Getting the families involved...pre-planning planning questions!

[DisWishes720]

Hello Everyone!

I am about to get engaged and have been dreaming about a Dinsey Wishes wedding for most of my adult life. My DBF and I love Disney and so do our families which makes the convincing a bit easier, but everyone still has a few reserves about committing to a Disney wedding so I have a few questions maybe you guys can help me with!

First of all, my DBF have been together for about 2 years now and would like to get married as soon as possible (we're trying to keep it old fashioned and not live together before the wedding, mostly for our parents). I've always wanted to get married in the fall, but my mother insists that the wait list for a Disney Wishes Wedding is 2 years, is this true? Are any months less expensive or less popular?

The second question is of course the distance. My DBF and I are both full blooded Italians, which of course means a HUGE wedding (we're thinking about 150 people minimum invite) . The problem is we are from CT and NJ, so it would be a full out destination wedding. For those of you who've gone through the payment process with a father who is graciously paying for you but likes to hold onto his change, and a mother who has increadably expensive taste, do you know what a ball park total cost would be for something like this? We have our budget for the reception which is more than enough, but it's the extra costs of a destination wedding that we're really concerned with.

Ok my last question, I promise! Obviously with this many people I'm sure venues may be a bit hard to come by, and I've never been a really ballroom kind of gal. Are there any fabulous places that can hold this many people for an evening wedding? Our family is very big into partying and my father has requested an open bar and a reception that goes until at least 1am (even though my mother insists it's not necessary). I'm sure it would cost extra, but how much on average would it be to have an event in a theme park perhaps with such extended hours?

I know it's so many questions, but we're trying to judge if a DW is a good idea and will fit all of our needs. Any help would be very greatly appreciated!!

 

[beachprincess23]

I'm definitely not the best person to answer your questions (or probably not even a good person to answer them at that), but first off...Congrats!

Second, when we looked into having our wedding on Disney property, there was no wait at all, but you can't book more than a year in advance, or 8 months if it's in an actual park, I think...someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong, but that's what they told me.

Third, I just wanted to give you somthing else to look into if you end up not being happy with what you find out (when someone can really answer your questions, LOL).
After speaking with Disney we ended up not going with them. We absolutely LOVE Disney, and like you are inviting about 200 guests. We live in NY, so everyone will have to travel (which was A LOT to convince our parents to have our wedidng down there). We decided on a gorgeous resort about a mile and a half off Disney property (one of the things my parents didn't like was that your guests can be spread throughout the different Disney hotels, and they didn't want that). So, we compromised a bunch of things (we had to sing they are footing the bill) and now they are just about as excited for our wedding as we are!

So we found our venue to be much more flexible in customizing things for us, the pool is HUGE, gold and spa on site, etc, and we didn't find there were as many "rules" as Disney. Of course this is probably going to end up costing more, it just fit better. Not that there's anything wrong with Disney--because there's not, I love it, it just wasn't for us. I was actually (and still kind of am) a little disappointed by it, because I did want a true "Disney" wedding.

We weren't sure about having our reception in a ballroom, but we ended up liking it. The ceremony is going to be outside, and it's just beautiful.

We are going to have our rehearsal dinner at Disney, give our bridal party theme park tickets, disney-themed welcome bags, probably doing disney favors, etc...so there will still be tons of Disney.

Good luck in general and talking with the parents, I know how hard that is!!!

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

Coming from a big Italian family I know how you feel but I still cut out people and only have 33

I don't know about pricing but there are girls on here who have had big weddings.

You can get married and have your reception in Italy in Epcot!!! I wanted to do that but I don't have enough people

I am sure someone will come along with pricing for you. One thing to think about to is that if you give Disney a budget they will stay within the budget for you the best that they can.

 

[roseviolet]

We are having a big wedding by Disney standards. We invited 175 and we are hoping for just about 100 to actually come. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we don't go much higher than that. We have guests traveling from all over the country as well as Europe and Puerto Rico. Our wedding is on a Sunday in November and the minimum is $20,000. We are determined to stick as close to that as possible. And so far we are doing pretty well. We are about $1500 over but we are waiting to cut out more until we have a more accurate guest count. Oh and our reception is at the Atlantic Dance Hall at the Boardwalk. You may want to check that out and the American Adventure Rotunda. I hope that helps a little. If you have any other questions I'll be glad to help out.

 

[lurkyloo]

You can book theme park locations, Atlantic Dance Hall and Ariel's 12 months out. All other locations you have to wait until 8 months out to book.

But, as beachprincess23 said, there is NO waiting list to have a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding. If you called them up and said you wanted to have one next month, they could do it for you!

 

[DisWishes720]

I'm definitely not the best person to answer your questions (or probably not even a good person to answer them at that), but first off...Congrats!

Second, when we looked into having our wedding on Disney property, there was no wait at all, but you can't book more than a year in advance, or 8 months if it's in an actual park, I think...someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong, but that's what they told me.

Third, I just wanted to give you somthing else to look into if you end up not being happy with what you find out (when someone can really answer your questions, LOL).
After speaking with Disney we ended up not going with them. We absolutely LOVE Disney, and like you are inviting about 200 guests. We live in NY, so everyone will have to travel (which was A LOT to convince our parents to have our wedidng down there). We decided on a gorgeous resort about a mile and a half off Disney property (one of the things my parents didn't like was that your guests can be spread throughout the different Disney hotels, and they didn't want that). So, we compromised a bunch of things (we had to sing they are footing the bill) and now they are just about as excited for our wedding as we are!

So we found our venue to be much more flexible in customizing things for us, the pool is HUGE, gold and spa on site, etc, and we didn't find there were as many "rules" as Disney. Of course this is probably going to end up costing more, it just fit better. Not that there's anything wrong with Disney--because there's not, I love it, it just wasn't for us. I was actually (and still kind of am) a little disappointed by it, because I did want a true "Disney" wedding.

We weren't sure about having our reception in a ballroom, but we ended up liking it. The ceremony is going to be outside, and it's just beautiful.

We are going to have our rehearsal dinner at Disney, give our bridal party theme park tickets, disney-themed welcome bags, probably doing disney favors, etc...so there will still be tons of Disney.

Good luck in general and talking with the parents, I know how hard that is!!!

Thank you all so much for your help!!

I have always loved the Atlantic Dance hall but i heard a rumor that they only hold events until 11pm, is this true? I also heard that you have to require a minimum number of nights at a Disney Resort. Do your guests recieve small discounts at these resorts?

It seems like I may be able to do this in our budget but it will most likely still take some convincing.

Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated! I love the idea of having a wedding at a hotel outside of Disney and the rehersal dinner in Disney, it's so creative!

Beachprincess...i noticed you're around my age (my DBF and I are 23). Have you been getting the "wow you're too young" looks from people yet?

 

[beachprincess23]

Thank you all so much for your help!!

I have always loved the Atlantic Dance hall but i heard a rumor that they only hold events until 11pm, is this true? I also heard that you have to require a minimum number of nights at a Disney Resort. Do your guests recieve small discounts at these resorts?

It seems like I may be able to do this in our budget but it will most likely still take some convincing.

Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated! I love the idea of having a wedding at a hotel outside of Disney and the rehersal dinner in Disney, it's so creative!

Beachprincess...i noticed you're around my age (my DBF and I are 23). Have you been getting the "wow you're too young" looks from people yet?

When you talk to your parents: don't get upset if they hate the idea at first. We are having our wedding at the Marriott right outside of Disney, and my parents own a timeshare through them...they were like 'it's a vacation spot, not a wedding spot.' We've been cruising the past few years and loving it, so my mom was like 'if you want a vacation-like destination wedding, lets book a cruise.' I was like 'uhh, no.'

We eventually compromised. The whole time we were very calm and open to suggestions (even though I wanted to scream inside). I actually went home and cried because I thought my parents would be thrilled about Orlando, and they weren't. I mean we've been vacationing there since I was TINY, so it's really special. We've had some of the best family times there. I really thought they were going to be "what a great idea."

My dad was the first to come around: he was like 'if we do it in January, it will be cold up here and warm down there--people will love it." I was like YES-done, we can do a January date. So, they eventually came around and are now very excited, my mom's even planning a breakfast the following day at one of the restaurants there.

Just be patient and give them time if they don't immediately see things your way. They'll eventually see how badly you want it, and then they'll be happy because you're happy and it's your special day.

And yes, I'm 23, and I get the "you can't be more than 16" thing ALL the time. LOL. Then, people realize how old I really am and are like, 'wow you don't look it, but when you're older you'll really enjoy looking younger.' My poor fiance is going to be 31 at the end of this month, and he looks no older than 18 (if you click my planning blog you can see his picture). We'll go see a movie and he gets carded because it's "R." Then I realize for me, it could be worse. LOL.

 

[lurkyloo]

I have always loved the Atlantic Dance hall but i heard a rumor that they only hold events until 11pm, is this true?

I've never heard of that restriction, but maybe someone who had/is having a reception there will come along and clarify.

I also heard that you have to require a minimum number of nights at a Disney Resort. Do your guests recieve small discounts at these resorts?

The number of nights you have to guarantee depends on the number of guests:

1-40 guests: 25 or more room nights
41-75 guests: 50 or more room nights
76 or more guests: 75 or more room nights

However, if there are extenuating circumstances (like all your guests own timeshares or live in Orlando or whatever), you may be able to reduce the number of nights you have to guarantee and just forfeit the free night they give the bride and groom.

The discounts are 30% at all Deluxe hotels except the Polynesian, which is 15%; just under 15% at Moderates, and about 7% at Values.

 

[Donald'sGirl]

I did read somewhere that they charge you an extra $400 an hour for extra hours onto your reception but I don't know if that is specific to certain locations or if it is for anyone. I would call Disney and ask.

 

[ToniDMB]

Welcome to the board and congratulations!

Here's what I can tell you about Atlantic Dance Hall (which I have looked into because DF and I are also into the unique venue and are anti-ballroom), if you have your reception on a Tuesday-Saturday you have to be out of the hall by 8:30 because it is under contract to be open to the public, but can be rented out much later on a Sunday and Monday. Just how late, I'm not sure. I hope this helps. It doesn't hurt to call DFTW group, they have been excellent at answering all of my questions and they even sent me a very useful information packet (but as always-it's missing a lot of the useful information!).

Hope this helps you and good luck!