haley_hay

On 4/27/2019 at 2:34 PM, Rzexmail said:

How was everything? I’m desperate for new reviews as I have booked and are getting married this September 2019. 

What ship and when in September are you getting married? Are you bringing decorations ?

On 6/11/2019 at 11:39 AM, Fortress8363 said:

There was one small glitch with the music, but everything else was awesome. So did an embarkation wedding on Carnival Fascination when it docked in Barbados. My husband and I live in Barbados so this was the best option for us. The wedding was to have been held in the Passage to India (PTI) and the reception in the Diamonds are forever lounge. l wasn't comfortable with the décor in PTI, but I wasn't sure if everything could be done in Diamonds, so after trying to see if any other room was available, I left it as is, but really wasn't comfortable. 

 

We were told to arrive at the port for 10:30, my invitations said 11:00 but the WC suggested we get there early and I'm glad we did. Boarding was a breeze. My husband, the wedding party (my 2 daughters, my son and the bestman) and I boarded through one entry and the guests boarded through another. I already had on my makeup so the onboard WC escorted us to our cabin where the guys dressed first and then my daughters and I got ready (only my husband and I sailed so there was only one room). I gave the WC my decorations, favours, gift box, etc. and she took them down to the room where my bff was going to set them up and do a bit a decorating. Meanwhile, apparently the WC told my guests they could go up on Lido and get some refreshments.

 

So when my bff saw the room she was like 'no', this is going to spoil her big day. My issue with the room is personal and has to do with the various deities and symbolism that's in the room which are not in keeping with my belief system. She spoke to everyone she thought would have influence and got the ceremony changed at the last minute to the Diamonds are Forever lounge next door (originally set for the reception alone), so everything was held in that one room and it was spectacular.

 

Around noon or so the photographer called to ask if I was ready and if he could come to take pictures. He was wonderful. He took some beautiful shots (more on that later). After that the WC came for me and we went down to the ceremony. It was beautiful, but it went by in a blur. We signed assembled the Unity Cross, signed the register, cut the cake and threw the bouquet. Only my husband made a speech. We had our first dance and then it was on to the reception.

 

We opted for the DJ and I had gone through the entire playlist of songs and chosen the ones I wanted rather than choose one of the themed playlists on the entertainment form. I had put a lot of work into it and listed the songs in the order I wanted them played and timed them as well, so when I heard him playing songs I hadn't chosen I asked about it and he said no-one had given him the list. The time was whizzing by so I only really noticed that he was playing from my list about 10 minutes before the reception was due to end. I sent my daughter rushing up to the cabin to get the list so that we could at least get in one or two songs. We were able to get in "rock the boat" and everyone went on the dance floor. I had chosen 70s songs. That was the only thing that didn't go as expected. Everything else was fabulous - the food was great and everyone had a wonderful time.

 

With respect to the photos, we only budgeted for the cheapest package because we had my family members and friends taking pics with a variety of devices and cameras. The picture packages are exorbitant. Barbados dollars and 2:1 USD so that makes it every more costly for us. We got the wedding pictures we did buy scanned and added other pics from various family members and did out album ourselves on Mixbook at a fraction of the cost. 

 

The rest of the honeymoon cruise was lovely and I would recommend an embarkation wedding any day as an economical way to get married. I wish you all the best in September and if you wish anymore information I can send you my email address.

Blessings!    

What type of decorations did you bring?