Welcome party for wedding

Snag22815

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Hi!
I’ve seen numerous brides speak of their wedding and mention welcome parties but I was curious as to how they actually worked. I am in the beginning stages of planning my October 2020 wedding and would very much like to work a welcome party into our budget. We have a wedding with approximately 25 guests and I would love to know what other brides who have done in park welcome parties did. I’m looking for cost, planning process, where are you had it. But obviously cost is a big factor/Price per head. If anyone can give me any information about this, I would be very appreciative. Thank you!
 
It really depends on what kind of in-park welcome party you want. You can make a regular reservation (you'll probably need two) at an in-park restaurant, but you'll need to be sure that everyone has admission to the park.

If you want a private in-park event, then the pricing is identical to that of a wedding reception inside the park—same venue fees, same food and beverage minimums—you just don't have to meet the overall Wishes minimum expenditures (Per-Person Food and Beverage Min of $190 and the Enhancement Minimum for the day) that you do for a wedding. And there are viewing fees if you'll be watching Epcot Forever/Fantasmic! from the venue you choose. If you have my guide, you can find venue fees and food and beverage minimums for in-park locations in Chapter 3.
 
It really depends on what kind of in-park welcome party you want. You can make a regular reservation (you'll probably need two) at an in-park restaurant, but you'll need to be sure that everyone has admission to the park.

If you want a private in-park event, then the pricing is identical to that of a wedding reception inside the park—same venue fees, same food and beverage minimums—you just don't have to meet the overall Wishes minimum expenditures (Per-Person Food and Beverage Min of $190 and the Enhancement Minimum for the day) that you do for a wedding. And there are viewing fees if you'll be watching Epcot Forever/Fantasmic! from the venue you choose. If you have my guide, you can find venue fees and food and beverage minimums for in-park locations in Chapter 3.
I appreciate your reply, Thank you so much. I do have your guide and will reference it again. Does the cost breakdown work the same way for having the welcome party at say, The Attic or another resort location?
I was trying to avoid making a large party dining reservation, I wanted something with a more personal touch for my family and friends— such as a catered event.
 
I appreciate your reply, Thank you so much. I do have your guide and will reference it again. Does the cost breakdown work the same way for having the welcome party at say, The Attic or another resort location?

Yep! Just look up the place you want and you'll see the venue fee (if applicable) and food and beverage minimum. After that, the only other fees would be if you want to provide transportation, if you need an event guide (they require one at the Attic now, for example) and the viewing fee I mentioned if you're inside a park with a view of a fireworks show.
 


So with the huge price tag of the Wedding Pavilion and then the reception at the Grand Floridian, we knew a Disney catered Welcome Party would be out of the question money-wise for us. We also wanted to do a fireworks dessert party, but when we found out the cost plus how if the fireworks are cancelled, you're moved to an indoor location and get zero dollars back, we decided that wasn't an option either. So what we ended up doing was getting a DVC grand villa at the Bay Lake Tower with a theme park view on points and hosting our own Welcome Party and Fireworks dessert party there, and they were both AMAZING!!!

We did all the catering through the nearest Publix supermarket. The "Wicked Welcome Party" was a Halloween-themed costume party (we even wore our costumes to the Wedding Rehearsal!) and then, the night of the wedding, we did a "Happily Ever After" Party, complete with desserts, light up necklaces from Wal-Mart, and a perfect view of the Happily Ever After fireworks. It really worked out because not only did we get a venue for two different parties with fireworks view, we got housing my entire family, so it was party venues and hotel in one. We also saved a boat load of money on food and alcohol by doing it ourselves.
 

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