Can you have an intimate disney wedding on a budget??

[Lisa1976]

I would love to be able to get married at WDW but their prices just seem to be extortionate which means we will probably have to have the wedding else where and maybe our honeymoon at WDW instead.

Has anyone ever planned or heard of an intimate wedding on a budget??

 

[tmli]

When my sister was planning, she found the disney weddings to be out of her price range. There is a company who does weddings at the Swan and Dolphin and they are a little more affordable. My sister has opted to book thru Rev. Tim and have the ceremony offsite at the cypress grove. Very affordable!

If you do a search here you will find more info on the swan and dolphin.

 

[Lisa1976]

I don't realy like the Swan and Dolphin so not really an option there. We have been looking at other locations like Cypress Grove and also Leu Gardens and we will probably end up doing this and then having our honeymoon at WDW.

Its a shame really that Disney charge so much, I bet there are loads of people who would love a disney wedding but simply can't afford it.

 

[diswedwish]

When we got married in 2/03 we were able to do the add-on intimate wedding package. That meant that we got all of the wedding-related things without the room/park hopper passes. Total for us was $2960 for the Pavilion. This was cheaper for us than the total wedding package, and convenient since my parents intended to help with the wedding but not the honeymoon and this made a specific breakdown in costs. The other locations are less than the WP. In 2003 we were able to go with an outside photographer and videographer which were additional to the $2960, but still much cheaper than Disney's prices. I don't know the current costs, or your budget, but I hope that this gives you an idea

 

[inloveindisney]

When I was pricing a wedding for Niagara Falls (where my fiance's family lives) and Disney, I found that Disney actually ended up being cheaper because of the honeymoon being included. I understand that there are other packages that are cheaper, but a lot of them do not include a honeymoon. So, for us, Disney was the way to go.
I am not sure what your initial budget is, but have you looked at Wyndham? I loved their package. We were going to go with it, but by the time we spent the money for a honeymoon in disney, it came out about the same if not more. so, we decided just to stick with Disney. I believe the website is wyndham.com Their package includes cake, flowers etc, but there is a cocktail reception, one night stay and some sort of luncheon. Their ceremony sites seemed very nice as well. You can also buy a very nice reception added on for 75.00 a person-white glove service and all.

 

[Lisa1976]

Hi and thanks for your replies.

We didn't really want to spend over £1,000 on our wedding as we would have the honeymoon to pay for as well.



diswedwish, did Disney not mind you not having the hooper passes or the rooms then? From what i can gather its a package and has to stay like that.

We were going to book our room separately as we have annual passes and could get a cheaper and better rate (hopefully).

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Lisa - there is definitely an option to add-on an intimate wedding package but Disney just don't advertise this fact because they want you to go for the "whole" package. You have to prove that you have already booked your rooms - now you can book them now and then get the AP rates later as they become available. Then call Disney Fairytale Weddings and tell them you've already got your room booked etc etc but you were wondering what the price would be to add on an Intimate Wedding Package. This is certainly a cheaper option for you if you really want to get wed at Disney.

I know it's frustrating that Disney do charge what can, to some, be an excessive price but at the end of the day it is Disney and they charge what they know they can get and for those brides that really really want a Disney wedding they'll pay it and Disney knows it.

Even though we are doing a Custom Wedding and with a party at a local golf club when we get back to the UK we are still spending less than we would have spent to have a wedding with the same standard of vendors in the UK. With the $ to our advantage at the moment we're quids in

 

[Kismetdreams]

Lisa,

Another option is Celebration hotel. They are now being arranged by Just Marry, who also do the Swan and Dolpin weddings and my understanding is that Celebration is less costly then FTW.

HTH

 

[Lisa1976]

Kismetdreams, i've not heard of celebrations hotel, do you know where i can find out about the weddings??

 

[Kismetdreams]

Lisa,

Celebration hotel is in the Disney planned town Celebration, which is right outside of WDW.

Thier wedding website is: Celebration Weddings

We also have a forum over on the DisneyMooners that is just for Celebration weddings. To get to the DMers, here is the link:DisneyMooners on ezBoard

HTH!

 

[diswedwish]

Lisa,

We actually started with the wedding package, then switched to the add-on once we discovered that it was available. You do have to provide your room reservation, other than that the deposit (one night of your hotel room) and everything else was the same. HTH and good luck

 

[AndreaRH]

Originally posted by Lisa1976
Hi and thanks for your replies.

We didn't really want to spend over £1,000 on our wedding as we would have the honeymoon to pay for as well.

Hi there,

I'm assuming you're looking for a VERY intimate wedding with only a few frills. Have you visited Reverend Tim's web page at http://www.orlandoweddinglocations.com ?

He's one of the officiants that handle a lot of the Disney weddings but he also presides over ceremonies all over Orlando. His site shows lots of photos. A basic wedding site is as little as $150. You may want to check that out.

But, do run the numbers by booking your own WDW honeymoon and then booking the "Add-On" intimate package through Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings. That might work out for your budget.

Good luck!

 

[mmschwaba]

Hi,
I believe you can have a wedding on a budget we saved for a whole year and were able to have our wedding at Disney. I had an outside photographer Randy Chapman then just the disney add on package(intimate) of $2300. I found this to be comparable to a wedding where I live. I felt like I really got my money's worth with disney to, they went way out of there way to make you and your guests feel special. If your honeymooning at disney you might want to think about doing the add on package just do your honeymoon after the wedding. We flew in 2 days before our wedding then had 8 days to ourselves. If you really want a disney wedding don't miss out. I'm so glad we had our's there. It's a once in a lifetiime thing

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Now mmschwaba when do you get your photos I'd love to see some more of Randy's work. We have him booked too

 

[mmschwaba]

I'm not sure. It's only been 2 weeks to the date today. He will be sending them through the mail and I hope to get them soon. He does and excellent job and I highly reccomend him.