This beautiful story comes from my friend Amy.
You don’t get married at Walt Disney World unless you are a sucker for Disney magic and want to add a little of that pixie dust to your big day. Well, I’m into Disney magic hook, line, and sinker. It didn’t surprise too many people when Andy and I wanted to get married at WDW. Our wedding was held at Disney’s Wedding Pavilion in April 2005.
One of the things I still rave about was the team that a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding provides you. If you’ve watched any cable television in the last few years, you’ll see that wedding planning can be a pretty crazy business. I love that everyone involved in a Disney wedding has worked with each other and in these locations. Our wedding planner took care of arranging everything for us and Disney has someone to handle just about anything. For our ceremony at Disney’s Wedding Pavilion and reception at the Grand Floridian, the locations, music, photography, videography, hair and makeup, floral, transportation, and food were all Disney services. The Cast Members involved in our wedding were wonderful and we didn’t have to hire these vendors ourselves. Just about the only thing we had to do on our own was provide our clothing. And Disney even helped out with that, suggesting a tuxedo rental service that would do fittings at our resort and deliver and pick-up the suits as well. That same company sent a lady out to steam my gown. My husband, Andy, loves this story. His boutonniere was crushed from all of the hugging after the ceremony. (Hey, my side of the family is Southern: we hug.) After the guests were sent off to the pre-reception, our wedding planner saw the flower, got on her walkie talkie, and before we knew it, a nice man from the floral department was there pinning an exact replacement on Andy’s lapel.
Now all that organization and general lack of drama allows you to relax and enjoy the wedding and the guests who have come to celebrate with you. But the real reason for a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding is magic. First, the location. You can have your wedding and reception just about anywhere on Walt Disney World property if the price is right, but they use a few outdoor settings and the pavilion most often. Like the good Disney nerds we are, my family and I toured the pavilion shortly after it opened 15 years ago. Once I met my prince, there was no other place for our I Do’s, after all, as a Disney Vacation Club member, Walt Disney World is my home away from home. The Imagineers who designed the Wedding Pavilion managed to conjure up every detail of a girl’s dream wedding. It’s a white Victorian style building, wrapped in windows, nestled on its own island in Bay Lake and surrounded by lush landscaping. Inside, there is a wide center aisle flanked by pale wood pews with hearts on the end. The carpeting is in soft shades of pink and green with just enough roses worked in. The curtains are hung from double wedding rings and the gingerbread work around the top of the room includes the silhouette of a certain mouse. The audio and video equipment is all built in; so there is no videographer running around, distracting from the ceremony. Once the double doors at the back of the chapel are opened and you make your way to your prince, you can take in one of the best parts of the pavilion. The window in the back overlooks Cinderella Castle. You simply cannot beat that. I remember seeing birds flying over the water and the monorail going in and out of the station at Magic Kingdom. I love that the castle is in our photographs. It’s subtle and so beautiful.
We surprised everyone with this next bit of Disney wedding magic. During our wedding planning session at Franck’s, my mom decided to “rent herself a man.” Before you get the wrong idea, our wedding planner had suggested having either a majordomo (think the man carrying Cinderella’s glass slipper, Prince Charming’s right hand man) or an English butler. Of course, I wanted the majordomo. He would carry our rings to the altar and act as master of ceremonies, helping our guests get from the ceremony to the pre-reception and then to the reception. At the reception, he’d help us make a “Grand” entrance. Mom loved the idea of someone else being in charge of the day, allowing her to relax and enjoy it all. The wedding planner also suggested playing a little prank on our brothers. My brother, Chris, was my “Man of Honor” and was holding Andy’s ring for me. Andy’s brother, Gary, was one of his Best Men and had my ring. Before the ceremony, the wedding planner asked the guys for the ring, telling them the minister, my father, was going to bless them. They forgot all about the rings, playing right into the joke. During the ceremony, when it came time for the exchange of rings, my father asked the guys for them. Both got looks of panic across their faces and said something about blessings. Just then, there was fanfare and the back doors of the chapel opened. An instrumental version of “When You Wish Upon A Star” played and majordomo walked down the aisle carrying our rings in a glass slipper on a pillow. We had kept this a secret, so this was a huge surprise to the guests. I knew it was going to happen and I still cried! My mom still says my friend Heather’s face was worth the cost. The majordomo bowed to me and then presented the rings to my father. This was one of the best Disney touches of the day and I love watching it on the wedding video.
The most magical part of our wedding was a visit from Mickey and Minnie. I danced with Mickey Mouse at my wedding reception. How cool is that?! This was a surprise gift from my father. He didn’t even tell my mom about it. Dad called the wedding planner and asked that Mickey and Minnie be invited and requested that she leave it off of any paperwork until after the event so that I wouldn’t be tipped off. It worked. We had all just finished dinner and were chatting with the guests. Our pianist started playing the Mickey Mouse March and in walked the Big Cheese and his Main Squeeze in their formal attire. I think my jaw hit the floor. For a lifetime Disney kid, this was the highlight of the day other than marrying my prince, of course. Mickey and Minnie danced with my husband and myself and then watched over us as we cut our gorgeous cake which resulted in another of my favorite photos. Speaking of photos, we didn’t have a huge number of wedding guests and every one of them was able to have at least one picture taken with their favorite mouse. We had such fun goofing around with them. Minnie had Andy get down on one knee for her and she acted jealous when Mickey hung out with me. Mickey covered his eyes while Andy gave me a kiss.
There are so many more special memories and magical moments from our Disney Fairy Tale Wedding. I can’t imagine a better way to begin my life with my wonderful husband. We were able to celebrate with those closest to us in our favorite place.
Contributed by Amy from Growing Up Disney, where three generations are taking on the World! Join us as we share memories and tips from our family’s nearly 40 years of Walt Disney World vacations. Please follow us on Twitter or Facebook as we offer suggestions for traveling with children, dining and resort reviews, and more.
My fiance and I are doing an Escape wedding at either the WP or at Sea Breeze Point – we’ll find out in two weeks – next May, and I’m super excited. While we can’t afford a lot of the fancy add-ons, I’m definitely impressed with all that we get for $7500. Not gonna lie, my biggest excitement is the annual passes! I also love that in the informational pdf, they list the options for professional hair and makeup, the officiants, etc. I’m just starting the planning, really, and I’m already so impressed with the DFTW folk. Super nice and super informative. :)
Amy, what a priceless gift from your dad! I teared up reading about it. We are Disney fanatics ourselves. We are going in October for our third time in 4 years. Our boys will be almost 6 and 4. They love Disney as much as we do!
Awww how cute! I can remember as a little kid that was my “Dream Wedding” I wanted to arrive in Cinderella’s carriage. I probably won’t get married there unless I marry a disney nut (considering all of my family would be traveling anyway) but mostly b/c I’m catholic and will want to have a catholic ceremony.
My 5 year old has been planing her wedding there for 2 years. At least we have plenty of time to save.
Beautiful story! I just got married at Disney 2 and a half months ago. We were married at the Wedding Pavillion and had our reception in a Grand Floridian ballroom. It truly was a fairytale come true! And we our our Magic Kingdom photo shoot this Saturday. I hope the tropical storm stays away!
Beautiful story Amy! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I have to admit I got a bit vaklemp reading about the rings! What an amazing wedding!!
Thanks Kristin for letting me share my story! Seriously, we have to meet up if I ever get home again. The new baby HATES her car seat so we are lucky to get to Lowe’s and back these days.
I had originally wanted a small wedding at WDW. (The packages are much better now.) As they tend to do, the wedding grew on us and became a grander affair. That’s one of the things I love about Disney Fairy Tale weddings. They really can cover a wide range of budgets and help lots of couples have Disney magic on their big day.
I also had a Disney Escape wedding! Mine was in Canada, Epcot, June of 2010. We had 20ish people there and our reception was at the California Grill. OMG, it was AMAZING. We really didn’t do any extra flairs.. just what they provided, and it certainly was magical :)
Cool! We had a Disney Escape Wedding at Sea Breeze Point at the Boardwalk Resort and our reception at Whispering Canyon Cafe. The next day we treated everyone to breakfast at Kona Cafe, and the next night we had an Epcot Dessert Party. It was awesome!!
Getting married at WDW doesn’t have to be expensive. Our entire 2009 wedding and honeymoon – EVERYTHING included: Escape wedding, 7 nights at the Caribbean Beach Resort, welcome party, clothes, rings, hair/make-up, officiant, ALL food (reception, next day breakfast, food for the week), Dessert Party, etc. – cost around $7K. If you want a big wedding or to have it on a Sat/Sun, then it adds up.
Aww… Now I wish I got married in WDW too.. Well, I guess I can always do my vow renewal there after couponing to Disney. :) Thank you for sharing the beautiful story!
What a beautiful story! I remember doing a project on a dream wedding and that was the location! It was quite some time ago and I think I remember the wedding estimate to be around $10K! Do I dare to ask what the estimate would be now!! :)
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story. I liked it so much I am now following your site!
Sounds like your wedding couldn’t have been more perfect. If I could do it again, I think I’d look into a Disney wedding. I’m such a sucker for Disney magic!
Wow, I had my vow renewal in May 2005 at the Wedding Pavilion with a reception at the Grand Floridian. :) Brings back alot of good memories.