Disney fanatics: prepare for your hearts to skip a beat. The Disney wedding to end all Disney weddings has officially taken place.
While countless fans of the House of Mouse have chosen to celebrate their special days with Disney over the years, none have done it quite like Gilbert Hernandez and Sarah Kabiling, a Disney-loving couple who tied the knot on September 8 in Disneyland. From their favorite park snacks to special character surprises, the pair pulled out all the stops to entertain their guests. They even rented out their favorite ride to end the night on a high note.
After meeting in college, becoming a couple four years later, and getting engaged seven years after that, Hernandez and Kabiling quickly decided that they wanted to plan a Disney wedding together.
“Both of us went to Disneyland quite often while we were younger,” Hernandez said. “Our first vacation together as a couple was a trip to Disneyland, and we continue to enjoy the magic at the parks as often as we can as Annual Passholders for the past seven years and counting.”
“We wanted to share the magic and wonder we feel when we’re at the parks with our closest friends and family," he added.
The entire magical affair was then extensively planned by the couple and a wedding planner from Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings, a one-stop shop for magical wedding experiences in the Disney resorts.
“I did not want it to feel like a cookie cutter wedding that someone else could have,” Kabiling says." I wanted my own fairy tale wedding.”
And Disney delivered.
“We decided on Rose Court Garden for our reception as an ode to my late grandmother, Rose,” Kabiling explained. At their request, the indoor space was also transformed into a beautiful garden. “We had bistro lights, hedges, high topiaries that ran on our long roman tables, gold accents everywhere, with the sparkles from the lanterns and candlelight.”
From there, the night took countless exciting turns for everyone involved. The couple's photographer, Jenna Henderson of White Rabbit Photo Boutique, caught every moment.
“From the beginning of the day to the end of the night, we surprised our guests completely,” Kabiling said.
The surprises included the couple’s favorite Disney snacks (corn dogs and churros), an unexpected photo op with Mickey and Minnie, and a Disneyland-inspired churro and Dole Whip-flavored cake. Sarah even arrived to the affair in Cinderella’s Carriage. After the last dance of the night, the couple surprised their guests further with an up-close and personal viewing of Disneyland’s World of Color show, followed by a private ride on Toy Story’s Midway Mania.
By the end of the night, Hernandez and Kabiling had most likely converted every guest to their Disney-loving ways.
“One of our guests (who is not a big Disney fan), even said ‘Now I get it. I see why you like Disney.’ That was our goal. To share the Disney magic with our friends and family and to share with them why we love it so much.”
Still, Hernandez says his favorite part of the night was “seeing Sarah for the first time in her wedding dress inside the Crystal Coach. I was overwhelmed with emotion and couldn’t handle myself. Nothing else in the world mattered in that moment.”
Wedding goals to strive for, anyone?
Say Yes to the Dress
Straight Out of a Fairytale
The Guests of Honor
A World of Color
