My Cruise and St. Thomas Wedding Review

[esbie11]

I'm back and married!!!! Everything was beautiful and perfect!!! First I will give some background for those who may not have been around during my 2 LONG years of planning :) DH and I had 18 friends and family go on a 9 day cruise with us on Explorer of the Seas and the wedding was in St. Thomas. We had initially tried to work with Royal Romance/TWE, but had a bad experience with them and decided early on in the planning to ditch TWE and hire a private local planner in St. Thomas. We used Leslie from Perfect Weddings of St. Thomas and she was incredible!!!

As I said, we have been planning for a long time and I have been in somewhat consistent contact with Leslie throughout the whole process (and obviously moreso toward the end). It was the perfect balance of having control over my wedding..where it would be, what time it would be, etc, yet Leslie was able to coordinate everything to meet my needs. She knew my color scheme and was able to match the chairs, decorations, etc so that everything was beautiful! I sent some things down to her ahead of time, like fans, favors, and my flowers which I ordered from Angel's Accents.

The ceremony was at Bluebeard's Beach which was perfect since I wanted an ocean/beach backdrop without getting married on the beach itself. Then we had a luncheon reception with great food and an open bar:D at the onsite restaurant. This was also way beyond my expectations!! The restaurant was open-air and overlooked the ocean. We had a separate part of the restaurant so throughout the entire day we never even saw any other vacationers...it was very private..as if we had a small part of the beach and resort to ourselves!!

I cannot even express how pleased I was with our wedding! All of us on here know how difficult and stressful it can be to plan a wedding from afar, but my jaw literally dropped when I first saw where my wedding was going to take place (which of course was about 10 minutes before the ceremony). We don't have any professional pics yet, but below is a link to some non-pro pics. They aren't in order, and actually start with "trashing the dress", which I also highly recommend. It was ssoooo much fun and we got some great pics from it.

Lastly, I know there has been some concern about BlueGlass Photography on the boards lately. We used them and although we don't have the actual photos yet, our photog (a woman, but I cannot remember her name) was great to work with. She was kind of aggressive when it came to getting the shots she wanted, which was fine with me because I know the pics will be great. I don't think a wishy-washy photog is a good idea when trying to get a large group of people to stand in certain places and do what you need them to do. She was adamant about getting great photos, which I was very pleased with:D So without further ado, here are some pics!!!

http://s478.photobucket.com/albums/rr143/FitzGeraldWedding/Sarah%20John%20Wedding%20Pics/

[Cruisintink]

Glad everything went perfectly! You're pics are great and you look like you had a fab time. Look forward to seeing the prof pics.

[Scubadiva77]

You guys look *HOT*. Great pics! You look like Trista from the Bachelorette in couple of pics. I totally saw it on #20 :)

Thanks for the review I can not wait till I get married in St. Thomas next year.

[e223s]

Your pictures are beautiful! I'm so happy for you that you had a great wedding/experience! Thanks so much for sharing your review/pics!

 

Hey I saw in another thread that you live in Las Vegas - do you still? I live in Vegas too! What a small world. Did you get your dress out here? If so, where? Both your dress and the bridesmaid dresses are so pretty! I love the colors. I haven't tried a single dress on yet and I'm dying to! I'm originally from Michigan and and flying back over Memorial day wknd and am finally going to go dress shopping with my mom! Of course, won't buy one there (unless I for sure find the one!), but it will be a start!

[Cruiselover7279]

Well it looks like the long wait was well worth it!!!!! You guys looks sooo happy. I love the pictures and can't wait to see the prof ones!!! Again Congrats :-)

[esbie11]

Your pictures are beautiful! I'm so happy for you that you had a great wedding/experience! Thanks so much for sharing your review/pics!

 

Hey I saw in another thread that you live in Las Vegas - do you still? I live in Vegas too! What a small world. Did you get your dress out here? If so, where? Both your dress and the bridesmaid dresses are so pretty! I love the colors. I haven't tried a single dress on yet and I'm dying to! I'm originally from Michigan and and flying back over Memorial day wknd and am finally going to go dress shopping with my mom! Of course, won't buy one there (unless I for sure find the one!), but it will be a start!

 

Yes, unfortunately I still live in Vegas:( We moved here in August from PA and to be honest I can't wait to get out of here. We are hoping to move back east this fall, but we'll see. Anyway, I got my dress from David's Bridal in PA. I think it was a pretty popular style 2 years ago when I bought it. I was kind of worried that too many other people would have the same one, but in the end I loved it so I got it:D My bridesmaid got her dress from Alfred Angelo. I had only one bridesmaid so we were able to find a dress that was perfect for her rather than having to fit several different girls. I was really happy with the colors too! When I would tell people our colors were orange and fuschia I think some people thought it would look horrible but it turned out to be very vibrant and tropical looking, which was perfect:D

[bermuda09]

I am sooo happy that everything turned out perfect for you! You both looked fantastic in all of those photos! You had such a gorgeous day, as well. Your location on a grassy area near a beach is very similar to my location on Bermuda. I love that because it is more private.

 

Question: how did Portofinos go that night? My TA swears she has got all 34 of us in the night after our wedding, but I still won't believe that until I am actually there!

 

Congratulations!

[esbie11]

I am sooo happy that everything turned out perfect for you! You both looked fantastic in all of those photos! You had such a gorgeous day, as well. Your location on a grassy area near a beach is very similar to my location on Bermuda. I love that because it is more private.

 

Question: how did Portofinos go that night? My TA swears she has got all 34 of us in the night after our wedding, but I still won't believe that until I am actually there!

 

Congratulations!

 

Oh the Portofinos drama!! Well, we were to have our welcome dinner there on the first night. Luckily, I stopped by there as soon as we got on the ship to confirm. The man at the restaurant told me that he had no such reservations for that evening, but that he had availability if I wished to make the reservations again. So I did, just to be sure we could have our dinner there. Since we were still in port in NJ, I quickly called my TA and told her about this (it was important since the TA was paying for the dinner...I needed to be sure SHE made the reservations since we would be stuck with the bill with the new reservations I had just made). She then called the cruiseline and called me back to tell me that the ship's group coordinator DID have the reservations made and that for whatever reason, the Portofino's reservation people were never made aware of it. So, after talking to my TA I went to Guest relations and spoke with the group coordinator myself who told me that the reservations were made and paid for by the TA. SOOO...I went back to Portofino, cancelled the reservations I had just made and told him that I spoke with the group coordinator on the ship who confirmed that we did have the reservations made. The Portofino guy told me that if that is what the group coordinator told me than I shouldnt worry about it and to just show up and everything will be fine. Sure enough, we all showed up later that evening and they were ready for us! Although I initially wanted to have dinner there after the wedding, I was actually pleased that we did it on the first night. I guess no one eats there on the first night so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves!!! So it was as if we "bought out" the restaurant, only we didnt pay the crazy $2200 to do it:D It was very nice and private and our guests LOVED it!!!

The take-away message is to go to Portofino right away to confrim the reservations, before leaving NJ in case you need to get in touch with your TA. And if the Portofino guy doesnt have your reservations, don't panic. Your next step would be to talk to the group coordinator on the ship...she will probably be aware of it:)

[merocket59]

Congrats!! I can't believe your flowers weren't real, AAs does a great job, I hope mine look as good as yours!

[esbie11]

Congrats!! I can't believe your flowers weren't real, AAs does a great job, I hope mine look as good as yours!

 

I know! They turned out great!! And the best part is, they never die so I can keep them forever! They are now the centerpiece on our dining room table:D

[tink2862]

Hey Esbie!

Your pictures are gorgeous! Its looks like everything went really well!

 

Which makes me feel good, because I am also getting married in St. Thomas (in September), on bluebeards beach, and I'm also working with Leslie. So my wedding will probably pretty close to identical :). Except my colors are baby blue and tan. After seeing your pictures I'm wishing I had went with Fuscia and orange, it looked fantastic.

 

Did you go with one of Leslie's Packages or did you build your own? About how close to your wedding did you guys start going over all the small details. Oh, yes there are many more questions! :).

 

But again glad to hear everything went well :)

[Cattie]

OMG Esbie!!! Everything was GORGEOUS!!!!! I'm so happy everything turned out the way you wanted it.

 

I can't wait, I'm getting so close!!

 

Was there a ton of people at Portofino's when you got on board? I'm running straight there and grabbing a drink otw!!

[PrettyHazardous]

Esbie Congrats

I didn't realize that your wedding had occurred. Congrats loved ya pics...

[Cattie]

I know! They turned out great!! And the best part is, they never die so I can keep them forever! They are now the centerpiece on our dining room table:D

 

 

Oh and since I was talking to my mom and posting, I had forgot to say!

 

It's only fitting since we have alot of the same drama, we have the same flowers!! The irony!!!

[esbie11]

Hey Esbie!

Your pictures are gorgeous! Its looks like everything went really well!

 

Which makes me feel good, because I am also getting married in St. Thomas (in September), on bluebeards beach, and I'm also working with Leslie. So my wedding will probably pretty close to identical :). Except my colors are baby blue and tan. After seeing your pictures I'm wishing I had went with Fuscia and orange, it looked fantastic.

 

Did you go with one of Leslie's Packages or did you build your own? About how close to your wedding did you guys start going over all the small details. Oh, yes there are many more questions! :).

 

But again glad to hear everything went well :)

 

I kind of used the cruise alternative package...but the packages were a little different when I booked with her 2 years ago. When I booked with her the photography and videography was separate. We started going over the smaller details about 1 month before the wedding. I didn't get the detailed itinerary until about 1 week before though. Just trust that she knows what she is doing and will take care of everything. Throughout the planning I would email her questions or ideas of what I wanted, then about 2 weeks before the wedding I sent her a summary email just to confirm what I wanted and what we had discussed previously. I also mailed some things down to her ahead of time. I had made fans that I wanted to be on the chairs, along with my guest book and flowers from Angel's Accents. Let me know if you have any other questions. I would be happy to answer them. I know how hard it is to plan a wedding like this, and it is tremendously helpful if you have someone who has been thorugh it who used the same location and planner:D You could also email me if you want at esbie11 at yahoo dot com

[esbie11]

OMG Esbie!!! Everything was GORGEOUS!!!!! I'm so happy everything turned out the way you wanted it.

 

I can't wait, I'm getting so close!!

 

Was there a ton of people at Portofino's when you got on board? I'm running straight there and grabbing a drink otw!!

 

I went there around 2 or so and there was no line or anything..just me!

[esbie11]

Oh and since I was talking to my mom and posting, I had forgot to say!

 

It's only fitting since we have alot of the same drama, we have the same flowers!! The irony!!!

 

Really?!?! Wow that is crazy! Did you get yours from angel's accents too? I LOVE my flowers!!

[e223s]

Yes, unfortunately I still live in Vegas:( We moved here in August from PA and to be honest I can't wait to get out of here. We are hoping to move back east this fall, but we'll see. Anyway, I got my dress from David's Bridal in PA. I think it was a pretty popular style 2 years ago when I bought it. I was kind of worried that too many other people would have the same one, but in the end I loved it so I got it:D My bridesmaid got her dress from Alfred Angelo. I had only one bridesmaid so we were able to find a dress that was perfect for her rather than having to fit several different girls. I was really happy with the colors too! When I would tell people our colors were orange and fuschia I think some people thought it would look horrible but it turned out to be very vibrant and tropical looking, which was perfect:D

 

HAHA I'm not a real fan of Vegas either. I'm unfortunately going to be out of here for a few years yet. Need to est. my career a bit more before I go anywhere else. My fiance moved out here in Jan 2007 for work, then I graduated college in May 2007 and moved out. I actually work for CityCenter - the huge project on the strip that opens in Dec of this year. I work for the main resort - ARIA and am in convention sales.

 

I'm so excited to start shopping for dresses. I'm only having two bridesmaids and they are both in Michigan so we have to do shopping for that too since I likely won't be home again until after the wedding! I checked out the webpage for Angel's Accents and there is a LOT of info on it. I never really thought about having fake flowers but I love the way yours look and plus you get to keep them! Were they really expensive?

[esbie11]

HAHA I'm not a real fan of Vegas either. I'm not going to be out of here for a few years yet. My fiance moved out here in Jan 2007 for work, then I graduated college in May 2007 and moved out. I actually work for CityCenter - the huge project on the strip that opens in Dec of this year. I work for the main resort - ARIA and am in convention sales.

 

I'm so excited to start shopping for dresses. I'm only having two bridesmaids and they are both in Michigan so we have to do shopping for that too since I likely won't be home again until after the wedding! I checked out the webpage for Angel's Accents and there is a LOT of info on it. I never really having fake flowers but I love the way yours look and plus you get to keep them! Were they really expensive?

 

These aren't your typical fake flowers. They are made out of what looks to be a latex-type material so they look AND feel real. Plus they spray smelly stuff on them so they even smell real!!! When I told my WC I was mailing her my fake flowers she tried to talk me out of it, but once she saw them she was amazed at how nice they were! I honestly dont remember exactly how much I paid for them. I am thinking maybe $180, which included by bouquet, my MOH's bouquet, and 3 boutennieres. It isn't cheap, but then again real flowers are expensive too and they die after a few days! They are usually booked pretty far in advance though, so keep that in mind as well.:)

[Cattie]

Really?!?! Wow that is crazy! Did you get yours from angel's accents too? I LOVE my flowers!!

 

LOL yeah, we used AA. I love mine also, I can't wait to have them in my curio when we get back!!

 

These aren't your typical fake flowers. They are made out of what looks to be a latex-type material so they look AND feel real. Plus they spray smelly stuff on them so they even smell real!!! When I told my WC I was mailing her my fake flowers she tried to talk me out of it, but once she saw them she was amazed at how nice they were! I honestly dont remember exactly how much I paid for them. I am thinking maybe $180, which included by bouquet, my MOH's bouquet, and 3 boutennieres. It isn't cheap, but then again real flowers are expensive too and they die after a few days! They are usually booked pretty far in advance though, so keep that in mind as well.:)

 

They came in right before my surprise shower a few weeks ago. Once I knew it was my shower I brought them inside. EVERYONE thought they where real. Yesterday I brought them to my moms office, my cousin looked at them and asked "um, they're supposed to last 2 weeks?" Even people around the building thought they where real!!

[tink2862]

I kind of used the cruise alternative package...but the packages were a little different when I booked with her 2 years ago. When I booked with her the photography and videography was separate. We started going over the smaller details about 1 month before the wedding. I didn't get the detailed itinerary until about 1 week before though. Just trust that she knows what she is doing and will take care of everything. Throughout the planning I would email her questions or ideas of what I wanted, then about 2 weeks before the wedding I sent her a summary email just to confirm what I wanted and what we had discussed previously. I also mailed some things down to her ahead of time. I had made fans that I wanted to be on the chairs, along with my guest book and flowers from Angel's Accents. Let me know if you have any other questions. I would be happy to answer them. I know how hard it is to plan a wedding like this, and it is tremendously helpful if you have someone who has been thorugh it who used the same location and planner:D You could also email me if you want at esbie11 at yahoo dot com

 

Thanks Esbie! I'm sure I'll be emailing you. I went with the Cruise Alternative package too (I actually booked it last sept.), but ended up adding on a few other things. Did you end up having to pay extra for your cake. It looked gorgeous. I am still on the fence on what exactly she will do without charging me extra.

 

Thats Funny, I also have fans to be placed on the chairs. I purchased parasols also, but i'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with those just yet. :)

[esbie11]

Thanks Esbie! I'm sure I'll be emailing you. I went with the Cruise Alternative package too (I actually booked it last sept.), but ended up adding on a few other things. Did you end up having to pay extra for your cake. It looked gorgeous. I am still on the fence on what exactly she will do without charging me extra.

 

Thats Funny, I also have fans to be placed on the chairs. I purchased parasols also, but i'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with those just yet. :)

 

I didn't pay extra for my cake. I just told her I wanted chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Not very traditional, but what can I say, I love chocolate:D:D:D Email me anytime!

[bermuda09]

Oh the Portofinos drama!! Well, we were to have our welcome dinner there on the first night. Luckily, I stopped by there as soon as we got on the ship to confirm. The man at the restaurant told me that he had no such reservations for that evening, but that he had availability if I wished to make the reservations again. So I did, just to be sure we could have our dinner there. Since we were still in port in NJ, I quickly called my TA and told her about this (it was important since the TA was paying for the dinner...I needed to be sure SHE made the reservations since we would be stuck with the bill with the new reservations I had just made). She then called the cruiseline and called me back to tell me that the ship's group coordinator DID have the reservations made and that for whatever reason, the Portofino's reservation people were never made aware of it. So, after talking to my TA I went to Guest relations and spoke with the group coordinator myself who told me that the reservations were made and paid for by the TA. SOOO...I went back to Portofino, cancelled the reservations I had just made and told him that I spoke with the group coordinator on the ship who confirmed that we did have the reservations made. The Portofino guy told me that if that is what the group coordinator told me than I shouldnt worry about it and to just show up and everything will be fine. Sure enough, we all showed up later that evening and they were ready for us! Although I initially wanted to have dinner there after the wedding, I was actually pleased that we did it on the first night. I guess no one eats there on the first night so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves!!! So it was as if we "bought out" the restaurant, only we didnt pay the crazy $2200 to do it:D It was very nice and private and our guests LOVED it!!!

The take-away message is to go to Portofino right away to confrim the reservations, before leaving NJ in case you need to get in touch with your TA. And if the Portofino guy doesnt have your reservations, don't panic. Your next step would be to talk to the group coordinator on the ship...she will probably be aware of it:)

 

Thank you for sharing this advice. My TA says that she actually spoke with the head chef at the restaurant and he okay'ed it. She is now requesting that we pay the money now to reserve it. I planned on stopping there the second we get on the ship to check, and from what you told me, I will definitely be the first person at that restaurant.

 

One more question: approximately how long was your party in the restaurant that night? I am trying to give people a time frame, and I am a little unsure.

 

I am glad that Portofinos worked out for you in the end!

[esbie11]

Thank you for sharing this advice. My TA says that she actually spoke with the head chef at the restaurant and he okay'ed it. She is now requesting that we pay the money now to reserve it. I planned on stopping there the second we get on the ship to check, and from what you told me, I will definitely be the first person at that restaurant.

 

One more question: approximately how long was your party in the restaurant that night? I am trying to give people a time frame, and I am a little unsure.

 

I am glad that Portofinos worked out for you in the end!

 

We were there for about 2 1/2 hours...but I am sure it could have gone faster if we wanted it to. Since we were literally the only ones on the restaurant that night, I think they drew things out and allowed us to stay there longer. We had actually gone back to eat there another night (there were only 6 of us when we went back) and the waiter asked us how quickly or slowly we wanted our food to come out. So I think to some extent you can tell them how long you'd like the meal to last, within reason of course so that you can have more time to talk and visit or if you just want to eat and get out they can accommodate that too.

[jodcha]

Congrats Congrats!

 

I am going to get married on BlueBeard's this coming Sept too! I will be cruising with Freedom of the Seas.

 

I am also planning to do Trash the dress after the ceremony =)

 

I want to know your timeline of your wedding day?

You had a luncheon reception!

I felt everything is so tight and rush rush rush - thus I won't have a reception.

 

After getting off the ship, I will be going to the court, then to hotel to get changed plus hair and make-up. Then ceremony @ 4pm then Trash the dress + lotz of photos!

 

We will have around 40 people. So I will have my guests to tour the island and have their lunch first then I will arrange transportation to take them to the beach!

 

What was the order of your events?

Which hotel room did you book to get ready?

 

:)