You showed up on a great day, because we have another installment of:
Ask a Disney Bride
This advice column is where we tackle some tricky wedding situations. Some are general wedding planning questions and others are unique to Disney. Today's question is a common one I hear from Disney couples in particular so I hope we can shed some light on this subject and help you respond to guests' questionable looks if you are in this situation.
Dear DWI,
We are having a morning wedding at Walt Disney World. Our ceremony is at 9:30am, followed by a breakfast buffet and light dancing. Will our guests still have fun at a morning wedding without booze and a DJ?
Signed,
Concerned in Connecticut
Dear Concerned,
First of all, there is really nothing to be concerned about! Yes, the WIC (Wedding Industrial Complex) tells us that weddings should take place at sunset and your guests should get drunk and dance until the wee hours of the morning. But, guess what? A wedding is a celebration, and your friends and family will celebrate with you whenever (and hopefully wherever) you choose. Having a wedding on Disney property can be especially tricky and a simple explanation of "This is the only time we could get married at our desired location," or, "Having a morning wedding saved us a ton of money," should quiet most guests' concerns.
If you still get some complainers, try to show them the positives of your chosen time. A morning wedding means avoiding the afternoon Florida heat. An 11:30am wedding means your guests won't have to drive home from Disneyland at midnight.
If you do have a morning reception, I recommend having something for guests to do aside from mingling and eating breakfast. A photo booth is fun at any time of the day or night. Another suggestion is to put either a deck of cards or a different game at each table (Mad Libs? Connect Four?). This will get guests talking and moving around. And don't forget to have some background music. The orchestra scores to your favorite Disney movies piped through an iPod hook-up would do nicely. Finally, if you can afford it, get the ultimate in entertainment - a visit from Mickey and Minnie! When your special guests arrive, I promise your human guests will completely forget about any qualms they had regarding your "weird" wedding time.
The bottom line is, the friends and family who truly care about you will be there to celebrate, whatever time your ceremony happens to take place.
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| Photo by Beverly Hills Photography |
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Have any of my readers received similar complaints from guests? How did you handle it? How did your morning wedding turn out? Please help out our bride in the comments.
We had alot of guests question our morning wedding. We did not let this change our minds, and our wedding turned out great! Everyone had so much fun. It was also nice to have a break in the middle of the day. Everyone got back together for a couple of hours at night for the dessert party. It was a great way to end a perfect day!
ReplyDeleteMelissa
This was a concern we briefly shared during our planning. Our wedding celebration ran from 11:30AM to 5:00 pm on a Saturday. Both of us were used to attending weddings that took place a little later so we feared that the "odd" timing might not be best for the party atmosphere that we hoped for.
ReplyDeleteIt actually turned out perfect! By having our wedding in the middle of the day, it gave guests a chance to sober up before the drive home and it gave them the opportunity to still go out at night or have a little fun on their own on Disney property.
I think a lot of it had to do with our attitudes and our entertainment choices. We asked our guests to jot down a music request on their RSVP's so that we knew that we were going to play music that our guests would enjoy. Our DJ did a great job of playing music that we wanted to hear and that our guests asked to hear. We also spent the entire time on the dance floor dancing with our friends and family so I think seeing us have a good time, helped our guests relax and not worry about how early it was outside.
I like your ideas about offering alternatives for the non-dancers like the games or the photobooths. I think it would be fun to hook up a Wii to a TV and have a space for guests to play some interactive games like "Just Dance" or one of the "Rock Bands". And I definitely agree that Mickey and Minnie are money well spent and they'll certainly make everyone forget what time it is.
The bottom line is that people go to weddings to have a good time and celebrate with the couple. The time doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. :)
We had a morning wedding...the way we got people on board was to explain to them that they were coming to Disney, we didn't want to take away from that. Having a morning wedding allowed them to still have most of the day that they could spend in a park if they wanted to when it was over. Then there was the kicker that everyone understood...when I was picking out the time for my wedding, my mom made a great point that I shared with everyone and they totally understood and quieted down about the morning wedding....I was going to be SOO excited...did I really want to have deal with that all day...or did I want to get married and not have to wait. Everyone who knew me totally understood that it would have killed me to have to wait until 5pm to get married...I would be totally unbearable all day, so I got up at 5 am, started getting ready and said "I do" before the excitement completely turned me into a bridezilla ;)
ReplyDeleteWe even mentioned the park we were planning to go to after the reception so that everyone that wanted to continue the fun in the parks could. We tried to fill a car at the tower of terror so that it was like a fun and different wedding photo.
The people that care enough to come to your wedding won't care if it's in the morning or the night.
I had the added difficultly of not getting married on a weekend. Which if you ask anyone is a big faux pas...but I wanted to get married on a very specific date, and that happened to be on a Monday...my family and friends understood and enjoyed the long weekend it gave them.
We did have a DJ...it was someone to control the music and do all the announcing without anyone in the family having to do it, we got a great deal through the Disney Wedding planner and it was a really decision. Also since it was an early lunch reception, we had a few signature drinks (including a bloody mary and mamosa - traditional brunch drinks) and a small bar so that people who wanted it could have a drink. We didn't have a lot of dancing, but we had some...and we had a great time.
I hope you get married when you want to, those that want to be there will, regardless of the day or time. Good luck!!!!
We're doing a brunch wedding so this is a concern I've had, especially since it's a smaller wedding and we have a lot of people over 50. I'm hoping the music we've picked will facilitate dancing if people want but not be overwhelming if people just want to socialize. Also, love your idea about wedding mad libs! Just went on Etsy and found some that are wedding advice for the happy couple- I'm so excited to read them after the wedding is over!
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