Question about Epcot Ceremony Locations

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Hello all, I am coming out of lurkdome to introduce myself and pick your brains a bit. Sorry this is long.

Some background... I'm Joanna and DF is Chris, and the first time we met was acctually in the nursery of the local hospital when we were born - He's exactly 22 hrs and 32 minutes older than I am...but since our eyes weren't even open at that point I suppose that doesn't count

We officially met in High School, and became good friends. When it was time for us to move to opposite sides of the state to go to college, we realized that we were more than friends. Now 8 years later I'm itching to get married , and he finally gave in

So not that the ring is being designed (that's as good as ordered... right ) I am in total planning mode.

We come from very different families, at 25 I have been fortunate enough to have been bitten by the travel bug, and have been on 6 of the 7 continents (and the 7th one isn't what you'd think) While Chris had been to Chicago once before he met me. So several years ago, we saved money and were going to take a vacation. I told Chris we could go anywhere in the world - he said "Disney" and we've been back 3 times since. We always wanted a destination wedding - so Disney seemed like the natural choice.

We want a small wedding (under 20 people)- so were looking at the Escape package, but last night I was looking at all the extras we want with the cost of food - and I guessed it to come out to about $9000 - and thought hey for $1000 I could have a wishes wedding. So now I've switched gears and am trying to see if this is feasable.

Now for my question (finally )
What Epcot loactions are available to a small wedding like ours? I know some have minimums - but I couldn't find a good list that showed minimums.

Also - since we'd be such a small group, what reception options are available? Not too picky about where... I'd prefer 1 large table for us, but not sure that's possible.

TIA for any help!!

 

[lurkyloo]

Welcome!

There really aren't any guest minimums for ceremony locations in Epcot... or anywhere else at WDW, for that matter. It's only when you're talking about the reception that guest-count minimums come into play, and even then, there are only a few places that require you to have a lot of people to use them.

Off the top of my head, only the American Adventure Rotunda, the Great Hall of China, and some of the outdoor terreaces around World Showcase Lagoon have guest-count minimums.

Of the nearby reception sites, American Adventure Parlor (upstairs from the Rotunda) and The Attic at the BoardWalk Inn would be great for a smaller party. The Attic wouldn't let you bring in one big table though.

Farther away, the Napa and Sonoma rooms at California Grill and the Wine Room at Jiko would also be great for a small group. And they may let you bring in a big table.

If you had your reception in the evening, you could use one of the smaller terraces around the lagoon at Epcot for a reception and/or dessert party. But then there would be a break between the ceremony and the reception if you also wanted an Epcot ceremony.

Hope this helps!

 

[lurkyloo]

Another thing to consider... even if you do a Wishes wedding for the $10,000 minimum, there will be $1,200-$2,000 or more in taxes and service fees on top of that. You could easily do an Escape wedding with a dinner at the private room at Citricos (for example) for less.

But choosing a Wishes wedding would give you a lot more flexibility and choices, too!