My Royal Romance Wedding (St Thomas - on AoS)

[moviegirl11]

Well I just got back from my wedding/honeymoon on the Adventure of the Seas!

 

We set up the wedding through Royal Romance. Not only were me and my fiance to be married, but my sister and her fiance were also going to be married. So it was a double-wedding (2 ceremonies back to back).

 

Here's my feedback on Royal Romance:

 

We booked a year in advanced (they wouldnt let us book any earlier than that) and both me and my sister got the harmony package.

 

We decided that due to the size of our party (18 in total) we would have the wedding on the ship rather than doing it on the island and having to deal with getting everyone to the site. This turned out to be a good idea and I'll explain that later because it has more to do with Royal Caribbean than Royal Romance.

 

We made sure to fill out our marriage license forms accurately (which was a challenge because some of the questions on the form were somewhat misleading so if you get married in St. Thomas, make sure to use the instructions that RR or your coordinator provide!)

 

My sister and I decided to book the hot and cold Hors d'oeuvres reception. We read in the RR paperwork that we had up until 30 days prior to the wedding to book enhancements. Since RR said they wouldnt be in touch with us until a week or so before the wedding, we took it upon ourselves to contact them 2 months prior to set up the enhancements. The Florida office wasnt able to give us much information. Due to the unique circumstances (double-wedding) they recommended we talk directly with the RR people in St. Thomas.

 

My sister got in touch with them and set up our reception options, flower choices and salon appointments. We got all of this finalized well over a month before the wedding. They had email problems so we did most of our dealings with them over the phone. They were very laid back about the whole thing which put us at ease. Both my sister and I were pretty relaxed about the arrangements as well. Since it was a small group we just wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable and that we all had a good time.

 

We didnt hear from RR much after that. Everything was paid for and they had faxed us a full itinerary of everything which we signed so everything was pretty much laid out.

 

The next time we heard from RR was when we were on the ship. Royal Caribbean Guest relations got in touch with them for us and the RC events coordinator gave us the details as to what would be happening the following morning after we docked in St. Thomas.

 

We had a message from our photographer (an employee of royal caribbean) inviting us down to the gallery to meet with her and talk about what we had in mind in terms of photos. We went down and met her. Her name was Jeanette. We gave her some ideas of what we were interested in (eg certain close ups) but mostly we just told her to do her thing.

 

The grooms (and best men) had tuxedos waiting for them in their rooms (they rented them through RC's tux rentals). The tuxes were taken from our staterooms after the 2nd formal night on the cruise. It was easily the most convenient aspect of the entire day (figures the guys have it so easy - send in your measurements and a credit card number and you're all set!)

 

The events coordinator for RC met us on the St. Thomas dock just after we spotted our driver (he was holding up signs with our names). The coordinator instructed us to go with the driver to the courthouse where we would meet our coordinator. The four of us (me, my fiance, my sister and her fiance) got in the van and off we went to the courthouse. The coordinator for RR was there and she led us into the courthouse. We met with someone there who had us sign our marriage license stuff. That went smoothly. We parted with our coordinator after agreeing that she would meet my sister and I in our staterooms at 1:45 pm that day to take us up to the chapel.

 

The driver dropped us off in the shopping area right near the port (at our request) so we had time to do a bit of shopping before going back on the ship. I was happy about that because I was afraid I wouldnt really get to see much of St. Thomas.

 

We got back on the ship and said goodbye to our fiances then headed up with our other sister (our shared maid of honor) to the salon to get our hair done. The stylist was an Australian man who spends the winter months working on cruise ships and the rest of the year doing hair on movie sets (mostly in australia - pretty much every australian movie I mentioned, he'd worked on - eg. Murials Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, etc). He was really funny and did a fantastic job on our hair.

 

After the hair, we went down to our staterooms to get changed into our gowns. 1:45 came and went and our coordinator hadnt showed up. At 2 (the time the 1st ceremony was supposed to begin) she arrived and got us to the chapel. Neither my sister or I were upset over the late-ness. We knew the ceremonies wouldnt start without us after all.

 

When we got to the chapel we met the pastor who would be marrying us. He asked if there was anything specific we wanted in the ceremony. I asked for a prayer or some acknowledgment to God. He smiled and said he would be happy to do that.

 

After that the ceremony went without a hitch except for one minor but humorous set-back. My fiances fingers had swelled a bit from the caribbean heat and I had a hard time getting the ring all the way on. If your or your fiance's rings are a perfect fit or a bit snug, I recommend putting a bit of vasiline on your/their upper finger so the ring will slide on ok. His ring was tight until we got back to NY and now he can actually get it off. hehe.

 

So after the ceremony the photographer asked if we could start taking pictures but I said I thought it would be better if my sister and her fiance did their wedding first then we could do all the pics. She said no problem. My sister and her fiance were then married. Their wedding went perfect except that someones cell phone went off (not any of our guests either - I think it was one of the royal romance people's but I cant be quite sure about that - I do know our coordinator was glued to her cell phone though so thats why I'm guessing it was hers).

 

After that ceremony we did a ton of posed photographs. My sister's photographer (Victor - also a royal caribbean employee) even took pics of my husband and I even though technically he was there for my sister.

 

After that the Royal Romance coordinator told me the reception was set up and that they "had to be out of their by 4 to get off the ship before it sails". Our photographers (my sisters and mine) wanted to take us around the ship to take pictures. I asked my other sister to see that our guests got down to the 7 hearts lounge to enjoy the reception while we went off to take pictures.

 

Our photographer then took us all over the ship taking pictures. It got kind of exhausting but I can understand why there were so many locations. She knew places on the ship that made for great photos.

 

The photographer said the RR people are always in a rush to get off the ship even though the ship didnt get set to leave until 5. The photos took about 20 minutes and by then we were eager to get back to our reception.

 

We got back there and before we could get a drink or a bite to eat we did the champagne toast and cake-cutting. After that the RR coordinator said a very nice poem to us. Then the RR people said they had to go and left us to enjoy the reception.

 

The food was great and just the right amount. The drink server was a very friendly girl whom we later learned worked at the Blue Moon lounge on the ship. She kept the drinks coming and everyone was feeling pretty good before the end of the hour. Considering the cost of the drinks on the ship, the open bar was a real treat for everyone.

 

At about 4 the drink server called last call but then retracted the last call because the brides and grooms had missed 20 minutes of the reception because of the photograph-taking. So royal caribbean gave us an extra 20 minutes of bar service (which in my family is like 2 more drinks a person!). They never even asked us to leave the room. We pretty much left when we were ready.

 

Our photos were ready for us to view a few days later. My sisters photographer (Victor) took about twice as many photos as my photographer did. Our photographer took over 100 pictures though so we had plenty to choose from. We got the 8 x 10 and 10 5 x 7's. We ended up buying like 6 more pics (about $7 each). Since everyone at our wedding had a camera we figured we could mooch more pics off them after the cruise. The Royal caribbean people offered a couple packages to purchase and though there were other pictures we really liked, the cheapest package was $400. So we just opted to purchase a few extra 5 x 7s and leave it at that.

 

Overall it was a fantastic experience. I definitely felt that Royal Caribbean took better care of us than Royal Romance did. Royal Romance didnt do anything wrong (except maybe that cell phone thing) and they made sure everything got done but in terms of the personal touches, Royal Caribbean gets a gold star for service while RR was merely satisfactory. I have absolutely no regrets about booking through them.

 

If you are a person who wants to have every detail of your wedding mapped out prior to your wedding, I'm not sure something like this would work for you. Basically we put a lot of trust in RR and RC to make our day perfect and neither let us down but like I said, my sister and I were both pretty laid back brides. Neither of us stressed much about the details. The point of getting married on a cruise was to have a fun, unconventional but intimate wedding and thats exactly what we got.

 

 

 

The ceremony in the chapel:

 

 

The courthouse in St. Thomas

 

 

 

 

Me and my husbad (just married!)

 

I'll post a link of all the cruise photos as soon as I finish uploading them!

[moviegirl11]

Also - here's a pic of the cold appetizers (sorry I dont have a pic of the hot ones) but rest assured there was plenty of food to go around! I recommend doing the hot/cold hors d oeuvres rather than a full reception because there is SO much (free) food on the ship that it seems silly to pay so much for full meals for everyone. The appetizers were tasty and just enough to tide everyone over until dinner

 

There was also plenty of cake (we just went with the regular cake that came with the package) to go around. One cake probably would've been enough to feed all 18 of us if everyone wanted a small piece (our group didnt eat much of the cake so the leftovers were sent back to our stateroom)

 

 

For more pics of the wedding and cruise:

 

http://fivemoreminutes.com/wonderblog/wordpress/?p=79

[rara0508]

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH!!! It's so great to hear you had the wedding you wanted.

I am getting married actually on St Thomas in about 3 weeks. I am so excited. We didn't go thru RR, but booked thru Debra at Fantasia weddings, the same people that do the cruis ship weddings(i think). Did you have Fantasia?

 

Not sure which sister you are, but "Annie" has the exact same dress as me! I must ask if it is bussled for the ceremony? David's bridal tells me it can't be...Please share.

 

Your pics are awesome, thanks for sharing your special day.

[moviegirl11]

I wouldnt recommend getting your dress fittings at davids bridal. Their prices are ridiculous. My sister (annie) hired a seamstress to put the bustle in her dress. It definitely CAN be bustled. She left it down for the ceremony then clipped it up afterwards. Same with me. I recommend bringing some safety pins with you just in case the bustle doesnt stay up. Last thing you want to deal with is trying not to trip over your dress!

[harrodsfan]

Sounds like your wedding was perfect and I really think your laid back attitude means that your married life as well as your wedding will be wonderful.

My husband and I were married in St. Thomas 15 years ago at Bluebirds Castle..We have been back two times and can't wait until we go again.

Is the building shown in your pictures where you got your marriage liscence. If it is it is a new building.

[rara0508]

I wouldnt recommend getting your dress fittings at davids bridal. Their prices are ridiculous. My sister (annie) hired a seamstress to put the bustle in her dress. It definitely CAN be bustled. She left it down for the ceremony then clipped it up afterwards. Same with me. I recommend bringing some safety pins with you just in case the bustle doesnt stay up. Last thing you want to deal with is trying not to trip over your dress!

 

I agree, David's is rediculous, but the lady that I got to do my length alteration said that the dress was too heavy to bussell. She also had an issue with her sewing machine leaving a black streak along the bottom of the dress. :( She was very appologetic and didn't charge me a thing. Now I am in this predicament, and just don't know what to do. Do you know how many places she clipped it?

[ventru]

Congratulations and how romantic!

[moviegirl11]

I agree, David's is rediculous, but the lady that I got to do my length alteration said that the dress was too heavy to bussell. She also had an issue with her sewing machine leaving a black streak along the bottom of the dress. :( She was very appologetic and didn't charge me a thing. Now I am in this predicament, and just don't know what to do. Do you know how many places she clipped it?

 

she clipped it in three places (one somewhat higher and then one on each side set lower. My sisters bustle (and mine as well) didnt stay up on its own which is why I recommend safety pins. Buy one of those multi-packs that has all different sized pins. We used the safety pins to reinforce the bustle. The snaps that were sewed in let us know where to put the pins and that worked perfectly for us.

[ralphlaurengirl20]

Since you had a h/c reception did you have to pay extra for a wedding planner? Also were you able to have the reception area decorated?

[moviegirl11]

The reception was an add-on to the Harmony package. I think the cost was something like $23/person. That included the food, open bar and serving staff (RC people).

 

Not sure what you're referring to as far as a wedding planner - the coordinator for RR was at the reception until we did the cake cutting and toast and then she left and RC took care of us from there.

 

We didnt have the room decorated but I'm thinking you would be able to do that if you asked the RC people. Since we were in a private room we probably would've been able to get in there earlier in the day and decorate it if we wanted.