DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris

DisLove E70 Our DFTW Experience and Carrie Hayward Author of the Fairytale Weddings Guide

• Vanessa Ferguson and Kris Johns with guest Carrie Hayward • Season 3 • Episode 70

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In this episode, Kris and Vanessa share details about their Disney Fairytale wedding and vow renewal.  Later in the episode, they are joined by Carrie, author of Carrie Hayward's Fairytale Weddings Guide.  She is also the host of The Disney Wedding Podcast.

For all the latest news about our episodes follow us on Instagram @dislovewithvanessaandkris or on YouTube.

Vanessa Ferguson  0:04  
Welcome to the Islam podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa Ferguson.

Kris Johns  0:08  
And I'm Kris Johns,

Vanessa Ferguson  0:09  
we'd like to welcome you to show number 70. And for any listeners joining us for the first time, our show features things we love it Disney and in each episode, we have a guest who creates Disney magic for our listeners at home, or on their Disney vacations. from vacation planners to product producers, our guests can bring Disney Magic into your life. And as a reminder to listeners we appreciate if you can take time to leave reviews for us on Apple podcasts or any other platform where you listen. We always like to give listener shout outs on future episodes and we appreciate all of you have left those customer ratings as well just helps new listeners find us and help us bring the show to even more people. And on today's show we are going to be talking about all things Disney fairytale weddings, Kris.

Kris Johns  0:53  
That's awesome.

Vanessa Ferguson  0:54  
So maybe you've watched this series on Disney plus about Disney fairytale weddings or you've dreamed about having one yourself one day or maybe you just want to be a guest at one or you have been a guest at one. Today we're gonna be joined later on in the episode by Carrie who is the author of Carrie Hayward's fairytale weddings guide. Um, she was a bride right before her and her husband got married right before we did. And they also got married at Epcot. So we're gonna hear all about that in her fairy tale weddings guide is awesome. It's really the go to if you are planning any sort of Disney wedding, and she is also the host of the Disney wedding podcast as well. So before we hear from Carrie, we are going to do a recap of our wedding and vow renewal. Are you excited, Kris?

Kris Johns  1:40  
Very excited.

Vanessa Ferguson  1:42  
So if you've never heard us talk about it, which we talk about it a lot. We were both married at Epcot. And we also had a vow renewal there. Our wedding was in what year was our wedding? Kris

Kris Johns  1:54  
2008.

Vanessa Ferguson  1:55  
Okay, and then we'll quiz you again. When was our vow renewal?

Kris Johns  2:02  
2016

Vanessa Ferguson  2:03  
it was 10 years.

Kris Johns  2:04  
So no 2008?

Vanessa Ferguson  2:06  
Yes. 2018. Um, so we just wanted to do I know we mentioned it briefly here and there. And if you were way back with us, and episode one we talked about like our Disney background story, but just thought we'd do a recap and run through the comparisons of what happened at our wedding versus our vow renewal. And a little bit about those experiences for both of us. So if you a little bit about the whole story, we were there about a week for both events, I'd say. And we had close to the same number of people. I think at our wedding, we had exactly 50 when we had our vow renewal we had right around 40 people join us. So we're gonna talk about what that week looked like and kind of what those events were. And we'll quiz Kris along the way and see what he remembers and what he liked about that time. Sounds like a plan. Okay. Now one of the things that a Disney wedding isn't just the day of Oh, no, no. So it's the things that you do before and after, even beyond what you would do for a regular wedding besides just your rehearsal dinner and all of that. It's basically a big vacation for your closest family and friends. At least that's how we took it. We ended up we did a separate honeymoon. So our big thing when we're in Florida, we had events and things to do together with everyone who was there for our wedding. So we had a welcome party at both our wedding and our vow renewal and Kris. I know you remember the vow renewal welcome party. Do you remember where our welcome party was for our wedding?

Kris Johns  3:34  
Disneyworld,

Vanessa Ferguson  3:35  
good. We were at Fort wilderness and we did a private hay ride. So we ate dinner at trails end buffet, which we all like that. Oh, yes trails then. And then there's hay rides that are there in the evenings. I think those are on hold right now with everything for the pandemic. But you can rent a private hay ride and we had a private hay ride. It was nice because you could have up to 30 people on the hay ride. They took you along the beach for fort wilderness, we got to see part of the fireworks as they were going off. And also you go through the woods and all through the campground. And to be honest, you don't feel like you're at Disney World because you're so far away from everything. So that was a huge, it was just really nice. It was kind of peaceful. It was two days before our wedding. So as people were coming into town, so we had a lot of guests that just arrived that day. It was just kind of a nice, relaxed evening. Later that night I went with my bridal party and we went this is way back when there was a pirates in princess after hours party at the Magic Kingdom. We went there, Kris and his friends went out. So that was our welcome party for our wedding. Now fast forward 10 years we had a welcome party for our vow renewal and I know Kris knows this one because this is something that he really enjoys a lot. What was our welcome party for our vow renewal.

Kris Johns  4:56  
Oh, we went to the bowling alley. Yes,

splitsville.

Let's fill. Yes, that was awesome.

Vanessa Ferguson  5:01  
Yeah. So we had at splitsville, what you can do is you can reserve private lanes. And I actually know a friend who just recently did this for a birthday party. I mean, we reserved I think two lanes, and we also reserved a pool table. We had food and appetizers. It was really just a fun way where you're not inside the park, so you don't have as huge of costs. Same thing. Well, that's what we did fort wilderness as well. It was just fun. I think everybody really enjoyed the bowling.

Kris Johns  5:27  
It was so much fun.

Vanessa Ferguson  5:29  
And if you've not been to splitsville that is that Disney Springs, it's kind of a retro vibe. It's fun. Some of the bowling balls have Mickey on them. And we just really I think that was a lot of fun for everyone, and a great time. At both events. We really enjoyed both of those parties. Now a couple other events that we had leading up to both our wedding and to our vow renewal. And we did the one day our wedding was on a Monday and on Saturday before we did a latest tea at the Grand Floridian and that was really nice. We all got dressed up a lot of the ladies wear hats. We had a great time and the guys went to Lakeland What did you guys do? And like we went

Kris Johns  6:10  
to spring training went to Tigers spring training and Lakeland? I don't remember who they played, but it was a nice day.

Vanessa Ferguson  6:16  
Yes. So if you're not familiar, there are still some of the there's not as many teams in Florida anymore. Are there?

Kris Johns  6:22  
No, no, not in Orlando, but they're in Tampa. They're also on the Atlantic side.

Vanessa Ferguson  6:28  
And so because we are from Michigan, we of course our reroute for the Tigers. So they went to Lakeland which I'd say what that's about 45 minutes away or so.

Kris Johns  6:37  
Correct? Yeah, right down I four.

Vanessa Ferguson  6:38  
Yeah. So they went to spring training. Baseball, we did get married in March was the perfect time for that. And then of course, it was nice because the a lot of the guys some of the ladies too, went to baseball. And then the rest of us went over to the tee at the Grand Floridian. So really, we tried to think about and plan events that weren't necessarily in the parks, because not everyone who came to either of them went to the parks. And that's the thing is to try to show them the other side of Disney so that it's not just about going to the theme parks and riding the rides, which of course, that's why a lot of us go but there's a lot of other things at Disney as well. Now, one of the things that happened both before and after our wedding and vow renewal is we did a lot of group dinners. I think these were always fun throughout the week. Oh, of course. Yes. Yeah. So at both our wedding and our vow renewal we had a big group dinner I think both times this was the largest meal that besides the actual receptions was that Oh, Hannah, and ohana when they are open dinner is always so much fun with the singers and they do the coconut races for kids. And we have pictures of people learning how to do the hula dancing. And of course, a trip to Disney when they're open. It's not complete without dinner at

Kris Johns  7:53  
ohana. That's our favorite place to go.

Vanessa Ferguson  7:54  
Yeah, so we had dinners. They're both time.

Kris Johns  7:57  
Eat the point.

Vanessa Ferguson  7:59  
Yeah. And so that's one of our favorite dinners that we did at both our wedding and vow renewal. We also did a mix of some things in the park, as well as some of the things outside the park. We did a lot of character meals. Those are fun, even though most of our groups always had a lot of adults. I always enjoyed and it seems like everyone enjoyed the character meals we did way back then at our wedding Liberty tree Tavern was a character meal. We also did chef pinkies. We did tusker house for our vow renewal. And I think all of the adults really got into the character meals as well. Of course, it's just so much fun that the characters bring a smile to everybody's face.

Kris Johns  8:35  
It's just fun to interact. I mean, it's one of those things where, you know, the nice thing is that we love Disney so much that the adults are gonna interact. So it's not a case of get Get away from me. character. come towards

Vanessa Ferguson  8:46  
me. Yeah, we all want. We're all vying for our pictures, that's for sure. Now, of course, we want to talk about the big day. You've all heard us say that our both of our wedding and our vow renewal were and Epcot. And our wedding was inside a building.

Kris Johns  9:05  
Oh, yeah, American adventure.

Vanessa Ferguson  9:06  
Yes, American adventure rotunda was where our wedding was. And then our vow renewal is was in Italy. And I was a little sad. We were in the plaza right in front of the restaurant. And when I was there a few weeks ago, it's covered with flowers. I don't know if it's to avoid having people gather there, because it's kind of in the middle of that Plaza at the Italy Pavilion. And it's just covered with flowers. So maybe it's because of social distancing. They don't want people together there. But that's Italy is where we had our our vow renewal in 2018. And then we both because both of those are were in the morning. We had to be there very early for pictures. And our service was at nine o'clock in the morning. And it's funny because at our vow renewal, it was freezing.

Kris Johns  9:54  
It was very chilly. Yeah, it wasn't so bad for you because I was wearing a tux, but even in the tux. It was chilly? Yes,

Vanessa Ferguson  10:00  
yes. It was in the 30s in the morning for our vow renewal for our wedding by the whole day it was in the Upper 70s. I think in the morning was probably in the 60s, upper 60s. It was very nice. But we had our brunches. Both of our vow renewal events were outside. So we had our vow renewal in Italy. And then our brunch was in Canada terrace, which is that upper level where you kind of overlook the waterfall right where you would kind of exit and leave the movie, The Oh Canada film. Our wedding reception was at the living see salon, so if you've ever been to coral reef restaurant, we enjoy eating there. But right above that is a private space where they have banquets and weddings and all of that sort of thing. And that's where our wedding was. Now for our wedding. We didn't do any entertainment. We had a piano player. And we did dancing with, like our parents in that but for our vow renewal, we flipped it flipped it a little bit. And we had a special guest at our vow renewal. Who is that our vow renewal, Kris?

Kris Johns  11:02  
Who is there? Is it a character? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Mickey was there.

Vanessa Ferguson  11:08  
Yeah. So we had Mickey come. And that was a big surprise for all of our guests. And like Kris mentioned, I think the adults were just as excited as the few kids that were at our vow renewal. Everybody stood in line, we got big group pictures with Mickey. And I think for our wedding, we just wanted it to be more of a traditional wedding, and our vow renewal, it was about having fun. And that's why we decided to have the character. And I think it was well worth the cost to have Mickey as one of our honored guests, so to speak.

Kris Johns  11:39  
I agree. I mean, it was nice. We actually I was just looking at a photo of Mickey and the group yesterday. So it's just one of those things where, you know, is I think what we've seen in the last year, so you know, money is fleeting, but memories are forever. And so it was really just nice to have Mickey there. And he looked nice.

Vanessa Ferguson  11:56  
Yeah, yeah. Then you can pick the they have a wide array of costumes you can pick so we tried to pick something that wasn't in the parks. We picked his outfit from the year of a million dreams, which ironically, was from when we got married. And so it was really fun. And so that's how those brunches ran. And for both of them because we had our early morning ceremony and then our brunches. Then there was a break in the afternoon. A lot of people went to the park some people took naps, some people went to the pool. I know after our vow renewal, we took a nap after our wedding. We were switching hotels, so we moved all of our stuff. But then in the evenings, we brought everybody back to Epcot. And we did dessert parties. We did private dessert parties. And for both of those we lucked out. It was before illuminations left. So we had an illuminations dessert party for our wedding and also our vow renewal. And the nice thing for those as you get private viewing area for your guests, we had desserts at both. But at our vows. We know we kind of learned at our wedding. We were hungry afterwards, we had had a little bit too many desserts. So we switched it up for our vow renewal. And we added in to remember the food that we added Kris for the vow renewal at the dessert party. I do the Nacho bar. We had a Nacho bar, which people really liked that it was Yeah, yeah. So we had a Nacho bar. And then after the show after our wedding, that's how it ended. But we had a big surprise for our guests after our vow renewal. We had done a travel theme because Kris and I like to travel. That, of course has been curbed recently. But we're on a quest to go to all 50 states before we turn 40 we would have done it already this past year if it hadn't been for the pandemic. But because we had a travel theme, we picked what we thought was the perfect ride as a mixin for our guests, which a mixin means at the end of the night right before the park closes. They take you and you get to ride the ride. And we went to soaring and I think that really was a big wow factor for people.

Kris Johns  13:59  
Oh, yeah, it was really nice. I mean, people enjoyed it. It was nice to really I mean, you don't really realize how long the corridor is when you just walk from the front. And so that was really nice.

Vanessa Ferguson  14:11  
Yeah, so soaring was a perfect end to the evening with our vow renewal. And it just kind of capped off the whole day. And I think that was something extra special that we didn't do for our wedding. Of course for our wedding. We had bridal party and all these other costs. So we had a little bit extra in our budget to be able to do some of the things more for our guests the second time around, which was nice. And then of course, that I think really is the epitome of the Disney experience after our wedding when we decided to have the vow renewal. I think about a year and a half before our 10th anniversary, we were like well, we didn't know if anybody would want to come I think is really the big thing. And what was nice is that people were just as excited about it as our wedding and that just really goes to show what Disney is all about and why they offer a great level of service and the team at Disney's fairytale weddings is amazing. We had Marian for our planner for our wedding. And then we had Carol for our planner for our our vow renewal. And they were both amazing and their assistants and the whole team Laura Kidd was our floral manager for both. We had Randy Chapman and Stan severance, who was our videographer was Stan in our photographers, Randy Chapman. Just everyone who brought everything to the table did a great job. And I think those are some of my best memories, both our wedding and our vow renewal. And even for Kris, I think most guys aren't super into that. But I think you really enjoyed the whole experience that Disney brings to it.

Kris Johns  15:39  
Oh, well, yeah. Because I think the great thing was is that we had family there, the weather was nice. I mean, it's an experience. And at the end of the day, it was just a wonderful time. And I think the other thing is, it was nice just to commemorate 10 years with Vanessa, because we've been together a long time.

Vanessa Ferguson  15:55  
Yes. And at the end just that whole week, like being able to go into the parks with some of your friends and family that most other times you might coincide a trip with one or two other people, but to be able to have 30 to 40 people that are your closest friends and family, at the parks with you. There's just nothing that can really tap that. And we just are grateful that we had the chance to not only do it once, but twice. And hopefully, you'll get some ideas as you listen to Carrie, talk about her guidebook and how you can use her guide to help you plan Disney fairytale wedding or vow renewal on your future. So we are looking forward to hearing all about Kerry's book and looking forward to sharing it with you. We would like to welcome to carry to the show her guide fairytale weddings guide is really the go to for any couples who are planning a wedding at Walt Disney World or Disneyland. We actually got married around the same time as Carrie and her husband. So we are super excited to have Carrie on the show with us today.

Carrie Hayward  16:57  
Hello, thanks for having me on the show.

Vanessa Ferguson  17:00  
Now, of course we always like to hear what you like about Disney. And so we have a series of questions that we rotate. And right now we've been asking people what is their favorite meal to get at Walt Disney World?

Carrie Hayward  17:15  
Okay, I have to think about this one. My absolute favorite meal is to have leftover wedding cake or anniversary on the balcony of a deluxe resort room, preferably with a water view. But any Deluxe resort room will do know that I

Vanessa Ferguson  17:31  
agree with you on that we were fellow cake lovers as well. After our vow renewal, though, Kris got a horrible photo of me at the Orlando airport eating the last bit of our cake before we are going on. So yeah, you can't let that cake go to waste.

Carrie Hayward  17:49  
I love that.

Vanessa Ferguson  17:51  
Now, of course, we want to hear all about your business and what products you offer connected to Disney.

Carrie Hayward  17:58  
So I have a book called fairytale weddings guide carry Hayward's fairy tale weddings guide. And it is a comprehensive guide book and bridal organizer for anyone who is planning a wedding or a vow renewal at Walt Disney World. And that came about because as you mentioned, I got married at Disney. And I don't know about you. But when I was trying to find out about how much of my wedding would cost, they literally told me I could not get real prices until I signed a contract. Yeah, so I thought that's not very good. No. Because how would you even know if you could afford it isn't a wedding, right? So after? Yeah, so after my wedding, I just started putting together everything I knew researching talking to other couples talking to Disney, and put it all into this book that will let you find out exactly down to the penny using the self calculating budget that I created in the ebook version. Yeah, you can put in everything you want for your wedding, and how many people you're going to have. And it will tell you exactly what it will cost it will tell you how much tax will be. And it tells you how much Disney's very, very high service charges. So you can say Oh, and most of the time, I've had so many comments of people who were like, I never thought I could afford a Disney wedding till I read your book. So I feel like most of the time it shows you Oh, this is actually pretty doable.

For sure for sure.

Kris Johns  19:19  
And with that, you know we again, you're a fellow Disney bride, but really what was the motivation to write a book?

Carrie Hayward  19:26  
Well, I actually at the time was a big fan of the passporter, guidebooks to Walt Disney World which I know you know about also. Yeah. And I wrote to them and I said, you guys have these ebooks about different niche topics at Disney. You need to have one on weddings, and I said, Sure. Would you like to write it?

Vanessa Ferguson  19:43  
Right? I was like,

Carrie Hayward  19:45  
Okay, so, yeah, so I had that for Gosh, let's see I wrote it came out in 2009. And then in 2018, they actually fold it up, closed up shop. So I then took The content and created my own version I call the Carrie who words fairytale weddings guide. So that book has been out since 2018. But the content and my research has been going on since 2009.

Vanessa Ferguson  20:10  
Wow. So that was the year after our weddings then. Yes, yeah.

Kris Johns  20:14  
Yeah. You know, and so but that, you know, it's a real, you know, that's a real endeavor to write a book. Have you written anything similar before that?

Carrie Hayward  20:21  
No, you? Well, you know, I'm a professional writer and editor. And I had done a lot of work for periodicals, you know, magazines and things. So, you know, I've never been somebody who had the great American novel hidden under her pillow or anything. I'm much more comfortable writing nonfiction. So yeah, I just was like, I approached it. Like I would approach writing an article a how to Article, I actually do a lot of things in my side life as I write instructional manuals for software. So it was just like, let's make this as clear as possible. And yeah, it just went from there.

Vanessa Ferguson  20:55  
Well, and I know, when we were planning our vow renewal in 2018, it was so helpful, I used your guide to look at some of those details that just aren't out there, and other places. And for anyone who's wondering, like Carrie mentioned, not only does it help you with pricing, but it really opens up a door to people just think of the wedding pavilion or really that pie in the sky like in front of the Cinderella's castle, but they don't realize all the other things that are out there. And that's one of the great things I think about your guide as well.

Carrie Hayward  21:24  
I'm glad you mentioned that. Because Yeah, there are dozens of places you can have your ceremony and reception at Walt Disney World. But if you look on their website, you see like

10, right. And

most of the time, they think people just want the wedding pavilion and the grand who and the Grand Floridian so it's really nice to be able to show people you know, if you want to get married in Morocco, which that's where we had our ceremony or in now you can get married in Pandora or in front of the tree of life or Tower of Terror. You can do that. And so it's Yeah, I

Vanessa Ferguson  21:52  
actually have a site. I have a page on my website. That's all photos of all the different venues, that kind of it almost acts like a list of venues because Disney doesn't have one. Sure, sure. Now that kind of adds into the next part that we always like to ask is how do you think that your product offers some Disney magic for those that are planning a Disney wedding or just may be interested in learning more about them?

Carrie Hayward  22:15  
Well, it's a wedding guide. That's all about Disney wedding. So yes, there's there's magic. But yeah, like you say, it kind of shows you all the amazing possibilities. Because Disney, they're their whole thing is like we can make your dreams come true. Anything you want. We can do it for you. But they don't have like lists of what those things are. So unless you come up with it, they're not going to tell you about it. That's why everything I've ever heard of I put in this book where I talk about on one of my Disney wedding podcasts. And that way people know Okay, well, this is something somebody did once maybe there's something similar I can do.

Vanessa Ferguson  22:47  
Sure. Now, is there one venue or like you mentioned like something somebody has done that you just never would have expected that Disney does allow for weddings?

Carrie Hayward  22:58  
Let's think well, the most recent one I learned was they are now doing receptions and who do review what's like a pioneer hall? Yeah. And that's a big deal, because they have this TV show about Disney weddings that has all of these unattainable pletely customized experiences that if you call Disney today and asked to have them, they will tell you No, they're not available. And so one of the earliest shows somebody had a reception at pioneer Hall. And then people would ask, Hey, can I have my reception there? And they're like, no, that's not available. So now apparently, it finally is available, which is fantastic.

Kris Johns  23:33  
You hit a point about you know, things that are available? How, again, if you are reading forums in different boards, and it says everything is closed? How could the person who wanted the hoop to do review? How do they get that? Is it just this demyx decision? Or do you just have to keep asking?

Carrie Hayward  23:48  
You have to keep asking. I mean, it couldn't be Disney got together and said, Hey, you know, we can make some money on this thing. But usually what it is, is it's people asking, and sometimes it's things that nobody even thought to ask before, like we did an anniversary party on the terrorists of Tower of Terror. And, you know, that wasn't listed as a standard venue. But it just because nobody had ever thought it would make a good venue. So we said, Hey, can we use it? And they talked to the park team and the park team was like, okay, sure,

Vanessa Ferguson  24:16  
yeah. Now, if for somebody who has never looked at Disney weddings before, and they want to get your guide, and they want to start thinking about it, how what how long is the planning process for a Disney wedding.

Carrie Hayward  24:29  
So you can book between 10 and 12 months out depending on what type of wedding or vow renewal you're having. So if you're going to do a full ceremony and a full reception, you can book it 12 months, and if you're going to do a ceremony and what they call a celebration, which is a two hour event and that could be a dessert party. It could be a cake cutting something lot smaller that you can book at 10 months so you can start talking to Disney about 16 months out. Usually if you call or email before then they'll be Like call back later? Sure. Yeah. So I think about 16 months out. And that's why my book I've been told is so helpful because most couples in the real world spent two years planning their wedding. And so there's this big chunk of time with Disney, that you can't do anything, you can't get any information from them, they won't even talk to you. And so the book is helpful. And it has a free updates, so that if you get it two years before your wedding, and they change everything, a year before your wedding, you can just download the new update and have all the latest information.

Vanessa Ferguson  25:27  
And I would think especially now, as things have been changing with the parks being closed for part of the year, and then now Disney World being open, I would think that those updates are, I'm assuming you probably do those, as soon as some of those new things become new information comes out. So that's

Carrie Hayward  25:43  
what's so tricky, because it's changing literally weekly. What I've decided to do is I'm working on a big update to my guide right now. And I'm going to touch on the major changes for COVID. But they're all temporary. They like I say they literally change weekly Disney weddings doesn't even know what they're going to be until the legal team or whoever tells them what they are. So my advice is always talk to your planner or sales consultant, because that's the only person who's going to tell you exactly what's going to be in effect on the day of your event.

Vanessa Ferguson  26:11  
Now your your guide is available as an E book, is that correct?

Carrie Hayward  26:16  
Yes. So there is an E book. And then there's also a print version. And this one, I just I had always had the E book because it's a PDF. And once you download it, you can then download updates for free. You know, once you've paid once, you never have to pay again. And you always have the latest version. But a lot of people were saying, Oh, I really want a copy. That's a paper copy that I can make notes in and some people print them out and put them in binders. So I finally through the company blurb have put out a print version, but I don't ever really recommend it because I blurb doesn't let me give people free updates. Oh, okay, have that copy. That's the one you have. So you would have to rebuy it if you want the latest version. Okay.

Kris Johns  26:56  
And I just have a question. I know. Again, we've been married over a decade, but the two couples have us what was maybe a trend five years ago that is kind of on the way out. And I guess what's a newer Disney trend for weddings right now?

Carrie Hayward  27:10  
That's interesting. I think a lot of the rustic theme has gone by the wayside. There was that moment where everybody wanted, you know, Mason jars and shorts, wrapped bouquets and all that stuff. And I would say I see a lot less of bad lately. And also I noticed that venues seem to go in waves like for a while, it seemed like everybody was using Atlantic dancehall for their reception. And now I'm having trouble finding people who use it.

Vanessa Ferguson  27:37  
Now, one more question. I know your guide also includes some of the other Disney locations, if I wasn't just looking at Walt Disney World, what are some other spots that are listed in your guide.

Carrie Hayward  27:49  
So I have a whole chapter on ways to get married at Walt Disney World on property through companies other than Disney because Disney is it's out of the price range for a lot of people. And there are other less expensive or the same costs, but you get a ton more stuff. There are options like that on property, but I no longer have a chapter devoted to cruise weddings. And I've never had a section on Disneyland. Because Disneyland weddings are basically hotel weddings. Sure very few in park events. And so when you're planning a wedding at Disneyland, you can use anybody, any bridal organizer I booked because almost all this stuff is the same disney world is so it's such an individual animal. And there are so many weird policies and restrictions that you would never find at a regular wedding venue. And that's kind of what led me to write a book just about Disneyworld.

Vanessa Ferguson  28:39  
Now if you had I mean, I know you've already had your wedding and I know you've had some different anniversary parties in that. But what would be your dream location? If you were to maybe have another vow renewal or if budget wasn't wasn't a constraint? What would be your dream location at Walt Disney World?

Carrie Hayward  28:58  
Well, my dream location would be Tokyo Disney Sea. Okay, yeah. I like to think that no matter what new venues they come up with, I've never seen anything that I liked better than the combination we had, which was Morocco for our ceremony and the attic at boardwalk in for reception. And so I often wonder that I think because we did a vow renewal at aulani. And that was great, because it was a totally different thing. Sure. I don't know that I would want to do a vow renewal at Walt Disney World because I feel like

Vanessa Ferguson  29:27  
you got we know Island.

Carrie Hayward  29:29  
Yeah. But then again, I feel like you guys are vow renewal looks awesome. So

Vanessa Ferguson  29:35  
well, and that's the thing. I think with Disney, you are able to get what you want. I think that's the nice thing. Like we don't have any regrets from our wedding or vow renewal because we got everything Disney made that dream come true. I mean, as cliche as it sounds, but they really made all of those things that we wanted, so you have no regrets. At least we didn't have any regrets looking back at that day.

Carrie Hayward  29:58  
Yeah, that's a really good point. Because most of the time people I talked to who have a vow renewal. It's because, you know, their mom plan their original wedding and it wasn't anything they wanted, or it was huge. And they wanted a small one or they want to Disney and they were talked down by their family. So yeah, it's interesting. Usually when you have a Disney wedding, you don't really feel the need to have a do over.

Vanessa Ferguson  30:14  
Right, exactly. And that was for us, when we did our vow renewal, it wasn't so much a do over it was more of a just another celebration with the people that had been at our wedding as well. And we had so many people that wanted to come back, because that experience was just like you mentioned it, everything was exactly what we wanted. It was a great experience for our guests. And I think that's what having your guide really gives you that real perspective that so many people I don't think understand. They see what's on TV with Disney weddings, but they don't really know how that comes to come to fruition in the park. So your guide is a great way for them to get all those details. That's great.

Kris Johns  30:54  
Well, you know, and then the other pieces, you know, a lot of times people don't know what they don't know. So if Do you offer any like one on one consulting where, hey, I want to be a Disney, but I don't know what all the options are? Like, would you take a phone call with somebody and help coach them through the options?

Carrie Hayward  31:09  
Yes, I've actually been thinking about setting this up as a part of my business, because I have done that in the past. And it's a lot of a lot of work. And I love helping people. But then when I realize I've spent my whole day answering direct messages or emails or whatever, I think maybe I should be charging for this.

Kris Johns  31:27  
One, I just think that, you know, the one piece that we had, it's just, you know, coming from Michigan down to Florida, we had a lot of great help. But I think Vanessa, I'll say this, you know, she did a wonderful job. And again, this was 22,008 were your back and internet forums and boards, where she just knew so much. So for her she was a smart shopper. And I you know this is a theme that you'll hear me is that a lot of times when people when they don't have a great experience with Disney is because they didn't plan Right. Right. And like anything with you, what you offer is to unlock all the opportunities where if you are hit, if you've a basic mindset, you're going to get your basic Disney wedding when you could have had all the different nuances and ambience that you wanted. And I think that's really the awesome part about your book and your E service.

Carrie Hayward  32:10  
Well, it's interesting, you mentioned that because I do think that a lot, especially with people who will find the Facebook groups or my book after their Disney wedding. And they'll be like, I didn't know I could have a dessert party. I didn't have that character. So yeah, that's why whenever I get new information, I want to share it with everybody so that everybody has the same opportunity to take advantage of those great offerings

Kris Johns  32:30  
and to get a ue data like sharing information. So where can people buy your book? Where can people go online to find more about you?

Carrie Hayward  32:38  
So the book is available at fairy tale weddings guide calm, and it's a download as a PDF that you can open on your phone or anything with an acrobat, Adobe Acrobat, PDF reader. And then there's also a link on my site out to blurb or you can buy the printed copy if you want that. And then I have Disney wedding podcast comm for my weekly podcast, which is interviews with Disney couples and marries with experts, Disney vendors, and then awesome informational shows like we have an episode I did an episode that was all about how to get started planning. And then there's one that's all about how to have a small Disney wedding for the bare minimum expenditure. A lot of times people will Chuck their elaborate at home plans and decide to elope at Disney and they want to know how cheaply they can do it right for just a small group. Right? Well, thank

Vanessa Ferguson  33:29  
you so much. We'll make sure to put those links in the show notes. And of course, we were on your podcast. I'll put those that link in the show notes as well. So thank you so much for joining us today, Carrie.

Carrie Hayward  33:40  
Thanks for having me. It was a lot of fun.

Kris Johns  33:44  
Thank you again to Carrie for joining us today. Remember to get your copy of the fairy tale weddings guide. And also check out the Disney wedding podcast episodes 331 that features both Vanessa and myself when we talk about our experience. And then Episode 332 that has Vanessa and she talks about her thoughts on Disney weddings, transportation, transportation.

Vanessa Ferguson  34:06  
So of course we want to end with our two minute trivia and our wisdom from wall quotes. So Kris, you are up with our trivia. Perfect. So

Kris Johns  34:15  
you know, we spent this episode talking about Disney weddings and I'm going to just this is from Disney weddings.com and it's as accurate as it can be. Okay, but we're gonna talk about some costs.

Vanessa Ferguson  34:26  
Okay,

I know these have changed quite a bit recently changed

Kris Johns  34:29  
quite a bit. But I want I'm going to give you a venue and you're going to tell me roughly how much you think it is. Oh, that's tough. Well, this. So the first one is luau beach. 1500 20 $500. Canada terrorists.

Vanessa Ferguson  34:49  
Oh 20 501

Kris Johns  34:52  
more guests go higher. 3500 4500. Oh, how about China in front of China.

Vanessa Ferguson  34:59  
Probably four. Be 500 You are right. I was gonna say I think all the Epcot ones are the same property boom.

Kris Johns  35:05  
croquette lawn.

Vanessa Ferguson  35:11  
Crew croquet. Okay.

Kris Johns  35:13  
Oh my big idiot. Like if you're gonna see yourself on the podcast, crow K, my gosh croquette croquet lawn,

Vanessa Ferguson  35:28  
I'm gonna go with 3500 because that's not a part

Kris Johns  35:31  
4000 Oh. So now we're going to go a little bit bigger. How much you have in front of the tree of life?

Vanessa Ferguson  35:39  
Oh, I think that's like 2525 What?

Kris Johns  35:43  
1040 500? Oh, wow. I'm sorry. There's a distinction. There's the ceremony, venue fee. And then there is an event minimum. So you are correct. The event minimum is 15,000 to 25,000. But in this case, what is the venue?

Vanessa Ferguson  36:00  
Oh, the venue fee is still the same as the Epcot ones the 4500. Correct.

Kris Johns  36:03  
But you have a minimum? Yes. So how about magic kingdom? After hours? This would be the most expensive 35 $30,000 Oh, wow. I was thinking. But your event minimum range is 20 to 50,000. So the other ones and that would be Magic Kingdom East Plaza for 25. After hours for 30. And the cheapest location was is the train. What do you think the train is? I think it's 15. You are correct. You could also get married in front of Tower of Terror. And

Vanessa Ferguson  36:36  
as a wedding familiar,

Kris Johns  36:36  
what am I correct? Yes, exactly. The wedding pavilion seabreeze. Point oak Manor shipwreck beach.

Vanessa Ferguson  36:43  
Yeah, there's lots of amazing places.

Kris Johns  36:45  
And then you almost it seems like just about any area in Epcot. So the UK courtyard. Morocco, the plaza. That's where we Germany, these are all 4500. And of course, you know, you have the other ones as well. So yeah, I think that's just another beauty of Disney is that there's just so much opportunity for venue diversity and match that experience to what your personality is.

Vanessa Ferguson  37:11  
Yeah. So we've had friends that have also gotten married in Epcot, some at the wedding Pavilion. I know some who've gotten married at Wilderness Lodge at boardwalk kind of all over property. And that's the nice thing is you have so many choices. Before we get to our walk, quote, we want to encourage you to listen to Vanessa Ferguson. No, not

Kris Johns  37:30  
this Vanessa Ferguson, the other Disney Vanessa Ferguson on beyond the mouse podcast. Joining Vanessa is Breton, Craig and they interviewed Vanessa myself. They're from NPR, Illinois, at a Springfield. And it's a crazy story. Listen to the episode. There are number one, did you know that there's another Vanessa Ferguson who loves Disney?

Yeah,

that's one is this real coincidence. The second story you have to listen to to believe it is crazy. But again, go to beyond the mouse type in Vanessa Ferguson. It's in the story, headline and toss talks about in interviewing Vanessa Ferguson. So we're going to be on the mouse with Vanessa Ferguson, Brett and Craig. And we had a wonderful time. It's my interview with them. They're awesome. We have three new friends from Illinois. And it's a great time in spend, you know, share some Disney love with each other and listen to that podcast, for sure.

Vanessa Ferguson  38:22  
And I will make sure to put the link to that, as well as those two episodes from curious podcast in the show notes. And now we're going to end with our wisdom from Walt quote. And I thought it was great because it really talks about how dreams making them a reality. And we've talked about today about making her Disney wedding, a reality or your vow renewal. And this is Walt talking about his dream of Disneyland. I could never convince the financier's that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral. And I think that's really true. Take those dreams that you have and make them a reality. And with that anything is possible. And so thank you so much for joining us on this episode of The does love podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa and I'm

Kris Johns  39:07  
Kris.

This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its holdings and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai