What happened to Disney 'escape' weddings? 😥

[zanzibar138]

First time posting on this part of the forum! There has been no official proposal yet, but my partner has asked me to look into the cost of a Disney wedding. We spent Saturday morning window shopping the engagement rings from Disney's Enchanted jewellery range Very sad to see that they have restructured their wedding packages and no longer offer the relatively affordable escape packages for micro weddings. We'd be coming all the way from Australia and unlikely to have more than half a dozen guests... it just wouldn't be worth the minimum spend for us (on top of the cost of actually getting and staying there!).

Has anyone else been frustrated by this, or come up with any out of the box ideas to still have an experience that feels somewhat like a Disney destination wedding but without the huge minimum spend requirements? My partner has visions of me walking down the aisle in a Cinderella gown with a Disney castle in the background But apart from that, we don't want anything fancy - just a simple ceremony, some beautiful Disney-esque photos, and maybe a nice meal afterwards in bridal attire.

 

[teawar]

The Dolphins/swan offer some wedding packages. I believe you can pay $$$ to have a photography session in the park.

 

[lurkyloo]

Unfortunately they no longer let non-Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings couples do pre-park-opening portrait sessions, either. Paddlefish is a good inexpensive option with a great view of Disney Springs in the background. Paradise Cove is close to Disney and very popular with UK couples as an inexpensive place to get married.

If you book a local wedding photographer for a bridal attire portrait session at the resorts, there are some spots where you can get the castle in the background, like at the Polynesian and on one of the balconies at the Contemporary. Many of the popular outside wedding photographers know these spots.

Disney has been cracking down on non-DFTW portraits in the Grand Floridian lobby, but you should be able to get portraits elsewhere at the resorts. You just wouldn't be able to enter a park in bridal attire.

 

[zanzibar138]

Thank you both, sounds like there are definitely some creative options. Although in park photos would be amazing, I'd be happy with photography somewhere around Disney if we could sneak the castle into the background for some shots I was wondering where Disney stood on bridal attire around the resorts etc so that's helpful to know.

I'm guessing that bridal attire for a meal at one of the resort restaurants would still be a no-no? How about Disney Springs? For the amount of people that would be there, it's just not worth trying to have a private function - was thinking we'd just make a booking for the group at a nice restaurant. It would just be one table - we wouldn't need wedding decor or cake or anything like that, and there wouldn't need to be any speeches. Just a group of people enjoying a celebratory meal together, one of whom happens to be wearing a wedding dress

Also, for the purposes of potentially being a little sneaky (for the meal and potentially some photos in the park, not the formal ceremony/bridal portraits), what's the definition of 'bridal attire'? They can't stop people wearing white dresses to the parks right? What would make it too bridal?

 

[MamaMermaid]

The Dolphins/swan offer some wedding packages. I believe you can pay $$$ to have a photography session in the park.

Highly recommend this option!! We had a Swan/Dolphin wedding and loved every minute.

 

[lurkyloo]

There is no prohibition on wearing bridal attire at any resort restaurant.

At the parks, what constitutes bridal attire is left to the discretion of cast members. If it's long enough to be a hazard or fancy enough to confuse you with official Disney characters, they're not supposed to let you in. But of course, this always depends on who you get at the gate. So if you're prepared to be turned away, you won't be disappointed.

 

[zanzibar138]

There is no prohibition on wearing bridal attire at any resort restaurant.

At the parks, what constitutes bridal attire is left to the discretion of cast members. If it's long enough to be a hazard or fancy enough to confuse you with official Disney characters, they're not supposed to let you in. But of course, this always depends on who you get at the gate. So if you're prepared to be turned away, you won't be disappointed.

Good to know, thanks! I'm planning to get my wedding dress made in separate pieces for versatility. I'll have a vintage style sweetheart bodice made in plain ivory fabric with a sparkly embellished topper. If the topper is considered too close to bridal attire, I'll be able to take it off and stash it in my bag. I'm also planning to get 2 skirts made - one will be a shorter (above knee length) circle skirt which should be fine in the parks. Probably paired with bridal Mickey ears