wed2015

Congrats. Glad your wedding went well. I was married on the Sensation on May 24, 2015 and everything was perfect. We also did the pre-cruise dinner at the Radisson. Love all of your pictures. I also did a OOT bag for everyone but completely forgot to take pictures of everything I put in them.

We had three boxes that were carried on by family members. Each box was labeled on the outside with the contents. Inside I wrote directions for everything. The coordinators took care of everything except the cake. The baker took those and made the cake look beautiful

Hello,I'm getting married on the Breeze in October, and I'm just wondering if any of the pictures are taken after the mustered drill. Thanks for any information!

Yes all of the portrait photos were done after the muster drill. It took about and hour.

Sorry it has taken so long the stomach virus hit our house so it has been a rough week.

The reception was great. We had the hour and half. It was held in the Kaleidoscope Lounge. We decided that they would introduce us and we would go to the cake table to do the cutting of the cake then. That way we did not have to stop what we were doing at any other point. It was time to celebrate

We also paid for the DJ. I honestly can't remember his name but he did a great job. The dance floor was filled the entire time. He was able find all of our first dance music and last song without a problem.

We originally said that we didn't want to do any speaks, toast, grater or anything because I had read that the reception was really rushed. Our oldest daughter wanted to do the toast so we let her. Honestly again it was perfect. If we would have added the other things we would have not had any time to spend with everyone.

Our special drink was the "Something Blue." Everyone loved it.

Our Food choices were assorted veggies, assorted sushi, chicken brochette, fried shrimp, chicken nuggets, lamp empanadas, roast beef with brie, chicken galantine, spicy drummettes, stuffed mushrooms, and smoked salmon with cream cheese. They added fruit cups because I requested them. I don't think there was an extra charge. The food was very good.

THE CAKE WAS AMAZING!!! The cake worried me the most about the reception. I did not want piping but I didn't want it to be too plain. So in my boxed stuff, I had extra wooden flowers, my cake topper, and two different sizes ribbons. I just wrote a note that asked them to make the cake pretty. LOL. I instructed to use some or all of the decorations. I walked in and was amazed by it. Oh and it tasted delicious also. We did Chocolate with chocolate filling, Vanilla with vanilla filing and red velvet with cream cheese filling. They were supposed to bring the rest to dinner one night on the boat but honestly there was so little left I don't know it if they ever did.

I did anchor and ship wheel key chains for favors. Everyone loved them. They were so easy to make pretty, pack and not be too bulky.

We had a football for everyone to sign as our guest book. I did bring the wooden decorations for the table. I had it made months prior as a gift to Ryan because he saw it online and loved it.

We had the most amazing Photographer ever. Her name was Kat and she was so fun to work with. I told myself going in that there was no way I was buying the $3000 package. Well all the pictures were amazing and I couldn't decide. She worked a deal with me and I got everything for $2000. A large 12X12 book (which I also said I wouldn't purchase.... yeah I ate my words because it is the best way to show everyone how amazing the day was.) all 500 prints, a cd with rights to all the pictures and a video. The video was generic but nice to have. I choose the larger book instead of the canvas. I knew I could make my own canvas. Get to know your photographer.... they will take care of you.

I will upload as many pictures as I can on Monday of other things such as OOT bags, cups that I made for each guest, OOT bags stuff, welcome letter, door hangers and any thing else I can think of.

I am happy to answer any questions or send you anything I have. Please don't hesitate to ask. This board helped me so much

http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww224/jakaylor/6p227_zpsrl3sarpn.jpg

The big day!!!

I failed to mention that I appointed one of my good friends to act like me for the day of the wedding. I gave her a copy of all the important documents and my cell phone. All of my guest were told at the dinner if they had any problems to contact her. TIP: DO THIS... It lets you enjoy your day. I went over all the details with her about a week before.

Like I said the Hair and Makeup started at 05:30am. You want this done prior to getting on the boat. I did not want my children or my bridesmaids wearing their dress on the boat so I hung them all in the same bag with my wedding gown.

We took the shuttle from the Radisson and arrived at the terminal at 10:30am. It was so crowded and hectic. When we got to the first entry way they keep telling people they were not on the list to get on the boat. ( Some of these were cruising passengers.) I was very organized through the entire process and had a three ring binder with everything in it. ( I highly suggest this.) I made a couple of copies of everything including the guest list (which had every cruising passengers booking number). I gave an extra copy to the man at the door and he was so thankful. They were only given one copy and it kept getting passed back and forth and pages were missing.

I had all of my favors, cake decorations, flowers, guest book, and sand ceremony stuff in three boxes. All of the boxes were labeled and had instructions inside each box. The night before at dinner I asked who was willing to carry this stuff on the boat for me. It worked perfect. I also had one of the guys carry on all the dresses.

Most of the computers were down at the port and everything took a lot longer. Most people were unable to get there pictures taken for there sail and sign card. We all made it through about 11:15. While I was standing in line to check in the Main Wedding coordinator came and found me. Her name was Carol. Let me just say that she was my least favorite thing about the whole experience. She was rude and pushy but because my group was large I had two coordinators. Laura was the other one and she was great. Carol was really rude to her also. But they told us were to meet them after getting checked in.

Ryan and I knew there was no way we would be able to not see each other having three children the day of. We decided that we would not see each other until the wedding once we got on the boat. I honestly don't know how people would do it. It was slightly crazy.

We sat down with Carol and went over all the details. I explained to her several times that I had everything labeled. She told me about ten times that I didn't need to let my son carry my rings down the aisle. (Yes I know he is two but we had practiced this and he knew what to do). She would not shut up about this and I just politely let her know it was my wedding.

We were done with our meeting and we had to wait about 20 more minutes. (11:30-11:45ish) Because of the problems with the computers they had to take pictures as we were coming onto the boat. This took another 10-15mins. We were finally at the room around 12:00. The entire wedding group had to be at the Fantastia Lounge at 12:45 for rehearsal. I stayed in my room. TIP: Request multiple rooms to be ready if you have more than a couple bridesmaids. One for the guys and two for the girls. We had a suite and a connecting balcony room. Two bathrooms and two vanities made it much easier for all of us to get ready. Carol dropped us off and told me she would be back at 1:15 to get me

Once on the boat I met Nina the Carnival Coordinator. She was very helpful and nice. She called the room several times to make sure we were ok. It was very warm in the room and they sent someone right away.

Kat the amazing photographer called around 12:15pm. She asked if I wanted pictures getting ready. I said yes and she came and hung out until right before the wedding. She did go and get some pictures of them rehearsing.

1:15 came and went and Carol did not show up. Our ceremony was scheduled for 1:30pm. This started freaking me out because I wanted all of our reception time. Finally at 1:25 I called my appointed person and told her to come now or I was walking by myself. Finally she showed up.

We had brought a cd with our music on it. I did choose to fade it out and not let the entire song play. I didn't want the ceremony to be long.

Our ceremony was in the Main Lounge. I did not take any other decorations except for the sand ceremony stuff. I honestly did not care what it looked like. You could have people decorate but it would probably add more headache.

The ceremony was PERFECT. About 15 mins long. Then pictures started. I had a least of all the pictures I wanted done. Kat was great and was trying to get all of them but Ms. Pushy Pants Carol (who was rude to everyone) repeatedly let everyone know that we were not going to have a reception if we didn't hurry. I did not get all that I wanted but Kat found opportunities during the reception to get them.

Ok well I will post about the reception later. Here are some more pictures

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Sorry the pictures are so big. I can't figure out how to make them smaller.

So we choose the Time to Celebrate big package and also the DJ. Carnival Wedding Department was very easy to work with. I would read information on this website then call them and ask questions. They got approval for my flowers and sent me an email so I would not have any problems the day of.

I sent all of my choices and outlines for everything two months for the wedding. They called me a couple days late to confirm they received them and to let me know what I forgot.

They also gave me the standard two week prior call and a week prior call.

I also used the Brevard County Clerk office to obtain our wedding license. They were also awesome to work with. DO NOT PAY THE WEDDING EXPERIENCE TO OBTAIN YOUR LICENSE. You are throwing away money. You can obtain a Florida marriage license from any county so it doesn't matter what port you are leaving out of.

Okay so my kids are needing my attention. I will post the day of the wedding stuff tomorrow night.

Hotel Prior to Cruise....

So we had people flying and driving in from all over. Many people were talking about coming in the morning of the wedding. That stressed me out so I decided to host a dinner for everyone the Saturday night before. I choose to stay at The Radisson at the Port the night before. The group coordinator and the Event planner were great to work with. They gave us a great rate that included the parking for the entire cruise and shuttle service to the port the morning of.

Saturday night is when I decided to hand out my OOT bags. Attached to my OOT bag was a welcome letter/door hanger and a welcome letter. The welcome letter had all of the directions for the next day on it. This made it easier to relax the day of the wedding. I knew that everyone had already arrived and it also gave us all more time to spend together.

We did a buffet style dinner with BBQ chicken, hamburgers, chicken tenders, potato salad, house salad, baked beans, fruits, cookies and brownies. We did have a cash bar that was available. It was a great time. They decorated the room and it was very nice. We had a couple different color choices. The Radisson at the Port offer many different prices packages. Everyone truly loved it.

I forgot to take pictures but will see if anyone else did so that I can post them here.

I have never heard of wooden flowers. They look amazing! Where did you get them?

I ordered from a place called accents and petals. They advertise on Artfire. Contact them and give them the date you need them by. They will probably work with you. They were great. They send pictures to you along the way to make sure you like them. If you don't they change it then

The next step was booking hair and makeup.

This took a lot longer than I thought. Let me start by saying THIS WAS THE BEST MONEY I SPENT. There were only a couple of recommendations for someone to come to Port Canaveral on a Sunday to do my hair and makeup. I called that company first and did not get a response for several weeks. I had read in reviews that the communication was bad. I knew that wasn't the person for me because I need communication or I stress. So again I started reading reviews and looking all of Orlando and found About Face Design Team. Nina the coordinator and the girls that she sent to me were AMAZING!!! The were so easy to work with. They arrived at the hotel in Port Canaveral at 5:30am. Our makeup still looked perfect 12 hours later when we were having pictures done.

I am trying to post the pictures within the message. Please bear with me.

The first thing I did after booking the cruise was looking for flowers. The prices through the wedding experience was very pricey and I didn't want real flowers. I am not a fake flower person so I wanted something different. After searching I decided to take a chance and order wooden flowers from over seas. Let me tell you. They were amazing. They were amazing. I will attach the listing for anyone to view them. It took about six months to get them sent to me and they were half the price of real flowers.

Hello Everyone!! We are back and settled in from our amazing wedding on the Carnival Sensation. I used this board a lot during the planning and wanted to share my experience with you. I am a mother of three children and work full time so it will have to be done in parts.

Here we go ... Ryan and I went to middle school together and lost contact for about 15 years. Of course we found each other on Facebook and talked over the computer about a year before actually meeting up. We met at a Titans football game. Our first date was a Titans football game and he proposed to meet at the stadium where we saw each other for the first time. So yes our wedding has a touch of football in every part of it. We are hug Titans fans. We booked our Wedding in July 2014. We decided to use a Travel Agent to help the process. I am glad we did. We sent our a letter with the cruise information with our Save the Dates about a month after booking. Our guest have six weeks to get in the group rate. The deposit was only $25.00 . This truly made it possible for many of our friends and family to attend. Our TA was very helpful along the way and dealt with any problems that came up. We had a total of 66 sailing guest and 8 non sailing.

I am getting married on the Sensation in 12 days. We are also getting married in the Fantasia lounge and the reception in the nightclub. We also have 66 guest sailing and 8 non sailing guest. Hopefully all goes well.

We also have booked the time to Celebrate Big during embarkation. I have 75 people cruising with us and are all book at the same dinner time. I also and have a dinner at our hotel the night before the wedding to spend more time with the non sailing guest and to get all the information needed out for the next day for all the guest. I am also using this time to give out my OOT bags. If you do a group booking and qualify with enough rooms you can have an event during the cruise for your guest also.

To Vegas 82 & All ,

1st, congratulations to Vegas82 as I know your wedding is right around the corner.

Secondly, can you all tell me how you are reserving cabins for your guests? We are paying for family members and the wedding party but can not swing paying for additional guests.

Can We reserve cabins for guests to insure they are blocked with us without the ackward request for the deposit back or are all of you paying the deposit for all of your guests as well?

Please share as I want to do the appropriate thing with in reason.

 

I look forward to your suggestions and glad to find this message board. We have learned a great deal and helpful tips in dealing with the cruise lines.

Taylor Wedding Nov 23, 2015

We used a private TA. We choose 3 different types of cabins to hold. We handle a total of 45 cabins for one month with no charge. (some longer than the month). Our guest called the TA and paid there own deposit. It was $25 a person for double occupancy and $150 for anything more than that. At that they were set up on a payment plan. They had three months to pay the payment and the total has to be paid by 60 days out. We chose this option so it was a smaller down payment and payment plan. The TA I choose has done several wedding cruises so she is very knowledgeable and communicates very well with me. Doing this also links everyone together. The guest do have a choice of dining times but everyone did choose to eat with us. Doing this also allows me to choose where everyone sits at dinner (which is a great thing for us because by fiancés step mother is evil and not many people like her) lol. So I made sure certain people weren't around her. Hope this helps. I am glad I choose this option because I really don't have to do anything

We are getting married May 24, 2015 on the Sensation and we decided to use a TA. It has honestly been great. She handles everything for us. Your guest can make smaller deposit which makes it possible for more people to go. Guest can also choose a Esaver rate if they would like so they get the discounts or get upgrades they just have to pay a larger deposit.

Right now we have 34 rooms booked and a total of 80 guest. She sends me an updated list when each payment is due. My guest call her with any questions or concerns. I do contact the wedding department for any wedding details that way she is not in the middle for the most important part.

Please feel free to email me if you have any more questions @jewellfrasier@yahoo.com

Could I get a copy of the welcome letter also sent to jewellfrasier@yahoo.com

Thanks so much!!

117 days til we wed!!

I am using wooden and recycled material flowers. I found website that was very well priced. For some reason I can not post the pictures on here but attached is the website. Mine are the custom order for Jewell.

congrats on the weight loss. I am also using My fitness pal and am down 18 pounds.

What is this diet you speak of? I'm working hard gave up pop for almost 4 weeks now but its not wworkig ahhhhh haha

Trying using the my fitness pal apply and track your food intake. I have been doing it and am losing two pounds a week. I still get to eat the food that I want just in moderation. I am down ten pounds as of today.

Trying using the my fitness pal apply and track your food intake. I have been doing it and am losing two pounds a week. I still get to eat the food that I want just in moderation. I am down ten pounds as of today.

Hi 2015 brides,

 

Has anyone used a wedding planner/travel agent service to plan their wedding cruise? Wondering if it is worth it to have a 3rd party on your side to stay on top the cruise lines.

 

Thanks!!

I am using a travel agent and she has been wonderful. She has done the cruise wedding groups several times. She has taken the stress off of me. If you want her information feel free to email me at jewellfrasier@yahoo.com

Thanks for that info Jaxie!

 

I have a question, that I believe has been discussed on other postings but I would like to ask here: Do you plan on booking as a group? Or do you plan on letting the guests book their own rooms? Why? (We plan on going with Carnival)

 

I have heard that the advantages of booking through group is that everyone can be near each other and its easier to get seating in the MDR together. However, my feelings on that are: I want my guests to be able to get a room wherever they want, and I also want them to have the freedom to eat when they want. For example, I prefer Your Time Dining; I'm sure some of my guests will prefer to have a static dining time. Also, I don't want my guests to feel that they MUST spend all of their time together. This is as much their vacation as it is our wedding and I want people to feel free to do whatever they like on board and in port and also to be able to eat when and where they want to eat. On the flip side, I have heard that unless you book a group you can not have a reception on board. Anyone know any truth to this? We will be paying for our wedding party to travel with us, so I do plan on at least booking those rooms through group travel, but I am leaning more towards letting guests book on their own.

We are using a travel agent to book everything. It honestly has taken the stress off of me. The guest can put down a $25 deposit to hold their room and then they have months to pay it off. We did not have to pay her anything because Carnival takes care of the travel agent. If you would like her number to get details you can email me at jewellfrasier@yahoo.com. I am getting married May 24, 2015 and so far the process has been fairly easy.