Wedding Planning Help and Questions

[Sherylmattwding]

Hi All!

I can across this message board since I have been doing research on Disney Weddings. We are planning on getting married in 2016 at WDW. I feel a bit in the dark since we can't plan anything with WDW itself till 16-12 months before. Was that hard for past brides? I'm having a hard time because I have a ton of questions and will have to wait for answers. I did get the PassPorters book which has helped but also made me have more questions lol (I haven't read the whole book yet but I am 75% done.) If anyone can help answer some questions I would really appreciate it.

First, here is a little background on what we are looking for. A brunch wedding for about 30 people including kids,October of 2016.
Ceremony Location- Germany Courtyard or Seabreeze Point
Reception- Atlantic Dance Hall (We need to sit down to talk about other choices)

In the passporters book they have a chapter on the bar, but the info I received from Disney says "3 hour Beer & Wine bar to include soft drinks,bottled water and choice of bloody Mary or Mimosas. So is that included in the per person cost or is that another cost?

Knowing the Locations we are planning on having everything do you think a charter bus is really required? Or should I have a few multi bus trips, and how will I get to the Ceremony take the bus before the guests pick ups?

How much are there favors and Hotel Bags? Were out of state so almost 98% of items were going to possibly get from Disney if the budget allows.

If family desires to make a vacation out of it but go a week before the wedding and one of there last days be the wedding day will there stay still go towards the room block?

Does the Wedding Planner also help with reservations for your trip/honeymoon?

I have read in many places that you receive annual passes after you sign your contract, do they come in time for the planning session or wedding trip?

Has anyone had a Caricaturist at there wedding? How much I know prices are outdated in the book.

Can you ship your Dress to Disney or do I need to take it on the plane?

Thank you so much for all who answer. I know I have a lot of time before the wedding but I just want to make sure that it is possible on our end.

 

[Sherylmattwding]

I did read in the book about the dress shipping. So that has been answered.

 

[alyaki]

Hi All!

1) In the passporters book they have a chapter on the bar, but the info I received from Disney says "3 hour Beer & Wine bar to include soft drinks,bottled water and choice of bloody Mary or Mimosas. So is that included in the per person cost or is that another cost?

2) Knowing the Locations we are planning on having everything do you think a charter bus is really required? Or should I have a few multi bus trips, and how will I get to the Ceremony take the bus before the guests pick ups?

3) How much are there favors and Hotel Bags? Were out of state so almost 98% of items were going to possibly get from Disney if the budget allows.

4) If family desires to make a vacation out of it but go a week before the wedding and one of there last days be the wedding day will there stay still go towards the room block?

5) Does the Wedding Planner also help with reservations for your trip/honeymoon?

6) I have read in many places that you receive annual passes after you sign your contract, do they come in time for the planning session or wedding trip?

7) Has anyone had a Caricaturist at there wedding? How much I know prices are outdated in the book.

8) Can you ship your Dress to Disney or do I need to take it on the plane?

Thank you so much for all who answer. I know I have a lot of time before the wedding but I just want to make sure that it is possible on our end.

So one thing - you may get more comments if you put this on the main weddings board instead of the one meant for planning journals. Just a heads up, in case that was where you meant to post this.

That said...
1) The samples you received are their pre-set package menus - if you go with those, you get exactly what is in that package, and you can't really change them at all (so the bar and everything you see on that list is included in that pp cost). However, if you have any modifications you would like - say, a different menu - it will be custom designed to meet you needs, and so pricing can change based on what you want and are calculated based on the cost for the various items you are including (so, if you want a different menu and the bar/mimosas, that wouldn't be subject to the pp price quoted in the samples, but could be more or less depending on your selections). Those are meant to be a starting point to give you an idea as to what you can get for that particular price point (and each pre-set menu is based on the minimum pp price you are required to meet for that meal time).

2) Transportation is up to you, but since not both your ceremony and location are in park, you'd probably be better off with just one-way buses to your ceremony location and from your ceremony location to your reception venue. You wouldn't have to provide transportation from your reception venue back to wherever everyone is though. That said, a small reminder - if you have more than 2 hotels to have guests taken from, they may push you towards a charter bus (you'd likely do the mini one with your count, especially if you (couple) and either your wedding party or parents were on one-way vans).

3) Favors depend on what you want, everything prices out differently. I think (think being the operative word here) there are some as low as $5 pp, but some of the most popular items are in the $6 and $7 pp range (the chocolate escort cards and mickey rice crispy treat heads). They can range up as high as you want - I think the ones I most want are $10pp (caramel apples). On the subject of welcome/hotel bags - that will completely depend upon what you want in them, and I could see them being fairly expensive through Disney. A lot of brides are from out of state (I know I am), but we either pick stuff up down there, or ship our stuff for the welcome bags down ahead of us - because it ends up being cheaper. I know our bags are roughly averaging out to $5 a piece (so, per room), but I wouldn't be surprised if Disney would start around $20 to do something similar. Even after shipping, it's going to be cheaper for us to do them ourselves.

4) If you expect a lot of your family to do this, just make sure you set up your room block to have the full 3 days prior to your event open for the block. The 3 days prior to the first day of your block (and after as well) should count towards your block and be subject to the room block prices, as long as rooms are available. For yourselves, a lot of people are able to make their reservation for longer and have it count/subject to the room block price. But that is something you may want to ask about once you can if you're still worried about it.

5) Your planner can help you with scheduling things related to your event (welcome dinner, farewell brunch, bridal tea, etc.), but otherwise it is up to you to schedule things you care about (to my knowledge) such as meals and whatnot that are just for the two of you. Feel free to ask them this question when you can talk to a consultant though.

6) You get your pass vouchers when you receive your signed contract back (so, after you submit it and send in your deposit and they go through it). So yes, they get there in plenty of time for both your planning session and wedding. Just remember that once you activate them, they are only good for a year from that date, so if you want to go back another time to use them, keep that in mind. The only time they may not get there in time would be if you set your planning session really close to the time you sign your contract (within that first month, month and a half from when you get your date confirmed at 12 months), and I believe they can still get them to you, but that would be something to ask about if you believe you are going to be in that situation (a reminder though - even if you have your planning session that early, you won't really get any pricing until 6 months until your event, as that is when rates start locking in).

7) Several people on the boards have had them, the prices in the 2014 version of the book are up to date (I think it's $675?). I don't have it on hand right this second, but whatever is there should be right. I don't believe it is above $695 - but, since you're in 2016, the prices may change a little bit prior to your wedding (shouldn't be drastic). I think we'll be trying to add one for our event, if we have some leeway to do so (and we should).

8) Either is an option. You can't really ship to Disney itself (and have them confirm all is well/steam it/ etc). However, if you decide to ship it, I believe Disney recommends Carolyn Allen's, but you could also take it with you on the plane. There may be a storage fee with Carolyn Allen's, but I can't remember - though you could probably contact them and ask them how that works, if you want more information. This group is also one of the two (there may be more, but I just remember them and Loftis) who DFTW suggests using if you want your gown steamed prior to your ceremony. I haven't decided which I'm doing yet, so I haven't talked to them yet.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sherylmattwding]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I noticed after I posted that it was in the wrong spot. I am new to message boards lol. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to answer questions.

You mentioned with the PP plating what ever is listed is included so for the wedding cake do they give you styles to choose from? (We like the Mickey Wave and add the castle topper.)

Congratulations to you!

 

[alyaki]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I noticed after I posted that it was in the wrong spot. I am new to message boards lol. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to answer questions.

You mentioned with the PP plating what ever is listed is included so for the wedding cake do they give you styles to choose from? (We like the Mickey Wave and add the castle topper.)

Congratulations to you!

They probably give you a list of cakes at their lowest pp price point for you to choose from for those included in those sample pre-set menus (if you decide to go with one of those). I do know that they castle topper would be extra (depending on your cake size, I think that is $100 or $250).

We're doing a custom menu, since even if we liked the brunch or lunch menu packages as is (which, we don't completely, so we would have wanted to modify), we are doing a Mad Hatter cake....so, no luck of us being able to do that.