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Gosh it's been a while! This post is specially made for any part or future DisBrides- you know who you are- or anyone considering a Disney wedding but not able or willing to go through DFTW.
This post is purely to post wedding photos and info- Scot and I got hitched on April 10, 2016 at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort at Walt Disney World.
We wanted to book our event at a resort that would be able to do almost all the work for us. We didn't want to deal with catering and organizing shit for a wedding- I wanted a list of vendors and I wanted to keep the planning process simple. We managed to do that just fine!
DFTW was just out of our budget for the number of people we wanted. Our original guest list had over 130 people on it, and we slashed that by almost 2/3 after I had a panic attack at the thought of throwing such a big event. We had $10,000 my parents had given us, and we stretched that to its fullest extent.
*Stephanie Caldwell was our photographer and provided us with the amazing photos you see below, plus about 800 more! She messaged me after I announced my wedding date on the Disbrides page and offered photography services. Easiest decision we made!
*Brittany Brown at the Wyndham was our wedding contact there. She and her assistant Tara Sweeney were so helpful and kept us on track with our planning. She ensured that everything was done to give us the absolute best day possible.
*Kristin Follins was provided by the resort from Pave Weddings and was our day-of coordinator. She was as sweet as she could be and coordinated all of our vendors together and made the wedding day timeline. She made sure I didn't have to worry about a single thing the morning of the wedding.
*Rev Kevin Knox was our officiant. We were recommended him by the girls on the Disbrides Diary Facebook page. He was great to work with and provided us with a build-your-own ceremony kit. It was really easy, especially since we didn't write our own vows
*Christine MacPhail was our harpist. She was recommended by the resort and was AMAZING! She can literally play anything you'd ever want- "Everything is Awesome" from the Lego Movie for our recessional? Done. Any Disney song ever? Done.
*Fiora Design Studio did our floral. We interviewed several florists and Aaron at FDS really seemed to understand my vision. He was the definition of FABulous and treated me with my $1,200 budget as he would a bride with a $12,000 budget.
*Party Flavors made our cake. The Wyndham provided the cake so we didn't have to pay for it, just visit the shop and tell them what we wanted. We did pay to upgrade from a 2 to a 3 layer cake though. They turned my custom design into a reality and it was delicious.
*Joshua Cawthorne was our contact at Disney Catered Events. We used DCE for our Illuminations Dessert Party the night after the wedding. Best perk going through them- we were not charged a viewing fee for our guests who had park tickets already, and we were able to save $400 by purchasing discounted Disney gift cards and Target and using them to pay. Josh really was patient with me and helped me make our tiny budget into a fabulous party with delicious desserts. This party put us over budget but it was sooooo worth it!
*Encore was the audio/visual company we used through the Wyndham for our reception music. We didn't have a DJ, I made up a Spotify playlist and they connected everything to speakers for me. It was really easy to control, and one of the Wyndham staffers adjusted the volume between our first dance and the rest of the reception
*Harmony Spa onsite did my hair and makeup for $200. Britney (a different one, this one is a hair stylist/makeup artist) came to my room at 7am and took care of me there. She nailed my Vintage Hollywood Pin-up Glam vision!
*Arthur Murray Dance Studios taught us how to Foxtrot! Mercy at the Lake Mary studio was our patient instructor. She was so sweet and so helpful in getting us choreography that we could actually handle. Scot and I practiced a lot in the garage to get our first dance just right.
We made our Save The Dates on Vistaprint and used a coupon. I bought an invitation packet template online from a site called A Handcrafted Wedding for $20. We had 50 invitations, info cards, and RSVP cards printed at FedEx for about $110 and they were beautiful!
Some perks for booking through the Wyndham Bonnet Creek:
2 separate suites for the bride/groom the night before the wedding
1 free suite for the wedding night
No limit on room blocks, and we were not liable for any unsold rooms
Free day-of coordinator
Cake is included, size depends on guest count
Preferred vendors offer their own perks- we got free cake floral and a free cd copy of the harp music from the ceremony
We got a 10% discount for holding our wedding on a Sunday morning.
We did the Mr & Mrs Brunch package with bottomless mimosas and it came to around $5,200, including the ceremony site and set up/break down
Our reception space was in the 12th floor Executive Lounge. The views are amazing from there, and at night you can see the fireworks from HS and Epcot both!
Overall, with the ceremony, reception, photography, a/v setup, our officiant, the harpist, cake upgrade, the dessert party/bus transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses, we spent around $11,700 for 42 guests.
I feel we got a fantastic deal, and would do it all over again tomorrow- we had so much fun!
THIS is why we chose the Wyndham. Look at the view from our reception space!
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