When my husband and I decided to get married, I was overjoyed, and, of course, we knew we had to have Disney involved somehow! After looking at prices for the official Disney Fairytale Wedding packages, I knew I wanted more wedding than I could afford with Disney. Even though I wanted a small wedding of 30-40 people, going with Disney would still be way out of my limited budget.
We started looking at our options and thinking about a wedding that would make us feel like we were getting our Disney fix without having to sacrifice anything in the process. We ended up with a wedding ) – and an entire Walt Disney World vacation – that was special, and made us feel like we got our Disney wedding without the official Disney wedding price tag!
Here’s how we did it:
Find a Venue near a Disney Park
We looked into California venues near Disneyland, as well as Orlando venues near Disney World. We found the options in Orlando to be more plentiful than in the Anaheim area, and the prices to be much lower. There are many options, but we decided on Paradise Cove. Paradise Cove is beautiful and flexible and completely willing to work within your budget and vision. They put a package together for us that was all-inclusive, and right at our budget. Perfect!
Plan a Disney Trip!
This was a CRUCIAL item for me! I wanted to get as much Disney park time as possible, and, since we saved all that money on the non-Disney wedding package, we could afford it! The trip can be as long as you want it to be. We did a five day park hopper and were in the parks every day except for the actual wedding day. We got our “Happily Ever After” pins, bride and groom ears, and I even made matching shirts for most of the days! Having all the cast members and other guests shouting “congratulations” made our trip extra special. We loved every moment of it! We also splurged on a Happily Ever After Fireworks dessert party since it was our wedding trip. It felt appropriate!
Add Disney Music to your Wedding
We decided to have all acoustic versions of Disney songs for our ceremony. It sounded so beautiful and classy, and added that special Disney touch. Walking down the aisle to “Now I See the Light” from Tangled, and back down to “A Whole New World” was absolutely perfect!
Make Disney Items for the Wedding
This one can be tricky if you aren’t super crafty. Luckily, I have a friend who is AMAZING and I was able to share my vision with her and have her help me make it a reality. There are plenty of options on Etsy, though, if you opt to spend a little more money. We made a Disney-themed card box, table numbers, “Happily Ever After” bride and groom chair signs, and decorated the guest book with “Be Our Guest”. We had our bride and groom ears at the wedding as décor as well.
Disney Honeymoon?
My husband and I haven’t actually had our honeymoon as I kind of cheated with the whole “this trip doesn’t count as our honeymoon, it’s just part of the wedding.” 😉 But having a Disney honeymoon would also help the whole “Disney wedding” experience. Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa in Hawaii, or an international Disney park would be perfect! I’ll keep working on those ideas with my husband…
Also, if you end up wanting to try out the official Disney Fairytale Wedding experience in the future, there’s always a vow renewal! Whatever you choose, “official” Disney Wedding or “unofficial” Disney wedding, it will be perfect, because Disney makes everything magical!
