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What I wish I had known before the big day - advice from past brides

Artemis908
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  • 4 weeks later...
Mrs. Ram

Mrs. Ram

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A couple pieces of advice....first of all try to get some lunch on the Lido Deck if you have anytime at all because I didn't have a chance to get a bite at the reception...it just goes so fast...also, I asked the groomsmen and the groom to not wear their shirts and ties to lunch before the wedding (my husband is famous for spilling, you can't take him anywhere (just one the quirks that makes me love him even more) and I didn't want food on their shirts and ties for wedding pictures. Also, my daughter and step daughter (my matrons of honor) put on their dresses after they got on board as well, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have spilled, but I just felt better about it.

 

I know it has been mentioned before, but my daughter's college roommate did my hair (she doesn't have a mother, so we sort of "adopted her") and she followed us to my stateroom while we got dressed and stayed with me when everybody else had to leave for the rehearsal, to keep me company and do touch ups after I got dressed, so I wouldn't freak out. It was also nice that she and I had a chance to pray together before the wedding.

 

The most important thing is to have fun, and don't let the details stress you out, it will be beautiful and you will likely be the only one who will know the little things didn't happen as you planned.

 

Also, I am a retired teacher so I probably go a little overboard on planning stuff, but I put together a 10 page "Welcome Letter" with a schedule and everything. I also wrote out our entire wedding outline and script including our vows. I'd be happy to share with anybody who wants to see.

 

Oh one more thing, we had a friend as our officient, she got ordained to do my daughter's wedding in April and since she was coming along on the cruise anyway we asked her to do our wedding, so we were able to have a quick "rehearsal" at the hotel the night before. We ran through the entire thing so we could time it, to make sure we were under the time limits.

 

I would LOVE to see the letter jamiee321@yahoo.com

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dbrown13

dbrown13

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We also spent more than I'd anticipated on photos. We quickly realized we could never choose just a few as we'd planned, and ended up paying $750 for the DVD of all the photos instead of buying any prints. We and our parents agreed to split the cost 3 ways and we made copies of the DVD for them. Also ended up doing a Shutterfly photo book with a coupon code instead of making prints and doing a regular wedding album.

 

I just booked our wedding for April 30, 2016. I was sent a price list for the photos but there wasn't an option for just a DVD of the images. Is this something you negotiated on the ship? We booked with Carnival... maybe you were on a different cruise line?

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dbrown13

dbrown13

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Also, I am a retired teacher so I probably go a little overboard on planning stuff, but I put together a 10 page "Welcome Letter" with a schedule and everything. I also wrote out our entire wedding outline and script including our vows. I'd be happy to share with anybody who wants to see.

 

I would love to see your welcome letter! I am trying to decide what to put in mine and what to leave out! dianarbrown13@gmail.com

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gymbomb

gymbomb

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I just booked our wedding for April 30, 2016. I was sent a price list for the photos but there wasn't an option for just a DVD of the images. Is this something you negotiated on the ship? We booked with Carnival... maybe you were on a different cruise line?

 

 

We were on NCL. We were only given package prices beforehand, which we did not pre order, then onboard we were also given a la carte prices.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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MsFox

MsFox

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I suppose what I'm nervous of is how everything is able to be decorated. One of my guests really is handling the whole cake,as she is disappointed she couldn't actually make the cake. She's such a dear family friend,and is bringing starfish details and ribbon and a sparkly topper for the cake, but I'm not sure how all that gets done. What I read, you just give it to the coordinator but how would she know how to set it up? I just want things to be nice, like most brides

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dbrown13

dbrown13

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I suppose what I'm nervous of is how everything is able to be decorated. One of my guests really is handling the whole cake,as she is disappointed she couldn't actually make the cake. She's such a dear family friend,and is bringing starfish details and ribbon and a sparkly topper for the cake, but I'm not sure how all that gets done. What I read, you just give it to the coordinator but how would she know how to set it up? I just want things to be nice, like most brides

 

I have read on a few boards where a family or friend was able to decorate the cake beforehand. I would imagine this is done when everyone gets on the ship while the bridal party is getting ready. I will be hoping to do the same.

 

And honestly, if the coordinator has to do it I would imagine no one would notice (except the dear family friend who wanted to make the cake). Carnival is very accommodating however, and I'm sure if you talk with your coordinator she will be able to work with you.

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MsFox

MsFox

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I have read on a few boards where a family or friend was able to decorate the cake beforehand. I would imagine this is done when everyone gets on the ship while the bridal party is getting ready. I will be hoping to do the same.

 

And honestly, if the coordinator has to do it I would imagine no one would notice (except the dear family friend who wanted to make the cake). Carnival is very accommodating however, and I'm sure if you talk with your coordinator she will be able to work with you.

 

That's what I'm hoping for. I suppose that's the part that has me the most nervous. I chose a cruise wedding, specifically because I'm not into planning, but several family friends are eager to help with decorations, the flowers, the cake, etc and I suppose I'm just a bit nervous.

 

Well, that and if my decorations may clash with the decor already there. I'm getting married on the freedom, and I chose the DJ option, so it will be in the club. I'm not sure if I'm excited about that or not. It seems like everyone gets married in the stage areas of the ship for the ceremony and that would be fine with me.

 

Honestly, I just want it to look nice. I'm organized. I got a binder, but I just want it to look nice. Shades of blue are my colors (I couldn't choose) and I love the ocean (hence the cruise), so starfish, seashell, all that. November just seems to be rushing closer and closer. Makes me anxious

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otang

otang

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Please send me a copy of the welcome letter too. Thank you. otang@optonline.net

 

 

Would you share the 10 page welcome letter you mentioned? That would be amazingly helpful! Thanks in advance!

 

My email is cathyr99@yahoo.com

 

Thanks!

Cathy

 

Please send me a copy of the welcome letter too. Thank you. otang@optonline.net

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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dbrown13

dbrown13

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That's what I'm hoping for. I suppose that's the part that has me the most nervous. I chose a cruise wedding, specifically because I'm not into planning, but several family friends are eager to help with decorations, the flowers, the cake, etc and I suppose I'm just a bit nervous.

 

Well, that and if my decorations may clash with the decor already there. I'm getting married on the freedom, and I chose the DJ option, so it will be in the club. I'm not sure if I'm excited about that or not. It seems like everyone gets married in the stage areas of the ship for the ceremony and that would be fine with me.

 

Honestly, I just want it to look nice. I'm organized. I got a binder, but I just want it to look nice. Shades of blue are my colors (I couldn't choose) and I love the ocean (hence the cruise), so starfish, seashell, all that. November just seems to be rushing closer and closer. Makes me anxious

 

We are also getting married on the Freedom in April 2016 so I'll be looking forward to your review! :)

 

Where is your ship sailing from?

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MsFox

MsFox

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We are also getting married on the Freedom in April 2016 so I'll be looking forward to your review! :)

 

Where is your ship sailing from?

We live in TX, so Galveston port was our choice to allow non sailing guests a chance to come. My future in-laws are major cruisers and apparently, Freedom is now a Galveston ship. They just came back a few weeks ago from a 12 day cruise on it, and they think we will like it. Fingers crossed! I'm fairly nervous about how it's all going to work out.

 

I'm an only child, 26, with a mom who has been dreaming of this day so, I'm a bit nervous but glad I can just blame the cruise for any minor detail that goes "wrong", or blame them for "not being able to make it extravagant"... even though I wanted it simple for my own reasons. Lol. I'm excited. My bar is set low. I want a nice looking place to wed, good food in my tummy, and a drink in my hand. 😆

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dbrown13

dbrown13

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That's about how I feel too! I'm glad it will be simple and I will only have to worry about a handful of things. I'm not an only child but my mom is already pressuring us to invite so and so who I don't talk to or what's her name that I barely know... It's frustrating. And exactly why we wanted to do a cruise wedding. It's an easy excuse to say no to a big guest list!

 

We also live in Texas... Just north of Dallas. Galveston is an easy drive and saves money so we don't have to book flights.

 

If you come across anyone is Galveston that does hair let me know. I'm hoping to get it done early that morning before we go to the port. I also think we will be having a rehearsal dinner the night before to collect gifts and other items that we can't or don't want to take on the ship. Plus it will give us a little more time to mingle with guests that aren't sailing.

 

Good luck with everything! Keep us posted... Do you know what you're doing for invites yet?

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MsFox

MsFox

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That's about how I feel too! I'm glad it will be simple and I will only have to worry about a handful of things. I'm not an only child but my mom is already pressuring us to invite so and so who I don't talk to or what's her name that I barely know... It's frustrating. And exactly why we wanted to do a cruise wedding. It's an easy excuse to say no to a big guest list!

 

We also live in Texas... Just north of Dallas. Galveston is an easy drive and saves money so we don't have to book flights.

 

If you come across anyone is Galveston that does hair let me know. I'm hoping to get it done early that morning before we go to the port. I also think we will be having a rehearsal dinner the night before to collect gifts and other items that we can't or don't want to take on the ship. Plus it will give us a little more time to mingle with guests that aren't sailing.

 

Good luck with everything! Keep us posted... Do you know what you're doing for invites yet?

Yup. A lot easier to blame the cruise, but my mom knew I wanted a small wedding. I was hoping for 50, but it's looking about 60 right now.

 

I sent invites in November 2014, with RSVP by 2/1, but gathering info about sailing/non-sailing has been a pain, especially since legal names are wildly different than the names used daily.

 

My invites were passport invitations with boarding pass RSVPs. Everyone thought they were "so unique" and it was a hit, but a quick look around the boards shows it is common for cruise weddings. I loved them! I loved the young lady who did mine. Super easy to communicate with (texting!)

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dbrown13

dbrown13

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Yup. A lot easier to blame the cruise, but my mom knew I wanted a small wedding. I was hoping for 50, but it's looking about 60 right now.

 

I sent invites in November 2014, with RSVP by 2/1, but gathering info about sailing/non-sailing has been a pain, especially since legal names are wildly different than the names used daily.

 

My invites were passport invitations with boarding pass RSVPs. Everyone thought they were "so unique" and it was a hit, but a quick look around the boards shows it is common for cruise weddings. I loved them! I loved the young lady who did mine. Super easy to communicate with (texting!)

 

I'm super excited to start designing my passport invites! I am actually forcing myself to wait to purchase the template used for them because I don't want to send them out too early! I still have about 13 months before the wedding and I don't want them to be tossed aside and forgotten about. In addition I may send post card reminders maybe 5 months out just to be sure no one forgot :D

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  • 2 months later...
mrstriceasnice

mrstriceasnice

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Does anyone have a list of who to tip the day of the wedding??

 

Thanks for all the tips.. Now I have a lot more organizing to do for my wedding in October!!

 

Here is the list I got that I then took my cue for tips from:

"officiant $20, coordinator who met us in the terminal $40, onboard coordinator $20, bar staff $50 to split, DJ (because he was exceptional to work with beforehand and during the reception) $40, videographer $20, photographer (again above and beyond) $40."

 

Now I didn't have bar staff or a DJ. I also tipped the shipboard coordinator $20 but I didn't have hers pre done because I didn't realize she would even be there.

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