Sago Cay Dessert party after wedding off site

[lt90]

Can anyone answer this for me!? Im desperately trying to somehow make my wedding work - for a number of reasons we are probably going to have to get married off site now but a dessert party at sago Cay was really important to me! Is there anyway we can still have this dessert party still in our wedding attire even though we havent been married at disney? How much would it cost, would it be anymore than the $500 minimum? How would we go about booking this nearer the time?

Thanks so much!

 

[lurkyloo]

If you will be staying at a Disney resort, you can book this through Disney's Catered Events department: 321-939-7278. There is no prohibition on wearing your wedding attire. In addition to the $500 food and beverage minimum, there is a set-up fee of $75. Also, if you want to have the music to Wishes piped in, it's about $500 for groups of 50 or fewer. But you can kind of hear the music on the wind, so you may not care about that.

It is possible to stick to the $500 minimum if you customize your menu—the regular GF dessert party menus are $$$ per person. But you can work with them to tailor your food and drinks to meet your budget.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I may be wrong, but I think that you may have to keep the word 'wedding' out of the conversation you have with the events planning team. Maybe just call it a 'celebration' or 'family gathering'. There are no rules preventing you from wearing wedding attire in the resorts, but other brides have stated on here that if you mention that the DP is for after a wedding you get referred to DFTW and have to meet their minimums!!
The cost will obviously depend on a number of things (amount of guests, menu, whether you pipe in the 'Wishes' music etc) but I fear you may be looking at more than $500.00.
I am so sorry that I don't have an e-mail or phone number for events, but I am sure somebody on here will oblige.
Good luck!!!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Okay, whilst I was typing the above, the amazing Carrie answered the question fully!!! Bless you, what would we do without you Carrie sweetie!!?

 

[DLR2WDW]

Any event that appears to be wedding related has to go through the fairytale wedding department. So if you are going to wear your wedding dress it needs to be organized through the wedding area. Just going to a restuarant is fine but a private event like a dessert party is different.

 

[transfergirl]

Everyone answered, so I edited. I think it might be doable, without mentioning "wedding," but that would probably require foregoing a wedding cake, which would have to be ordered through Disney catering, which would probably mean being transferred to DFTW.

 

[PrincessAriel09]

So you can actually go through Disney's catered events for a DP? I thought you would get referred to DFTW no matter what...

 

[lurkyloo]

For a dessert party, it's not a big deal to go through Catering & Convention Services. You just can't wear a wedding dress if your event is inside a park. The problems come when you try to hold what appears to be a wedding reception without going through DFTW—cake, DJ, etc.

 

[GIJasmine]

I actually just went through trying to do the same thing- when I called catered events I told them we'd be having a wedding at Shades of Green and would like to have a dessert party after. I mistakenly told them we would be considering this our "reception." Bad idea to use those words, because they said I would have to go through DFTW and meet the $12,000 minimum. For a dessert party?? They want me to spend $12,000 on brownies and cookies??

So I would recommend not mentioning that it's for a wedding.

How many people are you planning on having? We planned on spending $2,000 on a dessert party- for maybe 35-40 people. From what I've seen from other people's budget postings, cost per person can range from about $25-$35.

 

[PrincessAriel09]

Right... lol we weren't even thinking reception! Just welcome party or like a Rehearsal "dessert" type thing. Definitely wouldn't be wearing the dress or doing cake-cutting etc... I am so glad I am finding all of this info out now! I don't want to be in a massive state of confusion when my time comes... and DBF & I are having such fun learning everything!

 

[SamSam]

Yes, as others have said, do not mention wedding or vow renewal. I'm arranging a private catered 'celebration' for our 40th anniversary next year and am working with Disney Catering (thanks to Carrie).
I'm having ours at UK lochside followed by viewing Illuminations, which is something we dreamed of doing for years.