Visit the site BEFORE or AFTER putting in deposit

[SillyBear]

We are from Chicago, and it will be impossible for us to take a trip to LA during the holiday season to see the sites before putting down deposit. We really want to secure the date, but worried that the recommendation Disney gave us (DL GCH Wedding Garden + Trillium Room) is not going to meet our expectation!

Do you all Disney brides put down deposit BEFORE or AFTER visiting the sites?

IF you didn't visit before putting down deposit, were you disappointed? did you change location after seeing the site? and how hard is to change site?

Thanks

 

[Luvndisney]

I would say try and see images if it is not possible to visist before the deposit is given. That beign said changing location is not extrememly difficult in WDW, unless your date is a popular one and the locations are booked. I would talk to someone at DL weddings and speak to them about your concerns first.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

For the most part, brides here at in Florida. I am sure there is someone here that can help answer your questions about the locations though! I am answering as a Florida bride:

As a general rule of thumb (and I am not speaking for the whole group!), I think people try to meet with their slaes manager at the year mark. The sales manager is able to show you a number of function rooms and locations for the reception and ceremony. They help you tailor your needs and find the right space(s). Paying the deposit usually comes about 4 months later... So, most people will have seen their locations before paying their deposit and signing the contract.

I have no idea what kind of time schedule you're on. I would definately try to see the spaces before hand. It's not easy changing things around once you've contracted for that spot. Additionally, they may not even let you... you'd have to check the wording of the contract very carefully. I am pretty sure when you send in the deposit with the signed contract, you're signing the legal agreement, but also the agreement that this is your space for the date/time/location.

You may want to check for discounted airline fare to the West Coast. Additionally, you could save money by staying off property and not purchasing park tickets. Most of the travel sites usually have package deals or discounted air fare to Cali.

Good luck- let us know what you decide! I hope someone here has used those same spaces before and can let you know. You may also want to run a search for Disneyland brides and see what you get!
xoxo

 

[SillyBear]

I wish I can go to DL and see the site first as well. However, we really want to make sure we reserve the "date" with DL before other people take it(location is not too important as long as it's decent).

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

http://www.yourfairytale.com/dlweddings.html

Here are virtual site inspection tools. I'm not sure if it will help though. Again, there's lots of information on that page for Florida brides (why I am familiar with it). I could see how this could be very frustrating!

xoxo

 

[twojo21]

we went on a site visit before the year mark & had decided on our venue before booking & putting down the deposit.

 

[RangerPooh]

We decided on our location based on photos that FTW sent us as well as our hotel preference as we were unable to have a site visit until after the deposit was placed. Then shortly before our wedding we returned to DLR and noticed that the floral at the wedding garden at the GCH was removed due to a bug infestation. They said that it would grow back by our wedding day but we had little faith in that. So we were able to change our ceremony location (we had been hvaing doubts on the location anyways as we never had a site inspection). The times also changed but we were fortunate that noone else was using our venues. And the floral had not regrown by our wedding date so we would have had to pay for extra floral to be brought in to replace what we removed.

 

[SillyBear]

RangerPooh,

What is your impression of wedding garden? Do you happen to still have the pictures DL sent you (or your own pictures?)? From what I've seen (from Disney website), I think the setup of wedding garden is pretty nice. I would feel better about putting down deposit if I can be sure, you know what I mean?

btw, thanks for the reponses!

 

[cryssi]

One thing to consider about the GCH site is that is is very "rustic" looking. DH and I didn't want that feel for the wedding, plus it was too brown for me, LOL! We absolutely love the hotel, though. It's an amazing place. It's just that the wedding garden wasn't fairy tale wedding-ish enough for us. But that's just us. Does that make sense? The Rose Court Garden was more our style. When looking at the photos of the DLR ceremony locations prior to our site visit, I hoped that DH wouldn't love the GCH site b/c we would have had issues! LOL Luckily, we agreed on the RCG...

The good thing is that you don't have to have your ceremony and reception all at the same hotel. You can have a RCG ceremony and GCH reception, no problem. Your guests will just have to do a little walking! BTW, if you have elderly or handicapped guests, you can make transportation arrangements for them between the hotels...

 

[cryssi]

I forgot to add that you can change your location at any time provided the venue you want is still available...

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

RangerPooh,

What is your impression of wedding garden? Do you happen to still have the pictures DL sent you (or your own pictures?)? From what I've seen (from Disney website), I think the setup of wedding garden is pretty nice. I would feel better about putting down deposit if I can be sure, you know what I mean?

btw, thanks for the reponses!

I know it's Cali and it doesn't rain often, but keep in mind what your inclement weather plan will be for any outside event! We ran into an issue with it just recently for our rehearsal dinner and had to change everything!

 

[RangerPooh]

We really liked the wedding garden as it does have a rustic touch wich was something that we liked. We really liked the outside fireplace too. The archway that you walk under is also a nice touch. However, everytime we went there didn't seem to be much in the way of floral, but this could be fixed.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures anymore, but I think that the ones that I had are basically the ones on Disney's website. Plus you alos ahve the option to have 1, 2, 3 or no screens on the stage where you'll be standing. I have seen pictures with all, some, and no screens as well as the use of colums of other stands for floral. For us we were going to use two screes (I believe) so that we could see the fire behind us.

RangerPooh,

What is your impression of wedding garden? Do you happen to still have the pictures DL sent you (or your own pictures?)? From what I've seen (from Disney website), I think the setup of wedding garden is pretty nice. I would feel better about putting down deposit if I can be sure, you know what I mean?

btw, thanks for the reponses!

 

[SillyBear]

The good thing is that you don't have to have your ceremony and reception all at the same hotel. You can have a RCG ceremony and GCH reception, no problem. Your guests will just have to do a little walking! BTW, if you have elderly or handicapped guests, you can make transportation arrangements for them between the hotels...

Will Rose Garden be too big for 100 guests wedding?

 

[RangerPooh]

Someone mentioned a backup rain location, I believe that it's one of the ballrooms at the hotel. I have seen a picture of this at one point and was honestly not impressed. As it is Sept (I believe I read that in your earlier post) you probably won't encounter rain, and even if you did they'll probably wait until a few hours before the ceremony before making a decision to relocate inside.

Have you contacted FTW about receiving a few extra pictures of the locations that are not on their website as this may influence your decision. We did this and were able to receive a few extra images. There's also a planning video/brochure that you can request from them which might be of assistance.

 

[RangerPooh]

Will Rose Garden be too big for 100 guests wedding?

Are you talking about the Rose Court Garden at DLH? We had 60 guests including the bridal party and it was fine. I have seen weddings with over 150 and it was just fine. Back in the day DL FTW use to ahve intimate weddings and the site was used then too. So no, I don't think that either site would be too big for 100 guests. If you are worried about how it would look you maight be able to talk about the various seating configurations.

 

[SillyBear]

Have you contacted FTW about receiving a few extra pictures of the locations that are not on their website as this may influence your decision. We did this and were able to receive a few extra images. There's also a planning video/brochure that you can request from them which might be of assistance.

We did get five extra pictures from Disney and a brochure. I have a wedding video from WDW, but nothing to specific to DL. RangerPooh, I will PM you my e-mail. If there is anything you can pass to me, I will appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[cryssi]

Will Rose Garden be too big for 100 guests wedding?

Like RangerPooh says, no. They place the chairs near the gazebo, so you can have as many or as few as you need.