DFTW can make dreams into…..cakes!!

Posted in Wedding Planning by Living Seas Bride

Two years before our wedding, I sat one night and watched a tv special on Disney Fairytale Weddings. I was so excited for my own wedding that I was glued to the screen and I loved every detail.

As the show came to a close , I saw the most amazing cake I had ever seen and I knew I needed it. In that moment, I grabbed my sketchbook and literally drew the cake I saw. It had silver Mickey heads stamped all over it and had a white chocolate castle on top.

That was my cake.

Flash forward, two years later, we are in the midst of planning our dream Disney Fairytale Wedding. It was time to plan the cake…my favorite part.

My planner sat there across from me and asked: ” Any thoughts on a cake?”

I pulled out the sketch I had made four years prior and said this one. I need this cake.

She responded “Ahh the Mickey Wave cake is very popular. That can be done.”

Of course we made a few adjustments to make it a bit more us, but in the end the cake was exactly as I dreamed of and envisioned.

We added a touch of color to the cake and made the ribbon match out wedding colors and adding a touch of blue to the castle turrets. My favorite Disney touch was the addition of some hidden character stamps…Donal made an appearance as did Tinkerbell herself. I loved this because our flower girls dressed as Tinkerbell.

I remember walking into the Living Seas and I couldn’t stop looking at the cake…….they had made my dream come true.

For more photos and options for cakes for a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding please head over to our private forums Disneymooners

28Sep2012

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Photo Shoot

Posted in Reviews, The Finer Details, Wedding Planning by Living Seas Bride

The following post was written by Disneymooner Vanessa.

Many couples choose to add a Bridal Portrait Session at the Magic Kingdom to their wedding plans; however, many do not realize that you can also have photos taken at the other parks. My husband and I decided to add-on a shoot at Disney Hollywood Studios too. Since we were married inside Epcot that meant that we would have photos from three of the four parks at Walt Disney World.

One of the best things about adding on an additional park is the flexibility you have in backgrounds for your photos. The photographers are willing to be creative and work with you to get the types of pictures you want at that park. The majority of couples only choose a Magic Kingdom Portrait Session, so adding on another park gives the photographers a chance to be more creative with their shots.

We were picked up at our resort hotel at 5:30 a.m. and then headed over to take our photos at the Magic Kingdom. Since it was March this was well before sunrise allowing us to get some photos in the dark with the lights on the castle. By the time we left the sun was up and we had some additional pictures taken in the daylight.

Our photographer and his assistant had us climb back in their van and then drove us over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We arrived long before the park was scheduled to open to the public giving us the flexibility to take pictures throughout the park. We entered in near the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith making our first stop for photos. My husband loves this ride, so we were able to get pictures with the large guitar at the park’s entrance behind us.

From that point we walked through most of the park. We had a lot of great pictures taken with us walking down Sunset Boulevard with shots of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in the background. We were also able to have photos taken with a vintage Hollywood feel in front of several of the shops on Hollywood Boulevard.

The photographer took a number of pictures in front of the Sorcerer Mickey Hat. We also had photos in front of the Great Movie Ride since we were having a Hollywood theme for our at-home reception just a few months later.

At this point the photographer let us pick where we wanted additional pictures in the park. Since I collect Wizard of Oz memorabilia I asked for a picture near the block dedicated to Judy Garland with imprints from the Ruby Slippers in front of the ride.

We then asked for some pictures in the courtyard for Muppet Vision 3-D. I remembered looking at photos from fellow Disneymooner’s Julie wedding reception that was held in the courtyard and I knew that it would provide great pictures. Plus, we grew up during the era of “Muppet Babies” and Miss Peggy was one of my favorite characters.

As we were leaving the Muppet courtyard the photographer took us over to the Streets of America to have some photos taken with the New York backdrop and near some of the buildings. These photos are so unique because they look like we were actually in these locations without having to travel thousands of miles.

We were also given the option to have photos taken near the Star Tours ride. Since neither of us are huge Star Wars fans we opted out of having any done in that section of the park. However, this is a great thing to know for any Star Wars fans who would like to have wedding pictures there.

The current pricing for a Magic Kingdom Portrait Session is $1,500. Adding on a second park only costs an additional $200. While the cost is only $200 more, the prints that you receive do change with the two park package. Instead of receiving a 12 print album, proof disc and 4×6 keepsake prints you receive thirty 5×7 prints in a Disney-themed album.

If you decide that you only want a portrait session in Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Disney’s Animal Kingdom without any photos in the Magic Kingdom the cost is only $850. Disney Fine Art Photography also provides options for resort portrait sessions and Trash the Dress sessions at the water parks.

Disney Fine Art Photography gives couples the chance to have photos taken in some of their favorite areas inside the Disney parks. So, if you are a Star Wars or Muppets fan or you love riding the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror consider adding Disney Hollywood Studios to your portrait session.

For more stories about theme park photo shoots please join our private forums Disneymooners

29Aug2012

Wedding Planning: Getting the Marriage License

Posted in Wedding Planning by Living Seas Bride

Next to having an Officiant booked, I’d say making sure you have your marriage license comes pretty close to being the most important detail of the wedding planning.

I remember this causing me far too much stress when I was planning, simply because I wasn’t certain on how to go about it. Lucky for me, I had the Disneymooners forums to tell me my options and calm the inner panicking bride. The process for getting your marriage license in the State of Florida is really easy and there are two basic methods.

Be sure to check out the County Clerks website for more details. The current price for a Florida Marriage License is $93.50.

Disney Fairytale Wedding’s requires that all couples acquire a valid FLORIDA marriage license prior to their ceremony. Vow renewals and commitment ceremonies do not require this. Couples options are:

1. In person at a Florida Courthouse

A Florida marriage license is good anywhere in the state so brides from other areas of the state can obtain one at a location convenient for them. There is no waiting period for out-of-state applicants, but for locals be sure to check the requirements.

Marriage license are good for 60 days from date acquired. If you are waiting to get your license once you arrive in florida the two closest court houses are:

Osceola County Courthouse
2 Courthouse Square, 2nd Floor Kissimmee, FL 34741
407-742-3530
osceolaclerk.com

Orange County Courthouse
425 N. Orange Avenue, Room #355 Orlando, FL 32801
407-836-2067
myorangeclerk.com

2. By Mail

If you are planning on submitting the application by mail:

Call the Marriage License Information Clerk at 321- 637-5413
e-mail marriagelicenseinformation@brevardclerk.us
download the Mail Away Marriage License form at http://199.241.8.125/index.cfm?FuseA…Licenses.Forms

Some Brides like the idea of having the license in hand before they leave to Florida and submitting my mail and others like having the human interaction to get the paperwork done.

For other information on marriage license, experiences and other helpful tips please join us on our private forums Disneymooner.com

26Aug2012

Wedding License with a Side of…Tornadoes?

Posted in Wedding Planning by Living Seas Bride

Wedding planning can be stressful at the best of times but what happens when a hurricane is on it’s way? With Tropical Storm Isaac threatening to turn into Hurricane Isaac we wanted to share with you Disneymooner Geneva’s story from our Disneymooner Forums.

Wedding License With a Side of…Tornadoes?

“So, there we were…happy to be out of the rain when we realized…hey, there are cops EVERYWHERE…more than you would normally expect to see right when you walk into a courthouse. One was holding the door open and telling us to get inside (rudely). We got through the metal detectors, all the while trying to maintain our sense of humor but everyone seemed tense and we weren’t sure what was going on really. We tried to ask the next cop where the marriage license office was only to be told that we’ll need to wait in courtroom #1. Ooookaaayy…so I nervously asked the next cop, “What exactly have we walked into here?” only to receive this snide reply, “What you’ve walked into is 4 tornadoes in the area, now get into courtroom 1!” I (being in shock that he was being SUCH an a$$) stopped dead in my tracks and then (being the good sailor that I was trained to be) set about following the order. Just then some guy comes out of courtroom 1 saying, “I don’t know what the fire code for that room is, but there are way too many people in that room.” At that point, I was rethinking my decision to go into a room packed shoulder to shoulder with cranky people and I heard Stephen say, “Hang on a sec, honey…we’re not going in there to be packed in with whatever criminals were on trial today.”

Yup, definitely didn’t want to go in after considering that aspect (leave it to the lawyer…) so, while the cops were busy trying to bully fire code guy into submission, we headed for the exit…which was blocked by a security guy who seemed to think it was OK to hold us there against our will. Stephen explained that we would be leaving whether he liked it or not. The security guy was severely confused and stuttered out something about having to clear it with an officer so we turn around and both say at the same time (it was too funny), “We’ll be leaving now.” The cop just shrugged and said, “So?” We turned back to the security guy who was really confused now and muttered something about us being on our own with the tornadoes to which we both laughed and agreed that we’d rather do just that than be stuck in that madhouse for an undetermined amount of time waiting for a tornado to decimate it.

When it was all said and done, we made it back to the untouched courthouse and got our license without incident. Sure did make for an entertaining morning though.

Have you had a funny or stressful wedding planning story that left you a bit overwhelmed? Share with us!

Look out for our blog post on the many ways to obtain your wedding license when planning a Disney Wedding… coming soon!

15Aug2012

Lady & The Tramp themed Welcome Party

Posted in Anniversaries & Celebrations, Wedding Planning by Living Seas Bride

This post was written by Disneymooner Heidi. For more information about her event and others at this location please join the Disneymooner Forums

When we started planning our Disney Wedding, I was overwhelmed with all the amazing venues and options we had. I knew I wanted our wedding to be a once-in-a-lifetime event both for us and our guests. Initially, I was hoping for a morning ceremony, followed by a brunch reception and an IllumiNations dessert party later that night. I fell in love with the idea of an event at Italy Isola, the “island” in front of the Italy Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase.

Unfortunately, the location was booked for the evening of our wedding date, which was MLK, Jr. Day in 2009. Our Coordinator suggested hosting an event there the night before the wedding, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it! We decided to call it a “Welcome Dinner” instead of a rehearsal dinner, since all of our guests were either family, in the wedding party, or from out-of-town. This gave us all the opportunity to spend time together before the big day. Plus, the drama of IllumiNations combined with the VIP treatment of a private dinner on Italy Isola certainly set the stage for how unique our wedding would be.

Surprisingly, a simple dinner buffet was not four times the cost of a dessert buffet, as I had initially thought. True, you can have a fairly inexpensive dessert buffet, but by the time I had added all the “extras” I HAD to have, our dessert party would have been only $15 or so p.p. less than the dinner buffet we selected, which included dessert! Because it was set in Italy, and because I love “Lady and the Tramp,” we went with an Italian theme, complete with the Lady and the Tramp buffet that Epcot catering offered at the time. We also opted to do B.O.C. (bill on consumption) for alcohol and drinks (which we also chose for the wedding) and it saved us a bundle. The event happens so quickly, and folks spend so much time either visiting or watching the fireworks, that drinks are not consumed as quickly as you might imagine.

Keeping with the Italian theme, we used Epcot’s black plastic tables and chairs, but had Disney Floral cover the tables with red and white checkered table cloths and an assortment of dried pasta and lanterns for centerpieces.

While I think the effect was perfect, I’m sure a simpler table setting would not have taken away from the beauty of the event.

We also worked with Shelley from Impressions to complete a seating chart, table names and menus…with a Lady and the Tramp theme, of course.

The only chink in the armor was that the day of the event proved to be a chilly one! It was January 18th, and it was in the 50s that evening. After a few discussions with our planner, we decided to add heaters to the event. This proved to be expensive, but our other option was to move the dinner indoors (possibly to the American Adventure Parlor on the second floor of the AA building), and then move outside for the fireworks. I was against that, due to the planning we had put into having a cohesive event. In the end, it might have been a smarter choice, as we were all pretty chilly. So, if you’re having an event in January or February, be prepared for the weather to interfere!

As with everything else in Epcot, your guests must arrive by bus (or have a park ticket). And despite our numerous reminders about the bus times and locations, my father-in-law and his wife missed the bus, because “someone told [them] they had to have park tickets to get into Epcot and come through the front gate.” Ugh. So, be prepared to address these concerns in numerous ways to get the message across for your guests.

Nonetheless, everything looked and (mostly) tasted fabulous.