Reception at Living Seas, how did you decorate it? please post pics!

[malibustacey]

Hiya,

I am thinking of having the reception at Living Seas, we wont be having that many guests, but as an example the maximum people we will have there will be 40. (i hope it wont be too big for just 40 people?) I was wondering what the Living Seas looks like or how people have had this place dressed up for their receptions?

I cannot find any photos of wedding receptions at Living Seas. I can find normal photos, but none of any wedding receptions in there! I was thinking of having in it LS, because we would like to have a dessert illuminations party too, so it would be easier to get the guests to both locations by walking.

The other place we were considering for the reception was Sonoma Room, of which i havent found any photos of wedding receptions in there either.

So please, if anyone has any photos or knows of any photos of people that have had their wedding receptions in these places, please please please can you post some pics on here.

Ta. x

 

[honey2741]

I agree, I would love to see what LSS looks like decorated. However, from what I've read, many brides don't decorate it because they feel the lighting, aquarium, and piano make up for it. It's almost like the Attic...very little decorating needs to be done. If you look on Youtube I saw a reception on their...it will help to give you a feel for it.

 

[caryndisneydiva]

i held my reception at lss last year. i will agree that there really isn't any need for extra decoration in there. the aquarium and lighting make it so that you don't need it. the only thing i regret from my beo was my centerpieces, i didn't need them at all.

here are some pictures

you can see the blue tablecloths they have in this picture

 

[polynesianbride]

Does LS have a special room they use for receptions or is it in the main restaurant area?

 

[figmentfan814]

Yes, there is a different area for the receptions. It is called the Living Seas Salon and is actually above where the Coral Reef restaurant is located.

My plans were similar to Caryn's, I didn't do anything really except for the centerpieces. I also had the blue and white tablecloths too. I actually used Disney snowglobes for our centerpieces and named the tables accordingly.

I had our altar piece that was used for our sand ceremony table put on our bridal party table.

Back of cake table with bridesmaid bouquets peeking out:

We had a few Disney pillows that we threw on the seats down by the dancing area just for an added touch, but really we didn't spend very much on decorations here. I splurged on chair covers at our ceremony in the American Adventure Rotunda


Here are some photos on Mouse Weddings of the Salon area:
http://www.mouseweddings.com/wedlocsv.html

 

[malibustacey]

so do you think that LSS is too big for a reception of 40 people? There may be less that 40 too. I also want to have a dessert party in epcot so is LSS really the best location, because i would only want to bring an ipod and speakers and have a few dances and that would be it, and then go to the illuminations party.

 

[figmentfan814]

so do you think that LSS is too big for a reception of 40 people? There may be less that 40 too. I also want to have a dessert party in epcot so is LSS really the best location, because i would only want to bring an ipod and speakers and have a few dances and that would be it, and then go to the illuminations party.

I don't think so at all. We had a total of 50 people (including my husband and I along with the bridal party). We had 10 people at the head table and then 40 guests seated at the regular tables. We did one large head table, but we could have spread out the bridal party more if we wanted. We seated just 5 people per table, so it didn't look crowded and we seemed to fill the room. There are two levels in the room. If someone has a larger wedding they can put tables on the lower level. We just kept the tables on the upper area and did dancing and had our cake down below

 

[malibustacey]

Really? LSS looks really big! I might have to ask if we can go and view it when we go out there in March? Do you think we will be able to just view it?

So, i know this sounds silly, but i dont really like fish, and i know that most of the menu is fish!! hehe! Did you / are you allowed to have a different menu? I think it would be nice to have a set menu, although im being swayed with the idea of a buffet so everyone can choose what ever they want.

Can you ask for a certain dish? Or does Disney provide you with a list of dishes that they can do and you get to choose?

I just love the look of LSS, it looks so elegant!!

Did you hire a DJ for LSS? Because i want a late ish wedding, be able to have a sit down meal, a few dances and then go to the dessert party in epcot? Do you think we could use an ipod with speakers?

What did you use?

 

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

When we were planning we had decided we would have sand castles in the middle of each table, so we bought them! We can stilluse them for the theme here though too, although I think it would have looked even better at the LS lol
If youneed the website let me know!

 

[bridetobe789]

so do you think that LSS is too big for a reception of 40 people? There may be less that 40 too. I also want to have a dessert party in epcot so is LSS really the best location, because i would only want to bring an ipod and speakers and have a few dances and that would be it, and then go to the illuminations party.

A few things- You do have to have a 30 person minimum is what we were told .. We are planning around 50 and although it is pretty big I definitely don't think it is too big for 40!! As for the menu.. it is not like that at all! You still get to choose whatever you want menu wise... You will get all of the planning pack once you start getting into the planning pack of all if it through disney! We are using a pianist for our reception.. it is in a few months so I'll have pics if you are interested.. Here is what our centerpieces are based off of :

We don't think that the room needs much dressing up at all based on the whole ambiance of everything with the tanks.

HTH!!

 

[malibustacey]

yes i will definately be interested in the photos!!!

 

[perla75]

Does the LSS have "fishtank walls" (clear glass to look into the fishtank) like the other areas of the Living Seas?

I didn't notice them in the photos...

 

[Donald'sGirl]

Does the LSS have "fishtank walls" (clear glass to look into the fishtank) like the other areas of the Living Seas?

I didn't notice them in the photos...

Yes they do. Caryn and Vanessa I think both have pictures of their guests looking out at the fish in their TR's. HTH!

 

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Heres a picture of what we were using:

 

[figmentfan814]

You can definitely ask to see the LSS. Just let you planner know in advance any of the reception locations you want to visit and they can check availability during your visit. I'm not into aquariums either, but I'm glad we ended up there. Our guests loved it since it was such a unique experience. Also, we had a brunch menu, so really as a couple other brides mentioned you can have whatever you want to eat there since its done by Epcot catering not by the Coral Reef restaurant

We used a pianist too and it was very elegant. We used a CD player for our first dances though. The piano is really cool too because it is made of clear acrylic.

Here are some tank shots:

 

[Carye]

You can definitely ask to see the LSS. Just let you planner know in advance any of the reception locations you want to visit and they can check availability during your visit. I'm not into aquariums either, but I'm glad we ended up there. Our guests loved it since it was such a unique experience. Also, we had a brunch menu, so really as a couple other brides mentioned you can have whatever you want to eat there since its done by Epcot catering not by the Coral Reef restaurant

We used a pianist too and it was very elegant. We used a CD player for our first dances though. The piano is really cool too because it is made of clear acrylic.

we are thinking of doing a brunch reception b/c we have a 9am ceremony...where and what time was yours? how did the brunch go over with the guests? did you hang out in the parks afterward?

 

[malibustacey]

how were your photographs coming out in the LSS? Normally if you were to take a photo with the glass in the background, you will get a big white flash behind you in the photos.. ?

Did you still have your photographer with you? Would Misty be able to come to the reception at LSS?

 

[bridetobe789]

You aren't allowed to have an outside photographer at this location. You could use one like Misty for the ceremony if it was at the WP or something but as for the reception it is in the park and you can only use disney photography! HTH!

 

[figmentfan814]

we are thinking of doing a brunch reception b/c we have a 9am ceremony...where and what time was yours? how did the brunch go over with the guests? did you hang out in the parks afterward?

We were also married at 9 am (in the World Showcase at the American Adventure Rotunda); I see you're at the UK- I can't wait to see pictures!

We did a combination of breakfast and lunch foods and our guests really loved it. We modified the Tinkerbell brunch menu to include some items that we liked from restaurants on property. We still kept the crepe and omelet bar and just added some of our favorite toppings to it.

Pre-reception:
Fruit with honey yogurt dip
Cheese display

Brunch:
Chocolate Hazelnet Crepe Station (toppings- peaches, carmalized bananas, mandarin oranges, raspberries, and deveonshire cream)
Omelet bar (shrimp, cheddar cheese, pepper jack, ham, peppers, onions, mushrooms, goat cheese, spinach, salsa)
Bacon
Maple Sausage Links
Seared chicken with granny smith apples and fig au jus
Au Gratin Potatoes (Cinderella's Royal Table)
Chicken Caesar Pasta (Crystal Palace)
Chorizo Sausage and Peppers
Croissants, Danish, Cinnamon Buns, Rolls, Assorted Pastry Display

Beverages
Custom Lilikoi Joice (orange, passion, and guava)
Assorted juices, coffee, and tea
Sparkling non-alcoholic cider (for toast)

Some food shots:

Pasta and potatoes, my favorite!

After the reception, we took members of our bridal party to the Grand Floridian beach to get some group shots and some of our guests hung out at Epcot while others returned to the resort for a nap (that is a really early morning for everyone). After our pictures, DH and I went to check in at the GF and then met back up with everyone at Epcot that evening for our dessert party. The break was pretty relaxing for everyone. We didn't get any complaints

how were your photographs coming out in the LSS? Normally if you were to take a photo with the glass in the background, you will get a big white flash behind you in the photos.. ?

Did you still have your photographer with you? Would Misty be able to come to the reception at LSS?

We had our reception right before the change went into effect, so we had Randy there with us for the reception. One tip, make sure to let your photographer know if you want pictures of people looking at the tanks, etc. I know some brides have been disappointed because they forgot to ask. I made sure to tell Randy that we wanted some and we ended up with some good shots (I posted some on pg. 1 of the thread).

You aren't allowed to have an outside photographer at this location. You could use one like Misty for the ceremony if it was at the WP or something but as for the reception it is in the park and you can only use disney photography! HTH!

That is such a terrible rule now, we were fortunate to have our wedding in 2008 prior to the rule change

 

[ahutton]

I don't have photos available yet, as I haven't gotten them scanned in. And my information may be a bit old, but some of the things haven't changed...

We had 30 people and found the room to not feel too large, they did a great job setting it up so it was intimate and comfortable for our group. This is a two tiered room, that is almost split in half. We used one half for the before dinner hour appetizers and punch; our Disney photographer was allowed to come in and took several photos. We wanted most of our photos there and not the WP, so other than DH and I and the BM/MoH, all photos were done there.

On the other half of the room we had dinner tables on the upper level and the DJ and dance area on the lower. All I did for decoration was flower rings and candles for the holders that were already on the table. We used our altar flowers for the head table. We also spaced people out a bit; you can put 8-10 people at one table, I think the most we had anywhere was 5 or 6. Everyone had elbow room which I like. I hate being crowded in a banquet table.

We did an Illuminations party but could not walk to our venue, we had to use a bus. There was something about not having guests in wedding attire walk through the parks, even with a guide. Our wedding was in the first year or so of DFTW, so that may have changed. However, the bus was fine. We used it to get from the WP to Living Seas, then from Living Seas to the Candlelight Processional, and then due to the bus making a run to take a family member back to the hotel we walked from there to UK. Had the family member not been ill and wanting to go back we would have been on the bus then too.

I'll see if I can get some pictures scanned and uploaded; when I do I'll drop back by to sendi a link.