pixie921
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2008
- Messages
- 2,374
We had our VR a month ago at Disney, and it was wonderful. 
The only people in attendance were my dh and I, our son Travis, and his gf Lori.
I always found everyone's vendor reviews really helpful, so I feel like I should post mine now, too. I wrote most of these about a week after the VR and have had a month now to reflect on them, look at actual photos from the VR, etc. so I feel like they're as accurate and balanced as they're going to get.
Some of my experiences were very different than other people had with the same vendors. I admit I came away with some disappointment – feeling sort of like, “why couldn’t I have the great experience with these vendors that others have had?” but it is what it is, and I’ve tried to get that across in the reviews.
So here we go!
Carolyn Allen’s: A+
When I first contacted them, we were only 2 weeks out from the vow renewal, and initially, it looked like I wouldn’t be able to use them, as they were booked for the morning of our VR and our plane landed after they closed on Sunday. However, they went above and beyond in my opinion by asking me if I was going to ship my dress down to them (I was) and if so, I could send it a week ahead of time and they’d do most of the pressing before they came to the hotel.
They called me at home when my dress arrived so I didn’t have to worry, and I appreciated it so much. Then they called before they left their shop for the GF (we had just picked up our bags at MCO) and the race was on to get to the resort! The ladies met us at the elevator at the GF and came directly up to the room with us to put the finishing touches on my dress. They were sweet, efficient, and professional, and I would highly recommend them!
Hair – Beaute Speciale: D
Oh, my hair. The one HUGE letdown of my entire VR. Of everything we did, hiring someone to do my hair is the one thing I WOULD NOT do again.
I have super-fine, flat hair that does NOT cooperate on a good day, and definitely wasn’t going to hold up in Florida humidity, so I booked a hair appointment with Beaute Speciale. I should also say here that Patricia LeJeune was actually my first choice, but she wouldn’t come out for any less than 4 hair/makeup services. So thumbs-up to Beaute Speciale for not discriminating against individual brides!
Laine was the one who came to do my hair. She called that morning to let me know she was running late, and while it wasn’t a big deal to me as our event was so low-key, I know if I was a bride with a big day ahead of me, having her be 15-20 minutes late would’ve thrown me for a loop.
I liked her instantly when she arrived, and I think we had a good rapport. The kids kept her entertained as she did my hair (Travis being his usual spunky self and Lori sweetly and patiently tolerating his antics) and we chatted and laughed a lot. So as a person, I loved her. However, I showed her photos of what I was looking for, which was pretty simple -- soft curls held back by a headband -- and I didn’t end up with anything like that AT ALL.
She fashioned some sort of Snooki-esque “bump”-like thing with pins, and then a bunch of sausage curls which she pinned back and shellacked (sp?) with TONS of hairspray. By the time she was done and I was able to look at it, it was too late to do anything to change it, but I wasn’t happy. Jeff and the kids tried to reassure me that it was okay, and I took a few minutes to try to fluff it out a bit, but we were out of time as the limo was due soon and we needed to start taking photos, so I just had to go with it.
I should note that my hair did NOT hold up. It was humid and windy at Luau Beach, and all the curls fell out before the end of the ceremony. I left in everything she did while we ran down to grab a quick breakfast after the VR, and you can see how much it fell in less than 3 hours.
Also, she interlocked the bobby pins so much that they were so entwined with each other that both Jeff and Lori had to help me get them out. I lost quite a bit of hair and truly have never had so many snarls in my hair EVER. I was in tears trying to get them all out, and I hadn’t even had that elaborate a hairstyle!
I did my hair myself the next morning for our Epcot shoot and liked it much better. It didn’t last a whole lot longer in the humidity, but it held up through all our photos and that's all I cared about.
VR Photographer – Randy Chapman: A
Well, what can I say about Randy that hasn’t already been said? He was kind, helpful, professional and very creative. We’d waffled back and forth on photography, and are SO glad Randy was the photographer we ultimately chose. When I saw the preview shot of us standing on the beach with the WP in the background, I burst into tears I loved it so much! I am SO not crazy about being photographed, and for him to make me happy with a photo like that says a LOT about how amazing he is!
DFTW Overall: C+
Anyone who has followed our disjointed tale of plans and cancellations knows of my frustration with DFTW as an organization. I’m not going to rehash it all, but they very nearly killed my love of Disney, truly. They definitely aren’t a reflection of the top-notch customer service that Disney is known for, and I hope that they take all the recent negative feedback they’ve received and make some positive changes. Previous to our actual VR, they would’ve gotten an F, but our Memories experience was very positive and did a lot to redeem them in our eyes.
DFTW Planner - Kathleen Reynolds: A
DFTW “Day-Of” Coordinator - Danny: A+
Jeff worked with Kathleen mostly because he was trying to plan everything as a surprise for me initially. According to him, she was very responsive, and I know that she made sure everything was in place for our VR day, even though she wasn’t the one with us for the actual ceremony.
That was Danny, and I’m sorry I don’t know his last name, but he was wonderful. We were comfortable with him from the moment he called on our arrival, and he made sure every little detail was perfect for us. He met us at the limo and escorted us into the Poly to meet Rev. Jack, then drove us out to a spot very near the Wedding Pavilion (as we’d requested) that he’d specially scouted that morning in a golf cart so I didn’t have to walk in my heels. Our red petals were laid out perfectly and even the beach was freshly raked (I’m such a freak – I *hate* the look of a tromped-on beach in beach wedding photos LOL!). Danny made us feel very taken care of, and that meant a lot!
Other DFTW Elements: A
The other elements were the limo, our violinist and Disney floral. The limo driver was on time, courteous, and we all (even Randy!) enjoyed the chilled beverages waiting inside the car after the ceremony, as it was really warm that morning. The violinist was lovely and played beautifully, even after our ceremony while Randy was taking photos, and the kids said she was super friendly. The only floral we had Disney do was the “Circle of Love” in red petals, which was laid out perfectly, as I said above.
I made my bouquet, Lori’s corsage, and the boutonnieres for the guys, and I think they turned out well. During our Epcot shoot, Regina’s assistant was holding the bouquet for me and went to sniff them and was shocked that they weren’t real, so props to Hobby Lobby for their silk stems!
Officiant – Rev. Jack Day: C
Rev. Jack was as sweet as could be, and as lovely and sincere as everyone has always said. The only reason I can’t give him a higher grade is because we talked before the VR about personalizing aspects of his standard VR ceremony, and I even sent him a typed copy of the ceremony several weeks prior to the actual VR. The things I wanted to include were a few references specific to our relationship, and most importantly, to include our son in the ceremony. Unfortunately, he reverted to his standard ceremony, much to my disappointment, and there was no mention of Travis made at all. It was a very lovely ceremony, and if I couldn’t have what I asked for, I guess it was the next best thing, so that’s why I’m not giving him a lower rating.
Again, he was just a dear and paid me a lovely compliment after hearing the vows I wrote for Jeff (he said they were the most loving he’d ever heard and that he was heading straight home to kiss his wife – but maybe he says that to all the brides! LOL), but I had put a lot of time and thought into the few things I wanted included in the ceremony, and to have them completely left out made me sad. Also, he costs more than other officiants, and I’d gladly paid the extra after reading other reviews that mentioned how he was happy to allow brides to customize their ceremonies when some other ministers weren’t. But then he completely didn’t use what I gave him. *Sigh*
Cake - Grand Floridian Bakery: A+
The cake came out perfectly and just as we’d ordered. They delivered it right to our room with a pretty fresh red flower on the tray next to it. It also tasted much better than the one Jeff had ordered from the GF for my 40th a couple of years ago. It was really sweet, though, and we ended up taking most of it with us to my brother’s house that night and leaving it for his family to enjoy. My niece and nephew had some while we were there and they both gave it a big thumbs-up.
Epcot Shoot/DFAP Photographer Regina: B-
I know that isn’t the typical rating brides here give Regina, but I have to say that both Jeff and I are disappointed in our Epcot photo experience. She and her assistant (who she seemed to be training) were super friendly and lots of fun, but we just felt rushed through our session and it seems that she didn’t take the time with us that she seems to have taken with other couples. I’m basing this on how we felt that day as well as the resulting pictures. SO many are from SO far away … Jeff put it best when he said his impression was that she just sort of “phoned it in”.
Also, photos in Italy were my main concern, and she kept saying we’d do Italy last. I knew by the last country my hair would’ve flattened beyond all hope and my makeup would have melted off, so I told her I wanted to do Italy first. She was really hesitant to do that for whatever reason (she didn’t say why), but I insisted, and am glad I did. By the time we got to Japan, I was already wilting, and by Canada I was done. She’d wanted to do shots in Morocco, too, but Jeff and I told her not to worry about it, so we only did 3 countries.
We’d initially planned to buy the disc, but after going through the previews repeatedly and looking at our actual 4x6s, decided there was no way we were going to buy the disc when together we only really like about 8 of the photos. That being said, we absolutely LOVE 3 of the 8 (2 of the 3 were done in Italy, so I’m glad I pushed for it first) and we will be buying enlargements of them. Honestly, one of them is probably my all-time favorite picture of Jeff and I in the 20+ years we’ve been together. But overall, while I’m a little bummed that we spent the $750 and didn’t end up with more usable photos, I loved being in Epcot like that and treasure the handful of really good photos, so I would definitely do it again.
The only people in attendance were my dh and I, our son Travis, and his gf Lori.I always found everyone's vendor reviews really helpful, so I feel like I should post mine now, too. I wrote most of these about a week after the VR and have had a month now to reflect on them, look at actual photos from the VR, etc. so I feel like they're as accurate and balanced as they're going to get.
Some of my experiences were very different than other people had with the same vendors. I admit I came away with some disappointment – feeling sort of like, “why couldn’t I have the great experience with these vendors that others have had?” but it is what it is, and I’ve tried to get that across in the reviews.
So here we go!
Carolyn Allen’s: A+
When I first contacted them, we were only 2 weeks out from the vow renewal, and initially, it looked like I wouldn’t be able to use them, as they were booked for the morning of our VR and our plane landed after they closed on Sunday. However, they went above and beyond in my opinion by asking me if I was going to ship my dress down to them (I was) and if so, I could send it a week ahead of time and they’d do most of the pressing before they came to the hotel.
They called me at home when my dress arrived so I didn’t have to worry, and I appreciated it so much. Then they called before they left their shop for the GF (we had just picked up our bags at MCO) and the race was on to get to the resort! The ladies met us at the elevator at the GF and came directly up to the room with us to put the finishing touches on my dress. They were sweet, efficient, and professional, and I would highly recommend them!
Hair – Beaute Speciale: D
Oh, my hair. The one HUGE letdown of my entire VR. Of everything we did, hiring someone to do my hair is the one thing I WOULD NOT do again.
I have super-fine, flat hair that does NOT cooperate on a good day, and definitely wasn’t going to hold up in Florida humidity, so I booked a hair appointment with Beaute Speciale. I should also say here that Patricia LeJeune was actually my first choice, but she wouldn’t come out for any less than 4 hair/makeup services. So thumbs-up to Beaute Speciale for not discriminating against individual brides!
Laine was the one who came to do my hair. She called that morning to let me know she was running late, and while it wasn’t a big deal to me as our event was so low-key, I know if I was a bride with a big day ahead of me, having her be 15-20 minutes late would’ve thrown me for a loop.
I liked her instantly when she arrived, and I think we had a good rapport. The kids kept her entertained as she did my hair (Travis being his usual spunky self and Lori sweetly and patiently tolerating his antics) and we chatted and laughed a lot. So as a person, I loved her. However, I showed her photos of what I was looking for, which was pretty simple -- soft curls held back by a headband -- and I didn’t end up with anything like that AT ALL.
She fashioned some sort of Snooki-esque “bump”-like thing with pins, and then a bunch of sausage curls which she pinned back and shellacked (sp?) with TONS of hairspray. By the time she was done and I was able to look at it, it was too late to do anything to change it, but I wasn’t happy. Jeff and the kids tried to reassure me that it was okay, and I took a few minutes to try to fluff it out a bit, but we were out of time as the limo was due soon and we needed to start taking photos, so I just had to go with it.
I should note that my hair did NOT hold up. It was humid and windy at Luau Beach, and all the curls fell out before the end of the ceremony. I left in everything she did while we ran down to grab a quick breakfast after the VR, and you can see how much it fell in less than 3 hours.
Also, she interlocked the bobby pins so much that they were so entwined with each other that both Jeff and Lori had to help me get them out. I lost quite a bit of hair and truly have never had so many snarls in my hair EVER. I was in tears trying to get them all out, and I hadn’t even had that elaborate a hairstyle!
I did my hair myself the next morning for our Epcot shoot and liked it much better. It didn’t last a whole lot longer in the humidity, but it held up through all our photos and that's all I cared about.
VR Photographer – Randy Chapman: A
Well, what can I say about Randy that hasn’t already been said? He was kind, helpful, professional and very creative. We’d waffled back and forth on photography, and are SO glad Randy was the photographer we ultimately chose. When I saw the preview shot of us standing on the beach with the WP in the background, I burst into tears I loved it so much! I am SO not crazy about being photographed, and for him to make me happy with a photo like that says a LOT about how amazing he is!
DFTW Overall: C+
Anyone who has followed our disjointed tale of plans and cancellations knows of my frustration with DFTW as an organization. I’m not going to rehash it all, but they very nearly killed my love of Disney, truly. They definitely aren’t a reflection of the top-notch customer service that Disney is known for, and I hope that they take all the recent negative feedback they’ve received and make some positive changes. Previous to our actual VR, they would’ve gotten an F, but our Memories experience was very positive and did a lot to redeem them in our eyes.
DFTW Planner - Kathleen Reynolds: A
DFTW “Day-Of” Coordinator - Danny: A+
Jeff worked with Kathleen mostly because he was trying to plan everything as a surprise for me initially. According to him, she was very responsive, and I know that she made sure everything was in place for our VR day, even though she wasn’t the one with us for the actual ceremony.
That was Danny, and I’m sorry I don’t know his last name, but he was wonderful. We were comfortable with him from the moment he called on our arrival, and he made sure every little detail was perfect for us. He met us at the limo and escorted us into the Poly to meet Rev. Jack, then drove us out to a spot very near the Wedding Pavilion (as we’d requested) that he’d specially scouted that morning in a golf cart so I didn’t have to walk in my heels. Our red petals were laid out perfectly and even the beach was freshly raked (I’m such a freak – I *hate* the look of a tromped-on beach in beach wedding photos LOL!). Danny made us feel very taken care of, and that meant a lot!
Other DFTW Elements: A
The other elements were the limo, our violinist and Disney floral. The limo driver was on time, courteous, and we all (even Randy!) enjoyed the chilled beverages waiting inside the car after the ceremony, as it was really warm that morning. The violinist was lovely and played beautifully, even after our ceremony while Randy was taking photos, and the kids said she was super friendly. The only floral we had Disney do was the “Circle of Love” in red petals, which was laid out perfectly, as I said above.
I made my bouquet, Lori’s corsage, and the boutonnieres for the guys, and I think they turned out well. During our Epcot shoot, Regina’s assistant was holding the bouquet for me and went to sniff them and was shocked that they weren’t real, so props to Hobby Lobby for their silk stems!
Officiant – Rev. Jack Day: C
Rev. Jack was as sweet as could be, and as lovely and sincere as everyone has always said. The only reason I can’t give him a higher grade is because we talked before the VR about personalizing aspects of his standard VR ceremony, and I even sent him a typed copy of the ceremony several weeks prior to the actual VR. The things I wanted to include were a few references specific to our relationship, and most importantly, to include our son in the ceremony. Unfortunately, he reverted to his standard ceremony, much to my disappointment, and there was no mention of Travis made at all. It was a very lovely ceremony, and if I couldn’t have what I asked for, I guess it was the next best thing, so that’s why I’m not giving him a lower rating.
Again, he was just a dear and paid me a lovely compliment after hearing the vows I wrote for Jeff (he said they were the most loving he’d ever heard and that he was heading straight home to kiss his wife – but maybe he says that to all the brides! LOL), but I had put a lot of time and thought into the few things I wanted included in the ceremony, and to have them completely left out made me sad. Also, he costs more than other officiants, and I’d gladly paid the extra after reading other reviews that mentioned how he was happy to allow brides to customize their ceremonies when some other ministers weren’t. But then he completely didn’t use what I gave him. *Sigh*
Cake - Grand Floridian Bakery: A+
The cake came out perfectly and just as we’d ordered. They delivered it right to our room with a pretty fresh red flower on the tray next to it. It also tasted much better than the one Jeff had ordered from the GF for my 40th a couple of years ago. It was really sweet, though, and we ended up taking most of it with us to my brother’s house that night and leaving it for his family to enjoy. My niece and nephew had some while we were there and they both gave it a big thumbs-up.
Epcot Shoot/DFAP Photographer Regina: B-
I know that isn’t the typical rating brides here give Regina, but I have to say that both Jeff and I are disappointed in our Epcot photo experience. She and her assistant (who she seemed to be training) were super friendly and lots of fun, but we just felt rushed through our session and it seems that she didn’t take the time with us that she seems to have taken with other couples. I’m basing this on how we felt that day as well as the resulting pictures. SO many are from SO far away … Jeff put it best when he said his impression was that she just sort of “phoned it in”.
Also, photos in Italy were my main concern, and she kept saying we’d do Italy last. I knew by the last country my hair would’ve flattened beyond all hope and my makeup would have melted off, so I told her I wanted to do Italy first. She was really hesitant to do that for whatever reason (she didn’t say why), but I insisted, and am glad I did. By the time we got to Japan, I was already wilting, and by Canada I was done. She’d wanted to do shots in Morocco, too, but Jeff and I told her not to worry about it, so we only did 3 countries.
We’d initially planned to buy the disc, but after going through the previews repeatedly and looking at our actual 4x6s, decided there was no way we were going to buy the disc when together we only really like about 8 of the photos. That being said, we absolutely LOVE 3 of the 8 (2 of the 3 were done in Italy, so I’m glad I pushed for it first) and we will be buying enlargements of them. Honestly, one of them is probably my all-time favorite picture of Jeff and I in the 20+ years we’ve been together. But overall, while I’m a little bummed that we spent the $750 and didn’t end up with more usable photos, I loved being in Epcot like that and treasure the handful of really good photos, so I would definitely do it again.
We loved it!
