To me the escape seems like a better deal unless you can afford to pay big $$$$. You get a pretty location and the whole experience w/out the cost. it's not huge and you can't invite a lot of people, but the Wishes weddings I've seen seem a bit bare bones unless you can afford to pay a lot extra.
It seems the big deciding factor for choosing between Escape & Wishes (besides $$) is number of people attending. There's limits on the Escape package (that seem to be slightly bendable on rare occasion). I think some elements are not available to Escape packages, only Wishes. I'm trying to think off the top of my head what some of those were but can't seem to remember. I know I read a thread where a bride wanted something in particular but was told she could only have it if she bumped up to Wishes. I wonder if the most preferred times/locations are limited to Wishes brides or if the Wishes brides are given preferential treatment. The official answer, I'm sure, is "no" but come on. If Disney can schedule a $150,000 event instead of a $10k event I'm sure it's a no brainer.
The base price is $4,750. For our 2006 wedding at Sunset Pointe with the base package (closer to 5K then) on a Friday with officiant (Rev Jack) and videographer, I think our wedding clocked in just under $6,000. I'm not sure what these other brides/grooms are doing to add $4,000 to Disney's base price but you can do a WDW wedding for less than $10k if you stick to what's included in the base package.
Or at least in 2006 you could.
The ones I saw where the bride stuck with only the package inclusions easily approached and mostly exceeded the $10k mark when they added the cost of travel (airfare, hotel, dining, etc.). If I were to fly down to WDW for a week, stay at a moderate with my family of 4, even with free dining in the cheaper season(s) runs an easy $4k if we go bare-bones (no souvenirs, tours, additional snacks, etc.). The ones who kept their wedding expenses to the $10k added a reception meal in a resort restaurant for their guests, paid to have their hair & make-up done, sometimes added small upgrades to the photography (a lot of them use non-Disney photographers), did the photo shoots in the parks, slightly upgraded their cakes from just the standards, etc. Many of them include the cost of their gowns & the groom's attire in the budget. Any floral upgrades added some to the cost. I could easily go down there and do my vow renewal with just my sons which is what I want for the $6k. Add my dress (which was purchased a little over a year ago) and that's now just over $7k. Add shoes, veil, & tiara and that's another $500. Jewelry to accessorize? $200. I'll want my dress steamed. And preserved after. I don't even know what that runs. Oh. If the hubby and both boys wear tuxes I suppose at $100 each that would make $300. If I want boutt's for the boys' lapels that'll be extra. Hair & makeup will be another $200 - $300. That's now $8,500. That's zero dollars on additional decorations, food, nothing. That's a lot of money to spend for very little bang-for-the-buck. If I was going to spend all that I'd want a little more than the couple hours of bliss. Ideally, I'd want to add a park photo shoot (can't remember just how much, seems like $600 + the cost to pay the hair/makeup chicks again). Also, a private dessert party for Illuminations (roughly $750 for just the 4 of us on the cheapest package, no alcohol) would be nice. If I wanted dinner somewhere nice that's more. It all adds up and FAST. With no upgrades and including attire + the cost of travel we'd easily top the $10k. I look at that $10k and think of the nice 2 week trip I could possibly do in a deluxe with my family instead and the decision to keep the vow renewal just a day dream is a no-brainer. I'm the same way with my rings. Hubby's been wanting to buy me a real set (I had just my little ol' band the first 9 years we were married then added a little diamond ring purchased from a friend for $275 which I wear to this day). I'm too practical for my own good. I see those price tags and think: "Dang! That's a washer, a dryer, refrigerator, AND dishwasher!" Or the total cost of braces for my youngest son!!! See what I mean? When I got married my parents didn't approve. Only 1 was in attendance. I got married in my in-laws house with friends and family near. It was a sweet little thing. Entire cost for food, attire, license, blood tests (loooong time ago...LOL) everything from start to finish with about 40 guests was about $260. What a contrast, huh????
I guess if people want to get married in a Disney park and dressing up or having that fairytale princess experience isn't a concern then the commando thing would be a great option. Seriously! Cause, man, those weddings are sickeningly expensive. I dream of my ideal vow renewal since I didn't get that experience the first go around but unless the winning lottery ticket popped up I know I'll never do it.
BTW, the Swan & Dolphin do wedding packages that are a lot less than Disney's weddings. Disney Cruise Line does them much cheaper, too. Waldorf Astoria (Bonnet Creek) does them but I've not seen any of their pricing. I just think that resort is gorgeous and probably would offer a fantastic level of service. :wave:
