figmentfan84
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2006
- Messages
- 104
Hi everyone! My (new!) husband and I were married in a DFTW Escape wedding this past Wednesday, January 16. I never created a planning journal or anything of that nature, but these boards were so helpful to me in our planning process, that I wanted to give back in a small way and share some vendor reviews. I would also be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Since this isnt a planning journal, I thought I would post it on the main boards I hope no one minds!
We had a 10am ceremony at Sea Breeze Point, followed by a reception at The Attic, and an IllumiNations dessert party at Italy Isola West that evening. Although we definitely tempted fate by having a January wedding outside, the weather could not have been more perfect. The catering team even set up our brunch reception on The Attics balcony, which was just fantastic.
My vendor reviews will really be vendor praise, as I cant say a single negative thing about any of them. I wont even post ratings, as they would all earn 10s in our book! This will probably get long-winded, so I apologize in advance!
Planner: Kristin K. Kristin was our wedding superhero! We initially had Vita as our planner, but when she left for a TA, Kristin took over. She was always extremely quick to respond to our emails, and our two phone sessions could not have been more helpful. We had to change our guest count a few times, and she never batted an eye. When we expressed concern about my grandmother and father-in-law needing wheelchairs, she offered some great solutions and was so wonderful on the day of at making sure they were taken care of when we were taking photos and moving everyone to the reception. Our only hiccup during the entire day was with the Mears transportation service to our dessert party. There was a problem with our pickup at Bay Lake Tower, where our minibus didnt show up. Kristin was there to help us even at 7:30 at night, and made some calls to get us on our way. We ended up being 30 minutes late, but the CMs at Epcot were already aware of what had happened. If you have Kristin as your planner, you are in excellent hands! I cant say enough good things about her, and I couldnt imagine our big day without her help.
Officiant: Rev. Kevin Knox What wonderful things can I say about RevKev that havent already been posted? We were able to customize a ceremony to perfectly fit what we wanted, and RevKev performed it flawlessly. He has the perfect blend of humor and professionalism, and even though I saw him for the first time when I walked up the aisle at SBP, I felt like I had known him forever. We had gone over the details with him over the phone a couple nights earlier, but you all know how it goes when youre nervous! He guided us through the ceremony with ease and you instantly knew that this was someone who really had experience and took pride in his work. He is also a true stealth ninja! He had our marriage license ready to go while we were still greeting our guests after the ceremony, and after we thanked him, he was gone with the wind! A class act all the way you will not be disappointed!
Hair & Makeup: LeJeune Hair & Makeup Artistry I never wear makeup (only for special occasions) and I always wear my hair down. Im a simple girl, but Patricia and Andrea made me look amazing for my big day! I literally didnt recognize myself in the mirror. My hair is also very stubborn and wont hold a curl Andrea worked her magic and my hair stayed in place all day, from 7am to 10pm. My makeup also lasted the whole day and just looked amazing I was literally still cleaning mascara and eye liner off last night! I must also note that I never did a trial I wasnt picky about the styling so I trusted them with their expert opinions. I had some sample photos of hairstyles and Andrea was able to take inspiration from them, but also make something that was unique and totally wonderful. Patricia was able to take my request for a natural look and deliver that to perfection. They also did my mom and grandmothers hair and makeup, and my mother in laws makeup. Patricia and Andrea made them look wonderful as well. They were both so sweet and made us instantly feel comfortable, even though this was quite a new experience for all of us! Even at 6am, they were so energetic and ready to go.
Photography: Studio222 Photography Our biggest priority with the wedding was always photography. We do it as a hobby, and knew that we wanted someone who would be able to capture the important moments with a special eye for detail. Becka and Nate are just awesome, and details are their specialty. We had an engagement photo session with them this past November, and although we were nervous at the start, by the end it was as if smooching in front of a camera was commonplace for us! They made us feel at ease instantly. When we saw them on Wednesday, it was like seeing old friends again. Obviously we havent received our wedding photos yet, but I already know we will love them. They were so great about making sure we got all the photos we wanted, especially with our family and friends, and also suggested some really neat ideas that I cant wait to see. We had chosen Becka and Nate based on some past brides who had used them for their SBP wedding, and were so glad we did.
Dessert Party Photography: Ty Since we were using Studio222 for our ceremony and reception, we decided to move our included Escape package photography to the dessert party. We didnt request anyone in particular, so I was pleased to see Ty there, after having read some good reviews here on the boards. Even though we had arrived late, Ty let us know that he had already documented our desserts, which I thought was very thoughtful. Again, obviously its far too soon to have our photos, but Ty was very professional and from the raw images he showed us afterwards, I think we will receive some excellent shots. Ty knew the timing of IllumiNations perfectly (as did we!) and offered up some great ideas for poses. He also made sure to take lots of photos of our guests, and was so patient when we lined everyone up for group shots.
Dress Alterations/Steaming: Carolyn Allens Again, I know Carolyn Allens received overwhelmingly positive reviews here, but I needed to include them here as well. Since we live local, I was able to use them for alterations even though I had purchased my dress from Davids Bridal (I did not trust DB to touch my dress) and then they kept my dress for steaming. I picked it up the day before and it was all set and ready to go. You will not find sweeter people! They did an amazing job shortening my dress I wore flip flops and needed about 4-5 inches taken off. My mom is a quilter and when she looked at the dress when we got it to the hotel, she remarked at how perfect the hem looked. I had the dress steamed at Davids Bridal (it was included as a free service) and it was just okay, but Carolyn Allens steaming was above and beyond excellent.
Floral: Disney Florist Rosie was such a sweetheart during our phone conversation - she was never pushy, listened carefully, and made some great suggestions. My bouquet and my husbands boutonniere were perfect just what we had wanted. We chose the island package but made some minor changes - I added delphiniums and we changed the bout to a calla lily, for example and it was all done flawlessly. The bouquet still looks great 4 days later. We also added the archway floral and tulle, which looked beautiful (still does we took them home with us), floral on our cake, and gel centerpieces for the dessert party.
Food: Disney Catering We went a little crazy with our brunch menu, but looking back on it, we wouldnt have removed a thing. All of our guests, my dad especially, just raved about the food. We even added some of our favorites from various Disney restaurants (Bomas potatoes with Afritude and salad from Kona at our brunch and zebra domes and Sanaas orange sesame cake at our dessert party, for example) and everything was executed wonderfully.
Violinist I wanted to make a quick mention of our violinist. I unfortunately dont even know his name as I met him right before we walked down the aisle and I was kinda freaking out at that point. I had requested One Little Spark for my walk, and he played it so well, I almost started tearing up! When I mentioned that it was probably a very odd request, he said he gets asked to play all kinds of unique songs. Our recessional music was Baroque Hoedown (from MSEP) and then he played a medley of Disney songs while we greeted our guests and took photos.
We did a lot of DIY projects for our wedding, which really helped keep costs down and made it very personal. My mom is a quilter, my husband and I are graphic designers, and my mom and I love crafts, so it really worked out well. All in all, we made our save the dates, invitations, veil, ring pillow, fabric flower boutonnieres for all of our guests, ribbon wands, bouquet charm (with Figment, naturally), and paper flower centerpieces which also served as favors. It took a lot of work, but everyone seemed to love our little details, and we had so much fun doing it. Im a little sad its all over I need some new projects!
Well, if youve made it this far, I appreciate it and hope that its as helpful to you all as these boards were helpful to me! If I left off anything or if there are any questions I can answer, just let me know!
We had a 10am ceremony at Sea Breeze Point, followed by a reception at The Attic, and an IllumiNations dessert party at Italy Isola West that evening. Although we definitely tempted fate by having a January wedding outside, the weather could not have been more perfect. The catering team even set up our brunch reception on The Attics balcony, which was just fantastic.
My vendor reviews will really be vendor praise, as I cant say a single negative thing about any of them. I wont even post ratings, as they would all earn 10s in our book! This will probably get long-winded, so I apologize in advance!
Planner: Kristin K. Kristin was our wedding superhero! We initially had Vita as our planner, but when she left for a TA, Kristin took over. She was always extremely quick to respond to our emails, and our two phone sessions could not have been more helpful. We had to change our guest count a few times, and she never batted an eye. When we expressed concern about my grandmother and father-in-law needing wheelchairs, she offered some great solutions and was so wonderful on the day of at making sure they were taken care of when we were taking photos and moving everyone to the reception. Our only hiccup during the entire day was with the Mears transportation service to our dessert party. There was a problem with our pickup at Bay Lake Tower, where our minibus didnt show up. Kristin was there to help us even at 7:30 at night, and made some calls to get us on our way. We ended up being 30 minutes late, but the CMs at Epcot were already aware of what had happened. If you have Kristin as your planner, you are in excellent hands! I cant say enough good things about her, and I couldnt imagine our big day without her help.
Officiant: Rev. Kevin Knox What wonderful things can I say about RevKev that havent already been posted? We were able to customize a ceremony to perfectly fit what we wanted, and RevKev performed it flawlessly. He has the perfect blend of humor and professionalism, and even though I saw him for the first time when I walked up the aisle at SBP, I felt like I had known him forever. We had gone over the details with him over the phone a couple nights earlier, but you all know how it goes when youre nervous! He guided us through the ceremony with ease and you instantly knew that this was someone who really had experience and took pride in his work. He is also a true stealth ninja! He had our marriage license ready to go while we were still greeting our guests after the ceremony, and after we thanked him, he was gone with the wind! A class act all the way you will not be disappointed!
Hair & Makeup: LeJeune Hair & Makeup Artistry I never wear makeup (only for special occasions) and I always wear my hair down. Im a simple girl, but Patricia and Andrea made me look amazing for my big day! I literally didnt recognize myself in the mirror. My hair is also very stubborn and wont hold a curl Andrea worked her magic and my hair stayed in place all day, from 7am to 10pm. My makeup also lasted the whole day and just looked amazing I was literally still cleaning mascara and eye liner off last night! I must also note that I never did a trial I wasnt picky about the styling so I trusted them with their expert opinions. I had some sample photos of hairstyles and Andrea was able to take inspiration from them, but also make something that was unique and totally wonderful. Patricia was able to take my request for a natural look and deliver that to perfection. They also did my mom and grandmothers hair and makeup, and my mother in laws makeup. Patricia and Andrea made them look wonderful as well. They were both so sweet and made us instantly feel comfortable, even though this was quite a new experience for all of us! Even at 6am, they were so energetic and ready to go.
Photography: Studio222 Photography Our biggest priority with the wedding was always photography. We do it as a hobby, and knew that we wanted someone who would be able to capture the important moments with a special eye for detail. Becka and Nate are just awesome, and details are their specialty. We had an engagement photo session with them this past November, and although we were nervous at the start, by the end it was as if smooching in front of a camera was commonplace for us! They made us feel at ease instantly. When we saw them on Wednesday, it was like seeing old friends again. Obviously we havent received our wedding photos yet, but I already know we will love them. They were so great about making sure we got all the photos we wanted, especially with our family and friends, and also suggested some really neat ideas that I cant wait to see. We had chosen Becka and Nate based on some past brides who had used them for their SBP wedding, and were so glad we did.
Dessert Party Photography: Ty Since we were using Studio222 for our ceremony and reception, we decided to move our included Escape package photography to the dessert party. We didnt request anyone in particular, so I was pleased to see Ty there, after having read some good reviews here on the boards. Even though we had arrived late, Ty let us know that he had already documented our desserts, which I thought was very thoughtful. Again, obviously its far too soon to have our photos, but Ty was very professional and from the raw images he showed us afterwards, I think we will receive some excellent shots. Ty knew the timing of IllumiNations perfectly (as did we!) and offered up some great ideas for poses. He also made sure to take lots of photos of our guests, and was so patient when we lined everyone up for group shots.
Dress Alterations/Steaming: Carolyn Allens Again, I know Carolyn Allens received overwhelmingly positive reviews here, but I needed to include them here as well. Since we live local, I was able to use them for alterations even though I had purchased my dress from Davids Bridal (I did not trust DB to touch my dress) and then they kept my dress for steaming. I picked it up the day before and it was all set and ready to go. You will not find sweeter people! They did an amazing job shortening my dress I wore flip flops and needed about 4-5 inches taken off. My mom is a quilter and when she looked at the dress when we got it to the hotel, she remarked at how perfect the hem looked. I had the dress steamed at Davids Bridal (it was included as a free service) and it was just okay, but Carolyn Allens steaming was above and beyond excellent.
Floral: Disney Florist Rosie was such a sweetheart during our phone conversation - she was never pushy, listened carefully, and made some great suggestions. My bouquet and my husbands boutonniere were perfect just what we had wanted. We chose the island package but made some minor changes - I added delphiniums and we changed the bout to a calla lily, for example and it was all done flawlessly. The bouquet still looks great 4 days later. We also added the archway floral and tulle, which looked beautiful (still does we took them home with us), floral on our cake, and gel centerpieces for the dessert party.
Food: Disney Catering We went a little crazy with our brunch menu, but looking back on it, we wouldnt have removed a thing. All of our guests, my dad especially, just raved about the food. We even added some of our favorites from various Disney restaurants (Bomas potatoes with Afritude and salad from Kona at our brunch and zebra domes and Sanaas orange sesame cake at our dessert party, for example) and everything was executed wonderfully.
Violinist I wanted to make a quick mention of our violinist. I unfortunately dont even know his name as I met him right before we walked down the aisle and I was kinda freaking out at that point. I had requested One Little Spark for my walk, and he played it so well, I almost started tearing up! When I mentioned that it was probably a very odd request, he said he gets asked to play all kinds of unique songs. Our recessional music was Baroque Hoedown (from MSEP) and then he played a medley of Disney songs while we greeted our guests and took photos.
We did a lot of DIY projects for our wedding, which really helped keep costs down and made it very personal. My mom is a quilter, my husband and I are graphic designers, and my mom and I love crafts, so it really worked out well. All in all, we made our save the dates, invitations, veil, ring pillow, fabric flower boutonnieres for all of our guests, ribbon wands, bouquet charm (with Figment, naturally), and paper flower centerpieces which also served as favors. It took a lot of work, but everyone seemed to love our little details, and we had so much fun doing it. Im a little sad its all over I need some new projects!
Well, if youve made it this far, I appreciate it and hope that its as helpful to you all as these boards were helpful to me! If I left off anything or if there are any questions I can answer, just let me know!
Too many decisions to make and so difficult when I can't even call to book until May! Will keep myself busy on here until then 
