Currently in the very early stages of planning my WDW wedding. Looking at the Yacht Club outside for the ceremony and Atlantic Dance Hall for the reception. We are hoping to have a brunch reception. Looking for advice and insight.
What do you wish you knew during the planning process?
Has anyone else had their events here? What are the decorations like in these locations for the holidays?
What did you have to bring in for an outdoor wedding?
My fiancé has a much larger family than I do, any suggestions for cutting costs that don’t involve cutting people?
I was in a similar situation. We had our ceremony at Luau Pointe back in March. To cut costs we: 1) did our reception at Paddlefish instead of through Disney and added a dessert/welcome party the night before at the Grand Floridian, 2) skipped videography and 3) minimal floral.
For my outdoor ceremony I only brought my own sand ceremony kit and my own programs on Etsy. I did very minimal floral for the ceremony- one arrangement on the table and lanterns with palm leaves running up the aisle.
I think Yacht Club would be beautiful for an outside ceremony. Atlantic Dance Hall is huge- I think it would be great for a large party, but if you're on the smaller side I'm not sure.
My husband has a really big family too. At first, everyone told us they were coming and we were not happy with what it would cost us. But in the end, tons of people didn't end up RSVPing that they were coming. We ended up at 55 people (12 were children) and our total cost was probably around $21,000 (Ceremony $5000, Dessert Party $7000, Dinner $7000, Photography $2000). That is excluding the extras (welcome bags, dress, programs, invitations, etc.). The service fees really add up-so definitely remember those. My $550 cake for my dessert party ended up being $732. Also, beware of the rain. Make sure you are okay with your backup locations. My Marina Terrace desssert party was rained out and we ended up in a ballroom. I wasn't happy about it. My ceremony ended just as rain started as well. My backup location for that was a sterile room in the Contemporary- thank god that didn't happen. And March is not normally a rainy month at all...
Still waiting on my photos from Disney- they are really behind. And like mentioned above, be patient with the lack of communication. I was sometime frustrated but in the end it all worked out and they did give a lot of attention on the day of.
I had a great experience though. Happy to answer any questions!
