Memories “Reception” Ideas - Help

[Theactualdisneyprincess]

Hello all,

Never thought that I would be seriously considering this, but FH and I are considering elopement. We are considering doing a legal elopement and ceremony between the two of us in Disney World with a short honeymoon after and then doing a symbolic ceremony somewhere else (most likely Europe) and then honeymooning there afterwards. Most European countries that we like have very strict requirements for being legally wed, so we would need a ceremony in the US anyhow.

That being said, we have two vendors that we would REALLY want to work with in Disney for photo and video, and I would like to still have as much of an experience as possible with them getting photographs and video footage if we could (even though it will just be the two of us), do you guys have any recommendations for dining reservations that we could have where it is somewhat private, elegant, romantic and we can get away with wedding attire? We would also really like something with characters somehow because we would love those photos if we could get them. Any feedback on experiences for us after the ceremony would be very appreciated.

 

[lurkyloo]

You can wear your wedding attire anywhere on Disney property except inside the theme parks, and even that really depends on the whims of the cast members at the gate. Any resort character meal would work, and they are a popular option with brides and grooms.

However, it's only the two of you and you want to have your actual dinner photographed/videoed, you might want to check out the Private Dining experience at the Grand Floridian: https://disneytravelbabble.com/how-to/private-party/

Here's a great trip report of one: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2094394

I also have a Disney Wedding Podcast episode all about it here: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/how-to-plan-a-private-dinner-at-the-grand-floridian/

 

[Theactualdisneyprincess]

Thank you for the resources. I took a brief look at those and the balcony looks like a good idea. It would be technically for the two of us, but we would like to have a small table for our photographer and videographers as well. I am interested to see on if they are flexible with timing as well. In a perfect world, I would be able to squeeze an earlier dinner in (looking at 3pm Memories ceremony) and head over to a very small dessert party at UK pubside if we can.

Would we be better off trying to tie in an earlier dinner/dessert party tied in together at UK Pubside and possibly pay for extra hours. The food/bev minimums looked reasonable, but we weren’t sure if we could get away with using this venue if we at least didn’t have an Escape package wedding. I also wonder if they will still allow our wedding attire, wedding cake, and dinner items at the UK location.

Any tips or recommendations?

 

[lurkyloo]

You can definitely add a dessert party at Epcot to the Memories package via your wedding planner, and you can definitely extend the time and serve savory food so that it takes the place of dinner, but there are some minimum expenditures involved: I break them all down here... https://fairytaleweddingsguide.com/dessert-party-how-to/

UK Pubside would actually be a lot easier for you to get than UK Lochside or some of the other popular ones because it only has a 10-person max. So it's perfect for Memories groups. And because you are planning via your DFTW contact, you can wear wedding attire and work with them to have a cake delivered to the venue.

This episode talks about planning a Memories event, including adding a private party : https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/memories-collection-overview-faq-2019/