Invitations and such...

[jewel]

Hello!! I have a question on how everyone sent out their invitations. I am looking into getting married 2005 out of Baltimore going to Bermuda on RC. I am wondering if save the date cards are neccesary, or do we just send out the invites as soon as we decide on a date? We will be blocking about 30 rooms because any cruises out of Balt. book up so quick. So my question is, Can I send out my invits approx. 1 year ahead so that our friends and family can start booking ASAP? Thanx in advance!!!

[engagedatsea]

I am getting married on the Carniva.kl Legend on May 29, 2005. I am planning on sending out Save the Date Magenets with a picture of the ship in New York Harbor where we will be married about 11 months before the wedding. I am also sending a letter on crusie themed paper telling quests that they have the option of coming as sailing or non-sailing quests and giviing them my travel agents number along with a quarenetee that any other price quotes will be meant (within certian criteria). Also, we are giving quests the option of attending a small at-hionm,e reception if the time and expense invilved in attending a cruise wedding is limiting factor for them.

Enchantment of the Seas 11/01
Brilliance of the Seas 11/02
Summit--Engagement Cruise 11/03

Summit Thanksgiving 2004

Wedding Ship -- Carnival Legend 5/05

[jerseygirl3]

When we planned our wedding cruise, we typed up "fliers" with all the pertinent info (date, ship, itinerary, price, TA's name, etc.). Anyone who was interested was given a flier.

About 8 weeks before the actual cruise (when we knew exactly who was cruising with us...turned out to be 52 family/friends!), I ordered wedding invitations that also served as a sort of souvenir (although we also had favors to hand out on the ship during the reception). Our wedding invitation was ordered from a website called [url="http://www.bottlemeamessage.com"]www.bottlemeamessage.com[/url]. We chose our own saying and had it printed on parchment paper. Then it was rolled and put into a glass bottle (they also have plastic bottles) with sand and seashells. Each one was individually boxed and the entire shipment was sent to me. I then send one "message in a bottle" out to each family via the post office. It wasn't very expensive, but was very impressive.

[email="caribbeanqueen3@comcast.net"]caribbeanqueen3@comcast.net[/email]

[jessca3]

We also sent out a STD along with pertinent cruise info for those who wanted to cruise with us. We'll be sending out invitations to our entire guest list about 2 months ahead of time so all our non-sailing guests have the time/date and any other necessary information they may need to board the ship as a "non-sailer".

[jewel]

Thanks for all the advice!!!! So, it seems that everyone agrees that STD is the way to go. Did you all put the TA info on it? Also, I need to stress the need to book ASAP. Also, I have heard there are webhosts that will allow you to set up a wedding website with all your info on it for free. Anyone else heard of this?? BTW LOVE the message in a bottle idea!!! Thanx again!

[jessca3]

Definately put TA info on it and stress on your STD to contact TA for more information.
With all the wedding stuff to worry about you don't want to have to deal with answering cruise questions. Both [url="http://www.theknot.com"]www.theknot.com[/url] and [url="http://www.weddingchannel.com"]www.weddingchannel.com[/url] allow you to set up a free wedding website. The knot also has boards with several cruise brides. I've found a wealth of information there. Good Luck!