Anyone ever renewed their vows onboard?

[jreichow1972]

My husband and I got married when I was 18 and he was 20. At the time we could not do a big wedding. So we went to the court house and got married on a Friday the 13th because the court house was not open Saturday. I wore a white 2 piece skirt suit and my DH a brown suit. I was sad I couldn't wear the bridal gown and always thought someday we could renew our vows and I could wear the gown if I wanted!

 

Today, 23.5 years later....

 

I saw John Heald posted some wedding and vow renewal packages on his FB page and I though maybe for our 25th anniversary that would be a nice way to celebrate.

 

Who else has renewed their vows onboard? What area of the ship did you have the ceremony? What else did you do to make the moment special? What did you wear? Does Carnival do a good job with the renewal ceremony? Thanks

 

 

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[dolittle]

We have a very similar story to you guys 19 and 20 with baby no wedding or honeymoon . 28 years later we were on the Century in Alaska and they say over the loud speaker ''anyone who would like to renew there vows come to the night club at 5:00 P.M. (by the way it was free). So I say ''oh lets do it '' ( I was going for some brownie points) and she says ''I don't feel like getting out of the hot tub'' (she did have a few drinks). This was 10 years ago and about every couple months or so I hear how we should have done it ,I don't know what I was thinking and so forth.We have been on many cruises since and still have not done it . So even if it costs money go for it and have a great time you two have stood the test of time you earned it .good luck B.T.W. we have been married for 38 years and our D.D. will turn 40 in march.

[Twinswithtwins]

Was on Sunshine last week and on one of the sea days there was something in the Funtimes for people who would like to renew their vows with the Captain. No cost involved. Not exactly a full-blown Carnival wedding but thought it very sweet of them to offer... Have never seen it offered before. I'm thinking it was done as a group. Didn't keep my Funtimes but maybe someone else will post.

[Terri0305]

I hope they offer it on our cruise on the Magic, just might take them up on it. My fiancé and I are engaged but due to finances and just basically not wanting to be stressed out anymore we decided not to go with the big wedding plus we were paying for it ourselves so we're probably going to the courthouse as well....our date was set for June 15th but it would be nice to do something like this on the cruise. Our thing is as long as we're married we don't care how we do it, all that matters is the two of us

 

 

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[carol TC]

We renewed our vows a couple of years ago. Was wonderful. We invited our family to cruise with us and then we had a private party with drinks and some food for one hour. The captain did the ceremony which was private not group setting. I couldn't believe how nice they did my cocktail party. I would do it again maybe for my 50th

[manmachine]

They have basic plans you can choose from... Just call and ask for Bridal Department.

 

My wife and I renewed our 20 year vows on the Liberty. Captain did the ceremony, and he treated it very respectfully. It was in one of the meeting rooms that doubles as a chapel.

 

We had cake and champagne..,

 

VERY nice... Nicely done.

[jreichow1972]

We have a very similar story to you guys 19 and 20 with baby no wedding or honeymoon . 28 years later we were on the Century in Alaska and they say over the loud speaker ''anyone who would like to renew there vows come to the night club at 5:00 P.M. (by the way it was free). So I say ''oh lets do it '' ( I was going for some brownie points) and she says ''I don't feel like getting out of the hot tub'' (she did have a few drinks). This was 10 years ago and about every couple months or so I hear how we should have done it ,I don't know what I was thinking and so forth.We have been on many cruises since and still have not done it . So even if it costs money go for it and have a great time you two have stood the test of time you earned it .good luck B.T.W. we have been married for 38 years and our D.D. will turn 40 in march.

 

Love your story. Maybe next cruise you will do it :) congrats on 38 years!

 

 

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[jreichow1972]

Thanks everyone for posting your thoughts & experiences. It is very much appreciated. My husband just took me out for fish & chips for dinner and I'm going to go lay down, food coma time. I look forward to reading more in the morning.

 

 

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[nitro2448]

Yes we did it on the Elation in December of 2012, I surprised my wife with it. It was a great ceremony and worth every penny, but definitely was not free. I think it has went up in cost since we done it.

[habby]

Thanks everyone for posting your thoughts & experiences. It is very much appreciated. My husband just took me out for fish & chips for dinner and I'm going to go lay down, food coma time. I look forward to reading more in the morning.

 

 

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My DB and SIL renewed their vows for their 40th anniversary two years ago on the Pride. Not sure what package they ordered or what it cost. Captain officiated in the chapel. They may have signed some log book on the ship and/or got a "renewal license". I served as matron of honor and my hubby was best man. Photographer took pictures of the ceremony and some inside and outside on the deck. Champagne and cake. Glad they did it on day 3 of a 7-day cruise. We ate that cake the rest of the cruise at dessert!! Oh, but that cake was SO GOOD!!

[Carnival_Brides]

We very much wanted to be married at sea, but it was not legally feasible for us, so we signed the paperwork on land and booked a vow renewal package so we could have a ceremony at sea.

 

They will do ceremonies in the chapel (on Spirit class ships), the comedy lounge, the show lounge (if there's enough guests) or I've even seem them in the atrium. They are not done on embarkation days or day where there is a formal night. They are scheduled around the Captain's availability, but they will give you options. For us it was a full-on wedding, so we made it more formal, but I know other have gone more casual.

 

We booked the more expensive package so we could have the open-bar reception that we treated as a cocktail hour and dinner was supposed to follow, but our guests were so full from the reception they didn't go.

 

We did do a full photo session with Dreams Photography and spent about $800 on photos and the disc. I think packages start around $500, but you can purchase individual photos a'la carte.

 

We invited 100 guests and 17 of our nearest and dearest joined us. We did quite a few DIY projects like our ship-on-a-stick cake topper and Funship Freddy (tux edition) came to the reception for pictures. It was perfect.

 

We did write a lengthy review for the wedding/honeymoon board if you're interested.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Carnival_Brides

[Ltcsquad]

We did a renewal on our first cruise on the Holiday it was held in the library. Our Daughters were there and it was great

[Ocean Dancer]

We did it privately on the Legend in October. We happened to be cruising with my sister, who was my maid of honor, and my husbands brother, his best man.

 

The original 4 of us just went into the Chapel and said loving things to each other............no Captain, just US. It was very special, I wore a white sundress, DH wore a white shirt. We had won a bottle of bubbly the night before, so it was perfect, we went back to our cabin and toasted each other as the best man gave us a very nice speech! Many pictures were taken at the Chapel and it was VERY special, and free.:) 44 1/2 years to the date!!

Edited January 25, 2014 by Ocean Dancer

[choover2576]

I would love to do this with our two boys with us. Do you think we would allowed to bring a 3 and 6 year old? They are good kids and wouldn't be running around during the ceremony.

[n6uqqq]

Every time I cruise I renew my vow not to eat and drink too much, but sadly I have failed every time!

[Carnival_Brides]

I would love to do this with our two boys with us. Do you think we would allowed to bring a 3 and 6 year old? They are good kids and wouldn't be running around during the ceremony.

 

Kids are allowed to be apart of the ceremonies. We were planning to have our then 4yo niece and nephew be part of ours.

[KrusII]

We had a private renewal in the library last October. Our SIL read the Oder of Service, our DD read a scripture, and two grandchildren lead the Lord's Prayer. I wore a long (Pippa style) cream dress, DH wore casual slacks & shirt. We posed for pictures, ate lobster for dinner and had 2 special cakes sent from friends. Perfectly romantic and personal, with no additional cost. Best wishes for your special day.

[erniehart]

My wife and I did something similar to what Carnival_Brides did but for a bit of a different reason. a certain date is special to us and we wanted to get married on that date. the costs of carnivals wedding packing was a bit much for us so we decided to get married on land and do the renewal on the ship on our special day.

 

I dont know if I would recommend the renewal. It was a nice service, we were on the miracle(spirit class) and had it in the chapel. its hard for me to say that it was worth the money though.

[spanisheyes]

We renewed our vows on the Glory 4 years ago. Think it was $700. It was in the blue bar, very cosy. The captain did a great service, the wedding planner was very good. We had a beautiful cake and champagne, and an open bar for 20. The food was very good and plentiful, we didn't even bother going to dinner. It was worth every penny to us, a wonderful memory. I think our party got our money's worth out of the open bar;)

[goldwinger88]

Friday the 13th huh, The wife and I got married on Friday the 13th, 34 years ago.. maybe that says something for longevity of marriages..

 

Back on Topic.. My first cruise (Carnival Valor), we attended friends renewing their wedding vows. It was a nice ceremony. Honestly, I do not recall alot of the cruise as I spent most of my time paying attention to my 18mo grandson.

 

Have a great time if you decide to renew vows at sea!

[jreichow1972]

Thanks again everyone! I mentioned it to my husband while we were at dinner last night and I think we are going to do it. I will need to pick a cruise for 2015 and then call Carnival. I would likely do the cheaper package because I won't have 20 people, likely less than 10. Maybe add on some open bar and appetizers. For me it would be really nice to have it outside on an open deck but I doubt that would be possible seeing as open decks would be in use. If they take pictures outside that would be perfect.

 

 

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[jreichow1972]

Every time I cruise I renew my vow not to eat and drink too much, but sadly I have failed every time!

 

Lol! That is so true for me too!

 

 

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[Philly Steve]

Friday the 13th huh, The wife and I got married on Friday the 13th, 34 years ago.. maybe that says something for longevity of marriages.

 

:D We purchased our Marriage License on a Friday the 13th and recently celebrated our twentieth anniversary. Informative posts on a great thread.

[Carnival_Brides]

For me it would be really nice to have it outside on an open deck but I doubt that would be possible seeing as open decks would be in use. If they take pictures outside that would be perfect.

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Carnival won't let you book the ceremony through them and have it on the open deck. It's only because they aren't equipped for ceremonies out there. On Disney and other ships that offer deck ceremonies they have a special place set aside with wind-blocking shields so that your guests can hear and you don't have the wind smacking your hair around.

 

If you're going to have your hair done nicely, I'd do the outside shots last. My wife almost lost her veil to the ocean and my hair (which was sprayed to my head) became quickly undone while getting our whale tail shot.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Carnival_Brides

[jreichow1972]

Carnival won't let you book the ceremony through them and have it on the open deck. It's only because they aren't equipped for ceremonies out there. On Disney and other ships that offer deck ceremonies they have a special place set aside with wind-blocking shields so that your guests can hear and you don't have the wind smacking your hair around.

 

If you're going to have your hair done nicely, I'd do the outside shots last. My wife almost lost her veil to the ocean and my hair (which was sprayed to my head) became quickly undone while getting our whale tail shot.

 

Good point about the wind. I'll be sure to follow your advice about doing the outside pictures last.

 

 

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