Tag Archives: Atlantic Dance Hall

Vendor Reveal: Chapman Photography

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WELCOME to the next 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 next Vendor Reveal falls to an “outside” wedding photographer…. a very popular choice amongst Disney Brides

What is the name of your business/service and what is your offering?
Chapman Photography ~ Randy Chapman, specializing in Disney Fairytale weddings and honeymoon Photography.  We also photograph Disney Vacations and Family Reunions!

What is your name? – Randy Chapman

FantasiaSam “shoots” Randy at her own Disney Fairytale Wedding

What makes your business/service unique?
With 17 years shooting Disney Fairytale weddings, I have a great reputation for capturing unique, creative and natural fun moments. Over these years I have extensively communicated with and worked alongside Disney’s staff which aid towards a seamless day for the Bride and Groom!

How did you get started and how long have you been doing this?
I discovered my talents when shooting in New York City,, after shooting great upcoming models for 2 years, I moved back to my native State and City, Orlando Florida, where I pursued my talents in the wedding field.

After shooting weddings for 6 years, I was recognized by Andrea Rotondo in 1997. Andrea was a past Disney Bride in 1996 and founded the Disneymooner list and Unofficial Disney Wedding Guide… Andrea posted a link to my website and from there, history was in the making!!

After 17 years  numerous awards and thousands of Disney weddings, Disney Fairytale Weddings and Honeymoons is my home of 90% of all my weddings.

When not working a wedding at Walt Disney World (or another venue for that matter) what are you doing?
On my days off from shooting Disney weddings, I love shooting Family sessions, Honeymoon couples, engagement shoots, and try to get in 14 miles of biking every other day!!

What is your favorite part about your job?
The favorite part about my job is everything!! What better job can you have, do what you love to and go to work, where that day is one of the happiest days of another person’s life!! Then to see how excited a Bride and Groom are when receiving their photos!!

I also love shooting the engagement this is a great way to get to know my couples before the big day

What types of wedding packages do you offer Disney brides?
My Photography packages are customized for each Couple to fit their budget, in some cases full wedding coverage will include engagement session or Honeymoon session.  There are printed packages on my website www.chapmanphotography.com or email info@chapmanphotography.com   407-841-2300 cell 407-341-0761.  All the Packages include the master DVD with all the copyrights!

What is your favorite wedding trend right now in relation to your business/service?
My Disney couples are less traditional and using a lot of bright colors, props, Trashing the Dress, shooting Honeymoons, Social Networking Facebook for Sneak Peaks. Checkout my Facebook.

What’s your favorite thing about doing Disney weddings?
One of many favorite  experiences of shooting Disney Weddings is working with Disney Fairytale Weddings Staff, they all do a great job. Another is shooting Cinderella’s coach, all the Charters and Monorail.

What was your strangest request when working a Disney Wedding?
I could write the top 10 strangest requests but I will keep it short   A reception at the Grand Floridian  approximately 200 guests and everyone is at their tables eating Cake… the Bride then had the DJ announce my name and request a dance with me…..eeek not a pretty site !!! Hips don’t lie!!!

What’s your most memorable moment that you have taken away from a Disney wedding?
The most Memorable Moment was at the last-minute of a wedding I was shooting my Bride asked me to walk her down the aisle at the Wedding Pavilion as her brother was delayed at the airport.

Also a family of 3 sisters and 1 brother all had their wedding at Disney which I photographed and I’ve been shooting their family portrait sessions every year since!

JUST FOR FUN – we asked Randy to answer these questions

If you were getting married at WDW where would you have your ceremony and reception and why?
If I was to get married at WDW it would be at the Disney Wedding Pavilion this being Florida and the weather changing by the hour, there’s no need for a back-up location plus it has A/C and an awesome location for photos.

My reception would be the Atlantic Dance Hall, because the location is at the Boardwalk which makes for great photos outside.

It also has an outside Balcony great for viewing the Illuminations at Epcot and I can make the photos look like we were there!! The inside is great, no need  for a whole lot of decorations and it has a great dance floor… perfect!

Who is your favorite Disney character and why?
Pluto has always been very playful and fun with photos!!

Which is your favorite Disney attraction and why?
Favorite Disney Attraction is Haunted Mansion, it brings a lot of memories, being born and raised in Orlando, our family went to Disney a lot in the 70’s even though the Haunted Mansion had a 45 min wait I was there. Not really an attraction but I love Eating Around The World at Epcot.

FINALLY

Why should a member of our Disneymooner Forums choose your service?
I believe with my vast knowledge and 17 years specializing in shooting Disney Fairytale Weddings, under very affordable packages, I can be of a great advantage for my future Disney Couples. My Experience in knowing all the great locations for photos whether you choose a Wishes, Escape, or Memories Wedding, I will keep the Wedding Couple on the required timetable throughout the day.

All the Disney Fairytale Wedding Staff  know me and we work great together as a team. I enjoy, being a part of making dreams come true with beautiful wedding photos.

90% of all my weddings are at WDW! I have a great following of past, present and future Disney Wedding Couples including many from the Disneymooners that will give you their experience with me, many have continued to come back to me after their wedding for Vacation shoots and/or Family Sessions around the Walt Disney World Properties, which I believe is a great testament to my work! We also offer Engagement and Honeymoon sessions at any of Walt Disney World Resorts.

Randy Chapman
Disney Weddings  Chapman Photography
Studio 407-841-2300
Cell 407-341-0761
Fax 407-841-2193

www.chapmanphotography.com
Info@chapmanphotography.com
Facebook

Thanks to Randy, Chapman Photography 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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DIY: Paper Love

When I started planning my wedding, I was overwhelmed with the amount of paper goods that would be needed. It felt as if every time I turned around, I needed to add another item to my list. Save the Dates, Invitations, Programs… and since this was a Disney destination wedding, I felt I needed to also include some sort of planning items to that list.

If you have, even just one ounce of, a creative hand, you can save a lot of money by doing your own wedding stationary and other paper projects. Not to mention, being able to create them just the way you envision them. That may be even more rewarding than the cash saved.

Below are a collection of paper goods photos from my own wedding, held at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn with, of course, a Boardwalk theme. Created by me, in nothing more than Microsoft Word. With the help of the internet for free font and clipart downloads, I was able to style my paper to suit my taste and event theme. For fonts, I love Dafont.com. The majority of their fonts are free for personal use. And they have the beloved Disney font, “Waltograph”. Looking for some Disney clipart? Disneyclips.com and Disney-clipart.com has some really cute designs for the taking. Remember, to use these only for your own personal use.

For the invitation supplies, I used Cards and Pockets. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to do their own invitations. They have a wonderful selection of colors and styles. You can download the templates directly from their website, for free, to get started, which can help greatly to decide which style invitation before you order. Afraid to print them yourself, in fear of tossing the printer off your balcony? Cards and Pockets now offers printing for you. You email them a PDF of your work and they will quote you a price. Their website is really chock full of great tools to help you create your dream stationary.

Next up, I needed to work on programs. Making sure to use the same fonts and colors I used in the invitations, to keep it cohesive. Michael’s Arts & Crafts has a selection of cardstock that would make anyone’s head spin and always have a coupon on their website or on their smart phone app. I went with classic white for mine (4.5 x 6.5).

I scoured the internet to find program inspiration. We are not a serious couple by any means, and this was a very lighthearted event, so the program needed to be fun. I found a great one on Style Me Pretty’s blog and created mine in that same writing style.

On to the guest book. I had decided to do a guest mat so it could be framed and hung in a place of importance in our home. Again, wanting something unique and going with our theme, I chose to create a postcard of our locations instead of a photo. Using a couple of photos I had from previous visits to the Boardwalk, text boxes and Microsoft Word, this design was born. It was mounted onto a colored cardstock and set inside of a guest mat, that can be found at most craft supply stores in their framing department.

We used the existing marble cocktail tables at Disney’s Atlantic Dance Hall so we went with open seating. However, we did want to make sure the wedding party would have tables on the dance floor close to us. Our planner, Carol, told me to make enough “Reserved” signs for the tables we wanted held. These were created using the same paper as the programs.

Since this was a destination wedding, and I have a Disney trip planning addiction, I created a few items to send out to our guests about a month before the wedding. Each guest was sent a packet that included park maps, a “Confirmations” worksheet (to keep their trip itinerary organized) and a “Park Hours” sheet covering the week of our wedding. I also included an “Event Guidemap”. This map included the transportation schedule for our wedding day, a list of important dates, times and locations, and a special message from the bride and groom. I will admit that the map took a little more love and attention with some Photoshop help to get it the way I wanted. This project had the help of Office Max. I printed a master of each and headed straight to the store where they may copies on a nicer heavyweight paper, trimmed down, and even folded the maps for me (which was worth the cost all on its own!).

The whole process was a labor of love but, I enjoyed every minute of it. And each project went through several drafts before going to print. I DIYed most of my wedding but, this was one of my favorite projects.

Important things to remember when using Microsoft Word-

  • Set your page sizes correctly.
  • Always set for borderless printing.
  • Use text boxes and break up your text so you can get the placement you want.
  • Format images and text boxes to “in front of text” so you can layer and place.
  • Have fun! Play around with the settings, word art, fonts, and filters until you find what you’re in love with. You may be surprised at what you can do in Microsoft Word.

My Disneymooner Planning Journal has all my DIY trials and tribulations so, if you’re a Disney bride to be, make sure to join the forums and read all about them.

Featured Venue Fridays: Sunset Pointe

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This week’s Venue review is written by Disneymooner Beth. To read more about her wedding and read her recaps, please going our private forums.

Everyone who is planning a Disney wedding has a reason for why Disney was the perfect place for them. Everyone who has had or is planning a Disney wedding has a reason for why they picked their location and here is mine.

We knew from the get go that we wanted a small wedding. My husband does not like being the center of attention so we decided to focus on our families and to pick a place that they might want to go to. We explored options in Colorado, California, but my heart kept coming back to Disney in Florida. After quite a bit of discussion and pricing we decided to make it a go.

Once we knew for sure we wanted to get married at Disney we had to decide on a wedding location. There were so many amazing choices from those that were in the park, to the Wedding Pavillion, to several of the resorts. We sat down and started really talking about our vision. My husband and I are both very laid back people. We knew that a suit or tux was not really his style so I ruled out places that seemed very formal to me like the Wedding Pavillion. Then I saw a picture of Sunset Pointe and I went that’s it. For us Sunset Pointe was perfect for so many reasons. It was at the Polynesian which is where we were going to be staying. It seemed very romantic to me with the palm trees around a path that was isolated. It had a view of the castle, I don’t think any explanation is needed there LOL! I had many fond memories from growing up of walks around the Poly with my family so really for me it was perfect. My husband agreed with me absolutely that it was right for us.

Our wedding trip was going to be his first trip every to Disney so the day we arrived we went straight to Sunset Pointe so he could actually see it. We walked slowly up the path with the excitement of knowing that in a day or so this place would have a permanent place in our heart. Once we reached the top we sat down for a little while to soak it all in.

Escape Wedding at Sunset Pointe

Disneymooner photo by Chapman Photography

Looking back now seven years later there is no possible way I would have changed our location because it did truly represent us, who we were, and who we wanted to be.

So why did you choose your location? What about it made it perfect for you?

Featured Venue Fridays: Atlantic Dance Hall

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This week’s Venue review is written by Disneymooner Jennifer. To read more about her wedding and read her recaps, please going our private forums.

The Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort is the perfect reception venue for the couple that wants a beautiful view. Located on the bustling boardwalk, the Atlantic Dance Hall is a two-story 1940s style nightclub. The venue has art-deco touches throughout the building with polished-gold railings and marble tables, as well as a balcony overlooking Crescent Lake. There are so many beautiful touches throughout the venue that you don’t need to add much décor, but all floral, décor, and entertainment that you do use must be provided by Disney. The maximum capacity for this venue is 200 guests.

Atlantic Dance Hall - Disney's Boardwalk
You can host events at the ADH 7 days a week. The venue typically hosts buffet style events and these have a lower minimum, but you may serve a plated event on Sunday and Monday, with a higher food and beverage minimum. Tuesday-Saturday, your event must end before 8 P.M. but on Sundays and Mondays you can have the venue for the whole night. A perk of having your night reception at the ADH is a waterfront view of the Illuminations fireworks show, but the views from the wraparound balcony are stunning at any time of day.

View of Boardwalk from Atlantic Dance Hall Venue

There is a beautiful wooden dance floor. The second story of the venue overlooks the dance floor so your guests can watch you complete your first dance as a married couple from the indoor balcony that wraps around the club and then descend down the grand staircase to the reception.

View from Second Level of Atlantic Dance Hall

View of Illuminations Fireworks from Atlantic Dance Hall

Featured Venue Fridays: Sea Breeze Point

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Sea Breeze Point is an open-air pavilion, that sits on the shores of Crescent Lake, and gives stunning views of Disney’s Boardwalk, Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts.

It is the only outdoor location that is completely covered and gives your guests excellent views of your wedding ceremony from all angles.  The venue can hold up to 80 guests which makes it an excellent choice for both Escape or Wishes Weddings.

The EPCOT resort area recaptures the 1940’s Boardwalk charm and is perfect for those couples who want to incorporate a beach or vintage theme into their wedding.

Imagine walking down a beautiful, breezy, wooden boardwalk instead of a traditional aisle on your wedding day. Perhaps you want to make a grand entrance in a horse- drawn carriage or a vintage car.

Many Brides choose Sea Breeze Point for its great location to many wonderful reception venues such as Atlantic Dance Hall, and the stunning Ballrooms at the Boardwalk Resort.

Here’s what Disneymooners are saying about Sea Breeze Point on our forums:

Along with the romantic vintage style of Sea Breeze Point, we loved how intimate the space feels.  All of our guests, who are most important people in our lives, will be seated in the gazebo during our ceremony and that will be very special.

– Kadie (planning bride 2013)

During our ceremony, a boat passing by beeped the horn, which you can hear in our video. Some couples might have an issue with that kind of thing. But I thought it was so cool!

– Meredith

When we got to Sea Breeze Point, my heart skipped a beat. It was beautiful. I think what really drew me in was the view from there. It was on the water and you saw the lighthouse and Atlantic Dance Hall in the background. Since we were having our reception at Atlantic Dance Hall, I loved the idea of our guests being able to see where we’d be celebrating later on.

– Marilyn