Reception Alternative

[Blayne159]

Hey Everyone,

My fiancee and I are planning a destination wedding (coming from Texas) for Epcot next year. Instead of having a formal reception, we thought it'd be fun to pay for everyone's park tickets for the day (since the ceremony would be over before 10am) so we could all be at Epcot and eat/drink around the world, ride rides, and then at the end of the night get back together for a Dessert Party at the Canada Overlook. We also wanted to do a Welcome Dinner somewhere in Disney Springs the night before the ceremony that we'd pay for since they wouldn't be getting a formal sit-down meal after the ceremony.

We've ran this idea by a few of our friends and they thought it sounded fun. One of our family members however thought it'd be rude to invite all of our guests out there and not host a formal reception. So we were curious what y'all thought about all of this. We appreciate any and all feedback!

 

[starry_solo]

Hey Everyone,

My fiancee and I are planning a destination wedding (coming from Texas) for Epcot next year. Instead of having a formal reception, we thought it'd be fun to pay for everyone's park tickets for the day (since the ceremony would be over before 10am) so we could all be at Epcot and eat/drink around the world, ride rides, and then at the end of the night get back together for a Dessert Party at the Canada Overlook. We also wanted to do a Welcome Dinner somewhere in Disney Springs the night before the ceremony that we'd pay for since they wouldn't be getting a formal sit-down meal after the ceremony.

We've ran this idea by a few of our friends and they thought it sounded fun. One of our family members however thought it'd be rude to invite all of our guests out there and not host a formal reception. So we were curious what y'all thought about all of this. We appreciate any and all feedback!

If you're paying for everyone to have a meal the night before the ceremony, then why do they need a reception after the ceremony? It would be different if you only invited the wedding party to the dinner before, but if you're inviting every wedding guests, then I don't see a problem.

One meal is one meal, regardless of whether it happens before or after the ceremony.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Can I be on your guest list? Lol. Sounds amazing, your friends and family are lucky. I’d take a day in Epcot over a normal reception any day

 

[Blayne159]

If you're paying for everyone to have a meal the night before the ceremony, then why do they need a reception after the ceremony? It would be different if you only invited the wedding party to the dinner before, but if you're inviting every wedding guests, then I don't see a problem.

One meal is one meal, regardless of whether it happens before or after the ceremony.

That's what our thinking was! A thank you/welcome dinner the night before combo'd with the park tickets and the dessert party would suffice. But since we're a little biased with it being our idea we wanted some fellow DisneyFans input!

 

[Blayne159]

Can I be on your guest list? Lol. Sounds amazing, your friends and family are lucky. I’d take a day in Epcot over a normal reception any day

If our budget allowed it you'd be invited! We're at the tiptop of our budget already unfortunately

 

[DPgrlz]

I think that this sounds fabulous. It is very generous to pay for park tickets, a welcome dinner and a dessert party. This would end up being the most memorable wedding that most guests had ever been to.

 

[Bethany66]

Did that for our EPCOT wedding in 2010. Had a Welcome Dinner at Wolfgang Pucks; long before all the other great options were available at Disney Springs. Highly suggest Homecomin' and Morimoto's. Raglan Road can do a nice set up but it will be a bit more loud. STK has excellent dishes and would be an option too.
Have a wonderful wedding!! Disney does it the best!!!

 

[soniam]

Do you what you want and don't worry if one person thinks it's rude. After having a fairly traditional wedding and reception, which was great, I realized that we listened to what others said way too much and should have listened to our own hearts. We still did a lot of things that were exactly as we wanted, but some things weren't.

 

[MamaLema]

OP, I love your idea! Your guests are very lucky.

 

[Figment of Speech]

One of our family members however thought it'd be rude to invite all of our guests out there and not host a formal reception.

Some people struggle with the idea of a wedding that doesn't fit into their cookie-cutter preconceptions. This particular family member might also not have a complete sense of how generous it is for you to be covering everyone's park admission. If they've never been to WDW, they may not realize that park admission — particularly once you include the previous night's dinner and the dessert party — is in the same general ballpark as a pricey wedding reception, in terms of per-person outlay.

It's also possible that Epcot holds no interest to them, so it doesn't "feel" like a kindness. Sort of like how if a couple had their "reception" at a Dodgers game, people who don't like baseball might feel cheated if they flew all the way out to L.A. for it. However, out of all the WDW parks, Epcot is easily the best one for a mixed group. It has something for absolutely everyone. So if that's where your family member is coming from, then maybe they need a bit more of a primer on what that park admission covers and how much there is to enjoy in the park.

If you're worried that other people might have the same complaint, you might be able to fend it off with how you craft your communications. For instance, "In lieu of a traditional reception, it will be our pleasure to treat our guests to an amazing dinner at ________ and an entire day's admission to Epcot..."

 

[boop0524]

Oh wow this sounds amazing!! I wish we would’ve done something fun and unique like this. We had a lot of pressure to do a traditional wedding (parents paid, so they called the shots there) but man this is so much better. Do what makes you happy and whatever you want to do!! People will always have an opinion but in this case, yours is the one that matters. Congrats!!!

 

[bella_and_the_beast]

This is way better than a formal reception in my opinion. This is coming from someone who had the ceremony/reception at a park with catered BBQ and yard games set up, so I didn't want a formal reception either. Do it!

 

[RogueX]

That sounds great! Have fun and enjoy the day.

 

[Cheburashka]

Hey Everyone,

My fiancee and I are planning a destination wedding (coming from Texas) for Epcot next year. Instead of having a formal reception, we thought it'd be fun to pay for everyone's park tickets for the day (since the ceremony would be over before 10am) so we could all be at Epcot and eat/drink around the world, ride rides, and then at the end of the night get back together for a Dessert Party at the Canada Overlook. We also wanted to do a Welcome Dinner somewhere in Disney Springs the night before the ceremony that we'd pay for since they wouldn't be getting a formal sit-down meal after the ceremony.

We've ran this idea by a few of our friends and they thought it sounded fun. One of our family members however thought it'd be rude to invite all of our guests out there and not host a formal reception. So we were curious what y'all thought about all of this. We appreciate any and all feedback!

This sounds like a very nice idea. You are providing everyone with a welcome dinner, so that is showing your hospitality, along with the park tickets. Making the ticket a park hopper would be even more generous, so if they weren't huge Epcot fans, they could go to the park of their choice.

Frankly, many wedding guests find long receptions and multiple wedding events tiresome to attend, and would appreciate being "set free" after the wedding to have fun in their own way.

 

[HopperFan]

I love this idea! I would much rather have a fun day with everyone at Epcot than sitting around for a dinner. It's your day, do it your way!!