Need Escape Vow Renewal Advice

[Hummertech]

Hello everyone, my wife and I will be celebrating out 10yr anniversary in Sept of 08. We had already decided on taking a week long vacation at that time, and I would like to surprise her with a small ceremony to renew our vows while we are there. I've ready the Disneyweddings website, got literature from them, and explored other websites but I seem to get a lot of conflicting info. It would just be my wife and I, our children, and a few relatives. 10 people maximum most likely. I don't mind spending money to make this a very special moment for my wife, but 3000.00 to have a quick ceremony and small reception seems a bit pricey. Do you get discounts on the hotels if you book a vow renewal? What about park tickets? What about rooms for friends attending? What is the difference between a regular Disney ceremony and a Dolphin/Swan one? I think the Cinderella carriage would be something that my wife would love and always remember, but at 3,000.00 I want to make sure from someone who has used it that it is truly a value in person. If you get the carriage, do you still get the use of the limo for family?
Thank you in advice for any help.

 

[hiwaygal]

Hi hummer! Welcome to the DIS!

A surprise vow renewal would be an incredible gift!

I'll try to answer some of your questions:

Do you get discounts on the hotels if you book a vow renewal? You do not get a discount, but you can book your rooms using any discounts you can find (AAA, etc.).


What about park tickets? I believe (but am not positive) that the Escape Weddings (and Vow Renewals) now get AP's as a "special gift". So you would have those for you and your wife.

What about rooms for friends attending? Again, no discounts from Disney, but any other discounts you can find can be used.

What is the difference between a regular Disney ceremony and a Dolphin/Swan one? To be honest, I'm not sure...you might check out the thread above "Swan & Dolphin Weddings FAQs" and see if you can get any other information there (or try sending a Private Message to any of the folks who have posted there to maybe get a faster response).

I think the Cinderella carriage would be something that my wife would love and always remember, but at 3,000.00 I want to make sure from someone who has used it that it is truly a value in person. If you get the carriage, do you still get the use of the limo for family? As I understand it, the carriage would be in lieu of the limo, but I'm sure you could add the limo service to your package if you wanted. I did not have the carriage but some of the brides here say that it is DEFINITELY worth the cost, while some others feel that it's just out of their budget. For me, I just couldn't justify the cost and just having my wedding at Disney was magical enough for me. One of the options I am now wishing I HAD done was the Magic Kingdom photo shoot. You and your "bride" are escorted to MK for a private photo session before the park opens. The pictures I have seen of that are beautiful...and that is certainly a once in a lifetime experience as well!

I hope that helps and stick around, I'm sure others will have some more input for you as well!

 

[o0IrishEyes0o]

I think the Cinderella carriage would be something that my wife would love and always remember, but at 3,000.00 I want to make sure from someone who has used it that it is truly a value in person. If you get the carriage, do you still get the use of the limo for family?

I just thought I'd clear this up.

The Cinderella carriage is NOT in leiu of the limo. In fact, you can't ride very far in the carriage b/c it's a lot of weight for the 6 little ponies to pull. So it's a fairly short ride. We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge, so the limo is picking me up there and taking me to the Boardwalk resort. My carriage ride will be from the resort to the ceremony site.

If you do the Wedding pavilion, the carriage ride is from the Grand Floridian to the wedding pavilion.

The way my coordinator explained it to me was that you have the carriage for 90 minutes, but you are in it about 20. It is gorgeous though!!! (And unfortunately booked on my wedding day, so I am doing a landau coach).

Hope that helps some

 

[hiwaygal]

I just thought I'd clear this up.

The Cinderella carriage is NOT in leiu of the limo.

Thank you for that clarification!!

 

[dee slack]

It is gorgeous though!!! (And unfortunately booked on my wedding day, so I am doing a landau coach).

sorry to hijack this thread, but how far in advance did you try to get the carriage? Our VR is in Dec and I emailed our planner last week but haven't heard back yet. I never thought about reserving it until last week, now you've got me in a panic that someone's beat me to it already

 

[Hummertech]

So which wedding location do you think is the nicest? I haven't seen any of them in person. Do they all cost the same? Do you think I'll have any luck trying to negotiate any prices or getting any extras since this will be in the middle of the week in September?

 

[purplegirl247]

Disney doesn't negotiate their wedding prices, as far as I know. They're pretty well stuck in stone. I know for custom (or whatever they call them now; the bigger weddings), their minimums are less if they marry on a week day. However, I don't know if it matters for intimate (or whatever they call them now).

As for the locations, they're all beautiful in their own way. Some are restricted by the number of total guests allowed and others are restricted by the time of year (I'm thinking of the Polynesian one here; it's closed part of the year because there's no shade and it's very, very hot). I suggest you check out mouseweddings.com, a very good resouce and a nice starting point for specifics.

Good luck; it sounds like a great time!

 

[hiwaygal]

So which wedding location do you think is the nicest? I haven't seen any of them in person. Do they all cost the same? Do you think I'll have any luck trying to negotiate any prices or getting any extras since this will be in the middle of the week in September?

As purplegirl247 said there is no negotiation of prices with Disney. We were married on a Tuesday in mid/late September and didn't need all the amenities (in particular the limo service) but we were told there were no substitutions (with the exception of some photography services).

The only location that costs more is the Wedding Pavilion (at the Grand Floridian), all of the other locations are the same price. Sunset Point (at the Polynesian) is really the most strict on weather and size limitations. Sunrise Terrace (at Wilderness Lodge) is also really small and may have some size limitations. The others, Sea Breeze Point (at the Boardwalk Inn) and the Wedding Gazebo (at the Yacht Club) will accommodate both smaller or larger ceremonies. At the Gazebo, your guests are seated outside the gazebo itself, but at Sea Breeze Point your guests are seated in the structure (it's much bigger).

 

[o0IrishEyes0o]

sorry to hijack this thread, but how far in advance did you try to get the carriage? Our VR is in Dec and I emailed our planner last week but haven't heard back yet. I never thought about reserving it until last week, now you've got me in a panic that someone's beat me to it already

I tried about 5 months out.

The thing is the wedding planner has to contact the Cinderella Coach people and ask them if it's available. So it did take about 2 weeks for me to get an answer. But I did email at the 1 week mark, just to make sure she hadn't forgotten about me

 

[o0IrishEyes0o]

Thank you for that clarification!!

No problem

Also, if you are staying at a resort that the coach can meet you at (Yacht club, Boardwalk, Grand Floridian... and I think there is one more?) and you are doing the ceremony *at* that resort (so the Wedding Pavilion for the GF, Sea Breeze Point for the boardwalk, etc) then you don't have to use your limo to charter you anywhere... cos you are already there.

In THAT case, you can use the limo charter for something else... a night out on the town... or to pick you up from the airport. You just can't break it up like into smaller incriments... you only get 1 four hour charter.

 

[pilferk]

Not to hijack this thread, but I"m considering something similar for Sept '09. Will Disney (for a fee) go "off script" on the locations? There will only be 4 adults and 3 kids along for "the ride" but I'd really like to do this at the Arusha Overlook at AKL.

 

[hiwaygal]

Not to hijack this thread, but I"m considering something similar for Sept '09. Will Disney (for a fee) go "off script" on the locations? There will only be 4 adults and 3 kids along for "the ride" but I'd really like to do this at the Arusha Overlook at AKL.

Hmmm...interesting question. You would definitely have to talk at the folks at Disney to get a definite answer. But, there have been rumors for at least two years of Disney "adding" some ceremony locations at different resorts, AKL being one of them. So, IMO, it's not necessarily impossible and in fact may be an option.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Hmmm...interesting question. You would definitely have to talk at the folks at Disney to get a definite answer. But, there have been rumors for at least two years of Disney "adding" some ceremony locations at different resorts, AKL being one of them. So, IMO, it's not necessarily impossible and in fact may be an option.

They used to do weddings at AKL and they've stopped. The rumor I heard was that the smell was unpleasant, but I have no idea if that was the real reason or not. If you've ever watched the food network special on disney weddings, they show a rehearsal being done on a patio there.

 

[pilferk]

They used to do weddings at AKL and they've stopped. The rumor I heard was that the smell was unpleasant, but I have no idea if that was the real reason or not. If you've ever watched the food network special on disney weddings, they show a rehearsal being done on a patio there.

That "patio" is the Arusha overlook, and exactly what I'd like to "book". That, followed by a dinner in the private wine room at Jiko's.

 

[mr.mike]

Hello everyone, my wife and I will be celebrating out 10yr anniversary in Sept of 08. We had already decided on taking a week long vacation at that time, and I would like to surprise her with a small ceremony to renew our vows while we are there.

I had a suprise vow renewal for our 10th in 2005.
Be careful...i started small and was asking questions just like you are doing. Before it was over I decided to skip the intimate vow renewal and go all out with the ceremony, reception and dessert party.

I was torn a bit on the carriage. One reason was the price. it was $2500 2 years ago. Also if it rains when you are going to use and YOU cancel it you are still charged the full price. If DISNEy cancels it because of rain they you pay just a $500 "getting the horse and carriage ready" fee.

In the end it was worth it. Seeing the horses walk to side of the GF while we were still in the building and seeing my wifes face was priceless.

 

[dee slack]

I tried about 5 months out.

The thing is the wedding planner has to contact the Cinderella Coach people and ask them if it's available. So it did take about 2 weeks for me to get an answer. But I did email at the 1 week mark, just to make sure she hadn't forgotten about me

thanks for the reassurance - I'll lay off chasing her for a little while longer!