look doubled in size. I try to look at them over and over again once I think I've calmed down--but the truth is that I hate my wedding pictures. I booked my photographer because I saw great things--why the care and creativity wasn't present at my wedding is beyond my understanding. I am honestly too embarrassed to show the link on here. My stepmom wanted us to look at them at my uncles on Xmas, and I told her beyond her and my aunt--NO ONE is to see these pictures--absolutely no one. I am going to buy the CD just so I have it, but I am devastated. I've given it since Friday night and just can't get over it. I just looked them over with our Executive Assistant here. I didn't really want to show them, but wanted to make sure that Dave and I weren't over re-acting. She said there is barely anything usable in there--we agreed on the ones that we liked. DH doesn't want to buy the CD because he said it's a waste of $300--he hates more than I do. Our package was $350 for 3 hours and $300 for the CD--so $650 all together. I wish I would have just dished the money for someone who was going to care about the photos they took. In my planning pack, I asked for a lot of fish eye and black and white, and barely got any of either. I also stated my likes, dislikes and included pictures of what I wanted--I still feel like nothing was even looked at. I even re-read the letter and stuff I sent because it's saved on my PC. Just to make sure I'm not crazy. The pictures of the ceremony are mostly snapshots that looked like a guest would take. The pictures on the blog were really the only edited ones it seemed like. I keep checking the blog and seeing beautiful pictures of other customers, so I guess the magic just wasn't there that day. Although he was a super nice guy--I would recommend someone who photographs Disney more often.

Kathleen - DFTW Planner: 7.5
Kathleen was assigned to me when I dropped to Memories. She was pretty good with responding, getting me my info, advising me when my payment arrived, etc. She gave me advice on flowers, ceremony times, etc. I do wish we spoke about loose ends 2 weeks before and not 1 week before. I was a mess the week before, lol. She was my coordinator the day of, which is not always the case in Memories. She was very nice, but dropped on me upon arrival that Rev Jack was sick (which I feel badly about) and sent Rev Tim instead. Could I not have recieved a phone call prior to? If I'm paying someone, don't you think I should have the right to know before I get to my ceremony? After the ceremony when we went to the GF to take pictures, we were asked by the staff if we were with DFTW and who/where was our planner? We said she was gone. Although we had sent countless emails to Kathleen that we wanted GF pictures, I felt like a criminal trying to get pictures in the resort. I guess she was supposed to notify them I was coming or be with us Why wasn't this done? I was really embarrassed. I do have to say that prior to the wedding she did answer me back in good time and had the answers for me. Based upon other reviews on her, I felt like she was really good with us--but then dropped the ball on the day of.

Rev. Tim Herring: 8.5
Rev. Tim was a really really really nice guy. If it couldn't be Rev. Jack, I'm glad it was him. He was joking with DH, talked to us for a few minutes, took some pictures of us and told us that he was told we wanted a short ceremony and he had one in his folder. Well he didn't have the ceremony I wrote and spent time on. Fortunately I am a control freak and had a copy in my purse. He asked if he could add a reading and I said of course. Since he wasn't familiar with my ceremony he stumbled over several words and phrases which at some points made the sentences make no sense. Would it be different with Rev Jack? Maybe, maybe not. It was more or less that I was caught off guard. I just am not sure I liked how the whole thing was handled. I handed $200 to someone I didn't have contact with prior to, and that I didn't know at all. It was all very unsettling--but still it ended up working out just fine.

Floral: 9
My floral was beautiful. I mean absolutely fantastic. I love love love love loved it. However, they lose a little bit because I would have paid a lot extra to have flowers that I really wanted. I really wanted calla lillies to be incorporated, and I really don't like roses---but I got what I got, and it was beautiful! They even granted my request of my lime green ribbon!

Violinist: 1
This guy pissed me off. I asked for Something There to be played while we were assembling, Walk down to Part of Your World, and A Whole New World to be played immediately after. This was all approved. They had to go back and try to get him twice--finally he came out. Well he didn't play until we walked down which he played about 20 seconds of Part of Your World. He then quit playing. Him and Kathleen stood about 10 feet from us talking while our ceremony was going on. I was more focused on watching them talk so close by us than on my actual ceremony. He didn't play at all during the ceremony which I thought would be nice since it was outside and the background noise would have been nice. I just couldn't believe they were just talking right by us getting married. So after we were announced husband and wife--he stopped his conversation and went back over to his violin (which he should have been ready and playing already--the ceremony was less than 5 minutes long). Everything was over, we were saying goodbye to Rev Tim and wanted to get back to pictures, and he plays When you wish upon a star for like 20 seconds more. He was distracted and wanted to be anywhere else. So he quits playing. I'm like So flame me if you want--but I did not feel that less than a minute of playing, and not doing your job required a tip. Him and Kathleen stood there for a while, like he was awaiting his tip. It was awkward--really awkward. Finally he told us to have a nice life and a long marriage in a rude tone and walked off. He didn't play and he treated my wedding as social hour. I'm sorry but it was rude. I had an envelope for him, but I was mad--and him expecting it was even worse. Had he attempted to do his job, I would have given him the envelope without question.

CR Tower Club Staff: 10
This group when above and beyond to make our stay amazing. They sent us Chocolate Covered Strawberries with a White Chocolate Mickey, Balloons, Sent us a Bottle of Champagne and Chocolate Truffles, knew us by name and everyone knew all about the wedding. They also loaded us up a tray of goodies and drinks for our room since we weren't on the floor. I really want to stay there again--CL for sure!

Memories Package: 7
I do feel like I would have got more attention from a drive thru in Vegas (who would have at least let me pick my flowers and had a musician play a whole song)----but at the same time, the magic of getting married in Disney was uncomparable. They know that. The In-Room Celebration was great! I don't regret using this package--but had I had the extra time to get some funding together--I would have chosen Escape.

DFTW Overall: 6
I had the opportunity to work with DFTW for a long time. We had been in talks with them since early spring 2010. I had been pretty far into Wishes planning, hit quite a few speed bumps there, and got a taste of upper management and the rudeness that comes with that. Yes a Disney Wedding has a ton of magic to it, but the customer service behind it is really lacking the Disney experience. They really need to step it up, especially with all the constuctruction in and out of the parks that will cause trouble for the next couple of years.

I know I was harsh on a lot.... and I'm no longer stressing about any of it. It's done, it was what it was, we are married and happy, and that's all that matters. The magic we recieved from the resorts, the parks and the restaurants was amazing and those are the memories that we'll remember most. In my eyes, marrying the man I love gives the day a 10 no matter what points were lost on other parts. Maybe I should have been pushier on stuff and not so laid back? Either way, I am married and can't wait for my marriage license to come back so I can get the ball rolling on changing my name I'm also really glad we got married this year, as it seems that the next couple years to come will face more challenges with in park and resort construction.

I also hope Rev. Jack is feeling better. If anyone has any info on this, please let me know

Next up.... Wedding Day TR!

 

[MrRomance]

Well I was going to start the Wedding Day report, but I had trouble with Photobucket last night and didn't get Day One pictures up yet. I figured while it's still fresh that I should do reviews.

Originally being a Wishes Bride, and knowing what Disney is capable of--I still had very high expectations of DFTW. I knew that dropping to Memories would take some attention and care off which I expected. I have very high expectations when I pay someone for a service and expect to get the best care for the money spent. Based on that--you may find my reviews to be harsh--but I'm being 100% honest with my feelings.

I'm going on a scale from 1-10.

Getting Married at Disney: 10
I would never want to get married somewhere else, as this is "our" place. No matter what the disaster, nothing could change the magic of actually getting married on property.

Going Alone: 9.7
Going alone was the easiest and probably best thing for us. There was no family/friends there to cause un-needed drama, we didn't have to spend our vacation hanging out with other people and were able to do what we wanted, and no one to feel uncomfortable around--we could just be ourselves. Aside from that--I had to get in my dress alone, carry a tacky bag around with my "stuff", and missed out on a few digital camera pictures that a guest would have taken. It took me about 10 minutes and a million tries to get the little thing on the top of the dress clasped--but when I finally got it--I felt that if I accomplished that.... the rest of the day would be a breeze

Carolyn Allen's: 10
We had a husband and wife come for his suit and my dress. The guys were talking football, and I was talking plans with the wife. Then I was plucking DH's eyebrows and he was throwing a fit and they were just laughing. We had a good time They came promptly on time at 7:30am. She also recovered my dress so he wouldn't see it. Had we had a regular room--I'm not sure they would have been able to hide it from him. I tipped them and they were very appreciative. I also used their pre-paid service that I faxed in--very easy.

Niki Bryan Hair Services: 10
Prompt, Friendly, Did exactly what I wanted---Very highly recommended. They sent me an email prior to with the invoice so there were no surprises. She was very appreciative of her tip. The hair held up as nicely as it could, even though we were in the wind for 3 straight hours. I can't speak on the makeup part as I did my own.

Photographer Booking: 10
I chose my photographer based upon the amazing communication and customer service when I booked. I loved past weddings and photos that I saw and also liked the economical pricing.

Photographer Pre-Wedding: 4
After the initial booking and payment, there was a span of time. I had been sent the planning pack which needed to be sent in a month previous to the wedding, and was also told there would be a phone conference or two prior to. I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for photos that I wanted, putting them together and printing them out for the planning pack. Writing out what I wanted, and what I didn't want, and I got the pack in promptly on time. I also advised in there that my planner needed him to call her for timing. I never got a call that they recieved it--nothing. As time time for the wedding got closer, I still hadn't heard anything, but being that I've never been married before I didn't know what to expect and didn't want to stalk. Finally a few days before we left, I sent an email asking if they had contacted my planner, if they got my package, and where I needed to call with my room number. I got an email back a couple days later with no mention of them contacting my planner, saying the pack had been recieved and the number to call the day I get my room. No mention of a conference call--so I figured maybe we'd just talk the day I get my room I felt very out of touch at this point which is not what I felt when I booked. When I called with the room number, it was obvious he was tied up with famliy stuff (which I understand), that he scribbled the number on something near by and got me off the phone. So we never got to talk about anything. This made me a little nervous because pictures were so important since we went alone.

Photographer Wedding Day: 6.5
The plan was for him to be in my room at 11am, take photos of the dress and then we had to goooooooo since we had to go to the 14th floor lounge for the pictures. DH was already up there waiting for the "first look". At 11:05, he still wasn't there, I felt a bit of panic. I went ahead and got myself dressed and decided to bypass the hanging dress photos. I was disappointed, but since we only had him for a couple hours, every minute was counting. He arrived at 11:15--I was dressed and ready so we went up to the lounge. We took pictures up there, around the CR, over to the Poly for the ceremony, then the ceremony, then to GF. Here's where the honesty comes in. We took pictures I did not want and missed the vast majority of what I wanted. I did want to let him work his magic, but felt the creativity compared to other photographers was lacking. I didn't want monorail pix, I didn't want a ton of kissing pix as we're a foot apart and I have a stretched out chicken neck and he has to hunch over. You could clearly see the awkwardness after the first one. I felt like 65% of our pictures were instructed to kiss. We spent time waiting for monorails, and the time and energy of what I put together for the vision wasn't even looked at. I wanted photojournalistic pictures and I am not sure that there was even one. Everything was posed like I asked it NOT to be. I also asked a few times for him to contact my planner per her request for timing. That was never done and I had to do the instructing about the other bride in the GF. I also feel like other photographers would stop and say... Deena powder your nose, time for more lipgloss, lets brush your hair. Not one time was this said. I'm fairly certain with all that time in the sun and wind that I was a mess by the time we were at the GF which was the most important to me. I tried to be a good customer and let him direct--so I let the whole thing go and went with what he wanted to do. I'm sure things will come out great. I can never go back and re-create the pictures I wanted that I didn't get. He was truly one of the nicest people I ever met which makes it so hard for me to write all these disappointments. I have been debating on sugarcoating it, but it's all for real--and I am disappointed. Maybe it was an "off day", but it was also my wedding day. He really was so nice, and I feel terrible for not loving my experience. I'm anxiously awaiting my edited pictures to come back. At that point, I will then review those.

Photographer Wedding Photos: N/A (Will update)

Kathleen - DFTW Planner: 7.5
Kathleen was assigned to me when I dropped to Memories. She was pretty good with responding, getting me my info, advising me when my payment arrived, etc. She gave me advice on flowers, ceremony times, etc. I do wish we spoke about loose ends 2 weeks before and not 1 week before. I was a mess the week before, lol. She was my coordinator the day of, which is not always the case in Memories. She was very nice, but dropped on me upon arrival that Rev Jack was sick (which I feel badly about) and sent Rev Tim instead. Could I not have recieved a phone call prior to? If I'm paying someone, don't you think I should have the right to know before I get to my ceremony? After the ceremony when we went to the GF to take pictures, we were asked by the staff if we were with DFTW and who/where was our planner? We said she was gone. Although we had sent countless emails to Kathleen that we wanted GF pictures, I felt like a criminal trying to get pictures in the resort. I guess she was supposed to notify them I was coming or be with us Why wasn't this done? I was really embarrassed. I do have to say that prior to the wedding she did answer me back in good time and had the answers for me. Based upon other reviews on her, I felt like she was really good with us--but then dropped the ball on the day of.

Rev. Tim Herring: 8.5
Rev. Tim was a really really really nice guy. If it couldn't be Rev. Jack, I'm glad it was him. He was joking with DH, talked to us for a few minutes, took some pictures of us and told us that he was told we wanted a short ceremony and he had one in his folder. Well he didn't have the ceremony I wrote and spent time on. Fortunately I am a control freak and had a copy in my purse. He asked if he could add a reading and I said of course. Since he wasn't familiar with my ceremony he stumbled over several words and phrases which at some points made the sentences make no sense. Would it be different with Rev Jack? Maybe, maybe not. It was more or less that I was caught off guard. I just am not sure I liked how the whole thing was handled. I handed $200 to someone I didn't have contact with prior to, and that I didn't know at all. It was all very unsettling--but still it ended up working out just fine.

Floral: 9
My floral was beautiful. I mean absolutely fantastic. I love love love love loved it. However, they lose a little bit because I would have paid a lot extra to have flowers that I really wanted. I really wanted calla lillies to be incorporated, and I really don't like roses---but I got what I got, and it was beautiful! They even granted my request of my lime green ribbon!

Violinist: 1
This guy pissed me off. I asked for Something There to be played while we were assembling, Walk down to Part of Your World, and A Whole New World to be played immediately after. This was all approved. They had to go back and try to get him twice--finally he came out. Well he didn't play until we walked down which he played about 20 seconds of Part of Your World. He then quit playing. Him and Kathleen stood about 10 feet from us talking while our ceremony was going on. I was more focused on watching them talk so close by us than on my actual ceremony. He didn't play at all during the ceremony which I thought would be nice since it was outside and the background noise would have been nice. I just couldn't believe they were just talking right by us getting married. So after we were announced husband and wife--he stopped his conversation and went back over to his violin (which he should have been ready and playing already--the ceremony was less than 5 minutes long). Everything was over, we were saying goodbye to Rev Tim and wanted to get back to pictures, and he plays When you wish upon a star for like 20 seconds more. He was distracted and wanted to be anywhere else. So he quits playing. I'm like So flame me if you want--but I did not feel that less than a minute of playing, and not doing your job required a tip. Him and Kathleen stood there for a while, like he was awaiting his tip. It was awkward--really awkward. Finally he told us to have a nice life and a long marriage in a rude tone and walked off. He didn't play and he treated my wedding as social hour. I'm sorry but it was rude. I had an envelope for him, but I was mad--and him expecting it was even worse. Had he attempted to do his job, I would have given him the envelope without question.

CR Tower Club Staff: 10
This group when above and beyond to make our stay amazing. They sent us Chocolate Covered Strawberries with a White Chocolate Mickey, Balloons, Sent us a Bottle of Champagne and Chocolate Truffles, knew us by name and everyone knew all about the wedding. They also loaded us up a tray of goodies and drinks for our room since we weren't on the floor. I really want to stay there again--CL for sure!

Memories Package: 7
I do feel like I would have got more attention from a drive thru in Vegas (who would have at least let me pick my flowers and had a musician play a whole song)----but at the same time, the magic of getting married in Disney was uncomparable. They know that. The In-Room Celebration was great! I don't regret using this package--but had I had the extra time to get some funding together--I would have chosen Escape.

DFTW Overall: 6
I had the opportunity to work with DFTW for a long time. We had been in talks with them since early spring 2010. I had been pretty far into Wishes planning, hit quite a few speed bumps there, and got a taste of upper management and the rudeness that comes with that. Yes a Disney Wedding has a ton of magic to it, but the customer service behind it is really lacking the Disney experience. They really need to step it up, especially with all the constuctruction in and out of the parks that will cause trouble for the next couple of years.

I know I was harsh on a lot.... and I'm no longer stressing about any of it. It's done, it was what it was, we are married and happy, and that's all that matters. The magic we recieved from the resorts, the parks and the restaurants was amazing and those are the memories that we'll remember most. In my eyes, marrying the man I love gives the day a 10 no matter what points were lost on other parts. Maybe I should have been pushier on stuff and not so laid back? Either way, I am married and can't wait for my marriage license to come back so I can get the ball rolling on changing my name I'm also really glad we got married this year, as it seems that the next couple years to come will face more challenges with in park and resort construction.

I also hope Rev. Jack is feeling better. If anyone has any info on this, please let me know

Next up.... Wedding Day TR!

I've been eagerly awaiting your TR!!

We have Rev Tim for our VR, he seems so nice and I'm glad to hear he was good even though he was a last minute stand in.

What did you think of the Luau Beach location??

I think you're absolutely right about the Violinist, if ours stands there chatting during our ceremony, I'll be putting his Violin where the sun doesn't shine! Shame on the planner too for engaging in the conversation.

Sounds like you had a great time at the CR!

We've had the same argument over the floral, it's great to hear that your bouquet was so wonderful though.

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

I love reading reviews--- and your reviews are GREAT!!! Well, the reviews themselves are great, lol. You know what I mean

*I really, truly, just can't believe your violinist acted like that--- and, honestly, it was rude for Kathleen to talk throughout your ceremony too. I know you're over it, but have you thought about complaining? I mean, I suppose in DFTW world the memories package is "cheap," but $2,000 is still a lot of money, no matter what way you look at it, and you really should have gotten what you paid for. Ugh I am so annoyed FOR you.

*And I reallllly hope that your pictures turn out well.

*Oh! Do you think the in-room celebration is worth paying for? I've been debating doing it as a surprise for DF... and as a present for me too!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Mr. Romance: Thanks for reminding me... Luau Beach!!

So Luau Beach was a great location!! It was bright and sunny at 1:00pm--not a lot of resort traffic. It was pretty windy, but I really liked being in the sand, by the water, with the castle in sight!! I'm glad we chose this site! Definately go with comfy shoes (or no shoes) in the sand. I had wedge flip flops and almost fell over a few times There's also a ledge you have to step over to get in the sand, but we walked in together so he was able to help me