By Liana Jacob
MEET THE Disney-mad bride who managed to spend £17k on a ‘DIY’ DISNEY THEMED WEDDING after her husband proposed to her at DISNEY WORLD – she even walked down the aisle to The Lion King’s ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’.
HR administrator, Kirsty Goldsmith (26) from Bedford, UK, grew up obsessed with Disney movies and has always wanted to get married in Disney World, Florida.
So in May 2016, her husband, Simon, knowing her love of Disney, proposed to her during their trip to Disney World while they were visiting Cinderella’s Royal Table, which was a big surprise to her.
From the minute he proposed, Kirsty knew she wanted to have a Disney-themed wedding, but after some research she struggled to find affordable Disney decorations, so she decided to create them herself. She designed everything herself, even the champagne glasses, candles, cake topper and ‘Just Married’ t-shirts.
In May 2019, keeping with the theme, her maid-of-honour organised her Disney-themed hen party where they all dressed up either red or black and she wore white with a Minnie Mouse veil. It was decorated with many Disney-themed balloons, a Disney movie quiz and Minnie Mouse cupcakes.
Altogether they managed to spend just £17,000 for the entire wedding, which was in June 2019, including her wedding dress and alterations which cost £900, dresses for her two bridesmaids, for which she spent just £300 altogether.
She says that through it all her Prince Charming was proud of her efforts in designing everything for their wedding and that it made it unique to them.
“Me and Simon have been together 11 and a half years, since we were 15. We met at middle school, went to the same university and studied the same degree,” Kirsty said.
“I’ve always loved Disney and I wanted to get married there. We couldn’t have only half the family attending so we thought we would bring Disney to the UK and have a Disney themed wedding.
“We went to Cinderella’s Royal Table to have dinner; Simon’s proposal was a total surprise because it was pre-planned with the staff for months before we flew out.
“As it was in front of a lot of people at the front of the castle windows, it was really special because he’s not one to do anything big in front of lots of people.
“We planned everything on spreadsheets. This tracked saving, budget, deposits and also an itinerary of what needed to be done when. It went perfectly.
“I found it very hard to find anything Disney for the wedding which wasn’t very expensive, so I decided to try and do it myself.
“I also didn’t want loads of ‘in your face’ stuff so I knew by doing it myself I could take something classic and put a hint of Disney into it.
“I used Pinterest and thought about creative ways to include Disney on a classy scale. I painted MDF numbers into Disney Characters
“I used a stamp cutter in the shape of Mickey’s head on sparkled wallpaper to create table confetti, I painted the Ferrero Roche stand in Mickey Mouse colours and printed on both sides.
“I had a Mickey and Minnie shaped cake topper made to match our Disney cake, created Rose heads in the shape on Minnie and Mickey heads, I made my own save the date cards, invites, menus and order of service, the favours were candles with a Mickey and Minnie motif on and I also created our own label for the sweet packets.
“Wanting a Disney wedding meant the hen do had to be Disney themed too; my best friend, Sophia, organised the majority of it; all guests had to wear either red or black and I wore white.
“There were lots of Disney balloons and one custom made in Disney font for me, a quiz on what Disney song was from what film and Minnie Mouse themed cupcakes.
“I wore my Minnie Mouse heels, Minnie Mouse designed nails and my best friends had told me to wear Minnie Mouse ears with a veil attached.”
For their photographer, Kirsty and Simon spent £1,500, their cake was £400, the venue, food and registrar cost £8,000, her bridesmaid dresses were £300, her wedding dress and alterations came to £900. Simon’s suit and alterations cost £300, their wedding rings were £1,000, her makeup was £350, and her hair stylist cost £250.
“We had a small wedding of sixty guests; they knew it was Disney themed as soon as they saw the invites,” she said.
“They thought it was brilliant because a lot of weddings had the same similar theme and ours made people smile as it was so personal to us.
“We had two bridesmaids; I always loved dusky pink so knew that was the colour to go for and plus it looked beautiful against grey suits.
“At first my mum thought it was going to look tacky but when I started making the decorations and showing her my finished products she was won over.
“I spoke about my DIY bits all the time but on the day, I think everyone was very impressed about how professional they looked and how much detail went into each bit.
“My favourite moment was arriving at the venue and listening to the orchestral Disney songs playing. It took me right back to Disney when we got engaged and that’s when it became real.
“I wore Disney ‘just married’ pyjamas for the wedding morning and also made the groomsmen’s and best man’s hipflasks, the chalkboard, bridesmaids and mother of the bride coat hangers, Disney themed seating plan and post box insert too.
“During the wedding breakfast, I walked down the aisle to ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ from The Lion King – the orchestral cello version.
“What I love about Disney the most is that anyone of any age can fall in love with Disney. You’re never too old or too young and when you hear the music and see the castle, the feelings you have inside are just magical. It’s like a whole new world.
“Simon knew my dream was to be married in Disney, but we couldn’t have only half the family come with us, so he was one-hundred percent behind bringing Disney to the wedding in the UK.
“I think he’s proud of me making everything because I put so much effort in and it made our wedding unique to us.”