Average cost of non-Disney wedding

[jeters_boy]

My fiancee and I are discussing whether or not a Disney wedding is a bargain relative to a local wedding (non-Disney). What do you guys think?

 

[SRUAlmn]

Trust me! We went back and forth on this a million times. Here are the determining factors. Are you going to have a wedding with more than about 75 people? Will your family & friends be ok with the travelling aspect? Are you willing to get married earlier in the day and on a weekday?

My sister just got married in her town and only ended up paying about $2000 less than my fiance and I are going to pay for ours in WDW. She had less people than we're going to have and got a GREAT deal on her catering. Otherwise, it would probably be about the same (granted, they spent a lot more on their honeymoon, but we are going to stay in WDW for an additional week with our free APs!!)

Give me more details about your potential wedding and I'll see if I can help in more detail, even if you are a Yankee fan!!!

 

[JJClemson]

That really depends on where you live. I am from NJ, so to have a traditional wedding there is VERY expensive. To have my Disney wedding for 70 people, it will be much cheaper. However, it also depends on how much you want to spend. I could (in theory) spend a whole lot more on my Disney wedding, but choose not to. There are many ways to save money. For example, I am having my wedding on a Monday (wedding that are Mon-Thurs only have a $10,000 minimum) and we are having a brunch as our reception (since the event is beginning before 2pm, we only have to spend $75 per person on food and beverage instead of $100). Hope that helps

 

[ead79]

It depends on where you live as well as what type of wedding you would be likely to have at home vs. at Disney. For example, most couples from places like NJ or NY find that Disney is a bargain compared to the cost of a typical wedding in those states. Being from the South myself, my wedding cost a little more than many you see her locally since they tend to be smaller affairs in the South.

However, we did save a lot of money since our guest list was so much smaller for our Disney wedding than it would've been at home.

 

[Tiggerific04]

Money was actually one reason we decided to have a Disney wedding. As others have said, weddings in NJ are VERY expensive and we just don't have that kind of money (I'd rather spend it on things we'll need for our house). The Disney wedding is costing us around $10,000 but we're paying for most of our families' and guests' expenses (we're doing an Intimate so it's only 18 people plus us), otherwise it would cost even less than that.

 

[happylalagirl]

I agree with the girls. We live in NJ and were told the average NJ wedding with about 100 people is $32,500. That was WAY above our budget and not really an option for us. We looked around us (we live in Bergen County which is now the richest county in the US - ugh) and then we started looking north, south, and west of us. We looked as far as 4 hours in every direction and the proposed budget was still well beyond what we are spending at Disney. When we first sent out newsletters to our guest list, approx. 75 ppl said yes. Now that the invites went out, the confirmed number (as of tonight) is 50. We are going to have an at home reception in Feb. or March. My folks are paying for that one. Lots of Disney brides seem to do that. It's an easy alternative to having a big at home wedding. Whatever you decide, it will be wonderful. Good luck!!!

 

[jojoandhb]

When it comes to your dream wedding, money is only one consideration. At Disney, you will get so much more than just a wedding. It's a whole experience, and it's a once in a lifetime thing. I know it's expensive. The $10,000 during the week is the least expensive, and that is taxed, and there are gratuities and per person minimums and hotel nights to guarantee, but it's so worth it. You'd spend $20K easily on a traditional wedding elsewhere, and you wouldn't have the Disney experience. Their wedding staff is the best in the business. They have the best food, the best cake, the best decor, and you can do your honeymoon, too. If you are bringing family, it's a vacation for everyone, and everyone will really enjoy it. You and your bride deserve a special day! There are ways to cut costs, too. You can hire an outside photographer, florist, and DJ instead of using Disney's which are very pricey. You can do the intimate with 18 guests and then have a nice dinner somewhere with as many people as you want. They have tons of great restaurants at Disney. Or, you can simply wait longer to have the wedding. That will give you longer to save money. It is worth it.

 

[Laurafoster]

For me a Disney wedding was not cheaper exactly - im just getting a lot lot more for the money i would have spent. Because i live on the outskirts of London everything here is sooo expensive.

For me it worked out at such a good deal because the exchange rate on the dollar was so good! And besides where else can i have Mickey and Minnie and and Illuminations dessert party?!

 

[georgiajaimie]

For me a Disney wedding was not cheaper exactly - im just getting a lot lot more for the money i would have spent. Because i live on the outskirts of London everything here is sooo expensive.

For me it worked out at such a good deal because the exchange rate on the dollar was so good! And besides where else can i have Mickey and Minnie and and Illuminations dessert party?!

I second that!! We were looking at spending more on just the church & recepton meal than our entire DW and honeymoon

 

[cryssi]

*sticking DLR nose in this thread*

While a Disney wedding was really the only thing that would've been acceptable (LOL), we probably didn't spend much more (if any!) than a nice hotel wedding here in so cal. Now with the hotel wedding, we probably could have had 200+ guests, but we had over 100 with our disney wedding. Besides, the event that we had...words can't describe how magical and amazing it was...the best wedding ever! (that I've been to, anyway!) The food! The cake! The ambiance! Mickey and Minnie! ...I could go on and on...

I think a lot depends on where you are from, though...

hth!

 

[smi727]

While I dreamed of a Disney wedding, we knew there was no way we could have afforded it. We had a local wedding (Cleveland area) instead and went to WDW for our honeymoon. I searched high and low for the best deals. We invited only 100 of our closest family and friends, and found local vendors for the hall, catering, photography, and dj. Our total was just under $8000. It was even better than I expected! We did things in such a way that no one would have ever guessed that we spent that little. We've been married for 4 months now and we still get compliments on how great everything was. My advice is figure out what's really important to you and take your time finding the best deals possible.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Any updates? Have you made a decision? Do you need more info? Don't leave us hanging

 

[heatherlynn444]

someone said weddings in teh south are small, well....that just depends...b/c I am having a New Orleans wedding and we are sending out 350 invitations, New orleans weddings are HUGE and abig deal.

just had to put that out there, b/c some people think southerners have picnics in their backyard and BBQ for their wedding recpetion, not true!

all said in love...

to the OP, good luck in your decision, I would love to have a dinsey wedding, but I have always wanted a big wedding so it was not possible for us, but how lucky to get to, go forit if it's what you want!

 

[ExCPKate]

I agree with everyone else. When I first considered having a wedding at home(NW IN by Chicago), I realized that I would end up inviting about 200+ people. Here it is almost impossible to get by without inviting everyone you have ever known, and then some. All of my girlfriends who have gotten married recently have spent around 20k or more. And these are not even extravagent weddings! I loved the fact that having a wedding at Disney automatically limits your guest list because people understand that it's a "destination wedding" are are not offended if not invited. This also gives you the opportunity to have a smaller wedding, but with more detailing and special touches. I guess I would rather spend my money on my closest friends and family, and make it a time to remember than the same amount on a so-so wedding for not so close friends and family. Good luck with your decision and no matter what, you will have a beautiful wedding.

 

[pixie08]

I think it all depends where you live. Here in NYC weddings get ridicoulous. I know people who have spent the amount of a home on weddings here in NY so in that aspect we are getting a deal but look it is still alot of money know what I mean? That being said it is the magic of Disney and there were no other options for us

 

[vetrik]

I think it depends on what kind of wedding you would have at home, and where you live.

My friend is getting married locally next month. Her family is huge and even though she's trying to do it cheaply (booked inexpensive hall, doing all flowers/centerpieces/favors herself, no limos, etc) it's going to cost around $20,000 because her guest list is 275 people. It probably would have been cheaper for her to have a destination wedding because the guest list would shrink so much.

Meanwhile, I only had 72 guests at my wedding, and we ended up spending $12,000 on our wedding. It probably would have been more expensive for me to have a Disney wedding unless I invited only immediate family and had an intimate wedding with not many extras.

 

[MEME]

We wanted an inexpensive, intimate occasion with a priceless experience. This is exactly what we got. I know the prices have went up since last October but our intimate (which included our moderate resort) with 17 folks was $3,888K. We also hosted a dinner reception at O'hana's after our intimate for about $500 and then purchased towncars to take everyone home $140. So, with spending cash for a week at Disney and our Disney Wedding we spent around $6K......is that a deal or what!!!

Of course this doesn't cover all of a wedding elements (attire, rings, accessories, stamps, invites), our traveling cost (got all 17 guests round-trip tickets from Inpls to Orlando on SWA for $88 each...DING SPECIAL) or our at home reception, but hey most people pay over $6K just to feed folks!

I would suggest that you set your budget, take all factors into consideration and make a comparison list. Good luck and either way, your wedding day is about making a commitment to your significant other.....it doesn't matter where it happens.

 

[Deesknee]

I would suggest that you set your budget, take all factors into consideration and make a comparison list. Good luck and either way, your wedding day is about making a commitment to your significant other.....it doesn't matter where it happens.

Well said!