Our 12.12.12 S&D Wedding... *Update!* I BOUGHT MY DRESS!! :-)

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi sweetie!!
I can highly recommend both Christine and Heather!!!
Christine charged us $375.00 (I think), for her services at the West Courtyard last May and was worth every penny!!!
Heather at It's Tasty is wonderful and nailed my vision of the cake perfectly with very little direction!!!
Both were absolutely wonderful to work with!!!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Your story is so sweet! What a lovely little family. I'm sorry your parents aren't being as supportive as you'd hoped.

 

[belle2211]

I second (or maybe its third by now) on both Beaute Special and It's Tasty Too. I used Beaute Special (Jackie) for my engagement photos, wedding, and MK Bridal Shoot. She's great! And I had Its Tasty Too do my groomscake. I'm local so I got to go cake tasting several places around town and I can honestly say that their flavors were the best (and the best price too). Plus she make the grooms cake EXACTLY what I wanted! You won't go wrong with them!

 

[DarkPhant0m]

So my mom talked to me the other day about the wedding. She wanted details about when we were going down, coming back, what they needed to pay for, and who all was coming. They were very supportive and I think they're excited to be going back to Disney. At least it seemed that way! My MOH yelled at me for not telling them sooner, knowing they would be fine with it, but I'm glad I waited until I had all my little ducks in a row and I was prepared to defend myself if necessary. I just wasn't prepared for them to be supportive lol! But I'm glad that it's all finally out in the open and we can just move on with the planning. They said they were coming, so at least I know I will have 3 people in the seats watching the ceremony

I submitted my deposit for Beaute Speciale yesterday for 2 hair and 2 make-up services. She also has me down for tattoo cover-up and she did warn me about how easy it is to transfer the make-up to a dress. And that it was VERY hard to remove if it got on there. That's something to think about. I told her to leave it on the contract for now and if I change my mind she will take it off later. And she also said that she put us down for 9am to noon. ??? This really threw me off! Here's the run down of how I had the day planned:

Have my hair and make-up going around 11am.
Photographer shows up at noon.
I'm dressed and out the door at 1:30pm.
Take photos at 2-3 different resorts until 3pm.
Get to Swan by 3:30pm.
Ceremony at 4pm.
Pictures around Swan after ceremony until 6pm.
Dinner (TBD) at 6:30pm.

I guess hair and make-up is just going to take a lot longer than I had planned. I guess that also means no sleeping in for me lol!!

I'm going to contact the bakery today and the harpist and see what I can find out. I'm feeling really under the weather, so I don't feel like doing much. Hopefully I get to feeling better soon so I can go try on dresses next weekend! I'm excited, but dreading it at the same time! My next task is deciding where to stay. I think I'm going to need lots of help figuring that out!

 

[DarkPhant0m]

Ok, I need help. I'm turning to my trusty friends here because I know of no one else who can help me with my dilema. I don't know where to stay at Disney!

So, we know that we can only afford to stay at a Value resort and we can only stay for about a week (Dec 8th - 15th), basically. BUT, the rooms in the Value Resorts are so tiny! And I really, really, really don't want my "getting prepped" pictures to be cheesy comforters and 10 girls crammed into an itty bitty living space all trying to do 1,000 different things! I really want to stay at the CBR (I hope I get my acronyms right, I'm still learning lol) but I don't think we can afford that either and I know the rooms are still on the small side. And if I do stay there, I would want the Pirates themed room (who wouldn't?! ) and I REALLY don't want my pictures taken with me sitting on a pirate ship bed!

So my next thought was "What if we try and rent points from someone for DVC?" I know I've seen people do it before and I know there is a whole board dedicated to doing that. I've been lurking around on there, trying to figure it all out. But it's so confusing!!! This is how I understand it: People have these extra points to "use or loose" (I'm guessing) so they put them out there for people to rent. The owner of the points is the one who makes the reservations for the renter and then the renter pays the owner directly? I'm not too sure about that part yet. I looked at a few of the charts that they have available on the board and I was looking at OKW and BWV since they were simililar in points per night and the cost per point. I liked the thought of staying at BWV since then we wouldn't have to drive to the S/D for the ceremony. We could just take pictures along the way and walk our way over. BUT the artsy side of me really wants pictures at places like the Poly, CBR (from what I've seen the outside is beautiful!), maybe the Boardwalk, and if I can sneak it in, the GF (doubtful, but worth a shot).

Back to my original point. If I do my math correctly, and I'm probably not, am I correct in saying that a week at either OKW or BWV would only be about $836? (not including tax, etc) 76 points a week @ about $11 per point? Is that right?! Or am I totally missing something? I mean, what's the catch!?

And while I'm sitting here going bonkers trying to figure this all out, I may have just solved my photography problem?! If we stayed at OKW, then drove to CBR (I really don't want to drive anywhere in my dress! ), took pictures, drove to the Boardwalk, took pictures and walked (?) to the Swan. Have our Ceremony, then drive to the GF, do a few pictures there (or eliminate it completely) then go to the Poly and finish off pictures and then have dinner there?! What's there to eat at the Poly? lol Remember, no reception, just about 10-12 people having a nice dinner. Characters wouldn't be bad either. I don't mind cheating a little for some cute snapshots of me in my dress with some characters! lol

Gahhhhhhh! I am stressing about this so bad! Heck, planning the actual wedding has been a breeze compared to this!!! Can someone please help me? Advice would be so greatly appreciated right now! I just need to figure out where to stay I guess. I want the day to flow smoothly and I just need a little help figuring out how to get from place to place and squeeze it all in. Help!

 

[2dogmom]

And while I'm sitting here going bonkers trying to figure this all out, I may have just solved my photography problem?! If we stayed at OKW, then drove to CBR (I really don't want to drive anywhere in my dress! ), took pictures, drove to the Boardwalk, took pictures and walked (?) to the Swan. Have our Ceremony, then drive to the GF, do a few pictures there (or eliminate it completely) then go to the Poly and finish off pictures and then have dinner there?! What's there to eat at the Poly? lol Remember, no reception, just about 10-12 people having a nice dinner. Characters wouldn't be bad either. I don't mind cheating a little for some cute snapshots of me in my dress with some characters! lol

I can't comment on points since I know nothing about them. I am doing something kind of similar with pictures. I am staying BC, then taking the boat to the Swan for the ceremony/cake, then back to BC, then driving over to Poly. From there we are going to take the monorail around the resort loop. Not sure if we will stop for pictures all along the way, or just get monorail ones. We are having dinner at Ohanas which is one of our favorite restaurants. There are no characters for dinner. We are also going to watch Wishes from the beach there. Another restaurant there is Kona Cafe that is really good.

 

[DarkPhant0m]

I can't comment on points since I know nothing about them. I am doing something kind of similar with pictures. I am staying BC, then taking the boat to the Swan for the ceremony/cake, then back to BC, then driving over to Poly. From there we are going to take the monorail around the resort loop. Not sure if we will stop for pictures all along the way, or just get monorail ones. We are having dinner at Ohanas which is one of our favorite restaurants. There are no characters for dinner. We are also going to watch Wishes from the beach there. Another restaurant there is Kona Cafe that is really good.

Thanks for the info! We are counter service/food court penny pinchers, so we only treated ourselves to one sit down meal the last time we were there. We haven't ventured into the world of food at Disney yet, lol! DF and I pulled up Ohana's and Kona Cafe last night and checked out the menus. Everything sounds awesome, but I don't know how the rest of the party would feel about the food. We've decided to have at least one meal at Ohanas while we're down there, but it won't be for our wedding dinner.

Which brings me back to what to do for the wedding day and the photography. We decided to eat at Il Mulino after the wedding ceremony. It's pasta and you can't go wrong with pasta! I know that everyone will be able to find something to eat there! So, since Il Mulio is at the Swan, I decided to just do pictures at CBR and the Poly since those are the two I want the most. I figure we will have about 2 1/2 hours to get pictures at both places and have time to get to the Swan. Then we'll just do pictures around the Swan with the kids after the ceremony, before dinner. Can you walk to the Boardwalk from the Swan?? I thought about doing pictures there with the kids, but if we can't walk there I'll forget about it. Heck, my 3 1/2 year old might not even cooperate for pictures lol!

So now I just need to figure out this whole DVC point renting thing! I still think there's some sort of catch or something that I'm missing. I pulled up a standard reservation online last night for us and the two kids at OKW and it said it would be $2700 for the week!? I just don't see how I could get a room for almost $2000 cheaper by renting?! I've learned that if it's too good to be true, then it most likely is! But I could be wrong! Here's to hoping for lots of Pixie Dust

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

I can help you with the points stuff... I rent all the time. PM me with your questions

 

[DarkPhant0m]

I can help you with the points stuff... I rent all the time. PM me with your questions

I sent you a PM!

 

[Jilian]

Yes you can walk to the boardwalk from the swan, it is really close. You can pretty much see the entrance from crescent terrace at the swan.

DVC point renting:
You e-mail the owner (or point rental company) with your request and they check availability. Then if your date is available and you come to an agreement the owner of the points makes the reservation. He/she should send you the reservation and it should be in your name and in the system with a reservation number. Then you check to make sure it is in the system. Check here: https://secure.reservations.disney....al_Landing_Page&process=false&pageRender=true It is best to get a contract too, to cover your butt. Then when you confirm the reservation is in the system you make your payment, pay by credit if possible because it is safer. Most renters accept paypal. Once you make your payment you're all set!

The first itme I rented was a few weeks ago for my son's birthday and I was nervous about renting from a person so I went through the Timeshare Store. They rent discount points for $10 point now or non-discount points for $12 per point. They are easy to work with. The discount points are usually short notice, they discount them because they are about to expire.

I just did my first rental on the Dis rental forum from a private person and so far so good. Stalk the forum, a lot of times people put up really inexpeisive points. I was able to get them for $8/point because I kept watching the forum for a week or so and jumped on the points when they were first posted.

Good luck! I hope that makes sense.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi sweetie
As my dear friends here have already said, you can easily walk from the BW to the Swan!!
As far as renting DVC points is concerned, I highly recommend using David (link below)

http://www.dvcrequest.com/

He is a tad more expensive ($13.00 per point I think), but acts as a 'middle man' between seller and renter, and offers a guarantee. If you privately rent points, it will be cheaper, but you hear horror stories of things going wrong and guests getting to resort and not having a reservation etc. I have rented my DVC points to others through David, and had no problems at all!! He is a sponser of the Disboards and very highly thought of here!!
Good luck!!!

 

[DarkPhant0m]

Deena, Jilian, and Jo

You girls are lifesavers!!!!! Thank you so much for the information! I totally get it all now and I will now start stalking the DVC boards as well, hoping to snag a good deal!

I talked to my mom about renting points and she's very leery about doing it, but I convinced her that it was kind of pointless to stay at "Motel 6" when you can stay at the Hilton. Ok, not quite the Hilton, but still better than a Value in my opinion. I think DF and I decided on OKW since it seems the rooms are a little bigger for getting ready than BWV. They might not be bigger by much, but any extra space helps! If I'm wrong about the size difference, let me know!

And I came to the solution with the photography. If we stay at OKW, then we will do our "first looks" there. Any suggestions on a nice location there to do that? Then we will drive to CBR and the Poly and do pictures there. Any suggestions on places for good pictures at either place will be really helpful!!! We will have about 2 - 2.5 hours to get the pictures done and drive to the Swan. Then we'll have our ceremony at 4 and then do pictures with the kids either at the Boardwalk or around the Swan. After that we'll be having dinner at Il Mulino. It all came together and I feel a huge load of stress has been lifted now lol!

Now I just have to figure out a way to get from OKW to the CBR, Poly, and Swan! My parents will have their van (which we're all driving down in together) and everyone else will have their own transportation to get to the Swan since they won't be on as much of a time crunch as we will be. So that leaves me with renting a limo (expensive), renting a Towne Car (still kind of expensive), taking a taxi or using the bus (I feel a little skeevish getting into a taxi or on the bus in my dress! ) Are there cheaper options out there that I am not thinking of?

 

[DarkPhant0m]

So I'm kind of in a lull right now. I still haven't emailed the harpist or the bakery. I've been trying to talk to DF about it, to hear his opinion, but we have so much other stuff going on it's hard to find time to even think right now. I've been so focused on trying to make resort reservations that I'm driving myself crazy! I thought I had it all figured out, but then I think of something else that makes me want to change everything.

I had originally wanted to rent points from someone and stay at OKW. I thought I had people convinced to stay there and save money, but I keep hearing "buts". But it's still so expensive! But what if we can't go? But what if there is a PIN or a discount later on? But what if we get scammed? Ugh! I found an Ok deal at $11 a point, but that seems so high. And I know if I wait, the rooms will be gone and I won't get as good a deal and I'll have to settle for a Value. I thought about doing a split stay, but I don't want to be moving all of our stuff half way through our trip and I really don't think it's going to save me any money in the long run.

So I got back on the thought of our wedding pictures. I was so set on having a tropical look to them, until DF asked if there was any place we can go to get "Disney" pictures? He said since we're getting married down there, it might be a good idea to have pictures that reflect Disney as well. Well, sure, let's just give me one more thing to think about lol! So I looked around on here and found that we can get "Disney" pics at the Poly. Nice and tropical like I had originally wanted, plus we can get the castle and space mountain in the background on the beach, and the monorail pics I wanted. So I'm back to being dead set on having our pictures done at the Poly. Someone had mentioned on another thread that I probably won't have enough time though to do our first look at OKW (if that's where we stay) and go to the Poly and be at the Swan in time.

Ideally I want to just stay at the Poly, but there is no way we can afford it, even if we do a split stay and just stay there the night before and the night of the wedding. Can anyone offer any advice on what to do? Can I get from OKW (or CBR if I give into my want vs. need) to the Poly, do pictures around the resort, and get to the Swan in 2.5 hours? Maybe I should add on an extra hour to my photography contract? And is there any transportation (besides the bus or a taxi) that we can hire for a few hours to get around? The limo and towne car are too expensive through the wedding planner, so I was looking for a cheaper company to use if there is one.

Please tell me that this is the hardest part of the the whole wedding planning

 

[Jilian]

Have you tried calling Mears for transportation options? They were the most affordable IMO. Ask about one way trips in their 8 passenger luxury vans or even a town car.

If you are nervous about getting scammed just rent from a point rental place. They have access to thousands of points, they will get you a reservation and even if the owner royally screws something up they guarantee to get you another reservation to replace it. I've never heard of a horror story from the timeshare store. Not once.

We've stayed at CBR. If you go to their main building (Old Port Royal) there are some nice photo opps overlooking the water there. Just behing the cabana bar is a spot that overlooks the water. Then the beach is right to your right there too. They have palms, a hammock, etc. The main walking areas a pretty. There is a bridge right behind old port royal that might make for nice pictures too.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

As Jilian says, an outside company such as Mears will probably do you a good deal on the transport, and this would be the best option, I think, given the time constraints. Who is your photographer? If it is Randy, I know he will have ideas that will help!!
It may be worth considering doing the 'first look' at the Poly too. You could travel there seperately. Your DF could travel there on Disney transport (maybe bus to MK and then monorail) and you could get a taxi. Your photographer could set up your first look at a nice spot at the Poly. That would certainly save time, but maybe you have your heart set on the 'first look at the CBR.
Good luck with figuring it all out!!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Just checking in to say hi

Have you thought about renting a car for a day?? They have rentals at the Swan/Dolphin. Then you can dictate your own time the day of!

Don't be overwhelmed. If you ever want to sit down and work out Disney details with someone who understands.... I can't imagine that I'm more than a half hour away. I'd be happy to meet for Starbucks or Panera

 

[DarkPhant0m]

Just checking in to say hi

Have you thought about renting a car for a day?? They have rentals at the Swan/Dolphin. Then you can dictate your own time the day of!

Don't be overwhelmed. If you ever want to sit down and work out Disney details with someone who understands.... I can't imagine that I'm more than a half hour away. I'd be happy to meet for Starbucks or Panera

Deena, you are so sweet! Thank you so much for the offer! It's reassuring to know that there are girls out there who have gone through the same issues and we can all help each other out! If I ever need anyone to sit and listen to me pull my hair out, I will be sure to take you up on your offer

I will be glad to announce to everyone that my sanity is now back in check, and a crisis has been averted! I officially booked our resort stay a little while ago and I have been doing this ===> since then!! After smacking my forehead against the wall for a week, my moment of clarity came through the other night. All this time, I had been talking myself out of a split stay because I kept adding the two costs together! I was adding a full week at a value PLUS 2 nights at a deluxe! DUH!!! I sat down yesterday and figured it up and discovered that if DF works just 4 days of overtime this year then we can split our stay!! I found a PIN code on a mailer that I got last month and sure enough, it was for a room-only discount of 20%! Not great, I would have loved to have 30%, but I'll take it! So we are now officially booked for ASMovies from 12/8-12/11, moving to the POLY 12/11-12/13 banana, and then moving back to ASMovies 12/13-12/15! I am so excited, I can't stop smiling!

I justified my extra spending by telling myself that if we rented points from someone, the best deal would have been about $850 for the week. It was going to cost me another $150 to add an extra hour to my photography package, and then about $250 to rent a town car to drive us around for 4 hours. So it evened itself out, and now I get to stay at the Poly for 2 nights and then we don't have to travel there to get our pictures done and we can do our first looks and everything!! Now I'll be scouring the resort board and photography board looking for places for us to have our first look. Any suggestions are welcome!!

In other news, I got ahold of the harpist, Christine MacPhail. She told me she was available for our date, but I would have to go through JM and our planner to book. I was really hoping to save a few dollars by booking with her directly, but I guess she's not doing that for Swan weddings anymore?

I also sent off my email to the bakery to see if they have the availability to make our cake. We really loved the sound of the Exotic Orange Cake that the Swan offers, but we don't want to pay big $$ for a topsy-turvy cake through them. So I questioned the bakery if they could make the mango-passion fruit mousse. I hope they can do it! We decided that would be our top tier and then a Marble cake with Raspberry filling for our bottom tier. Sounds delish to me! We'll see what they say.

So here's my next dilema... I currently have in our contract with JM 2 small pedestals with 2 large floral planters on top for the decorations for the ceremony. They are going to cost about $450 My mom questioned me on if we can make our own and take them with us (we're driving down) to help cut back on costs. I have no idea if we can even do that? Does anyone out there know the answer before I email my planner?

 

[tinkerbell 766]

There are lots of lovely places at the Poly for a 'first look'. Sunset Point would be perfect if there were no wedding going on there at the time.
Below are a couple of photos we took at Sunset Point during our TTD session

I believe that you would be allowed to make your own arrangements (not entirely sure as I didn't investigate too much - silk flowers and I are not the greatest of friends), but I am not sure how keen the florist would be to rent you out the pillars with no business coming to them from floral. You may be able to rent the pillars from another source though. It's certainly worth doing some research.
It's a shame that you are unable to book Christine independently now!! It may be a rule imposed by the Swan to increase her bookings through them. I guess she would not want to risk missing out on any future business from them by going against this.
Do you mind my asking how much JM charges for Christine's services through them?

 

[Jilian]

Congrats on booking your stay!!

I tried to make my own pedestal arrangements, you can read all about my disaster in my PJ. It was a nightmare, they looked like a mess and I put a lot of money into it before throwing in the towel and asking Karen for a quote from Petals by design. We're getting pedestal arrangements for $125 each. They are nothing too big, just garden rose arrangements in mercury bowls. I guess it all depends on what you're getting, ask your planner for ways to cut costs. Maybe switch flowers. I initially wanted peonies, but they are really expensive so we went with a look alike for a lot less. I'm getting a whole floral package including delivery and setup for $628.

 

[2dogmom]

I am surprised about Christine as well. I just booked her last month on my own.

So happy you have your resort reservations all set!