Confused about the Wishes minimum spend!

[Tink-erbell78]

Hi everyone,

I'm a UK bride, and we are currently trying to do the Maths and work out if we can stretch to a Wishes wedding rather than an escape. However, Im not too hot at Maths, and Im getting confused!

If we were to have a Wishes wedding we would need to be as close as possible to the 12,000 minimum spend. However the whole plus sales tax and plus service charge thing concerns me- how much would it mean that you end up spending? Is sales tax on everything? Is the service charge just on the food part? We are going to have about 24 adult guests, plus 3 or 4 children, so wouldn't be spending a fortune on food.

The only reason I ask is that if we had an escape at the pavillion cost 6k we would also want a dp, say that took it to 7.5k plus we want the MK photo shoot, I'm not sure if this would add to the min spend for wishes tho? If it did then that would take the cost to just under 9k plus we need to feed everyone in a restaurant under escape- so it's almost at the 12k point?

Any advice or experience would be much appreciated as I am getting excited about planning, but we really can't afford to get carried away with massive costs - so I'm trying to keep my sensible hat on! Think it will be more fun when I know in my head either it's escape, or wishes.

Thanks everyone

 

[Mindyjoy]

The tax and service fee is on pretty much everything. Also, I am pretty sure the MK photo shoot is not part of the minimum. At least it isn't at Disneyland.

 

[princesswendy720]

The MK shoot only counts toward the minimum if it's on the day of your wedding or (I think..not sure) if you are using DPS for photography. I'm definite on that first part, not definite on the 2nd. If you haven't, you should purchase the passporter's guide to Disney weddings. It has a budget section that will calculate tax and service for those things that need it.

 

[lurkyloo]

However the whole plus sales tax and plus service charge thing concerns me- how much would it mean that you end up spending? Is sales tax on everything? Is the service charge just on the food part?

The amount of service charge and sales tax depends on how much you spend on items that incur those, but figure on at least $1,200 on top of the minimum expenditure.

There's a whole breakdown of what gets a service charge, what gets tax, and which service charges also get taxed in the PassPorter, in addition to the budget worksheet Wendy mentioned, which will calculate tax and service charge for you. In general, the service charge is only on food and audio-visual elements, while tax is on everything but services.

The only reason I ask is that if we had an escape at the pavillion cost 6k we would also want a dp, say that took it to 7.5k plus we want the MK photo shoot, I'm not sure if this would add to the min spend for wishes tho? If it did then that would take the cost to just under 9k plus we need to feed everyone in a restaurant under escape- so it's almost at the 12k point?

If you use Disney Event Photography to shoot your wedding or if you have the MK shoot on the day of your wedding, it will count toward your minimum expenditure. So, yes, that will put you close to the Wishes minimum. However, one thing to consider is that the Escape package includes tax and service charge, while Wishes does not (you do pay tax and service charge on things you add to Escape, though, like a dessert party). So, that $12,000 Escape event suddenly becomes a $13,500+ Wishes event.

On the other hand, you have a lot more flexibility and options with a Wishes event, so it may be worth the extra money to you.

 

[Chilly]

27/28 guests plus Bride and Groom is over the limit for an Escape wedding i'm sorry to say which is 18 guests plus Bride and Groom.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi from a UK VR bride!!
You would get way, way more 'bang for your buck' with a Swan/Dolphin wedding!!! You would have to do without a MK photoshoot (which are expensive and, unfortunately, frequently disappointing), but that is just about the only thing you can't have with a S/D wedding as opposed to a DFTW one.
There is also no minimum/maximum guest limits - you can have as few or as many as you wish!!!
Just a thought!!!