Relaxed/Informal Weddings

[sandk]

Hi Everyone! I'm in the early stages of planning our DFTW! I just received my planning kit...some things I'm sure about, and others I have no clue. What I do know is that I'm having a very relaxed, informal wedding. To give you a little bit of an idea:

-Ceremony will be on the beach NEXT to the wedding pavillion
-Reception will be on the Summerhouse patio at the Grand Floridian (outside next to the beach)
-We are sort of having a tropical/beach themed wedding..but not completely over the top
-The only "traditional" events occurring will be me walking down the "aisle" (on the beach), cutting the cake, annnnd I think that's pretty much it.

Even though it sounds like I know what I want, I really don't have any idea when it comes to details. Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions on the following things?:

-ATTENDANTS (I know I don't want friends in my bridal party. I was actually thinking about not having anybody. One idea I had was having my two little brothers on my side and DF's two siblings on his side (1 sister, 1 brother). Is this too weird? lol)

-MUSIC AT RECEPTION (Is it okay to have a DJ even if there isn't going to be a designated dance area, and probably no dancing at all? Since we are having a tropical theme I was thinking the DJ could play some Jimmy Buffett type music...)

-CAKE (tropical theme cake? Maybe coconut?)

ANY OTHER CREATIVE IDEAS YOU ALL MAY COME UP WITH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SHARE! I haven't been to that many weddings, and the two I've been to have been huge, traditional, fancy ones...so I have no idea what I'm doing!I know the planner will help me out during my planning session, but I would like to have a better idea of what I want before I meet with him.

Thanks!!

Stephanie

 

[sandk]

Also, if any of you have had a relaxed/informal and/or outdoor wedding and would like to share your experience, I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks!

 

[Swmhc]

Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you are doing to me! One cake filling flavor Disney has available is a passion fruit mousse . I have seen brides on here rav about. That is available for a custom cake, not intimate. Not sure which you are looking at. I have also seen beach weddings where they draw and aisle in the sand and sprinkle flowers down the aisle and then the area you stand during your ceremony is outlined in flowers in the shape of a heart. I thought that was really romantic.

A DJ on the beach sounds like a blast to me !! And as far as attendants are concerned, people do whatever works for them, so don't sweat "tradition." Many weddings today are anything BUT traditional...hence destination weddings.

Oriental Trading Company has TONS of stuff you could use for decorations, centerpieces, favors, etc....

I thought about a beach wedding in the beginning myself, but since we both love Disney so much, we went with it. I never thought of doing one on the beach at Disney ! Too late to change now ! Have fun and keep us informed of your plans and progress !

 

[sandk]

Thank you for the wonderful ideas! I love the aisle made from flowers idea! I'll have to bring that up to the planner...

It is a custom wedding...we are having about 60 people.

Thanks again

 

[Swmhc]

That's what we are all here for ! And you will probably want to consider doing a sand ceremony since you are already on the beach. There are already other threads on here about it if you need more info. You can provide you own containers, or Disney can (and pretty reasonably for Disney). Oooo...and instead of boutonniers and bouquets for the wedding party, you could do lei's ! Okay, now you got me started ! Since I can't change mine, you will have to let me live vicariously through yours !

 

[sandk]

Haha! I need all the help I can get...and a sand ceremony sounds perfect...

thanks!

 

[pixie08]

ooohhh we tried the tropical mousse and it was really good!

Also how about a key west style guitarist (jimmy buffet style) It will add an awesome ambiance, be less intrusive then a huge dj booth and cheaper!

 

[princessdisneybelle]

Have Stitch come! He would be great for the kids. And he always is so much fun.

 

[DisneyFairy19]

That sounds beautiful!!!

 

[karentan]

just a daft suggestion but how about a steel drum band?!

 

[lurkyloo]

I like the steel-drum band idea and the Key West style guitarist. Might be cheaper than a DJ (....or not!).

Regarding attendants, there's a thread about this right now and lots of us say there's no reason to have attendants if you don't want them. Having children would be cute if they're old enough to sit/stand still for that long.

 

[Glorydaz]

love the whole beach wedding theme! and relaxed is definitely the way to go....so I know this will sound a bit crazy but for favors, why don't you see if you can get some plastic molds ( Disney) for people to make their own sand creations on the beach? I know when I was a kid, that was always tons of fun and if not for all the guests, definitely for the kids! also, the suggestion for Stitch is perfect! he's an absolute riot!! and you could also have your musican(s) play a couple of the songs from Lilo and Stitch - they would fit right in....

alright, I've been at work almost 10 hours now and my brain is mush but I'm looking forward to hearing how this shapes up!

Michelle

 

[livinthedisneydream]

I would look for ideas also at www.fairytalewedding.com Look at the featured wedding on the main page. They had a Jimmy Buffet theme but a lot of the ideas are really neat. I'm keeping them in mind for the future! Great ideas so far and it sounds like it will be beautiful!

 

[honey2741]

If you were doing a beach theme wedding (with Asian flair) what would you do to make it unique...or what would you do in general? Thanks.

 

[polynesianbride]

I am in the process of planning a casual tropical wedding but on a small scale... I'm an Escape bride. One thing we are planning on is having a lei exchange ceremony... if you link to my PJ I just put this info on there (as well as on another post someone had about beach themed weddings...) I'll try to dig up some tropical themed cakes from my pics and post them for you here too! Good luck!

 

[polynesianbride]

Okay found some of those cakes for you...

And last but not least I LOVE the sand castle topper on this one...

I am torn between something like one of these and a mad hatter cake... do you think they could make a tropical mad hatter cake?

 

[honey2741]

One thing we are planning on is having a lei exchange ceremony... if you link to my PJ I just put this info on there

Thanks! I'm going to read your PJ, I hope I can be as helpful as you have been for me I am set on having a mad hatter cake, but I'm sure with Disney they can design anything and incorporate everything you want.

 

[polynesianbride]

Thanks! I'm going to read your PJ, I hope I can be as helpful as you have been for me I am set on having a mad hatter cake, but I'm sure with Disney they can design anything and incorporate everything you want.

Thanks honey! I'm excited to have another bride to swap ideas with! Can't wait to see what you come up with! Let me know when you start a PJ so I can stay updated!