UK Wedding Couples

[brucesearson]

Hi there,
It's just a month away now until we are able to request our date for next years intimate wedding (Dec 15th 2004). The problem is, we are still undecided on who to book the wedding with (Virgin or Disney direct). Our holiday is booked with Virgin but after speaking with their wedding department over the phone we are a little worried about the service they offer.
We are hoping to add extras to our wedding such as extra photo's from DPS (12 are already included), wedding video (still undecided between STVS and Disney), Reception at Citricos or V&A, Dessert Party in Epcot for the Illuminations and other things such as extra flowers and maybe a portrait session in MK. Our worry if we book through Virgin Weddings is how good are they at arranging these extras? They only seem to be interested in the basics, where as we would like to specify such things as photo locations and reception menus before we arrive. They told us also that brides are unable to wear their dress for the Dessert Party in Epcot, yet we have seen pictures of brides wearing them.
Any extras booked through Virgin also carry a £225 charge. We dont fancy paying this if they cannot arrange to the smallest detail the above requirements.
We do like the idea of booking direct with Disney Weddings as we will be able to ask questions ourselves instead of using Virgin as a go-between. Our only worry with this is if the distance could cause a problem. (We don't like the idea of not being able to get in touch, after reading some of the problems with EM's on this board).
There's no real difference in price between the two its just that we would like to have everything arranged without any stress!
Any advice from UK (or US)Disnymooners would be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Bruce & Tammy

[joanne]

Not done this myself, but I would definitely opt for Disney direct.
Keith may be able to offer more advice.
I've seen a wedding dessert party at Epcot, and the bride was wearing her dress. BTW, Itlay Isola is the best location for this.
Why pay extra to go through Virgin when you can use Disney's experts?
If you're worried about the cost of phoning the US, sign up for a free service such as Onetel.co.uk who offer calls to the US for about 3p a minute.
Let us know how you get on.

Joanne

[Keith]

We looked at both and finally went with Disney direct.

To get the complaint out of the way, I found the Event Managers that we had absolutely awful and reading the disney weddings yahoo group (an excellent source of support and information for disney weddings by the way), our experience of EMs wasn't uncommon.

However, I should say that everything WAS arranged without a hitch and everything went perfectly. My problem with them was that our wedding wasn't going to be a complicated one and so, they took it so matter of factly that it just didn't feel like they cared.

They didn't suggest any extras, they wouldn't send out a video "look at the website" and considering that people in the states were able to visit and discuss everything, see the cakes and so on, it felt like they should have been going out of their way for us but they just didnt.

I ended up phoning the event manager boss, then her boss, then his boss and got the event manager changed but I can't say the second one was much of an improvement.

I do think there are some good ones there and the yahoo group will tell you who to insist on. I also think if you have a more complicated setup, they get more interested.

I think the basic wedding stuff is so well done at Disney that it just "happens" and they all know that so don't need to start trying unless you want a reception at this time, for that many people with this and that and the other.... :)

With that out of the way.... the wedding went perfectly. Everything was as promised and I wouldn't have changed anything.

The limo driver was GREAT and took lots of photos for us in fact, he posed us in front of the christmas tree at the wilderness lodge and so on and later in the evening, he took us round to the Celebration town and took more photos and generally made our day that much more special.

The wedding chapel is perfect... Standing there with the MK castle in the background <sigh> really amazing.. really perfect.

The cake was yummy, the souvenier cake topper brill..... we had organ music + violin and reception at the grand floridian with the voilin player playing away...

Disney photographic were great too... one of my sidelines being photography, I didnt want to pay a fortune to have them mess with the images and give me 10 or something, so they said ok! and stuck everything they took on a couple of cds for me! I got the prints/album etc too but I also got the "digital negatives" to colour correct/fix as I wanted etc. The photos were in our room only a couple of days later!

Finally, the presents are really nice... when we got to our room, there was a bag with balloons on, and inside it had cards, photo album, pen, bride and groom pins and some other stuff.

Then after the wedding, they presented us with a his and hers watch which they claim is only available if you get married there.. not sure but in a lovely display case and they seem like really nice watches too! We also got a wedding certificate from the happiest place on earth and it looks so special.

So with all that, and with how well it DID end up working, I'd recommend going to disney directly but I do recommend looking on the yahoo group if you havent already and seeing the EM reviews. Stick up for yourself when you call and get a recommended EM.

[Redkop]

red wanders and sticks his hand up for virgin :D :D

they were wonderfull in oprganising everything for our weddinf, we didnt get married in disney but they took care of everything else including directions for the court house and made sure the rev jummy johnson phoned us a couple of times, they also arranged all of angelas and the kids flowers.........i thought there service was good

chris

[brucesearson]

Thanks for the advice everyone.
I think we will probably deal with Disney direct and hopefully there wont be any communication problems.
I'm sure that we will have many more questions before we get married and hopefully someone will be able to answer them.
Once again, thankyou for the advice.
Bruce & Tammy.

[neal]

We went through Virgin and have no complaints - we just told them everything we wanted and it happened! We also got the freebies - a package was delivered to our room in AKL containing a Disney Fairytale Weddings goodybag, and we also got the watches and certificate.

[Bec]

Good luck for your WDW wedding. Our wedding is booked for 31st March 2005 and we can't wait!

We have booked with Virgin and they have been fine so far. Do you know what the arrangements are for getting dressed on wedding day?

Hope your wedding goes well

Bec

[Keith]

Welcome to the forum Bec and wow I bet you can't WAIT for next March!!! Hope it all goes fantastically for you... all I can say is, we were delighted with ours and if I had to choose all over again, I'd do it all exactly the same.

Getting dressed depends I guess on where you're getting married etc... there is a brides room at the Wedding pavilian which you can use for finishing touches and so on. We got dressed in the hotel we were staying at (wilderness lodge) who had arranged for us to have a room close to the entrance so we didn't have to walk through the whole hotel. Disney hair and makeup were there a few hours before and they helped Helen with her dress etc.

[Bec]

Thanks Keith,

It's great to hear other's experiences. I don't think there is a better way to tie the knot!
Thanks for the tip with dressing, I've got the strangest concerns!

[Keith]

Bec, one tip which you've probably already caught onto but.... DO make sure you get the bride and groom mickey ears. You'll get loads of freebies like desserts and things and sometimes you'll be taken to the front of the line on the rides etc :)

[Lisa1976]

We are getting married at Disney in the Pavillion on 15 December 2004 and I can't wait.

We have done everything dirrect with Disney's Fairytale Weddings. With regard to accommodation and flights etc we booked this all separately too, we have found that we have saved quite a lot rather than booking a package with Virgin.

We were lucky enough to be at Disney March just gone so were shown around the Pavillion and the Grand Floridian, this helped us a lot to get a feel for the place, but to be honest, its Disney so it would be great anyway.

Have fun planning!! :)

[Bec]

Thanks for the tip Keith, will do.
Can you tell me what the cake and champagne reception is like in the Grand Floridian? We are going onto Narcoosee's for a wedding meal after the cake/champagne reception. How long does it last?

Sorry for all the questions
It's a scary time!
Bec

[Keith]

No probs! We all love answering questions, it's what the forum's here for....

Bear in mind here, there was only the two of us at our wedding, and we were outnumbered by the wedding co-ordinator, the violinist, the photographer, and a couple of grand floridian waiters :)

I reckon we stayed there about an hour and a half. Violin played in the background, we drank champagne, ate cake as the sun went down and sighed happily. I really enjoyed it all.

I think you could make it last a shorter time if you wanted.. we dawdled definitely.. and then we had photographs taken on the sweeping staircase in the grand floridian which was really good and got some great photos. We had to ask though, they didn't suggest it.

The whole thing was really wonderful from the disney cake topper which they saved for us, to the disney tunes played and the view..... sigh.. just wonderful

[Bec]

Sounds fantastic Keith. Do they take photos during the reception? How long did it take for you to get your photos back to you? Did you see proofs then have photos? We requested the Magic Kingdom photos too for the next day, do you know anything about this?

Your experience sounds fabulous, thanks again , it's great to hear from people just as enthusiastic about Disney!
I guess you'll be renewing your vows as soon as you can.
I wonder if you could it every year!!!:lol:
Worth a try eh?:wink:

[Keith]

The photo situation I guess depends on which package you've got... but yep, I think we had 2hours coverage or something so they did take photos during the reception.

The amazing thing was, the photos arrived at our hotel room two days later! I was staggered but very pleased indeed :) Disney chose the album photos and the album came pre-made.... I'd arranged to have *all* the photos they took delivered on CDROM so I could print my own whenever I liked.

We also did the MK Photo shoot which was sooooooo great. We were picked up at our hotel at some silly hour like 5:30am or something and taken to MK. We stopped at the entrance to get some lights turned on ;-) and it was brill to see the castle lights and things get turned on... then we were driven down mainstreet to the castle. That was ultra cool too!

We had photos taken outside the castle in the semi-dark with the castle changing colour behind (later we'd have some more taken as it got light).. then we had some taken inside the castle and we got to stand up on the castle as if we were king and queen :) and they took some from below. We also had some taken on the carousel and a few other places.... then we were taken back to the hotel room.

It was a truly great experience and well worth the money I felt.... again the album came a couple of days later and we received all the proofs in a nice box.

I'd LOVE to do it every year <G>

[Lisa1976]

Keith, i was told that the photos they give you on the CD Rom are really low resolution so don't print out at all well, how did you find them??

Also do you get a CD for the MK photos too?

[brucesearson]

Lisa,
We were told by DPS that the CD containing all of our photo's will be high resolution as we are from the UK. This is to enable us to get prints locally back in the UK. It's just the American couples who get the low resolution CD.
Regards,
Tammy.
Intimate Wedding, December 15th 2004

[Lisa1976]

Ahh right, thanks for letting me know. :)

[Keith]

yep tis true indeed :) although they gave us the hopelessly low res american edition first :( but happily they sent the full thing when I asked about it.

They put up the photos on a webpage after the shoot and give you a user/password which they try and sell reprints from for American couples.. hence they supply a low res cd to them, so they can't just print at walmart or something... for UK I guess the delivery and all makes it not worth it, so we get a nice high res cd :)

I didn't get a cd from the MK shoot because they have traditionally used medium format (read big) cameras to get those shots.... some are in semi darkness so are minute and a half exposures etc (try standing still for that long). BUT at the time we got ours down, Dec 2002, they were testing a new digital camera (Canon 1Ds) which I use in my work to get similar photos.. *SO* it may well be that you now get a cd of that photo session too! but even if you don't you get the negatives and proofs so you can scan them anyway.

It's REALLY great fun :)

[Lisa1976]

Keith, how do you know if the CD they deliver with the photos is high res or not?? I wouldn't have a clue, not very technical minded me.

[Keith]

really by looking at the size of the images on the cd... if they're less than 1meg for example, they're probably the low res ones.

also, call them up onscreen and see if they look large ;-) and sharp

[Lisa1976]

OK thanks, will need to find somewhere to view them before we leave then just incase they try to slip us the low res one.

[Keith]

Probably a good idea yep although my experience was that they were quick enough to sort it out when prompted and they fedex'd the new cd to me in the UK which I thought was an ok fix.

[Jockey]

All this wedding talk is making me so jealous wish I was doing it again!! We got married at the wedding pavillion in december 2000, do you think its too soon to renew our vows lol!!

[Keith]

never too soon to go back to disney :>

[victorlowe]

Keith, fellow Scorpio born in November

We know you are a first-rate professional photographer with up-to-date tech knowledge, as well as respected administrator of the UOG.

My question is are you available for US couples as well as UK couples? Also, do you ever do marriage recommitments or anniversaries? By the 25th anniversary, many married couples are in a better position to do things the right way.

It seems unfair to the US folks not to have your professional services available, Keith, although I guess the UK folks keep you busy.

Naturally I am not asking for myself, but it just in the general way of promoting talent all round and encouraging commerce.

[Keith]

Why thankyou Victorlowe :> I've done two events outside the uk now, really just because the date happened to coincide with when I was over there anyway. It's a lot of fun to take photos in a new location though I must admit.

[candyman]

The photo situation I guess depends on which package you've got... but yep, I think we had 2hours coverage or something so they did take photos during the reception.

The amazing thing was, the photos arrived at our hotel room two days later! I was staggered but very pleased indeed :) Disney chose the album photos and the album came pre-made.... I'd arranged to have *all* the photos they took delivered on CDROM so I could print my own whenever I liked.

We also did the MK Photo shoot which was sooooooo great. We were picked up at our hotel at some silly hour like 5:30am or something and taken to MK. We stopped at the entrance to get some lights turned on ;-) and it was brill to see the castle lights and things get turned on... then we were driven down mainstreet to the castle. That was ultra cool too!

We had photos taken outside the castle in the semi-dark with the castle changing colour behind (later we'd have some more taken as it got light).. then we had some taken inside the castle and we got to stand up on the castle as if we were king and queen :) and they took some from below. We also had some taken on the carousel and a few other places.... then we were taken back to the hotel room.

It was a truly great experience and well worth the money I felt.... again the album came a couple of days later and we received all the proofs in a nice box.

I'd LOVE to do it every year <G>


can you remember how much this MK photo shoot thing cost it sounds just great

steve

[Keith]

yup price list right here but this was from dec 2002 remember so may have changed.

MK photo shoot is $725 includes pickup from your disney resort at 6am
portrait session at MK
12 print 5*5 disney album (better than it sounds)
and we got all the other prints and negatives too for free.

Theres also an EPCOT portrait session, $500 at 2 countries of your choice
WDW resort portrait = $425
honeymoon session = $295

[Belle24]

OK I've got to ask - Keith .... can we see any of your photos ?!?!?!?

I'm DYING to see them !!

:hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe:

[Kate2005]

About the Magic Kingdom photies - can you get the done the next day? I know this sounds strange, but I want the first time my other half sees me to be when i'm floating towards him (!):wink: , so if you could get them done the next morning i'd be quite interested!


Kate:wiggle:

[Bec]

Kate

We've requested for the photos to be done the morning after the wedding so that


Groom doesn't see me b4 ceremony
you get a second chance to get dressed up
And I will be too excited to sleep after the big day!
I think you can request them for whenever you like.
Hope this helps, your event co-ordinator will always let you know otherwise.
Congrats by the way. How are your plans going? when is your wedding date?It's so exciting isn't it?!?!:D

[candyman]

keith did say his were the day after the wedding as far as i remmber


steve

ps it would be good to see the photos tho i agree
steve

[Keith]

Yep you can request the MK photo shoot whenever you like! :)

[Whitequeen]

Don't ask Keith to see his photos. It took us ages to drag them out of him! :wink:

I'm joking Keith. They were wonderful. :thumbs:

[candyman]

perhaps keith is just shy :shy:
you know the photographer hiding behind the camera

steve

[Keith]

That's pretty true actually :) I certainly know which side of the camera I prefer.

I'll see if I can reupload some photos though. I liked the ones that didn't have me in them :)

[candyman]

lol
thanks keith
steve

[marivigi]

Just my two cents

YOur pictures are WONDERFUL!!!

And it makes me so jealous... lol.. there.. Ive said it... :blush:

[Kate2005]

Bec, I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to reply - I really only get the chance when i'm at work!! We are getting married November 23rd 2005 at the Disney Swan Hotel in the Crescent Terrace - and i'm very very excited! I was trying once again last night to convince my intended that photo's at the Magic Kingdom would be so special - he doesn't seem to want to get up at that hour of the morning - a small price to pay as far as i'm concerned! We visited Orlando in May 2003 and it was the best and most magical holiday I have ever had and to do something as special as get married over there, well, it makes me goose-pimply just thinking about it! Sigh!
I would also loooove to see the photo's - I still have plenty of time to convince him indoors!!

Kate

[candyman]

Just my two cents

YOur pictures are WONDERFUL!!!

And it makes me so jealous... lol.. there.. Ive said it... :blush:

you must be so so excited just 2 days to go

all our best wishes hope every thing goes exactly as you hope

steve
:marry: :marry: :marry: :marry: :marry: :marry:

[Debbie E]

:wiggle: :lol: :D :wink: :rotfl: :rotfl: Hi congratulations on your up coming wedding.We are getting married on 9th november 2004 at The Wedding Pavilion and are so excited.We have 28 family members travelling with us from london.The service we have recieved so far from Disney Fairytale Weddings has been amazing.We would reccommend anyone book direct with Disney as we have had nightmares with travel arrangements with Virgin,so as you as imagine we are relieved we did not book our wedding through them.Bye Debbie E :)

[candyman]

congrats debbie

i am sure that even though you have had problems with virgin they will pull out all the stops to make sure your travel is ok for your weddong --im assuming you have told them it is your wedding -- come to think of it i havent told them it is mine !!!!
lol
steve

[Lisa&Andy]

Hi - my fiance and I are getting married in Leu Gardens Orlando in October 2005 - does anyone have any hints or tips for us to make our wedding day memorable?

[candyman]

have you checked in google they have lots of pics of that place
will post any tips i get when i get back in december
steve

[susieh]

Have just returned from Orlando and what could have been a horrific wedding experience if it had not been for the Disney Wedding co-ordinator (Lynn McKitrick).

We arrived late on 2nd Sept. Early on Fri 3rd Sept we went to the court house with brother and fiancee to get their license but they were shut cos of the impending hurricane (Frances). They said to come back on Tues 7th cos Mon 6th was Labor Day (the wedding was booked for Weds 8th).

Next day (Sat 4th) all flights from the UK were cancelled and the rest of the wedding guests therefore stuck at home in the UK with no idea when they would travel.

We managed to get hold of Lynn even though it was a Saturday and she managed to book a slot for Fri 10th as a back up if the bride's parents etc were not in Orlando in time for Weds 8th.

Fortunately we got word on Monday to say they would all arrive Tuesday evening.

But then on Tues 7th morning when we went back to the courthouse they were still closed and could not say they would be open for certain the next monring! Lynn phoned round all the courthouses to try and find one open (even tried to get Miami to do the licence by fax) and finally found Polk County Court was open. So after a mad dash there we got the licence and the wedding could go ahead as planned.

The wedding was beautiful and mandy said she felt like a princess all day! Lynn came along too to say how pleased she was that we 'got there in the end'.

But if it hadnt been for Lynn it wouldn't have happened. She kept in touch with us all through the weekend and right up until everyone had arrived and it was certain it could all go ahead. She gave us her mobile phone number and she rang my mobile (even though it was a UK number) many times to keep us informed of everything.

I would certainly recommend booking direct with Disney if all their staff are as good as she was.

[Lisa1976]

Oh my god susieh, glad you got married in the end and Congratulations!!

We are getting married on 15 December and have Lynn as our co-ordinator also.

[susieh]

Oh my god susieh, glad you got married in the end and Congratulations!!

We are getting married on 15 December and have Lynn as our co-ordinator also.
It was my brother and his fiancee who got married - I got married 26 years ago but nowhere near in as beautiful a setting! http://www.wdisneyw.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hope your day goes off much more smoothly than theirs did and with Lynn at the helm I'm sure it will!

Have been in Disney on Dec 15th in previous years and the Christmas decorations are beautiful so I'm sure the wedding pavilion will look georgeous. Have a wonderful day and thanks for your good wishes for Rob and Mandy.

[Bec]

Susieh was Mandy the bride that I read about here, with you asking about transporting the dress and it was too big for a box? How did you manage? (If you don't mind me asking!)

[Lisa&Andy]

So glad everything went well in the end! PHEW ! We had our gardener round today and he was saying he got married in florida 11 years ago by the same Reverend that is marrying us in Oct 2005 - he said he was dreadful ! And the guy that did the video was awful - it really ruined their day - do you have any suggestions about hair and make up, video and photographer? Thanks X

[candyman]

wow glad it went ok in the end
sounds like lynn is a busy lady she is our co ordinater as well
reports like this make us feel much more relaxed

steve

[susieh]

Susieh was Mandy the bride that I read about here, with you asking about transporting the dress and it was too big for a box? How did you manage? (If you don't mind me asking!)
Yes Mandy was the bride with the dress too big for a box!! We packed her dress in a hard sided case, the dress was very carefully packed with tissue paper and coverd in a sheet. It travelled in the hold, got there perfectly OK, all she did was put a 'fragile' label on it.

She looked georgeous (see attachment)

The make up artist and hairdresser came to the apartment to do her hair etc - they were both really good too. They listened to her ideas for her hair and added suggestions and made her look and feel like a princess.

The Disney photographer took some lovely photos (the CD they got had about 45 on it), and Rob and Mandy were allowed to ask for specific shots to be taken. They didnt get a choice about the 12 that Disney put in the 'album' but as they got the CD with all the piccies on they don't mind. They didnt have a video done but Mandy's brother in law video'd the whole ceremony on Rob's Video camera - there was no problem doing that - so they have the footage for free.

The rev (Kevin - don't know his surname) was lovely. He put everyone at their ease and the cermoney and words were lovely too. The only thing bad was that they didnt get the words they had chosen (you get a choice of about 5) but the one they did get was lovely and no-one minded.

[Bec]

Thanks for letting me know about the dress. It's my main concern at the minute. Didn't even consider transporting it when I fell in love with it!

[kirsty01979]

I'm lookin forward to my wedding (May 2006) and I am definitely getting some ears now that I know there may be freebies involved - lol

I was getting some anyway but now I will make sure we BOTH have them!

[karentan]

the "freebies" are nice but dont rely on getting them as you might end up being disapppointed, theyre a nice surprise if they do happen though!!

[kirsty01979]

Yeah it would be nice to have a freebie or a special treat. We are going in May which is usually fairly busy so a queue jump would be nice but also a bit awkward maybe if the queue is long.

If it happens it will be a great bit of Disney magic!

[jennacool]

don't rely on special treatment at hotels... cause sometimes no matter how sappy sweet you are you just won't get them.. trust me I know.. until family members told the hotel time and again it was my birthday and wedding we got nothing ..day late dollar short they sent me a bday card with balloons attached after being nagged.. cheapos... we got some pins etc.. but don't look for freebies at disney cause you will be thoroughly disappointed in the end if you expect it.. just be pleased if it happens and move on if it doesnt you are there to be married at a fairytale setting and enjoy yourself with that....

[jennacool]

If you wear your ears to restaurants they will sometimes give you a congrat dessert or applause etc. tho.. that we had everywhere.. in some places they sang happy birthday to me.. that was really nice... but i was not seeking it out despite things you read in forums.. it also depends on how busy it is.. May by nature is very busy cause americans get out of school in the south in may.. so the park is crazy mad busy... they don't treat you the same way when it is busy.. not that people aren't nice they are just busy and dont' have the extra time as apposed to like january when the park is quiet and they are trying to get more business.. just be aware.....

[kirsty01979]

Another UK wedding couple about to hit Disney here! Only 114 days to go until it is our turn. We have gone through Virgin and while I feel they didn't supply us a lot of information initially, they have since made up for it by sending us all we need and getting it all done.

Still waiting for a few things to be confirmed but hopefully they should not have any problems. You can still deal with Disney direct even if you book through Virgin as you get the e-mail address of your disney wedding co-ordinator, so this way we get the best of both worlds!

[joanne]

Early-mid May isn't mad busy, it usually has medium crowd levels. It was busier than normal last year, because of the 50th Celebrations start.
See this thread - http://www.wdisneyw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45542