New to the wedding section.

[Maloy]

Hi all. I am glad to see this section in the DIS. The DW and I are celebrating our 20th on 06/18/2014. we originally had a VR planned for Hawaii, but we are now wanting a Disney VR. That way we could possibly have guests. Anyway I don't know where to start. Any help would be appreciated. This would be on a budget, so Id like to research myself before contacting a planner if possible. Any suggestions?

 

[MrsRomance]

Hi and welcome! My DH and I just had a Memories Collection VR with DFTW!

First, how many guests would you be looking at? Memories limits you to 4 guests, and Escape limits you to 18. Both of which have different pricing structures, so a good place to start would be to figure out how many guests, and then between all of the people here we can help you get started!

 

[sambycat]

welcome! not sure how far along you are in the planning process in terms of have you contacted DFTW? in the meantime, these boards are great for researching and getting ideas and i highly recommend the passporter’s wedding and honeymoon guide - the e version is up-dateable and it is going to give you all the facts you need!

 

[Maloy]

Thanks for the quick replies. After looking at the wedding website my mind is just full of questions. The most important one right now is; Has anyone, or can you, have your own private ceremony on property? IE like pay a nominal fee for a beach location? Kind of like an ala carte ceremony?
I was looking at the Memories collection. I have a family of 4, and have the possibility of 8 guests. Not positive if any guests will come.

 

[sambycat]

Thanks for the quick replies. After looking at the wedding website my mind is just full of questions. The most important one right now is; Has anyone, or can you, have your own private ceremony on property? IE like pay a nominal fee for a beach location? Kind of like an ala carte ceremony?
I was looking at the Memories collection. I have a family of 4, and have the possibility of 8 guests. Not positive if any guests will come.

oh gosh... i know that sounds good but no. anything “private” could actually end you up kicked off property! but you can look into swan and dolphin weddings which have some of the same elements as DFTW and as i understand more flexibility and more affordable options. also, you could just consider a celebratory event like a dessert party or a dinner celebrating your anniversary without the dress and the vows? but memories is a good starting point!

 

[2dogmom]

You might want to check out a ceremony at the Swan (through Just Marry). They have reasonable prices and are more a la carte than through disney. I plan on using the beach location there. You can see my partial budget on my pj (link below). It is partial because I am still working on booking things.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I was going to suggest the swan and dolphin! There are many S&D brides on these boards that sing thier praises, and IIRC, they just came out with a bunch of new "intimate" wedding packages that are usually much more flexible and affordable than DFTW options, but still on disney property. They also have a beach location.

If you or someone who would be attending your VR are in the military, check out shades of green. They have a package that includes EVERYTHING (many of the other packages don't include an officiant, or some other vital aspect) for less than $900, is also on property and is easily the cheapest option.

I, too, suggest getting the disney wedding passporters book. it is absolutely the best place to start your planning, and it also discusses these alternate options such as SoG and S&D.

 

[MrsRomance]

Thanks for the quick replies. After looking at the wedding website my mind is just full of questions. The most important one right now is; Has anyone, or can you, have your own private ceremony on property? IE like pay a nominal fee for a beach location? Kind of like an ala carte ceremony?
I was looking at the Memories collection. I have a family of 4, and have the possibility of 8 guests. Not positive if any guests will come.

You absolutely can't do a 'private ceremony' on your own, nor can you do anything ala carte through Disney.

If you end up with 8 guests, then that would rule out a Memories VR for you. They are quite strict about the number of guests. If you had 6, then it would be fine, and I can honestly say that our Memories VR was pretty close to perfect! You only get the ceremony included in the price (no reception) but you can book a dinner yourself, or as my DH did -- book something through Disney Catered Events for your party afterward.

We used the Luau Beach on the Polynesian and it was beautiful. To be able to look out and see the castle in the distance while reaffirming your vows was just magical!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[wiserabbit]

Welcome .......

DH and I had our 30th VR ceremony on the Poly beach also (agree with MrsRomance - it was perfect).....we did use the Memories collection and instead of including the others traveling with us (MIL and SIL, etc) - we just had the actual ceremony for the two of us - we felt we could say really what was in our hearts that way - with no feelings of being too mushy

For the $$ - (right around $2000.00) it was the perfect choice -

Afterwards, we had a special celebratory dinner and took a fireworks cruise on the Grand-1 from the GF - so you could plan to include everyone in that portion of your day....

Anywho - planning is almost as much fun as the day itself - Enjoy every minute!

 

[MelodyTime]

My DH and I just did a VR for our 25th Anniversary. We did an Escape VR at the Wedding Pavilion with Cake Cutting at the GF. It was one of the most magical days of our lives together and a wonderful way to celebrate a special anniversary! If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help answer them as much as possible! Definitely enjoy the planning!