“What really defines us is our passion for theme parks,” explained Sandy. “So, we thought, why not get married in our favourite one? It seemed like the perfect—and maybe not so surprising—choice for us!”
The park was entirely theirs for the day, a detail that thrilled not just the couple but their guests, too. “We loved seeing guests enjoying the rides and having the park completely empty just for us. It was an amazing day!” says Sandy. “We had the best wedding planner aka the Nigloland team, so we had nothing to worry about. We and our guests stayed at the park’s 4-star hotel, and the park also took care of the catering and dinner. They managed everything from coordination and logistics to the attractions, making sure everything was perfect. All we had to do was choose our outfits, hire right photographer and videographers, prepare small gift bags for the guests, and buy an arch to decorate the ceremony.”
Not only was this their dream wedding venue, but it ended up being a surprisingly affordable option – around a quarter of the price of the quotes they were getting from chateau venues! The only challenge was they had to get married on a weekday, when the park was closed the the public.
Their ceremony, held in front of the carousel, was led by a close friend who created a musical performance featuring Disney songs, sung by their best friends. “Gerome entered to the theme of his favourite ride (Soarin’ at Walt Disney World), and I entered to mine (Droomvlucht at Efteling)”, Sandy explained.
For dinner they went to their favourite restaurant in the park. The evening kicked off with an unforgettable first dance, “As a Back to the Future fan, it was incredible to have the real Marvin Berry singing Earth Angel for our first dance and Mayor Goldie Wilson singing Johnny B. Goode” said the bride. “It was a literal dream come true!”
The most time-consuming part of planning turned out to be the invitations. Sandy ordered personalised cinema tickets but found they weren’t cut to size. “I had to cut all 100 invitations by hand with pinking shears to create the effect,” she recalled. “However we didn’t spend more than 500€ on additional details and decorations—I bought an arch, a few flowers, and some items to decorate the car on Amazon. The park’s idyllic setting felt more than enough as decor!”
“There’s no need to stress; the best thing is to stay natural and not try to control everything”, Sandy advises other couples planning their weddings. “We came with the intention of having fun, and it was absolutely a success. Dare to be yourself. Some of our family didn’t support the choice of the wedding venue at first. However, we chose to believe in our idea, and in the end, they all loved it. They even thanked us for daring to be different, for being bold, for being us.”
