Starting to plan swan wedding for 1/2013

[jrm1504]

Let me first preface this with I am the groom to be...not the bride. I know, weird.

That being said, I tend to be the analytical one (perhaps a bit OCD) and all that fun stuff.

We are in the beginning planning stages and are thinking about a late January 2013 wedding. We are strongly considering the Swan as the location. Disney weddings to me seem a bit pricey and rather complicated to decipher what you are actually getting.

So, without further ado, my first round of questions based on a Swan wedding:

1. If we were to do a welcome dessert the day before at Epcot, is park admission required to go to the dessert? My gut says yes, but I have found a hard time finding any literature confirming this.

2. Does anyone know if there are any suites in Dolphin that offer views of Epcot and the fireworks?

3. Are there certain locations for a reception that can have Disney Characters present, like say.....Donald Duck.

4. If a ceremony is held at the Swan, there is no shortage of reception locations. Has anyone ever heard of a reception being done at the Contemporaries California grill? How would that affect question #2?

5. Are there any common numbers thrown around for the cost of a a Swan wedding? It seems most Disney weddings are $10,000+, any gauge on a Swan wedding? I know...depends on people...say 25 +/-5.

6. Epcot has the dessert spot next to the UK for private firework viewing and eating. Are there any places like that at MK for a dessert party? Are those costs similar to those at Epcot?
Thanks in advance.

 

[princesswendy720]

I can only answer a few of your questions as I'm not a Swan bride, but we have plenty of Swan/Dolphin brides on here who should know.

If you book a welcome Epcot dessert party through Disney Events, you would pay a $12.95 viewing fee for each guest who does not have park admission.

There are private rooms at the California Grill, but they have to be booked through Disney Fairy Tale Weddings and that would trigger a minimum expenditure and probably defeat the purpose of having a Swan/Dolphin wedding. You could book a regular, large group reservation in the main restaurant for your party and still enjoy the food and the fireworks out on the deck.

 

[lurkyloo]

1. If we were to do a welcome dessert the day before at Epcot, is park admission required to go to the dessert? My gut says yes, but I have found a hard time finding any literature confirming this.

What Wendy said!

2. Does anyone know if there are any suites in Dolphin that offer views of Epcot and the fireworks?

Probably—I could see the fireworks from my regular room at the Dolphin last year.

3. Are there certain locations for a reception that can have Disney Characters present, like say.....Donald Duck.

You can have them anywhere on property if you book a private reception.

4. If a ceremony is held at the Swan, there is no shortage of reception locations. Has anyone ever heard of a reception being done at the Contemporaries California grill? How would that affect question #2?

As Wendy said, if you book a private event at California Grill, it has to go through Disney, which triggers minimum expenditures, so you might as well do the whole wedding through Disney.

5. Are there any common numbers thrown around for the cost of a a Swan wedding? It seems most Disney weddings are $10,000+, any gauge on a Swan wedding? I know...depends on people...say 25 +/-5.

It depends on how much you want. Just a ceremony with basic setup starts at around $2,000.

6. Epcot has the dessert spot next to the UK for private firework viewing and eating. Are there any places like that at MK for a dessert party? Are those costs similar to those at Epcot?
Thanks in advance.

There are no private party locations inside the Magic Kingdom.

 

[2dogmom]

I'm a Swan bride. I can answer a couple questions. I have my working budget in pj in my link.

4. If a ceremony is held at the Swan, there is no shortage of reception locations. Has anyone ever heard of a reception being done at the Contemporaries California grill? How would that affect question #2?

You can have a reception at just about any disney restaurant, but may need to book with ADRs. I am going to have mine at Ohana for about 25 people. I spoke with the manager to work on arrangements and she will create the ADR when I am 180 out (Christmas day).

5. Are there any common numbers thrown around for the cost of a a Swan wedding? It seems most Disney weddings are $10,000+, any gauge on a Swan wedding? I know...depends on people...say 25 +/-5.
the base price is about $1600, and you can do everything a la carte, you can book through your planner or on your own if you can get a better deal, which I have found in some cases.

 

[Jilian]

1. If we were to do a welcome dessert the day before at Epcot, is park admission required to go to the dessert? My gut says yes, but I have found a hard time finding any literature confirming this. Theme park admission is required and for everyone who does not have admission they will charge a "viewing fee" if I recall correctly it is $12.95 per person

2. Does anyone know if there are any suites in Dolphin that offer views of Epcot and the fireworks? Not 100% sure but I want to say yes. Another little tip: if you are having a Swan/Dolphin wedding call swan's sales dept and ask for a room block. Join to become a starwood preferred guest (free from the swan/dolphin website) and they almost always give free upgrades at check in. You also get use of the hospitality suite to get ready in the day of the ceremony, for free!

3. Are there certain locations for a reception that can have Disney Characters present, like say.....Donald Duck. As far as I know you can have the characters anywhere at the swan.

4. If a ceremony is held at the Swan, there is no shortage of reception locations. Has anyone ever heard of a reception being done at the Contemporaries California grill? How would that affect question #2? I've always thought that you could book a cali grill (you'd just have to do it yourself) but recently I've read about possibly not being able to wear a wedding dress because cali grill is a traditional DFTW place.

5. Are there any common numbers thrown around for the cost of a a Swan wedding? It seems most Disney weddings are $10,000+, any gauge on a Swan wedding? I know...depends on people...say 25 +/-5. It really varies, but I'd say that you can have a pretty amazing swan dolphin wedding and reception for under $10,000. If you check my PJ I listed my costs. Faith has listed hers too if you look at her planning journal.

6. Epcot has the dessert spot next to the UK for private firework viewing and eating. Are there any places like that at MK for a dessert party? Are those costs similar to those at Epcot? MK doesn't do private DPs anymore. You could buy tickets to the MK DP but you'd be there with others. I think it is at tommorowland terrace? One other option is a DP at the grand floridian either at their marina or sago cay. It is further away but you can pay an extra $500 to have the music piped it and you'd get your private location.

Welcome to the Dis wedding boards, and happy planning. I'm doing a Swan VR and would be more than happy to answer any other questions you have. Or you could pop on over to the Swan/Dolphin thread that is stickied up top. The group of us is growing rapidly and there is a ton of info in that thread

 

[MrsDuck]

The girls have answered your questions but I just wanted to say YAY and from one Swan bride to another!

ETA: didn't read the OP closely enough to see that you're a GROOM! Whoops! WELCOME!

 

[norm&linda]

We had a small Disney Memories Wedding, as we are DVC members but The Swan is a lovely location - we dine at Swan and Dolphin mostly during our stays - I am sure you will be pleased with your choice.

 

[SarahKathleen2006]

We just started planing an October 2012 wedding at the Swan and Dolphin. We are hoping for October 15 but we haven't go the okay yet. We planned on an escape wedding but we need more guests then the 18 . We are booking through Just Marry Inc Karen is our assigned planner and so far she seems awesome. We got a qoute for 35-50 guests, officiant, flowers, fresh rose petals, a wedding arch, One hour photo cd of 40 pictures, bottle water for the guests and a three tier cake and it is less than $4500. That doesn't include the reception but we are still lost on what to do for the reception. We want to keep it personal but under $1500. I am sure the price will change when I pick my exact cake, flowers, extras, etc.

 

[SarahKathleen2006]

RE-reading I wanted to make it clear we hope to keep wedding under 5000, reception under 1500, rings under 6000 and dress under 2000 Honeymoon under 3000

 

[SarahKathleen2006]

I forgot to mention that qoute includes a violinist

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi and welcome - it is lovely to have a S/D groom on board!!!
My gorgeous girls have answered your questions far better than I could, but I just wanted to say welcome and say that I am certain you will not regret your decision to have a S/D wedding. We are a very friendly bunch and will be happy to answer any queries you may have. Looking forward to following along!!