Wishes Weddings...

[DISNEY*lover]

First off, hi guys! I'm new! Nice to meet all my fellow WDW brides!

I recently got engaged a couple weeks ago and a first we were discussing having an Escape wedding but we had issues getting the guest list to only 18 so I somehow conviced my fiance to do a Wishes wedding. Yay! I have a few questions though.

These questions are for all you wishes brides:
1. Anyone get married or plan on getting married at the Yacht and Beach Club Resort or the Sea Breeze point? If so how'd you like it?
2. Anyone have or plan on having their reception on the Great Movie Ride in MGM Studios? I plan on having mine there but I'm just curious.
3. I'm confused about the whole cake thing... do we get a whole cake or do we get slices? Or do we get a choice?
4. I was told that as long as we meet the $10,000 minimum I can bring in my own flowers (I was going to make floral arrangements on my own via fake flowers due to allergies), chamagne for the toast, favors, place cards, centerpieces, etc. Is this true?

I had more questions but I'm getting a brain fart right now. The lady I spoke to on the phone didn't seem to sure about most of my questions. She said I have to sign the contract then I can start discussing this with my wedding cordinator.

 

[padisneyfour]

welcome.... have fun with all your planning

 

[DISNEY*lover]

welcome.... have fun with all your planning

Thanks hun! It's been a blast so far!

 

[lurkyloo]

Hi!

Questions I can answer:

You get a whole cake, but it is priced by the slice. We were never actually told the per-slice price of our cake, just the total cost.

You can't bring in your own floral at in-park locations (like the Great Movie Ride), but you can bring it to all the other locations. You can bring in all those other things yourself, but you will be charged a set-up fee of $35/hour if Disney has to put out more than three items.

Welcome!

 

[hiwaygal]

Hi! and

I'll try to answer your questions...

1. I was married at SBP and thought it was a beautiful location! It's still my favorite. The only "advice" or question I have is how many guests are you planning? At SBP your guests will most likely be able to be under the structure with you (could be helpful on very hot, sunny days). At the YCG your guests will be out on the lawn. Both locations have unique features.

2. You can read about Janet2k's Great Movie Ride Event

3. You get a cake. With a wishes wedding you have more options with style/color/flavors etc.

4. If you are having an event IN the parks, I'm pretty sure Disney will require you to use them for floral. Even if they don't, anything that you ask them to set up (place cards, favors, etc.) will have a service charge.

And I'm almost positive they will NOT allow you to bring your own champagne. I could be wrong, but I know they don't allow you to bring your own food for any events and I think the drinks fall under the same guidelines.

And yes, the first people you talk to are not really able to answer specific questions.

What dates are you considering?

 

[JameysGirl57]

HI Gail,
I am a fellow 09/09/09 Disney Bride too! Hope you have fun planning! I know that I have thus far!

Meghan

 

[DISNEY*lover]

HI Gail,
I am a fellow 09/09/09 Disney Bride too! Hope you have fun planning! I know that I have thus far!

Meghan

Wow! Cool! I havn't booked my date yet but I plan to tomorrow. Hopefully it's still open. What time are you getting married?

Thanks for all the information ladies! I appreicate it! Keep it coming too.

I have a question for you lurkyloo, I see that you used an outside photographer. Did Disney charge you for that? I love the Roots work!

 

[JameysGirl57]

Wow! Cool! I havn't booked my date yet but I plan to tomorrow. Hopefully it's still open. What time are you getting married?

Thanks for all the information ladies! I appreicate it! Keep it coming too.

I have a question for you lurkyloo, I see that you used an outside photographer. Did Disney charge you for that? I love the Roots work!

Gail,
Since we are still well over a year out, Disney unfortunately will not let you book anything until the year mark. They will, however, "pencil" you in. The one thing that I came to understand was the sequence days, i.e. 09/09/09, 07/08/09, are very popular days so the minimum expenditure goes up, plus if there are two wedding parties requesting to get married at the same times and places, then you go into a lottery. I am totally opposed to this idea, as I am planning dilligently to get everything that I want, so that scares me very much that I may not get exactly what I want for my wedding day.

We want the 7:30 pm WP ceremony, a pre-reception at the Italy Isola and our reception after the pre-reception at the American Adventure Rotunda. So I truly hope that no one else wants those options so that I don't have to fight for it! What are you looking at doing?

Meghan

 

[DISNEY*lover]

Gail,
Since we are still well over a year out, Disney unfortunately will not let you book anything until the year mark. They will, however, "pencil" you in. The one thing that I came to understand was the sequence days, i.e. 09/09/09, 07/08/09, are very popular days so the minimum expenditure goes up, plus if there are two wedding parties requesting to get married at the same times and places, then you go into a lottery. I am totally opposed to this idea, as I am planning dilligently to get everything that I want, so that scares me very much that I may not get exactly what I want for my wedding day.

We want the 7:30 pm WP ceremony, a pre-reception at the Italy Isola and our reception after the pre-reception at the American Adventure Rotunda. So I truly hope that no one else wants those options so that I don't have to fight for it! What are you looking at doing?

Meghan

We're looking at 9/9/09 just not sure what time yet. I wanted to get married in either the Sea Breeze Point or the Yacht and Beach Club followed by a reception in the Great Movie Ride.

That breaks my heart that they just "pencil" you in then it's out of your hands afterwards. We really had our hearts set on 9/9/09. We'll see I guess.

 

[JameysGirl57]

We're looking at 9/9/09 just not sure what time yet. I wanted to get married in either the Sea Breeze Point or the Yacht and Beach Club followed by a reception in the Great Movie Ride.

That breaks my heart that they just "pencil" you in then it's out of your hands afterwards. We really had our hearts set on 9/9/09. We'll see I guess.

I totally agree. The last time I actually contacted my sales consultant, I asked her if she could tell me if there were any other people "penciled" in for that day and she said that she knew that other people had called, but was unsure of what they wanted, so she couldn't give me a definate answer. I guess we will just have to keep our fingers crossed that we get it! I know I will have to get some anti-anxiety medication for the year mark if I am going to be put into a lottery! It gives me palpitations now just thinking about it.

But, definately best of luck with everything and since we are planning on the same day, maybe we will see each other in the process. I think its neat that I have someone else to gab about who will be sharing the same magical day that we will have!

 

[lurkyloo]

I have a question for you lurkyloo, I see that you used an outside photographer. Did Disney charge you for that? I love the Roots work!

Hiya! Disney no longer charges an escort fee for an outside photographer or videographer. Hooray! You can see more of the Roots' work on their website and blog at www.rootography.com. They are really sweet people, and a ton of fun to work with!

 

[Swmhc]

We got married at the YC Gazebo and loved it ! One of my deciding factors was an August wedding in Florida and the Gazebo had a ceiling fan ! I also really liked the "background" for photos. We were interested in SBP, but I didn't like the Swan and Dolphin in the background of the ceremony photos.

Another thing to keep in mind with regards to getting your date, are you willing to be more flexible on the time and/or location ? For example, if you can't have the first choice of time for your location, will you take the same location at a different time, or the same time at a different location ? Be sure and let DFTW know all possible options you are willing to take.

All food and drink has to come from Disney. All "in park" floral has to be Disney, but if you do resorts rather than parks, you can do your own or outside floral.

Yes you can use outside Photographers. And no, they no longer charge the escort fees. We used Randy Chapman, like many disbrides, and were amazed at our photos ! I highly recommend Randy. He shoots 3-4 Disney weddings a week on average, so he knows the ropes. He helps as much or more than your WP the day of your wedding. He helps the men get in their tuxes if needed, can help lace up a corset bridal gown...you name it, Randy will help you through the day all while getting awesome shots !!! Great prices, rights to all your photos and just a wonderful man to work with !!

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

I think its crazy that you can't book until a certain time. They should take whatever they get and just book it...geez silly disney. I wonder if a lot of people turn away from Disney because of that.

 

[SarahInMN]

I think its crazy that you can't book until a certain time. They should take whatever they get and just book it...geez silly disney. I wonder if a lot of people turn away from Disney because of that.

The 8 month rule is actually because of conventions: certain locations are also considered convention locations (ie the Grand Floridian sites), and conventions bring in way more money than weddings.

Certain locations - ie parks, Atlantic Dance Hall (I believe) and some restaurants (like the California Grill) - will allow you to sign a contract 1 year in advance.

But as other disbrides have said, flexibility may be key.

 

[chipscinderelly]

We had a YCG wedding and an MGM reception (Fantasmic, RnR courtyard and Muppets Courtyard) and at the time were able to sign at the 12 month mark.

9/9/09 is a great date - you should know that in the past Disney has put special pricing/requirements in place for special dates like that so be prepared.

 

[PixyDusted]

Ditto what everyone said about the flowers. They will not let you bring them into park site locations. And I would agree about the food - for legal reasons they won't allow you to bring your own champagne and/or food to an organized event like this. Sure, you can bring champagne and food into your hotel room but not an event.

The cake is charged per slice and presented as a whole a cake...then sliced up and served.

I think the only place you can't have your own photographer *might* be in the Wedding Pavilion but I'm not 100% sure about that. They told us something about special photography needs in there when we went to look at it last year.

 

[calismic]

You can use your own photographer for the Wedding Pavilion. Or at least you can use Randy =)

 

[lurkyloo]

You can use any photographer anywhere (except for the Magic Kingdom bridal portrait, which has to be through Disney Photographic).

We had an in-park ceremony and brought our own photographer. There is no fee.

 

[hiwaygal]

The only time you cannot use an outside photographer is for an IN park ceremony or photo shoot (i.e. the MK shoot, or the honeymoon shoot).

 

[hiwaygal]

You can use any photographer anywhere (except for the Magic Kingdom bridal portrait, which has to be through Disney Photographic).

The only time you cannot use an outside photographer is for an IN park ceremony or photo shoot (i.e. the MK shoot, or the honeymoon shoot).

LOL we have been posting almost at the same time for the past couple of days now!