Frustration!!!!!

[deakam]

My daughter is looking at a Disney wedding in October 2016. No one will even talk to us!!!! We are looking at more than $20,000.00 and they will not even answer some questions. So here I am on my trusted Dis site looking for some answers.

The Wishes food expenditure says $175.00 per person for a dinner reception. What exactly is included. Does that include drinks? Are kids the same price? Does this include the cake? Wine? Decorations? How am I supposed to know how much I need to set aside to help pay for this thing? We get that the minimum is $12,000.00 but we want to know how much the things we want are going to cost and they won't even talk to us!!!!!!

Also need to know how far out you have to have the guest list finalized. How much of a discount do we get on the rooms and tickets? It would be nice to give our guests an idea of how much the trip is going to cost them. I fear that the inability to get any answers is going to cause my daughter to give up on her Disney wedding dream and just go ahead and book the Arboretum near her home.

 

[plutosbuddie]

My daughter is looking at a Disney wedding in October 2016. No one will even talk to us!!!! We are looking at more than $20,000.00 and they will not even answer some questions. So here I am on my trusted Dis site looking for some answers. The Wishes food expenditure says $175.00 per person for a dinner reception. What exactly is included. Does that include drinks? Are kids the same price? Does this include the cake? Wine? Decorations? How am I supposed to know how much I need to set aside to help pay for this thing? We get that the minimum is $12,000.00 but we want to know how much the things we want are going to cost and they won't even talk to us!!!!!! Also need to know how far out you have to have the guest list finalized. How much of a discount do we get on the rooms and tickets? It would be nice to give our guests an idea of how much the trip is going to cost them. I fear that the inability to get any answers is going to cause my daughter to give up on her Disney wedding dream and just go ahead and book the Arboretum near her home.

Wow.. I'm not sure why you're so frustrated that's how disney does their weddings! Typically it's 14-13 months before the date of your wishes event is when someone will talk to you. Were all in the same boat, and $20,000 is typically what we are all spending.. Not to be rude but your message came across as entitled and frankly we all have to wait. May I remind you that October 2016.. Is light years away for disney.

You can go online to Disney's fairy tale weddings website for a general idea, but prices will change. Most of your timeline questions will be answered there!

As for pricing to all the variables you listed( cake, room blocks, food etc.) my best answer to you is buy carrie's book on disney weddings.. "A passporters guide to disney weddings and honeymoons" It has a lot of helpful information about pricing, room blocks and exact details.

Also If you just did some simple google searches you would find out how much the hotel discounts are.. But again it is a variable because your wedding is more then TWO YEARS out!!!!

I can feel your anxiety through your message. I would say take a deep breath and be patient. The wedding isn't for a long while.. Get carrie's book as I think it will help you tremendously. I left a link below!

http://www.passporter.com/weddings.asp

 

[alyaki]

No reason to be so frustrated - Disney doesn't start pencilling people and talking to you until 16 months out (most contact around 13-14 months out). You got a lot of good advice from plutosbuddie - get the Passporter book and work out the numbers on your own, based on what elements you want.

Also, you asked what the food & beverage minimum includes - that's whatever meal you guys pick out, and whatever drink package and cake. Please note, that is the minimum you are allowed to spend, but if you want, say, top shelf open bar, that's going to likely put you a good deal higher...or if there's a cake that's super customized, that could push you higher than $175pp too.

Also, food and beverage minimum covers just that - food (and cake) and beverages. There's a separate ceremony minimum, as well as an "enhancement" minimum (which would be decorations, entertainment, etc) you have to meet as well. And the enhancement minimums vary based on day of week - so if you want a Saturday wedding, that minimum is going to be a lot higher than if you had a M-W wedding, or even a ThFSun wedding.

Not to be mean, and I'm sure it's just your anxiety talking, but you came across pretty rude. Sort of off-putting. Get the passporter book and use the resources Disney gives on their site. And most of us are spending $15k-$20k and up - like pluto said, we all have to wait. This is a part of how Disney deals with weddings.

 

[Seia]

My daughter is looking at a Disney wedding in October 2016. No one will even talk to us!!!! We are looking at more than $20,000.00 and they will not even answer some questions. So here I am on my trusted Dis site looking for some answers.

The Wishes food expenditure says $175.00 per person for a dinner reception. What exactly is included. Does that include drinks? Are kids the same price? Does this include the cake? Wine? Decorations? How am I supposed to know how much I need to set aside to help pay for this thing? We get that the minimum is $12,000.00 but we want to know how much the things we want are going to cost and they won't even talk to us!!!!!!

Also need to know how far out you have to have the guest list finalized. How much of a discount do we get on the rooms and tickets? It would be nice to give our guests an idea of how much the trip is going to cost them. I fear that the inability to get any answers is going to cause my daughter to give up on her Disney wedding dream and just go ahead and book the Arboretum near her home.

I know it can be frustrating. We're getting married in 9 months, and I still get confused sometimes! This is a good place to look for help and answers. I also agree that buying the Passporters book will help TREMENDOUSLY. Personally, I recommend the digital version so you get all the updates for free.

I'm sure Carrie can answer much more eloquently than I can, but I'll try. For Wishes, everything is basically custom with certain guidelines/minimums you have to meet. First, there is the "ceremony fee." We're getting married at Sea Breeze Point, so for us that fee is 3500. The Pavilion is more expensive.

Then, you have your food & beverage minimum. This varies depending on your guest list and reception time. So, for dinner, you have to spend at least $175 per adult on any combination of plated meal (or buffet menu), bar, and cake. Obviously the number of guests you have will greatly affect your overall food/beverage cost. I think I have to have my final guest count 30 days out -- I'd have to double check my contract, but I'm pretty sure it's 30 days.

The final cost is your enhancement minimum. This varies depending on whether your wedding is a weekday or weekend. You meet this minimum through any combination of floral, guest favors, entertainment (such as characters or music), transportation (limos, Cinderella's coach, etc.) and the like.

Hope that helps a little!

 

[LadyD]

I know Carrie's podcast can also be very informative. In November 2013 she did one on how the change in price structure could affect your overall costs and that may be helpful to listen to for a better idea of how your guest count, time of day, and day of week may affect your total costs. The one thing I do know is if you come in with a budget and make that budget clear to Disney, they are helpful in trying to help you work within your budget (at least that has been my experience out here doing a Disneyland wedding). It might be easier for you to figure out the absolute maximum you are willing to spend and not go above. Disney does absolutely beautiful weddings (or at least that is what the pictures people post indicate) as long as you can meet their minimums. Since you're so far out, the current minimums may change by the time you can lock your date in.

 

[mb187143]

My daughter is looking at a Disney wedding in October 2016. No one will even talk to us!!!! We are looking at more than $20,000.00 and they will not even answer some questions. So here I am on my trusted Dis site looking for some answers. The Wishes food expenditure says $175.00 per person for a dinner reception. What exactly is included. Does that include drinks? Are kids the same price? Does this include the cake? Wine? Decorations? How am I supposed to know how much I need to set aside to help pay for this thing? We get that the minimum is $12,000.00 but we want to know how much the things we want are going to cost and they won't even talk to us!!!!!! Also need to know how far out you have to have the guest list finalized. How much of a discount do we get on the rooms and tickets? It would be nice to give our guests an idea of how much the trip is going to cost them. I fear that the inability to get any answers is going to cause my daughter to give up on her Disney wedding dream and just go ahead and book the Arboretum near her home.

So, while it may not be the case with local venues, Disney has timelines for their events, partly because DFTW does not have priority on event spaces that far out. Conventions get first pick. Wishes brides next (can begin speaking to DFTW at 16 months out to be pencilled in, booked at 12 months), then escape (9 months out for contact, 8 months to book), and finally memories brides. For wishes (since that's what you're looking at) in that time between 16 and 12 months, You can also find yourself in a lottery if someone wants your same space/date and time, regardless of who inquires first - anyone pencilled in for the same date/time/location goes in to the lottery. The lottery is not in play after the 12 month mark. Once the contract is signed, the spaces are locked in.

Another reason why they don't want to make contact 2 years out is that prices change, and your pricing for your event is not guaranteed until 6 months before the event. So if they give you 2014 prices, they could well change by 2016.

The website has a fair amount of information, but the passporter is far more informative. The digital edition is updated as new information comes out. I believe on another thread here he author, Carrie (lurkyloo) mentioned she's releasing a new version soon.

As far as room discounts, for our 2012 wedding the deal was 40% off for convention resorts, 30% off of deluxe resorts 25% moderate, and 10-16% off of value resorts. Once you have a consultant, he or she will present the resorts with the discounts available for the timeframe around the wedding, and you can pick the resorts for the block from there.

 

[elphie101]

Everyone has already hit the biggest points: get Carrie/lurkyloo's book and listen to the podcast. Use these boards - many people post their BEO's (essentially the bill) from Disney as a point of reference for prices, but especially where your date is so far out the prices you would see now can and will change (that's why you should get the e-book version of the Passporter guide - it'll automatically update!) The e-book also comes with an automatic budget calculator that will help you with budgeting for auto gratuity and tax.

Many brides (and mothers of the bride, and even a few grooms) that have frequented this section of the DIS have decided to plan a Disney wedding 2-3 years out from the date. Disney will absolutely not talk to you before 16 months (so June 2015 for you guys - just 10 months away!), and even then it's just a penciling in. But they structure it like this so they can focus the bulk of their dedication on couples who are getting married in the immediate future. Think about it from the flip side - if you were a month out from your wedding would you want someone planning for July 2019 to be taking up your planner's time? Extreme example I know, but this is why they do it!

Take a deep breath and enjoy the process. You have found in my opinion the best resource for the early stages of the wedding planning process (along with the podcast and the Passporter book). Use this time to research venues and options so that when June 2015 rolls around you will have a more solid idea of the specifics you want to talk to Disney about. They'll be waiting for you then!

 

[EleishebaNacht]

Aw, you remind me of my Mom. I'm sorry you're frustrated and you feel like nobody is giving you any answers. I'm planning my own wedding for fall of 2016. The staff at Diseny can't give you any pricing this far out just in case their rates change. The ladies here have already given you the best possible advice. Carrie Hayward's "A Passporter's Guide to Disney Weddings and Honeymoons" is minute in its detail. Downloading it from the PassPorter site gives you the added benefit of being able to re download it for free when it updates. (Or at least it did... )Carrie included tons of pricing charts for the reader's use! It may feel at first like Disney is sneaking in a ton of extra charges but if you research venues at home you'll find that those "extras" are everywhere. Good luck!

 

[deakam]

Thanks for all of the info. Sorry if I came off sounding rude or entitled I just don't understand why they can not answer basic questions. The website is not very clear and the "information" they send on request is a waste of paper and postage. I don't feel that I or my daughter should get special treatment. I think everyone should be able to get some basic questions answered without having to "google" things.

Disney is usually so helpful. The call us back in a year attitude just did not come off as being very Disney like. We have to save for this wedding. We don't have deep pockets filled with cash. The website estimate was 21 thousand. Okay that is doable but then you have to figure out if this actually includes what you want. It appears that every little thing costs more. Okay I get that. So do we need 21 thousand or do we need 80 thousand. I can't believe that any bride or family of a bride is not frustrated by this.

Anyway, I have decided to make $45,000 the goal and work from that. If it is more than that, she loses. If it is less, I can roll it over into my retirement account.

 

[elphie101]

Depending on your anticipated guest size that sounds totally reasonable. Using the Passporter book as well as what other brides choose to share on the DIS will help you narrow down more exactly how much you can anticipate things to cost. I can tell you my Passporter estimate was only $100 off of my initial quote from Disney (that I didn't get till 6 months out). I hope it doesn't sound like we're all pushing the book on you, but it will seriously save you lots of headaches and hair-pulling.

Right now will especially be a great time to watch because of Disney's new pricing structure for Wishes weddings - many of us (myself included) are under the older pricing structure so some components of our days won't be the same as how your daughter's would work someday, but since the pricing structure is applied for a handful of late-2014 weddings and all 2015 ones you'll start to see more helpful figures for your planning pop up in the coming months.

 

[Lorelei528]

I know some brides even post their BEOs in their planning journals I believe. So, I'd look through some of those too.

I also recommend getting the e-book version of Carrie's book, that way, you will receive any updates for free (and the way DFTW weddings policies change almost by the minute, this is VERY useful).

The board here is also a great wealth of information. I would not have been able to plan our wedding without it and the help I got from all the brides who were planning like I was or just recently married.

Try not to get disheartened, there is nothing like a Disney Wedding!

 

[aristocatz]

I understand your frustration-this is one of the reasons why we decided to go with a Swan wedding instead. We started planning 2 years out and, even though I could not lock down a date until 14 months out, they were available to answer any questions I had (including pricing) at any time throughout the process. I was not comfortable being so last minute with our planning.

That said, Disney is notorious for planning and executing gorgeous weddings that have glowing reviews, so try to relax and remain patient to their policies.

Ordering Carrie's book, as others have mentioned, is going to give you the same (if not more!) info than Disney will provide for you. You also might want to download some of her Disney Wedding Podcasts to give you more of an idea of what these weddings can offer. Wishes is totally customized, so no one wedding will be the same as another, but it will give you some great ideas of what is offered.

Good luck!

 

[alyaki]

Depending on the number of guests you are planning for, and what specific decor/entertainment/travel items you want, $21k sounds pretty normal. If it helps, I'm one of the brides on the new pricing structure (*waves flag* yay =/ ) - the 2015 brides are just now starting to get their BEOs, for the most part. So you may see some of those start popping up on the boards in the next few months (if not sooner). Since that's likely the pricing structure you'll be subject to (unless they change it again in the next year or so), you may want to keep a lookout for those, and ask questions if you see specific elements you're interested in on them.

If you want really extravagant decor, the carriage, park shoots, etc., you could end up near that $45k, but many of us manage to keep within our lower budgets without too many issues and still have lovely and fun events. The passporter book will likely really help you out, as long as you keep in mind that the prices will likely change at least a little before you get to the point where yours is locked in at that 6 month out mark. Many of us do our planning and number crunching based off the mix of the book and BEOs.

 

[CinderellasBFF]

Depending on the number of guests you are planning for, and what specific decor/entertainment/travel items you want, $21k sounds pretty normal. If it helps, I'm one of the brides on the new pricing structure (*waves flag* yay =/ ) - the 2015 brides are just now starting to get their BEOs, for the most part. So you may see some of those start popping up on the boards in the next few months (if not sooner). Since that's likely the pricing structure you'll be subject to (unless they change it again in the next year or so), you may want to keep a lookout for those, and ask questions if you see specific elements you're interested in on them.

If you want really extravagant decor, the carriage, park shoots, etc., you could end up near that $45k, but many of us manage to keep within our lower budgets without too many issues and still have lovely and fun events. The passporter book will likely really help you out, as long as you keep in mind that the prices will likely change at least a little before you get to the point where yours is locked in at that 6 month out mark. Many of us do our planning and number crunching based off the mix of the book and BEOs.

I agree completely. Our cocktail hour and reception will be in park, and we're still keeping it very reasonable because of the simplicity of our decor (don't need it in park), no carriage, or park shoots. There's no way we'll be able to stay at the minimum because the venue fees and keeping the ride open alone consume the entirety of our minimum enhancement expenditures, but we're not far about the minimum.

 

[MiaSRN62]

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[wiserabbit]

As the MOB - I understand you're wanting to pin down some info - but here's my 2 cents - we had a budget similar to yours - we told our daughter that she could spend the money anyway she wanted - so if she wanted to spend 5000 on the dress (as an example - she didn't spend 5000) she'd only have 15,000 left for everything else, etc. In the end - she had a beautiful Wishes wedding (WP, reception at Grand Floridian and Illuminations dessert party) - everything she wanted - we pretty much stayed in budget by adding and subtracting elements within the minimums. In the end - she had the wedding of her dreams, we didn't have to get a 2nd mortgage to finance everything and the only difference we could tell between having the wedding here versus there - the guest list was smaller - we would have spent the same amount of $$$ here to feed more people, etc.

As the date gets closer - you'll be able to gather more info and the picture will come into focus - the planners at DFTW were easy for us to work with - and our daughter (and us) had no regrets about getting married at WDW

 

[mintd]

Also a MOB for a January 2015 wedding. Everything changes from year to year. However, once they commit to you, you get the current pricing. So, make certain to contact them at the first possible moment to be grandfathered into the prices! If we had made contact 2 weeks earlier, the costs would be almost $10,000 less. Imagine the heartburn I get from that Live and learn.

Currently the $175 includes your bar prices but the cake is not included. That was prior t0 2014 and a costly (2wk) change. My current per person charge is $155, 3 proteins, 3 sides, 2 veggies (another veggie or salad will not change my price), and 3 desserts, premium bar package and two soup shooters and antipasta display for the pre cocktail party. I can upgrade my bar to the Signature Package, and add more food, however, I believe that we are extending the reception an hour and that should absorb the costs. We are boxing the cake to go after the cutting ceremony because enough is enough food
BTW we are adding a burger, fries, and milkshake roadie at the end of the reception to absorb the costs. (I knew there was something).

Use the boards, contact outside vendors--photography, videography, hair and make-up and lock-in your dates with them so that you have the vendors you want and then use Disney for the services you want from them.

I understand your frustration and sympathize with a fellow -- organizer. It helps to budget when you can plan your money further out. Also, start making your detail purchases--accessories, shop the sales for specialty items that you can, if you are a DIY girl--focus on those things and watch ETSY for great ideas.

Plan the showers and bacherlorette parties--have weekend getaways with the girls to do the time consuming activities and start placing them in bins labeled--reception, ceremony, showers, etc.

You will find that there are many ideas and begin to solidify your daughter's dream -- and save some money along the way.

Best of luck!!

 

[mintd]

Children's meals are priced on 2 tiers -- much less than adult meal and beverage package for them is also significantly reduced.