Carnival Destiny March 2011 Wedding Review...LONG!

[futuremrs.pittman]

Hi everyone!! We are back and MARRIED :). I apologize for not posting this sooner, but I wanted to wait until at least some of the professional photos were uploaded to shutterfly so that you could see them as well as read my review! First of all, I know that some of you asked for me to email you copies of my instructions for the sound tech, photographer and coordinator. I will do that as soon as I am done with my review :)

 

We had THE BEST time and this review will be LONG.

*If you are not interested in the review, scroll down and you will find the link to the pictures on shutterfly.*

 

We chose the Carnival Destiny cruise from Miami on 3/17/11-3/21/11

(Key West and Cozumel) with the ceremony and reception onboard in Key West from 11:30am-2pm. Our ceremony was in the Palladium Lounge and the reception was in the Down Beat Lounge.

 

We arrived in Miami on Wednesday afternoon and stayed at the Red Roof Inn Miami Airport. It was actually nicer than I expected and for 65 dollars, I thought it was REAL nice. Bennigans was right next door, so we didn't catch a cab anywhere, we just shut Bennigans down! haha. We had a great time. We had a party of 36 (including husband and me), with 26 of us flying down to Miami on Wednesday. The rest met us at the Port on Thursday morning. After reading some reviews, (just in my opinion), I felt relieved that I did not have an embarkation day wedding. With a large group and people that have never traveled let alone cruised before, I felt a little stressed trying to get them through onto the ship and I don't think I would have been able to calm myself and get married on embarkation day. We were all onboard by 1:30pm. I was told by Carnival that someone could deliver my welcome bags for $1 per cabin, but everyone that I talked to at the port had no idea and told me to check the bag with all of my welcome bags in it. I had to carry on my wedding dress, so I couldn't carry on a whole lot. Oh well, we gave the bags out at dinner and it was just fine. Everyone had a great time on the first day (besides my in-laws...ALL of them).

 

My father-in-law had a series of strokes in March and he is now on disability. He is fine, just a little slower and weaker than before. My husband does everything for him, financially, physically, so I hoped (and I don't know why I expected anything less) that his older brother and sister would help take care of their father during this special time in my husband's life, but they didn't. They're so selfish they said "it was his problem. His wedding. He invited him. He should deal with him." It was terrible and I was furious, but after the first day, I was over it. I just ignored them :)

 

We drank and ate and layed out and it was the first time that I felt like I could relax. Luckily, I had a great group that is pretty independent, so I didn't feel like I needed to entertain people, because there were enough people there that everyone knew.

 

Ramona, the coordinator and Nanu, the photographer came to speak with me at dinner. I wish I had my instructions to give her at dinner, because the next day, things were a little chaotic.

 

We had the late dinner, so we all ate and then most of us went out around the ship for a little while. I had a long, heartfelt talk with my dad, said goodnight to my groom and my bridesmaids, mom and I all went back to my room to drink and talk. I didn't go to bed until around 2 and I had to be up by 7 to eat and start getting ready! My mom stayed with me since all of my bridesmaids have boyfriends/fiances/husbands who have never cruised before and plus, my mom and I are really close.

 

We got up and ate breakfast and ordered champagne and orange juice.

My cousin and maid of honor did my hair, I did my makeup and we laughed and joked and had a great time. Time ran out though and my cousin began to panic about my hair. I am VERY laid back, so it didn't really bother me. I wasn't nervous at all. We were late and it was 11:30 already and they were still trying to fix my hair. haha. Ramona and Gloria from Wedding For You were hovering over us in the hot, cramped room and I wanted to tell them to wait outside, but I felt rude since we were running late. Here is where I gave Ramona and Gloria copies of my instructions. We were all done and ready to go around 11:40 and we left the room and walked down to the Palladium Lounge.

 

My bridesmaids walked in to Canon in D on steel drums (CD music) and I walked in to Somewhere Over the Rainbow (CD music) with my dad :). The first sight I had of my husband was him crying. It was so sweet. I head so many sniffles from his groomsmen and my bridesmaids, but then my dad stepped on my dress TWICE haha and that lifted the mood some. We had a quick ceremony, nothing added except for one poem and then we were Mr. and Mrs.!! We took a few pictures and headed to the Down Beat Lounge.

 

My reception was supposed to begin at 12 and since we were running late, they extended my 2 hour reception so that I got exactly 2 hours rather than starting the "time" at 12. I thought that was nice. Here's where Ramona pissed me off...

 

Remember, I gave her my instructions, as well as Gloria. When my husband and I approached the area to wait to enter the reception, we heard our music from our CD playing! And our wedding party was no where to be found (Ramona had herded them along to the reception without us earlier). We had a specific song for all of us to walk in to, but oh well. She told the sound technician to begin our first dance song and then we walked in and went straight into our dance. As we were waiting to go in, Ramona asked if I had any special requests besides our first dance song and I said "that is what I gave you those instructions for. It has all of our dances outlined, as well as the last song and when to do the cake cutting and speeches." She didn't have the sheet anymore! So we had to wait for someone to find it and THEN she got it right. I don't remember our sound technician's name, but she was GREAT!! She did everything perfectly. I didn't eat anything, but everyone said that the food was great. The only time I tasted the cake was for the cake cutting. The open bar was great. Two hours later everyone had their fare share of alcohol, so I'd say that my family got their money's worth!

 

We spent the rest of the day up on the deck in my new white bikini with Mrs. Pittman on the butt :). We all hung out up there, then showered and went to dinner. My husband and I spent the rest of the evening in the room! The next day we were at Cozumel and I wasn't too impressed with the Playa Mia Beach Break Deluxe, but it was fine and we had a great time at Fat Tuesdays after. The next day was our day at sea. We had a blast and everyone really enjoyed themselves. If you are still unsure of whether or not to do a cruise wedding, I say GO FOR IT. We met with the photographer on the last day to review pictures. We had a window from 12-4. Oh, the picture package we bought was $1499 (A lot, I know), but we got about 120 pictures, 2 canvas 16x20 prints, 2 DVD's, 1 CD (electronic file of pictures) and 1 album.

 

Pictures: http://williamspittmanwedding.shutterfly.com/

 

Pros:

- FUN FUN FUN

- great food

- great prices

- lots of party time

- more time to spend with people as opposed to having a 1 day event and becoming overwhelmed with having to talk to so many people in just a few hours

- low maintenance

Cons:

- Our photographer didn't take any outdoor pictures...don't know why, but my adrenaline was pumping and the day flew that I didn't realize we hadn't taken any pictures outside until I got the pictures back and was disappointed at that :(

 

The only advice I can give you (and that's why I didn't call them "cons") is this: If you do not have an embarkation day wedding and want to be thorough in your instructions to people, bring them with you to dinner or wherever you go the first day, because you'll want to have those available to go ahead and give them to the coordinator and photographer in advance and double check him/her on wedding day to make sure they do everything that you have asked

 

I hope this helps! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me: teo.pittman@gmail.com I check it often

[futuremrs.pittman]

Oh and on the shutterfly site their are just casual cruise pictures, friends pictures from the wedding and reception, as well as the professional pictures.

 

Enjoy! and best of luck to all of you :)

[katieandaron]

Congratulations! Thanks for posting a review with photos! Your pictures are beautiful- I love your dress and the pretty yellow bridesmaid dresses. Best wishes for your marriage!

[futuremrs.pittman]

Thank you SO much! The dresses are from Priscilla of Boston and the tan suits are from Joseph A Banks.

 

I am sorry, in my LONG review I failed to mention anything about the Palladium and the Down Beat Lounge...the Palladium was fine. I thought that the red curtain would bug me, but it didn't. The lighting was a little weird, so my friends and family had a hard time taking pictures, but it was fun being on stage! The Down Beat Lounge was GREAT. It was the perfect venue for the amount of people we had (36) and the decor is really neat, like a jazz theme that you can probably see in the pictures. The dance floor was large enough for all of us and the buffet was up against the window with pretty scenery. It was a great day! Congratulations, everyone!

 

-Teo

[Lipz]

You look sooo BEAUtiful!

Glad that you enjoyed your special day.

I could tell by the pictures and I could also tell that your mom is a hoot & the life of the party!

Go mom! go mom! go mom! lol

[futuremrs.pittman]

Oh thank you very much. I really appreciate it! haha and YES she is definitely the life of the party ;). We had such a great time. I wish you the best of luck in the rest of your planning!

[Tiffany1203]

Thank you so much for coming back and giving a review. Your pictures are beautiful! :)

 

Im sorry to hear about your father-in-law. :( I am in the same boat with my mother. She had a stroke during a surgery and is now disabled. My fiance and I have to care for her and my siblings do nothing to help us out. I still dont know what is going to happen with her attending our wedding. :(

[mountainbreeze]

BEAUTIFUL!! It looks like you had a great time!!

Love your wedding dress!!:)

Thanks for sharing the review and the pictures!

[nimzer]

Thanks for your review and sharing your photos! Loved your wedding dress! Congrats! :)

[flgatormom29]

Grrr, i had this whole thing typed out and went to submit it and it "errored".

Anyways, i've been waiting for this review! Congrats!!! So glad your wedding went smooth and beautifully! I just glanced at your pictures a lil last night. Look forward to looking at them more later...the ones i've seen are beautiful! You look stunning and everyone looks like they had a blast!

I was hoping to hear about your experience at the salon, but happy for you that you had someone to take care of your hair! It's an expense i worry about.

 

I'm glad you mentioned being happy you didn't do it on embarkment day. I knew that was something i did not want to do either...but you don't seem to see very many people who do it that way. If not all of the important people i wanted couldn't have made it, i probably would have changed to embarkment day. But i didn't want to have to worry about getting everyone there and finding someone to do hair in an unknown city!

 

I'm also pleased to hear that the coordinator and photographer came to see you at dinner! Was this prearranged or did they just show up? I'd like to spend dinner with my family and have a seperate meeting with them and just me and my fiance.....

 

Also, did you enjoy being married in Key West? Or since you didn't get off the ship, was it any different or better?

 

Sorry so many questions! Not many reviews on weddings done in Key West and not on embarkment day! :-)

 

Again, Congrats to a wonderful wedding!!

[deelyte81]

AWWW you beat me!!! Congrats you looked beautiful!! In person tooooo!!! I have a picture of us!

I have to put my review up and pics.... I'm so happy you came by and we had a chance to quickly meet! :D

[futuremrs.pittman]

Grrr, i had this whole thing typed out and went to submit it and it "errored".

Anyways, i've been waiting for this review! Congrats!!! So glad your wedding went smooth and beautifully! I just glanced at your pictures a lil last night. Look forward to looking at them more later...the ones i've seen are beautiful! You look stunning and everyone looks like they had a blast!

I was hoping to hear about your experience at the salon, but happy for you that you had someone to take care of your hair! It's an expense i worry about.

 

I'm glad you mentioned being happy you didn't do it on embarkment day. I knew that was something i did not want to do either...but you don't seem to see very many people who do it that way. If not all of the important people i wanted couldn't have made it, i probably would have changed to embarkment day. But i didn't want to have to worry about getting everyone there and finding someone to do hair in an unknown city!

 

I'm also pleased to hear that the coordinator and photographer came to see you at dinner! Was this prearranged or did they just show up? I'd like to spend dinner with my family and have a seperate meeting with them and just me and my fiance.....

 

Also, did you enjoy being married in Key West? Or since you didn't get off the ship, was it any different or better?

 

Sorry so many questions! Not many reviews on weddings done in Key West and not on embarkment day! :-)

 

Again, Congrats to a wonderful wedding!!

 

Hi and thank you very much! It was so much fun and such a happy day :). As for your questions, the coordinator and photographer came to visit me at dinner without setting up an appointment. I would hope that if you asked at guest services or somewhere to try and get a specific time for them to meet with you that they would honor that. It was a VERY brief meeting, but I don't know if it is always like that. That is why I wish that I had my instructions with me, so they could just take them with them. I did enjoy being married in Key West. It was such a short time at port, that I didn't really feel like I was missing out on much not being able to get off of the boat there. I also didn't have much of an interest in Key West. The time we spent there was 7:30am-2pm, so the excursion were snorkeling and other water stuff, or bar crawls. haha and bar crawls didn't seem too appealing to many people at 8am! I am sure that a wedding at a resort in Key West or a beach would have been beautiful, but it was also a more expensive option, and with 30+ people, it seemed more realistic not to try and herd everyone to a destination and just have the ceremony and reception onboard. I was pleased with our decision. It made it easy to have the ceremony and then go straight to the reception, and then be able to change into bathing suits and hang out on the pool deck with our guests. I hope this helps a little! Best of luck :)

[futuremrs.pittman]

AWWW you beat me!!! Congrats you looked beautiful!! In person tooooo!!! I have a picture of us!

I have to put my review up and pics.... I'm so happy you came by and we had a chance to quickly meet! :D

 

 

You were SO beautiful! And so happy! I'm so glad that I came by. I didn't want to crash your party, but I definitely didn't want to miss the chance to actually meet in person :). Congratulations on your marriage! I hope that you guys had a great cruise!

[Denise2000]

You looked adorable! Looks like everyone had a really good time. The pictures were all beautiful!!

[canucme_cruisin]

We spent the rest of the day up on the deck in my new white bikini with Mrs. Pittman on the butt :).

 

I'm getting one of those too!! I'm not sure if I will buy it or make my own though, the ones I saw online were all like $100 :eek:

 

Nice review, great pics! When they were holding you up, were you nervous? Was that a pose you wanted, or the photograhers choice?

[futuremrs.pittman]

I'm getting one of those too!! I'm not sure if I will buy it or make my own though, the ones I saw online were all like $100 :eek:

 

Nice review, great pics! When they were holding you up, were you nervous? Was that a pose you wanted, or the photograhers choice?

 

 

THank you! That was a pose that I wanted. I wasn't nervous. Too much adrenaline pumping!! haha.

[futuremrs.pittman]

Thank you so much for coming back and giving a review. Your pictures are beautiful! :)

 

Im sorry to hear about your father-in-law. :( I am in the same boat with my mother. She had a stroke during a surgery and is now disabled. My fiance and I have to care for her and my siblings do nothing to help us out. I still dont know what is going to happen with her attending our wedding. :(

 

I'm so sorry about your mother! My advice to you would be to try and discuss this situation as delicately as possible with your siblings and if you are having any other family members, them too. You want your mom and everyone else to be able to enjoy themselves, but this time is really about you. I would just explain to them that you want to be able to help in whatever way possible, but that you also want to be able to enjoy yourself and you will see when the time comes, but you may also feel a little overwhelmed with everything and you'll need someone to step up and step in. I hope that your family will be receptive and I wish you the best of luck and much happiness in your marriage! Congratulations :)

[BJ84014]

CONGRATS! The photos are wonderful, it looks like everyone had a fantastic time. Thank you so much for posting you review. I feel WAY behind because all I have is my wedding dress and NOTHING else is done. This helped a lot.

 

If you could send me (bj84014@comcast.net) the directions you gave to the planners/photog/etc that would be outstanding. Did you order the flowers through Carnival or do silk?

 

I have a ton of questions but you just got home and need to enjoy your time as a MRS. so I will not bog you down. If you can send me any information that you have already put together that would be fabulous!

 

Thanks and congratulations!!

[futuremrs.pittman]

CONGRATS! The photos are wonderful, it looks like everyone had a fantastic time. Thank you so much for posting you review. I feel WAY behind because all I have is my wedding dress and NOTHING else is done. This helped a lot.

 

If you could send me (bj84014@comcast.net) the directions you gave to the planners/photog/etc that would be outstanding. Did you order the flowers through Carnival or do silk?

 

I have a ton of questions but you just got home and need to enjoy your time as a MRS. so I will not bog you down. If you can send me any information that you have already put together that would be fabulous!

 

Thanks and congratulations!!

 

I am emailing you all of the information I had for them right now! :) And please, I truly mean it, contact me with all of your questions. I would love to help in whatever way that I can. Nothing is planned for today or this weekend, so I'm free!! Email away :). I promise you won't bog me down. And I ordered my flowers through A Wedding For You in Florida. Check your email shortly. And thanks for the congratulations!! It was so fun.

[futuremrs.pittman]

I'm getting one of those too!! I'm not sure if I will buy it or make my own though, the ones I saw online were all like $100 :eek:

 

Nice review, great pics! When they were holding you up, were you nervous? Was that a pose you wanted, or the photograhers choice?

 

 

Oh and as for the bathing suit, my MOH got it for me and she just bought a white bikini from Victorias Secret (since that's where all of my bathing suits are from and she knew it would fit right) and then she got "Mrs. Pittman" embroidered on the butt somewhere... I don't know how much she paid for the embroidering, but the bathing suit I know was like 35 dollars.