Why did you choose an Escape Wedding?

[LovelyPrincess432]

My fiance and I are going back and forth between trying to put together an affordable wedding at home, or having an escape wedding. Ever since I was little, I wanted to have a wedding in Disney World, and an Escape is really all we can afford. However, I wonder if I'll regret not getting to have all my family there with the 18 guest limit.

Therefore, I would love to hear from those who've had an Escape Wedding or vow renewal, or plan on having one. If you could share your experiences, I would greatly appreciate it!

Why did you choose to go with an Escape wedding?
What did you love or regret about this choice?
Basically, what was your experience? And how did you celebrate with everyone after the ceremony?

 

[JandJ]

Why did you choose to go with an Escape wedding?
I wanted to marry the love of my life at Disney with only the few people who mattered most to us. An Escape wedding gave us exactly what we needed with the added bonus of a built-in excuse why I didn't invite my second cousins or the aunt & uncle I never liked anyway. If we'd had a traditional wedding I would have had to invite those people and I honestly didn't want anyone there who didn't truly know and love us both.

What did you love or regret about this choice?
No regrets. Our wedding day was perfectly magical!

Basically, what was your experience? And how did you celebrate with everyone after the ceremony?
After the ceremony we mingled during the cake cutting. We did not do a first dance, it just seemed silly to be the only 2 people dancing. After all the pictures we said good night to everyone and went up to our room for a private dinner. Our guests either went to dinner, to MK, or the Marketplace. We hosted a brunch the next day with our guests plus 1 (my BFF's now-husband who didn't fit in the ceremony guest limit). That same day we met up with out of state friends at MK. That night we went to PI and met up with several other friends and went dancing. I suppose now you could go to Boardwalk for that.

We had initially planned an at-home reception but my mom passed shortly before the wedding so we canceled. Planning that reception was causing me a lot of stress. We had a set budget and it kept creeping up and up. If we'd had the party it would have been fine I'm sure, but I know it would have been an afternoon full of questions like whether or not Mickey Mouse walked me down the aisle (most people just don't get it!) and entertaining those same people I didn't want at my wedding in the first place. Not a regret but a reality in my family - we have not been invited to any of my cousins' weddings since we didn't invite any of them to our wedding (we have been invited to several on DH's side of the family). I am 100% fine with that and I suppose if we'd had the at-home reception they'd behave differently.

 

[Lynn5700]

We chose escape because it was less stress, nice and intimate and afforadable.

Only thing I regret is going to the Grand Floridian Cafe for our luncheon. It was horrible and gross. Wish we went to Ohanas. I went for atmosphere over good food.

Our experience was lovely and amazing!!! Everything seriously was perfect!

 

[irisbud]

Why di you choose to go with an Escape Wedding?

From the moment I knew you could get married at Disney World, it was what I wanted to do. For us, it was cheaper (and easier) to do an Escape Wedding than it would have been to do an at home wedding. For a wedding at home, we would have had to invite many, many people, and the cost, when all was said and done, would have been astronomical, not to mention the stress factor. I have some OCD tendencies , so the best thing we could have done was take the majority of the work out of my hands! We sisn't want to do a Wishes wedding either because, even though it is more customizable, there were not that many more people we would have invited that would have made the journey with us, so there was no point in spending the extra money for it. Luckily, my wonderful DH agreed to go along with this

What did you love or regret about this choice?

I also have no regrets about this. It was the best thing that we could have done, and everything worked out even better than I had hoped for. We had the most pefect, most magical wedding day

Basically, what was your experience? And how did you celebrate with everyone after the ceremony?

We had a great experience. I was very relaxed throughout the entire day, which was a big deal for me. Everything went so smoothly and was done so well that I really couldn't have asked for better. So many people offered us kind words and congratulations; it was overwhelming.

We did the cake cutting and some pictures, then mingled with our guests a bit while eating our cake. That evening, we hosted a DP in the Morocco Pavillion, which was lovely as well. The next day, we invited everyone to join us for lunch at Biergarten. I thought we found a good medium between spending some time ith our guests and giving them (and us) time to have a nice vacation!

We are planning on having an at home reception later this spring, though we still need to hammer out all of the details!

 

[gradtchr]

Why did you choose to go with an Escape wedding?
We chose it because I wanted my family there. DH's family could not travel even to where we would have had it if it were not at Disney. We also did not want a huge wedding because DH is not overly comfortable in front of large crowds with teh attention focused on him.

What did you love or regret about this choice? It was perfect for us. I have absolutely no regrets. I got the wedding I wanted at the most magical place on earth. We got to do things like the wishes cruise on the grand 1 that never would have happened at home. It was an absolutely amazing experience!

Basically, what was your experience? My experience was that it was amazing. I got gorgeous flowers, a romantic backdrop, unique opportunities, and I had the wedding I wanted.

And how did you celebrate with everyone after the ceremony? My parents church actually had a shower for us after the wedding so we celebrated wit them then. With others we didn't really do antyhing.

 

[CharacterFan]

Why did you choose to go with an Escape wedding?

I'm a huge Disney fan, and DFi is also a Disney fan, so it was a no brainier that we'd get married at Disney. Also, by getting married out of town, it keeps the number of unwanted guests down, since they'd have to travel. We also only have about 8 guests that are family, and don't have a lot of friends who would travel to Orlando so we didn't think we'd find more then 10. Also, we didn't think we'd could meet the minimums that they require for a wishes wedding since we want to do a Friday wedding (10/1/2010), and $20,000 is a bit more then my budget.
What did you love or regret about this choice? The only thing I'm regretting is that I have too many people for my dream location. (But I had my bridezilla moment, and I've moved on)
And how did you celebrate with everyone after the ceremony? We're going to do a meal of some sort. We're also planning that during the break the guests can come with us to Magic Kingdom for a tour of our favorite attractions. If it's a MNSSHP night, we're going to plan a late lunch/early dinner, and go with our families and friends to our favorite party.

 

[Tink&PirateMama]

Hi,
We are going with an escape because it's just four of us (for a VR, and for our actual wedding in 2000, we eloped with 2 witnesses, so we're pretty private about these things in general!). However, for those that want a lot of people there, I do believe some people chose to have an escape to save on cost and then later have a reception type of thing- like a big brunch at a disney resort restaurant with more people just after the ceremony as an option for you, if you really wanted more people than the 18. Or you could try to do something in the evening with the fireworks? Another option would be do not do an escape, but to go with something at a disney world hotel (like dolphin/swan) that is cheaper but still very disney- I don't know much about that, but I'm sure others do- I bet that is a way to have a lot more people and have disney and stay in a budget. Ofcourse, that is if your loved ones could make the trip, but it is another option. Also, with lots of destination weddings, people come back to a big BBQ or party or more formal reception to celebrate with pictures or video (and sometimes even renewing vows). It all matters what is meaningful to you and your husband (to be)- where do you want to say your vows and celebrate?

Good luck with your decision!

 

[gemmybear83]

My fiance and I are going back and forth between trying to put together an affordable wedding at home, or having an escape wedding. Ever since I was little, I wanted to have a wedding in Disney World, and an Escape is really all we can afford. However, I wonder if I'll regret not getting to have all my family there with the 18 guest limit.

Therefore, I would love to hear from those who've had an Escape Wedding or vow renewal, or plan on having one. If you could share your experiences, I would greatly appreciate it!

Why did you choose to go with an Escape wedding?
Although I'm not married yet we have gone with an escape wedding as we wanted to keep it small, and intimate - which is the type of wedding I have always wanted. I also really like the fact its a package as it helps to manage costs.
What did you love or regret about this choice?
I would like it if there were more choice regarding wedding locations - although I love the one I picked - Yacht Club Gazebo and more choice would probably be a bad thing!
Basically, what was your experience? And how did you celebrate with everyone after the ceremony?

No experience yet -ask me in the coming months

 

[LovelyPrincess432]

Were the things included in the package enough (photography, flowers, etc.) , or did you upgrade?

 

[gradtchr]

I personally booked outside photography. At the time DPS was not doing the work that I have seen recently and pictures were really important to me. The flowers I got were perfect!

 

[Tink&PirateMama]

Were the things included in the package enough (photography, flowers, etc.) , or did you upgrade?

I think this varies- I've seen a recent post of several brides that did no or very minimal upgrades. Some upgrade a lot. I believe both are very happy with how it turned out!

At this time (and it does seem to change as I learn more!), we are planning to add on the following:

Dessert Party- Illuminations/Epcot
Floral- just a rose wand for my daughter and boutinere for my son, and rose petals for location- because I love rose petals!
Photography- I am planning to go with Randy, but hopefully use my photo time at the dessert party. Using him with the extra hours I wanted and the cd of images was actually cheaper, and I really, really liked his work so I thought that would help to relax us!
Characters- for my kids
Transport- Cinderellas coach, well, that's a crossing my fingers- but it's likely at this point!

But honestly, I know I would be very happy with just adding on the floral for my kids! The rest is just extra magic

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

My fiance and I are going back and forth between trying to put together an affordable wedding at home, or having an escape wedding. Ever since I was little, I wanted to have a wedding in Disney World, and an Escape is really all we can afford. However, I wonder if I'll regret not getting to have all my family there with the 18 guest limit.

Therefore, I would love to hear from those who've had an Escape Wedding or vow renewal, or plan on having one. If you could share your experiences, I would greatly appreciate it!

Why did you choose to go with an Escape wedding?
What did you love or regret about this choice?
Basically, what was your experience? And how did you celebrate with everyone after the ceremony?

Thank you for posting this! I'm planning an escape and I'm torn. Somedays I feel like I'm missing out on something and other times I feel like a wishes wedding would be too much. I have no desire to invite a ton of people. I'm afraid I'll get stage fright when saying my vows.
So, anyway, thank you for posting this and to all of those who posted...It makes me feel much more confident that an escape will be perfect.

 

[LovelyPrincess432]

Thank you for posting this! I'm planning an escape and I'm torn. Somedays I feel like I'm missing out on something and other times I feel like a wishes wedding would be too much. I have no desire to invite a ton of people. I'm afraid I'll get stage fright when saying my vows.
So, anyway, thank you for posting this and to all of those who posted...It makes me feel much more confident that an escape will be perfect.

I know exactly how you feel!

So I have to ask, while I have this discussion going. Did anyone have difficulties with their family being somewhat iffy about the idea of traveling to Disney for the wedding? If so, how did you handle the situation? My mom is concerned that it is to much to ask of those family members I chose to make the trip.

 

[Lynn5700]

Yeah some people gave me a hard time but I ignored them. It's our wedding, our dream, our wedding and our happiness. I was told it's selfish and blah blah blah. Oh well then I was selfish LOL. I could care less what people thought.

I was sooooo miserable at my at home reception because I did not want to have it..I can not imagine how miserable I would have been at my wedding if I had that at home too. I would have hated every second of it.

Our wedding was best for the both of us. We were happy and the whole day was perfect. I could be offered this big huge million dollar wedding at home and I would still go with our escape wedding.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Yeah some people gave me a hard time but I ignored them. It's our wedding, our dream, our wedding and our happiness. I was told it's selfish and blah blah blah. Oh well then I was selfish LOL. I could care less what people thought.

I was sooooo miserable at my at home reception because I did not want to have it..I can not imagine how miserable I would have been at my wedding if I had that at home too. I would have hated every second of it.

Our wedding was best for the both of us. We were happy and the whole day was perfect. I could be offered this big huge million dollar wedding at home and I would still go with our escape wedding.

Thank you for posting this. I've found some not so thrilled with the idea...but are dealing with it. This thread makes me more comfortable that I am not missing anything by doing a huge gala! I wouldn't be comfortable with that and I don't think DF would be either.

How did you determine the guest list??? This seems to be a bit of a stumbling block for me...

 

[JandJ]

Ditto what Lynn said - exactly!!

As for upgrades/changes:
- Upgraded the cake to my dream cake
- Extra floral (bouts for the dads; corsage for MIL; 3-rose wand for MOH)
- Added a bottle of non-alcoholic cider for the non-drinkers (we had 4 non-drinkers and it was plenty)
- Favors (chocolate wedding Mickey & Minnie)

We used Disney photography and are thrilled with our photos! We had Ty and he did an amazing job! He listened to what we wanted and took pictures for longer than the 2 hour limit. He was great!

Our guest list was easy:
DH's parents (he's an only child)
My daddy (my mom had passed)
My Godmother (who would not have been there if my mom were with us)
My brother and his wife
My sister
My BFF (who is more like a sister to me, and she introduced me to my DH so that was pretty much a no-brainer, she had to be there!)
My favorite niece was my MOH
DH had a BM but he got sick and couldn't travel to the wedding

Who we left out:
Grandparents - I only have one left who couldn't travel anyway, and DH didn't want his there
My sister's other kids - we didn't want children at our wedding anyway and my sister didn't mind leaving them with their father for the weekend
My BFF's now-husband (then-boyfriend) - we didn't have room for him and they weren't that serious back then
Other friends - that was hard, but we realized if we invited this one then we had to invite that one and that one has a husband we have to invite too, and then we have to invite the other one, and it just never ended! Using the Disney guest limit was a handy excuse and we just invited none of them. We did celebrate with many of our friends at MK and PI the next day and night and they had no hard feelings at all - that's when you know they are truly your friends, when they understand

 

[Lynn5700]

Thank you for posting this. I've found some not so thrilled with the idea...but are dealing with it. This thread makes me more comfortable that I am not missing anything by doing a huge gala! I wouldn't be comfortable with that and I don't think DF would be either.

How did you determine the guest list??? This seems to be a bit of a stumbling block for me...

If it is what you truly want in your heart then you are not missing out. You just have to figure out what is right for the 2 of you. We were going to have a Wishes but because we were paying for it on our own it was going to be too much so why go through all the stress, you know what I mean. Escape worked out better for us..I would have went with a wishes if we could just as long as it was a destination wedding in Disney and not home in crappy Jersey lol!

Ok for the guest list we just invited grandparents and immediate family to the wedding... everybody was invited to our ghetto fab reception UGH! It was fun but so not worth all the stress I went through and the money I wasted on a stupid party to make people happy.

 

[irisbud]

Lynn,

That is what I am worried about! We still haven't set a date for our at home reception, but there is a part of me (a big part) that would just rather not have it at all.

I know it's going to be a lot of money and a lot of stress, all to try and make other people happy (who might be momentarily miffed if we did nothing, but would quickly get over it!) I don't even really like parties!

Also, our wedding was so very perfect. It was exactly what I wanted, better than what I wanted. Nothing we do here will hold a candle to it. We aren't planning on having a recpetion where we get dressed back up again, but I think the whole thing may disappoint me deeply. I'm just not into it even though I'm looking for another project since I've been a little down since the wedding and trip are over...

It's important to DH, though, so I've told him that it's his thing. He wants it, so I'm trying to be supportive of it. :

 

[Lynn5700]

I know Amy. I think it is a good thing to have it if it is important to DH! That is great that you are being so supportive

Maybe you guys can just have a low key party at your house or something, an outside kind of party.. make it fun so it does not stress you out.

 

[Lorelei528]

We initially were looking at Wishes, but when my SIL told me if I had it on a Tuesday my nephew wouldn't be able to come in for it, but if I had it on a Friday then he could just call in sick for a day the thing was the Wishes minimum for the Friday I was looking at was $20,000! We are doing a bunch of add-ons, but even with all of it, it doesn't add up to $20k. I didn't want to have tons of people there anyway, and we would have liked to invite a few more (I know DF's mom said all these people wanted to come in from Ireland for it) but we and my mom can't really afford to do it for more people down there (we are however doing an at home reception for about 60 peeps).

Anyway, after all that, it turns out my nephew is taking 2 days off of work, so we really could have done it on a Tuesday! The minimum was much less for a Tuesday and we probably would have made it ok, but when I started to look into changing it, to be honest with you...we LOVE SBP, having the dinner reception in Jiko is totally 'us'....I really didn't know if there was anything we would be getting with a Wishes that we weren't doing with our Escape that would have made a huge difference to us....

So.....Escape it was and is!!!

As far as guests, we have the max at 18 so it's:

me
DF
my mom
my brother and my SIL and my niece
my other brother and my other SIL and my 2 nephews with their gf and DF and my niece
my SIL's mom (who is like an aunt to me)
DF's mom and dad and brother
DF's aunt and uncle
Another of DF's aunts