Switching from Custom to Intimate?

[disprincessatheart]

After looking over the budget, I think we're switching from a custom to an intimate wedding. I have always been looking for details on the customs, so I'm hoping some of you other intimate brides could give me some info...

Our plan is to do the intimate ceremony with all 20 people attending, and then have everyone plus another 10 or 20 people (my aunts and uncles that won't fit in the 20) head over to Epcot for a dessert party. There we're planning appetizers and desserts. So the issues I'm trying to figure out...

First - does anyone know if you can do a tiered wedding cake at a dessert party? Also wondering if anyone knows if I can "upgrade" the small cake that's included in the intimate ceremony for a larger one at the dessert party.

Second - do guests still get room discounts on property for intimate weddings? I know we'd be able to skip the drama of the room minimum (we'll be there more than a week ourselves, so booking 4 days is easy). Also, do you still get a free night in a hotel the night of the wedding?


Thanks for any insight you have!

 

[sajetto]

1. Intimates are not allowed 20 guests, they are allowed 18. 20 includes you and the groom. I really don't know if you can have another 20 at the dessert party so another intimate bride would have to answer that, but I doubt that it is allowed

2. No guests do not get room discounts and the bride and groom do not get a free night


Good luck!

 

[bride2bee]

Hey,

sajetto is right you can only have 18 guest the 20 does include the bride and groom. You can usually upgrade the intimate cake for a price. I have heard it is harder if you aren't at the wp do this. You don't get a room discount or a comp night. DO NOT tell any at DFTW that you are planning a dessert party. I have heard horrible stories of them contacting epcot and canceling it. You can do this but you have to contact Richard and book it directly through epcot at 90 days out. Yes you could call and no space be available. There is a 20 person minimum. You do have to pay a viewing fee for each person , a food minimum for each person, and a venue fee ( these depend on each venue). You can have a wedding cake at the dessert party. I have heard of people keeping the smaller cake for the cake cutting and ordering a "custom" cake for their other events. Oh and here is a big thing that you might not know.... you can not wear your wedding dress to the illuminations dessert party. Custom brides only can because someone from DFTW escorts them ( or some silly reason like that). If you do want the exact prices and contact info let me know and I will pm it to you. Good luck and remember it needs to be a don't ask don't tell policy with DFTW.

 

[WDWbride2007]

OK...let me clarify a few points for you. You CAN have an Illuminations party AND wear your dress if you book through FTW as an intimate. You have to pay the viewing fees ($12.50 pp), the venue rental fee (~$250, but depends on location), meet a food and beverage minimum of $18.50 pp (easy with desserts and appetizers), pay for a guide at $90, and charter a bus for about $450. I am not sure if you could have more than 20 people there if you book with the weddings dept. I am also not sure about the wedding cake. You should definitely ask them.

Now, if you want to have an Illuminations party NOT associated with your wedding, you can book it directly with Epcot 15 months out. You definitely don't have to wait until 90 days out. You CANNOT wear your wedding dress, but you can invite as many people as you like. Also, you won't have to charter the bus unless you want to. Basically, if FTW doesn't allow the extra guests at the dessert party, you can book directly with Epcot and change out of your dress before the event. You might be able to order a cake with Epcot, but I am not sure.

You can upgrade your wedding cake, but it sometimes depends on your EM. I was able to (for a fee), but not every bride has been successful. I have also found that if you keep asking, they sometimes give in.

 

[bride2bee]

Sorry if I gave incorrect info. When I asked back in Sept. they told me that they couldn't do it but I could book it at 90 days out.And that intimate brides were not allowed to wear their dress in the parks. Were you able to do this WDWbride2007?

 

[WDWbride2007]

bride2bee,

I booked my intimate in February for May (yes, only 3 months to plan..aaahhh). I was given the option to book a dessert party. After considering all the costs that I posted above, we decided to treat our guests to dinner at Victoria and Alberts. It actually came out to about the same, since we wanted desserts and appetizers. I called Epcot catering back in December and a few times since then. They have always told me that you can book a dessert party with them 15 months out. (I never mentioned it was in conjunction with a wedding.) I hope this helps! Disney is always changing their policies, so I suggest double-checking.

 

[Laurafoster]

I know other intimate brides have been able to wear there dress at a dessert party, but only if they meet all the conditions WDWbride2007 mentioned.

If youu say you will have 40 guests at the dessert party, for the viewing fee, food and beverage minimum, charter bus and host your looking at around $2000. Thats before you add on the price of a cake!

 

[hfehr1s]

We are having an Illuminations Dessert Party the evening before our intimate wedding as sort of a "welcome party". We were able to book this through my planner at DFTW. I can invite as many people as I want --with the usual fees, location fee, f&b min. but since I won't be in my gown I don't have to pay the ~$500 for the charter bus !! Good Luck and just ask if you have more questions.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Thanks for all the input. I do know that the 20 includes us, so we're ok with that. Even with all the fees to pay for the dessert party, our entire day will still be well under the $10k minimum that we would have had to do with the custom wedding. My EM is working on pricing for me right now, I was just anxious to get some information while I was waiting on Disney to get back to me.

We've really got our hearts set on Epcot - we were going to do a full reception there, but we were going to be spending $140 pp, and that was a little too much for us. This way we can spend $50 or 60 ppand still have the party we want , just without a formal meal.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences! I'll post what I hear back.