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Our joyous Carnival Breeze Wedding Review!!

4EverHis2013
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4EverHis2013

4EverHis2013

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Hello All! I’ll try to make this as concise as possible! ;)

Our wedding was on Sunday May 5, 2013 at the Port of Miami! I got to Miami Friday and had my bachelorette party that night and then got my nails done and recovered (lol) on Saturday with my girls. My husband drove down to Miami on Saturday and checked into our hotel (we stayed in separate rooms Saturday night). I checked in later that day with my bridesmaids. We stayed at the Hyatt Place Miami Airport west, which was only about a 20 minute drive to the port. They offered free parking during your stay (free parking during your cruise as well if you book that package…which saves a lot of money vs. parking your car at the port for $20/day during your cruise), free breakfast each morning (French toast, toast, bagels, fresh fruit, egg sandwiches, assortment of teas, coffee, juices, cereal, oatmeal…great deal!) and free wi-fi.

Getting ready

So Sunday morning, I woke up at 7am and my makeup artist arrived at the hotel at 7:45 to do my makeup. I used Aimee Ortega (chicmakeupbyaimee.com) and she is AWESOME! So sweet, caring and did an excellent job of creating the look I wanted and checking to make sure it was just right. I highly recommend her! While she did my makeup, my bridesmaids were doing their own hair and makeup. When we were all done, we had breakfast (MOH keeping in contact w/groom to make sure we wouldn’t run into one another lol) and gathered our luggage to leave and head to the port. One of my bridesmaids was not sailing so she drove us all to the port. We ended up getting there later than we wanted, right at 10:30am…but fortunately it wasn’t a big deal at all. All our guests had already arrived and checked in (I told everyone to be there at 10am) J. With more communication between my MOH and the groom and with the help of the wedding coordinator, there was no problem keeping my husband and I separate in the terminal. The coordinator was waiting to greet us right as we got through security so everything flowed smoothly from there. My husband and some guests waited in the VIP lounge downstairs and I was taken to another waiting area upstairs with the other half of our guests. During this time the coordinator went over the ceremony and reception details with me before we boarded. She also let all the guests know where to be at what time. So as soon as we boarded she whisked me and my bridesmaids off to my cabin and the groom went to one of his groomsmen’s cabin to get ready.

Once finally in our cabin (if you booked the Ocean Suite like we did…you’re going to LOVE it!!) we had a comfortable hour to get ready. All of your hair and makeup was already done so all we had to do was slip into our dresses. During this time the videographer called and came to do the pre-wedding interview with me and then he also visited my husband. Also, the photographer called to see when we would be ready and came at that time to take some pictures of us before the ceremony. Once that was all done, we headed down to meet the coordinator at the ceremony location. My bridesmaids had been in weddings before and it’s the same basic procedure so they didn’t go for the mini rehearsal which worked out perfectly fine because all the groomsmen and the groom went for that.

Ceremony

Our ceremony was held in the Limelight Lounge (loved it) so myself and the bridesmaids met the coordinator and the officiant outside of the lounge and the groomsmen and my brother (he walked me down the aisle) met us there. The officiant briefly reminded them of the flow of order and then the coordinator cued us all when to walk in. The ceremony was perfect! The officiant followed through with the poem and blessing we wanted to be included in the ceremony along with the vows and such. Then she added her own sweet personal quote at the end which was beautiful. We chose “Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours” to be played as we exited the ceremony (we brought it on our own CD) and they played it perfectly on time and it was the perfect touch to end the ceremony and how we felt!

After that we went back in and took pictures with family and the bridal party and then it was off to the reception!!

Reception

Right before going in, my bridesmaids quickly bustled my dress for me and then they went inside. We then walked in as the DJ announced us and went straight into our first dance (The Point of it All by Anthony Hamilton) which we also brought with us on our own CD for them to play because they did not have that song. After dancing for about 1 min and a half we had everyone join us on the dance floor and then kicked off the partying! The food display was beautiful and I only a had few bites of a couple things but everyone loved the food. Drinks were flowing and I stuck to clear beverages in fear of messing up my dress lol They played the music we requested which was a mix of top 40, lots of reggae (both sides of our family and lots of friends are of island decent) and group dance songs (the wobble, electric slide, cha cha side..etc). Everyone was having a blast!! I’m SO happy we booked the DJ because it was hands down the best reception location and it looked so nice. Closer to the end we did the cake cutting, the MOH and best man did their speeches and then we danced and socialized some more before doing the bouquet and garter toss which was also fun! As a last song, the DJ played “We are Family” to fit the joyous and loving vibe in the air, it was perfect. After the reception all of our non-sailing guests had to sadly leave (50 guests, 12 sailing with us). Then we started taking pictures of just us with the photographer.

Pictures & Video

Let me just say that we are IN LOVE with our pictures! They came out beautiful and our photographer did an amazing job! Everyone who has seen them so far seems to love them as well. I can’t speak for other ships but for the Breeze, expect to want ALL of your pictures and for them to turn out as a beautiful way to reminisce and look back on your day. We got the photo book that the photographer created which was wayyy better than we expected it to be because we previously planned to skip purchasing it…but when we saw it, we HAD to have it. The quality was impeccable. Then we also got some prints and all of our photos on a USB.

 

 

So, overall we had an AMAZING time on our wedding day with each other and our friends and family!! It was truly the best day of our lives thus far and couldn't be any happier with our decision to do a cruise wedding and to do it on the Carnival Breeze. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help as these boards were a huge help to me during the planning process. I'll try to keep checking back in ;)

Now I'm gonna work on attaching some pics for you all to see!

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msargeant

msargeant

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Posted

Love the review can not wait for your pictures.

 

About your music cds, did you burn the cds or brought original cds. I am from the Islands and was worried about all the top 40s music I am a fan of it but would need some reggae and some calypso to get down too.

 

Congrats again glad everything went fantastic.

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4EverHis2013

4EverHis2013

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Love the review can not wait for your pictures.

 

About your music cds, did you burn the cds or brought original cds. I am from the Islands and was worried about all the top 40s music I am a fan of it but would need some reggae and some calypso to get down too.

 

Congrats again glad everything went fantastic.

For our CDs, I burned our recessional song for the ceremony on one CD and then our first dance song on a separate CD and had each one labeled. Yes, I completely understand about the music...a celebration for us island folk isn't the same without some reggae! I can't speak for all ships but for us I just had the coordinator let the DJ know to play lots of whatever reggae he had and we were actually very pleasantly surprised with the selection he had! It was beyond what you would hear on mainstream radio. Hope that helps :)

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Shatima

Shatima

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GM lOVELY LADY :),

First of all, THANK YOU.. Between This and TwinA yall have giving us Soooo much info, tips, & beautiful pix.. I just really cant say Thank you enough yall.. It sounds like Everythung Was Wonderful, and I couldn't be MORE happier to read that ESP since I will be on her in less then 4 months!!!!!! I will have my FULL break down of Questions Tomorrow for Ya honey (as yall know I don't get on THAT much on the weekend, on my way out right now and Dee is yelling for me to come on, lolololol) TTYT:D

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4EverHis2013

4EverHis2013

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Thanks for sharing!!! You're pics are amazing and I love the bridesmaids dresses. Would you mind breaking down the costs of your cruise wedding???

 

Thanks

Thank you!! Basically I'd say altogether we spent around $6,000 (includes deluxe wedding package, picture package we got, DJ, ocean view suite price for each person). It would be much lower if you don't book a suite (ours was $1,012 per person) but we felt like treating ourselves for the special occasion of course lol hope this helps :)

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4EverHis2013

4EverHis2013

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GM lOVELY LADY :),

First of all, THANK YOU.. Between This and TwinA yall have giving us Soooo much info, tips, & beautiful pix.. I just really cant say Thank you enough yall.. It sounds like Everythung Was Wonderful, and I couldn't be MORE happier to read that ESP since I will be on her in less then 4 months!!!!!! I will have my FULL break down of Questions Tomorrow for Ya honey (as yall know I don't get on THAT much on the weekend, on my way out right now and Dee is yelling for me to come on, lolololol) TTYT:D

Thank you so much :) it's no problem at all, I'm glad to help others if I can. LoL I'll keep an eye out for your questions and my email is dmurray0521@gmail.com :)

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Shatima

Shatima

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Ok,

Now I can break this down with my Thread Questions ... Woo Where to Start, I have Been waiting for thissssssssssss lol..

First of all, WE have to be Cousins down the line.. After reading each section AND looking at your Pix we have ALOT in common its Scarey...

But also FLY in the same time/, WooooooW

2nd~ OK so you got Ur make up done starting at 745.. and U said U left later then U wanted to (10:30) What made you run late..

3rd~Glad U told Ur guest early as we talked about, lol We know how that can go down if We dont. With that said U said U and Ur hubby were Split up well U showed up at different times but U up and he down.. The Questions to this one is.. YALLS Checkin.. Normally Me and DD Check in together, she swipes her CC and we are step up.. DID U fine any of this hard to do when it came to the Actual check in with your ID, and acct set up info minus him be there at the same time??

4. You Rode with one of teh BM'S to the Por.. Shasa told me that guest DRINEN to the Wedding have to pay $7 to park at the port??? Is that what yall had to do OR was it more??? (U know I need to add this info in my welcome letter, as a heads up)

5. I know U didnt see UR Groom until the Wedding, but do U think, OR did U see where U could maybe be away from ALL of the Wedding Party/ Guest (besides maybe your bm's)?

6. All right... LOVE everything about Cermony, now Moving to PARTY Time :) So I know You did CD for most of the Important Music U wanted.. Am I correct whenU say U had 1 song on each CD? And I know U lable them well, but did U have CD with the Other Music U wanted Or U really Truste that the J would play what yall like.. I MUST say this and I do EACH time I see it.. I LOVEEEEEEEEE the way yall be getting down when U dance (meaning my people from the Island or Caribbean) From that Slow Grinding to that Fast Reggae!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its just so Hot & Sexy.. Errrrr I need some lessons.. Any way I Can just imange that yall had a DERN Ball Honey!!!!!!

7. Since #7 is My FAVY # I though I would save it for your RING!!!!!! I LOVEEE it.. and Again I swear we are family... Our Rings are so close :) did he go to Jared's Too?? Now if sooo, that would be REALLLLLY Crazyyy :D

8.. U say U had 12 sailing Guest when They checked in did they just get in the same line as you?? and it then just turned into a regluar checkin???

9.& 10~ Im really happy UR Pix came out Well and Your Video ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Yalls Wedding... I do have to say they were some of the BEST pix I have seen... Thanks Breeze for making this That much harder..

From the BOTTOM of my heart I want to say THANK YOU.. You DID THAT!!!!!!!!!!!! Eerything came out Wonderful... Congrats Boo :p

 

 

 

 

 

Hello All! I’ll try to make this as concise as possible! ;)

 

Our wedding was on Sunday May 5, 2013 at the Port of Miami! I got to Miami Friday and had my bachelorette party that night and then got my nails done and recovered (lol) on Saturday with my girls. My husband drove down to Miami on Saturday and checked into our hotel (we stayed in separate rooms Saturday night). I checked in later that day with my bridesmaids. We stayed at the Hyatt Place Miami Airport west, which was only about a 20 minute drive to the port. They offered free parking during your stay (free parking during your cruise as well if you book that package…which saves a lot of money vs. parking your car at the port for $20/day during your cruise), free breakfast each morning (French toast, toast, bagels, fresh fruit, egg sandwiches, assortment of teas, coffee, juices, cereal, oatmeal…great deal!) and free wi-fi.

Getting ready

So Sunday morning, I woke up at 7am and my makeup artist arrived at the hotel at 7:45 to do my makeup. I used Aimee Ortega (chicmakeupbyaimee.com) and she is AWESOME! So sweet, caring and did an excellent job of creating the look I wanted and checking to make sure it was just right. I highly recommend her! While she did my makeup, my bridesmaids were doing their own hair and makeup. When we were all done, we had breakfast (MOH keeping in contact w/groom to make sure we wouldn’t run into one another lol) and gathered our luggage to leave and head to the port. One of my bridesmaids was not sailing so she drove us all to the port. We ended up getting there later than we wanted, right at 10:30am…but fortunately it wasn’t a big deal at all. All our guests had already arrived and checked in (I told everyone to be there at 10am) J. With more communication between my MOH and the groom and with the help of the wedding coordinator, there was no problem keeping my husband and I separate in the terminal. The coordinator was waiting to greet us right as we got through security so everything flowed smoothly from there. My husband and some guests waited in the VIP lounge downstairs and I was taken to another waiting area upstairs with the other half of our guests. During this time the coordinator went over the ceremony and reception details with me before we boarded. She also let all the guests know where to be at what time. So as soon as we boarded she whisked me and my bridesmaids off to my cabin and the groom went to one of his groomsmen’s cabin to get ready.

Once finally in our cabin (if you booked the Ocean Suite like we did…you’re going to LOVE it!!) we had a comfortable hour to get ready. All of your hair and makeup was already done so all we had to do was slip into our dresses. During this time the videographer called and came to do the pre-wedding interview with me and then he also visited my husband. Also, the photographer called to see when we would be ready and came at that time to take some pictures of us before the ceremony. Once that was all done, we headed down to meet the coordinator at the ceremony location. My bridesmaids had been in weddings before and it’s the same basic procedure so they didn’t go for the mini rehearsal which worked out perfectly fine because all the groomsmen and the groom went for that.

 

Ceremony

Our ceremony was held in the Limelight Lounge (loved it) so myself and the bridesmaids met the coordinator and the officiant outside of the lounge and the groomsmen and my brother (he walked me down the aisle) met us there. The officiant briefly reminded them of the flow of order and then the coordinator cued us all when to walk in. The ceremony was perfect! The officiant followed through with the poem and blessing we wanted to be included in the ceremony along with the vows and such. Then she added her own sweet personal quote at the end which was beautiful. We chose “Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours” to be played as we exited the ceremony (we brought it on our own CD) and they played it perfectly on time and it was the perfect touch to end the ceremony and how we felt!

After that we went back in and took pictures with family and the bridal party and then it was off to the reception!!

 

Reception

Right before going in, my bridesmaids quickly bustled my dress for me and then they went inside. We then walked in as the DJ announced us and went straight into our first dance (The Point of it All by Anthony Hamilton) which we also brought with us on our own CD for them to play because they did not have that song. After dancing for about 1 min and a half we had everyone join us on the dance floor and then kicked off the partying! The food display was beautiful and I only a had few bites of a couple things but everyone loved the food. Drinks were flowing and I stuck to clear beverages in fear of messing up my dress lol They played the music we requested which was a mix of top 40, lots of reggae (both sides of our family and lots of friends are of island decent) and group dance songs (the wobble, electric slide, cha cha side..etc). Everyone was having a blast!! I’m SO happy we booked the DJ because it was hands down the best reception location and it looked so nice. Closer to the end we did the cake cutting, the MOH and best man did their speeches and then we danced and socialized some more before doing the bouquet and garter toss which was also fun! As a last song, the DJ played “We are Family” to fit the joyous and loving vibe in the air, it was perfect. After the reception all of our non-sailing guests had to sadly leave (50 guests, 12 sailing with us). Then we started taking pictures of just us with the photographer.

 

Pictures & Video

Let me just say that we are IN LOVE with our pictures! They came out beautiful and our photographer did an amazing job! Everyone who has seen them so far seems to love them as well. I can’t speak for other ships but for the Breeze, expect to want ALL of your pictures and for them to turn out as a beautiful way to reminisce and look back on your day. We got the photo book that the photographer created which was wayyy better than we expected it to be because we previously planned to skip purchasing it…but when we saw it, we HAD to have it. The quality was impeccable. Then we also got some prints and all of our photos on a USB.

 

 

So, overall we had an AMAZING time on our wedding day with each other and our friends and family!! It was truly the best day of our lives thus far and couldn't be any happier with our decision to do a cruise wedding and to do it on the Carnival Breeze.If you have any questions I'd be happy to help as these boards were a huge help to me during the planning process. I'll try to keep checking back in ;)

Now I'm gonna work on attaching some pics for you all to see!

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ree1009

ree1009

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Thank you for doing the review! You look so beautiful. They really do look like professional shots with you as the model. Just wondering which magazine they will be in :) Congrats and a lifetime of joy and happiness!

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