swan/dolphin bride??????

[NJtoATL]

If you are/ were aSwan and Dolphin Bride please post your pictures and your experiences. I am thinking about doing a vow renewal there in the spring.

thanks

 

[DiSnEyFrEaK22]

S&D Bride-to-be here! I would contact JustMarry to get more information on your Vow Renewal!

 

[DiSnEyFrEaK22]

Here is Susan's contact information:

Susan Southerland

President and Founder
4785 Blue Major Drive
Windermere, FL 34786
Office: 407-839-3244x1
Fax: 321-234-0247
www.justmarry.com
susan.southerland@justmarry.com

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi I am having my VR on 4th May 2011 at the Swan's West Courtyard.
My planner is Karen who will see me right through to the big day itself!!
I have nothing but praise for her. She is full of great ideas and quick to answer all e-mails and questions.

 

[NJtoATL]

Thanks for all of the replies. I have been looking into this for two months. What I really want is the good, bad, and the ugly...... real testimonies about there S/D wedding. I think that I am leaning toward them because I want limited fuss, spend limited amount of money. Just something simple. I spent way too much money when I got married. Trying not to do that this time around.

 

[DiSnEyFrEaK22]

I think S&D would be a great option for you then. Karen is amazing! Here is some more information:
Couples who have married at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin have enjoyed the following services: Ceremony hosted at the Crescent Terrace or the West Fountain Courtyard, Officiant to perform the ceremony, Decorated wedding arch, Nosegay bridal bouquet and Groom’s boutonniere, Single ceremony musician, Two-tier decorated wedding cake and a bottle of champagne.
The fee for the above celebration is $2,822.00

Keep us updated on what you decide to do

 

[aristocatz]

We are also getting married at the S/D and going through Just Marry. Karen has been wonderful so far!! She is very prompt & thorough & just a really nice person overall!

I have read great reviews on S/D weddings & the grounds are beautiful, if you have not seen them yet.

The S/D is a lovely and much less expensive alternative to DFTW & they also allow much more flexibility with vendors.

 

[Mic]

My daughter is getting married at the Swan and Dolphin on August 5. We are not using Just Marry because another DIS bride was not happy with them and shared her experience here. We are using Michele Butler, who used to work for Just Marry, and she has been great so far. The only issues we have had so far is in dealing with the Swan, and the fact that only one person handles all the catering. She is just super busy, but does respond via email pretty quickly. We were offered the same package by Michele Butler as a previous poster mentioned being offered through JustMarry, for $2822, with the option of adding things like additional floral, photography, videography, hair and makeup, etc. for additional money. We chose to go with a basic ceremony for $1600 that included the Swan location, officiant(Tim Herring), and Michele's services. We can add the arch for $300-500, as well as other package components a la carte. The cakes in the package serve 25-35, and we have 50 guests, so we upgraded the cake, and included the cost in our food/reception bill. So far, what we like about the Swan and Dolphin: we booked our own DJ (DJ Miles) and photographers(the Arndts), and can bring our own centerpieces as long as they are approved beforehand. The price of the wedding cake is very reasonable for what we are getting(3 layers, all different flavors, with different fillings). My daughter met with the pastry chef and is confident the cake will be great. We know the food will be great for the reception, but compared to Downtown Disney and offsite reception locations, it is pricey. Comparing the food cost to Disney, it is very close, so you won't save much money there, but the food is reputed to be as good. We are going with a simple buffet offering chicken breast, a pasta dish, two salads, and seasonal vegetables, with the wedding cake being our only dessert. The Swan's bar options are a little less expensive than Disney, but not much. We are leaning towards serving beer and wine only. Having the ceremony and reception at the Swan allowed us to spend money on things that were more important to us. My daughter has one year of college left, a sister that will be a junior in college next year, and a brother who will start his freshman year a week after her wedding...need I say more? While we were not required to spend any nights at the Swan or Dolphin, we were not offered much of a discount to do so, either...that can be good or bad, depending on your needs. The ceremony locations are limited, especially if you have more than 35 guests, and you may not be able to get your first choice. We had to change our date to have the reception at the Swan, and then got our second-choice ceremony location. I have no doubt that everything will be fine, though. Once the wedding is over, I will post back how things went, and post the most important thing...the budget breakdown. The information I gleaned from this Board from other brides helped me tremendously, and I definitely want to contribute what I can. Good luck!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I read the review of the Disbride you are refering to and was too worried about using JustMarry because of this. I have, however, read reviews of/spoken to many brides who went through JM at the S/D and were extremely pleased with them. Most of the problems which that bride had were to do with the weather and the unsuitable location offered to her because of it. She also had some problems with her co-ordinator not e-mailing back - which I have not had so far. My co-ordinator has done her very best to re-assure me about back up locations sending pictures and telling me that all will be done to make any location look it's best eg putting candles around the room etc. In the end I decided to trust her and go with JM. I am lucky in that my VR is in a quiet time and not in a peak rainfall time, so I decided that if the worst happened, I would maybe get lucky and not all the suitable back-up locations would be booked out. The poor disappointed Disbride ended up with a location I thought was quite nice anyway in the end!!
I decided to go with JM as this was the only negative comment I had read about them amongst many positive ones and so far I have been extremely pleased.

 

[lurkyloo]

There is also a Swan/Dolphin FAQ sticky at the top of the forum.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1055624

Several past S/D brides have posted their experiences there.

 

[aristocatz]

I read the review of the Disbride you are refering to and was too worried about using JustMarry because of this. I have, however, read reviews of/spoken to many brides who went through JM at the S/D and were extremely pleased with them. Most of the problems which that bride had were to do with the weather and the unsuitable location offered to her because of it. She also had some problems with her co-ordinator not e-mailing back - which I have not had so far. My co-ordinator has done her very best to re-assure me about back up locations sending pictures and telling me that all will be done to make any location look it's best eg putting candles around the room etc. In the end I decided to trust her and go with JM. I am lucky in that my VR is in a quiet time and not in a peak rainfall time, so I decided that if the worst happened, I would maybe get lucky and not all the suitable back-up locations would be booked out. The poor disappointed Disbride ended up with a location I thought was quite nice anyway in the end!!
I decided to go with JM as this was the only negative comment I had read about them amongst many positive ones and so far I have been extremely pleased.

Just wanted to add that the particular planner she had no longer works for Just Marry. I did a little research on that when we started planning. I know some stuff was due to weather, but this bride unfortunately ended up with a bad egg for planners, which I guess could essentially happen anywhere. Believe it or not, I have even come across a few bad reviews about DFTW planners! Anyways, with the other bride in mention, luckily, thanks to her officiant taking the lead, her wedding still ended up to be beautiful!!

We have Karen from JM, who is just a doll! She emails us back within hours, even lets us know if she is leaving for the afternoon to coordinate a wedding & might not be able to be contacted for a few hours! She is really nice and thorough and has offered us great advice thus far! She also gets great reviews from other Dis'ers who have used her and she gets great reviews on the web. I also like that JM has a FB page, so I can check out other weddings they have planned

 

[NJtoATL]

Thanks again for all of the replies. If I decide to have a VR, it will most certainly be at the Swan/Dolphin. When I visit in November I will make my final decision. That gives me 6 months to plan. Six months for some of you may be short notice, but I did the 300 guest thing the first time. This time it may just be 15-20 people tops. I really just want it to be the two of us. That won't require much planning. 1) Already decided not to wear a gown. 2) Already found favors. 3) Many of my friends are clergy. 4) Not having a reception just a cocktail hour. 5) I won't need a DJ. Like I said before, I'm keeping it REAL simple.