Disney wedding confusion

[Scottg1989]

Hi everyone! I'm a new member here, and my and my girlfriend are planning to get married in about a year and a half. We would love to have a Disney wedding but we have scoured the internet for information and are having a bit of trouble finding much.

If anyone has experience of going to the USA for their Disney wedding from the UK, it would be great if you could share your experiences and advice on where to get started.

We have had a look at the LA receptions and ceremonies, and also wanted to know if anyone has experience of this?

Scott

[acapelad]

i was reading this website yesterday. might be helpful. she also has an extensive trip report detailing her wedding events.

http://www.ourfairytale.com/

[JuniorMickey]

We have quite a few members who have been married at Disney (Kate, Joanne, Rosie, Keith, Lisa1976.... drawing a blank on others) so i'm sure they'll be along shortly to offer advise

[joanne]

Hi & welcome!

I got married at WDW & am from the UK. I made contact with Disney Fairy Tale Weddings about 18mths before and took it from there. If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to answer them. We've a detailed trip report somewhere in the trip reports section :thumbs:

[Scottg1989]

Thanks for the responses. After having a look around the forums, I think we will be choosing the Wedding Pavilion. With the pavilion, are there set 'packages' or are they pretty customisable. We did look at the Intimate Package, however my girlfriend has a rather large immediate family (4 brothers and 4 sisters), so it's not really an option.

As one big question, does anyone know a rough guide budget we should be looking towards for this sort of wedding? As we are only just 18 and 17 at the moment, money may be quite a limiting factor.

Many thanks,

Scott

[joanne]

If you're going for the custom/Wishes wedding package then the world's your oyster.
You'll pay a set fee to use the WP, then you choose everything else - music (organist comes as standard), floral decoration, photo, video, transport, any other extras. Then you choose where you want your reception - menus, decor, music, drink/bar. You can also add pre-reception, rehearsal dinners, dessert party...

You can use outside vendors for floral, photo, video, so long as you meet your minimums elsewhere.

You'll have a minimum amount you need to spend with Disney depending on the season and day, starting at $10,000, rising to $25,000.
It's very easy to reach the minimums!

It depends on how many people you're inviting, where you hold the reception, what extras you have, etc.

[JuniorMickey]

My boss just went to a $75,000 wedding that had more glitches than I can begin to describe.

[Kate2005]

Hi Scott! We got married at the Disney Swan so im not much help as far as the wedding pavillion goes. Bec got married there though, aswell as Joanne and Keith.
We used Virgin and had no problems at all (as did Bec), Joanne and Keith went directly with Disney. If there arent many of you going then Virgin Weddings could give you a rough idea, but if there are more of you going than Virgin quote then i think Disney would be the better option for you!

Congratulations on your wedding!

[Scottg1989]

As with the minimums, is that just for the ceremony or for the reception as well? Is any accommodation included with the package at all?

Also, how was the Disney Swan, Kate?

Scott :)

[Kate2005]

We really liked the Swan, it was only a small courtyard do was quite personal, we had some beautiful photos taken in the grounds - one of them is in my signature and i have a thread here somewhere that show a couple more if you want to take a look - think its called Kates wedding pics.
We would have loved to get married at the pavilion, but with the amount of people who were coming it was just going to be much to expensive for us

[joanne]

The total minimums are for everything you buy through Disney for the wedding (venue, reception, flowers, drinks, food, etc).

In addition, each reception venue has a minimum you must spend on food and drink ($100 or $125 per guest). If you're having pre-reception, reception food, wedding cake, drinks, it's extremely easy to go way over that!

[Bec]

Hiya. I got married at the Wedding pavillion on an intimate package. Booked it through Virgin, but had lots of contact with my disney planner too. Please ask away with your questions.

[Rosie0610]

Hello! :)
I got married at the Swan as at the time it was more economical for us. In 2005 at the Swan/Dolphin they did not require any minimums and they allowed any amount of guests for no extra costs. We had a small cake and champagne reception in one of the banquet rooms for 25 people and also had some cheese and veggie platters. Included in the price were officiant, chairs, music, flowers for b/g, and the cake and champagne. We added some extras such as wedding arch and more flowers.
Unfortunatley it rained on my wedding day and I had to be moved inside the Swan. But it was still beautiful!
Good luck with your plans.
PM me if you have any questions.

[Scottg1989]

I have had a look the swan, and that also looks to be quite a possibility.

As for things to think about around the wedding, what sort of things are needed. For example, should we be expecting a few flights out there in the run up to the day, and is it better to get most of the things for the wedding (dress, etc.) whilst we're out there?

Sorry to ask what may seem like such simple questions, but we really are quite clueless about what's on offer, etc. :confused:

Many thanks,

Scott :)

[joanne]

We only visited once before the wedding to have a menu tasting & meet our planner. But even that wasn't necessary. Most things can be done by email (apart from tasting!)

We got everything over here and took it with us - dress, groom's outfit, bridesmaid dresses, favours. Had no problems transporting everything. Although the men's favours were mini bottles of whiskey which we took in hand luggage so we wouldn't be able to do that now.

[Kate2005]

We didnt go over there at all, Virgin handled everything for us and we met up with the co-ordinator over there.
Dresses, suits etc went in the hold as usual, although if your wife to be doesnt have a particularly big dress then it can go on as hand luggage (as long as the box fits the dimensions allowed of course!)
The only thing i will say about virgin is that they werent particularly great for info etc whilst you are still here - once in america though they are really good. i remember feeling a bit helpless and not knowing what was going on!!

[adam_goodger]

My brother got married in April 2006. They got married in the wedding Pavillion with a Limo to take them and the wedding party there. The package included a reception at the Grand Floridian with a cake and so fizzy alcoholic drink (can't remember what exactly). They also had 3 weeks accommodation in CBR with tickets. If I remember rightly the whole thing cost them about £3500. They booked it through Virgin Weddings.

[Scottg1989]

Great news that we wont have to go over before, will help a lot with the expenses :D Seem to be finding quite mixed reviews about virgin, but I think it might be worth going over soon to find a rough quote.

Also Adam, what was the £3500 exactly for? The absolute whole thing, or just the ceremony?.. And more importantly, what did you think of the pavillion? :)

Many Thanks,

Scott

[adam_goodger]

That was for the following:

Return flights from gatwick
3 weeks in the carribbean beach resort
the wedding ceremony and liason with a Disney wedding planner before and during your stay
A 21 day Disney ticket
reception on a grand Floridian balcony overlooking lake with a cake and drink.
limo to the pavillion then gf.
photographer who gives a book with about 10 photos and a cd with the rest on.
an organist at the wedding pavillion and a registrar
use of the bride and groom rooms at the pavillion

The weddingpavillion is beautiful. An amazing location by bay lake with a White sandy beach. There is a small garden with a flower arch. If you have photos taken you can see the castle in the background. You can also have pigs taken on the beach.

Hope that helps

[Scottg1989]

Wow, that's amazing! Didn't realise you could get so much for your money! Sorry to be completely oblivious, but it was around £3,500, and not £35,000 yeah? :S It's just it seems my estimates were completely over the top compared to this :D.

Scott :P

[Breeze]

Don't foget to factor in the exchange rate though. It will depend what the dollar is against the pound for you when you price everything out.

[adam_goodger]

Wow, that's amazing! Didn't realise you could get so much for your money! Sorry to be completely oblivious, but it was around £3,500, and not £35,000 yeah? :S It's just it seems my estimates were completely over the top compared to this :D.

Scott :P

It really was about £3500. They did book it early and it was only a basic package. Best thing is to ring virgin and enquire. It might not be as bad as you think.

[adam_goodger]

Don't foget to factor in the exchange rate though. It will depend what the dollar is against the pound for you when you price everything out.

and at the moment that is just under $2 to every pound. It might be a good time to book.

[Scottg1989]

Cool. Definitely worth the trip to Virgin tomorrow then :)

[adam_goodger]

let's us all know how you get on. People are very caring on here.

[Scottg1989]

:) I've noticed :D

[joanne]

That's for an intimate/Escape wedding package (http://www.disneyweddings.go.com/site/wed/int/start/index.jsp), for up to 18 guests, currently priced starting at $4000 with Disney. So that would roughly be just over £2000.
If you had more than 18 guests (including bride & groom) you'd need to go custom.

[Scottg1989]

Been to a Virgin branch today and had a word with them. Got quoted around £3500 for the Swan hotel (2 weeks accommodation, hotel and transfer), and then the wedding package on top of that is at around the £1000 mark. Still not bad though..

[adam_goodger]

With 3 years inflation and what with the rise in airport and petrol taxes that sounds pretty good to me

[Breeze]

Been to a Virgin branch today and had a word with them. Got quoted around £3500 for the Swan hotel (2 weeks accommodation, hotel and transfer), and then the wedding package on top of that is at around the £1000 mark. Still not bad though..

That is a pretty good deal. Let us know when you decide we really love wedding around here :D

[Bec]

Glad you're getting some ideas together.

The pavillion is absolutely gorgeous, breathtaking in fact. Have you seen pics of it?

[Tishypops]

If budget is an issue then it is well worth looking at a disney accom and getting married off site. We were looking at these options at first. With First Choice you can get a package for as little as £369 for leu gardens which are beautiful!!!!!!

[jennacool]

Having a wedding at the pavilion was gorgeous... My fairytale wedding was everything and then some.. i was thrilled and they did it just the way I asked.. i think back in '05 I paid about $4,000.00 for the package and then some more for the extra guests and a reception at the park fair for a about $600.00 more, then about $1500. for my magic kingdom wedding shoot.. it was worth every dime....oh yes, and whomever it was that said a toast with some kind of fizzy stuff.. the fizzy stuff was Iron Horse Champagne.. better known as sparkling wine from California.. not very good either.. very bitter....I dumped mine and the bottle..
It was a great experience and worth the money.. and if you have it.. splurge on the extras.. I did.. I added money and upgraded my cake and other things as well.. it was expensive I would say when I was all said and done.. about 10,000 was where i was at...it was magical tho.. too bad the marriage wasn't..oh well, good luck..