Swan & Dolphin Weddings FAQ

[quandrea]

That's what I think. In fact, being able to get the characters at the swan but not with the memories pkg is a tipping point for me. I think the two pkgs will be about $700 apart. A character isn't much more than that so we'll probably splurge. Having a character really is a dream of mine, so it looks like it will be the Swan. Also, Crescent Terrace is so beautiful and private, much more than the sites offered by memories pkg with DFTW. I have so much to tell; I'll have to start a planning journal. How do I post pics?

 

[KristiLyn]

That's what I think. In fact, being able to get the characters at the swan but not with the memories pkg is a tipping point for me. I think the two pkgs will be about $700 apart. A character isn't much more than that so we'll probably splurge. Having a character really is a dream of mine, so it looks like it will be the Swan. Also, Crescent Terrace is so beautiful and private, much more than the sites offered by memories pkg with DFTW. I have so much to tell; I'll have to start a planning journal. How do I post pics?

The easiest way that I've found is to use photobucket. Upload your pics and use the IMG code
Congrats on choosing the Swan!!

 

[minniebride]

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)!!!

You actually can rent a carriage though!
Not Cinderella's, but certainly princess-y!!
You can also do other park shoots (not MK). I know Randy Chapman does them.

I 100% agree that getting married at the Swan IS getting married at WDW. You are just going through a different company & paying alot less money for more flexibility. We are getting married at Crescent Terrace and it is located in the same general area as two DFTW ceremony sites (Commander's Terrace & Sea Breeze Point.....actually I think SBP is the view behind Crescent Terrace).

We also have the wonderful Karen (I wonder if she handles all the S/D weddings?) & I have to say that so far, I absolutely feel like I'm getting the "Disney treatment." Karen always gets back to me within an hour, she is so thorough, and we are getting top notch floral, photographer, musicians (same musicians & photographers that DFTW hires, by the way). Their pastry chef is replicating a cake I saw on here that was made by DFTW. We are having a cocktail hour and a ballroom lunch reception (plated), just like people do in DFTW except there is no limit to number of guests. We started out as 25 guests and our list has doubled, without any penalty or questioning from the S/D. We are also getting Mickey and Minnie (hired through Disney) & having an Epcot Illuminations Dessert Party.

Swan weddings are such a hidden gem!

I will have to post our total BEO for everything once we are finished, to be able to compare it to what a Wishes wedding would have cost us!

Tinkerbell 766: I haven't been on these boards in a while and I see you had your VR! I'll have to catch up in your PJ. I hope it was wonderful!!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Thank you sweetie - Our VR was the most magical day of our lives!!! I agree about S/D weddings being a hidden gem!!! Please feel free to check out my (work in progress) TR. I have a few photos up there and pictures of the ceremony will follow shortly!!
I did know about the carriage, in fact we looked in to it but decided it was not for us!!

I may be wrong (it wouldn't be the first time), but I am pretty sure that Randy cannot do in-park shoots in bridal attire. I think that anybody can do an in -park shoot in bridal attire in any park except MK (which is a privilege reserved for just DFTW brides), but they have to (officially) use DPS.

Also, I think you will find that Commander's Terrace is over at the GF. It is the place used for the cake/champagne reception of Escape brides who have used the WP for their ceremony. Sea Breeze Point is, of course near the Swan, but is actually over the other side of the Boardwalk to the Swan, on the Epcot side. You may be able to see it from the Crescent terrace, although it would probably be behind you.

 

[minniebride]

Thank you sweetie - Our VR was the most magical day of our lives!!! I agree about S/D weddings being a hidden gem!!! Please feel free to check out my (work in progress) TR. I have a few photos up there and pictures of the ceremony will follow shortly!!
I did know about the carriage, in fact we looked in to it but decided it was not for us!!

I may be wrong (it wouldn't be the first time), but I am pretty sure that Randy cannot do in-park shoots in bridal attire. I think that anybody can do an in -park shoot in bridal attire in any park except MK (which is a privilege reserved for just DFTW brides), but they have to (officially) use DPS.

Also, I think you will find that Commander's Terrace is over at the GF. It is the place used for the cake/champagne reception of Escape brides who have used the WP for their ceremony. Sea Breeze Point is, of course near the Swan, but is actually over the other side of the Boardwalk to the Swan, on the Epcot side. You may be able to see it from the Crescent terrace, although it would probably be behind you.

Hmm...what is the venue I am thinking of? I was thinking of the ceremony site at the Yacht Club. Thought it was called Commander's Terrace-do you know which place I'm thinking of?

I will definitely check out your TR-I'm so happy to he4ar you had such a wonderful day!!

 

[pixie921]

Hmm...what is the venue I am thinking of? I was thinking of the ceremony site at the Yacht Club. Thought it was called Commander's Terrace-do you know which place I'm thinking of?

I believe that one is simply called the Wedding Gazebo at the Yacht Club. As Joanne said, Commander's Terrace is the pretty spot on the 2nd floor of the Grand Floridian that they use for Escape weddings' cake cuttings.

 

[J.ThaddeusToad]

Hello fellow Swan brides! I have a few questions and I would appreciate any help you can give! A little background on my upcoming nuptials: Getting married at the Crescent Terrace on November 20th with a reception to follow at Il Mulino. We are expecting about 30 guests.

I have been reading some of your planning journals and y'all have probably mentioned some of this info before, so thanks for repeating in advance

- Have you ladies had much contact with your officiant for planning the ceremony for your special day? I have emailed Rev. Tim and since the date is still a ways off, I'm not sure if he was eager to say much to me lol! He basically said to trust him... which I do since I have heard great things about him. Still just makes me a little anxious.

- Our guests are staying at multiple places (most non-Disney) and only a few are staying at the Swan, so we want to help people out with transportation. I've researched some options for having a shuttle, but we know plenty of people will have rental cars so we have thought about paying for people's parking. What have you ladies done? I've thought about contacting the Swan and asking if we can get a discounted parking fee or have it waived since we will be spending quite a bit of money at Il Mulino and have brought some guests to their hotel... any thoughts?

- Has anyone experienced having the music provided by JustMarry? I would love to hear how this has worked out for others. We had planned on hiring a musician, but instead my brother will be performing a song for us during the ceremony and I'd like to use his musical talents for our recessional as well... but for the processional he will be walking me down the aisle, so I'm thinking of having the pre-recorded music.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Catherine sweetie - Good to see your plans are moving along!!

Rev Tim is an absolute sweetheart and composed for us the most beautiful and personal ceremony, but I agree that the way he goes about things is a little scary and seems a bit dis-organized. He is not too good at replying to e-mails and when he does eventually reply, he comes over as being a bit impersonal and to the point. I think that he is not too comfortable with cyber communication, as in real life, he is the most darling and chatty of men.
I, too, found it hard to trust him and felt I should have more control. He doesn't start working on your ceremony until a couple of weeks before, so sending him your contributions before this would probably be futile.
My advice to you would be to work on everything you want included in your ceremony at home (eg readings poems etc) and have it all ready to go. Then at about two weeks before, e-mail it all off to Rev Tim. At this point he will be more 'in tune' with your ceremony. He will then, if you ask him, email you the order of how things will proceed. I was printing out my own ceremony programmes, and so I left it until two days before we left for the US before I did them. However, if you are having a lot of guests or having your programmes professionally printed, you will need to bug him for the order of service (which, luckily, I don't think changes, fundamentally, very much, apart from things like having a sand or candle ceremony etc).
When it comes down to the wire, he will come through, I am sure. We added a bible reading into our ceremony at the last minute (literally the same day I was preparing the programmes for printing), and I e-mailed him with this new information. He immediately emailed me the new running order and the new reading was included in the ceremony.
I think Karen works with him a fair bit, so if you can't get any direct joy from Rev Tim, ask Karen to give him a nudge on your behalf. Good luck - I know how hard it is to be trusting and patient, but with our Rev Tim I am afraid you have no choice. I am confident it will all be alright in the end!!

Transport - Are your guests all staying on-site at WDW resorts? How many do you have? If you were wanting to provide transport, a mini-bus scenario might be the way to go. This may be more difficult if your guests are all off-property and spread about though!!
Again, talk to Karen. She will have some ideas for you I am sure. She really is the most efficient of planners and is excellent at her job. Use her, sweetie - she won't let you down!!

Music - We had a musician, but I know this question has come up before, and recorded music can be used at a quite reasonable charge. Once again, Karen will have all the answers for you. She really knows best!!!

 

[J.ThaddeusToad]

Catherine sweetie - Good to see your plans are moving along!!

Rev Tim is an absolute sweetheart and composed for us the most beautiful and personal ceremony, but I agree that the way he goes about things is a little scary and seems a bit dis-organized. He is not too good at replying to e-mails and when he does eventually reply, he comes over as being a bit impersonal and to the point. I think that he is not too comfortable with cyber communication, as in real life, he is the most darling and chatty of men.
I, too, found it hard to trust him and felt I should have more control. He doesn't start working on your ceremony until a couple of weeks before, so sending him your contributions before this would probably be futile.
My advice to you would be to work on everything you want included in your ceremony at home (eg readings poems etc) and have it all ready to go. Then at about two weeks before, e-mail it all off to Rev Tim. At this point he will be more 'in tune' with your ceremony. He will then, if you ask him, email you the order of how things will proceed. I was printing out my own ceremony programmes, and so I left it until two days before we left for the US before I did them. However, if you are having a lot of guests or having your programmes professionally printed, you will need to bug him for the order of service (which, luckily, I don't think changes, fundamentally, very much, apart from things like having a sand or candle ceremony etc).
When it comes down to the wire, he will come through, I am sure. We added a bible reading into our ceremony at the last minute (literally the same day I was preparing the programmes for printing), and I e-mailed him with this new information. He immediately emailed me the new running order and the new reading was included in the ceremony.
I think Karen works with him a fair bit, so if you can't get any direct joy from Rev Tim, ask Karen to give him a nudge on your behalf. Good luck - I know how hard it is to be trusting and patient, but with our Rev Tim I am afraid you have no choice. I am confident it will all be alright in the end!!

Transport - Are your guests all staying on-site at WDW resorts? How many do you have? If you were wanting to provide transport, a mini-bus scenario might be the way to go. This may be more difficult if your guests are all off-property and spread about though!!
Again, talk to Karen. She will have some ideas for you I am sure. She really is the most efficient of planners and is excellent at her job. Use her, sweetie - she won't let you down!!

Music - We had a musician, but I know this question has come up before, and recorded music can be used at a quite reasonable charge. Once again, Karen will have all the answers for you. She really knows best!!!

Joanne, you have helped put my mind at ease regarding Rev. Tim! I do plan on doing my own programs, so I will plan on that being one of the very last things I do (and I'll go back over to your report and admire yours again!). A majority of our guests are staying at the resorts by DTD that are on property, but not Disney owned. And others are staying in condos very close to property. I will definitely check with Karen about this one and get her up to speed on our current music plans!

 

[minniebride]

I believe that one is simply called the Wedding Gazebo at the Yacht Club. As Joanne said, Commander's Terrace is the pretty spot on the 2nd floor of the Grand Floridian that they use for Escape weddings' cake cuttings.

Yup, that's the spot I was thinking of-thanks!

 

[msDoubtfire]

Absalutly smashing

 

[pixie921]

Just an FYI ... This week's Inside Disney Weddings podcast is an interview with Susan Southerland, owner of Just Marry! and she talks all about JM's services and weddings at the Swan and Dolphin.

http://www.insidedisneyweddings.com/

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Also just FYI, I am recording another podcast on Monday 8th August, presumably for transmission that week. EEEK!!!!

 

[pixie921]

Also just FYI, I am recording another podcast on Monday 8th August, presumably for transmission that week. EEEK!!!!

YAY!!!

 

[Jilian]

Also just FYI, I am recording another podcast on Monday 8th August, presumably for transmission that week. EEEK!!!!

Yeah!

 

[Jilian]

Just an FYI ... This week's Inside Disney Weddings podcast is an interview with Susan Southerland, owner of Just Marry! and she talks all about JM's services and weddings at the Swan and Dolphin.

http://www.insidedisneyweddings.com/

Thanks so much for this! It was very imformative, I even learned some things that I didn't know. I'm so happy to have picked Swan!

 

[lt90]

I am seriously considering a swan wedding (disney rules/policies/prices are doing my head in!!) but I have a far amount of questions!
1.) If I had a beach wedding is there lots of people around? Is it roped off? Can you set up arch/chairs how you want to?
2.) Can mickey and minnie come anywhere on swan ie. the beach? Or do they have the same rules as disney?
3.)Is there any private dining options? I dont like the idea of just a restaurant but I dont want a boring room either!!
4.) Can I choose my own officiant? Or do you have to use a particular person?

And finally did anyone regret a Swan wedding?! The 2 things that are really keeping me to disney is MK shoot and DP! I know I can still have DP at sago cay but the idea of booking it and avoiding wedding talk seems a lot of hassle and id be terrified that id turn up in my dress and they would turn us away!!
TIA!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi sweetie
I can answer some of your questions and some I cannot answer.
I am afraid that I know nothing about beach weddings at all as it was something that I didn't consider for myself, so I can't answer the question about the mice being allowed on the beach or not. If they are not allowed on the beach at Disney resorts etc, I am pretty sure that they would not be allowed on the beach at the Swan, as it is Disney themselves who control those mice!!! Karen at JustMarry will know!!
There are plenty of private dining options at the S/D, but like Disney, these options are not cheap. Many of the restaurants have private rooms both at the S/D and at the Disney resorts, but these will have a minimum expenditure attached to their use. I was planning to use the private room at Citricos but, unfortunately, my guest list was too big as it only seats 12. There are also ballrooms and conference rooms used for wedding receptions at the S/D, as there are in the Disney resorts.
As for your question about any regret about having a Swan wedding, the answer is a very definite NO!!!! I loved every minute of our VR. We had none of the communication problems that some DFTW brides seem to experience with their planners. Karen is excellent at getting back to you - usually on the same day, and is always there with advice or suggestions if you need them!!
The flexibility with a Swan wedding is what I enjoyed most, though. I chose my own photographer, officiant (so, no you don't have to use a particular one!!), musician and cake maker. I was going to choose my own florist too, but it didn't work out, and once again I turned to Karen, she made a suggestion, and in the end to say I was thrilled with my floral, was an understatement!!!
I considered having a DP at Sago Cay too but binned the idea in the end. I must say that I am glad I did!! We were so full from dinner, that I know that the desserts would just have gone to waste!!! We had planned to go down to the GF Marina and watch the fireworks from there after dinner, but in the end, we went up to the Top of the World Lounge to have drinks and watch the fireworks (we were staying at BLT).
I am pretty sure that they will not eject you from the GF if you turn up to your DP in your dress. I wandered round several resorts in mine with no problem. After all, you will have paid good money for your DP!!!
Another thing that put me off having a Sago Cay DP was the price of the piped in music ('Wishes' IMHO is nothing without the music) and at the Marina (and at the TOTWL) it is piped in for free!!!!
As for the MK shoot, well I have strong views about the value of that (especially lately with so many disastrous results), so needless to say, that wasn't a consideration for us at all!!
I highly recommend you contact JustMarry by e-mail. They will answer all your questions without obligation!! If you speak to Karen, tell her Joanne says hi!!
Good luck whatever you decide and feel free to check out my PJ/TR (link in my signature) which has reviews of everything and everybody!!!

 

[quandrea]

I agree wholeheartedly with Joanne. I too am working with Karen and things are going so well. She is much faster than Disney with returning phone calls, emails etc. We ended up going with the West courtyard at the Swan b/c it was less expensive and we were able to customize. I didn't need the photographer Disney would provide, nor did I need the violinist, transportation, in room Celebration, etc. What I did want was the freedom to have the number of guests I chose and Mickey and Minnie (not an option with DFTW Memories pkg.). I do know that Mickey and Minnie will only appear at private locations, so I think the beach is out, but you should confirm that and not go on my word solely.

Just Marry's pkg also includes the officiant fee, DFTW's does not.

As for reception options: We are having a private tea reception in the West Courtyard. We are paying $35 per head for adults, $20 for children and $0 for children 2 and under. It is very reasonable, and we like the fact that it will be just us rather than our group in a restaurant. I think it will be better for our small children (2, 2, and 7). Hope this helps.

You can check out my PJ. I don't have a link, but it is called: Renewing the Magic: Andrea and Franco's 10th anniversary VR.

 

[minniebride]

I am seriously considering a swan wedding (disney rules/policies/prices are doing my head in!!) but I have a far amount of questions!
1.) If I had a beach wedding is there lots of people around? Is it roped off? Can you set up arch/chairs how you want to?
2.) Can mickey and minnie come anywhere on swan ie. the beach? Or do they have the same rules as disney?
3.)Is there any private dining options? I dont like the idea of just a restaurant but I dont want a boring room either!!
4.) Can I choose my own officiant? Or do you have to use a particular person?

And finally did anyone regret a Swan wedding?! The 2 things that are really keeping me to disney is MK shoot and DP! I know I can still have DP at sago cay but the idea of booking it and avoiding wedding talk seems a lot of hassle and id be terrified that id turn up in my dress and they would turn us away!!
TIA!

I am having a Swan wedding in December, so I can add to this a bit:

-You can absolutely have a DP. I'm having an Illuminations DP in Epcot (French Lower Terrace!) & I am getting the same exact package that DFTB have. I booked through Disney Event Planning. We told them it was a holiday gathering when we booked (which it sorta is as well). I cannot wear my wedding dress because we are entering through the international gateway, but I'm OK with that, since we booked our DP the night before our wedding! We are also having a welcome dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

-I am also having Mickey & Minnie at our reception. You actually go through Disney to book this, but my Just Marry planner got me in touch with them. Same exact service as through DFTW, so I'm guessing the same rules apply. I did know a Swan bride who had pictures of Mickey & Minnie outside at Crescent Terrace for the cake cutting. They may also go to the beach, but I"m not sure. Mickey & Minnie will be inside at our reception.

-We are having an actual reception in one of the Swan ballrooms. I'm so excited with the room & the linens & stuff! Swan catering is also award winning. Sampled it during our planning session (which was no additional charge or time limit). They even served one tier of our cake so we could get an idea of what it will look like! We had it custom designed with snowflakes and there was no additional charge for the design. We are also having a cocktail hour in the Swan Courtyard.

-We chose the officiant we wanted. It is actually an officiant that DFTW uses as well. We will have Randy Chapman for photography, Beaute Special for hair & make up. Even our DJ is a DJ that DFTW uses. The Swan has access to all the same vendors except for floral. Our floral is from Greenery Productions & my parents got to meet with the florist personally to coordinate our flowers & linens (with me on speaker phone).

-Best of all, our planner Karen is AMAZING!!! She is so knowledgeable, organized, and she emails you back within the hour all the time! She makes you feel very relaxed and taken care of & just seems like she genuinely loves what she does for a living She will talk to you on the phone, meet with you in person, whatever anytime you want (no additional charge or time limit). My parents met her & our catering coordinator one day & they also gave them a tour of the ceremony site & reception room.

Really the only thing you lose out on having a Swan wedding is the MK photoshoot, but you can have a photoshoot in any of the other parks. I would have loved the MK photoshoot, but honestly, I feel like I am having a DFTW for half the price, so to me it was worth the loss.

The best thing about the Swan wedding is the flexibility. We went from 25 guests to 60 guests & that was no problem with the Swan. No increase in price, except for the price of the additional plated lunches & we had to upgrade our cake to accommodate the crowd. You can customize anything.