Alyaki & Raist's Wishes Wedding - Italy/LSS/France 3/17/2015 - Mini Update 10/29 Food

[bigr3ddog]

Oh exciting! In which park will you be having your engagement photos done?

 

[Lorelei528]

I just wanted to say Congratulations first and second....great choice of photographer with Regina!
We had Regina for our MK and EPCOT photo shoots and we LOVED her! So much so in fact, we have her booked for a photo session for our upcoming trip in DEC!

Can't wait to hear more about your planning and see more pics! You have loads of time to plan which is AWESOME!!!

 

[alyaki]

Oh exciting! In which park will you be having your engagement photos done?

We're doing our photos over at the Boardwalk area. I've see so many fun photos over there that I decided it'd be a fun spot. And since we're planning on having our wedding at the Wedding Gazebo (or SBP), I figure I can actually see what those areas look like in person.

 

[bigr3ddog]

Oh that's a great area for photos! We really liked the wedding gazebo. That was our original first choice but now we've decided to do an Epcot ceremony so the gazebo has become our alternate. Make sure you see it and sea breeze point.

 

[alyaki]

Oh that's a great area for photos! We really liked the wedding gazebo. That was our original first choice but now we've decided to do an Epcot ceremony so the gazebo has become our alternate. Make sure you see it and sea breeze point.

Will do! I'm really looking forward to actually getting to see both areas.

 

[alyaki]

So, we were on vacation last week, so I just found out about the changes to the Disney Wishes pricing structure. Just let Raist know we'd need to talk, but it looks like there is no way we can do it on the day we had originally planned. *sigh* So, we'll have to see if there is a way to still make it work. Food/beverage not counting towards the "minimums", which are now just "enhancement minimums" and the fact that the venue we want just upped by $1200 really sucks.

I just hope they don't make any other large changes before we can lock in a date; the new pricing structure stinks for those of us with tight budgets.

 

[alyaki]

It's been a while since I posted. Feels like this process is a lot of "hurry up and wait", but oh well. We've decided to switch our date to 3/17, which is a Tuesday (so we're back to the lower minimums), as well as St. Patrick's day (Raist's pick). So, yay for that. A couple weeks ago we finally hit our 16 month time frame, so we called in. I like our consultant - when we talked, we both went over the numbers to verify that it ends up within our budget (which is less than $15k after taxes and service charges). It was nice to have someone double check our math about the potential charges.

So, at this point, I don't know that there is much for us to do. We are penciled in on our consultant's calendar for the 10am ceremony. We did have to switch ceremony locations, due to a convention taking up the entirety of the yacht club, so we're looking at either Sea Breeze Point or an Epcot ceremony. We decided to go with Living Seas Salon as our reception venue - we had thought about Citricos and/or the Attic, but Raist didn't much like the Attic, and while we like the look of Citricos, not sure about the seating in there.

Anyone have suggestions as to what I could do while we wait till we get booked at the 12 month mark? I know I have to call and check in with my consultant in a couple months to see whether anyone else is looking at the date (and that will be when she pencils us in on the master calendar, as opposed to just hers). I don't really want to order save the dates until I'm positive that we have our date, though I've looked into where we want to get our invitations and save the dates from. I've been listening to the Disney wedding podcasts. We've booked our photographer...

Essentially, I have no clue if there is anything else I can do until we locked into our date.

 

[Summer Daydream]

There really isn't too much you can do until you have your date. The only thing you could probably do is researching any outside vendors and maybe telling them your tentative date with Disney to see if they may hold the date. I was too afraid to do anything until I got the email from Disney that my date was being held. I didn't want to order things with the wrong time or location.
It is a lot of hurry up and wait with Disney, but then it becomes a flurry of activity! A St. Patricks day wedding sounds so fun

 

[elphie101]

Hi there! I thought I had commented on your PJ before but I guess not. I'm glad you were still able to get a Disney wedding like you wanted. As an Epcot bride myself, I'm totally biased and say go with an Epcot ceremony Definitely think about transportation though; it will be a decent chunk of change depending on your guest size (we're working with an expected 70-80) and is something you wouldn't necessarily need to provide at Sea Breeze Point. But the privacy of an Epcot ceremony can't be beat! It's why we picked it. Then again, if you're going with Living Seas you'll need transportation anyway!

I totally get what you mean about not being gaga over some of the more popular DISBoards photographers - they all seem like the sweetest people in the world but I feel like the editing would also drive me crazy. Glad you got Regina!

Are there any DIY projects you've had in mind? Now could be a good time to start them so you don't get overwhelmed later.

 

[alyaki]

Hi there! I thought I had commented on your PJ before but I guess not. I'm glad you were still able to get a Disney wedding like you wanted. As an Epcot bride myself, I'm totally biased and say go with an Epcot ceremony Definitely think about transportation though; it will be a decent chunk of change depending on your guest size (we're working with an expected 70-80) and is something you wouldn't necessarily need to provide at Sea Breeze Point. But the privacy of an Epcot ceremony can't be beat! It's why we picked it. Then again, if you're going with Living Seas you'll need transportation anyway!

I totally get what you mean about not being gaga over some of the more popular DISBoards photographers - they all seem like the sweetest people in the world but I feel like the editing would also drive me crazy. Glad you got Regina!

Are there any DIY projects you've had in mind? Now could be a good time to start them so you don't get overwhelmed later.

We're working off of a 30 person max guest count, so while transportation is going to cost a decent amount, I think both Diane and I came up with a rough estimate of $948 or so, which is a ton but could have been worse. The only problem I have with an Epcot ceremony is the fact that I don't like breakfast food. So Raist decided that we may as well have lunch at the reception, since that is what I really want anyways (and I'm weird and think any time past 10am should be lunch...really not a breakfast person). Love some of the Epcot locations though - which did you decide to go with?

As for DIY, really the only two things I was planning on doing were the table numbers and maybe welcome bags. I figure I'm going to use everything I can through Disney to meet and stay at my minimums without spending more money on outside things (other than the things I have to such as officiant, dress/suit, rings, etc.). I figure I'll look into the table number stuff, but otherwise, I'll just hold out until we get our date. At least we're now at holiday season - there are so many other things to hold my attention.

 

[alyaki]

There really isn't too much you can do until you have your date. The only thing you could probably do is researching any outside vendors and maybe telling them your tentative date with Disney to see if they may hold the date. I was too afraid to do anything until I got the email from Disney that my date was being held. I didn't want to order things with the wrong time or location.
It is a lot of hurry up and wait with Disney, but then it becomes a flurry of activity! A St. Patricks day wedding sounds so fun

That's pretty much what I thought. I decided to get under contract with my photographer early, just because I really didn't want to get to 12 months out and find out she was already booked, but otherwise I'm the same with not wanting to do anything else until we know our date is held. I figure, I'm willing to work around my photographer's schedule, but not 2-3 different people's schedules.

 

[elphie101]

We're working off of a 30 person max guest count, so while transportation is going to cost a decent amount, I think both Diane and I came up with a rough estimate of $948 or so, which is a ton but could have been worse. The only problem I have with an Epcot ceremony is the fact that I don't like breakfast food. So Raist decided that we may as well have lunch at the reception, since that is what I really want anyways (and I'm weird and think any time past 10am should be lunch...really not a breakfast person). Love some of the Epcot locations though - which did you decide to go with?

As for DIY, really the only two things I was planning on doing were the table numbers and maybe welcome bags. I figure I'm going to use everything I can through Disney to meet and stay at my minimums without spending more money on outside things (other than the things I have to such as officiant, dress/suit, rings, etc.). I figure I'll look into the table number stuff, but otherwise, I'll just hold out until we get our date. At least we're now at holiday season - there are so many other things to hold my attention.

We decided to go with Italy - it's funny because the whole time I was psuedo-not engaged yet planning I always thought I would go with Japan (because DF and I celebrated our 1st date-averseary at Teppan Edo) but once we actually were engaged I just came to love Italy - I feel like it lends itself more to the traditional wedding setup with the raised platform, etc. It would have been one of those two countries anyway because of our guest size.

It's your wedding - have the food you like! My mom and DF aren't huge breakfast people either - usually the first thing either of them eats is like grilled chicken at 11:00am for lunch. But IMO it should be all about what you want - if you wanted a steak dinner at 10:00am then do it! I love breakfast food myself, but I think the other big reason people like breakfast is that it's cheaper. Still, go with what you like!!

 

[alyaki]

We decided to go with Italy - it's funny because the whole time I was psuedo-not engaged yet planning I always thought I would go with Japan (because DF and I celebrated our 1st date-averseary at Teppan Edo) but once we actually were engaged I just came to love Italy - I feel like it lends itself more to the traditional wedding setup with the raised platform, etc. It would have been one of those two countries anyway because of our guest size.

It's your wedding - have the food you like! My mom and DF aren't huge breakfast people either - usually the first thing either of them eats is like grilled chicken at 11:00am for lunch. But IMO it should be all about what you want - if you wanted a steak dinner at 10:00am then do it! I love breakfast food myself, but I think the other big reason people like breakfast is that it's cheaper. Still, go with what you like!!

Funny, if we end up with an Epcot ceremony, I was going to push Italy. That area is absolutely beautiful. I wish I liked breakfast food, because I'd really like things to be cheaper. I'm the one always worrying about cost, but I figure I'd rather just go with something I'll eat than saving money. Though now that you mention it...I may have to ask Diane if it's possible to either extend the pre-reception/cocktail hour food for 15'ish minutes (which I think would get us to 11am) or if we can start that a few minutes later. That would fix the "having lunch in the 10am time frame" I think. Hmmmm.....

Thanks for helping me get my thinking cap on.

 

[alyaki]

So, you know what's great about having such a long period to plan? It's easier to refine your ideas around what you want your event to look like. I've found that it's easier for me to pin everything I like when I find things and then to go back and actually revisit them. The stuff I thought looked cool at the time it was pinned (but don't really like) ends up getting thrown, while the stuff that I really like ends up staying. It's a lot easier to see where the look is actually trending towards. Though Raist is a little sad I've removed stuff from the board.

Also, I think I'm going to push for cookies as wedding favors. Something everyone generally will eat, as opposed to anything else I can think of; not all of our friends/family drink, or like certain flavors. And while there are a couple items I think would be fun to use as a favor (penguin cookie cutter!), most people don't need or want more than one of those. So, cookies. In a white box. Or maybe a kraft paper box. Regardles, cookies, of some form. In a box. Done.

And here I thought there was nothing to do or think about until at least the 12 month point. Guess you can always figure out something to make a decision about.

 

[Bewitch324]

Glad to hear that your vision is starting to come together for you. It sounds like what you have planned will be lovely!

I spent the four months or so of the "waiting" to confirm my date researching vendors (and in some cases, like photography, booking my vendor), reading planning journals and stalking pinterest and Etsy in an entirely unhealthy way, haha.

Seriously though, I did a lot of list making and created a few spreadsheets to track the savings for the wedding and my general spending to make sure I was staying on tracking with the savings for the wedding (harder than I thought) and my long term to do list. I also went to a couple local wedding shows, although I didn't find those super helpful as they were all about local vendors and not so much about weddings in general.

The time will go faster than you think it will, that's for sure!!!

I'm excited for you to confirm your date and plans and be off and running!

Brooke

 

[elphie101]

Ahhhh favors. I have 0 idea for my own wedding

I love your idea of cookies though! A sweet treat for a sweet day, it sounds lovely. Especially if it was shaped/symbolized something important to you both. I definitely love the idea of something edible, I think it's less of a junk item that gets tossed in the back of a closet if you can eat it!

I know the feeling of hurry up and waiting - I feel like the true Disney wedding planning is just waiting for time to happen! Bah. Thank goodness we have other people's PJs to read!

 

[alyaki]

Glad to hear that your vision is starting to come together for you. It sounds like what you have planned will be lovely!

I spent the four months or so of the "waiting" to confirm my date researching vendors (and in some cases, like photography, booking my vendor), reading planning journals and stalking pinterest and Etsy in an entirely unhealthy way, haha.

Seriously though, I did a lot of list making and created a few spreadsheets to track the savings for the wedding and my general spending to make sure I was staying on tracking with the savings for the wedding (harder than I thought) and my long term to do list. I also went to a couple local wedding shows, although I didn't find those super helpful as they were all about local vendors and not so much about weddings in general.

The time will go faster than you think it will, that's for sure!!!

I'm excited for you to confirm your date and plans and be off and running!

Brooke

The spreadsheet is a good idea - I should probably set one up. I've been checking prices for the things I'm interested in picking up (such as welcome bag stuff, cookies, containers for said cookies, invitations, etc.) but it'd probably help to have them all in one place, even if it makes me freak out more. I'm the one who always worries about money, between Raist and I. Do you have a template you ended up using, or did you just start entering everything into the spreadsheet and then organize it later?

(Btw, sorry for not responding to this earlier - holidays made me lazy )

 

[alyaki]

Ahhhh favors. I have 0 idea for my own wedding

I love your idea of cookies though! A sweet treat for a sweet day, it sounds lovely. Especially if it was shaped/symbolized something important to you both. I definitely love the idea of something edible, I think it's less of a junk item that gets tossed in the back of a closet if you can eat it!

I know the feeling of hurry up and waiting - I feel like the true Disney wedding planning is just waiting for time to happen! Bah. Thank goodness we have other people's PJs to read!

Haha, that's why I decided on the cookie - plain enough that pretty much everyone will eat them, and not likely to be tossed. Wanted to do wine or lemoncello, but I know a few people don't drink, and there will likely be a couple kids. So it was cookies, or some people would end up with different favors than others (which could end up with people complaining that they didn't get the other item). Shape though, is likely just to be round or square with a monogram - though Raist may get his way and get a shamrock with rings on it. Haven't really thought of that part much. I'd like to find a local'ish (to Disney) baker to get the cookies from, but we'll see.

On a slightly different note, I think we may be changing to an Epcot ceremony. It'll make it a bit earlier in the day, but then I'm not worrying about what the back up location is. Raist decided that since I care about the back up location as much as the actual location (I hate ballrooms for ceremonies), we might as well just make the switch to Epcot. We haven't really talked about which location yet, though.

 

[alyaki]

So, I'm still flip-flopping over the ceremony location. I absolutely love the gazebo at Sea Breeze Point....but I absolutely hate the back-up location. After talking with Raist, he decided we should probably just switch to an Epcot location since we both like them and I don't mind any of the back-up locations. But, I still keep coming back to the gazebo. I think I'll probably need to talk to my wedding coordinator and get another opinion.

On a different note, I've started putting together a spreadsheet with prices known so far (including tax/gratuity, where applicable). So far, it's adding up fast. Over $5000 between ceremony fee, transportation, reception venue fee (since we're doing Living Seas Salon), and welcome bags. Pretty nuts, and it doesn't include anything around upgraded chairs for the ceremony, or food/drink, etc. At some point I may try to load it here in case anyone wants to see it/use it, since I'm not using any names or anything in it.

So, right now, I'm sort of . Hopefully I can talk to my coordinator sometime soon Good thing I have 2 months (exactly!) until we would get our date/locations.

 

[elphie101]

So, I'm still flip-flopping over the ceremony location. I absolutely love the gazebo at Sea Breeze Point....but I absolutely hate the back-up location. After talking with Raist, he decided we should probably just switch to an Epcot location since we both like them and I don't mind any of the back-up locations. But, I still keep coming back to the gazebo. I think I'll probably need to talk to my wedding coordinator and get another opinion.

On a different note, I've started putting together a spreadsheet with prices known so far (including tax/gratuity, where applicable). So far, it's adding up fast. Over $5000 between ceremony fee, transportation, reception venue fee (since we're doing Living Seas Salon), and welcome bags. Pretty nuts, and it doesn't include anything around upgraded chairs for the ceremony, or food/drink, etc. At some point I may try to load it here in case anyone wants to see it/use it, since I'm not using any names or anything in it.

So, right now, I'm sort of . Hopefully I can talk to my coordinator sometime soon Good thing I have 2 months (exactly!) until we would get our date/locations.

Well I'm horribly biased, but I say go Epcot There are many pros and cons though - the privacy of the ceremony, the chance to actually be married in a theme park are great but man does that ceremony time suck, not to mention paying for transportation (though I guess you're doing that anyway). I would definitely talk it over with your consultant, if anything I would say stick with the gazebo though. I've gotten the impression that the Epcot venues are rarely in-demand, I would guess because of the time. It was the only venue we weren't in a lottery for, and I believe October is DFTW's busiest month (plus we picked a holiday weekend).

Just my .02 though!