Monthly Archives: July 2012

Vendor Reveal: MESSINA PRODUCTIONS, INC.

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WELCOME to the first in our new series of “Vendor Reveals”.  Through our Disneymooner forums we’ve found our members have used a number and variety of Vendors for their Disney Wedding and we’ve been asking those Vendors to reveal just a little more about their business……. and themselves!

Our first Vendor Reveal falls to a DJ from the Walt Disney World Wedding circuit….

What is the name of your business/service and what is your offering?
MESSINA PRODUCTIONS, INC.
~ A full service entertainment and production company that specializes in weddings; special events.
NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOK: “WEDDING PERFECTION” – The Art of Creating the Perfect Wedding

What is your name? SCOTT MESSINA

DJ Scott Messina

What makes your business/service unique?
Being one of Walt Disney World’s premier entertainment vendors, we have had the unique privilege of working with top celebrities, thousands of Disney Wedding Couples and Fortune 100 Companies.

*Messina Productions prides itself with making people happy, on the happiest day of their lives, at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” and we hope we can do the same for you!

How did you get started and how long have you been doing this?
Messina Productions, Inc. was founded in Maryland and officially incorporated in 1992. It then became a Florida Corporation in 1999. When I first performed “Ride Like the Wind” by Christopher Cross live at my 7th Grade Talent Show {and heard the crowd scream} is when I knew that entertainment and production would be my destiny. Both of my parents were {and still are} heavily active in the Performing Arts, so I guess you can say it’s in my blood.

When not working a wedding at Walt Disney World (or another venue for that matter) what are you doing?
I am what you call an Entertainment Renaissance Man, who is on a mission! With several ventures in the works, my latest creation is a newly published book entitled, Wedding Perfection – The art of creating the perfect wedding.
This professionally written book is an on-the-go reference guide, wedding planner, and therapist rolled into one. If you are getting married, or know someone who is, Wedding Perfection is a must read and can be downloaded on Nook, Kindle and iBooks. Click here to learn more.

What is your favorite part about your job?

  1. Helping to make people happy on the most important day of their lives
  2. Appreciating the fact that I party for a living and get paid to do so.
  3. Feeling as if I am on World Tour (thanks to Disney’s multi-cultural marketing efforts), but rarely need to leave Orlando.

What types of wedding packages do you offer Disney brides?
Since MPI is under an entertainment agreement with Disney, all you have to do is personally request Messina Productions’s DJ services with your Disney Fairytale Wedding Coordinator, and all will be handled from there. (It’s that easy!)

  • DJ Scott Messina
  • DJ Tony Messina
DJ Scott Messina Disney Studios

DJ Scott Messina “working” Disney’s Hollywood Studios

*We are in the process of launching “Messina Couture Weddings” where brides can book our expert team to custom handle all of their elite wedding plans from finding specific locations, photography, video services and entertainment; to decor, transportation, ceremony, reception and after party production. Disney and Non-Disney locations Included.

What is your favorite wedding trend right now in relation to your business/service?
I really like how couples are starting to think outside the box by using technology to its fullest. I was DJing a Disney Fairytale Wedding a couple of months back and saw this guy on the dance floor with his laptop. I had no idea who he was or what he was doing, but later found out that he was streaming the wedding live to over 900 people who were tuning in and chatting about it. At first I was concerned because of privacy issues, but later learned that the bride was all about it and wanted to share her special day with other Disney Wedding Fans. It ended up being great free advertising for me as I rocked a wedding of 80 or so people, and 900+ were there to experience it as well. To learn more about using wedding technology, make sure to check out Chapter 10 (Achieving a Hi-Tech Wedding) | Wedding Perfection.

What’s your favorite thing about doing Disney weddings?
The level of perfection and attention to detail that Disney Fairytale Weddings offer is unmatched, in my opinion. The team work at Disney is amazing, and being able to do my part by helping people experience the “Happiest Place on Earth” at the highest level is truly rewarding.

What was your strangest request when working a Disney Wedding?
It wasn’t exactly a wedding request: I was doing a reception for the Prince of Saudi Arabia and Disney producers asked me to wear a Prince Charming like outfit. – it was pretty funny…

Prince Scott Messina

What’s your most memorable moment that you have taken away from a Disney wedding?
My most memorable moment is when Disney’s Fairytale Weddings and WEtv produced a one hour special with Host David Tutera, and out of the (5) weddings that they featured, ALL (5) were my weddings. Not sure if having me assigned to MC/DJ for every featured wedding was coincidence, but I am sure that I was honored and grateful for the opportunity to represent Disney’s Fairytale Weddings on a worldwide television platform.

JUST FOR FUN – we asked Scott to answer these questions

If you were getting married at WDW where would you have your ceremony and reception and why?
Ironically, in Chapter 2 of my book, “Wedding Perfection” there is an entire segment written on Destination Weddings that was approved by Disney legal. All Disney locations at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL are wonderful, but my top picks are as follows:

Ceremony:
(1) The Wedding Chapel overlooking Cinderella’s Castle
(2) Italy at EPCOT

Reception:
(1) The Grand Floridian Resort gives couples the truest feeling and sense of Disney traditions.
(2) Living Seas at EPCOT is an awesome and unique location
(3) Napa Room (California Grille) – Best overall view of the Magic Kingdom/Fireworks

Who is your favorite Disney character and why?
Mickey Mouse is my favorite character because he is my BOSS! – lol

Which is your favorite Disney attraction and why?
I have always loved the Carousel of Progress found in Tomorrow-land at the Magic Kingdom. It was Walt’s FIRST exhibit back in the day, and has existed ever since. It brings back great childhood memories of my family taking me to Walt Disney World, when we were tourists back in the day.

FINALLY

Why should a member of our Disneymooner Forums choose your service?
Messina Productions is a small company doing BIG things! We’ve worked hard to maintain an impeccable reputation for over twenty+ years. {Reading our references and searching us on Google can prove this!} I am proud that my company offers an unmatched elite style of service, reliability, attention to detail and level of perfection to all who give us that opportunity to shine.

We love what we do, and it shows!!!

SCOTT MESSINA, PRESIDENT
Messina Productions, Inc.
PO Box 1390 Windermere, FL 34786
Studio: 407-909-0403

MessinaProductions.com |
MyCelebrityDJ.com |
WeddingPerfection.Info |
Twitter is @DJCrazyScott |
Facebook.com/WeddingPerfect

DJ Scott Messina impresses Fantasia Sam

I’ve personally had the pleasure of attending a Disney Fairytale Wedding at The Living Seas where DJ Scott ……..rocked the house!

Thanks to Scott Messina for answering our questions as part of our Vendor Reveal series, if you would like your work revealed to our readers please contact yourfairytalewedding@disneymooner.com

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A Disney Bride’s Favorite Moment: Gina

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Some of our Disneymooner Forum members have been sharing their favorite moments from their Disney Wedding

By Gina

My favorite wedding memory and many of my guests favorite memory too happened during our first dance. We had our reception outside at the Whitehall Patio and as we were sharing our first dance the monorail stopped and everyone on board waved. It was magic that you would only get at Disney and it was amazing. My guests were loving it! I felt things had come full circle. As a kid I dreamed of a Disney wedding going by the pavilion on the monorail and now I probably created that dream in the minds of the kids on board LOL. At least I’d like to think so!

Disneymooner Favorite Moment
Thank you for sharing your favorite moment Gina.  To read more Disneymooner’s favorite moments please visit our forums.

The Finer Details: Give Your Table a Name

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One of the trends to continue its momentum is giving your tables a name.  Many couples are looking to infuse a little more of their personalities into their receptions by naming their tables something personal to them.

Their favorite Disney attractions….

..

Characters names….

Couple’s Favorite Snacks….

What about postcards for the couple who loves to travel?  Pick your favorites up and its an easy and super cute way to add a little something to your event.

What are you using for your upcoming wedding?  What have our past couples used?

Please share with us here and on our Disneymooner Forums!

A Disney Bride’s Favorite Moment: Marilyn

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Some of our Disneymooner Forum members have been sharing their favorite moments from their Disney Wedding

By Marilyn

I think mine is a bit random. After all my years of dreaming of a Disney wedding, and a 15 months of planning a Disney wedding, I have one picture that brings it all together for me…

Disneymooner Favorite Moment

I was so excited for everything and I loved the reactions from all our friends and family. Priceless. Our wedding came together better than I could’ve ever imagined. But, being here on the Disneymooners, planning my wedding, researching, and reading past bride wedding recaps and looking at their wedding pictures, this shot was something I was so excited to get.

After the ceremony, Randy, our amazing photographer, took us around the Boardwalk taking pictures. We got to the photo booth and I knew I was about to create a life’s pause of our day that I would always cherish. This picture of us in front of that photo booth, is my constant reminder that after all the dreaming and planning, I had finally had my Disney wedding!

Thank you for sharing your favorite moment Marilyn.  To read more Disneymooner’s favorite moments please visit our forums.

Featured Venue Fridays: Ariel’s

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When I first started planning my Disney Wedding I spent a lot of time searching the internet trying to find out as much as possible about different venues for a Wedding Reception. I was immediately drawn to Ariel’s.

For those that don’t know, Ariel’s is regarded as one of Disney Fairy Tale Wedding’s “Special Venues” located at Disney’s Beach Club this venue used to be an upscale seafood restaurant for Resort guests but sadly closed to the public back in the mid 90’s. However the good news is that it became a space used for Conventions and Weddings.

When I stumbled upon Ariel’s I realized that this special venue came with a lot of pros that was going to keep my wedding budget very much in check. As our wedding ceremony was going to be held at The Yacht Club Gazebo by having my wedding reception at Ariel’s I wasn’t going to have to pay out transportation costs for my guests as Ariel’s is just a short walk from the Gazebo! Not having a ballroom for our wedding reception was important because I needed a venue that our Disneyphile guests couldn’t experience any other time themselves so Ariel’s now had 2 big ticks against it. Finally I wouldn’t have to have to pay extra for DFTW to lay a dance floor because part of the flooring was stone-work perfect for dancing… tick #3 and a done deal!

First Dance at Ariel’s

Ariel’s can accommodate up to 80 guests but we only had just over 40 so we were able to use part of the split-level space as the bar area and for the pre-reception cocktail hour.

“Punch anyone”

We then had a 4-course meal served, although these days I believe DFTW push this venue for buffets only, but our meal was followed by dancing and we had a wonderful afternoon. You could almost see the children from the nearby Stormalong Bay pin themselves to the windows outside eyeing us all with envy as we celebrated our wedding with our special guests …

Room to swing a …. Mouse!

Dance floor below and windows looking out onto Stormalong Bay

I know our guests still talk of how they were lucky enough to enjoy Ariel’s and it worked out to be the perfect wedding reception venue for us…. and given that we always vacation back at Walt Disney World every year we’re also lucky enough to walk by Ariel’s and give each other that knowing smile, when we hear other resort guests say to each other “oooo I wonder how you get to eat in there?”

Thank you for allowing me to share some of our wedding reception highlights with you all.  For more information on Ariel’s, including pricing minimums, site specific restrictions and wedding recaps please visit the Disneymooner Forums.