Least expensive way to get married.....

[readytolose]

What would be the least expensive way to get married on a ship?

 

My son and his fiance are thinking about a cruise ship wedding, however some of the prices I have seen are crazy!

 

Is there a way to do a wedding on the ship without having the high cost?

 

Would it be better to do it in one of the port stops?

 

Can you just get married on the ship and then have your own "reception" in a bar with drinks and then just either go to a specialty restaurant for dinner or just have the regular dinner in the dining room?

 

My guess is there would be 40 people or less. Most likely everyone would be cruising since we are all from out of state except for one family in Florida (but I'm assuming they would sail, too)

[stepharredon]

We're also looking at a cruise wedding and carnival is very budget friendly.

[Carnival_Brides]

This question depends on how flexible your son and his partner are. If they are willing to get legally married before sailing you have a lot of options and won't have to deal with the "what if the ship can't make it to port?" problems. However, some lines are starting to require couples to get legally married before sailing to prevent this problem.

 

My wife and were legally married on Jan. 1 and had our wedding at-sea two weeks later on the Carnival Pride. Our guests were sailing anyway and we were able to book the Vow Renewal package for about $900. It came with everything the embarkation weddings did (reception, onboard coordinator, photography services, etc.), except the ice sculpture and the captain did the ceremony. It was another $800 for photos, but we still had our dream wedding for less than $2k. It was nice and laid back for our guests and us. We were able to do it on a sea-day to do it, so our guests didn't have to give up a port-of-call. We had planned to use our reception as a cocktail hour and then follow it up with dinner, but our guests were so full from the reception they didn't bother eating dinner. There's a review in my signature.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Carnival_Brides