We're Getting Married on the Carnival Miracle in February 2015

Hi everyone! I am so excited to be reading about these different experiences with the Carnival Weddings on the Miracle. I love seeing the pics (although being a blogger I would love to see more!). I will definitely be posting a link to my site with images included from the wedding.

We have over a year until the wedding (ok - a year and 2 days) and I already have my dress, shoes, and veil. Plus, the bridesmaids have their dresses picked out! Oh and we have the Save the Dates!

This is my second wedding (but like my first)! Both my fiancé and I have 6 kids together (yes, like the Brady Bunch - can't tell you how many times I've heard that one - lol)! They will be attending the wedding and reception and then heading back with the grandparents after.

I could use any advice you'd like to give, as well as would love to see pics if you have them to share.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

PS My blog is http://www.themommy-files.com/ and I have a tab dedicated to all my wedding stuff. :)

I have advice, but it's not about the wedding; it's about blended families. You state on your blog you have a stepmom, so you have some experience. Trying to blend two families with a total of six children can be a disaster and full of heartache, and no, it's nothing like the Brady Bunch.

1. Get premarital counseling and seriously discuss how you are going to handle bringing together two different families. You both need to be on the same page. If your children live with you and your DH, and his kids are just "visitors" that gets very tough if you haven't decided how you are going to deal with discipline, chores, etc. It can be a constant struggle and a major source of contention as each parent tries to "protect" his or her child.

And, it's just human nature. His children are not your children and most of us are always just going to love our children more.

2. Get financial advice. I have no idea what assets, if any, you bring to this new relationship, but you both need to be in agreement on this. Will you be mingling your assets? Will they be separate? Make sure you each have a will and that these wills are very specific as to who gets what. Some people will leave everything to their new spouse, hoping they will take care of all the children. Yet, after the death of a spouse, the living spouse can cut off the stepchildren, or remarry and the new spouse ends up with all the assets. I know no one thinks this will ever happen, but it does.

I know in our household, we paid a fortune in child support to my DH's ex, yet my flaky ex paid nothing. It was never "fair" and it took a long time to come to terms with this.

When you are paying child support to someone, and they send their kids over to your house for the summer with no clothing, toothbrushes, etc. it can get a little old. When the kids need haircuts, dental work, etc., that you've already paid the ex for, and your new DH wants to pay for all these things (in essence paying twice), you can feel that your new household is being deprived. It's just the way it is. Decide how to deal with this before you get married.

3. Don't get sucked into battles between your new spouse and their ex. Let them work it out and stay out of it. It will drain all your energy, you start to look at his children in a negative light because of their crazy parent, and it goes downhill from there.

4. Sometimes everything seems just great until you get married. Then the ex spouses resent your happiness and the proverbial you-know-what hits the fan. They bad talk you around the kids and create a lot of conflict. Rise above it, live your life and try not to get involved. It will just drain all the joy out of your life if you let it.

And, the worst is if you have a child with the new spouse. That seems to really upset the balance. The children you already have are jealous and need to deal with the new addition to the family, and if you have a crazy ex, they just lose it.

I loved my husband dearly, but if I had to give someone advice, I'd say give it a lot of thought before you marry someone who already has children. It's not the same for everyone, and some people actually have cooperative ex-spouses, but that wasn't the case for us.

Good luck to you!

We are on our first marriage of 27 years with no kids, but I am the product of a blended family and it wasn't very pretty at times. It has affected me a lot growing up and as an adult. I could go on and on, but that is not what you came on here for. The advice that 6rugrats is something that I also highly recommend.

I am excited for you and wish you the best of luck. Now to go look at your wedding page.