Why a Disney Wedding and my not so lovely consultant experience
So I have a confession... I started planning our Disney wedding before we were officially engaged
We had previously discussed getting married in 2018 and we had been talking about a destination wedding for almost a year.. so it's not like it was completely unexpected. I picked April because it fell in the cheaper seasonal pricing (which has now been removed) and I picked the 28th because it was on a Saturday and far enough away from Easter to hopefully avoid those crowds, and it will be my parents' 28th wedding anniversary
I would have LOVED to have a Christmas time wedding (love the Christmas decorations at Disney), but my birthday is on Christmas Eve and both of my parents' birthdays are in December.. so my fiance said there was already too much going on in December
My dad has been telling people I'm going to get married in Disney since I was little.. we've been on at least 26 trips in 17 years, so my family was NOT surprised at all when I first told them I was planning a Disney Wedding
My fiance on the other hand has only been to Disney twice, the first time being with his family in 2015 and the second with me in May for our engagement pictures. He was NOT a fan after his trip in 2015 (they didn't make any ADRs or FP+s
) Well after introducing him to the heaven on earth that is Disney signature dining and the variety of drinks in World Showcase.. he is a Disney fan, so much so that we have a week long honeymoon booked after our wedding
Here's a pic of us on the morning our our PPO BOG breakfast reservation. We were the first people at the restaurant so we got a special introduction and got to dine with Lumiere. I think this is where the Disney tides turned for Chad.. he thought it was pretty cool getting to go into the park before everyone else.
My not so lovely consultant experience
So the months leading up to my one year mark were AWFUL. I seriously almost abandoned the whole idea of a Disney wedding. My consultant and I obviously did not click. I originally wanted the 2:30 PM WP slot with a reception at LSS and DP at Italy Isola West. About a month before my one year mark, my consultant told me there were a lot of couples requesting the 2:30 PM ceremony and the LSS. I decided to find a different reception venue b/c I wasn't all that thrilled with LSS anyway. So I decided on ADH, but my consultant told me I didn't have enough people and that it is usually used for groups of 100 or more (even though I've seen pictures of receptions in there with only 50 people). Then my choice was the GM Lounge.. but my consultant submitted the request and it was denied. Then it was a ballroom at the YC, oh but the whole YC is booked for a convention. Then I asked about a ballroom at the GF, but the only option I was given for my "group size" was the Whitehall Room. Finally, I ended up in a ballroom at the Contemporary.. which was absolutely NOT what I wanted. My requests to him for a more unique reception location were completely ignored. The one time I called him after our initial phone call he made it sound like he would rather have me email him.. so I think a lot was lost in translation.
We ended up with our second choice of ceremony time, 9:30 AM with a reception in a ballroom at the Contemporary
and DP at UK Lochside (even though I told him I wanted Italy Isola West). I filled out a survey a couple of weeks later that I received asking me about my consultant experience. I expressed my disappointment in his ability to find me a unique reception space.
Well... a couple of weeks later my planner informed me that my request for the GM Lounge WAS approved
Now we will have this AMAZING view at our reception and I am so darn excited
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Next up... THE DRESS!!!!