Cruise wedding newbie! Please help!

[fxygal5]

Jersey-

 

Thank you! We had a GORGEOUS wedding! And you're right - March is a much better risk to tender into GC than September (esp with all of the caribbean storms developing that time of year). Dodger and I talked about it quite a bit through email, but thank you for bringing it up!

[JulieRose]

Either ship should be great for a wedding! The only downside would be traveling to the embarkation port (with a wedding gown, etc). (Unless you have the time to drive down LOL!)

 

Since you're in NJ, you might also want to consider cruising from Bayonne or NYC (easier to transport all the wedding "stuff").

 

If getting stuff to the embarkation port is something you're concerned about, and you don't have anyone near there that you can ship things to in advance, look into taking Amtrak. It's a little bit more expensive than flying and it takes about a day but each person can check 3 bags and bring 2 carry on bags aboard with them- All up to 50lbs each.

 

We're getting a cabin so I can keep the dress with me but I may check the crinolines because they're probably replaceable, if necessary, in the 24 hours we will be there in advance. I'm not really worried about it though because Amtrak has never lost any of our luggage. If you don't want to take the time to take the train both ways, you can always UPS or FedEx everything back and fly home.

 

We love the train (even coach isn't bad.) It's a lot of fun; you meet new people at meals, get to see a bit of the country and it's less stressful for someone like me who HATES to fly.

[BahamaMama247]

Bahamamama247-

 

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the amenity points count for as far as the cocktail party goes?

 

We're going to pass with the sit down meal (I think it's $40 or so a person) as we're going to do the reception back here.

 

What time are you doing your wedding, and then are you going straight back to the boat for your cocktail hour?

 

 

 

1 hr. cocktail party with dry snacks is 1 point, 1 hr cocktail party with hot and cold hor dourves is 2 points. The restaurants range from 15-25$ (I believe) depending on where you would like to go.

 

The wedding is at 5:30 pm and my guests will be back to the ship around 7:30, DH2B will be back around 8:00 (extra pictures). I actually have to call NCL tomorrow because I asked for the cocktail party for 8pm and they sent me an e-mail saying it was confirmed for 6pm:eek:. We're also doing Cagney's steakhouse which was confirmed for the night after the wedding. If we have to switch the two that is fine also.. just have to call tomorrow to work it all out. BTW Cagney's was 4 amenity points (it is one of the $25 restaurants).

[Janan]

I am thinking of the Oasis as what we will choose!!

 

I am leaning towards St Thomas...and if you don't mind me asking who are you using? I am leaning towards Island Bliss weddings

 

What location did you choose?

 

I like the Oceana, garden bontica, and limes beach (or something along those lines)

 

How long in advance do you suggest starting planning and sending out invites?

 

My wife and I Just renewed our vows with wedding st go cChery Toner is Great They also do weddings below is our review of what happened if you use cheryl let her know that Andy and Jan said hello I'll also include some pics of the Restaraunt and the Ceremony (it can be as huge as you want it tobe or as small....and that was our choice)

 

For our 15th Anniversary, we decided to renew our vows in the Caribbean. We usually cruise, so we would schedule our cruise to coincide as closely as we could with our Anniversary. The question was what company to use? Most companies will do weddings, but not many advertise wedding renewals. That’s when I turned to one of my friends for advice. Pammy Schleif is a TA (travel agent) with vast knowledge and contacts in the Caribbean so I would ask her and see what suggestions she would come up with, and meanwhile we would still do our research as to which company we would use. First we would have to decide where we would have the ceremony; of course we could have it on board ship, but we got married on board a ship and the price the ship would charge for an in port vow renewal increased exponentially! We finally decided on St Thomas and Pammy mentioned she had a friend that performed weddings AND renewals there. Pammy put us in touch with her friend, Cheryl Toner (www.viweddings.com). What an excellent recommendation! We had a lot of time to plan for this; just not a lot of money available; but you couldn’t tell by the result. When we arrived at the dock in St Thomas there was a van waiting for us and we were whisked away to Bluebeard’s Castle (she has other sites but we chose this one for the re-nuptuals). It was great! Portions of an old castle turned into a resort, beautiful view, and the courtyard was the icing on the cake (so to speak). The best was yet to come, however; the ceremony was conducted by Cheryl, herself (a registered justice of the peace). The ceremony accurately and beautifully described our lives together up to this point. The blessing for our future reflected the growth, inspiration and love we expect and hope for. The steel pan player just added to our magical moment. After the ceremony it was time for us to take pictures at some of the most picturesque sites we’ve seen in St. Thomas. After the pictures it was off to lunch in transportation, again; arranged by Cheryl. This is where she (Cheryl) had outdone herself once again; although she had given us a choice of where to eat lunch, she had suggested only the locations that she felt would meet our monetary restraints. We chose Robert’s American Grill at Elyssian Resort. It was unbelievable! Unencumbered by tourists, our post-vow lunch was exquisite. The food was absolutely wonderful, the view was exceptional and the rest and relaxation we were afforded was priceless! Cheryl and her team did an outstanding job and in another 15 years perhaps we’ll do this again and you can be assured I will contact Cheryl Toner at www.VIweddings.com

 

Good Luck and Congratulations!!!

 

Andy

[Bride2Be0911]

fxygal5- I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sending me some of the templates you've used. I can't find many of them on cc and any help would be great. Like you, I don't have a creative bone in my body either. :D

 

Thanks!

[JulieRose]

fxygal5- I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sending me some of the templates you've used. I can't find many of them on cc and any help would be great. Like you, I don't have a creative bone in my body either. :D

 

Thanks!

 

Here's a great tutorial with the template linked to it for boarding pass invites.

 

http://www.ayleebits.com/2006/06/10/diy-boarding-pass-save-the-date/

 

We're using this template for our invites but we're going to go a different direction on the envelopes.

[Bride2Be0911]

Here's a great tutorial with the template linked to it for boarding pass invites.

 

http://www.ayleebits.com/2006/06/10/diy-boarding-pass-save-the-date/

 

We're using this template for our invites but we're going to go a different direction on the envelopes.

 

Thanks JulieRose! Those are VERY cute invites! We've already sent out our invites and STDs though. Our STDs went out 11 months before the wedding and the Invites went out back in March and were due by May 10th. That way it gave those people who decided last minute they wanted to come time to still save for the cruise.

 

I am stuck on the Welcome Aboard letter and I wanted to send out a Tip Reminder type letter 2 months before the wedding with useful information for those guests that haven't cruised before. Any help would be great! :D

[JulieRose]

Oops! I misunderstood as I didn't go back to find her last post. Must have been someone else talking about boarding pass invites or maybe she mentioned them but in an earlier post... Could have even been a different thread for all I remember. These wedding forums all seem to blur together after awhile.

[burrma]

I have a Canadian friend that wants to get married on one of the islands that we are visiting: Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Brbadoes, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Croix

Any advice you can share or who we could contact would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[burrma]

It sounds great and I may also have a try of my wedding~

Hopefully someone can share some advice on this subject.