Emerald Princess Wedding-4/4/08

[javagirl]

:) PHEW!! It took 3 weeks, but finally I have dedicated some time to write my wedding review. I have been a member of this board for several years, but once we decided we were getting married, I dove head first into the bridal board. I really wanted to take a sit back and see approach. I read good reviews and bad reviews, stunning successes and cringe-worthy failures, so I realized it could go either way.

I did approach this ceremony/reception with a mindset of great expectancy, but to me, the most important thing was that I was there, my husband was there, and my family was there. Everything else was just gravy.

We were engaged on October 22nd, 2006 onboard the Holland America Zuiderdam. In February we picked a date. We decided to get married on the Emerald Princess on April 4th ,2008, to allow people enough time to plan in case they wanted to join us on a cruise. We booked the cruise itself through a Travel Agent that provides a registry for gifts (The Big Day.com) When you book your travel through them, there is no fee for the registry. I went to the Princess Website and requested a brochure. After reviewing the brochures, we were ready to lock in our date. We utilized The Wedding Experience/Princess Weddings. Our first coordinator was Sylvia. I guess she was okay, it was still early in the process, so we didn’t need much. We were then assigned Ginette. She was, quite simply, spectacular! And the wedding was perfect in EVERY detail. It was truly a fairy tale day.

I will speak briefly about the planning. There really wasn’t much to say. I knew that many factors were out of my control, I couldn’t bring my own dj, photographer, flowers, blah blah blah. Almost all the guests brought cameras, so we have over 1000 photos, and they still keep coming!

 

EMBARKATION: Was very easy. Anyone who has cruised before knows that you will have to wait, at some point. The question is how you use that time. The Princess attendants at the terminal Awesome! My bridal party was the very first people to arrive, people were still disembarking. Everyone had there hair and makeup prepped, and their dresses in garment bags. We got there approximately 10am. Since I was cruising, I went through one entrance, everyone else had to sign in and leave their IDs, but we all ended up in the same waiting room. It was a great chance to chat with the guests, my family, and bridal party. Everyone made sure that when the grooms party arrived (separately) that Jeff didn’t see me. They sat him at the other end of the terminal. I saw the back of his shirt, once, that was it. Our onboard coordinator, Christine, came down to start discussing the details and layout of the wedding with me. Then they wanted me to go to the check in desk to get my sign and sail card. I was the only person there! I just walked right up, showed her my passport, and went back to everyone. There were some people, that for whatever reason, their names weren’t on the security list. Ginette was there and took care of everything. I know some of the people were definitely on the list, like my brother and a groomsman, but for the people that RSVP’d 2 months late, I really didn’t care if they got on or not. At about 11am, Christine gathered the bridal party and all our stuff, and we were the first people onboard the ship. We went straight to my stateroom to get ready. Christine was still going over things. I was feeling calm and happy. The guys were going to be using our friends stateroom to get ready. They were on a different deck on a different end of the ship, so we would definitely not run into each other.

 

LOCATION: We had always been dreaming of an on-deck wedding, but knew that on embarkation day, that would be nearly impossible, because there is so much going on. But on the Friday before the wedding, Ginette called to tell us we had been approved for an outdoor wedding. YAAYY! I don’t know how the guests managed to find it, because me and the girls were all crammed into the stateroom…curling irons, makeup, bobby pins, shoes, foot pads, safetypins, satin, beading, tulle…everywhere! We had from the time we got to the stateroom to 12:45pm when one of the coordinators was supposed to get us to get ready.

 

GETTING READY

We had a balcony stateroom, R247, and at any given point in time there were between 10 and 12 people in the room. We gave the flowergirls coloring books, took the chairs off the balcony and let them sit out there and play while we were getting ready. Christine was still going over the order of the ceremony, and even though I was listening, I really didn’t remember a thing she told me. I was too excited! We were all ready well before 12:30. Someone called and said they were on our way to get us.

 

GETTING HAIRY

So we waited. And waited. And waited. Until 1pm (when the ceremony was supposed to start) then we just gathered everyone up and started to go to the ceremony reception (Behind Sabatini’s) just as we got there, Ginette met us at the elevator, and took us up. Everyone was starting to get antsy, (I’m sure the guests were) but they kept dawdling. Finally Ginette and my sister came back and told me they lost the music CD I had wanted to use. It was 1:30. I really didn’t’ care. I wish they would have told me that a half hour earlier! It was such a minor detail, I wouldn’t’ have cared if they played Weird Al Yankovic. Let’s just get married!

 

GETTING FLOWERS

The floral arrangements were absolutely breathtaking. STUNNING! Worth every cent, and I would say the price was comparable to any florist. I had a white rose cascade bouquet with orchids, the bridesmaids had 6 or 4 rose bouquets, corsage for my mom, boutinierres for all the groomsmen, and my brother, all for about $260. They tied complementary colored aqua and silver ribbon around all the arrangements. It was exactly was I asked for..no, MORE!

 

STEPPING INTO THE FUTURE

So, my little brother JR gave me away. I didn’t get to see any on the processional because then people would have been able to see me, but Ginette signaled for us, and we stepped out into daylight…(this is another story, I’m here to pass facts on, not get too sentimental)

 

THE CEREMONY

Was beautiful, there were 2 videographers , and 1 photographer. We had orderd the Complete Photography package, and the videographer for an additional 2 hours to cover the reception. We had a sand ceremony. We used Christine’s vows, and they were beautiful. We laughed a few times, cried once, and it was just the perfect amount of time. They had it set up so the guests got to stand in the shade to watch. The area was completely roped off for us.

 

THE RECEPTION

Once again, exceeded expectations. The DJ was INCREDIBLE! I’m a dancing fool, so the music is very important to me They did the introductions, our first dance, and the rest was a blur. There was more food than 80 people could have eaten (we only had 40). Everyone said it was the best prime rib they ever had. The cake was delicious. My friend Melissa, who is a professional pastry chef, was able to decorate it, and she did an excellent job.

 

I was only sad that it ended so quickly. 2 hours FLEW by! We did the garter and bouquet toss, there were toasts made by the BM and MOH, and next thing you know, everyone is gone. But I think it was for the best. I don’t think I would have lasted another hour, I was partying too hard.

 

I am sure that everyone has different experiences with TWE, this was mine. Every thing that I asked for, they did with a smile. Of course, I think I kept my requests pretty simple, and rolled with the punches. I am extremely happy and it was the best day of my life.

 

Here are some links to pictures. I will add more links as I finish the slide shows. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I saved EVERY SINGLE piece of paper and hope to have time to scrapbook it soon.

 

Wedding:

http://www.slide.com/r/uoLKbLx14D8VPKFBU_FN3L4DIof2iLcH?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

 

Rehearsal Dinner

http://www.slide.com/r/2o4kkkBs1z9nuBJUW-g2DhanQn8VokUU?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

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Cruise

COMING SOON

[vowsatsea]

Great review, and great pictures! You look great :) Your little flower girls were adorable!

 

Congratulations!

[tameka94]

Thank you for the review and great pictures. It is great hearing about positive experiences and weddings from other cruise brides.

[vannagreen]

Your photos are beautiful! Cutest flower girl outfits I've seen!

 

How were you able to have your friend decorate your cake. Did they bring it on board, or was it ordered though the ship? Just curious, as I also have a professional cake decorator in the family.

 

Thanks for your detailed review...reading details is soooo helpful!

 

Congrats to you both!

 

-Vanessa

[javagirl]

Your photos are beautiful! Cutest flower girl outfits I've seen!

 

How were you able to have your friend decorate your cake. Did they bring it on board, or was it ordered though the ship? Just curious, as I also have a professional cake decorator in the family.

 

Thanks for your detailed review...reading details is soooo helpful!

 

Congrats to you both!

 

-Vanessa

 

Vanessa, the cake itself I did purchase through the ship; I just told them I didn't want any decoration. Then my friend brought the seashells and decorated the cake before the ceremony; I had told my wedding planner that my friend would be decorating the cake in advance, because they did not do seashells.

[horseypharm]

You looked absolutely stunning! Congratulations. The fower girls were adorable. Thank you also for your excellent review. I am getting married 6/22/08 and I am hoping things go well for us too. We are keeping it rather simple, so there is not too much that TWE can screw up! :D

[Karen_and_Andy]

Loads of great information in your review. Thank you very much. I just found this board yesterday and have already gotten so many good ideas through the threads I've read and the photos I've seen here. I'm really glad I found this board.