Almost every little girl fantasizes about feeling like a princess on her wedding day. But Alexandra Tobiassen took her childhood dream to the next level when she wed her husband Eric at Disney’s Polynesian Resort last spring. “[Getting married at Disney World] honestly blew all of my expectations out of the water,” says Tobiassen, a longtime Disney fan. “I felt like my wedding was everything I ever wanted, but they made it even more magical than I thought it could be.”
Tobiassen, 30, and Eric, 34, first met when a crew of fellow Disney-loving friends introduced the newlyweds during a night out at Disneyland. “I was visiting California and he lived out there,” recalls Tobiassen. The pair bonded over drinks at Trader Sam’s tiki bar and the rest, as they say, is history. “We didn’t reconnect until two years later,” says Tobiassen, who eventually relocated from Boston to Anaheim. “Eric texted to say, ‘Call if you ever need someone to go to Disneyland with,’ so he became my Disney buddy.”
Their friendship soon evolved into a romantic relationship, prompting Eric to propose during the fall of 2018. As the couple began to plan their wedding, it seemed only natural that Disney would, once again, play a pivotal role in their love story. “When we went to Epcot for the first time, we kind of joked, ‘Why don’t we just have a small wedding and get married at Epcot?’ says Tobiassen. “So, when we did, it was just a ridiculous dream come true.”
What began as a joke quickly turned into a reality. Shortly after Tobiassen discovered that you don’t actually need to be royalty–or have a royal-sized budget–in order to tie the knot at Disney World. “We have an option for everyone,” says Korri McFann, Marketing Director at Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons in Orlando, Florida. “[Disney wedding prices] start at $3,500 and we offer multiple collections to fit our couples’ unique wedding vision, as well as very customizable, large-scale destination weddings.”
Once Tobiassen realized that trading, “I do’s” at Disney wasn’t just a pipe dream, she swiftly enlisted Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings to help execute her big day. The school teacher and her groom-to-be chose the Escape package, which included a Disney wedding planner, two-tier wedding cake, fresh flowers, live music, a professional photographer, and a private after-party for the entire wedding party at Epcot’s Illuminations fireworks show.
“When I tell people I got married at Disney, they say, ‘How did you do that?” says Tobiassen. “It almost feels like people think it’s this exclusive club, but it’s not. My grandmother still calls every day to say it was the best wedding she’s ever been to. The wedding really took my breath away! It was everything I wanted, but everyone at Disney put their own personal touches on everything from the ceremony to the cake to the flowers, which made it even more magical.”
Do you dream about getting married at Disney World or Disneyland? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Join The Conversation (0)