Possible Escape Wedding...Am I crazy?

[belle032]

Hi ya'll

So my fiance and I have been engaged since Sept 2012. We met when we were both CMs at TOT. We have since moved to upstate NY but got engaged during a WDW vacation at, of course, TOT. I have always been Disney obsessed but thought a Disney wedding was completely not doable because of budget.

I just looked at a great venue that would hold our 140ish guests (we both have large families) if we decided to do the big wedding. However, I keep 2nd guessing this and questioning if it's really what we want. When it came time to put down that deposit, I can't seem to pull the trigger, so to speak. Do I want the big, everyone is invited, major planning needed wedding? I'm already stressed thinking about it.

So I thought about doing a complete 180 and possibly doing a destination wedding with 20ish people. On a whim I checked out the Disney Weddings website, the Escape collection, but found the info to be pretty vague. So after much rambling, the question is...can a Disney wedding be done on a budget? Like $10,000 or less? I'm talking ceremony and perhaps a reception. No dessert party or anything like that. We're not a formal couple and a casual wedding is perfect for us. Does anyone have experience with this? I've looked at the Budget thread but it's a little complicated to a newbie. Any advice, input, comments, etc. would be fantastic!

 

[quandrea]

Yes! I had a vow renewal for three thousand at the swan. Only nine quests, but we had a lovely tea and Mickey and Minnie. I think the escape package goes for about five. Check out Carrie Hayward's guide to disney weddings by passporter. Great book.

By the way I enjoyed our vr more than our wedding and I loved my wedding! We had 75 at the wedding and it was at home and a lot of fun. The vr renewal was beyondy dreams though. If you want it do it.

 

[quandrea]

Yes! I had a vow renewal for three thousand at the swan. Only nine quests, but we had a lovely tea and Mickey and Minnie. I think the escape package goes for about five. Check out Carrie Hayward's guide to disney weddings by passporter. Great book.

By the way I enjoyed our vr more than our wedding and I loved my wedding! We had 75 at the wedding and it was at home and a lot of fun. The vr renewal was beyond my dreams though. If you want it do it.

You can marry midweek for less. The swan or dolphin are cheaper. Check out just marry.com. They are the company that handles swan or dolphin weddings. More flexible than disney too.

 

[bigr3ddog]

Yes. In addition to the swolphin option above, you can still do wishes or escape, depending on how many people.

Escape is a complete package, ceremony only, costing about $5000. There is limited customization and there are some add-ons. You can add, at additional cost, a two-hour reception as a private dining event, and I think dftw can assist you with that or you can arrange it on your own. Escape is 18 guests or fewer.

Wishes weddings are completely customizable for 19 or more guests. They don't have a set price but instead a minimum expenditure. The cheapest ones are in 2014 for Monday through Wednesday morning (9 am or 10 am) ceremonies, followed by a 4-hour brunch reception, for $10,000. That does not include tax or 21% service charge on certain items. If you want to be married this year, you're out of luck because the minimum expenditure is $12,000. I thought there were some that were $10,000 this year, but it looks like they're gone. It is definitely possible to keep very close to the $10k minimum and still have a nice wedding. Even the escape weddings, which should run you under $10k even with a reception, are very nice.

You can also listen to carrie's free podcast where she goes into detail on both: http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/2012/04/04/wishes-collection-overview-part-1/ for wishes (there is also a part 2) and http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/2012/03/14/escape-collection-overview-faq/ for escape.

If you have a hard $10k limit, then you should try for escape and an add-on reception. Wishes would have you spend at least $10k before the service charge and tax.

 

[belle032]

Thank you so much everyone. Maybe this can be done! I'm checking out the podcast now and will definitely be looking into that passporter book!

 

[gelandnick]

I got engaged in September 2012 too! Congrats to the two of you!!!
I actually went from thinking that we were going to have a "big" wedding with about 80 guests to opting for an escape at Disneyland, next year. I think it is more than possible to come in at your budget! The hard part about doing the 180 (at least for me) is letting everyone know about the guest limit being capped at 18.

 

[bigr3ddog]

I got engaged in September 2012 too! Congrats to the two of you!!!
I actually went from thinking that we were going to have a "big" wedding with about 80 guests to opting for an escape at Disneyland, next year. I think it is more than possible to come in at your budget! The hard part about doing the 180 (at least for me) is letting everyone know about the guest limit being capped at 18.

I totally know from where you're coming. My extended family (uncles, aunts, cousins) would put us close to 80 people. We simply could not afford that. We are down to about 25-30. We tried to get it down to escape levels, but we couldn't quite get there.

Our proposed wedding date is still over a year away, so we have nothing confirmed. We haven't officially told anyone about invitations, but we'll apologize and tell people that we simply cannot afford a big wedding. Keep in mind that the average wedding cost nationwide now is $28,000, so even a $10,000 wedding is like a bargain. And for every additional person we invite, it's another $100 for food, and that doesn't include other things such as transportation or more centerpieces or even a bigger venue.

 

[belle032]

I got engaged in September 2012 too! Congrats to the two of you!!!
I actually went from thinking that we were going to have a "big" wedding with about 80 guests to opting for an escape at Disneyland, next year. I think it is more than possible to come in at your budget! The hard part about doing the 180 (at least for me) is letting everyone know about the guest limit being capped at 18.

I just took a look at your wedding planning report and you guys are so cute! I saw that pic of your engagement ring and thought it was mine! Our rings are soooo similar it's crazy. So you guys definitely have good taste!

I downloaded the e-book and talk about helpful! It's so great and makes me think this could happen for us. We're such a laid-back couple and more concerned with having a great time than the actual ceremony or what the table settings look like. Plus, we were CMs for 3+ years so we're familiar with the parks, resorts, everything. I feel like even if we only have 20 people, we'll still have a magical time!

Thanks so much for all the support and advice! I may have to start a planning report of my own.

 

[wiigirl]

You can marry midweek for less. The swan or dolphin are cheaper. Check out just marry.com. They are the company that handles swan or dolphin weddings. More flexible than disney too.

 

[heartsy77]

I was thinking of vow renewal at Swan!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards