Embarkment Day Wedding

[amyknz]

Hello all!

 

Some of you may have seen this on BDW, but I was given the suggestion to post here for more experienced "cruise brides" vs. destination brides. Thank you in advance for your help :D

I'm wondering if anyone has pics and/or experiences to share about having your wedding and reception on a cruise ship before going on a cruise for your honeymoon? I have been looking EXTENSIVELY, online, but am really only finding info from the cruise lines themselves, not the couples.

 

It doesn't look like many, if any more than one other couple will actually cruise with us, so it is rude for me to expect all those non-travelers to deal with a port after the wedding? My FI and I are very inclined to do a destination wedding, but decided against it so that the most important people wouldn't miss out because of cost...this is only about 4 hrs away and we were thinking of doing a small get together the night before for all the people coming and staying in a hotel.

 

Yes, I am a bit of a control freak...should I worry about having to deal with that part of my brain in order to have a nice ceremony that is cost effective for us. I adopted my niece (consider her my daughter) 2.5 years ago and so the $ is a very critical issue. I'm not expecting more than 30-45 people, so there you have it. Please "fire away"

 

Thank you all again for your advice! Congratulations to you all!!!

 

Thanks!

[pinkdiamonddolly]

Hello all!

 

Some of you may have seen this on BDW, but I was given the suggestion to post here for more experienced "cruise brides" vs. destination brides. Thank you in advance for your help :D

 

I'm wondering if anyone has pics and/or experiences to share about having your wedding and reception on a cruise ship before going on a cruise for your honeymoon? I have been looking EXTENSIVELY, online, but am really only finding info from the cruise lines themselves, not the couples.

 

It doesn't look like many, if any more than one other couple will actually cruise with us, so it is rude for me to expect all those non-travelers to deal with a port after the wedding? My FI and I are very inclined to do a destination wedding, but decided against it so that the most important people wouldn't miss out because of cost...this is only about 4 hrs away and we were thinking of doing a small get together the night before for all the people coming and staying in a hotel.

 

Yes, I am a bit of a control freak...should I worry about having to deal with that part of my brain in order to have a nice ceremony that is cost effective for us. I adopted my niece (consider her my daughter) 2.5 years ago and so the $ is a very critical issue. I'm not expecting more than 30-45 people, so there you have it. Please "fire away"

 

Thank you all again for your advice! Congratulations to you all!!!

 

Thanks!

 

I am going to be really honest with you, a cruise wedding may not be the best idea for you. You relinquish alot of control, things like knowing the exact location of both your ceremony and reception won't be given to you until about 2 weeks before the wedding. the exact look of your bouquet and cake can be open to someone else's opinion. I honestly could not even think about doing a cruise wedding as a first time bride, if I had been less of a control freak or like now when its my second wedding it would be perfect. You just have to decide how much you want to be in control. Good Luck and I really hope everything works out for you.:)

[Lipz]

Hi Amy & Welcome...

You have come to the right place for advice, suggestions, resources and more. Like pinkdiamonddolly I would not advise you to go this route if you are the control freak you say you are. Not only will you not know one of the major details (your venue on the ship) until 2 weeks before, you may not be able to get information from the cruise lines' wedding company exactly when you need it either. You will have to be even more diligent in keeping records whenever you contact them and be happy with knowing that things will work out how they work out and whether it's good or bad it will be your 'unique' wedding. If your also a worry wart this may not be the best for you.

However, if you can get past all that.... planning will be just as fun!!

Now tell us, where do you plan to cruise from? when? what line do you have in mind? and where to?

Pictures of 'real' weddings can be hard to find, but start by typing the threads search box and see what you come up with. Hopefully some of the past brides will also answer your call here and post their pictures.

Happy Wedding Planning!

[soon2bmrsspd]

You can plan as much or a little of your wedding as you want. For me, I planned every second, and brought every single thing. Please don't let the fact that you will not know your location until the week before, stop you from having a cruise wedding. Even though I did not know the location, my wedding was my vision, and everything I ever dreamed of. I would not have changed a thing, or the fact that I had a cruise ship wedding. My wedding was not on embarkation day, but it was on the ship, and was the ship package. I will attach a few pictures. I had 27 sailing guests attend and was marriend in the port of Nassau onboard the Fantasy. I will attach a picture of the ceremony, the food from the reception, the reception in the disco, and a couple of random pictures to show of the awesome photographer the ship had. Please feel free to ask any questions here, I would be happy to help, but just because the cruise line provides the flowers, decor, etc, doesn't mean you have to use it. It is your wedding, and you can have what you want for the most part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sassy_1782]

Hello!

 

My fi and I also were thinking about a destination wedding but knew we wouldn't have the people closest due to cost. More a problem for me than him. We also knew we didn't want to spend a budle on a wedding. He actually came up with the idea for a cruise wedding. We are getting married in 3 weeks on the day of embarkation on the Carnival pride out of Baltimore. We have 20 people attending and the port is 45 min from us and his family and 1.5 hours for my family. In the beginning I wondered about the control issue too as I am usually super detailed. Amazingly, I have not had a problem with letting go of most things. The only things I really changed were to bring my own cake topper, flowers and a cd of songs for the important dances. Now I did search for pictures because I needed to see where my ceremony might be & what the cake topper the cruiseline provided looked like. You'll find pics on here, but may have to go in a few pages. A few weeks ago somebody started a thread specifically for pictures. For pictures of the ship I just googled the name and found a site that had virtual tours of almost every spot on the ship. Carnival doesn't show a picture of the chapel on their site. Hope that helps a bit and I plan on posting pics when I get back.

[amyknz]

OK girls, I started this great personalized response while the 6 year old was up...can you say "1st mistake"? So maybe I didn't need to go into all the detail that I had, because I came back and I was back on the forum page...so here I go with the basics ;-)

 

Thank you pinkdiamondpolly and lipz for your candor and I would ask that, while you don't know me, you feel free to tell me I'm delusional at anytime!

 

My FH is 38 and I'm 35, 1st wedding for both and of course I have my 6 yr old daughter, who will be a part of the ceremony...he's giving her a pendant or something of signifigance regarding becoming her forever Daddy. So here's my thought process on the control thing, if I have it locally it will cost much more and I will be constantly reminded of what I CAN'T afford. I am also afraid that my A-type will take over and get in the way of what's really important which are the vows and my "people" (daughter and FH).

 

So with what I've gathered info-wise so far I'm thinking, no, I know that I will be bringing my own silk bouquets/corsages and cake decor. I will just have to give a little on the ceremony & receptions sites in order to get married on the water while still close enough for non-cruisers to join in the celebration. Is there ANY WAY to throw some colored longstems in those arangements on the columns?!?!?! I'm thinking the 1.5 hr cocktail hors d'oeuvre reception will work best and will allow people to leave early enough to get home at a decent time on a Sunday. While still being better than a cake and punch toast here at home.

 

Lipz: we are in TX so the current plan, not booked or paid for yet, is to leave Galveston on 7.24.11 for their Eastern Carr. itinerary (Freeport and Nassau Bahamas, then Key West) on the Carnival Conquest...I've always done the Western Itineraries in the past so I'm super excited about that! My future BIL and SIL will most likely sail with us, but I don't think anyone else will. So there's this concern in my mind of it being inconvenient for everyone but us...but then I think "it's my day and it should be easier on me than anyone else"...thoughts?

 

I will still want to do favors...looking at a personally monogramed DIY chapstick and a few other things. But haven't gotten any farther than this on my thinking. I did have the priviledge of viewing one recent cruise bride's pics and it was a lovely day! Again, you have to know the "devil you're dancing with" ;-)

 

Thank you for the encouragement "Soon2bmrsspd"!!! If you don't mind me asking, was it a lot more costly that you brought your own? I know you brought the flowers and obviously clothing, but what about the isle runner, decorations (what kind), the music for the reception, etc? Thank you for sharing your pics too!!! Such an integral part in this part of my decision making process is seeing pics and being able to envision me there with my FH and daughter...I'm getting really excited!!!

 

Thank you all again! It really means the world to a "non-blogger" that you guys would take time out of your day to respond to me!

[amyknz]

@sassy: Congratulations on your big day very quickly arriving!!! I will be awaiting the pics with baited breath! did you simply google carnival wedding pics to find the site you're referring too? I'm not having much luck with that, but I will drill down on more threads here! Have you found out what rooms you're in for your ceremony and reception yet?

[acireta]

hey girl, welcome :D

 

I too am a control freak and a planner, and I've had to let go of some control, but its not that bad. Just keep perspective of the end goal: coming home married to the love of your life. That's really all that matters. That and the kid, of course! :p

 

Really, you'll be able to do all of the things you listed: bouquets, cake topper, aisle runner, decorations, favors, reception music (by way of providing a list to the DJ). You'll give everything to your coordinator on the morning of your wedding and focus on getting pretty.

 

Best thing to do is start reading every thread on this forum and on BDW. You could go nuts with researching the hell out of the internet, but I haven't needed many other resources other than CC and BDW.

 

Happy planning!!

[JerseyGem]

I suggest that you call TWE and find out if they still have an opening for your date. I don't know about Carnival, but DD booked her date with Celebrity 15 months in advance- and still was the second bride for that day; they only do three a day. I assume Carnival will be just as popular if not more popular than Celebrity!

 

Once you're assured that you can be married on that day, let the planning begin!

[flgatormom29]

My opinion is to go for it! I'm very opinionated and like to be in control and I've found that u can be as involved as u want. Carnival has been great! U can call them as often or as little as u want.

You can provide as much or as little as u want and spend a fortune or nothing extra. I've found carnival really isn't expensive. I just sent an email last week asking how much a cake design would be, my dream cake. Expecting it to be $150+ and not something worth the money they called and quoted me $35!

 

These forums are great! I'm addicted to them! Everyone here had great ideas and it really helps to make it own ideas. Every day I read them I get another ideas get more excited!

[Artemis908]

Like some of the other brides, I will admit that I am a big planner. I wouldn't necessarily say control freak, but I LOVE to plan. You don't get as many choices on a cruise wedding, however there is still plenty to worry about. Believe me, there will be PLENTY to control. I am also getting married on embarkation day and it has been a bit of a hassle trying to make sure I get the proper information from people so they can go on the ship as non-sailing guests. There is just one thing I keep on telling myself... it's okay if everything isn't perfect. As long as my future husband shows up, I don't care what else happens. I am keeping my expectations fairly low and I'm taking control of as much as I can outside of what TWE handles... dress, flowers, favors, bridesmaid gifts, bridesmaid dresses, guest book, invitations, save the dates, thank you cards, hair, make-up...

[amyknz]

I suggest that you call TWE and find out if they still have an opening for your date. I don't know about Carnival, but DD booked her date with Celebrity 15 months in advance- and still was the second bride for that day; they only do three a day. I assume Carnival will be just as popular if not more popular than Celebrity!

 

Once you're assured that you can be married on that day, let the planning begin!

 

Thank you, I did call and there are still openings =)

[amyknz]

My opinion is to go for it! I'm very opinionated and like to be in control and I've found that u can be as involved as u want. Carnival has been great! U can call them as often or as little as u want.

You can provide as much or as little as u want and spend a fortune or nothing extra. I've found carnival really isn't expensive. I just sent an email last week asking how much a cake design would be, my dream cake. Expecting it to be $150+ and not something worth the money they called and quoted me $35!

 

These forums are great! I'm addicted to them! Everyone here had great ideas and it really helps to make it own ideas. Every day I read them I get another ideas get more excited!

 

That's AWESOME! So when you say dream cake are you talking about design or flavor, or both? I was thinking about that in the sense of really preferring a square tiered cake AND a different flavor...

 

I, too, am becoming addicted...trying to limit my time online to just at home and "pacing" myself, but seriously having a hard time not logging in like RIGHT NOW!!!

 

Thank you ALL for your help. Is it really OK for me to start posting on other's threads too? I feel like my shyness takes over when I think about responding?!!?!

[amyknz]

Like some of the other brides, I will admit that I am a big planner. I wouldn't necessarily say control freak, but I LOVE to plan. You don't get as many choices on a cruise wedding, however there is still plenty to worry about. Believe me, there will be PLENTY to control. I am also getting married on embarkation day and it has been a bit of a hassle trying to make sure I get the proper information from people so they can go on the ship as non-sailing guests. There is just one thing I keep on telling myself... it's okay if everything isn't perfect. As long as my future husband shows up, I don't care what else happens. I am keeping my expectations fairly low and I'm taking control of as much as I can outside of what TWE handles... dress, flowers, favors, bridesmaid gifts, bridesmaid dresses, guest book, invitations, save the dates, thank you cards, hair, make-up...

 

Hi Artemis, are you getting your hair and make-up done on the ship or do you have someone that can do it on land before boarding? I think Carnival said that the salon is closed on embarkation day...

[Artemis908]

Hi Artemis, are you getting your hair and make-up done on the ship or do you have someone that can do it on land before boarding? I think Carnival said that the salon is closed on embarkation day...

 

I found someone in New York who is doing my hair and make-up. Princess' salon is also closed on embarkation day so I made a bunch of calls and research online and found some great gals in Queens to do my hair and make-up. Actually making a trip there next weekend for my trial. :D They are going to come to my hotel room in the early morning of my wedding day to do everything.

[amyknz]

I found someone in New York who is doing my hair and make-up. Princess' salon is also closed on embarkation day so I made a bunch of calls and research online and found some great gals in Queens to do my hair and make-up. Actually making a trip there next weekend for my trial. :D They are going to come to my hotel room in the early morning of my wedding day to do everything.

 

WOW, that's AWESOME!!! Once I actually book this...think I'm at 95% at this point, I will do the same in Galveston =) Thank you again and CONGRATULATIONS! :D

[martodd]

I suggest that you call TWE and find out if they still have an opening for your date. I don't know about Carnival, but DD booked her date with Celebrity 15 months in advance- and still was the second bride for that day; they only do three a day. I assume Carnival will be just as popular if not more popular than Celebrity!

 

Once you're assured that you can be married on that day, let the planning begin!

 

I hope you don't mind me posting on this thread, I don't want to hijack it. I saw a post by you somewhere else on the boards and have a few questions. Did I see correct that your daughter's wedding will be on the Summit this July? My husband and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year and I always dreamed of a beautiful vow renewal with family and friends and he surprised me with it on our embark day for the Summit on 7/24 with non-sailing family and friends coming for a ceremony and reception. Now the planning begins!!!! There is so little information on here for Celebrity. How have you found your planning to go and what kind of information have you been getting?

Thank you so much and I am sorry again for hijacking the thread!!

[LarAndShar]

I just sent an email last week asking how much a cake design would be, my dream cake. Expecting it to be $150+ and not something worth the money they called and quoted me $35!

What type of cake design are you referring to? added ribbon? flowers? color? I'm quite interested in this as I've been searching for the Floral topper to add color to the "boring white cake" BUT... If a color design upgrade is available... might need to rethink possibilities.

Thanks :)

S

[pinkdiamonddolly]

Amyknz, I am so glad you are doing what you want to, I am sorry if I came across like little Debbie Downer, it was not to be rude, I guess I just have to have all the negitive in front of me, conquer that and move on to the good stuff. I forget that everyone doesn't think like I do. You will find so much amazing info here, these girls are so good at this. I feel so bad that I came across like a complete buzzkill. Welcome and Happy Planning!!!:)

[sassy_1782]

@sassy: Congratulations on your big day very quickly arriving!!! I will be awaiting the pics with baited breath! did you simply google carnival wedding pics to find the site you're referring too? I'm not having much luck with that, but I will drill down on more threads here! Have you found out what rooms you're in for your ceremony and reception yet?

 

 

I actually just got the call today. Or rather an email saying call them for confirmation of my wedding which I did as soon as I opened the email:) I was worried they'd be closed cause it was 5 oclock when I checked my email. The ceremony will be in the chapel at 1:30 followed by a reception Beauties Dance Club at 2pm. I do want to say to listen closely when you go over info with them. They had several things wrong or maybe the lady was reading it wrong. They had more guests than we sent in (which she realized when she looked closer), had us bringing our own officiant (which I thought you couldn't do, and she changed that to bringing own cake topper upon checking) and had our stateroom wrong (we did change that after we booked). But now I'm super excited and still have 3 weeks to wait. lol.

 

As for pics I just typed in carnival pride chapel pics. Which I just did again and found a thread on here from 2 years ago that includes pics (didn't find this before) Here is the link to that thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=962756

 

The pic links are a few postings down. The cake shown apparently has the old cake topper. Now from what I've been reading it is 2 intertwined silver hearts and looks nicer.

 

I also typed in carnival pride chapel virtural tour to find 360 looks at rooms. It was the only way I found a pic of the chapel. Here's a link for that http://cruises.res99.com/sc.do?tab=media&mtype=tour&c=1&v=398&i=&d=&d2=&dsc=,#media

[JerseyGem]

I hope you don't mind me posting on this thread, I don't want to hijack it. I saw a post by you somewhere else on the boards and have a few questions. Did I see correct that your daughter's wedding will be on the Summit this July? My husband and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year and I always dreamed of a beautiful vow renewal with family and friends and he surprised me with it on our embark day for the Summit on 7/24 with non-sailing family and friends coming for a ceremony and reception. Now the planning begins!!!! There is so little information on here for Celebrity. How have you found your planning to go and what kind of information have you been getting?

Thank you so much and I am sorry again for hijacking the thread!!

 

Martodd- I started a new thread since my response kept getting longer and longer (I'm too chatty LOL!). Lynn

[flgatormom29]

That's AWESOME! So when you say dream cake are you talking about design or flavor, or both? I was thinking about that in the sense of really preferring a square tiered cake AND a different flavor...

 

I, too, am becoming addicted...trying to limit my time online to just at home and "pacing" myself, but seriously having a hard time not logging in like RIGHT NOW!!!

 

Thank you ALL for your help. Is it really OK for me to start posting on other's threads too? I feel like my shyness takes over when I think about responding?!!?!

 

Not flavor... just design.

I wanted a square cake with a "quilted" look to it. And where each line meets a silver dagree. Kinda hard to explain. Of course i have to provide the dagrees, but it's like $6 for 1800 of them! I saw it on cake boss (if you watch it, it's the second cake he made the bridezilla who came into the shop and ruined the cake) and been in love with it ever since...that was at least a year ago!

[LarAndShar]

flgatormom29

thanks for the reply.. that is awesome, I didn't know we could request changes to the cake, (other than flavor and filling) Something more i'll need to explore here :) and I love that show, but somehow I always end up with a sweet tooth after watching it:eek:

 

S

[WendyinOC]

I feel you have a lot of control on your cruise wedding. I am getting married in a lounge with no windows and I am bringing 100 candles (Battery Powered) to decorate and it was no problem.

When it comes to venues you can figure it out. If you order the DJ you get the Disco. On my cruise if I had the Band it was going to be in the same place as ceremony and I did not like that. If you get the Piano option its in the Piano Bar. When it comes to ceremony they only have maybe three options. Lounge, Chapel, or Theater.

I have 61 people and only 15 guests sailing. Many are coming the night before and we booked a restaurant for dinner. We can afford to even flip for dinner due to the cost of this Wedding.

 

I changed alot of stuff from Flowers, Cake Topper etc to make my own. Many of my guests have not been on a cruise ship so they are all excitied. Its a unique wedding which is what I like.

 

My only regret is that I planned it on Superbowl Sunday. OOPS.

[flgatormom29]

flgatormom29

thanks for the reply.. that is awesome, I didn't know we could request changes to the cake, (other than flavor and filling) Something more i'll need to explore here :) and I love that show, but somehow I always end up with a sweet tooth after watching it:eek:

 

S

 

No problem! It wasn't anything I knew about either, but I had called to ask about something else and figured I'd just ask and worst they could tell me no... They are so nice there! I just had to send an email with what I wanted and they asked the onboard chef for a quote. I did that on friday and thursday she called me back with a quote. She said if my guest count goes up, it'll cost more. (i am only having like 20 people). But for that price I couldn't pass it up...

So happy I asked! When i booked my cruise wedding only thing I was unhappy about was that I had to settle on my cake. Now I don't have to settle and it makes me even more excited!