Is a WDW wedding in the cards for us? Help!

[aristocatz]

Hi everyone!

MY DF & I have been engaged for a little while, but slow on the planning due to a slump in our finances I've been searching through all of your lovely planning journals & I'm hoping you guys might be able to share some of your expertise with me

We are determined to have a WDW wedding, but I am feeling like this might not be possible on a $5000 budget

We are looking into either a WDW Escape wedding or a Swan/Dolphin wedding. Budget should include: ceremony site, rabbi who will perform an interfaith ceremony with some Jewish tradition mixed in, music, cake, champagne, bouquet, some sort of chupah/arch to stand under.

We are not interested in video, but do want a small photo package (maybe 2 hours worth)

My mom has graciously agreed to pay for my dress & a lunch reception. We are saving separately for airfare/hotel/dining fees.

We are looking to have about 20 guests (including 2 small children) & shooting for December 2010.

Any ideas on a package? We don't need anything fancy, but I would like to be somewhere on WDW grounds, whether it's at a WDW resort, in a park, Boardwalk.....only area I really don't like is the Downtown Disney area.

So, my main question is: is it possible to get married at WDW on a $5000 budget (for the above items I mentioned)? Or should I give up my dream & start branching out elsewhere?

Thank you & I look forward to hearing from you!

 

[Wish on a Star]

I know that Swan and Dolphin is cheaper than an Escape wedding, but I dont know the specifics. I am a BUDGET BRIDE getting married at Sea Breeze Point.

Here are some ways that I am keeping my costs down-

I am getting married at 12 on a Thursday. (So my reception will have lunch prices rather than dinner prices)

I am not decorating SBP- it's beautiful enough as it is.

I am using Randy Chapman and only paying for the picture CD- no prints (I will print them myself when I get home ... and probably use coupons to do that too!)

We are staying in a 2Bdroom at OKW so our "Welcome Dinner" is going to be dessert, wine and coffee in our room the night before we get married (desserts will be purchased at a grocery store- not through Disney to cut costs)

I am not able to afford a fancy dessert party the night we get married- but I am planning on a romantic dinner for just me and my DF the night we get married (our only real splurge)

 

[Bride-to-be]

Don't ever ever ever give up on your dreams!!! With that said just keep in mind that there are ways to have disney weddings without going through the wedding department.

Have you asked the wedding department what the available options are?

 

[Keira1387]

With that said just keep in mind that there are ways to have disney weddings without going through the wedding department.
Have you asked the wedding department what the available options are?

This is incorrect! Getting married at Disney without going through the wedding department is not allowed. If you are caught, they will stop you.


That being said, you could do a escape wedding for about $4,500. The only problem, is that there is a max of 18 guest including children. One possible suggestion would be to hire a Disney babysitter for the two younger ones. I also know that the Swan does have some cheaper options too.

 

[aristocatz]

Thanks guys!!

Wish on a Star: Those are some great tips-thank you!!
We looked into Randy Chapman, as a recommendation from a coworker who married at WDW. She highly recommended him. We looked at the prices on his website & they seemed a bit steep & we couldn't find a package that was less than 6 hours (we really only want about 2 hours). I also didn't know you can just order a photo CD-that might cut down on $$ alot! Maybe I'll look into him again!

Bride-to-be: Thank you for your confidence! I have dreamed of getting married at WDW since I was a little girl. We had our heart set on getting married this year, but my DF got laid off & has been out of work for the past 5 months, so our planning has downsized a bit

Kendra: Love your photos in your siggy! We definitely want to do a package-no sneaking around & most importantly we will need a planner since we both have zero clue about planning a wedding!

$4500 seems reasonable, but I really do want the little ones to be there. It's my future brother/sister in law's daughter & my BFF's son. I was hoping the little ones wouldn't count in the guest size....we are looking into the Swan/Dolphin option, but I cannot find prices or package descriptions anywhere.

 

[Keira1387]

Thanks! DO you think that everyone on your list will be able to make it? I know Disney is very strict on the 18 people, 20 counting bride and goom. Here is a little information on the Swan. I know a few ladies on here have had S&D weddings that have been beautiful. Let me see what I can find.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1055624

 

[pinkcow]

Buena Vista Palace in Downtown Disney seems very resonable. Another option for DFTW is Disney Cruise Line.

Both might be worth looking into.

 

[Keira1387]

Lisa (XmasPixie) had a Swan adnd Dolphin wedding

Here is a link to her PJ:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1874326

ETA: You could also try shades of green. It's a military resort across the street from the Poly. They seem to be really afordable. I don't have alot of info, but here are some pictures:
http://www.tazfoto.com/webhtml/sog.htm

 

[aristocatz]

Buena Vista Palace in Downtown Disney seems very resonable. Another option for DFTW is Disney Cruise Line.

Both might be worth looking into.

My friend suggested the Disney cruise because it's supposed to be way cheaper, but we are not fans of cruises & I want to be WDW.

I just told my DF about Buena Vista Palace & he said we should gather info on it just to check out all of our options. I'll have to google his place. Does it have that Disney "feel" though? What I really like about the Swan/Dolphin is it's on the Boardwalk, so it's still on Disney property in my eyes

Thanks girls! Keep the suggestions coming!!

 

[lastminutemom]

Do you have to have the little ones there for the ceremony or would you be satisfied with having them there for the celebration before and after? Disney has cool Kids Care clubs or there is in room babysitting available as well. This way you don't have to count them as part of your total.

 

[aristocatz]

Thanks! DO you think that everyone on your list will be able to make it? I know Disney is very strict on the 18 people, 20 counting bride and goom. Here is a little information on the Swan. I know a few ladies on here have had S&D weddings that have been beautiful. Let me see what I can find.

Kendra:

You are amazing-thank you for that link!! It's just what I was looking for!! I was looking for a planning journal for the Swan/Dolphin but couldn't find a thing-on here or just by googling. It looks like a lovely place-is there a reason why it's not popular?

I'm not sure if everyone will make it on our guest list, but I think most will. Let me just do a quick mental recount......actually, it's 17 guests with the two little ones!! So 19 guests including DF & myself.

 

[aristocatz]

Do you have to have the little ones there for the ceremony or would you be satisfied with having them there for the celebration before and after? Disney has cool Kids Care clubs or there is in room babysitting available as well. This way you don't have to count them as part of your total.

Good idea-I'd have to run it by the parents but they are both very paranoid about leaving their little ones. I'd love for the little ones to be there but if it absolutely won't be allowed, I know the parents would try to make arrangements. Only thing is-these little ones will be about 2 years old. Will WDW accomodate that? I just asked DF and he doe not think his bro/SIL would be keen on leaving their daughter with a sitter.

 

[Keira1387]

It's no problem! Everyone on this board is so helpful! Well, now that you are counting 17 guest I figured I would post more about the escape weddings. Here is what you get for $4,500

Elegantly simple ceremonies on Monday through Fridays at 10:00 am, 12:00, 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm (except for Disney's Wedding Pavilion, which is only available Monday through Thursday)

A fresh floral bouquet for the bride and a fresh flower boutonniere for the groom.

An elegant two tiered wedding cake with keepsake cake topper and one bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee for your champagne toast. (Approximately 6 glasses per bottle.)

A Violinist for your ceremony and reception.

A four (4) consecutive hour limousine charter for transportation on your wedding day for you and your guests.

A professional Disney Photographer to capture your ceremony and reception.
Up to two (2) hours of photography coverage which includes an album of twenty (20) images chosen by you. Along with the album Disney will also provide you with a contact sheet of all the images taken during your event.

A personalized wedding website.

Two (2) Walt Disney World® Annual Passes for the bride and groom (beginning January 1, 2008)

Online planning kit

Additionally, you may choose to add special features to enhance your wedding celebration.

* Disney's Escape Weddings packages require a minimum of a four night stay at an owned and operated Walt Disney World Resort. For additional guests, up to 18 maximum additional elements are at an additional cost (note: some ceremony locations have a maximum occupancy of 10 guests.)

 

[aristocatz]

Lisa (XmasPixie) had a Swan adnd Dolphin wedding

Here is a link to her PJ:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1874326

ETA: You could also try shades of green. It's a military resort across the street from the Poly. They seem to be really afordable. I don't have alot of info, but here are some pictures:
http://www.tazfoto.com/webhtml/sog.htm

Thanks! I will check out Lisa's PJ

DF will likely not be keen on Shades of Green I'm sure it's lovely but his estranged dad is in the military & they don't get along & DF & his brother & sister are very anti-anything with miliary decor. Sorry, I know that was TMI but I know he would be anxious being in an environment with anything military related-just bad vibes for him...

 

[aristocatz]

It's no problem! Everyone on this board is so helpful! Well, now that you are counting 17 guest I figured I would post more about the escape weddings. Here is what you get for $4,500

Elegantly simple ceremonies on Monday through Fridays at 10:00 am, 12:00, 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm (except for Disney's Wedding Pavilion, which is only available Monday through Thursday)

A fresh floral bouquet for the bride and a fresh flower boutonniere for the groom.

An elegant two tiered wedding cake with keepsake cake topper and one bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee for your champagne toast. (Approximately 6 glasses per bottle.)

A Violinist for your ceremony and reception.

A four (4) consecutive hour limousine charter for transportation on your wedding day for you and your guests.

A professional Disney Photographer to capture your ceremony and reception.
Up to two (2) hours of photography coverage which includes an album of twenty (20) images chosen by you. Along with the album Disney will also provide you with a contact sheet of all the images taken during your event.

A personalized wedding website.

Two (2) Walt Disney World® Annual Passes for the bride and groom (beginning January 1, 2008)

Online planning kit

Additionally, you may choose to add special features to enhance your wedding celebration.

* Disney's Escape Weddings packages require a minimum of a four night stay at an owned and operated Walt Disney World Resort. For additional guests, up to 18 maximum additional elements are at an additional cost (note: some ceremony locations have a maximum occupancy of 10 guests.)

The Escape package comes with annual passes???? I did not know this! Is this a new thing? That's awesome!!!

Do you have to use their own photographer? We were looking into an outside vendor that my co-worker suggested named Randy Chapman.....although if we can't afford him, we would end up using who they gave us.

If we went with Randy Chapman, would the Escape package be a little cheaper?

Also, where are the locations? Are they in the parks or at the hotels? I think it would be fun to get married somewhere on the Boardwalk or in Epcot.

Thanks Kendra-you are a doll!!

 

[Bride-to-be]

This is incorrect! Getting married at Disney without going through the wedding department is not allowed. If you are caught, they will stop you.

As far as I know you have to go through disney but I think there are ways to get around it without using the wedding department and paying their fees. In the beginning when I was looking at a WDW wedding I read that it was cheaper if you coordinated everything on your own without using the wedding department. I will try to look around and see if I can still find that article.

Ok here is one article about disney weddings - "Consider foregoing the coordinator if you are having a small wedding and plan to manage the details on your own. Realize that this can be challenging to handle from out of state, but could save you a lot of money."

That came from http://www.ehow.com/how_7198_have-disney-world.html

 

[MegKate]

Kendra is still right.

Look at step four - "Understand that the price for an intimate Disney wedding for two begins at $3,000 and includes resort accommodations, a ceremony and admission to the attractions. Destination weddings for up to 20 guests begin at $8,000, and customized weddings that include as many guests as you would like average $19,000 to $25,000."

That pricing is years ago. The article is unfortunately outdated. The wording of custom and intimate was done away with. If you do a Disney wedding you have to have the coordinator to my knowledge.

 

[Bride-to-be]

I think its worth calling disney and asking about it. The only reason why I think it is worth it is because when we were on the grand 1 yacht, last October, our butler was telling us about a wedding they had on there a few weeks before and how much cheaper it was than doing a disney wedding through the wedding department.

My dad also had asked about it at one point a while back and he went through guest relations. Thats probably who I would call to ask.

 

[Keira1387]

The Escape package comes with annual passes???? I did not know this! Is this a new thing? That's awesome!!!
Yes, they come with annual passes! That alone would cost about $900 dollars.

Do you have to use their own photographer? We were looking into an outside vendor that my co-worker suggested named Randy Chapman.....although if we can't afford him, we would end up using who they gave us.

We used Randy for our wedding. We loved him. I can't say enough great things about him. This is his cheapest package which is perfect for an escape wedding:
Package #1 $575.00
Up to 3 hours coverage, approximately 400 or more photos in preview album
1-11x14 (may exchange for 2-8x10’s)
Master DVD containing all photos aprx 800 plus B/W
Also will have them displayed online at your request,
Package #1 Just DVD only with all images no prints $450.00
If we went with Randy Chapman, would the Escape package be a little cheaper?
No it wouldn't

Also, where are the locations? Are they in the parks or at the hotels? I think it would be fun to get married somewhere on the Boardwalk or in Epcot.

Here is a link to pictures of sea breeze point. It's right on the boardwalk.
http://www.tazfoto.com/webhtml/seabreeze.htm
Thanks Kendra-you are a doll!!

Anytime! Your answers are in bold.

 

[Wish on a Star]

As Kendra showed from above- we are doing the DVD only for 450

But i wanted to mention that there is a new- unadvertised special where instead of getting the package that comes with an Escape you can skip the book and pay an extra 350 for the CD only package/