what would you like to see DFTW change

[Lynn5700]

ok I am nervous now after reading this. I thought that Disney takes care of everything for you. I mean I know I have things I have to take care of but I think it's ridiculous that you have to get in touch with them the day of your wedding.Are you kidding me?

And why do you not get your final budget till 2 weeks before the wedding? Sorry but I will need to know my total as soon as I am done picking my menu ans dj and everything that goes along with planning a wedding.

Im freaked out now.

 

[DisneyBrideWannabe]

As an intimate bride, I would say more options for intimates, especially in regards to add-ons, like cake upgrades and after-ceremony options. It seems like you have your ceremony and that is it.
They don't offer dinner receptions and you have to go through the parks if you want to have a dessert reception (And you CAN'T wear your dress ). Like a custom, you should be able to add this onto your DFTW bill and get the same as a custom bride (if I am paying the same for the dessert reception, I should be able to wear my dress as well!!). You basically have to book everything seperately yourself, and therefore pay seperately
Also more competive prices with the pics. If they are going to charge $$$ you should get a lot more pics!! Oh, the idea about a discount for the rooms & tickets is great!

 

[Skylarr29]

As an intimate bride, I would say more options for intimates, especially in regards to add-ons, like cake upgrades and after-ceremony options. It seems like you have your ceremony and that is it.
They don't offer dinner receptions and you have to go through the parks if you want to have a dessert reception (And you CAN'T wear your dress ). Like a custom, you should be able to add this onto your DFTW bill and get the same as a custom bride (if I am paying the same for the dessert reception, I should be able to wear my dress as well!!). You basically have to book everything seperately yourself, and therefore pay seperately
Also more competive prices with the pics. If they are going to charge $$$ you should get a lot more pics!! Oh, the idea about a discount for the rooms & tickets is great!

Intimate brides can wear their dress to their DP as long as they use Disney transportation to enter back stage (ie. your limo charter, Disney towncar or motor coach) because you can not walk through the park in your dress.

Also your planner should now be able to plan a Dessert Party for you.. you no longer go directly through Epcot.

 

[Laurafoster]

Oh so many things i would like them to change!

As a UK bride not being able to confirm your wedding till 8 months out is near impossible if we dont want extremely high flight prices!!

I think they should offer a discount on you accomodation for a planning trip to make it easier for people to get there!

Agree on the character 30 mins thing although ours were there for 30 mins so i cant complain!

The main thing that bugged me about my disney wedding was that we were "bumped" from our original reception location for a convention. It sucks that they are given priority over weddings because they generate more money - although in hindsight mine worked out MUCH better!! but thats not always the case.

 

[hiwaygal]

ok I am nervous now after reading this. I thought that Disney takes care of everything for you. I mean I know I have things I have to take care of but I think it's ridiculous that you have to get in touch with them the day of your wedding.Are you kidding me?

And why do you not get your final budget till 2 weeks before the wedding? Sorry but I will need to know my total as soon as I am done picking my menu ans dj and everything that goes along with planning a wedding.

Im freaked out now.

I can understand your fears...and the best advice I can give is trust Disney. With at least 1500-2000 weddings per year, they know what they are doing (I know that sounds patronizing, but I really don't mean it that way).

While everyone here can see ways to improve some aspects of the packages or certain things, I doubt anyone of us would say that they were not happy with their Disney wedding or that they regret their decision to have a wedding at Disney. And some of these issues may be related to their EM/WC and not necessarily DFTW as a whole. We've all heard of different CM's giving different information.

For my intimate wedding, my EM/WC was in touch with me early that morning. You having to contact them is not the norm.

I think some of the "Disney takes care of everything for you" depends a bit on which type of wedding you are having. I believe you are responsible for coordinating the officiant for both an intimate or custom wedding. And, if you are using outside vendors for anything, it's pretty much your responsibility to coordinate that as well. If you are using Disney for "everything" then, yes, they do pretty much take care of it for you...but you still have to make the decisions (which can be harder than the coordination! )

I believe I got my final budget about 3 weeks out. It's just how Disney operates, and I think it goes back to them not needing a whole lot of time to coordinate everything. You can talk to your EM/WC and let them know that you need a final budget earlier, they may be able to accommodate you. Also, be very clear up front with your EM/WC what your budget is. They can offer alternatives to keep your wedding at your budget.

Try not to be freaked out. I know that's harder to do than say. I often used to think I wasn't stressed enough about my wedding planning compared to how much other brides had to go through. But that's an unfair comparison, IMO. As a Disney Bride, you really don't need to stress as much about some things...but I guess that's part of what we are paying for, huh?

Good luck with your planning!!

 

[purplegirl247]

I guess I lucked out. I got my budget and BOE (or whatever it's called) six weeks to the day before the wedding. I've also heard some people complain that major things weren't right (like the groom's name, some of the requests, etc.) but so far I've only found one major flaw, which it turns out may be my fault. [I booked the MK photo shoot, then called back to change the date but didn't talk to my coordinator at all. The date on the BOE is the original date, so I hope it isn't too late for me!]

 

[aprincess72]

As an intimate bride, I would say more options for intimates, especially in regards to add-ons, like cake upgrades and after-ceremony options. It seems like you have your ceremony and that is it.
They don't offer dinner receptions and you have to go through the parks if you want to have a dessert reception (And you CAN'T wear your dress ). Like a custom, you should be able to add this onto your DFTW bill and get the same as a custom bride (if I am paying the same for the dessert reception, I should be able to wear my dress as well!!). You basically have to book everything seperately yourself, and therefore pay seperately
Also more competive prices with the pics. If they are going to charge $$$ you should get a lot more pics!! Oh, the idea about a discount for the rooms & tickets is great!

They let intimates wear their wedding dress to their dessert party. I am having one next month that I scheduled through DFTW. I was told as long as we are being escorted in I can wear it.

 

[Kashmir104]

THis recent package change had me think...how did they come up with it??

Did they question/survey people to see what they would like to see??

I would have liked to have seen substitutions in their smaller packages.

From what it sounds like, not many people like the David T couture option.

What would you guys like to see or not like to see change?

I actually love the David Tutera options! I think it's great for someone who is looking to do a grand event in the most magical place on earth! Definitely princess material and you can still customize aspects of it! My complaint is that I wish they had a DVD or an actual booklet to look at the pictures upfront and personal to see the details of the Tutera themes. Its hard to get a good sense of the decorations with just the mini video and small pictures.

I'd love to see the design of the Save the Date cards ahead of time!

I also am super stressed already about getting my day, and it's a year and 8 months away!!!! AHHH!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I think they should offer a discount on you accomodation for a planning trip to make it easier for people to get there!

I definately agree with this. I'm looking forward to the planning session but to get a resort and food at WDW is a chunk of change a lot of couples would be happy to get some kind of discount on before the wedding. I mean at that point they already have a non-refundable deposit so it's not like I would cancel just to get the discount on a room.

 

[autumnbride2B]

Since custom weddings get APs we used the AP discount when we booked the rooms for our planning session. You can book before you have them - you just need to have them when you check in to get the rate. We are also going to get the DDE so most of the food will be 20% off when we are there. You have to make the arrangements yourself, but you can get some really good discounts for the PS trip.

 

[mems484]

When I went to Disney for our planning session, we told our EM our reservation number and he got us the same discount as guests get for weddings. This might be something that you need to ask...they won't just come out and say it.

 

[mems484]

When I went to Disney for our planning session, we told our EM our reservation number and he got us the same discount as guests get for weddings. This might be something that you need to ask...they won't just come out and say it.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Since custom weddings get APs we used the AP discount when we booked the rooms for our planning session. You can book before you have them - you just need to have them when you check in to get the rate. We are also going to get the DDE so most of the food will be 20% off when we are there. You have to make the arrangements yourself, but you can get some really good discounts for the PS trip.

That's what we did too!! We stayed at POFQ for less than/close to $100 per night We wanted Pop Century for even less (plus we love it,) but they were full because of college dance and cheer championships. Plus, we had our APs, so we didn't need any tickets.