Escape Wedding v. Wishes Wedding

[Angela0917]

Ok, so I orginally was planning an Escape Wedding, because it seemed to be the least expensive and the most easy and stressless to plan. I did not think that my DF and I would have more than 18 people interested in going since we're all the way up in PA, but I'm finding that to my suprise many of my extended family would love to come! We were planning to do the SBP wedding and a dinner somewhere, for about 20 people (18 guests and us)... but now I have at about 25 people who would definatley like to come... and of course I'd love for them to go! Now my question is how easy is it to meet the $10,000 minimum and not go over? We could swing the $10,000... if that includes the reception and rehersal dinner/welcome party. If we did the escape wedding, plus dinner/reception and dinner/welcome party, plus extras like bridesmaids flowers and stuff, am I going to be close to $10,000? What other things can count towards the minimum that you'd need to purchase with the Escape wedding? Does the officiant and hair/makeup count toward the minimum?? Any opinions or suggestions?? I don't know what to do!!

 

[padisneyfour]

We are planning a VR for our 20th anniversary and were originally planning an escape for the same reasons you mentioned but now for again the same reasons we are planning for a wishes.... my suggestions is if you haven't to go to the dftw website and review info there. I believe what is included in min is pretty much things on your wedding day (other than the MK photo shoot). I am sure someone will have some additional info for you. good luck with your plans. we actually lived in pgh for many years. have fun planning

the officiant and hair/makeup do not count towards min as far as I know.Disney photography does count.

 

[lurkyloo]

We started out as an Escape wedding but switched to a Wishes wedding - one of the reasons is that it's actually easier to plan a Wishes wedding because you get way more service. You can have a planning session and a tasting session, plus your wedding planner does a whole lot more for you. When we were planning for an Escape, we found all these restrictions and obstacles to planning the reception meal, for example.

It is possible to stick to the $10,000 minimum - we were only about $70 over! However, that doesn't include tax and service charges, which, depending on the things you pick that incur tax and service charges, can run $1,000 or more.

Also, only the things that happen on your wedding day count for the minimums (except the Magic Kingdom photo shoot - that you can schedule for any day that you're there). This is one of the reasons we didn't have an official welcome/rehearsal dinner. However, we did have an in-park wedding and a dessert party for just the minimums, so it's not like it was a bare-bones affair.

Things that count toward the minimum are your site fees, food and beverage, floral and decor you get from Disney, transportation through Disney, photography through Disney, favors through Disney - you get the idea.

Let us know when you have more questions!