2009 Brides!

[bermuda09]

Hello! Hopefully, I will be getting married on Bermuda by way of the Explorer of the Seas in late June/July 09.

 

Congrats and good luck to everyone!:p

[bambinaxoxo]

Congrats to all you lucky brides that have booked your wedding. Still waiting for our itineries :( Come on Princess....hurry!

[vowsatsea]

Do you have any idea when they will announce your itineraries, bambinaxoxo? I've been wanting to book my cruise wedding since I got engaged in May of 2007. Having it be May 2007, and waiting for May 2009 itineraries was a killer. Once I knew the approxiamate time they would announce it, I at least knew how long I had to wait.

 

Waiting to book it is not fun :) Hope they release them soon.

[bambinaxoxo]

Do you have any idea when they will announce your itineraries, bambinaxoxo? I've been wanting to book my cruise wedding since I got engaged in May of 2007. Having it be May 2007, and waiting for May 2009 itineraries was a killer. Once I knew the approxiamate time they would announce it, I at least knew how long I had to wait.

 

Waiting to book it is not fun :) Hope they release them soon.

 

Hi Sabrett....well we get mixed responses. Some say end of April...some May and some in June. I'm dying here...LOL

[JenABride]

Hi all!

 

First, congrats to us! :)

 

This is such an exciting time. My fiance and I are looking to tie the knot on a beach while cruising. We are both so indecisive and could use some good advice. We would like to cruise the Carribean and get married somewhere along the way. The only problem is that I have only been on a Princess cruise and his only cruise was 12 or so years ago. We don't know what cruise line to choose, what would be the most affordable yet fun for everyone, and who offers the best wedding packages. I am hoping some of you fine ladies can help me by making suggestions on what was most helpful to you. Anyway, we are looking to get hitched sometime next March/April (2009) so we need to get the ball rolling. Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

~Jenn~

[esbie11]

JenABride-Hi! It sounds like your plans are pretty similar to mine. We are getting married April 2009. We are going on a 9 day cruise out of NJ, and getting married while in St. Thomas. We are using a private wedding coordinator, which I would be happy to tell you more about if you are interested. Even though we are still 1 year from the wedding, we have been planning already for a year, so our plans are pretty much complete at this point. Let me know if you have any more specific questions, and Happy Planning!

[mscrad2009]

Hello 2009 Brides

 

I am so happy to be apart of the family...lol. I finally have ladies that can understand my stress, cares, isssues and anxieties. Did I mention...EXCITEMENT. I AM GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WhoooHooo

 

Sorry..I had to let it out finally

Well my plans are as follows:

When - May 18th - 23rd, 2009

Cruise ship - Inspiration Fun Ship

Marriage - May 20th, 2009 on Grand Cayman Island

Carnival Inspiration reception

carnival coordinator - Lizzy / TWE - Lucy

guest list is as follows

6 children - ages 1-7

4 preteens - ages 11-14

23 adults ages 20-70

 

I was thinking about going with a onsite location The Grand Old House but my main drawback (only drawback is the possibilty of not tendering) the GOH package is cheaper and gives me more for my money. But I dont want to take the risk of not getting married. I plan to do research on the weather pattern for this particular month. Has anyone heard about Carnival not tendering in Grand Cayman.

Well again, I am happy to be with you my 2009 brides family. I look forward to many chats with you in the coming year.

 

BRIDE2009 POWER ;-)

[lizzilo]

Count me in too! I'm planning a May 2009 Wedding on the Carnival Fantasy.

 

So far the cruise is booked, but i haven't talked to the wedding coordinator yet!

 

Liz

[parkerhouse94]

Congrats to all of you ladies! My daughter is getting married probably next May, we haven't narrowed down the island yet! In looking at the itineraries she is leaning toward Aruba, sailing with RCI.

I have been reading alot, and have found way more negative feedback than positive about Royal Romance Weddings, AKA The Wedding Experience. She really wants to marry ON AN ISLAND, so we have been checking out independent planners on different islands. THEN I read that you need to be careful, the port could close for the day due to high seas or weather. WHAT TO DO?!!!! An aquaintance on another board simply suggested not to get an island that is tendered in, that's when they close the ports. I don't know that they close docked ports.

We will most likely go with the island wedding. That's what they really want. We went yesterday to the bridal salon, she had already picked out a dress that she wanted to look at. When we walked in and they started asking her about what style she wanted she pointed to the dress she had in mind, which was on a poster, and said THAT ONE. They brought her a couple sizes, she tried the first one on, it fit perfectly and that was that!!! IF only planning the whole event would go that smoothly.......lol.

As for Johnny Rockets, cover charge is less than $5, I think it was 2.95 or 3.95 pp. Portofinos was around 20. The ship provides tea, water and juice at no charge. Soft drinks there is a charge for, however, at least on the 7 day cruise, you can prepay the day of sailing, it was $48 for the entire cruise. They put a sticker on your sailpass.

Another helpful hint for your guests is that the ship photographers are EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!! And more than willing to sell you photos! They have a gallery that is all cruise photos, they take portraits before dinner every night. If you love photos, bring extra money for that, well, have it available on your seapass creditcard at least!

I started another wedding thread before I found this one, if you want to check it out, there's alot of helpful info on that too. Here's the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=14089810#post14089810

I have seen several couples that have their own wedding site, how do we get one, is it through the planner or do we do our own?

We are taking our photographer on the cruise with us, so she can do island shots, ship shots, port shots, etc. Will be finding someone to do a video, most guests will not be sailing with us, so we will show the wedding video at the beginning of the reception once we return.

I KNOW this sounds like MY wedding! But my dd is working and going to school, and doesn't have a pc at home, so asked me to get details. I get the info I can then present it to them, they give me their decision and we go from there! Speaking of which, I need to get busy looking into planners again! Have a great weekend everyone!

[esbie11]

Hi Parkerhouse94-I also wrote this on another thread but in case you haven't read it there: about the concern about missing the port of the wedding, most private wedding coordinators will refund brides fully should they miss their port due to unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather, or even if the cruiseline decides to change its itinerary for any reason, either prior to sailing or after the trip begins. I realize that this still means you (or your daughter) would miss the planned ceremony, but you shouldn't be out any money. TWE tends to bring up the idea of missing your wedding port, I believe, to try to pursuade people to book through them so they will have a "back-up" plan if the port is missed. I think this happens very rarely, especially if you don't go during hurricane season, and if it is a non-tendered port. Anyway, just wanted you to know that most private WCs on the islands are very accommodating when it comes to these unforeseen circumstances and will not screw your daughter over by taking her money and having her be without a wedding. Good luck with helping your DD plan! It is so exciting!

[parkerhouse94]

esbie, thank you for the reassurance! I was thinking pretty much along those lines, we should hopefully be ok weatherwise, and the islands we are looking into are all docked, not tendered. Were leaning toward Aruba but read it's 400 just for the license, plus for it to be a legal ceremony it has to take place at the civil building, and she wants beach. So now I am checking out more on Barbados, St Thomas and Jamaica. Jamaica would be cool but I don't think there is a Southern Caribbean cruise that has Jamaica, not as the first port anyway, which is what she wants, doesn't want to get married mid cruise, after all, that is also their honeymoon!

I know this is strange, but does anyone have any clue where I can get bulk flip flops for less than $1 a pr, she wants to have them in a basket for her guests at the reception, as it is going to be luau style. I found one site but they are still about a buck a pr.

[esbie11]

Parkerhouse-sorry I can't help you with the flip-flops, not a weird question though because I have heard of a lot of brides doing that idea. As far as dealing with the legal aspect of getting married on the islands, we have decided to get legally married in the US (even though it is very easy to get legally married in St. Thomas since it is a US territory) due to time constraints on the day of the wedding. Initially, I was very upset about doing this because I felt as though it would make my real ceremony in St. Thomas seem "fake" since we would already be legally married. However, we are not going to tell anyone (except our witnesses) about the legal marriage, and we are going to do it just a week before the "real" ceremony. Also, we are doing the bare minimum to mkake it legal, so we aren't exchanging rings or saying anything beyond what needs to be said to get the paperwork done! I have even heard of some judges or JOPs who will just sign your marriage certificate and not make the bride and groom exchange any vows at all. This way it really doesn't feel like you just got married. Just a suggestion! :)

[parkerhouse94]

esbie-good plan! DD decided today that Jamaica's the place! Of course, she also decided a 10 day cruise as opposed to a 7 day. I don't think it'll be hard to get docs from Jamaica :rolleyes:

[vannagreen]

We booked! So excited the real wedding planning can start now!

[mara93]

Congrats to all the '09 brides!!!!

[esbie11]

Is it 2009 yet?????:(

[Alaskaom]

I can't wait! Congrats to all of you. I know we are all going to have a great time.

[parkerhouse94]

I can't wait! Congrats to all of you. I know we are all going to have a great time.

 

HEHE I hope not, Poppa Bear and I have alot to pay for first, LOL.

[JenABride]

JenABride-Hi! It sounds like your plans are pretty similar to mine. We are getting married April 2009. We are going on a 9 day cruise out of NJ, and getting married while in St. Thomas. We are using a private wedding coordinator, which I would be happy to tell you more about if you are interested. Even though we are still 1 year from the wedding, we have been planning already for a year, so our plans are pretty much complete at this point. Let me know if you have any more specific questions, and Happy Planning!

 

 

I would love to get the info from you! I am striking out with travel agents. What cruise line are you going through? I would greatly appreciate any help I can get! :)

 

Thanks!

 

Jenn

[esbie11]

JenAbride-We are sailing on Royal Caribbean, and since RC is the only cruiseline I've ever used, I can't help you out much with comparisons ot other cruiselines. All I know is I loved my last experience with RC, so that's what we stuck with. I am from PA so we are sailing out of NJ on a 9 day cruise. We are taking about 26 family and friends with us (we are paying for them to come along and foregoing having any kind of reception at home) This is why we have a 2 year long engagement;) Anyway, we are getting married in St. Thomas and using Leslie from Perfect Weddings of St. Thomas as our wedding coordinator. I had initially been working with TWE, but you can read my other posts regarding that situation! Grrr.

We are having a ceremony at Secret Harbour with a 2 hour luncheon-type reception afterward at the beachfront restaurant. Then we are back to sailing to finish off the cruise! We are getting legally married in the States before leaving. Although it is easy to get legally married in St. Thomas since it is a US territory, I just didnt want to have to bother with rushing to the courthouse the morning of the wedding, since we get there at 8am and the ceremony is at 11am. We are keeping the legal marriage hush-hush, and doing only the bare minimum to make it legal (no rings, no vows, no guests other than witnesses). Let me know if I can help you out with anything else (I need something to do to entertain myself for the next year :D )

[JenABride]

JenAbride-We are sailing on Royal Caribbean, and since RC is the only cruiseline I've ever used, I can't help you out much with comparisons ot other cruiselines. All I know is I loved my last experience with RC, so that's what we stuck with. I am from PA so we are sailing out of NJ on a 9 day cruise. We are taking about 26 family and friends with us (we are paying for them to come along and foregoing having any kind of reception at home) This is why we have a 2 year long engagement;) Anyway, we are getting married in St. Thomas and using Leslie from Perfect Weddings of St. Thomas as our wedding coordinator. I had initially been working with TWE, but you can read my other posts regarding that situation! Grrr.

We are having a ceremony at Secret Harbour with a 2 hour luncheon-type reception afterward at the beachfront restaurant. Then we are back to sailing to finish off the cruise! We are getting legally married in the States before leaving. Although it is easy to get legally married in St. Thomas since it is a US territory, I just didnt want to have to bother with rushing to the courthouse the morning of the wedding, since we get there at 8am and the ceremony is at 11am. We are keeping the legal marriage hush-hush, and doing only the bare minimum to make it legal (no rings, no vows, no guests other than witnesses). Let me know if I can help you out with anything else (I need something to do to entertain myself for the next year :D )

 

I emailed Leslie today! She is on it!!! You may want to send her a little email and let her know you referred me since I don't know your name! :) I will keep you posted! We should email over the next year and see how things go! Let me know! :)

[esbie11]

I emailed Leslie today! She is on it!!! You may want to send her a little email and let her know you referred me since I don't know your name! :) I will keep you posted! We should email over the next year and see how things go! Let me know! :)

 

Yes, definitely! my personal email is esbie11@yahoo dot com

May be easier to communicate that way so we can spare these other brides the details!;)

Also, I am on The Knot's Destination Wedding board all of the time. You should definitely check it out over there. The girls are so nice and supportive and you can get some amazing ideas from them (although I am warning you it is VERY addictive!) Shoot me an email with your date and the details when you know them. Yea I have a Perfect Weddings buddy:D

[deal'n trees]

Has anyone been married while on a Disney Cruise? We have quite a few young children, thought this cruise line would offer more for the families.

[Reese78]

I am finalizing RCCL Freedom of the Seas April 26, 09. I am so excited. I am just starting to get things together and am so happy I found this board :D

[Reese78]

In so far my cheet sheet has things like... if you go to the casino to get cash (leave out the part about not gambling) you don't pay a fee, if you have someone who has to use the elevator (like my future mother in law) to get them a life preserver and to the deck prior to announcments as they shut them down for the drill prior to departure. If you have a standard room you can ask the attendant for robes without a problem. They do not normally put out splenda on tables you have to ask for it. Then they normally put it on your table from then on. Also if you are in the main dining area you can ask for things that are not on the menu or even from a different restaurant. A lot of the other restaurants charge a cover fee, so it's a nice way to get around it. Johny Rockets charges a somethihng like a $20 cover, but if you are only going there for drinks you just have to let them know and you do not have to pay it. Also if you get beer from Rockets is like 4.05 for a 20oz (you can take with you) where as if you go somewhere else you pay 4.50 for a twelve ounce beer. Make your reservations for Portofinos and Chops as soon as you know when you want to go. They tend to be filled quickly and you can get some bad seats. You can go to the pursers desk to get a map of the ship and they can also hole punch your sea pass for you (I'm supplying my group with lanyards). I wonder if I can find them personalized for a good price.

Please imagine that I am getting most of this from other threads from more experienced cruisers. If anyone knows any good things let me know, and I hope this can also help some of you all. If I get any juicy tidbits, I'll pass them on.:)

 

Hi. I was looking earlier and saw that Staples will print custom lanyards for you. You have to order at least 50 (not sure your guest count). They have a couple options starting at $1.59/ each; of course the more you order the cheaper the price. ;)