Complete details on this venue, including pricing and capacity, may be found in Carrie Hayward’s Fairytale Weddings Guide.
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
Note: The lighting used for the Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings show on Disney+ was provided by the production company and is not available for weddings. These photos are provided so you can see the difference between what was depicted in the TV show and what the actual lighting looks like (on the “Lighting Included in Venue Fee” tab).
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
© Disney
Do you know the venue fees for this location?
It’s the same $4,500 you pay for any in-park ceremony venue (except those at Magic Kingdom). However, they will also tell you you have to have a lighting package that costs $15,000.
I’ve read elsewhere that the lighting package is $5,000. Just wondering if this is a typo, or if the lighting price has gone up?
Originally they were telling folks $5,000. Now they are saying $15,000. IMO, this may just be a tactic by the park to discourage couples from using the venue. If you are interested, have your sales consultant or planner contact the park for a real price and see if you can negotiate it down by asking to light less of the space.
That’s disappointing. I’ve had my heart set on this venue since it was added as an option. The $5,000 I could have worked with, but $15,000 is a different story.
That’s why I’m saying talk to them about it. The fee seems really arbitrary. Maybe $15,000 is what it takes to get it to look like it did on the Freeform weddings special, but $5,000 is a more basic package that you’d be happy with. Definitely don’t rule it out until your sales consultant has actually talked to the park at least once. Sometimes you need to go back and forth a bit to negotiate pricing, too.
What is the usual time for after hours ceremonies at the tree of life?
It’s 2 hours before or after tha park opens/closes, so it depends on park hours. Evening ceremonies usually start around 11pm, and morning ceremonies around 6am.
Do you know if this location can be used for a reception, rehearsal dinner, cocktail party or dessert party? Or is it only for Ceremonies?
You should be able to use it for any type of event, as long as you are willing to pay the $5,000—$15,000 lighting charge.
Hi,
Planning a Disney wedding! Can’t call until July 1st for our 16th month out so patiently waiting! I have read everything on the site and listed to podcasts and even read the guide. This is our dream location. Any new information on lighting price?! Would hate to get my hopes up!
Yes! I talked to them at the Bridal Showcase, and they said they thought they could get the lighting package back down to $5,000. Then, last week, somebody’s sales consultant quoted them only $3,700 for lighting (but then added that a “tree awakening” effect was another $3,700). Other things to know: They are currently telling couples that they can’t do evening ceremonies here til 3 hours after park close (instead of the usual 2), which, when combined with the new later AK hours and a midnight cutoff for animal quiet-time, could mean you would not be able to then move to an outdoor reception with amplified music in AK. A sunrise ceremony is an option and would not require extra lighting but would take place from 6am-7am. And you still can’t follow it with an outdoor AK reception because then the park would be open.
Also, I’d try calling now. You’re close enough that they should be willing to take your details and get the process started to assign you a sales consultant.
Does the lighting price go towards your enhancement minimum for the Wishes Collection or is it a completely separate fee?
Yes. Basically, anything you pay Disney for at the ceremony or reception that’s not food, beverage or the Ceremony Fee applies to the Enhancement Minimum.
Have you heard any updates on the price for the lighting package or if you really do have to wait a full 3 hours after closing time for a ceremony? The lighting package that was used on the Fairytale Weddings TV show was much brighter whereas the lighting I saw in a YouTube video of a different ceremony seemed really dim. I would much prefer the brighter lighting so maybe that is what’s causing the difference in price like you said in previous comments? Thanks Carrie, you are the best. We are still a couple years out for our wedding but the information you provide is wonderful.
So the latest is that they are not making you use the lighting package, but (as you noticed) without it, your photos will look like the ones on this page that didn’t come from the TV show. If you want your photos to look like the ones from the show, budget for that $15,000 lighting package or have a morning ceremony during a time of year when the sun will be up already. You don’t have to wait until after park closing to do the ceremony—you can also do it before the park opens. This episode of the Disney Wedding Podcast talks about the timeline of the couple featured on this page, who were married before the park opened.
Have you heard about there being a guest minimum for this location? I am looking at the Tree of Life for our wedding that is being postpond from Covid-19 but we are only having 4 people including my fiancé and I.
No. Almost none of Disney’s venues have guest minimums, except for American Adventure Rotunda and maybe Great Hall of China.
First, thank you so much for all the information you provide to help couples plan! Your site is incredible!
Is it possible to only have a tree of life ceremony but no reception at disney? If so, I know the cost is $4,500 for this location, but what would be the minimum expenditure and any other logistics I should know?
Thanks!
Hi Coco! Yes! Disney’s newish pricing plan allows you to book just a ceremony if you want. You just need to meet the overall Event Minimum for this location through everything else you buy from Disney (floral, decor, entertainment, photography, transportation, etc.), which varies by day of the week. I have all of the Event Minimums for Tree of Life listed on page 8 of the Fairytale Weddings Guide. They start at $15,000, and the $4,500 ceremony fee counts toward that amount. And all of the logistics for TOL are listed on page 61 of the guide.
It states you can use this location before park open as well, do you need the lighting for early morning ceremonies ?
It depends on what time the sun comes up. You can Google for sunrise times in Orlando on the date you’re considering to find out whether it will still be dark around 6am that day.
I’m so nervous about this venue! Getting married there early morning October. They said the lighting was $2,000 but optional. Now they’re saying it’s not optional and you have to pay $2,000 for “atmospheric lighting”. Does the tree always look like that? They said it’s not included in the $2,000. It’s been stressful planning a Disney wedding. Not as much communication as I’ve heard about.
Hi Shelby! The tree does always look like that. What’s not included in the basic lighting package is the “awakening” light show that the tree does during park hours—the price for that is in my guide. The first 10 photos on this page are from the Disney Weddings TV show, so the lighting is all special extra stuff provided by the TV production company and not normally available. The photos after that are from a wedding where the couple did not pay for a lighting package, but Disney ended up providing flood lighting as a safety precaution because it is so dark in that area. The ceremony images were photographed with the Disney photographer’s lighting and the flood lights. The post-ceremony photos were exclusively lit by the photographer.
Thank you for the info!
Do you know how long the awakening show is? I’d love to do this, but $5000 for the show is pretty steep, especially if it’s only like 2-3 minutes.
Five minutes… but it’s actually only $4,000 right now—a veritable steal at just $800/minute! 😀 This info and other TOL details are on page 61 of the newly updated Fairytale Weddings Guide!
Have read a couple places online that the $2000 lighting fee is included in the $7500 venue fee as of Jan 1, 2022. Can anyone confirm this?
Yes! This is why the venue fee increased to $7,500. If you have the latest version of the Fairytale Weddings Guide, this is reflected in the pricing on pages 8 and 59.