has anyone had a SMALL wedding?

[collegejunkie]

i mean very small. bride, groom, 2 siblings, and one parent. a tiny total of 5 including the couple. if so, how did you handle this? what package did you book (memories, escape, wishes)?

are you able to add on or pay extra for all the fancier things like cinderella's coach, ceremony in a park, etc? can you bring things that you want from outside vendors for any part of the wedding (meaning, photo/video, cake, favors, etc)?

sorry, i'm a newbie! and not going to be married for a while, but we need to start saving for things like our dream wedding, house, etc, so i want to know how much we should be allotting to our wedding account. thanks in advance

 

[gemmybear83]

I think its worth just trying to work out what you want and what the best package is for you.

There was only 12 of us, and we added a private reception and dessert party to our escape wedding and we were still way under the Wishes minimum so it made no sense for us to upgrade, but for others it does - I think if you add characters, carriage etc it instantly puts the cost up considerably.

 

[TheBearrs]

If I were you, I'd probably do an Escape and add on elements such as a dessert party, a dinner reception (planned by you, not Disney), hire an outside photographer, etc. Just little things to make it feel more special.

 

[geek+nerd]

Just be aware that by adding on a catered event the day of your wedding (whether it's a meal or a dessert party) you will trigger a minimum expenditure. For Escape weddings, it's $7500. Now, depending on what you are going to add on, you might not have a problem meeting that minimum.

 

[collegejunkie]

can i book the cheapest package possible and then just do all the add-ons/extras? or does wanting the ceremony to be in a park automatically bump me up into the wishes category?

ideally, it'd be something like this:
- cinderella's coach
- mickey and minnie at some point
- MK and maybe another park photo shoot
- dessert party
- there will be dinner, but maybe it's better to just make normal ADRs since it'd be so small? otherwise, i'd probably want it to be CRT or something cute like that. can i bring my wedding cake?

i don't really care about flowers or decorations. those things, to me, can be had at any other party or celebration in my life, whereas i can't always ride in cinderella's carriage or have mickey and minnie dance with me and my group alone.

 

[geek+nerd]

Memories and Escape weddings are held at only a few locations. My suggestion is to check out the DFTW site if you haven't already and download the Passporters ebook for Disney weddings; it's inexpensive and will answer most of your questions

 

[showbizbird]

what's the passporters ebook? is this something only available on the disney weddings website in the states as i'm in the UK and i dont remember seeing it.....

 

[KristiLyn]

If i were you I would do the escape. We were going to do that package but ended up having too many people going. You can just add on the other elements. Book a dessert party, etc.

 

[geek+nerd]

Sorry! I see how my wording is confusing. The ebook is not through Disney, but through Passporters, a travel book company. Just google it nad you'll find it. It's written by Carrie (lurkyloo here on the boards). Trust me: it's your best resource.

 

[collegejunkie]

what should i plan for, money-wise? including hotels/flights? i was thinking around $20,000 - $30,000. i would hate to go above that, would love to stay under. does that sound safe?

edit: more detail would probably help. hopefully it would be in early or mid december. we'd all be flying from NY, hopefully staying in a deluxe for 10 - 14 nights. or DVC 2 bedroom villa, but 2 rooms makes more sense if it's a wedding. so the things i listed above plus this.

 

[girli565]

The Escape package does havethe option of one in-park site, it's in Epcot Canada pavilion. For your situation I'd choose an escape package and add on the elements you want like a reception or dessert party and spend just the Escape price plus the extra $2500 minimum adding a private event triggers (it's $7500 but that's including the escape package price).

$7500 would be a very nice wedding for 5-6 people. You could have a lot of add ons and have a lovely wedding. I'd say you'd need $10,000 for just the wedding elements including dress, tux and accessories. Then add on what a normal wdw vacation would cost you.

 

[Scrap_Vamp]

We had 6 adults and 2 children for our wedding, including bride and groom. It was wonderful to be such a small gathering!

We had an Escape wedding at Sea Breeze Point, then booked a table at the California Grill for dinner (earliest seating), and followed this with a fireworks cruise for myself, DH, my brother (best man) and SIL (MOH).

Aside from the package we just booked the other bits ourselves.

 

[collegejunkie]

We had 6 adults and 2 children for our wedding, including bride and groom. It was wonderful to be such a small gathering!

We had an Escape wedding at Sea Breeze Point, then booked a table at the California Grill for dinner (earliest seating), and followed this with a fireworks cruise for myself, DH, my brother (best man) and SIL (MOH).

Aside from the package we just booked the other bits ourselves.

that sounds a lot like what i'd want to do! so all of the things i can avoid booking through dftw i should do myself? but then the things that i have to do through them, i guess i just have to deal with. you just made regular ADRs and whatnot?

 

[Chilly]

You wouldn't be able to go to CRT in your wedding dress. You cannot wear your dress in the parks unless its something booked through DFTW.

 

[collegejunkie]

You wouldn't be able to go to CRT in your wedding dress. You cannot wear your dress in the parks unless its something booked through DFTW.

darn, what about to restaurants in resorts? there was a thread on here recently that mentioned some went with their party after the ceremony in their wedding attire to restaurants.

 

[geek+nerd]

darn, what about to restaurants in resorts? there was a thread on here recently that mentioned some went with their party after the ceremony in their wedding attire to restaurants.

I really recommend that you download the Passporters Disney Weddings and Honeymoons ebook. It's very inexpensive and has the answer to a lot of your questions.

You can wear your wedding attire anywhere at any of the resorts without a problem.

 

[ml05ries]

Is it possible to be married on Disney property without an actual Escape package? Like just a small ceremony and thats it????

 

[serenita05]

My friend had a great wedding there .

 

[Nikisha421]

Is it possible to be married on Disney property without an actual Escape package? Like just a small ceremony and thats it????

yes you could have the Memories Package...even smaller than the Escape

 

[Scrap_Vamp]

that sounds a lot like what i'd want to do! so all of the things i can avoid booking through dftw i should do myself? but then the things that i have to do through them, i guess i just have to deal with. you just made regular ADRs and whatnot?

Yes, we had an ADR at California Grill. It had to be early because we were classed as a large party, but that suited us because the kids were so young, and also because we wanted to do the fireworks cruise