Wedding in February/March where do I start

[alb38]

I have a friend doing a ten day on Brilliance in the end of February. They are interested in getting married in a port or the ship - can anybody get me started as to what they need to do? They will be in Aruba, Caymans, Costa Rica, Panama. This is a second marriage for both so it will just be the two of them. I would appreciate any help.

 

Thanks

[stevesgirl1111]

I would call RCL's wedding dept right away and see if they have spaces left for weddings on that sailing. I'm pretty sure they only have a certain number of weddings a day. That would let your friend know what her options are. I would also get info on pricing/packages and start researching ports. The biggest help for me so far in my planning has actually been reading the posts on this board. Look at some of the past posts and you will find a ton of great info and advice!

[bulldogmom]

There are several options for them, first they have the "getting married at sea" option which means that they would need to contact Royal Caribbean asap to get the planning started. It shouldn't be a big deal even though they don't have much time unless Royal Caribbean is already booked with too many weddings. One thing they might want to keep in mind with that option though is that since they are booking last minute they might not get a prime spot for the ceremony, meaning if someone else has already booked first then they might not get the spot/time they want. The way I understand it getting married at sea with RCCL you have limited options, they have certain bouquet's to choose from, and certain other things to choose from and if I'm not mistaken most of the packages only come with maybe one or two pictures (of course they probably take tons of them which you can purchase later at the cruise ship prices) I know for a fact that they will not let them get married on deck or by the captain so keep that in mind as well.

 

The second option would be to book something at one of the ports (my husband and I are renewing our vows in Aruba next February) that way they can get married on the beach at sunset barefoot if they choose to do so (well and their ship is in port that long LOL) The options are really a lot more shall we say.....expanded.....when you do it in port. Most of the time a wedding planner meets you at the port, escorts you to the courthouse or other legal establishment to get the marriage license and then on to the ceremony. The prices for these are usually very reasonable as well. I have never been to Costa Rica or Panama but I know that Aruba is really beautiful (my favorite port by far) and so are the Caymans (at least Grand Cayman is, I've never been anywhere else in Cayman)

 

Like stevesgirl1111 said, start researching ports and pricing/packages on everything, these boards are really helpful. There are good and bad posts on both options so let your friends know to do their research. I am using the wedding planners at www.2goaruba.com and even though I haven't actually had my ceremony yet I have asked a blue million questions and they have always been very patient with me and answered my questions really good. I'm sure you can type the other places into a search engine along with "weddings" and pull up other places.

 

Good luck to everyone!

[alb38]

Thank you for your responses....I think they are leaning towards Aruba since they will be in that port overnight!

[bulldogmom]

Aruba is by far my absolute favorite island in the Caribbean, the people are warm and friendly, the island is very diverse and beautiful and it is hot but it isn't too hot since they have the trade winds blowing all the time. You can be on one side of the island and there are rocky cliffs with the waves crashing into them and then you can be on the other side and be on the most beautiful white sand beach with the clearest blue water you've ever saw.

 

The fact that we love Aruba so much is the reason DH and I decided to renew our vows there and I have to admit that I have been very pleased thus far with the wedding coordinators that I chose. We won't be in Aruba overnight but we will be there from like 7am till like 11pm so we will be able to do the ceremony at sunset which will be so romantic don't you think?

 

We are getting a pretty large package for not a very large price, we decided to upgrade on our photos or everything would have been like less than $500. we upgraded our photos to 3 locations (mainly because we couldn't narrow it down to just one LOL) so that cost several hundred extra. I was amazed how affordable everything was. I'm sure that things are a little more expensive for a "real" wedding because of the licensing issues or whatever but I wouldn't think they would be too terribly much more.

[jasondre]

bulldogmom is right on the money with what she is tellin' ya. I have coordinated our wedding ceremony on the beach in St. Thomas myself with a wedding planner from St. Thomas. I read a ton of reviews about wedding planners in St. Thomas and just called to get some info. This whole process has been really quite simple and everyone on these boards have been extremely helpful. Good luck. If you want more info from me just ask.

:)