Those who did the planning from home...

[fmdelano]

Those of you who were unable to go to Disney to do a formal planning session, and had to do all the planning from home, I ask for your honest opinion. What was the planning like? Difficult, easy? Any regrets? When you had the wedding, did everything come out like you had intended? Thanks to all responses in advance!!

 

[VSL]

Ooh, I'm interested in this too!

 

[Rascal1003]

A very easy one to reply to.........As easy as it gets !
We had an intimate wedding on 19th September with 6 guests.

As we are in the UK, we would obviously have found it difficult to visit for planning, however, our Disney rep (Jennifer O'Leary) was an absolute gem. She literally took care of everything !
All we had to do was turn up. Every single thing was taken care of and it meant that we had the most amazing, stress free day !

Jennifer made herself easy available through e-mails and recorded all the changes that we made. She was always on the phone when we needed her meaning that there really was very little to worry about.

A lot of our planning was also aided by the fantastic knowledge and experience of the people on this forum. People will happily answer your queries as there are a surprising number of couples who have already been through everything that you are thinking about!

It is all about research and knowing what you want. If you have this info then Disney have no problems putting it all together (at a price !)

I hope that helps.

Kind regards,

Russ.

 

[hiwaygal]

I totally agree with what Russ (Rascal1003) just said.

Neither my DH nor I had ever been to Disney World before, and not only could we not afford a formal planning session, we didn't have the time (we started planning in April for a September wedding).

It worked out BEAUTIFULLY!!! I think, perhaps if you are having a custom wedding, it might be a bit more "work"...but I wouldn't know that.

For the intimate, since there are certain "parameters" you have to work within (Disney rules and stuff), it really is VERY VERY easy to plan your entire wedding from a distance. Trust Disney, they WILL get it right in the end...even if there are a couple of little snags along the way.

Jennifer O'Leary was wonderful...and so was Rosie (can't remember her last name). They answered every question I asked, and everything pretty much turned out as I expected (even better, really).

Finding this board was a good thing for me too...I was able to read others' experiences and learn from them. Also being able to see the video samples to see the different locations, looking at everyones pictures...it just helps to visualize it.

As I said, just TRUST DISNEY!! I don't know how many weddings they do a year, but I'm guessing they are easily the best wedding planners you can find for the $$$$.

 

[RangerPooh]

When planning your wedding from a distance be sure to ask plenty of questions. Also ask for pictures of the venues that you are considering going with as you want to be sure of it as well as see it in different light, and with/out decorations. One thing that we found useful was a fax machine as it allowed us to communicate with vendors as well as Disney. Telehone conferencing is easy to do (and if you have a speaker phone it works even better) just be sure to have your list of questions and prefernces in front of you. Also make sure that your ready for the call and that they keep their appointment. There's nothing like waiting for a call that never comes.

 

[tinkerbela]

we planned our wedding at home. it was, surprisingly, very easy. you can have everything sent to you through mail or email. we did most of our planning through email and phone. our wedding did turn out the way we hoped it would be. we would've loved to have gone to a planning session, but our budget was tight and we just had to trust disney that they would see our dream through the phone and through email. and boy did they ever! i have no regrets of planning our wedding at home. it's fun.

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

Those of you who were unable to go to Disney to do a formal planning session, and had to do all the planning from home, I ask for your honest opinion. What was the planning like? Difficult, easy? Any regrets? When you had the wedding, did everything come out like you had intended? Thanks to all responses in advance!!

Easy, easy! The hardest part is choosing the venues which I see you've already done. At this point, everything else can be done via phone and email. When I wanted something particular (like floral), I just emailed the pics to Disney. Everything turned out just the way I wanted. Most often, any planning I did was via email. That way, I had a written record of what was requested and the costs involved (like adding tuxedo strawberries to the dessert party - the prices changed during our planning process but we paid what we were quoted in the email). Between your EM and boards like this one, you will find that it is very easy to plan from home! Good luck!

 

[ahutton]

We did a tour to see locations, but did not have an in person planning session. I thought it was very easy. I told them what opinions I had on a list of topics during phone calls, they gave some input and we made decisions. I had a few specific ideas about what I wanted, but am not a super visual person so I didn't have a vision of how it would look. This was before email was very popular and internet was super limited, so I got a folder of pictures and pulled others from magazines. Since I didn't have a specific look that I was trying to achieve, I was able to sit back and enjoy the beauty of what the professionals created, and they all did it within our budget.

Easy, yes. And it seems to have gotten easier. But, if you have a set idea of how something must look and would not be able to appreciate anything but, you should be careful of how you communicate that vision, back it up with pictures, drawings, whatever you need to do.

Fun? Totally!!!!! I can't wait to renew our vows one of these years!

 

[allisonswonderland]

Ok- I spoke to Pam when I ha questions and I mentioned coming down there in May and she mentioned that it was their busiest time of year and that she just wanted to make sure that I got all of the attention I deserved and this is not the best time --- unfortunately that may be the only time as I am finishing my Masters in May and am a summer league swim coach (that begins in June-July) and do not know what kind of job I will find after that, which will not allow me 2 trips tp Disney- Are they going to tell me I can't come for a session in May, now she did say Memorial Day week, I would be there before that. Now I am nervous, because I want to go there....

 

[michloo]

Hi This is my first post. I am planning to get Married on March 10, 2007. 2 weeks ago I was in Florida and my fiance and I did a site visit. It was nice to be in the rooms and get a real feeling for them. We looked at Ariels and the Ballroom in both the Boardwalk and Yacht Club. I probably will not get back to Disney to do a planning session. I am glad we at least got to see the room we will be booking. The rest of the details can be done by phone or e-mail .

 

[allisonswonderland]

Hi I am new too--- what did you think of Ariel? I was thinking about my recpetion there? Could you tell me the colors, they look bluish green and peachy pink. Thanks and welcome- you will get a lot of helpful info here.

 

[michloo]

I thought Ariels was nice but a little to themed for my taste. All the chandeliers are fish and there is a big fish tank in the room. The colors are what you have blue green and peach. I tried to copy my pictures of the room here but it would not work.

 

[Laurafoster]

I found it a little too themed for me too. Im hopefully getting married next december and so i want a simple white and gold theme - i felt it didnt really go, so im having my reception in one of the ballrooms now!

The room is lovely tho, especially if your doing an under the sea theme!

 

[allisonswonderland]

I will not say I am doing an under the sea theme but I am a former competitive swimmer and i love shells and beachy stuff, so I think it will work out just fie for me- Thanks for the pictures, I appreciate it!