Swan & Dolphin Weddings FAQ

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi girls!

I know that us S/D girls can't use Cinderella's Coach but I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the alternative to the coach that we can use?

DFi and I were talking yesterday and I told them that S/D brides can't use the Coach or take pics at MK. Surprisingly, he was very upset and asked why I couldn't use the Coach. I thought it was weird but moved along with my story.

Later that night he told me he was going to contact Karen to arrange the Coach as a surprise for me. I feel terrible! (He's so sweet though!)

Anyways, now we want to know what the closest thing we can get to the Coach is and just where it goes exactly..? Would my guests even see the thing?

Thoughts?

I thought Jo mentioned something before about their being an alternative for us to use? Maybe it's just wishful thinking!

I haven't gotten in contact with Karen yet but will do so later in the week!

In the original documentation Karen sent me it mentions the horse and carriage:

Horse and Carriage (booked in two-hour minimums) - $595 for two hours

Hi ladies, we just got back from our menu tasting at Il Mulino and I have some great info to share! When you dine at any of the Signature restaurants at the Swan or Dolphin you are entitled to 2 free hours of camp dolphin for any children in your party. It is for kids ages 4-12 and Camp Dolphin runs from 5:30-midnight. Anything over the 2 hours will be $10/hr per child. They even serve the kids dinner from 7-8. It extends to everyone in your party too. They have room for up to 16 children and they say it books fast so book early. I called today (4 mos out) and they were completely open. I think the limit was 1 kid per adult, so if you had 3 kids you'd have to pay for the third. Still a pretty darn good perk of eating at the Swan or Dolphin! I hope this helps someone else out

Also, the Il Mulino tasting session was amazing. The restaurant was so beautiful at night with the candle light and the food was amazing. I'm so happy to have chosen them for our dinner! I wrote a bit about it in my PJ if anyone is interested in hearing about it.

This makes me even more excited for our dinner there THIS coming Sunday!!!

Hi my gorgeous girls!! I am so sorry I have not been on the boards for a few days - real life getting in the way. Ugh!!!

As you have already figured out, a horse and carriage can be arranged through Karen for a fraction of the cost of what DFTW charges!!! The price of Cinderella's carriage is, IMHO, ridiculous. I don't like it much either as it reminds me of gypsy weddings!!! DFTW also have a landau coach available to their brides, the price of which I cannot remember, but I am sure it will be very expensive. Our beautiful princesses can have their coach for a reasonable price - just contact Karen for availability and current prices.

Jilian sweetie - I am delighted that the tasting went so well, and what a great deal on the children's club!!! Great info!!! Thanks for sharing sweetie!!

Sweet Catherine - Do you know, I knew you were close, but wow you really are close!!!! You must be all excitement!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[Shannon84]

Hi Shannon! I am planning that same location in June!

I am going to have to catch up and read your PJ!!! I love seeing pictures of actual weddings there and hearing all about them!

How exciting! I can't wait to read your TR about the proposal (and everything else! ). I'm planning on being proposed to during our trip in December (wait, is that something you can plan on? I guess it's different when you live together and talk about marriage and stuff like that a lot). Anyways, we're planning on getting married next December, hopefully in the Orlando area (I think Matt [my bf] let go of the cruise wedding idea 'cause I don't think it's really his thing). We'll definitely be doing a WDW restaurant "reception" (probably a private dinner or just an ADR for our group somewhere) and an Epcot dessert party.

Anyways, I live in VA too! I work in Williamsburg, but live in Norfolk.

Good luck on the planning!

I have started my TR I think I might do a PJ over here on the wedding area as well if I can find the time...I havent been back on this thread to respond or see these until now. sorry for the delay in response!!!!

You have to keep us updated on the proposal, very exciting

You arent too far from me at all in VA, thats so cool!!! we should do a mini VA Dismeet

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

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.

Hi there,
so you and I need to pow wow because what I want to do sounds most like what you are doing and I would love to really talk to you about all of it. When is your wedding or when was your wedding? What ballroom did you use? What was your pricing like for all your stuff? What menu stuff did you choose and what were your costs?

I really want a ballroom reception with characters, music, and dancing so please message me or get back to me on my PJ in my signature. I am still in the process of deciding to switch but I am pretty sure I have made my decision to switch yes faith, jillian and joanne I think I have been converted

Ok hope to talk to you soon,
Teresa

 

[quandrea]

Quick question. My onsite planner, Jennifer emailed me today saying that she would be the one to place my favours and seating cards one hour before our start time. Do I need to be there an hour before hand. My two year old twins nap and we probably won't be there until 15min before the ceremony. Perhaps I can send the favours and seating cards ahead with my dad or sister, but I'm not sure. There are only nine of us--placing the items should only take a few moments.

 

[quandrea]

There is a PJ on here is a woman who is having an afternoon tea reception at the Swan & it sounds amazing!!! We are having around 60 guests so we went with something a little more formal.

The beach ceremony site is supposed to be lovely! You can have an outdoor reception over in that area as well! I am almost positive you can bring your own decorations, but you should double check with Karen. You would be amazed at how flexible they are over at the Swan!

We are also having Randy for our photos.....actually ALL of our vendors are the same vendors that DFTW has with the exception of our florist. The florist Karen recommended for us is amazing though and we are so happy with him so far!

That's me. So nice to hear your kind words. We are getting so excited now. Rev Luther will be our officiant and he sent us a copy of the ceremony; it will be beautiful. I'm just waiting to hear from Lindsey at the Swan about whether or not the tea will be buffet or sit down. I think sit down.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Quick question. My onsite planner, Jennifer emailed me today saying that she would be the one to place my favours and seating cards one hour before our start time. Do I need to be there an hour before hand. My two year old twins nap and we probably won't be there until 15min before the ceremony. Perhaps I can send the favours and seating cards ahead with my dad or sister, but I'm not sure. There are only nine of us--placing the items should only take a few moments.

We arrived at the Swan well ahead of time as we were doing our Swan and Boardwalk photos before the ceremony (we had done a first loo). Karen just took our order of service, fans etc from us then and my DD helped her lay them out. I am sure that Jennifer will be understanding, and failing all else, you could arrange to leave them at the Swan the day before for Jennifer to collect. Just ask sweetie I am convinced that Jennifer will be more than helpful!!!

 

[Silverdocz]

Hello all! I am a long time lurker and huge fan of the DIS boards. This is my very first post. I couldn't hold out any longer after reading about the Beach Terrace location questions. I have the video of my wedding online. (It might clear up so location questions) I cannot post a link as this is my first post. But, you can search for it: stvsvideo.com/justmarry

Shout out to Tinkerbell766!!! You were my inspiration for my S&D wedding. When I first started thinking of my wedding, I googled Swan and Dolphin and her post was the first I clicked on

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Karen informed me today that due To a prior obligation she will not be my coordinator so I am getting passed to a girl named diana but I have been assured the the same service that Karen would give me.....I'm nervous! I told Karen this in an email and she again tried to assure me that she will do a great job.


So here is an update and I am having some issue with the flow of the day but I am sure I will figure it out.
Ceremony at 11 am
Reception at fulton's crab house not sure on time for the following reasons

Want to talk pictures with family and bridal party
Transportation getting to downtown Disney
Want to take pictures at resorts in my dress

Dessert party night of the wedding for wishes

Basically I am not sure if I should move the ceremony back to have a dinner at fulton's and give me time to do pictures before the ceremony then I might need to do the dessert party for a rehearsal dinner in which case I would need a cake for the reception.

Any thoughts?

Teresa

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hello all! I am a long time lurker and huge fan of the DIS boards. This is my very first post. I couldn't hold out any longer after reading about the Beach Terrace location questions. I have the video of my wedding online. (It might clear up so location questions) I cannot post a link as this is my first post. But, you can search for it: stvsvideo.com/justmarry

Shout out to Tinkerbell766!!! You were my inspiration for my S&D wedding. When I first started thinking of my wedding, I googled Swan and Dolphin and her post was the first I clicked on

Karen informed me today that due To a prior obligation she will not be my coordinator so I am getting passed to a girl named diana but I have been assured the the same service that Karen would give me.....I'm nervous! I told Karen this in an email and she again tried to assure me that she will do a great job.


So here is an update and I am having some issue with the flow of the day but I am sure I will figure it out.
Ceremony at 11 am
Reception at fulton's crab house not sure on time for the following reasons

Want to talk pictures with family and bridal party
Transportation getting to downtown Disney
Want to take pictures at resorts in my dress

Dessert party night of the wedding for wishes

Basically I am not sure if I should move the ceremony back to have a dinner at fulton's and give me time to do pictures before the ceremony then I might need to do the dessert party for a rehearsal dinner in which case I would need a cake for the reception.

Any thoughts?

Teresa

Silverdocz sweetie - Hi and welcome to our friendly little group!!
Thank you for the huge compliment in saying I was an inspiration to you!! I am immensely honoured and I am so glad to have been some help to you!!
Unfortunately, when I googled 'STVSvideo/JUSTMarry, Stan's site informed me that I need a password or something to gain access. Could you PM me with it if you do not want to post it on the public boards - I would really love to see it!!!

Teresa sweetie - Do you mean that Karen will not have any hand in your planning, or that she will will be your planner up until your big day and then Diana will co-ordinate the day itself? If it is the latter, this is normal form, and I only had Karen co-ordinate my day because I shamelessly begged her to do so!!
I am pretty sure that Diana was the girl that Karen was training up during my time with her, and if so, she is really lovely and terribly sweet!!! I am sure she will be excellent and if Karen has confidence in her, I do too!!!!

As for timings, it's difficult to say what would be best. Are you doing a first look? Which resort do you want to shoot photos at? It sounds like you are currently planning a cake at the DP at Sago Cay - if so are you sure Disney will allow an outside vendor to provide your cake? There would be no problem with this at the Swan or at Fulton's, but I am not so sure at Sago Cay!! Karen/Diana will have transport solutions for you I am sure, but if not give us all a shout. Between us, I am sure we can figure it all out!!

 

[MrsDuck]

Karen informed me today that due To a prior obligation she will not be my coordinator so I am getting passed to a girl named diana but I have been assured the the same service that Karen would give me.....I'm nervous! I told Karen this in an email and she again tried to assure me that she will do a great job.


So here is an update and I am having some issue with the flow of the day but I am sure I will figure it out.
Ceremony at 11 am
Reception at fulton's crab house not sure on time for the following reasons

Want to talk pictures with family and bridal party
Transportation getting to downtown Disney
Want to take pictures at resorts in my dress

Dessert party night of the wedding for wishes

Basically I am not sure if I should move the ceremony back to have a dinner at fulton's and give me time to do pictures before the ceremony then I might need to do the dessert party for a rehearsal dinner in which case I would need a cake for the reception.

Any thoughts?

Teresa

I wouldn't worry about Diana.. I'm sure she'll be great!

Personally, I would move the ceremony back to have plenty of time to take pictures before the ceremony and do a first look. But, it really boils down to what you want to do and when you want your DP!

 

[Shannon84]

Hello all! I am a long time lurker and huge fan of the DIS boards. This is my very first post. I couldn't hold out any longer after reading about the Beach Terrace location questions. I have the video of my wedding online. (It might clear up so location questions) I cannot post a link as this is my first post. But, you can search for it: stvsvideo.com/justmarry

Shout out to Tinkerbell766!!! You were my inspiration for my S&D wedding. When I first started thinking of my wedding, I googled Swan and Dolphin and her post was the first I clicked on

I would love to see your video, that will be our location next year as well but it is asking me for a sign in name and password...you can PM me if you dont mind sharing but dont want to share on here

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Teresa sweetie - Do you mean that Karen will not have any hand in your planning, or that she will will be your planner up until your big day and then Diana will co-ordinate the day itself? If it is the latter, this is normal form, and I only had Karen co-ordinate my day because I shamelessly begged her to do so!!
I am pretty sure that Diana was the girl that Karen was training up during my time with her, and if so, she is really lovely and terribly sweet!!! I am sure she will be excellent and if Karen has confidence in her, I do too!!!!

As for timings, it's difficult to say what would be best. Are you doing a first look? Which resort do you want to shoot photos at? It sounds like you are currently planning a cake at the DP at Sago Cay - if so are you sure Disney will allow an outside vendor to provide your cake? There would be no problem with this at the Swan or at Fulton's, but I am not so sure at Sago Cay!! Karen/Diana will have transport solutions for you I am sure, but if not give us all a shout. Between us, I am sure we can figure it all out!!

Jo,
Karen will not have a hand in the planning at all I can call her if I have questions or concerns but Diana will be the primary person from now until my big day. Diana will also be the coordinator running my wedding day. Karen wanted consistency with the planning. I am supposed to talk to diana today and I will meet her in december so we should be ok.

I want to do a first look yes I think that will be very cool. As far as resorts go I am ok with doing the swan/dolphin but I really love the wilderness lodge and the beach club and the contemporary so those were the ones I was interested in most. I am not a big boardwalk person as far as pictures go. I am not doing a cake at all we are completely cutting that part out. In our menu for Fulton's there is cheesecake so we might have a mini cheesecake for the photo op but no there will be no outside cake at SCP.

Thank you for all your help. I did find out that using fulton's for lunch is ok to do and I think this may be the best thing just because the ceremony site is set so I will just have to coordinate with Randy on what would be the best flow for him.

I wouldn't worry about Diana.. I'm sure she'll be great!

Personally, I would move the ceremony back to have plenty of time to take pictures before the ceremony and do a first look. But, it really boils down to what you want to do and when you want your DP!

I think i am set on the dessert party that evening as kind of a gift to our guests and to do something untraditional. If that is the case we kind of need to keep the 11 am ceremony and then go into the reception. these are just my thoughts though. I should speak to Diana today so I will give her the lay of the land and we can go from there.

thanks for your help faith you are awesome!

Teresa

 

[Jilian]

We're doing our first look before the ceremony so we can go right to the reception with our guests and have fun. What most people do is have a cocktail hour for their guests while they are off having pictures taken, but in Disney prices are higher and that can get expensive. If you don't mind your H seeing you before the ceremony I'd go with the first look and do pictures before.

I went back and forth on the dessert part too, and when I was still going to do it I planned on having it the night before the ceremony. I read through a lot of PJs and most people say that it made for a very long day and their guests were full and didn't eat too much of the dessert. I think the reason most DFTW brides do it the day of the wedding is so it will count toward the wedding day minimums. Us swan brides don't have to worry about meeting minimums so really you can have the dessert party whenever you want. Just my $.02

 

[elfbo]

We're doing our first look before the ceremony so we can go right to the reception with our guests and have fun. What most people do is have a cocktail hour for their guests while they are off having pictures taken, but in Disney prices are higher and that can get expensive. If you don't mind your H seeing you before the ceremony I'd go with the first look and do pictures before.

So...what is a "first look"?

Im thinking i need to book the photographer for an additional hour so i can get the pictures i want done, but Im worried about what to do with the guests while the pictures are happening. Its a small wedding and at least half of the attendees will be in the pictures, but i dont want the other half bored out of their minds!

 

[MrsDuck]

So...what is a "first look"?

Im thinking i need to book the photographer for an additional hour so i can get the pictures i want done, but Im worried about what to do with the guests while the pictures are happening. Its a small wedding and at least half of the attendees will be in the pictures, but i dont want the other half bored out of their minds!

A first look is when the couple sees each other before the ceremony and alone.

We are having a first look for two reasons:
1. the lighting will be awful after the ceremony and our photographer said we should do a first look so we can get some nice pictures. We're also doing our formal pictures before the ceremony. This will allow us to capture the light and also be able to go right to the reception after the ceremony!

2. We're also doing a first look because it seems really sweet, private, and romantic!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

So...what is a "first look"?

Im thinking i need to book the photographer for an additional hour so i can get the pictures i want done, but Im worried about what to do with the guests while the pictures are happening. Its a small wedding and at least half of the attendees will be in the pictures, but i dont want the other half bored out of their minds!

Our gorgeous Faith has explained far better than I could what a 'first look' is!!
We decided to do it for two main reasons:-

We wanted our 'first look' at each other on our special day to be private (apart from Randy, of course) and we wanted a photographic record of it

We wanted to get a lot of our 'resort photos done before the ceremony, so as we would not keep our guests hanging around for too long afterwards. I am not a great lover of formal group shots, so I knew we would be keeping these to a minimum!!

Here are a couple of shots from our 'first look'.

 

[J.ThaddeusToad]

Hi ladies! We are back from our wonderful Swan wedding (11/20/11) and Disneymoon! I am so happy to report that having a Swan wedding was the absolute best decision and our guests had an amazing time - and most importantly, so did we! Our ceremony was at Crescent Terrace and our reception was at Il Mulino. I loved everything about both locations! Everyone loved the food at Il Mulino and it's just such a beautiful restaurant! Please let me know if you have any questions!

Teresa/Icecoldpenguin - Karen was not able to be our day of coordinator and I was initially so concerned about this, but in the end everything was perfect! I have not met Diana, but Zoey was our day of coordinator and she was wonderful! She was so attentive during the weeks leading up to the wedding and was such a huge help. She set up our reception, got Mickey balloons from the parks for us and so much more! It seemed to me that she doesn't do as many weddings as Karen, so I really had so much of her focus. I hope it is the same for you with Diana!

 

[MrsDuck]

Congrats Catherine!! I'm so glad to hear that everything went beautifully!

Did they have the Christmas decorations up around the S/D for your wedding? If so, I'd love to hear about that or see pictures. If they were up, were there any at Crescent Terrace? It's my venue as well.

Finally-- last question, promise!-- what time was your ceremony? If it was night time, I'd love to hear how the lighting is! Our ceremony is at 5pm and I'm worried that it will be really dark.

I'm so happy to hear that Zoey was wonderful! Gives me wonderful confidence in the JM! team!

Again, congrats! Can't wait to see pictures!!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Hi ladies! We are back from our wonderful Swan wedding (11/20/11) and Disneymoon! I am so happy to report that having a Swan wedding was the absolute best decision and our guests had an amazing time - and most importantly, so did we! Our ceremony was at Crescent Terrace and our reception was at Il Mulino. I loved everything about both locations! Everyone loved the food at Il Mulino and it's just such a beautiful restaurant! Please let me know if you have any questions!

Teresa/Icecoldpenguin - Karen was not able to be our day of coordinator and I was initially so concerned about this, but in the end everything was perfect! I have not met Diana, but Zoey was our day of coordinator and she was wonderful! She was so attentive during the weeks leading up to the wedding and was such a huge help. She set up our reception, got Mickey balloons from the parks for us and so much more! It seemed to me that she doesn't do as many weddings as Karen, so I really had so much of her focus. I hope it is the same for you with Diana!

Catherine oh that is so fantastic that everything went great! Thanks for the advice and the help I think you are right. Diana seemed truly very invested in the wedding thus far and she loves the theme. She even sent me a message to check in today and offer to extend services to fulton's crab house for coordinating. I am getting more and more excited about it and glad that I have her.

Congrats Catherine!! I'm so glad to hear that everything went beautifully!

Did they have the Christmas decorations up around the S/D for your wedding? If so, I'd love to hear about that or see pictures. If they were up, were there any at Crescent Terrace? It's my venue as well.

Finally-- last question, promise!-- what time was your ceremony? If it was night time, I'd love to hear how the lighting is! Our ceremony is at 5pm and I'm worried that it will be really dark.

I'm so happy to hear that Zoey was wonderful! Gives me wonderful confidence in the JM! team!

Again, congrats! Can't wait to see pictures!!

I second faith on this are were the decorations up and how did it look? My ceremony is at 11am so I am sure we will be fine but how was the weather? Ooo I want to see pictures!

Congratulations catherine I am so happy for you from one swan bride to another!

Teresa

 

[Jilian]

Congrats Catherine! I'm so glad to hear that it went well. I hope you'll post some pictures! I'd love to hear more about the reception at Il Mulino, we're excited to be having our dinner there too.