Swan & Dolphin Weddings FAQ

[Sizzle]

I'm having my first mini meltdown. I've been engaged for 5 months and not getting married for another twelve. I might need to find a therapist Hoping my amazing DIS Brides can offer a hanky or some advise.

My contact at the Blue Zoo is completely non responsive. I have been e-mailing with her for nearly 4 weeks. She won't answer my questions about using them for the reception (mainly which of the two dates I asked about were available) and instead wanted to talk on the phone. That's fine and dandy except it's been weeks of back and forth and she hasn't called me and hasn't responded to my last e-mail for 5 days.

At this point my whole wedding is on hold. I can't confirm anything until I know what dates they have available in addition to sorting out my other questions about using the space. Planning a destination wedding from Seattle is nerve wracking enough, but if I cant get the reception venue to even tell me what dates they have available I'm questioning the whole thing. Suggestions? Tissues? *bride freak out over*

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Do you have a package booked with the Swan/Dolphin yet? If so, I am sure Karen will liase with BlueZoo (or at least put a rocket under them!!) for you. I originally wanted to have my 'Morning after Brunch' at 'Fresh' (our plans changed later on), and when I had communication problems with them, she got the information I needed out of them. And that booking wouldn't even have been on my VR day, so technically she was far from obliged to do that. She is very helpful!!!

 

[Jilian]

Karen doesn't do any reception stuff. To be honest Bluezoo was my first choice but I had the same problem. The contact woman would NOT answer my questions no matter how hard I tried, she just kept saying that they didn't book until 9 mos in advance. I was concerned that if they were that non-responsive when they were trying to earn my business then how would they be when they had already earned my business? That is exactly why I crossed them off my list and opted for Il Mulino. Il Mulino was at the bottom of my list but their customer service is absolutely outstanding. They always get back to me very quickly and when I went in for a tour the manager was extremely friendly and offered us loads of options like cocktail hour in their courtyard or even the option of just having drinks as a group in their lounge before dinner. They have always been more than accomodating and just wonderful to work with.

I'm sorry you aren't getting the answers that you are looking for, I think that maybe you should consider taking your business elsewhere. There are private rooms in Shula's and Il Mulino that are beautiful and there is another place called Kimonos that may have private/semi private. All are either in the swan or dolphin. You will likely be paying a lot of money for your dinner so you deserve to be treated with respect and courtesy.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Fair enough about Karen, but she certainly helped me contact Fresh when I was having difficulty!!!
I agree with Jillian. You really can do without the stress of communication problems whilst planning such an important event. Maybe you should re-consider your options. For what it's worth, I highly recommend the service I have so far received from Citrico's at the GF. But perhaps you wish to stay at the Swan?

 

[Sizzle]

Thank you both for your advice. At the least, it felt good to get that frustration off my chest. It actually went both ways.

I sent an e-mail to Karen about some other planning details and mentioned that I was having difficulty with Blue Zoo. She did reach out to them on my behalf and learned that the contact has had some personal issues and has been out of the office. The contact even called me today (for the first time since we started talking a month ago). We missed each other and are planning to chat more on Sunday. Fingers crossed on that.

I'm still pretty weary about working with them, but that bit of information might save the deal. We are really set on staying on property and my fiance is a huge Tom Douglas fan. Hoping it gets better from here on out. <3

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I am glad Karen could help!!! I hope it all works out!! Keep us posted

 

[RealLittleMermaid]

Another question for you (this is so helpful)! Does anyone know the guest count maximums for the locations? I am planning on 50 and I really want the swan fountain. Thanks!

 

[KristiLyn]

Another question for you (this is so helpful)! Does anyone know the guest count maximums for the locations? I am planning on 50 and I really want the swan fountain. Thanks!

I believe the courtyard holds up to 30 people

 

[Jilian]

I believe the courtyard holds up to 30 people

Yes, that is what Karen told me a few months ago. Honestly, I don't see how the heck you could squeeze 30 guests in at the courtyard without having them packed in like sardines. I have no idea where they'd put 30 chairs. I was just there a few months ago to look around and the courtyard was one of the places I visited. Crescent terrace seems to hold the most. The beach might be another option too but I was told that it isn't very private at all (there is a playground nearby).

 

[KristiLyn]

I was thinking the same thing. I haven't seen the fountain in person, but it doesn't look to be able to fit that many people! This is my main concern as well. We have about 25 people coming and I'm extremely worried as we have booked that location...

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I'm not so sure you know!! We had 13 guests and we only had one row of chairs. There was room for another row of chairs at the widest point. I reckon that 30 would just about work!! But I agree it would be a little full looking - maybe about 25 would be better!!!

 

[KristiLyn]

That's great news!!

 

[quandrea]

How does a Swan/Dolphin wedding compare to DFTW? We are looking at booking the Memories package for Dec 2011. Should I consider Swan or Dolphin. There will be nine of us--me and dh, my dd 7 and dd, ds 2 as well as my sisters and parents. The 2 year olds don't count toward guest count at Disney. We are keeping it casual and simple. Any thoughts on this. I'd love tohave minnie and mickey, but I can't with the memories pkg and I don't want to upgrade to Escape (too much money).

 

[Jilian]

That is a hard question to answer, I think it is a matter of preferance. With a swan/dolphin wedding you could have mickey and any other character but you can not have a MK photo shoot. The basic package @ s/d starts just over $1500 but includes any amount of guests you want (I'm having around 70). S/D weddings don't seem to have as many restrictions as DFTW, you can pick and choose through s/d's vendors or you can bring your own in without penalty. From what I've heard s/d wedding planners get back to you a lot faster than DFTW, we have Karen as our planner and I almost always get a response within an hour or two. With a S/D wedding you cannot use any of the DFTW locations like wedding pavillion, etc. You also cannot wear your dress in the parks, even if you book a dessert party @ epcot after. I think that is about it. I guess it is all a matter of what is most important to you. Good luck deciding!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

As Jilian says, it is difficult to say what would be best for you!!! I certainly have nothing but praise for Karen and the team and the S/D. Our VR went like clockwork and I honestly couldn't fault anything!!!! There are a lot of things (eg communication with planners) which seems to go better with S/D than with DFTW, but I have only reached that opinion by reading these boards!!! I guess you need to decide on what is important to you and decide which is the best route to take
Good luck with your decision!!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Oops double post!!!

 

[pixie921]

I dealt with both DFTW and Karen at Just Marry for the Swan. We were contracted with DFTW and left them for the Swan for a whole SLEW of reasons, most of which come down to the fact that DFTW is understaffed and that the organization as a whole doesn't personally care whether their clients are happy or not. We had an MK shoot scheduled and they canceled it on us, and that was the last straw for us.

By going with the Swan, we are having exactly what we want with none of the rules and restrictions that DFTW imposes (though to be fair, you probably wouldn't have too much of an issue with those if you're only looking at a Memories event) and we are literally saving thousands of dollars. We are having 16 people total and our ceremony will be out at the beautiful Crescent Terrace. We are also having Mickey & Minnie.

Good luck with your decision ... I know personally that it's a difficult one!!

 

[quandrea]

I dealt with both DFTW and Karen at Just Marry for the Swan. We were contracted with DFTW and left them for the Swan for a whole SLEW of reasons, most of which come down to the fact that DFTW is understaffed and that the organization as a whole doesn't personally care whether their clients are happy or not. We had an MK shoot scheduled and they canceled it on us, and that was the last straw for us.

By going with the Swan, we are having exactly what we want with none of the rules and restrictions that DFTW imposes (though to be fair, you probably wouldn't have too much of an issue with those if you're only looking at a Memories event) and we are literally saving thousands of dollars. We are having 16 people total and our ceremony will be out at the beautiful Crescent Terrace. We are also having Mickey & Minnie.

Good luck with your decision ... I know personally that it's a difficult one!!

Spoke to Karen today; she is going to give me a quote. I'm wondering if it is the way to go. With the Memories pkg, my parents can't attend; they'd meet us for tea following. No such limit at the Swan. I'm also thinking Crescent terrace--beautiful. We don't need a photographer or music, my sister is a photographer and an IPOD would do. And I'd really like Minnie and/ or mickey. Have to crunch the numbers. I was thinking if we didn't get characters, we could have dinner with the characters at the Garden Grove. Have to add a cake at both venues, although at the Swan they would serve it, not so with the Memories pkg. Rambling, sorry, my head is spinning...

 

[bellaminnie]

quandrea - it was a really hard decision for me between disney & the swan. at the beginning i was going with a swan wedding because it was cheaper and the flexibility. what i really wanted was to get married at disney, so i switched over to the dark side and went with the escape wedding. when i worked with karen at just married she was great, she answers emails quickly. just married can provide prerecorded music for a small cost. i think if you bring your own ipod you either have to have the swan setup a speaker system or bring your own portable speaker. i bought a portable speaker for our first dance at our cake ceremony. it was really loud but i'm not sure how far you are when you start walking towards crescent terrace, if you will hear it. it worked great on commander terrace (grand floridian) though. Attached is a link for it:

http://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing...layers/dp/B001ELK2NY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

i know you mentioned your sister can take the photos, if you want a professional though, i'd recommend randy chapman, he was great and his rates are great if you just want to get your pics on cd/dvd and print your own.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

quandrea - it was a really hard decision for me between disney & the swan. at the beginning i was going with a swan wedding because it was cheaper and the flexibility. what i really wanted was to get married at disney, so i switched over to the dark side and went with the escape wedding. when i worked with karen at just married she was great, she answers emails quickly. just married can provide prerecorded music for a small cost. i think if you bring your own ipod you either have to have the swan setup a speaker system or bring your own portable speaker. i bought a portable speaker for our first dance at our cake ceremony. it was really loud but i'm not sure how far you are when you start walking towards crescent terrace, if you will hear it. it worked great on commander terrace (grand floridian) though. Attached is a link for it:

http://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing...layers/dp/B001ELK2NY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

i know you mentioned your sister can take the photos, if you want a professional though, i'd recommend randy chapman, he was great and his rates are great if you just want to get your pics on cd/dvd and print your own.

I have to say that getting married at the Swan is getting married at Disney - it is just not being arranged through DFTW. You can have exactly the same things (except Cindy's carriage and bridal MK shoot)!!!