Can you recommend a person to contact regarding planning?

[Jenn]

My sister is in the early stages of planning a WDW wedding. She called and spoke with someone and they were very rude. She basically told my sister that you either have 8 people OR your wedding costs $25,000 minimum. I had told her about the option of adding 5 people to get to 13 for an Intimate Wedding (which would be perfect for her) and the woman told her there is no such thing. She was supposed to send out info and it has been a month and she has received nothing.

Can anyone recommend a good consultant to request? I know from reading these boards there are tons of options and the costs vary greatly, but many have done smaller weddings for reasonable cost. Thanks!

 

[ahutton]

I would suggest going to www.disneyweddings.com There is a form to complete to request additional information. That way you can receive information and your sister can review it and then talk directly to a sales consultant. They help you with the early stages of planning (dates and locations) for a custom event, then you get assigned a coordinator from there. I'm not sure about the intimate package, as we didn't use that.

 

[Cinderella03]

Jenn,
Great name by the way! Well, I'm hosting a Fairy Tale Custom Wedding in November 2003, but I have been in contact with Heidi Pickert who is a Wedding Coordinator there. She's wonderful!! She's answered all of my questions via e-mail..Anything-big or small, so maybe you should get in touch with her-heidi.pickert@disney.com..She's on vacation until next week, however..Give it a try!

 

[amw5g]

Have her call back and talk to another. I've yet to get a rude Disney person on the phone in any department- her experience was in the minority, I'm quite certain. Have her speak to any of the sales reps (Donna was the one I originally contacted, I believe) and then eventually she'll get assigned a coordinator, depending on whether she opts for a custom or intimate wedding.

Bear in mind that if your sister's plans are very far out, Disney may not yet be able to tell you exact pricing and options. The 5-person add on for $500 may not exist in a year's time and the (current) $7,500/$10,000 minimums for custom weddings may change as well. There is also talk of a mid-level wedding package in the works. She stands to lose nothing by giving them another ring.

-Andrew

 

[marn913]

I would have her call back again. I have heard that if the planned wedding date is more than a year from the time you first call that Disney will be very vague. This is not because they're trying to be rude - but they are not allowed to "pencil-in" your wedding until 12 months or less before the wedding so they don't give out much info until you've set a date (also, they get many calls from people who don't have any intention of really having a Disney wedding - they just want to know how much it costs!) Things at disney change every year - so they can't tell you for sure what next years pricing will look like, but they do have some sample figures on disneyweddings.com. The detailed planning process doesn't start until 8 months before the wedding - at that time you can sign a wedding contract and make a deposit to secure your date. Then you get assigned to a wedding coordinator (up to this point they have you direct questions to a sales manager). We still have exactly one month before we can sign our contract and are waiting it out as patiently as possible. So far our wedding sales manager Bill has answered all of our questions in a quick and curtious manner. I think that once they really know you're serious about having a Disney wedding then they seem bend over backwards to make sure all of your dreams come true! Oh, by the way the cost of our wedding will probably run around $15,000 (or less) when it's all said and done. This includes our 2 week honeymoon. You can have a small wedding for around $3000 or a large wedding with all the amenities - it depends on your taste! Tell your sister not to worry!

 

[Jenn]

She did mention her date would be spring of 2004, so maybe that explains it. That is 18 months or so away - thanks for the info.

 

[Eeyore1928]

We also got married at the Pav. and had a wonderful consultant. Her name was Lynn McKitrick! She was great. She was there the whole time for me...wiping tears, helping me into my dress and even had her in afew pictures. The wedding consultant you get should be extremely friendly. We also had a rude one and switched to Lynn. She is well worth the effort to get!

Good Luck!

 

[ahutton]

That is so neat... Lynn was our sales consultant! She helped us find the perfect locations and took us on a lengthy tour of possible ceremony and reception sites!

 

[Diana Lyn]

We had an intimate wedding in June. That 5 person add-on isn't something they really advertise. So I can see why that lady would say no right off the cuff. If she plans to go the intimate route, she should wait until she is assigned a coordinator and they "bait" her with "Would I be able to add 5 additional guests?" or "I heard you could add". My coordinator never really told me exactly how many I could add for the $500. She just told me to send her a total guest list of everyon who will be at Disney and she would see what she could do. She ended up not counting any kids as guests, so I had 12 guests and didn't have to pay the $500. But every coordinator is different.

But as someone else already said, maybe they are planning to discontinue that option.
HTH
Diana