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amynicole22
09-04-2001, 02:43 PM
Ok, so I'm not engaged yet, but I like exploring my options, so here goes - Have any of you tied the knot at Disneyland? What were your experiences, pros, cons?

I've been through a WDW wedding (Best Friend got married at the Wedding Pavilion there in 1999), so I know what that's like, but I'm curious as to what the Disneyland experience offers for couples. Not necessarily prices, services, etc. (that I can get from their Promotions dept.), but the experience of planning and executing a wedding with the Disneyland wedding staff.

Any stories or helpful hints? Thanks!

AVP
09-04-2001, 07:42 PM
Tony and I were engaged and married at the Disneyland Hotel. Of course, the lovely area where we had the ceremony is now the home of the ESPN Zone - how romantic... :crying:

Because I used to be in the special event industry, and did a lot of weddings when I had that business, I can tell you dozens of horror stories about working with the Disneyland Fairy Tale Weddings office. I won't, because I don't think we have quite that much bandwidth here, but I can tell you that my own wedding was severely bungled by their staff.

Here's the advice I have for anyone getting married at Disneyland. (This is all good advice no matter where you get married, but it seems to go double for Disneyland):

1) Get it all in writing. If they tell you that they will have a microphone for your officiant, get it in writing. If they tell you that there will be a water station for your guests, get it in writing. ANYTHING that is important to you, get in writing.

I made the mistake of taking the verbal assurances of someone I had previously worked with in a professional capacity, and I got burned. Get it in writing.

2) Do whatever site inspections and follow up you are able to. If you are promised that your reception will be in a certain ballroom, go look at it a few days before the wedding. I can not tell you HOW many times a bride has chosen decor to match a certain color scheme in a ballroom, only to find out the day of the wedding that the hotel remodeled since the contracts were signed, and the whole room looks different.

If there are certain details about your wedding that are really important to you, make sure you follow up with the appropriate vendor a month, and again a week before the wedding to make sure everything is ok. Again, written confirmations of these things are just wonderful to have.

3) Once you've gotten it all in writing, appoint someone to be your wedding coordinator for the day. Even if you don't hire a coordinator, (which I recommend, but that's another story), make someone responsible for carrying your contracts and checking up on the vendors. That way, when you don't have a microphone and you don't have a water station, YOU are not the person who has to get in the hotels face about it. You can be the calm, cool and collected bride - let someone else be the stressed-out basket case. :D

And that's why you want it in writing. Your wedding is very short. A 30 minute delay in getting you the microphone makes the difference between your guests being able to hear your vows or not. If you have it in writing, and you are holding the contract and can point to it, they tend to work much faster. If you have to hunt down the person who told you that something would be done, and then remind them about what they told you, and THEN they have to make it happen... you're already past "I Do"

4) IF something goes wrong, you'll need to decide if it's something so important that it's worth ruining your wedding day over by getting in an argument with the vendor.

Say you were promised red roses, and you got pink. Unless your florist is growing roses in their car, there's probably not much you can do once the flowers are delivered. So relax, enjoy the roses, and make sure your coordinator is taking notes. Once the wedding is over, write the nicest, most polite, yet most scathing letter you can. You can use your refund to pay off your honeymoon!

Note - this last step doesn't seem to work on Disneyland though - they never did reply to my letter. Which is why, 3 years later, I still can not recommend Fairy Tale Weddings to people without a warning. If they can't address and try to correct a massive mistake, I don't want to send people there without some advance preparation.

I know people have had good experiences with FTW, but I have also seen and heard my fair share of negative ones.

Adrienne VP

Disney Crone/Kid
09-04-2001, 07:55 PM
Originally posted by amynicole22
or helpful hints? Thanks! This enticing intro to Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings will whet your bridal appetite (why it makes me just want to get married all over again!):

"The most special moment of your life can also be the most
enchanted. Embrace this moment, for your wedding day
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings, with our magical tradition and
history, we make dreams magnificently and memorably come
true. Your options are gilded in elegance and as unlimited as
your imagination, with the luxury of attention to every detail
that only Disney affords. From this day forward we promise to
guide you, assist you and stand by you, every step of the
way."

More romantic details here:
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneylandresort/ResortInfo/FairyTaleWeddings/index

Here's a picture of the wedding garden at the California Grand Hotel:
http://virgo.caltech.edu/photos/2001/archive/12170029s.jpg

If that's not enough info and money is no object, here's a webpage with
wedding options like Cinderella’s Glass Coach in which to arrive
at your ceremony; let your dreams take flight with A White Dove Release,
and even Disney characters at your wedding:
http://www.pmttravel.com/discalwed.htm

The carriage and characters do not come cheaply, either:
"There is an office at the Disneyland Hotel called the "Fantasy Weddings Office"
for people who want to get married on the Disney property. Appearances at the
wedding by a costumed character are $500 (that's $3500 for a set of dwarfs for
a Snow White theme). Use of the Cinderella Carriage is $10,000! Most people
don't ask, but there is a different carriage, a simpler black one, that costs
significantly less." Source (scroll to #8) (http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/Disneyland/Secrets/Resorts.html)

And last but not least, here's the Unofficial Disney Wedding Guide with upcoming
and previous weddings -- most at WDW:
http://www.yourfairytale.com/calendar.html

Pretty heady stuff! Good luck on your wedding plans, amynicole22. May all your
wedding dreams come true.

[Moderator's note: vB code fixed in quoted material. -- Lani]

mrfantasmic
09-04-2001, 07:57 PM
I'm not even thinking about it yet!

dsnyredhead
09-04-2001, 09:16 PM
My husband and I were married last September at the Pacific (now Paradise Pier Hotel). There were a few timing issues that were not taken care of properly, but other than that we didn't have a huge problem with having it at Disney.

As AVP mentioned, make sure you get everything in writing. Our personal biggest problem was the photographer, but that was not handled by the FairyTale Wedding office. We originally were not considering Disneyland, but after looking at other options it really was the best choice for us.

amynicole22
09-05-2001, 07:53 AM
Wow - thanks AVP and DisneyCrone/Kid. DBF and I are currently in the pre-engagement phase of our relationship (we'll probably be engaged within the year, so I need to start thinking about what I want before everyone else starts chiming in).

As much as I love Disneyland, I don't know if it's the best location for us. Aside from money concerns, I haven't heard good things about their wedding staff. AVP - even though you didn't go into detail, you pretty much confirmed what I have heard from other sources. As for my personal experience, I tried to get an information package from them, sent 3 or 4 emails, and never received a reply. Not a good sign. I suppose I can cross the DL resort off the list of possiblities.

Thank you AVP for the wonderful advice - applicable to any wedding. As a sidenote, have you ever worked with any special event sites in the Ventura County area? I'm finding that my options up here are fairly limited.

AVP
09-05-2001, 07:58 AM
Yeah, Ventura county is not swarming with event venues, but there are some more unique ones there if you are interested in a beach wedding.

How faw south are you looking to go? Burbank has quite a few nice locations.

Adrienne

JeffG
09-05-2001, 09:23 AM
Originally posted by amynicole22
I suppose I can cross the DL resort off the list of possiblities.


While keeping the concerns in mind, I still wouldn't recommend crossing DL off the list of possibilities until you at least meet with them. We had heard about a lot of the potential problems and were also expecting that the price would be prohibitive. Because of that, we had pretty much crossed it off our list and didn't even plan to look into it.

After we had looked at quite a few other venues in Orange County without finding one that worked, some friends suggested that we should at least look into the options at Disneyland Resort. When we went in for our appointment, the Fairy Tale Wedding staff very quickly impressed us with their thoroughness (the information they had for us was much more complete and detailed than at any of the other places we had visited) and we found that the prices were >very< competitive with other area hotels. When we were about half way through the property tour, I quietly whispered to my fiancee (now my wife...) "this is it, isn't it?"

While we ran into a few logistical and timing related issues that were Disney's fault on the wedding day, they weren't anything really major and probably were the types of things that we would deal with at just about any venue. For the most part, though, we were very happy with the service we received and most of the major glitches of the day (no matter how well you prepare, there >will< be glitches) were not Disney's fault.

Certainly, you should heed the advice that was given earlier in this thread and keep an eye open for the potential pitfalls. In fact, most of the suggestions given are ones that you should take no matter where you end up having your wedding.

Finally, I would strongly recommend that you call the Fairy Tale Weddings office directly in order to get an information packet. I'm pretty sure you can find the phone number on the "useful phone numbers" page of the D-I-G. While they certainly should respond to their email, it also wouldn't surprise me at all if email messages being sent from the website go through something of a round about route before they eventually make their way to the wedding office. I very much suspect that a phone call would get the information packet sent to you right away.

Good luck with the wedding planning. It is going to be quite an adventure! :)

-Jeff

amynicole22
09-05-2001, 09:55 AM
Originally posted by AVP
Yeah, Ventura county is not swarming with event venues, but there are some more unique ones there if you are interested in a beach wedding.

How far south are you looking to go? Burbank has quite a few nice locations.


Hrm - hadn't considered Burbank. That's definitely a possibility. We're in Thousand Oaks right now and Burbank is only about half an hour from us. Any specific places that you'd recommend? I hadn't even thought to look there.

Logistically, anything in the greater SoCal area would be ok (my family is in San Diego, his is in Dana Point, and our friends are in Thousand Oaks), but I'd prefer something closer to T.O. (for ease in planning).


Originally posted by JeffG
When we went in for our appointment, the Fairy Tale Wedding staff very quickly impressed us with their thoroughness (the information they had for us was much more complete and detailed than at any of the other places we had visited) and we found that the prices were >very< competitive with other area hotels.

Thanks for the additional info JeffG :) I'm always open to changing my mind. How long ago were you married? Did you like the ceremony/reception site? Did you find it comparable to the other venues you looked at? Did you feel at all limited in your options?

My problem is that my aesthetic sense is a little kooky and I don't really want a traditional, cookie-cutter wedding. The thought of gazebos and tulle makes me break out in hives. My fear is that with a DL wedding, things might tend a bit too much to the traditional. If that's the case, then it's not the right venue for me.

All very good things to think about...I believe in being prepared. Any more suggestions/insights?

Lani
09-05-2001, 11:00 AM
... of course you can always enjoy a proposal IN the park... then head off to a Reno wedding in a little chapel with a couple of your close friends, then have a lovely honeymoon at the park. ;)

[actually, I'm not sure we ever had a honeymoon yet.]

JeffG
09-05-2001, 11:11 AM
Originally posted by amynicole22

Thanks for the additional info JeffG :) I'm always open to changing my mind. How long ago were you married? Did you like the ceremony/reception site? Did you find it comparable to the other venues you looked at? Did you feel at all limited in your options?

We are coming up on our first wedding anniversary later this month. Our wedding was held at the Gazebo at the Disneyland Pacific Hotel (now the Paradise Pier Hotel) and our reception was held in the Crystal Room at that same hotel. We were quite happy with the facilities and didn't feel significantly limited in our options at all.

The gazebo itself was fairly comparable to other hotel venues that we had looked at, although it was more isolated than some, a feature that we liked quite a bit. In fact, we preferred it over the Disneyland Hotel for exactly that reason. For those that aren't familiar with it, the gazebo at the Paradise Pier Hotel is actually located on a large outdoor area (which also includes the pool and a covered banquet area) off the 3rd floor of the hotel.

The Crystal Room is comparable to other hotel banquet rooms, but with some nice Disney touches such as Mickey patterns in decorations (including the carpeting, chandeliers, etc.) One cool, playful touch is that the room includes several booths along the side walls (at one time the room was a restaurant and they kept the booths when they converted it).

One thing that did particularly impress us about Disney's facilities was that they have a lot of available reception rooms with a wide variety of sizes. Since our wedding was fairly small (about 50 guests), we had been having a somewhat difficult time finding a location that had reception rooms that wouldn't be way too big for us.


My problem is that my aesthetic sense is a little kooky and I don't really want a traditional, cookie-cutter wedding. The thought of gazebos and tulle makes me break out in hives. My fear is that with a DL wedding, things might tend a bit too much to the traditional. If that's the case, then it's not the right venue for me.

Admittedly, we did have a fairly traditional wedding. Disney's primary wedding locations are all gazebos. They have two at the Disneyland Hotel and the one at the Paradise Pier Hotel -- I'm not sure about the Grand Californian's facilities. I know that if you are willing to spend a huge amount of money and heavily limit the number of guests, they do also allow very small weddings in the park in front of the castle. We really were looking for a gazebo location, so we didn't look into other options. I wouldn't be surprised if they are able to arrange other more non-traditional weddings.

One thing they also emphasized was that you could have as much or as little Disney theming as you want. We did have some elements such as use of Disney music during the ceremony, a castle display for the cake, Disney character centerpieces, etc. If we had the desire and money to spend, they certainly could have added a lot more. At the time of our wedding, character appearances were available starting at around $500/hour.

Again, we really found the staff to be very accommodating and easy to work with. I seems fairly likely that they would work with you to come up with a ceremony that fits your tastes.

-Jeff

Andrew
09-05-2001, 12:46 PM
Originally posted by amynicole22



Logistically, anything in the greater SoCal area would be ok (my family is in San Diego, his is in Dana Point, and our friends are in Thousand Oaks), but I'd prefer something closer to T.O. (for ease in planning).


If you or anyone in your family/wedding party is military or DoD, check out Fort MacArthur AFB in San Pedro. For some reason I can't seem to find the link I once had for the event company that runs the place, hopefully Adrienne K (who also got married there!) will see this and chime in.

adriennek
09-05-2001, 05:20 PM
When I had my reception at Fort Mac, a totally different company ran it. I will say it's an awesome site. And the prices are outstanding because it's a government deal. You need to have someone who is active military, RETIRED military (not just a vet or discharged but retired,) or a DOD employee/retired to sponsor you in.

It may be a bit traditional for you, but I can't say enough about the location. I will second what AVP said about having a wedding coordinator. I did have a coordinator for my wedding and we did have things go wrong but I never knew about them and the coordinator fixed them. She did have copies of all our contracts and she had all the envelopes with checks in them. She also thought to ask for things that I never thought of but that she knew we were "entitled to." Little things that we were never charged extra for but you don't get in your contracts unless you ask for them-- the little touches that make the experience nicer not just for the couple but for your guests, too.

Adrienne K

tjrj
09-06-2001, 07:29 AM
AmyNicole22: The location is a bit of a drive for you(near Glendale)-and if it's still there...

We had a terrific wedding/reception at the Lawry's California Center. Outdoor, garden setting, terrific food and absolutely no problems with the wedding planning staff.

A little closer for you: Pepperdine has a beautiful chapel. My sister had her reception at the Sportsman's Lodge in the Valley-very nicely done.

Have fun!

Speake
09-06-2001, 09:09 AM
The Olivas Adobe makes for a beautiful backdrop in Ventura ... Photography at the beach will be convenient.

amynicole22
09-06-2001, 09:21 AM
Originally posted by adriennek
When I had my reception at Fort Mac, a totally different company ran it. I will say it's an awesome site. And the prices are outstanding because it's a government deal. You need to have someone who is active military, RETIRED military (not just a vet or discharged but retired,) or a DOD employee/retired to sponsor you in.

Unfortunately, my last tie to the military was my grandpa, who is no longer with us, so this site won't work (for me at least - it's a great suggestion, and one I wouldn't have thought of). Perhaps someone else reading the boards will benefit from it.

I'm definitely thinking more and more that a wedding coordinator will be worth the money. I don't want to worry any of my family with taking care of the details on the big day, and I've heard elsewhere about the special perks that they can get for you.

So much to think about, that's why I'm starting early ;) Keep the advice and suggestions coming!

amynicole22
09-06-2001, 09:24 AM
Originally posted by tjrj
AmyNicole22: The location is a bit of a drive for you(near Glendale)-and if it's still there...

We had a terrific wedding/reception at the Lawry's California Center. Outdoor, garden setting, terrific food and absolutely no problems with the wedding planning staff.

A little closer for you: Pepperdine has a beautiful chapel. My sister had her reception at the Sportsman's Lodge in the Valley-very nicely done.

Have fun!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll add the Lawry's center to my list of possibilities. I actually looked at the Pepperdine chapel on the web, and fell in love with the stained glass window (so beautiful!), but DBF negated it as "too churchy." Do you see what I'm up against? ;)

Also, DBF comes from a Jewish family, and my extended family is predominantly Christian/Catholic. So, as a compromise, we want to stick to venues that are religiously neutral. Challenges!

Thanks again!

Berry Princess
09-06-2001, 11:46 AM
I have no idea about FTW but after hearing awful things doubt I would want bother with that. I know I had looked into what the costs of things were thru it but because we decided to do it almost at the last minute we had to do something different since we had no time to save. My husband had wanted to just go to city hall and do it that way and I was so against it. We needed something that was a church or religous like. I find a really cute place in Long Beach. Here is the info for it:
Am Weddings
440 East 9th Street, Long Beach, CA 90813
(562) 435-3492

If money would be a problem for you it is a not to much money ($175 for up to 10 people including bride and groom plus the marriage license is included..not sure how much for each person after the 10 thou). It was perfect for us since my husband did not want a big wedding and we couldn't afford one. The place is run by a couple. They are very nice people. The place is really cute!! Its behind their home. They did all the work on the place and everything. For you it may not be what you are looking for when the time comes. It isn't religous if that is what you want. You can change things in the cermony if you like. They are really good about it. I totally would recommend them. They are wonderful people. I know if we ever renew our vows and have our "big" wedding then we will go back to them. They also do go to places to marry you if that is what you want. Don't know the cost thou. They do same day weddings except summer and Valentine's Day..of course. But you can always give them a call and get info that they can give you. Good luck!