Site Inspections

[gwtw428]

Hi...My fiance and I just got back from our first meeting with Kristi Davis, a Disney wedding sales manager. She was great! She answered all of our questions and took us to see reception sites around Walt Disney World.
We went to see Ariel's Restaurant at the Yacht and Beach Club. It was beautiful. We are having about 50 guests and the size was perfect. It has a huge fish tank and french doors that line two sides of the room. It overlooks the pool area. This is our first choice. You get to use Martha'a Vineyard as a coctail hour site too!
Next we saw the VIP room at the Living Seas. Big disappointment! The room has no windows and is dark. It also looks rundown and old.
We then went to the Whitehall Room at GF. It was beautiful. The room is an octagon shape that also is lined w/ french doors. The view overlooks the castle! You can use the patio for your coctail hour. The bridal dressing room, the Key West Room is right down the hall! Perfect location!
Our wedding date is December 5, 2005! We are so excited! We got engaged inside the Wedding Pavilion June 13, 2003! He rented out the pavilion and had a Disney photographer there to capture the moment! I was so surprised! All of my Disney dreams are coming true!
Jamie

 

[louisaho]

wow congraduatlation
is the living sea too dark to take picture? that is one of my concern but i would love to have reception there since my father loves fish

 

[ellieb]

Ariel's Restaurant is the absolute best location. I must agree with you on its beauty. Also you will not need as many decorations because the room is already nicely decorated in Nautical Theme. If you plan on having a desert party in the evening. This would cut the cost of having to rent limos or other transportion to the Desert Party in Epcot since you can just walk there with a guide. This is what I did for my wedding however I had my reception held at the Asbury Ballroom in the Yatch Club. My first choice was Ariels but me EM stated to me that they were no longer using Ariels as a reception space at the time of my wedding however this was wrong information she had given me (She was fairly new) and when she found out that it could be a reception site it was already requested. But that is ok because regardless my wedding day was a day that I shall never ever forget. Everything was absoulutely perfect.

Have you chosen a Videographer yet????

 

[gwtw428]

Hi! The VIP room at The Living Seas is not too dark to take pictures. I asked that question too and she said the photographer's can use special lighting. I was also concerned about the camera flash reflecting off of the fish tanks. She said it is not a problem. Have you looked at Ariel's? It also has a fish theme. The chandelier's are made of colorful fish and glass bubbles and when you first walk in there is a huge double-sided fish tank. On the other side of tha tank is the dance floor. You should look at Ariels!

I haven't picked a videographer or photographer yet. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I also need a tuxedo place that has disney themed vests.

Thanks everyone!

 

[ellieb]

As a Videographer I have to tell you that there is no one to me better than Stan at STVS. He does an amazing job!!
You can view some demo video he has done at the following link
www.stvsweddings.com/gallery. YOu will need to type this in yourself because it looks like the link does not go directly there. So just type it in the address bar.
My demo is there as well it is the one that says "Ellie and Louie, May 3 2003.
As photography we did not hire anyone due to us having a photographer in the family that was attending the wedding as well as Stan (STVS) being able to take stills from the video for us. However I would go with Randy Chapman because I have seen his work and it is incredible. Not to mention that him and Stan work GREAT together.

As for Mickey Vest I went with Carolyn Allen's Bridal. They were great to work with. They also did my dress steaming the day of the wedding. Here is a link to their mickey vest. http://www.carolyn-allens.com/tuxedos/accessories/mickey_vests.htm
As for Ariel's I must say it is one of the most perfect spots to have a reception. It is beautiful inside so it actually helps on the cost of decorations needed for it.

Well good luck with all your plans and if you have any other questions please dont hesitate to ask me

 

[louisaho]

ellieb,
who did you use for decoration in your reception? i like those ballon and your video is great

Originally posted by ellieb
As a Videographer I have to tell you that there is no one to me better than Stan at STVS. He does an amazing job!!
You can view some demo video he has done at the following link
www.stvsweddings.com/gallery. YOu will need to type this in yourself because it looks like the link does not go directly there. So just type it in the address bar.
My demo is there as well it is the one that says "Ellie and Louie, May 3 2003.
As photography we did not hire anyone due to us having a photographer in the family that was attending the wedding as well as Stan (STVS) being able to take stills from the video for us. However I would go with Randy Chapman because I have seen his work and it is incredible. Not to mention that him and Stan work GREAT together.

As for Mickey Vest I went with Carolyn Allen's Bridal. They were great to work with. They also did my dress steaming the day of the wedding. Here is a link to their mickey vest. http://www.carolyn-allens.com/tuxedos/accessories/mickey_vests.htm
As for Ariel's I must say it is one of the most perfect spots to have a reception. It is beautiful inside so it actually helps on the cost of decorations needed for it.

Well good luck with all your plans and if you have any other questions please dont hesitate to ask me

 

[ellieb]

My decortation you ask. I must say I was very very please with them. Orlando Balloons by Design did them and let me tell you they were amazing. and worth every penny. Here is the link to their site http://www.orlandoballoonsbydesign.com/
They really dont have much to see on thier site however if you do some searching on the internet for balloon decorations you can send the a picture of what you are interested in and they can do anything.
They can actually make a cinderella carriage arch out of balloons that goes over your sweetheart table. I was going to have this done however our daughter was sitting at the tabel with us as well as our table being on a riser so I was not able to get this.
The ballons did a great job in dressing up a somewhat very plain ballroom. She aldo did the lights and tule on my cake table. They are the nicest people to work with as well.
If you have any other questions please dont hesitate to ask me. I absolutely love helping out a future Disney Bride.

Thank you for the comment on my video.

 

[louisaho]

is it expensive? how much did you spend? thx

Originally posted by ellieb
My decortation you ask. I must say I was very very please with them. Orlando Balloons by Design did them and let me tell you they were amazing. and worth every penny. Here is the link to their site http://www.orlandoballoonsbydesign.com/
They really dont have much to see on thier site however if you do some searching on the internet for balloon decorations you can send the a picture of what you are interested in and they can do anything.
They can actually make a cinderella carriage arch out of balloons that goes over your sweetheart table. I was going to have this done however our daughter was sitting at the tabel with us as well as our table being on a riser so I was not able to get this.
The ballons did a great job in dressing up a somewhat very plain ballroom. She aldo did the lights and tule on my cake table. They are the nicest people to work with as well.
If you have any other questions please dont hesitate to ask me. I absolutely love helping out a future Disney Bride.

Thank you for the comment on my video.

 

[ellieb]

I dont think it was expensive at all. First let me tell you what I recieved then I will tell you the cost. I had a Disney Lithograph as well as our picture matted in a frame and set up at the entrance of the Ballroom for our guest to sign. On the easel was a huge bouquet of lilac and white balloons as well as tulle draped all over the easel and clusters of balloons on the floor in front of the easel. The entrace looked beautiful.
Over my riser table that was set for our daughter my husband and I, we had two balloon huge collums on each size of the table connected by a balloon arch over us.
My cake table was decorated with tulle and lights as well as 3 collums around the cake which looked like topiary trees that were lighted and were decorated with lilac tulle. Our dance floor had a 4 collum 2 arch huge canopy of lilac and which balloons as well as 50 scattered balloons on the dance floor. Each tabel had a boquet of 4 ballons attached to each of my decorated cinderella carriages.
All that I mentioned cost me a total of $967.02. I thought this was well worth it since it made the ever so plain Yacht Club Ballroom look absolutely stunning. It just took the bearness out of the room and filled it with color and FUN!! All of my guest were in awe an how everything looked, and the children as well as adults loved kicking and throwing the balloons around as we were dancing.
If I can help you with anything else just let me know ok. As I have stated before I love sharing my thoughts and my expierences.

 

[ellieb]

Forgot to mention the single strand arch that was over my DJ's table as well.

 

[rosemary123]

Jaime,

how exciting for you on your up and coming wedding. You sound so excited, and I am excited for you too!

have a lovely time planing and enjoy every minute!

Best wishes

Rosemary

 

[gwtw428]

To Ellieb...Your video on STVS website was great! You looked so beautiful and I loved you gown! My gown is also strapless w/ a ballgown skirt. Who did your hair? Do they come to your hotel room? I hope my wedding is as beautiful as yours was! Watching it made me choke up and tear alittle. I also loved the fireworks at the end! If you have any tips a bride should know, I would be grateful to hear them!
Thanks Again!!!

To Rosemary,
Thanks! I am excited and I can't wait til Dec 5 , 2005!!!!

 

[ellieb]

gwtw428- Thank you so much for your kind words. My wedding dress is by the designer Maggie Sottero. It is called Davina. Here is a link to view the entire dress http://www.maggiesottero.com/catalog/catalog7.htm

I thing stapless gowns are stunning and Im sure you will look absolutely beautiful that day as well.

As for my hair Disney supplied hair dressers and makeup artist to come to your room to take care of you a few hours before the wedding. My wedding was at 12 noon so they arrived at my hotel at 8 am. My hair dress was Irene and she was fabulous. She is from NY and is Italian and boy you can tell. She was soooo darn funny and made me feel very relaxed. As for makeup I was pleased however I am so use to putting on my make up a certain way that I should have just opted not to get this. So if you are fussy about how you like your makeup dont get this option. Not that he didnt do a wonderful job because he did. It was just that I was not use to seeing myself look that way.

As for tips I am completely blank right now. However if you have any questions at all about anything please dont hesitate to ask me because I would love to help you out to make your wedding day as special and Magical as mine was.

Do you know where your are having your ceremony and reception yet???? I could give some tips on certain locations if I knew where you were having these things.