Just got engaged! Now what?!!

[vitabella]

Hello everyone!

i'm very new to this process. My boyfriend proposed in May at WDW (finally!!). We have our hearts set on a WDW wedding on a 15K budget, but honestly have no idea where to start and if that's possible. So if anyone has any answers to the following questions we would GREATLY appreciate it
We are deciding between an Escape and Wishes wedding...


1. With an Escape wedding I understand only 18 people can go. There's the ceremony and cake and champagne following. Then we can make separate reservations for dinner. Do you think I can get away with the Escape and then plan something more like a reception for more then 20 people? We are really squeezing the 18 people and would like to invite everyone about 50 people. Is it tacky to invite people to a "sort of" reception at disney? Does anyone have any suggestions?

2. If we had a wishes wedding- any budget tips? Ceremony at the pavilion and dinner close by to save on transportation (but have no idea?) suggestions are welcomed!!

3. Best weekday to get married?

4. I understand the 75/100 a plate plus tax and tip. When I called the wedding consultant she said this DID NOT include soda!!! Which leads me to the open bar? She couldn't give me a figure on this. Has anyone done an open bar? Or at least Beer and Wine? How much should I expect to spend?

5. How do you set the date? I have a date in mind for next Sept. when I asked the lady you wouldn't be able to confirm the date until a year out... however I've been reading some threads and it looks like people already have there dates set for next Sept?

I'm sure I'll have a ton of more questions! So THANK YOU ALL in advance!!

I truly appreciate it!
Amanda

 

[Chilly]

Hello and Welcome!

Yes you can only have your date confirmed at a year out.

Wishes min spend is $10k and people have done it on this budget but that doesn't include flights, hotels, wedding dress, bridesmaid dress, hair and make up etc etc so it depends on what you are including in your $15k budget.

 

[Cosi Bella]

Hello and welcome!

Congratulations on getting engaged, that is so exciting!

To try and answer some of your questions:

1. I think people do try the Escape package for their ceremony and then do a larger dinner party, however I dont know that you can have a real "reception" without having the wishes wedding. I've heard of doing a "buy out" of a restaurant, and that would probably be a good idea for a party as large as 50. I'm not too familiar with the different restaurants and how many people you can have at dinner though, so I'm not sure which restaurnats around Disney allow you to do the buy out option.

2. For a wishes wedding, the best tips that I think people will tell you to help save money would be to actually not get married at the WP. It has a site rental fee of 2500, where as most other locations are around 1500. You could do Sea Breeze Pointe (SBP) ceremony and then a reception at the Boardwalk. That would save you some money right there. It is VERY possible to stay right at the 10K minimum for a wishes wedding, although it is a bit challenging. Two brides who recently got married did it, and you can find their planning journals and read how they did so: Lurkyloo and Hope1286. Other ways to cut down on costs are to have a low number in your Bridal party. Every girl = a bouquette, jewelry, hair and makeup (if you choose to provide that for your girls)... keep it simple if you can! Also, try having your event (reception) start before 2 pm. This will bring your food minimum down to 75 and that will save you money right there!

3. I think that for the most part, Monday through Thursday are all the same as far as getting married during the week... you might want to look into a Monday, to make it easier for guests who dont want to make a very long vacation out of this... But other then that, I am not sure that there is really an advantage or disadvantage to any day of the week. Just make sure its a Monday through Thursday to get that 10k minimum... once you hit the weekend, your minimum goes up, as you prob. already know!!

4. For the open bar, this can get really pricey! you can spend anywhere from 20$/p for an open bar package all the way up to over 40$/p for some of their higher packages... I forgot the actual numbers (their highest package can be even more pricey then that), but they send you a packet of info with sample prices in it! But how much do your guest drink? It might be worth doing a bill on consumption if you and your guests are not heavy drinkers. This could save you a lot of money. If you have a lot of drinkers, and want to have an open bar, you are probably going to have to choose a low package to save money.

5. Unfortunately, you can only tentatively hold your date at the one year mark. At that point disney will pencil you in. So those other brides are just patiently waiting for confirmation that they get their date, and are planning as usual until then.

I HTH!! GOod luck with your decision!

 

[vitabella]

Thank you both SOOO much for the advice! I really appreciate it! As I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future!

 

[inkedupmomma]

Hello and welcome!

Congratulations on getting engaged, that is so exciting!

To try and answer some of your questions:

1. I think people do try the Escape package for their ceremony and then do a larger dinner party, however I dont know that you can have a real "reception" without having the wishes wedding. I've heard of doing a "buy out" of a restaurant, and that would probably be a good idea for a party as large as 50. I'm not too familiar with the different restaurants and how many people you can have at dinner though, so I'm not sure which restaurnats around Disney allow you to do the buy out option.

2. For a wishes wedding, the best tips that I think people will tell you to help save money would be to actually not get married at the WP. It has a site rental fee of 2500, where as most other locations are around 1500. You could do Sea Breeze Pointe (SBP) ceremony and then a reception at the Boardwalk. That would save you some money right there. It is VERY possible to stay right at the 10K minimum for a wishes wedding, although it is a bit challenging. Two brides who recently got married did it, and you can find their planning journals and read how they did so: Lurkyloo and Hope1286. Other ways to cut down on costs are to have a low number in your Bridal party. Every girl = a bouquette, jewelry, hair and makeup (if you choose to provide that for your girls)... keep it simple if you can! Also, try having your event (reception) start before 2 pm. This will bring your food minimum down to 75 and that will save you money right there!

3. I think that for the most part, Monday through Thursday are all the same as far as getting married during the week... you might want to look into a Monday, to make it easier for guests who dont want to make a very long vacation out of this... But other then that, I am not sure that there is really an advantage or disadvantage to any day of the week. Just make sure its a Monday through Thursday to get that 10k minimum... once you hit the weekend, your minimum goes up, as you prob. already know!!

4. For the open bar, this can get really pricey! you can spend anywhere from 20$/p for an open bar package all the way up to over 40$/p for some of their higher packages... I forgot the actual numbers (their highest package can be even more pricey then that), but they send you a packet of info with sample prices in it! But how much do your guest drink? It might be worth doing a bill on consumption if you and your guests are not heavy drinkers. This could save you a lot of money. If you have a lot of drinkers, and want to have an open bar, you are probably going to have to choose a low package to save money.

5. Unfortunately, you can only tentatively hold your date at the one year mark. At that point disney will pencil you in. So those other brides are just patiently waiting for confirmation that they get their date, and are planning as usual until then.

I HTH!! GOod luck with your decision!

I would just like to add that if you do it before 2pm (and perhaps after as well, just not sure) the $75.00 per person can include drinks.. so it's $75.00 per combination of food/drink/dessert. I plan on meeting my miniumum with a low cost lunch,drinks,cake and dessert party. All of that togther will equal well over $75.00 per person.

How open are you to doing a brunch as opposed to sit down lunch/dinner?? Join the sept forum that i started!!

Good luck.. i'm in the same boat as you as far as 15 k.. and thats including honeymoon with 2 kids i'm quite ceratin with the amount of pixie dust and wonderful info i've gotten from this board that my wedding will indeed happen!

 

[IndyBride]

Hi welcome to the boards! and Congratualtions on your engagement!!!