Rob and Scott's Big Fat Gay Disney Wedding-TR Pg 92; Photo Update pg 133

[kingLouiethe1]

Welcome to the club!

Congratulations!

Take a deep breath. For me, the key to managing the obsession has been lists. And spreadsheets. And more lists.

And the year goes by MUCH more quickly than you'd expect.

So, where are you having your ceremony and reception?

I'm working on the play by play now, I'll post a link as soon as I finish. I'm actually using my trusty Franklin Covey planning system to stay on top of things, it gives me a little peace of mind.

just using your thread to test my picture placing abilities

 

[kingLouiethe1]

Ok, I've started the story at

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25629552#post25629552

keep you all updated soon!

 

[rpmdfw]

I'm working on the play by play now, I'll post a link as soon as I finish. I'm actually using my trusty Franklin Covey planning system to stay on top of things, it gives me a little peace of mind.

just using your thread to test my picture placing abilities

And what a lovely picture it is!

I just posted my further congratulations to you on your new planning journal thread!

Should be interesting to compare the processes on each coast, etc.

 

[rpmdfw]

Next up, what happens when we heard back from him.

Okay, now I'll finally get back to the story I was telling! Sorry about the delay, but there were things at work that needed tending, then the drive home, and dinner, blah blah blah.

After about a week, we got an email from our Wedding Coordinator letting us know that the ceremony venue we wanted was available for use by Disney Fairy Tale Weddings and that it's capacity would work for the number of people we're expecting. So he pencilled us in for that space as well. Since ADH is closed to the public on Sundays and Mondays, we changed our minds about dates and rather than the last Friday in October, we decided to go with the last Sunday. It meant that we didn't have to clear out of ADH by 8pm. We wanted the reception to go until 10pm, so it was either Sunday or Monday, and we didn't want to deal with Monday.

Once you're pencilled in, you have to wait until either 12 months or 8 months prior to the date to book and sign the contract. It's 8 months for the Wedding Pavillion, and ballrooms, and 12 months for ADH and theme park locations. Since we were looking at a theme park venue and ADH, we could book at the year mark. So, we had to wait until the end of September to see if a convention or another wedding wanted one of our venues.

In the meantime, we put together our guest list, tried to figure out room blocks, booked our photographer, and scoured the internet for ideas. It's during this time that I was looking for pictures of wedding receptions at ADH that I found the disboards. I joined immediately, and started inflicting myself upon y'all!

When September rolled around we were getting a little tense. Turned out we needn't have been. No one else wanted our venues on our date. So our Wedding Coordinator sent us the room block forms. We picked the Boardwalk, Carribbean Beach, & Pop Century Resorts for our guests (they're all the closest to ADH in their respective categories) and discovered that we'd been given a pretty good room rate for the block as well. With the size of the room block we'd need, we had to guarantee that we'll have at least 70 room nights. If not, we'll pay a penalty. It's tricky trying to figure out how many rooms to hold at each resort for each of the nights. We ended up holding more at Pop and CBR, assuming that fewer people would be able to spend the money on the Boardwalk.

Once we got the room block form filled out and returned. We received our contract in the mail. We had to sign our lives away and initial every inch of that thing. It's very specific about minimum expenditures, pentalties, etc. We drove to Celebration and handed the contract along with our deposit check to our Wedding Coordinator, and it was official! We were kind of sad, because we really like our Wedding Coodinator. He's a very charming, intelligent, creative, and funny gentleman and we'd gotten used to working with him. He was always quick to answer my many many emailed questions, and was always so pleasant. From the first day we met him up through today, planning our Big Fat Gay Disney Wedding has been nothing but a positive experience, and it's due entirely to him, and the people who picked up the baton from him after the contract was signed.

Up next, meeting the Event Planners!

 

[rpmdfw]

Okay, bear with me. Not much more of this boring stuff left.

Once we got our contract signed and the deposit paid, I emailed our guest list with addresses to our Wedding Coordinator so that Disney could send out our "Save The Date" notices.

For the typical Disney Couple, the Save the Date consists of a very professionally done booklet with lots of pictures and information about WDW, the parks, the hotels, dining, etc. It's designed to get your guests excited about coming to the wedding. At the back is a place where they put in the letter with the "save the date" message along with a room reservtion forms and a park ticket order form. They also give the link to the customized DFTW website that is set up for each couple.

The thing is, that beautifully produced booklet has several places where it says something like "the bride and goom have selected . . . ". Well, it probably comes as no surprise to anyone that we didn't want anything like that going out to our family and friends. So Disney ended up sending out just the letters and forms. Still, it was enough that we got a flurry of surprised and happy phone calls from people when they got them. Since that was in November, we added a letter to our Christmas cards a few weeks later explaining to everyone why we'd chosen to do a commitment ceremony, and why at Disney, etc. We also gave more info on each resort, some links to WDW planning sites and info on the Food & Wine Festival. (This letter was in addition to the usual cheesy Christmas letter. Our poor family and friends!)

Right around the first of the year I got a phone call from our Event Planners. Two of them. Turns out they were fighting over who got to work with us, so they decided to share. Disney still hasn't done a whole lot of commitment ceremonies, so they're all looking to get some experience in. Between our Event Planners, they've done the majority of ADH receptions over the past few years, so that's something that definitely works in our favor. I've also gotten to know their assistant, and she's a very sweet and helpful lady, who's helped me deal with lots of silly issues.

We also got some planning materials, sample menus, and the coolest part: the CAKE CD! It's got a powerpoint presentation with pictures of various cake styles that Disney does. We went through those pictures for days! And then realized that the cake we liked best was one of the ones we'd seen on display at Franck's and it wasn't shown on the cake CD. We called to get a pic and a price for it. Let me tell you folks, Disney cakes are NOT cheap, and Scott and apparently have some VERY good taste.

We sat down with my brother (the chef) and parents and created our menu and sent it in. We returned the planning questionnaire, and scheduled our planning session.

Which is where all of you came in.

So, that gets everyone caught up to where we are, what's going on, etc. Right now we're tracking RSVPs, working on welcome bags, and shopping for suits and shoes.

And since I've back tracked to cover the entire process, I'm going to change the title of this thread to reflect that it's become a planning journal, not just a report on the planning session.

Sorry for the HUGE LONG post. Thanks for indulging me while I got the entire boring ordeal posted. Enough people had expressed an interest in the "whole picture" that I thought I'd go ahead and do it. (And to those of you who asked, aren't you sorry now? )

 

[zulemara]

Long posts are welcomed! I need something to read at work
Hopefully I can get DBF to read this thread and agree to a ceremony at Disney

 

[kingLouiethe1]

Okay, bear with me. Not much more of this boring stuff left.

Right around the first of the year I got a phone call from our Event Planners. Two of them. Turns out they were fighting over who got to work with us, so they decided to share. Disney still hasn't done a whole lot of commitment ceremonies, so they're all looking to get some experience in.

I know what you mean, Our planner for the initial meeting told us we were the first couple to come in since the whole gay marriage thing becoming legal in California, and since planners get assigned after the contract comes in she said she was going to do her darndest to get us. We would be her first same sex couple. She seemed genuinely excited and nice, so I think she would be fun to work with.

Long posts are welcomed! I need something to read at work
Hopefully I can get DBF to read this thread and agree to a ceremony at Disney

I think mine is going to jump into the fray soon over on my thread. He found the link because I posted it on my Facebook page, so its all of your jobs to make him think how great a WDW or DCL honeymoon would be!

It might just be too much Disney for him though, poor guy, no one tell him how bad Disney freaks are until after the wedding

 

[rpmdfw]

Hey all!

I just wanted to let you know that the podismycopilot podcast has been posted. I haven't been able to view it yet, so I'm not sure if it's "appropriate content" to link to or not. It's 26 minutes long, and the part with us is probably 2 minutes long. If that. I'd bet there's more with QCast Michael in it, though.

Since I'm not sure whether it's appropriate or not, I'm not going to post the link yet.

But it wasn't difficult for me to find. Just saying.

 

[rpmdfw]

Long posts are welcomed! I need something to read at work
Hopefully I can get DBF to read this thread and agree to a ceremony at Disney

Either that, or he'll read this thread, decide that we're all crazy and not let you play with us anymore!

I know what you mean, Our planner for the initial meeting told us we were the first couple to come in since the whole gay marriage thing becoming legal in California, and since planners get assigned after the contract comes in she said she was going to do her darndest to get us. We would be her first same sex couple. She seemed genuinely excited and nice, so I think she would be fun to work with.

I think mine is going to jump into the fray soon over on my thread. He found the link because I posted it on my Facebook page, so its all of your jobs to make him think how great a WDW or DCL honeymoon would be!

It might just be too much Disney for him though, poor guy, no one tell him how bad Disney freaks are until after the wedding

Scott has been reading along on this thread a bit, too.

And Disney geeks (I'm a GEEK, not a FREAK ) aren't bad at all. We're fun people! And a WDW honeymoon after your wedding next year would put you here for GAY DAYS! Lots of fun! I've you've never been here for that, you've GOT to try it!

 

[kingLouiethe1]

Either that, or he'll read this thread, decide that we're all crazy and not let you play with us anymore!



Scott has been reading along on this thread a bit, too.

And Disney geeks (I'm a GEEK, not a FREAK ) aren't bad at all. We're fun people! And a WDW honeymoon after your wedding next year would put you here for GAY DAYS! Lots of fun! I've you've never been here for that, you've GOT to try it!

Ooooh fun! When is gay days? We're getting married Memorial Day weekend.

 

[OrlandoMike]

Ooooh fun! When is gay days? We're getting married Memorial Day weekend.

First Saturday in June....PERFECT!

 

[kingLouiethe1]

First Saturday in June....PERFECT!

Nice. . . If I could talk him into that then we could still take a Carribean cruise. I've never been to WDW, silly as it sounds its one of my lifelong dreams, now that I have a real job I've been thinking about doing it soon.

On the other hand we were talking about taking a nice long Mediterranean cruise, and that sounds like an amazing experience too.

 

[OrlandoMike]

How about a Disney Cruise Line land and sea package?

 

[kingLouiethe1]

How about a Disney Cruise Line land and sea package?

Is that like surf and turf?

 

[OrlandoMike]

Is that like surf and turf?

Uh Huh!

Unless you add air to the package, then I guess it's like surf and turf with chicken!

Ya! The chicken dance re-appears!

 

[kingLouiethe1]

Uh Huh!

Unless you add air to the package, then I guess it's like surf and turf with chicken!

Ya! The chicken dance re-appears!

Let Rob escape the chicken dance!

Seriously Rob, what you want is a money dance, although it does let people you might not like or elderly people with poor motor skills get very close to you with sharp little pins.

 

[rpmdfw]

Hey all!

I just wanted to let you know that the podismycopilot podcast has been posted. I haven't been able to view it yet, so I'm not sure if it's "appropriate content" to link to or not. It's 26 minutes long, and the part with us is probably 2 minutes long. If that. I'd bet there's more with QCast Michael in it, though.

Since I'm not sure whether it's appropriate or not, I'm not going to post the link yet.

But it wasn't difficult for me to find. Just saying.

Okay, I've watched the entire podcast, and while quite funny, I'm not going to post the link. Not that it's INappropriate per se, but there's enough said to make it questionable, so I'm not going to risk the points.

Far be it from me to tell you what to google on your own time, though.

It's 26 minutes long, and we show up at the 20 minute mark.

It' quite funny! They started looking for a gay or lesbian couple wearing the groom/groom or bride/bride ears on Friday and didn't find ANY all weekend except us!

Pretty cool!


p.s. I was right. QCast_Michael is in quite a bit of it, too.

 

[rpmdfw]

Ya! The chicken dance re-appears!

Don't make me bring a dozen people to your bar and order them all bourbon snow cones!

and don't think I wouldn't do it . . .

Let Rob escape the chicken dance!

Seriously Rob, what you want is a money dance, although it does let people you might not like or elderly people with poor motor skills get very close to you with sharp little pins.

Thank you Louie!

Actually, where I grew up in Southern Colorado, we always had the money dance at weddings too. Both with the money pinned to the clothing of the bride and goom, and with the best man and maid of honor holding a "donation box" of some kind nearby (avoids pins ruining the wedding dress, I assume.)

At all of those weddings, inevitably one of the goomsmen would pay to dance with the groom, and it would be the "big joke" of the evening. "Look! Two men dancing together! How funny!" I know they didn't mean to be disrespectful to the family members in the room that were "unmarried by a certain age", because no one actually gave it any serious thought. I just found it very insensitive and insulting that the concept of two men dancing would be so laughable to so many people that said they loved us. But I digress.

Scott and I aren't doing it because we figure that our guests have had to fly to Florida and stay at Disney just to attend our wedding. It's already been enough of an expense for them just to BE there. We're also trying to discourage wedding gifts as much as possible because we have pretty much everythng we need. People are VERY resistant to this idea, by the way. They refuse to not get us something. So we finally broke down and registered.

Not saying that the money dance isn't right for anyone else. Several members of my family that I'm very close to did it and I happily lined up with my Ten-spot for the priviledge of the dance.

It's just not what we want for us.

 

[mickeyfan1]

Register at the Walt Disney Wedding Site. People can pick what they want,. you end up with a Gift Card in the total dollar amount of all the gifts people pick.

 

[rpmdfw]

Register at the Walt Disney Wedding Site. People can pick what they want,. you end up with a Gift Card in the total dollar amount of all the gifts people pick.

Already done!