This Is How Much a Disney World Wedding Costs
If you’ve been crunching the numbers over how much a WDW wedding could cost you, then consider Meredith and Chad’s gorgeous wedding at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Their destination nuptials were a true fairytale experience complete with a Cinderella coach ride and private fireworks party at Epcot!
Their fresh garden party theme came to life in hues of pink and peach. From the bright florals to all the surprises throughout the day, this wedding was an experience their guests won’t soon forget. See all the highlights and full gallery below from Root Photography. Plus, don’t miss out on the brides budget breakdown for an idea of what a WDW could cost you.
get married at Walt Disney World
From the bride: From the moment I started planning our wedding I knew it was going to be anything but traditional. Chad and I are high school sweethearts and started dating during my sophomore year and his junior year. We’ve been inseparable for almost eight years, so there was basically no question that we would get married. I wanted our wedding to be more of a fun, informal celebration of the life we had already built together, which is part of the reason we decided to plan a destination wedding. We've always shared the desire for an intimate wedding with just our closest friends and family, which made choosing Disney World as the location for our destination wedding a no-brainer for me.
Romantic ceremony with a view
Our morning ceremony was held at Disney’s Wedding Pavilion, which sits on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s flagship resort, the Grand Floridian. In true fairytale wedding style, the Pavilion features stained glass, a huge crystal chandelier, white pews, and an arched magnifying window that frames the Cinderella Castle across the lagoon. We added five-foot gold candelabras wrapped in greenery garland and an aisle runner featuring a gold glitter quote from Disney’s Tarzan.
Brunch Reception in Epocot
We held our brunch reception at the General Motors lounge in Epcot. The GM lounge is a private space located above the attraction Test Track and is usually only available for corporate functions. It isn’t very popular with Disney wedding couples because it is normally a relatively bare space, but we fell in love with the unforgettable view of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth through the floor to ceiling windows and the ability to incorporate our theme and colors seamlessly. Even though I'm a self-defined Disney fanatic, I didn't want my wedding theme to "scream" Disney. Our venues were already unique to Disney, and I didn’t want to overpower their presence with a ton of themed decor. I’ve always envisioned my wedding reception as a "garden party" complete with farmhouse trestle tables, cascading garland centerpieces, a black and white dance floor, and gold candelabras.
Shades of Peach and Pink
My colors were inspired by the spring season and my amethyst colored ceremony dress. Rather than attempt to match the unique color of my gown, I decided to opt for pretty much any and every shade of pink and peach to complement it! I only met with my Disney florist once and gave her about eight color samples of shades of pink and peach, an inspiration picture for my bouquet and centerpieces, and the request that my bouquet be large with a ton of texture. She pretty much took the floral design from there and went above and beyond to capture my vision perfectly!
Private Fireworks Party
Something especially unique to Disney weddings is the ability to have a private party for Epcot’s Illuminations fireworks show. Our fireworks party allowed us to get everyone back together in a more casual, relaxed setting. For an hour before the show, we mingled with guests and filled up on late night “comfort" food including a build your own nacho station - complete with beef, nacho cheese, and almost every topping imaginable. We also had a flambé station where a chef cooked cronuts in an apple pie flavored moonshine! We gave our guests a taste of the Disney parks by including some of the most popular food items from across property including zebra domes, jalapeño cheese pretzels, and carrot cake cookies. After the fireworks show, we took a private ride on Test Track with all of our guests! To quote my dear grandmother, "When Meredith gets married it's not a wedding - it's an experience!"
The wedding party was treated to super treat, they were all able to take a ride on Test Track. Basically a futuristic themed ride where riders get to design their own concept vehicle and "test" the performance of that vehicle in a variety of obstacles (brake test, hill climb, bumpy surfaces) and ends with a speed test around an outdoor track at 65 mph (which is when the ride picture was taken).
Our reception at the General Motors Lounge was actually in the second story above the ride, and we could see the cars go by on the track out the windows! We got to ride it after our fireworks party once it closed to the regular guests, so each group got their own car.
To get a closer look at this Walt Disney World wedding, check out the wedding film Switzerworld created below!
https://vimeo.com/272647396
Budget Breakdown
Videographer: $6800
Wedding Dresses: $8k
Floral, Decor, and Rentals: $14k
Entertainment (DJ and Disney characters): $4k
Food and Beverage: $4k
Cake: $800
Private Fireworks Party at Epcot: $2k
Private Test Track Ride: $500
The carriage ride was $3200 and all of the venue fees were about $5k together (ceremony, reception, and dessert party venue fees). The $500 for the private Test Track ride was when our group got to ride Test Track (a ride in Epcot) after the park closed.
- Favors & Gifts: Miss Design Berry
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Fairytale Hair and Makeup
- @merejohnson24: Meredith Johnson
- Accessories & Lingerie: USABride
- Bridal Boutiques: White on Daniel Island
- Cakes & Catering: Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings
- Favors & Gifts: The Original Runner Company
- Groom & His Men: Express
- Jewelry: Kate Spade
- Lighting, Entertainment & Photo Booth: DJ Charles Miles
- Officiants: Rev. Kevin Knox
- Photographers: Root Photography
- Wedding Dresses: Hayley Paige
- Wedding Films: Switzerworld