Is it possible? HELP!

[Kimberly815]

Do you think it is possible to plan a intimate wedding for early February?

Here is the thing: We were planning to get married on the Gulf Coast of FL in November 2006. About 50 people, on the beach, followed by a nice dinner reception (no dj/dancing/ect, mainly just the meal). I just found out yesterday, that we cannot have the wedding on the date we want, and if we want to do it at all, the restaurant will make us have dinner in a tent, not the actual dining area. PLUS, I would have to pay for the tent, table and chair rentals! To say that I was 'disappointed' would be a MAJOR understatement.
Well, after spending the night in misery, we came upon the idea of cutting back the guest list dramatically, moving up the wedding date and having a Disney Intimate Wedding in early February.
Is it possible to plan for a wedding in only a few months?
Am I asking too much of my guests to be able to pay for a trip like that so soon?
About how much should I expect to pay for my intimate wedding (assuming I bring pretty much the entire 20 people they allow for)?
Will I be disappointed with my choice?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!!

 

[gradtchr]

Well, after spending the night in misery, we came upon the idea of cutting back the guest list dramatically, moving up the wedding date and having a Disney Intimate Wedding in early February.
Is it possible to plan for a wedding in only a few months? Yes it is.
Am I asking too much of my guests to be able to pay for a trip like that so soon? Depends on your guests
About how much should I expect to pay for my intimate wedding (assuming I bring pretty much the entire 20 people they allow for)? Dependson if you do a dinner reception after. I believe the rates since my wedding have gone up but still affordable IMO
Will I be disappointed with my choice? Depends on you, is Disney a dream for you or is it merely a back up. I personally would not be disappointed (that's why I chose to get married there) I absolutely adored my wedding, the planning, and the excitement leading up to it and looking back would not have changed a thing.

 

[christineangel]

As far as costs go, the intimate packages start around 3200 and intimate brides usually have a dinner afterwards and that will add several hundred to the costs depending on where you decide to go. As far as asking your guests to travel there on short notice, I'm assuming that only those closest to you will be going and will understand, but you may have to be willing to help out with expenses if there is someone you really want to be there but is having trouble making it happen. We had an intimate wedding (back when it was only 8 guests- glad they have changed that now) and I was surprised how easy it was to plan and afford. I think we ended up upgrading pretty much every part of the package and the final cost of the wedding (including dress, rings, and license) was just under 10k, I think 8 of that went to Disney. You mentioned disappointment...well Disney wasn't actually my first plan for a wedding and i changed a lot of things i had envisioned for my wedding when we went with Disney, but i wouldn't have changed a thing. i love telling people i got married at disney world- you should see their eyes light up! BUt you should also be prepared to defend your choice because not everyone "gets it" and there are the usual jokes..."Is goofy your best man? hahaha" (rolls eyes). If you decide to get married at disney make sure you read these boards as I learned a lot of stuff from them!

 

[jezebella]

I paid $25K for a disney wedding with 35 ppl. But, we paid for most of the rooms, had major domo there, and a full stocked open bar reception at the california grill. It can be done on any budget though.

 

[Kimberly815]

This is great. Thanks for all the info. And the support.

We origionally talked about doing an intimate wedding. But opted for the beach theme because it gave us more flexibility on the number of guests for much less money. But now that our dream location is not going to work out, I don't know that it is worth it.

We probably wouldn't upgrade much on the package. But we would have the 20 guests, concisting of our parents and siblings and closest friends. I would want to have dinner with my guests after (and foot the bill if at all possible).

Would it be safe to say that I could do this for around $5000 or so?
Do any of my guests need to stay onsite? Or will me staying onsite be enough?

 

[gradtchr]

For an intimate ceremony 5000 should be enough for the wedding. Only you have to stay onsite (I think they require 4 nights)

My budget breakdown as I recall not including my 8 night stay and package or our wedding attire this is strictly wedding

Intimate Add On-2350
Photography: 1000 (we hired an outside photographer and were thrilled with our choice)
Cake: we used what was in the package
Floral: $20 for a presentation rose for my mom my bouquet we used the package
Officiant: package (and loved him)
Transportation: We stayed at the Poly where we got married so our guests found their own way over and we used the package limo for our trip to the airport
Dinner: My dad paid for this but we did O'Hanas and I think the cost was 450
Wishes Cruise: 400
Cosmetology: Approx 150

 

[twojo21]

yes you can easily plan a february intimate wedding & im sure you can do the intimate for $5k, others have.

as for your guests, just be willing to help them plan, unless your guests are seasoned vacationers they may be confused with it all. early february is value season at wdw so that means $70/a night or so for the value resorts & its cheaper to fly than more busy seasons like march/april, summer & christmas, so hopefully that will help. although your guests staying at wdw is fun & convinient its not necessary for your guests to stay onsite with an intimate wedding.

as for your beach theme look at the polynesian resort's sunset point for the ceremony & maybe do a reception meal at ohana's, a polynesian family style buffet for dinner which is like $20/adult or book ariel's a private venue at the beach club with blue, seaside decor & a large aquarium, the lunchtime minimum pp is $25.

best of luck with your plans!

 

[christineangel]

To save money you might want to book an add on and then stay at one of the value resorts- otherwise you are paying for a moderate. However you might want to pay more for a photography upgrade or an outside photographer- no one has been really impressed with the Disney intimate photography package. I reccommend Randy Chapman- up to three hours of photography, all proofs, plus a high res cd with all the copyrights for about $575

 

[MApigletfan]

You have plenty of time to book and intimate wedding, I booked mine in mid June for a November 1st wedding. We upgraded a few things and added on a few but the total for our intimate wedding plus gown, tuxes, etc... will be around $6,000 or $7,000. You can still go with a beach theme too, the Poly for a ceremony site, see if you can have some shells put in your bouquet, some beach themed favors, I've even seen pictures of a wedding done at the Poly where everyone was given a flower lei. You can do this no problem!

 

[Kimberly815]

Thanks so much for all the help. My finance and I are really excited about this! All of this info is great! You guys are the best!

 

[gradtchr]

I am speaking for myself only but I love hearing about plans so please come back and share more when you decide no matter what you decide.

 

[J and R's mom]

Congrats on your wedding and sorry to hear about your disappointment with your first choice; HOWEVER, I think you will really love your Disney Wedding. Here's a website for you incase you haven't been on it yet.

http://www.disneyweddings.go.com/site/gate/index.jsp

Keep us posted on your decision and wedding date.