What's something that people don't know about the process of planning a wedding with Disney?

Korri McFann Spolar: When couples get engaged it's very overwhelming, right? You get engaged, you have the ring, and then all of a sudden there are all of these questions. Our biggest value is our Disney Weddings planning team. So my advice would be, join our community. Reach out. Typically most of our couples reach out to us about a year in advance. We do weddings a few months out, a couple of weeks out. It just depends, but you've got all of our infrastructure and our logistics and our wealth of knowledge. What I like to say is, we're one of the few places that plan weddings 365 days a year. This is what we do. So you've got a dedicated team in your camp helping you from the moment you pick up the phone all the way through to the end. And what I like to say is, we allow a couple to be a guest at their own wedding.

What about couples who are on a tight wedding budget but still want to have that great Disney experience?

KMS: We have something for everyone. We have different collections at different price points in different ranges, depending on what couples are looking for. Some people are looking for simplicity and ease, and some people are looking for a cool custom celebration.

As much as they can share about what their hopes and their dreams and their budgets are, our expertise is to help guide them, to get them recommendations based on what they have. What's the right location for them? What time of day? Do you want to do a brunch, which food and beverage cost may be a little bit less than a formal dinner at 7:30? What day of the week do you want to get married?

What's so fun about us at Disney's Fairytale Weddings is we're a destination weddings venue. We're doing weddings on a Monday, a Tuesday, a Thursday afternoon, or Friday morning. Today's couples are all about unconventional timelines in unconventional settings. It's not about the extravagance of the event itself. It's about the spirit of what that couple plans, and we're here to help them make sure it looks like a reflection of them.

Are park tickets and/or resort bookings included in the wedding packages?

KMS: Part of the ease of travel here is your wedding planner will help you if you'd like to do a room block. So you can actually do room blocks at different varying ranges of price points. We have 17-plus resorts here at multiple different price ranges, because everyone has different needs. We also help you with access to theme park tickets, so we do make it easy. I actually help you upfront, so that if your guests are starting to mark their calendar for the event, they've got that information as well.

Is there anything that you feel like people would be surprised to hear about having their wedding at Disney?

KMS: I think we've got a great value. From the locations to the food and beverage to the transportation, our wedding planning team is part of the experience. So a lot of people will actually have to pay a separate fee for those. That's not us. It comes with your Disney's Fairytale Weddings experience, and to me, that is truly a hidden gem. For most couples, this is the first time they planned a major event with trying to figure out budgets and logistics, and we'll help you through that. I don't think they understand the true value of someone helping you through that process so that you can enjoy that year-long, three-month, two-year, whatever that window is for that couple's planning cycle.

From your years of experience, what do you think makes Disney weddings so special?

KMS: Out of all the weddings myself or Disney's Fairytale Weddings team has seen, my favourite is truly seeing a couple allow our planners to do their job and see them enjoy their guests. To be able to be in the moment, to me, really makes a great event.

The other thing that I'm kind of loving right now is taking your guests on journeys and changing the atmosphere every 30 minutes, or 45, depending on who you are and where you're going. That's what I'm kind of really into right now because I think it helps take your guests on that journey. Going from space to space, from moment to moment, and really helping us plan what those are and when to move guests and to hold their attention. I think today's couples are really thinking about their guest experience. We can help you plan those.

Are most of the Disney weddings centreed around Disney themes? And would you say the couples are mostly die-hard fans?

KMS: Oh, no, no. I think what's so exciting about working here is a lot of people will take inspiration, but it's not literal. They may be in love with Fantasia, so we'll sit down with them and say, "Tell me why you like Fantasia." They might say, "It's playful. It's whimsical. It reminds me of back home, of watching it as a child." So we might pepper in some of that fantasy along with that journey. It may not be overt, but it'll be special. I think one of the misnomers is only people who are Disney fans can get married with us. It's actually more of the opposite. It's people who aspire. They love the brand, and they want a wedding with traditional elements and a little bit of magic versus the other way around.

How do wedding ceremonies and photo shoots inside the park work?

For guest-free wedding ceremonies and photo shoots with your betrothed inside Disneyland and Disney World, they take place in the morning before the parks open or in the evenings after the park has closed, which varies depending on location and season.

Photo shoots are a custom add-on to your package (so yes, they'll cost extra), but they include perks like hair and makeup. These typically take place the day after the wedding, but don't worry, Disney will preserve your bouquet so it'll still look fresh!

Korri considers park photo shoots one of the best offerings from Disney Fairytale Weddings because it's a calm, distraction-free session with just the couple and photographer.

What are some out-of-the-box Disney wedding locations?

In addition to classic locations like Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Epcot or Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, couples can get married at nontraditional park spots like in front of the Tree of Life at Disney World's Animal Kingdom [9] or in front of the Haunted Mansion attraction.

You can even tie the knot on a Disney cruise, on Disney's private island Castaway Cay (pictured here), or at Disney's Aulani resort on Oahu.

How much do Disney wedding packages cost?

Disney wedding packages widely vary in price depending on if you're doing a low-key, intimate wedding or an extravagant, go-for-broke event. Packages are completely customizable, so you have to decide what you want to splurge or save on.

To give you an idea of base prices, Disneyland weddings start at $6,500 for up to 20 guests (including couple) and $15,000 for up to 1,000 guests. Disney World weddings start at $3,500 for four guests plus couple, $7,000 for up to 18 guests plus couple, and $12,000 for more than 18 guests plus couple.

Keep in mind, though, that even the most basic package is a "one-stop-shop" that includes wedding planning, florals, discounted rooms, and discounted theme park tickets, so that's something to consider if you have sticker shock!

Travel and expenses for the author were provided by Disney for the purpose of writing this story.