Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Carnival Miracle Wedding Review and PICS 5/8/09 LONG

jerseygirl79

Recommended Posts

jerseygirl79

jerseygirl79

Posted
Posted

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=ch1imt1v.6w03ymxv&x=0&h=1&y=n7xt7a&localeid=en_US

 

Friday May 8, 2009: We wake up at 2:45am. James drives from our DE apartment to his parents’ home in MD to meet the charter bus that is arriving at 5:30am. I drive with my 5 year old step daughter to my uncle's house in south Jersey.[/font][/color]

My hair/makeup girl Carrie arrives at 5:45. She starts my hair at 6, my stepdaughters' hair at 6:30. Mom arrives and gets her makeup done at 7. My makeup is started at 7:30 and we're done by 8.

The charter arrives from MD with James and his family in NJ at 7:30. My family hops on the charter and we take the 2 hour ride to NYC. We arrive at the terminal at 11am. (Should have arrived no later than 10:30)

Embarkation: A zoo! Bridezilla started to emerge in NY during the embarkation process. It was a hot mess! Luckily, my NY relatives had arrived and already checked in. They were in the waiting area with their guest badges on. Soon Aiyisha the wedding coordinator from A Wedding for You arrived. Sadly, she wasn't much help, but she was nice. She had a young assistant who didn't do much either.

It was really confusing as my non sailing guests (47) blended in with the crowd. All of us were sent upstairs to the waiting room. Some of my guest remained downstairs as they couldn't take the stairs. I started getting overwhelmed as I had sailing and non sailing guest all over the terminal. During this time, my sailing bridesmaid/cousin realized she didn't bring her birth certificate (Aiyisha did a great job helping to get her on the ship). After a lot more chaos all of us were taken to a "VIP" area. The non sailers were taken to a new waiting area while the 10 sailers were given "VIP" check-in. During the "VIP" check-in there was a delay because the room keys/sail and sign cards weren't available.

Aiyisha was all over the place. I later learned she had a list of all of my guests and was hanging back to make sure everyone checked in. Once I realized this, I went over the list with her and gave her the names of the people I knew weren't coming. Eventually, the non sailers were on the ship BEFORE the sailers! There was no time for them to explore, they were sent to the Phantom to wait for the ceremony.

Now it's a little after 12pm and we're getting on the ship for the 1pm wedding. Mine and my mother's cabins were ready. James headed to Moms to get dressed. Once I was in the stateroom I could relax. I got dressed and sent my mother and bridesmaids to the Phantom Lounge. Aiyisha called the room to say she'd be up to get me.

She arrived and we walked through the hallway on my floor to get to the front of the ship. I'm glad we didn't go to the lobby and walk through the ship as I'm sure we would have drawn a crowd who would have followed us to the theater. We arrived at the theater. The officiant (can't remember her name) introduced herself. I also met the photographer, Gemma (LOVE HER). There was no rehearsal, I wasn't given any instructions but everything was very calm. I heard my ceremony CD playing and had no idea what was going on. But everything was going smoothly. Apparently, James' parents had walked the aisle and lit the unity candle, then my mother escorted by my uncle, then my 2 girls, finally the ring bearer and flower girl. Aiyisha placed my veil over my face (including the bottom tier that left the back of my hair exposed!) and my uncle and I walked down the aisle.

It was beautiful!!!! My song played, my family stood up and they were SO excited. Lots of tears flowing (I held it together). It went by so fast! Next thing you know we're entering the disco for the reception! The DJ introduced us (he presented us as Mr. & Mrs. Brown -my maiden name), then corrected it to Greene after being yelled at by the crowd, LOL. The intro CD I provided was played. The ice sculpture and spread looked great. The cake was awesome. The waiters didn't realize I had my own cake topper and didn't place it on the cake, no biggie. We did the cake cutting and toast right away then eating and dancing.

During the reception Gemma asked about getting group photos. I told her toward the end we'd take them. The reception was extended 1/2 hour. Toward the end we did the group photos. (There was also a coordinator who works on the ship. She was there to make sure we were happy. She showed up at our dinner table a few times during the cruise. Aiyisha left after the ceremony.)

AFTER the reception when everyone was gone we did the "pre-wedding" interview for the video. Because of time we couldn't do it beforehand. The non sailers left, we did the muster drill (couldn't get out of it), then more pictures. NOTE: make sure you have comfortable shoes handy and extra lip gloss. We walked all over that ship taking pictures! I told Gemma some shots I wanted and she made sure she got them. I didn't protest to the posed shots or fake backgrounds. They came out great.

We met with Gemma about 2 days later to look at the photos. I already knew I wanted the package for $999. It was really easy picking the ones I wanted. She was great, no pressure at all. She initially pitched the highest, but when I told her what I wanted she gave me no problems. I even purchased a few extras at cost. We tipped her $100 because she really is an amazing person. Also, my cousin took some great shots at the reception and James' aunt did as well.

When we were picking out the pictures the DVD slideshow was already complete. During the last night on the ship Gemma bought the pictures, slideshow, Canvas, wallets, and CD to the dining room. The second to last sea day the video guy came to our cabin to record the post wedding interview. The video was done the last night. It came our really well! It's so cute! (The end of the video includes a photo album. They're mostly the pictures I didn't buy. It's kinda neat to have them since I didn't pay for them in my package. While some of them aren't my favorites, James likes them all.)

Debarkation: A hot mess! We decided to self-assist. Big mistake. They let us go at 8:30, but it was mass chaos. We dragged our suitcases down the stairs, then had to walk through the ship in a circle to get out. We finally got out at 10:45. Those who didn't self assist came off at 11:15. It wasn't worth it to self assist. All that time standing and lugging bags could have been spent on the lido deck.

The cruise was awesome! Service Great! My family is raving about the wedding. There were a few bumps (I forgot to give our moms their silk corsages and the guys their boutonnieres) but all in all it was a great day! No regrets! I'm planning the next cruise tonight!

Tipping:

I gave my cousin/bridesmaid a few envelops of tips to handout. We tipped Aiyisha, her assistant, the ship coordinator, the officiant left before she could tip her and the DJ. There were 4 servers in the disco. I didn't have envelopes for them and never got around to tipping them (darn). Later during the cruise I tipped Gemma. I received the video the last night and after viewing it at 11pm, went to tip the videographer, but he was nowhere to be found.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
4evercruiser

4evercruiser

Posted
Posted

Congrats on your wedding. I loved your photos. You looked so beautiful. I also loved your bouquet(sp?). Was that done by Carnival, or by someone else? If you don't mind my asking, how much of a tip did you do for everyone? I am already getting nervous about my wedding, and it is still 5 months away.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cece9922

cece9922

Posted
Posted

OMG!!!! I have been thinking about you all week! I couldn't wait to hear back from you!! The pictures are beautiful and I was smiling and getting goosebumps the entire time looking at them!! You guys look like you were very happy and although there were a few bumps I couldn't get over how peaceful and happy you looked. You didn't look like you cried once!! You are going to have to give me tips on how you held it together so well!!

 

So how was the rest of the cruise?? The stops? I would love to see more pics. Email them to me!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jerseygirl79

jerseygirl79

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Congrats on your wedding. I loved your photos. You looked so beautiful. I also loved your bouquet(sp?). Was that done by Carnival, or by someone else? If you don't mind my asking, how much of a tip did you do for everyone? I am already getting nervous about my wedding, and it is still 5 months away.:D

 

I did my bouquet and my bridesmaids myself. The bridesmaids flowers came from Walmart, mine from Michael's. James said mine looked better than the Carnival bouquet, LOL. The white roses they provided were pretty. They sat in my cabin all week.

 

Tips: $20 for all coordinators and DJ. I had $25 for the videographer, but he disappeared. $100 for the photographer (Loved her!). Was going to tip the 4 servers $10-$15 each, but I didn't know there would be 4 there and I couldn't find them after the reception. It's hard to catch up with people when there are 964 staff members. Also had $20 for the officiant, but she left right after the ceremony.

 

I tried to plan them all out, but some slipped through. Definitely put someone on "tip duty" so you don't have to worry about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jerseygirl79

jerseygirl79

Posted
  • Author
Posted
thanks for the review! i love the dress! the pictures are really nice, i like the ones that have the statue of liberty in the distance....

 

The Statue of Liberty shots were fun to take. We had to rush to get them before the ship passed. My hair and veil were blowing like crazy. James kept trying to get me to pose, but the hair kept getting stuck in the lip gloss, LOL. I'm surprised they turned out so great!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jerseygirl79

jerseygirl79

Posted
  • Author
Posted
OMG!!!! I have been thinking about you all week! I couldn't wait to hear back from you!! The pictures are beautiful and I was smiling and getting goosebumps the entire time looking at them!! You guys look like you were very happy and although there were a few bumps I couldn't get over how peaceful and happy you looked. You didn't look like you cried once!! You are going to have to give me tips on how you held it together so well!!

 

So how was the rest of the cruise?? The stops? I would love to see more pics. Email them to me!!

 

Hey Cece!

 

I was thinking about what to write in the review the whole trip, LOL. There were some bumps, but I just kept myself calm and knew in the end it would work itself out....and it DID! My family had such a great time. The video is beautiful. It's so neat how they add the interviews, ceremony and reception.

 

I didn't cry the entire ceremony. I broke down when my younger cousin toasted us. It was very emotional. I kept it together because everyone else was crying enough for me, LOL.

 

Grank Turk was AWESOME. We just hung out at the Margaritaville pool at the cruise center. Half Moon Cay....PARADISE!!! Another beautiful beach day. Carnival owns the island. The water is so clear. No rocks in the ocean, it's the smoothest sand! The water is so still! Nassau is a busy place. We got off and walked around the streets to do some shopping. Then we took a tour of the Atlantis grounds for $50 each. They have a great beach there, but we were beached out by then and I wasn't spending over $100 to use their beach.

 

I'm going to add the candid and cruise photos. I'll post the link in a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jerseygirl79

jerseygirl79

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Mrs. Greene! Congrats. Everything looks wonderful and you kept to that pic budget ;) Amazing. I'm glad you had a good time...now have a good life with your boo.

 

I sure did!!! I was thinking of you loving all your pictures and praying I wouldn't, LOLOL. I had 3 piles, LOVE IT, LIKE IT, NAH. If pictures looked too similar we picked one. Some I didn't like my face and others he didn't like his. All of the pictures were beautiful, but I was on a MISSION! I spent $1088. Plus the video had lots of pictures for the LIKE It or NAH pile, so we still got them which was nice. And the family liked a lot of the ones I didn't that were on the video.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
angela111509

angela111509

Posted
Posted

A few questions!

 

Did you give the photographer a list of the pictures that you wanted taken? (Like who you wanted in them.)

 

Would you have had time to go up to the room before hand (to make sure that the cake topper, etc had gotten there?) Or was it just too much comotion?

 

OOT bags? Any absolute hits in the bag? Any big misses? Anything you wish had been in there.

 

Any advice for making check in go smoother?

 

Did your non-sailing guests get to eat at the buffet?

 

BTW your pictures are BEAUTIFUL!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jerseygirl79

jerseygirl79

Posted
  • Author
Posted
A few questions!

 

Did you give the photographer a list of the pictures that you wanted taken? (Like who you wanted in them.)

 

Would you have had time to go up to the room before hand (to make sure that the cake topper, etc had gotten there?) Or was it just too much comotion?

 

OOT bags? Any absolute hits in the bag? Any big misses? Anything you wish had been in there.

 

Any advice for making check in go smoother?

 

Did your non-sailing guests get to eat at the buffet?

 

BTW your pictures are BEAUTIFUL!

 

Hi Angela,

 

I made a list of pictures I'd like to have, but forgot to bring it. The photographer was really good at suggesting pics. I also, mentioned a few shots I wanted and she seemed to already have them in mind. I would recommend printing a list and giving it to a bridesmaid to hold for you until you meet the photographer.

 

In a separate canvas bag I had my ceremony CD, reception entrance song on CD, unity candle, guest book, cake topper, toss bouquet and marriage license. I gave that to the coordinator as soon as we met. At the end of the reception Everything was put back in the bag and taken to our room. I also recommend bringing a small box to put cards in.

 

I had OOT bags made (see separate thread) however, when I got on the ship I learned the printer had melted the bags during the screen printing and the bottom would open fully. I went to the gift shop and spent $80 on carnival totes on sale for 50% off for $15. I dropped them off at the room doors Mother's Day morning. When the stewards went to clearn the room they took them inside. It was a nice surprise when the came back from breakfast and the bags were in the room with Mother's Day cards I bought from home. Hits: Sun Tan lotion, pain meds (Aleve, Tylenol, Advil), I saw my mom had her medicine in the little pill case that separates your medicine by day of the week. No misses, they raved about the contents. I wish I had included an extension cord.

 

Those OOT bag added 2 extra suitcases, which was a hassle but they were great for bringing extra stuff home including the wedding stuff that had been in canvas bags.

 

To make check-in go smoothly, get there early. 11am was too late as the general sailers were arriving. I noticed during disembarkation that it was still quiet at 10am. In fact I saw a bride getting on and they walked right through. It seemed so easy. An hour makes a difference.

 

I'm glad I didn't pay the extra money for the buffet. There would have been no time. My guest would have been relaxing on the Lido deck and may have missed the wedding. Plus, they wouldn't have eaten as well at the reception. It is a long day, so non sailers should eat well before. My uncle who is diabetic packed a little bag of water of sandwhiches. I provided danish, juice, water, and other breakfast foods, but sandwhiches would have been good too.

 

No matter what, RELAX. It will all work out. I told everyone, we're going on time with or without people. Everyone was on time. hahahaha.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jerseygirl79

jerseygirl79

Posted
  • Author
Posted
How did you do your OOT bags? as far as getting them delivered.

 

I assembled them Sunday morning and delivered them to the rooms myself while everyone was at breakfast. I hung them on the door handles. The room stewards were on their cleaning rounds and put them inside the rooms. So when everyone returned to their rooms after breakfast they found them inside It was neat because they were all wondering how I got into their rooms,LOL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...