Considering a crusie wedding

[arettich]

Hi all!

My name's Acacia, I just got engaged 12/12/08. I never pictured myself getting married, let alone my wedding day. Due to this, planning already has me confused and feeling overwhelmed. I am very laid back and all the fuss that a traditional wedding needs simply seems like it doesn't fit my personality. That being said, I either want to get married on a cruise or while vacationing near a beach. Either way I want a beach wedding.

I needed advice about whether anyone had gotten married on a cruise before? If so, what cruise line? I have read the other entries about destination weddings, but didn't see any on cruise weddings. I particularly liked the pros and cons of destination weddings post.

I'm so torn between

1-having a week long vacation in one place, seeing the sites, and planning it all for one locale.

2-having a week long cruise, seeing multiple sites/ports, seeing family a bit less, and simply getting married while in a U.S. port so I don't have to worry about legalities.

[WebLady]

I am not sure about what it takes to get married on a cruise, but while on our honeymoon cruise, there was a couple that were getting married. They had the ceremony right outside the port in Key West, so it wasn't actually on the ship. That is all I know about it, I just saw them get off the ship in their wedding garb and saw people setting up for the wedding in a big tent.

I would call some cruise lines or a travel agent if that is what you want to do.

There are several DW/beach wedding brides here, maybe they give you other advice about that too :)

[Angel1na3]

Hello =)
My friend got married on a cruise boat before leaving for their honeymoon. It was very different and nice. However, be warned that you will definitely be rushed. The guests had to get there at 10am. Then we had to wait in line to get passes to get on the boat. The ceremony ran behind because of the other people that were getting married that day as well. Keep in mind we had to be off the boat at 3pm. By the time they got to the ceremony, it was already 1:15pm. So they had to get in pictures, finger foods, drinks, dancing, toast, cake cutting, etc in an hour and 15 minutes. and then we all had to get off the boat.
As I said it was really nice and very different and laid back, not much stress at all for the bride and groom. It was just extremely rushed which they werent thrilled with!

[sandy03]

The last cruise I took in July there was a couple getting married on the boat (Carnival Fantasy) - the setup seemed a little less than ideal because they were doing it in the atrium/lobby as people were getting on the boat so everyone was just kind of staring as they walked by and it was really of noisy (I think part of it was unforseen issues that involved everyone having to be bussed from New Orleans which is where the boat was supposed to leave from to Mobile and all the ensuing chaos of it all) They did have a separate room for the reception that was private so that random people couldn't just wander in and it looked really nice. I'm sure there are various options for where to have it.

I think a cruise would work if everyone attending the ceremony was also going on the cruise so you wouldn't have to deal with the possibility of being rushed by technical delays and the like. Plus, you could kind bend the rules of the "reception" a little and just have cake and pictures made right after and then have dinner with everyone on the ship that night and dancing and drinks during the formal night on the ship (the whole trip would be a party!)

[EarlyBird]

a friend of mine also got married on a cruise right before their honeymoon cruise. as someone said, it was rushed. they were a little behind and there was no "special" dances because of this.. it was hard enough to have someone get in the toasts.. my friend has said since that she wishes she hadnt, only because she always dreamed of her "special day" and she barely had a special "hour"

[BarceloMayaPalaceBride]

How Fun!! I don't know anything about having a cruise wedding but I did have a DW on the beach in Playa Del Carmen. We were married at the Barcelo Maya Palace right on the beach. It's an AMAZING all-inclusive resort and my wedding was PERFECT! I can answer pretty much ANY question you have, and I also have a ton of pictures from several resorts in Playa. PM me if I can be of any assistance :)

[arettich]

Thanks for some ideas and comments. The more I read information on the two the more I am leaning toward going on a cruise and getting married at one of the stops.

[Simple Weddings]

I hope this post isn't too late to do you any good...

Here's the deal with cruise weddings - the legallities are somewhat of a pain. I'll use Florida as an example because that's where I am (I'm a FL Notary & Wedding Officiant). Other states are presumably similar.

If you want to get married on a cruise, you have two options - do it in a US port, or do it in a foreign port (when the ship is underway, it is in international waters and thus not under the jurisdiction of any state - there is no "high seas" marriage license that I'm aware of - this is reason all of the weddings mentioned above are done "at the pier").

If you do it in a US port, you have to get a marriage license from the state in question before you set sail. This usually requires a trip to the courthouse for both bride & groom during normal business hours (Mon-Fri), and thus might mean arriving a day or two early. Then the ceremony has to be performed within the boundaries of the State (generally within 3 miles of shore). Since the Captain is understandably busy between the time the ship leaves the pier and hits the 3-mile mark, most weddings are done at the pier several hours before the ship sets sail, usually in a common area as the passengers are boarding.

If you do it in a foreign port, the same problems apply - except now you have to coordinate getting a marriage license from a foreign coutny beforehand, figure out who is authorized to perform your ceremony in that country (it might not be the ship's personnnel, so you might have to find a local officiant) and make sure it is legal when you get back to the States!

Of course, the cruise line should be able to answer a lot of these questions for you.

I'm certainly not trying to turn you off the idea, but as the other posters have mentioned, cruise weddings sound like a nice romantic idea, but they tend to be rushed and impersonal in real life.

Another option might be to get legally married at the courthouse or with a notary, then have a big ceremony on the ship while it is at sea.

We also have clients who have been married on the beach the morning of their cruise, then set sail on their honeymoon cruide that afternoon - very nice!

Hope that helps!

[TA Lindsay]

Cruises are great for weddings. The only cruise line that you can get married at sea is Princess. Don't worry about the marriage license the travel agent and the cruise line help you obtain this, it is part of the fee. The only place you have difficult cruising out of and getting married is Europe. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are the only cruise lines that offer European weddings. Cruises are great for weddings, becuase they will cater to evey age of your group. PM if you have any questions that I can help you with.

[NiLo48]

We had a wedding ceremony on South Beach before we departed on our cruise, and got our Florida marriage license by mail, through Tropical Miami Beach Weddings.

They arranged everything for the ceremony on the beach, close to the Port of Miami, and helped us get our marriage license before we arrived to Miami.

We did not have to do anything - they did it all, hassle-free. They were very professional, friendly, and delivered on everything promised! We had a wonderful, romantic wedding ceremony with a tropical theme which was perfect before our honeymoon cruise. It was totally stress-free!

Their Florida Marriage License by Mail service was convenient and easy. We got e-mail notifications every step of the way. Best of all, we were able to get all our questions answered and were reassured throughout the whole process by both phone and e-mail communications!

We highly recommend their services!