DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris

DisLove E140 Special Episode DFTW Vow Renewal Shane and Sharli

• Vanessa Ferguson and Kris Johns with guests Sharli Kullenberg and Shane Gulley • Season 5 • Episode 140

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Kris and Vanessa had the chance to attend the vow renewal of their friends, Shane and Sharli, which was held at Port Orleans-Riverside with a reception at Animal Kingdom. Hear all about their amazing trip and tips on how to plan your own event with Disney Fairy Tale Weddings (DFTW).  

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Vanessa Ferguson:

Welcome to the Dislo Podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa Ferguson.

Kris Johns:

I'm Kris Johns.

Vanessa Ferguson:

We would like to welcome you to show number 140 and for any listeners joining us for the first time. Our show features things we love at Disney and in each episode we have a guest who creates Disney magic for our listeners at home or on their Disney vacations. From vacation planners to product producers, our guests can bring Disney magic into your life. Sometimes we have special guests which we will be having later today. As a reminder to our listeners, we appreciate if you take time to leave us a review on Apple Podcast or any other platform where you listen. That helps the show grow and helps new listeners find us.

Vanessa Ferguson:

On today's show, we are going to be joined by our friends Shane and Sharli. You've probably heard them mentioned off and on if you're a longtime listener. They are a Dallas couple, they're both annual pass holders, they're DVC members, they got married at Disney and we're going to be talking about their amazing vow renewal that they just had a few weeks ago. I always have to add in I love to add in tags about people's pets and they have a really cute dog named Luther. We'd like to welcome Shane and Sharli to the show.

Sharli:

Hi, thank you guys so much for having us.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Now, anyone who's listened to the show knows that we always like to start out with a icebreaker to find out what are some things that our guests enjoy about the Disney parks. So right now we've been asking people what is your favorite special event at any Disney park?

Shane:

Well, my favorite event is the Christmas party. We're usually there during this time of year, so we love to go to that. We also have done the Halloween party, which is another favorite. So that's for me. What is your?

Sharli:

I mean, the parties are the best because we normally do not roof drop, so we go sleep in. And then this year we had the opportunity to do jollywood nights and this is their year, so we were able to go to that.

Shane:

We think that one might be a new favorite.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Yes, yeah, we are bummed that we missed out on that. For sure Next year. Right Now we have you both on the show because we had a chance to attend your vow renewal a couple weeks ago, which was at Disney. And, before we talk about the details, what led you to have a vow renewal at Disney?

Shane:

Well, like you mentioned, we got married there 10 years ago. There's a little bit of a story behind that. I'd always actually dreamed about having a Disney wedding. I never told anybody, but when Shane mentioned it I was like, don't say we can't do it because you can't take it back now. So we got married there 10 years ago. We had so much fun, our guests had a great time, everybody has really great memories about the wedding, and so we just decided we wanted to do it all over again.

Sharli:

And, being that we're newly well DVC members, we had the opportunity to provide hotel rooms for our family and friends and that was helpful for them to come and help us celebrate our 10-year vow renewal. I suggested getting married at Disney World because I grew up outside of Disneyland in California, so I saw the Disneyland fireworks growing up as a kid and I just loved sharing that magical experience with with all my family and friends. And now my wife, Sharli, 10 years, happily married.

Vanessa Ferguson:

And I have to add, when you were talking about your guests still talking about it I know that's something that we talk about all the time. Now that we've had a vow renewal in our wedding, we still have people talking about that just went to the wedding or went to both, and it's just amazing what an impact those experiences leave on your guests.

Shane:

It truly is One of our guests for the wedding. She had told me I had mentioned wanting to do a vow renewal, like the week after we got back from our honeymoon, and she said you won't have to ask me twice, I will definitely be there. And she was. And she said that as far as her top weddings go, we actually hold her first and second place Val Renewal. First place wedding was second place and then only followed by her own wedding, which I think is really funny.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Now we've alluded about your Val Renewal, but could you tell us a little bit about your Val Renewal itself?

Shane:

Sure, we had the ceremony at the Oak Manor Lawn at Porter Lane's Riverside. We did the pre-reception at the Rombie train station and the reception was the Festival of the Lion King Theater in Animal Kingdom. And then we also did a ride mix-in for our guests on Flight of Passage. So quite, it's a lot of walking, I will say that, but I don't think anybody minded all the walking, Maybe before we had a welcome event and that was at Hollywood Studios and everybody got to see Fantastic.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Now we had a chance to be guests as well. So I know we'll kind of tell some of our experiences and what it was like, and I will add where your friend said, I will say that your Val Renewal surpassed our wedding of our renewal for sure.

Kris Johns:

Oh, definitely.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Hopefully none of our guests are listening.

Shane:

I wonder, since you're also a Disney bride.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Well, hopefully none of our guests are listening and I hope they don't look at the pictures that I post. Yeah, they're not Now. We always like to find out. You've had this experience. But looking back, or for anybody who might be interested in doing it themselves, what would you say are your tips, your regrets and your must do's? So three parts your tips, your regrets and your must do's.

Shane:

So I'm gonna say that my talk tip, the main thing that I would tell any bride who is looking to get married at Disney or have a Val Renewal be really patient with your coordinators, your planner, the assistant and the floral planner. They are working on several events at the same time. They may not respond to you right this second. It may even be the next day or two days later. Just, I am a very patient person. I try to be when it comes to anyone who works in a service type job, and that is what they are doing, and they're helping a lot of other brides. Your event may be six months down the line, but they're dealing with people whose events are that day or that week or that month. So try and remember that and try and have a little patience with them. They don't get back to you quite as soon as you had hoped. And then I would also say save, save, save your money.

Shane:

We ended up having a larger budget than we anticipated due to the number of guests. We were not anticipating having as many guests as we had. We only anticipated having about as many as we had at our wedding, which was like 18, I think it was 20. 20. And so this time we doubled that. We had almost 50 guests. So just make sure you're saving, saving, saving. And a tip on the saving is, if you have a Disney Visa credit card, put it on that and you'll get your 1% rewards.

Sharli:

And that's how we paid for our trip actually and for me, our original wedding was on a Sunday and our Val Renewal was on a Friday and I had a little bit of a sticker shock on how much a DJ cost on a Sunday versus a Friday or a Saturday. So that would be my only thing. Not that I would change the day that we got married. We did actually the Val Renewal on our actual wedding day. I wouldn't change that, but just know that the DJ is going to be more expensive on a Friday, saturday In December. In December because of the holiday parties no-transcript.

Shane:

And then other tips. I would say you know, make sure you have transportation for your guest. That's a big, big thing. I would say that's a must. That goes under the musties. I don't really have any regrets, I'm not going to lie, even like even doubling, tripling our budget. We have zero regrets on anything that we spent money on. So I would say a must is to have transportation for your guest. I know it and I know it's extra, but I would do a park shoot If you, if you can swing it, do the park shoot.

Shane:

We did a magic kingdom and Hollywood Studios for our wedding and then this time we decided to complete our collection of parks and we did Epcot and Animal Kingdom, especially since that's where we had our events. And everyone talks about how great it is to be in the park when there's no one there. But and that is great, that's a that's a wonderful thing. But my favorite thing was actually being in the park before anyone was there, with my spouse. We had so much fun. We're just laughing. You can tell we're having fun in a lot of the photos, or at least I hope we haven't quite gotten all those back yet.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Now Kris hasn't heard, but we have done all three parks. Well, we've done Hollywood Studios, magic Kingdom and Epcot, but we haven't done Animal Kingdom, and I will say, your Animal Kingdom, the few pictures I've saw so far. Kris, better get ready. At some point we're going to have to have some photos there too.

Shane:

I'm telling you and shout out to Maddie Maddie was our photographer and she was someone who the Disney Fine Art Photography selected for us because our the photographer we had selected wasn't available for both days and none of our other none of the other three that we selected were available at all. So they selected her for us and she was just fantastic to work with. Her name is Maddie M-A-D-I.

Kris Johns:

Now just to shift a little bit, let's just talk about what are some of the touches, that Disney Magic that you put on a special day.

Shane:

We had, of course, the ride, mix and flight of passage Several characters. We had Donald, goofy, mickey and Minnie, which I will do every single time, especially when there's kids there. The kids just love seeing the characters in person. And then we did a photo backdrop with a neon sign and I was really surprised that they let us have that inside the Festival of the Lion King, because I had heard kind of differing information on that. But they actually made the sign for us and we got to bring it home. So maybe not a touch of magic for everybody else, but a touch of magic for me personally. I get to keep that sign.

Sharli:

And really that sign. Everybody took a photo from the sign as they came into the reception area. We did have a photo guest book, but I kind of regret I didn't make an announcement because some of the people did not take a picture, but now we'll have a picture with everybody because of that photo backdrop.

Shane:

And Disney magic.

Sharli:

I mean really the Luther. We had a little Luther, our dog Luther. We had Starley had a little replica made of him and we put it on the cake. I had to run it over to the Grand Floridian and drop it off and the bakery was able to put it on the cake. And that's just a nice little hidden touch because we had it on the back of the cake so not everybody got to see it, but we knew he was there, we had a chance for our vow renewal.

Vanessa Ferguson:

We put because at that point we had had four animals, so we had paw prints with their names. And it's funny how Disney just makes those little touches. Two of them were cats and two were dogs and Disney made the paw prints to look like a dog paw print versus a cat paw print. So those are just the little things that they really pay attention to that detail.

Shane:

Yes, they do. That is adorable, by the way. You need to see a picture of that.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Yeah, I'll dig one out for you, okay.

Kris Johns:

Now you mentioned all these awesome things that you did. What was your favorite moment?

Sharli:

For me, easily was the first look, Because I never saw Starley's dress. So being able to see her, they had us come out and I immediately started crying because she was so beautiful. And it's just that nice special moment where just the two of us and other people gawking on the balcony, yeah, yeah, we had a little bit of an audience. It was nice, yeah, that was funny.

Shane:

I think my favorite moment was, I don't you know, it's. It's hard, it's actually hard for me to say, because everything was so. It went by so fast. I wish I had seen people's faces when they realized they were getting to go on flight of passage. I think that was a really big thing we had. One of our friends was describing their like the reactions, as everyone was kind of walking into that area and realizing what was what was going on. So I kind of wish I had seen that. Maybe that's a regret, but honestly, my favorite part isn't even on the day of the Fowler Nouveau. My favorite part was really taking the photos in the park with Shane like, and we were just, you know, doing our thing and having a good time. We were walking around and just, I think that's my favorite part. It was a, it was a certain feeling that I got that day that I that I didn't have in the in the hustle and bustle of the day of the Fowler Nouveau.

Sharli:

Yeah, also having Reverend Kevin Knox as our officiant. He was just the best. We had him our original wedding and we were able to get him for our Fowler Nouveau, so having him there and doing our ceremony for us was very, very nice. Sharli's beautiful dress. I love it.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Now we've talked so much about the details about your big day. Is there anywhere that people can see more about your Vowler Nouveau?

Shane:

So since it was so such a short time ago, we haven't quite gotten all the photos back yet. Eventually I will be posting those on my Instagram page, which is CharlieGirl3377. That's C-H-A-R-L-I-E-G-I-R-L-3377 and it's all over case. It's a public. It's public my Instagram. So once I get more photos back, I'll almost likely be posting quite a few on there. Other than that, I really don't have any public places for anyone to see. Vanessa, you're more than welcome to post any photos that you'd like Once I like. I said, once I get those back. But as far as resources for Disney weddings, the disc boards are a really great place. They have planning journals there for weddings and then they also have Disney has their wedding website, which is Disney Fairytale Weddings. Oh my goodness, you would think I would know this by now.

Vanessa Ferguson:

And then I'll also link to Carrie Hayward her book, and we've had her as a guest on the show before, so I'll link back to her show in the show notes as well as her website. And then I'll make sure for your Instagram. I'll post it in our show notes and then, like you mentioned, as you share new photos and all of those different images come in, we'll make sure to tag you in different posts so that way people can see all about your big day. And I have to add, with the disc boards way back, I mean, we got married in 2008. So I was doing planning in 2007. And I had a really big planning journal on there and for our one anniversary I had Kris have it printed because I wanted to be able to keep it, because there's so many great memories and it's neat to be able to follow people's journeys on there. That's awesome, that's really awesome.

Shane:

Yeah, I have a planning journal on there for a wedding from 2013. And Carrie's book that you mentioned that was a huge help to me. I actually purchased it in 2012. Yeah, it was 2012. And I purchased the paper back and so this time around I actually got to utilize the digital version and that was so great because it has the chart in the back where you can put in the numbers and it'll automatically update all the pricing and you can get a really good indication of pricing for that stuff. I did find the floral a little bit difficult, but that's because I wanted something that was completely different than what was in all the paperwork that you get from Disney. I know that probably doesn't make sense, but if you're planning a wedding, you'll definitely see, You'll definitely understand, because they have a set bouquet and they have a price for that. But that's not what I actually did my own bouquet. So floral was a little bit of an enigma to me for a while, but her book is amazing.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Well, and we'll make sure, like I said, I'll put a link to it in the show notes and I will say I think it's so great to be able to hear your story because we were privileged enough to be guests and we had such an amazing time.

Kris Johns:

It was the best party I've ever attended.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Yes, first, and he's not just saying that it is and we've been. Everybody that we've seen since we've been home has asked us and we've said the same thing. But I also have to say that it's nice because we've shared our story about our wedding and our vow renewal. But to hear from another couple so our listeners can hear how great these are, and really I think the show that has been on Disney Plus kind of skews people's view. You don't get to see what those real experiences are for the average couple. So I think it's great to hear from you.

Shane:

I agree that every time when I would tell people, oh, we got married at Disney, or like we're having a vow renewal at Disney, they're like, oh my gosh, you must be like super rich. And I'm like it's not like, it's not like the TV show. And they have, they have budgets for every. I agree, or I should say they have.

Shane:

They have options for every budget is what I'm trying to say. And you can have a ceremony and a cake cutting right on up to you. Know, nick Cannon and Mariah Carey level things. Like it's insane. And while we did spend more than we thought we were going to, it's like I said, I have zero regret in any of it. It was worth every single penny Just to see the the everyone having such a good time. That was I kept saying that through the whole weekend. It was so. It meant so much to me that I could share, that I could share the time with with you guys, like you guys are Disney people, you know. But but our friends who haven't been to Disney or haven't been to Disney in a really long time, it was so great to see them. Their expectations were just not there and we blew their mind with everything. And that was just. It was worth it. The best party ever. The best party ever.

Kris Johns:

Well, I mean I don't go to a lot of parties so of the other parties I've been to years was the best but it makes me happy to hear you say that, like I get joy from giving joy to other people.

Sharli:

And I would like to mention our DJ, dj Steve yeah.

Shane:

DJ Steve was great.

Sharli:

Everybody. He had everybody dancing and we're not really dancers, but we were all dancing.

Shane:

Yeah, I will also say this about Disney. Every single person from the wedding, from the vow renewal, whether they work for Disney specifically or whether they are an outside vendor, they are amazing. We did our invitations and all of our paper goods through themes come true, which Shelly Lamar is the owner of that. She is spectacular. Her vision and creativity are unsurpassed in paper goods. As far as I'm concerned. She did such a great job with all of that the table signs and the escort cards and everything and the invitations the invitations. She did all of that.

Shane:

I actually took my dress, had flowers on it and I drew them out on a piece of paper and I sent it over to her and she took that and ran with it. She just had them everywhere and it was just a. It was a great thing to see all of that come to life. That was the one thing I teared up. That was walking into the reception space and seeing all of that stuff just come to life and that was really great. I've made friends with my planner and planning assistant from our wedding at our vow renewal because we bonded with them so much that I just we became friends. So I can't speak highly enough of Disney. If you are, like I said, just try to be patient and be kind to them, be kind to all the cast members. They put up with a lot and you know you might get a friend out of it.

Vanessa Ferguson:

That's true For sure. Well, thank you so much for joining us today on this episode. We appreciate hearing your story and we're excited to share more photos and different things. So thank you so much, Shane and Sharlie.

Shane:

Oh, you're welcome. Thank you for having us.

Kris Johns:

Thanks again to Shane and Sharli for joining us today.

Vanessa Ferguson:

And now we are on to our two-minute trivia and our wisdom from Walt Quote, and Kris, you are up with trivia.

Kris Johns:

Well, our friends Shane and Sharli. They're from Texas, true, and we have a lot of trivia questions and so there's only so many things we can ask, so this is a Texas-inspired trivia question.

Vanessa Ferguson:

About Disney.

Kris Johns:

About Disney and I. You'd be surprised. No, there's not much. Texas trivia About Disney. Yes, this ride, located in Tomorrowland, was given its current name in 1994 and features futuristic vehicles flying around a central platform. What is the name of this ride?

Vanessa Ferguson:

Okay, I know the name, but I'm curious are you going to tell us how it connects to Texas? I will Astro Orbiter.

Kris Johns:

Correct and how this has a connection to Texas is that supposedly the Astro Orbiter was inspired by the Houston Astros.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Oh wow, that's interesting.

Kris Johns:

No, granted, our friends are not from Houston, but there is no Dallas-related Disney trivia that I could find, so this is the best you're going to get for Texas.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Well, you surprised me. I actually thought you would have done wedding trivia.

Kris Johns:

And the other Texas trivia. If we type in Disney, Texas is, will Disney build a park in Texas? And the answer is no.

Vanessa Ferguson:

Well, very interesting, all right. So I thought it would be great to end with a quote that kind of talks about fairy tales and all that sort of thing. So this is a quote from Walt Disney. Here is the world of imagination, hopes and dreams and this timeless land of enchantment, the age of chivalry. Magic and make-believe are reborn and fairy tales come true. So hopefully some of you get a chance to maybe be a guest at a Disney fairy tale wedding event or maybe even plan your next event. We'll put some links in the show notes with some resources to help you plan your fairy tale day. And thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Dizzle Podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa.

Kris Johns:

And I'm Kris. This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its holdings, and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.