Our Story
Six years ago, my partner and I were at the first D23 event in Anaheim California and while at the event, we came upon the Disney Fairy Tale Wedding exhibit. We quietly looked around at all the beautiful dresses, table settings and flowers. We noticed Cinderella’s coach next to the exhibit and realized that there was a photographer, so as a joke we thought it would be funny to have our picture in front of the coach. The idea of us being able to legally marry, let alone a Disney wedding arriving in Cinderella’s coach wasn’t even on our radar.
Flash forward 6 years and that dream came true when we got married at the Rose Garden under a beautifully decorated gazebo full of white flowers, Christmas lights and snow. Yes, it snowed at our ceremony in Southern California. Something only Disney can make happen. The ceremony was located on the Disneyland Resort at the Disneyland Hotel and we both arrived at our ceremony in Cinderella’s coach.
Dreams Do Come True
The Planning
The process of what one goes through for a Disney Fairy Tale wedding, can seem like a huge, daunting task, but quite honestly, Disney knows what they’re doing and have been doing this for a very long time. They make the whole process easy from beginning to end. We started off by simply visiting their website and looking at all the options ranging from a very simple ceremony and cake reception, to options of getting married right in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. It didn’t take us long to realize that we wanted more than a small ceremony and didn’t quite have the funds to get married in front of the castle. There’s every option for people on a budget to those where a budget doesn’t exist.
We submitted our information to be contacted by a Disney Wedding planner and within a few days, we received an email introducing herself to us and asking us about our thoughts for our wedding. Within a few weeks of back and forth emails, we picked a date. The next steps in the planning involve a lengthy document, outlining every option that Disney offers. Even space for adding items that would be unique to your wedding. Snow was one thing that no one had ever asked for their ceremony. We knew Disneyland made it snow during Christmas time in the parks, so why not during our ceremony? Disney made it happen.
The Decision Making
The hardest part of the process, was filling out the 25 page form listing all your desires for your wedding. Ceremony, pre reception, reception, flowers, cake, music, food, alcohol. Once we had our initial draft completed, it was sent off to our planner. Then we waited. We had a year and a half to plan, yet we found ourselves wanting to move through the process faster than was needed.
Excitement, I guess.
We eventually received a breakdown of the cost of everything that we requested. You would be surprised at some items that you think would be reasonably priced, turn out to be some of the most expensive. Try asking for Mickey and Minnie to be at your wedding for 30 minutes. The sticker price will shock you. Ask for snow at your ceremony? You’ll be pleasantly surprised. We quickly realized that there were requests that were out of our budget or seemed later on like a waste of money. We had to decide what we truly wanted. Disney works with you patiently, adding and removing items, changing dining options, adding number of guests. Luckily, you have up until a few weeks before your ceremony to make last minute changes.
Once we got to the point where everything was finalized, which took a couple months, a contract is provided with a total cost and a down payment is required. Typically, depending on the length of time to the wedding day, you have a few times to make additional payments with a final payment due a couple months before the big day.This was the point that things got real for us.
Once the contract was signed, Disney requires two visits if possible prior to your wedding day. We had our initial visit in December of 2013. We met with the wedding planner and floral cast member where the DVC offices are located. We spent a few hours going over our contract and our list. We helped them by keeping a pinterest board of our ideas and provided them with numerous photographs. This came in very handy, because the day of our wedding, the tables, flower arrangements and cake were exactly what we had envisioned in our heads, based upon numerous photo’s we had provided. We then headed to see various sites for our ceremony, pre-reception and reception. Different places have minimum requirements, but if willing to pay more, you can have a reception at a place that requires 80 people, even if you only have 50 people showing up. You just have to pay for 80 people. Main costs for food and alcohol are based on number of people and can be adjusted at any time. We found ourselves changing these items a lot, up until a month before the wedding. The entire meeting lasted about 3 hours and we were able to continue on with our weeding at Disneyland. There were a few emails back and forth with questions and changes, but nothing drastic. You often feel as there’s nothing being done, but trust me when I say that everything is under control and all is going as planned. The control freak in me comes out and I had to sit back and tell myself that Disney is handling it.
Our next meeting wasn’t until September of 2014. This was our final meeting with the wedding planner, floral designer, chef and pastry chef. We immediately headed to Steakhouse 55, who was catering the event and had a tasting of all that will be provided during our reception. Once we had our fill, made suggestions, we moved on to cake tasting. Five separate types of cake that we mentioned were provided for us to try. We couldn’t make a decision because all of them were so good, so we opted to have each layer a different type of cake. The meeting and tasting only lasted a couple hours. We spent the time asking questions and going over our list one last time. That was the last that we saw of our planner until the day of the wedding.
The Big Day
Disney treats you like a VIP when you arrive at the resort the weekend of your wedding. We received VIP concierge service throughout our stay and provided VIP seating for any park events. We were given personal numbers to call for anything that we needed during our stay.
The day of the wedding, Disney gets in full action and takes care of everything. We literally did not have to worry about one single thing. They provide you with a list of preferred photographers and videographers to choose from, who all have worked years at the resort. You do not have to choose them, but it does make things easier. They both showed up on time while we were getting ready and handled taking pre-wedding photos. We even got to sneak up to the reception hall and the Rose Garden to see how things were coming along. The wedding planners kick things in high gear, making sure family arrives where they need to for photo’s, while everyone else is setting up the Rose Garden and Sleeping Beauty’s Pavilion for our reception.
Without going into tons more detail, there wasn’t one thing that went wrong or that Disney forgot. They have a full team of people handling every single aspect of your special day from the time of getting ready, until the last dance is done. It may sound silly to say since this word is always used in describing anything Disney related, but the entire experience from beginning to end, was Magical. That truly, is the only way to describe the entire process. You’re made to feel special from the moment you ask about having a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding, until that final moment when you’re walking back to your room holding the hand of the person you love.
*Editors note, have tissues at the ready
My name is Mark Floyd-Thaut and I'm 49 years old. I live in Dallas Texas with my wonderful husband Steven Floyd-Thaut and our two dogs Max and Toby. I work as a manager for a prominent bank. In our spare time we enjoy charity work in our community, dining with friends, creating art and enjoying our lives together as newlyweds. We are self proclaimed Disney Dorks, loving all things Disney. We enjoy taking numerous trips to Disneyland and have recently found a love for Disney cruises. We love collecting vintage Disneyland items and can't seem to collect enough pins, coffee mugs, tshirts and christmas ornaments. We are big kids at heart and love every minute of it.
For those of you that have taken a Disney Cruise, you are no doubt familiar with the "Wave Phones". They are a free way to communicate with other members of your party on the ship. While at sea, cell phones are pretty non existent if you want to be able to pay for another vacation in the next ten years. The Wave Phones served their purpose. You were able to call the kids club, restaurants and other members of your travel party. They also served the purpose of taking you back to Y2K, when texting involved scrolling through letters one by one. By the time the text was typed, you could have walked from one end of the ship to the other. 
On a recent Disney Fantasy cruise my husband and I set up the Onboard Chat feature and it was so much easier to use. Just like texting at home. It worked flawlessly and so much better than the wave phones, which are bulky to carry and outdated. The Disney Navigator app should be downloaded prior to leaving port to your phone and/or tablet. It can be activated onboard using their DCL-Guest WiFi signal which is no cost to you. Make sure you've followed the instructions from your phone service provider to avoid roaming/data costs. Once onboard you can re-launch the app to include all the ship information and set up a chat feature with whomever you like. As usual, Disney Cruise Line has all their bases covered.
