Weekend Escape ceremony more expensive?

[Beautybelle43]

Ok, I know I am sounding very selfish here, but we are leaning towards having a Thurs. or Fri. wedding. We love our family and friends but choosing your wedding and HM in the same location, and a fun vacation spot like WDW, we want to make sure that the majority of our HM is spent just us two! I figured if we arrived on Thurs or Fri and had the ceremony on Fri. or Sat. noon, guests would celebrate with us and then return home at the end of the weekend. I just don't want to spend our HM feeling obligated to entertain or hang out with anyone except for each other. Do I sound like an aweful bride???

Anyways, outside of cost of lodging, is it more expensive to have a weekend ceremony at SBP? We would really prefer not to do weekend to be honest b/c in our past experience, weekends in the parks are horrendous with crowds, even during value season. What if we did a Thurs. or Fri. ceremony-does Fri. constitute weekend prices?

Any advice with this? Again, we love our 16 friends/family members and we are excited to have them join in the celebration for 2 days or so, but we want to enjoy our HM alone! We can't make them not extend their vacations of course and I know we are going to feel obligated to make plans with them if they are there the same time as us. How can I get around this to work it out naturally without coming off as rude or selfish?

Thanks everyone-looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this!!

 

[Nicola2010]

Hi fellow 2010 bride,

As far as i understand the disney weddings website you can't have an escape wedding on a saturday or sunday, those days are strictly reserved for wishes or couture brides.

You can have a friday wedding at any location except the wedding pavillion (as friday's at WP is also reserved for wishes or couture brides)

With an escape package you would pay the $4000 (all venues except WP) no matter what day between Mon - Fri you were to get married.

As for hotel costs etc, im not sure about that but generally at hotels it is more expensive to stay on a fri & sat night than sun - thurs nights.

Oh an no i definitely do not think you or your DF are selfish!!!

My DF and i ar lucky enough to be able to spend 3 weeks in WDW so our families will be with us for 2 weeks and then we are treating our 3rd week as our official honeymoon (even though we plan to get married within the 1st week!)

Hope that helps

Nicola

 

[Beautybelle43]

Thanks Nicola!!

So, we can have a Fri. ceremony-that's good to know. We don't have any desire to to a WP ceremony anyways. My mom was trying to talk us into it, but DF isn't crazy about that resort (I know, he's nuts!!!). I love SBP best because of the BW atmosphere.

So, we could potentially plan to arrive on Thursday, have ceremony on Friday noon or so at SBP (plus our MK photo shoot in the early AM!!), do a lunch reception later that day. We won't mind (and will enjoy!) spending time at the park with our family and friends that night. Our guests will likely go home on Sunday and we'll have the rest of Sun-Fri. to ourselves.

Now, what are the times available for SBP wedding ceremonies? We want to do an MK shoot and do it prior to the ceremony so I don't have to spend money 2x on hair/make up & also to get all that stuff out of the way in one day. Would a noon ceremony make sense if we were to do a MK shoot that morning or would 1 or 2pm afternoon ceremony make more sense?

 

[MariaLovesJon<3]

The times for Escape Weddings are listed here: http://www.disneyweddings.go.com/site/wed/int/start/index.jsp

Escape Wedding and commitment ceremonies are available Monday through Friday at 10:00 am, 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm, and 5:00 pm.

HTH!

 

[Nicola2010]

you're welcome

According to www.disneyweddings.com the ceremony times for SBP are 10am, 12 noon, 2:30pm & 5pm

hmmm photo shoot on the same day yikes! although ive heard people do it (will you not mind if he see's you before the wedding? hope that doesnt sound rude but always wanted to know people's thoughts on this)

I believe the MK photo shoot would start at 6am but some brides have had to do this as early as 5am so you will have to be up at like 3am to start hair and make up

If that's what you decide to do i would personally have a 10am ceremony with a 11:30/12 noon lunch or a 12 noon ceremony with a 2pm/2:30pm lunch... if you dont get married until 2:30pm onwards, it's a long time to be sitting around not doing much, it's not like you could go back to bed cos that would mess your hair and make up up and you would prob be too excited to sleep anyway, especially since you would have already seen each other.

That's my view anyway but seriously do whatever works for you

 

[Beautybelle43]

The times for Escape Weddings are listed here: http://www.disneyweddings.go.com/site/wed/int/start/index.jsp



HTH!

Thank you-yes that is helpful!!

For anyone who's done a MK photo shoot, what would be the best way to do this? We are fine getting up early, but don't want to get up too early.....I"m thinking 2pm ceremony might make more sense, but....and I know this sounds weird....I want to get this done and over with as soon as we can that day!! Otherwise it'll be waay too much of a stressful morning waiting....and I want to make sure we have time for a Garden View Tea room lunch reception.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

 

[Nicola2010]

my post clashed with yours hope ive answered some of your queries.

 

[lurkyloo]

First, I just have to say that you are NOT a selfish bride for wanting your honeymoon all to yourself. I have heard many brides lament the fact that they spent their honeymoons running all over trying to entertain friends and family. Just enjoy that time for you two!

Are you sure you want to do your MK shoot on the day of your wedding? I was so tired after ours (at 6 am, which meant getting up at 4) that I could barely function the rest of the day. We did it on the second day of our honeymoon and I was SO glad we didn't cram it in on the wedding day.

If you're worried about having to do your own hair and makeup for the shoot, don't be! The pix are taken from so far away that most of the time your features are barely visible. If you are at all competent with your own makeup you'll look fine!

 

[irisbud]

It is so not selfish to want your honeymoon to be for you! I am going through some of the same issues with that right now.

I think that most people if they are reasonable will understand. The most important thing, I think, is that you and your DF are BOTH firm on this. My DF is wavering wanting to please everyone and that is where our issues are coming from. My guests are cool with it because I have been upfront with them. He feels obligated and I see the trainwreck coming from a mile away. My biggest concern is that you don't get a "do over". I don't want to wish that I had been stronger in my POV regarding this issue down the road.

I hope it works out for you!

 

[Beautybelle43]

First, I just have to say that you are NOT a selfish bride for wanting your honeymoon all to yourself. I have heard many brides lament the fact that they spent their honeymoons running all over trying to entertain friends and family. Just enjoy that time for you two!

Are you sure you want to do your MK shoot on the day of your wedding? I was so tired after ours (at 6 am, which meant getting up at 4) that I could barely function the rest of the day. We did it on the second day of our honeymoon and I was SO glad we didn't cram it in on the wedding day.

If you're worried about having to do your own hair and makeup for the shoot, don't be! The pix are taken from so far away that most of the time your features are barely visible. If you are at all competent with your own makeup you'll look fine!

Thanks Lurlyloo but embarrassingly, that's the thing-I am HORRIBLE with my hair and make up!! I think the last time I even wore make up was for my BFF's wedding in 1999 and she hired a woman to do it up for us! My mom would be ok helping me with my make up but not my hair. I would definately prefer to get all the wedding festivities done and over with in one day if we could so we can just get going to the relaxed celebration How long does the MK photo shoot take? So the pictures are taken pretty far away? Any sample photos I could see to see how close up they get?

Hmm....but I certainly dont want us to be exhausted on our wedding day. DF & I are very used to sleeping late in general, due to our work schedules. Though when we go to WDW, we are up and at 'em by 7am no problem & able to go until park closing....as long as I have Diet Coke haha!!

 

[PrincessBride010103]

Thanks Lurlyloo but embarrassingly, that's the thing-I am HORRIBLE with my hair and make up!! I think the last time I even wore make up was for my BFF's wedding in 1999 and she hired a woman to do it up for us! My mom would be ok helping me with my make up but not my hair. I would definately prefer to get all the wedding festivities done and over with in one day if we could so we can just get going to the relaxed celebration How long does the MK photo shoot take? So the pictures are taken pretty far away? Any sample photos I could see to see how close up they get?

Hmm....but I certainly dont want us to be exhausted on our wedding day. DF & I are very used to sleeping late in general, due to our work schedules. Though when we go to WDW, we are up and at 'em by 7am no problem & able to go until park closing....as long as I have Diet Coke haha!!

if you want to do your mk shoot the same day as your wedding i would go with the early ceremony because you will need to be ready by 5 am then that needs to stay intact until your festivities are over.

if you want to see my mk pics you can go to www.collages.net
username: Gainey / Gonzalez BP
password: 1971

 

[Beautybelle43]

if you want to do your mk shoot the same day as your wedding i would go with the early ceremony because you will need to be ready by 5 am then that needs to stay intact until your festivities are over.

if you want to see my mk pics you can go to www.collages.net
username: Gainey / Gonzalez BP
password: 1971

Wow-thank you for sharing those. You are a beautiful bride!! So, how did you scheduled a night time MK photo shoot? Did you have your ceremony/reception in the MK or can anyone do that? I love the castle all lit up!! Still, I think I'd prefer morning photo shoot for me because my hair always seems to cooperate more in the AM!!

 

[Beautybelle43]

It is so not selfish to want your honeymoon to be for you! I am going through some of the same issues with that right now.

I think that most people if they are reasonable will understand. The most important thing, I think, is that you and your DF are BOTH firm on this. My DF is wavering wanting to please everyone and that is where our issues are coming from. My guests are cool with it because I have been upfront with them. He feels obligated and I see the trainwreck coming from a mile away. My biggest concern is that you don't get a "do over". I don't want to wish that I had been stronger in my POV regarding this issue down the road.

I hope it works out for you!

I'm sorry you are going through that I'm hoping our situation doesn't end up that way, but I"m not sure how it will turn out. My parents will definately head home the day after the ceremony. I"m sure my brother and his wife will as well. Most of our friends will likely need to be back to work on Mon. or Tues. (which is why I was thinking of having a Fri. ceremony-so we can spend time with them on the weekend and then they'll go home). His brother/brother's wife will have a 2 year old baby by then (as will my BFF/her husband), but I'm guessing they will still need to be back by Mon. for work. That leaves his sister and his mom, who will likely be traveling together. He doesn't see his mom very often, but tries to spoil her as much as possible when he does (she doesn't have much $$, has led a hard life, lives alone, etc). This is where I might run into a little trouble and also where I start to feel guilty. He will want to make sure his mom has a magical time. She is a dear sweet humble woman and I'm more than certain she will not overstay her welcome, but DF might insist she stay a little longer, I'm not sure. His mom is kind of a touchy subject for him....Though she will also likely need to get back home for work and school, which is why I'm leaning more towards a Friday ceremony-makes it easier for people to get time off work, spend some time with us, and then get home! But on the flipside, DF is also very reasonable and he understands that HM's are not meant for mom tagging along I don't want to have this conversation with him just yet, because it's still 2 years away from our special vacation, but I thought I could set the tone as much as possible now by trying to schedule it so things will "just work out naturally"....

Do you guys think that a Fri. ceremony makes the most sense? and are Friday ceremonies very popular/hard to get? We will definately be going during a value season-right now we are leaning towards January.

 

[PrincessBride010103]

Wow-thank you for sharing those. You are a beautiful bride!! So, how did you scheduled a night time MK photo shoot? Did you have your ceremony/reception in the MK or can anyone do that? I love the castle all lit up!! Still, I think I'd prefer morning photo shoot for me because my hair always seems to cooperate more in the AM!!

Its not nighttime in my shoot...its just so freakin early the sun hadn't risen yet lol

 

[Beautybelle43]

Its not nighttime in my shoot...its just so freakin early the sun hadn't risen yet lol

OMG, really??? What time was it?

 

[PrincessBride010103]

OMG, really??? What time was it?

we were picked up in the lobby of WL at 5:50...photoshoot started around 6:15 and was over by 7:15

 

[Beautybelle43]

we were picked up in the lobby of WL at 5:50...photoshoot started around 6:15 and was over by 7:15

Ooh, we are planning to stay at WL too!!

Wow, it was still dark at 6:15? May I ask what month you went? That's good to know that the shoot only lasts an hour. & did you get your hair/make up done professionally beforehand? If so, how long did that take?

Thank you!

 

[PrincessBride010103]

Ooh, we are planning to stay at WL too!!

Wow, it was still dark at 6:15? May I ask what month you went? That's good to know that the shoot only lasts an hour. & did you get your hair/make up done professionally beforehand? If so, how long did that take?

Thank you!

yep still dark at 6:15 in february. my hair and makeup was professionally done and lily arrived at our door at 3:45 am i was finished just in time to walk to the lobby and get picked up

 

[Beautybelle43]

yep still dark at 6:15 in february. my hair and makeup was professionally done and lily arrived at our door at 3:45 am i was finished just in time to walk to the lobby and get picked up

Hmm...we are looking at a January date. Any idea around what time the sun came up? Maybe we could try for a 7am photo shoot-park opens at 9, right? (Unless there's morning EMH of course)

....Wow, I didn't realize hair and make up would take so long!!

You guys must have been exhausted by the end of the day!!!! good thing you were staying in a comfy resort

 

[PrincessBride010103]

Hmm...we are looking at a January date. Any idea around what time the sun came up? Maybe we could try for a 7am photo shoot-park opens at 9, right? (Unless there's morning EMH of course)

....Wow, I didn't realize hair and make up would take so long!!

You guys must have been exhausted by the end of the day!!!! good thing you were staying in a comfy resort

the latest shoot is the one that starts at 6..people make ADRs for cinderellas royal table for breakfast before the park opens so you gotta be out of the mk by 7:30ish