2016 Brides!

I just bought my gown!! It is so perfect. It comes in June - 9 months before my wedding. Hahahaha. I now need to focus on Save the dates (we already told everyone but want to make it official) and then invites...I can't decide!! I mean WE. Hahahahaha...we can't decide.

Yay! Sooo exciting! I actually already have my gown for my 4/2016 wedding!! I found the perfect gown on Tradesy and went to local stores to make sure which size I fit in that designer. The dress was over 50% off retail price! I'm on a tight budget and need to get all of my wedding expenses hashed out in the next 3 months before my student loan payments start! It is absolutely perfect! It was a store sample and had no damage I just need to get it cleaned!

I'm definitely taking a bit of a risk by having it a year before the wedding, but this will hopefully keep me focused on maintaining my weight until then.

I* can tell you I didn't not hear from TWE at all other than an email asking for money to get my marriage license for me. Once I told them I was handling it myself that was the last I heard until I called them about a month before my wedding because I had seen another bride say she had sent her ceremony outline in. When I called them then they emailed me the outline. I called after I sent it back them to make sure they had it and to see if they needed anything else from me. I heard from the wedding department at Carnival about two weeks before my ceremony where we went over everything and verified my menu, cake, etc. Beyond that The only time they contacted me was if I contacted them first.

I finally got my "initial" call from my TWE about 2 weeks ago. I missed the call so she left a message introducing herself and letting her know I needed to send back the form that says we want a DJ (even though we already paid for one they needed the form to match). When I tried to call back she wasn't available so another lady told me I just need to fax/email in the form.

I haven't heard from anyone since and seeing as we're a year out I don't really think I will until closer to the time.

I'm trying to keep myself busy so I don't run out of things to do until we have to make decisions about songs and ceremony wording etc.

Lucky for us we just booked a last minute cruise leaving in 16 days! Hopefully that will help my vacation itch and keep me entertained for a while!

I finally got my "initial" call from my TWE about 2 weeks ago. I missed the call so she left a message introducing herself and letting her know I needed to send back the form that says we want a DJ (even though we already paid for one they needed the form to match). When I tried to call back she wasn't available so another lady told me I just need to fax/email in the form.

 

I haven't heard from anyone since and seeing as we're a year out I don't really think I will until closer to the time.

 

I'm trying to keep myself busy so I don't run out of things to do until we have to make decisions about songs and ceremony wording etc.

 

Lucky for us we just booked a last minute cruise leaving in 16 days! Hopefully that will help my vacation itch and keep me entertained for a while!

I went to check out your Web site and actually found it here...https://www.theknot.com/us/diana-brown-and-adam-fitzgerald-apr-2016 I thought you would like to know. :)

One year from today, I'll be married! We are getting married April 23,2016 on the NCL Spirit. I got my hair and makeup reserved this week. Now onto group hotel space.

Im wondering if anyone has made or is considering making a listof ideas for the photographer? I have seen so many cute options on pinterest and from other brides reviews. Do you know if we have any contact with the photographer before hand to email a list or is that insulting and annoying you think??

 

Also I'm trying to think of the best time to send out actual invitations. We are getting married April 24th 2016, I have already sent out save the dates but I'm finding that a lot of our relatives really need something in writing to really grasp the concept

I took a print showing four poses I specifically wanted from the bride reviews that I fell in love with. My photographer came to meet me before the wedding and I gave it to him then. He had it with him when we did pictures and made sure i got them all and even improved on one of them. He seemed glad I knew what I wanted and made t easier for him to give that to me.

Did you book this for your guests or not? I don't think i am going to because of extra costs but just wondering about you guys!

Did you book this for your guests or not? I don't think i am going to because of extra costs but just wondering about you guys!

We didn't. Honestly the ceremony is very quick and they are eating by 1:30. I told anyone who thought they might need a snack to bring one if they were non-sailing. The only guest who fussed about food was my two year old nephew and his father wouldn't let anyone pack him a snack. However he throughly enjoyed the fries and chicken nuggets the chef prepared especially for him. lol

I went to check out your Web site and actually found it here...https://www.theknot.com/us/diana-brown-and-adam-fitzgerald-apr-2016 I thought you would like to know. :)

So weird!! I guess it works without the "www" part in it. I'm updating my signature and hopefully it will be correct :D

I am forgetting if anyone is sailing from Port Canaveral in the "Class of 2016". I think I am going to make a trip over there to look for hotel options and welcome dinner venues within the next month. If anyone wants me to check anything out, in particular, let me know!

Did you ever make this trip? I'm curious...will have a few people coming a few days early before the trip and looking for a good central place to stay.

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Hello,

My boyfriend and I got engaged April 11 2015. I decided (and he agreed LOL) to go on a cruise and have an island wedding.

Carnival looks to be the least expensive so that is who we will probably be booking with.

We live in Richmond, VA and his family lives in Philadelphia while my family lives in California. So a port reception/wedding is not an option for us.

We are unsure who would have the means to fly to a port (we were thinking Miami, Baltimore or Charleston, SC) and pay for the cruise. So I am not sure who will be coming or how many guests we will have.

I MOST DEFINIETLY want to get married on the island. Carnival has a package for $1355 and I would like to get quotes on other vendors.

Stuff about us:

- My fiancée and I don’t drink alcohol. Some of our guests drink. Im a vegetarian and he doesn’t eat pork.

- Im a plain jane type of girl. I don't need anything super fancy. Just nice and elegant.

- Im making my own dress and already have a design in mind. Still working the color scheme and beading options.

- I will be doing my own hair. I don’t wear make up but I will wear lip gloss.

- On a budget because we also want to buy a house soon

Questions

- Is it cheaper to go through carnival or a third party vendor for an island wedding? Any suggestions or recommendations for vendors in Bahamas or Caribbean's?

- We live in Richmond, VA. What's the best port to depart from? We were thinking Miami so we can spend more time on the islands and less time out on sea. Plus Miami has the least expensive cruise prices.

- Since the cruise offers dinner is a reception needed? Or is it better to do a reception on the island? I was just thinking the cruise price already includes dinner and if we all sit together at a table is a reception room needed.

- I will be going during “off season”. When is the least expensive time to travel to Bahamas or the Caribbean's?

Thank you all so much!

Why don't you look into leaving from Baltimore? You won't have to pay for a flight or drive very far. Airfare or driving to Florida can be expensive. I believe the Carnival Pride is coming back and it is a wonderful ship. It usually stops in Nassau which would be a beautiful place for an island wedding. Baltimore is within short driving distance to Philadelphia for his family and the port is also very close to BWI if your family were to fly in for the cruise.

Carnival and Norwegian also have cruises leaving from NYC and New Jersey that could be worth looking into and the ports are within driving distance

Yes, you are right! My only problem with coming out of Baltimore is that most of the cruises are 5 days and you only get two days in the Bahamas as opposed to spending five days at different ports if I were to come out of Miami.

But it would be ALOT easier on his family and friends if we did it out of Baltimore. It would only be a 2.5 hour drive for us from Richmond,VA as well. My family would still have to pay for airfare but better to only have some people pay and not everybody.

Thank you for your advice! I would love a 7 or ten day cruise though.

I also was hoping to get to Miami a couple of days before the departure date to see the sites. But that could be saved for another trip.

No problem! The cruises out of Baltimore are all 7 days. Save a ten day cruise for you and your husband because that's a lot of time to ask people to take off work!

They have a 7 day cruise for $419 per person out of Baltimore going to the Bahamas. But only 2 days are actually spent in the Bahamas.

Maybe I am just being a brat lol.

Thank you again for all of your help!

We found that the 3rd party vendor was cheaper. We are getting married on St Thomas and are using Weddings by Deb. We were able to customize our wedding according to what we wanted - not just a package. We are having a beach reception and then going back to the ship for dinner and dancing. Good Luck!!

$419 is not a bad price at all for 7 days! You could have more friends and family come that way. If one of the stops is Port Canaveral you can go to Disney or Universal Studios and if you are going in off-season it'll be empty

Is there a list, or I pick something? This is included in the reception cost, right?

Is there a list, or I pick something? This is included in the reception cost, right?

You need to contact your coordinator about it. I found that it's not something that they advertise. I only learned about it through these boards. I found what was offered and relayed to her that I wanted it offered.

Like many of you here, I got engaged very recently (4/26!) and immediately started planning my cruise wedding! I was relieved to read through the thread and see some of my same concerns (flowers, how to save space for non-sailing guests, etc.)

We live in South Carolina and are hoping to book our wedding on the Carnival Ecstacy for 2/28/16-3/3/16, leaving from Charleston. I love the idea of getting married in port to allow our older family members to attend.

I've been burning up ETSY looking at silk flowers, bridesmaid dresses, wedding cake toppers, invitations, and other fun things- hopefully once we call Carnival (tomorrow) I'll be able to get some orders started!

Looking forward to continued communication with you ladies, and congratulations to all!!

Alright brides! What are you guys doing for invitations? I have scoured the internets for ideas and i have received some great ones! I am doing the boarding pass style invitations. I wanted to know if you guys were going to do old fashioned RSVPs/ how would you word them or if you will do RSVPS via wedding website?

I am doing traditional invites to save $$- I had priced some others, but couldn't see myself paying upwards of $8 each for specialized invites, especially considering I'll have to spend $1 on stamps for the invite and rsvp! Speaking of rsvp, I'm going with a traditional mail-back style just bc I have a lot of older family members who I don't exactly trust to figure out the website! I am actually doing 2 versions of the rsvp card due to the limits on non-cruising guests with Carnival... friends will get only the options to cruise or decline, while family will get an additional option to attend but not cruise. I'm also adding an enclosure card with cruise booking details... FYI, I'm ordering the invites through Costco and they seem to be a great price, although the styles are slightly limited!

I am doing traditional invites to save $$- I had priced some others, but couldn't see myself paying upwards of $8 each for specialized invites, especially considering I'll have to spend $1 on stamps for the invite and rsvp! Speaking of rsvp, I'm going with a traditional mail-back style just bc I have a lot of older family members who I don't exactly trust to figure out the website! I am actually doing 2 versions of the rsvp card due to the limits on non-cruising guests with Carnival... friends will get only the options to cruise or decline, while family will get an additional option to attend but not cruise. I'm also adding an enclosure card with cruise booking details... FYI, I'm ordering the invites through Costco and they seem to be a great price, although the styles are slightly limited!

Yeah I am creating my own boarding pass invites(hopefully) I will have multiple "passes" with all the different information they need put together with some kind of decorative brad. I didnt want to spend 8$ per invitation!

I added all info about cruising and options with our save the dates. I am finding that the website isn't being utilized.

I have finalized our room blocks. Unfortunately there is a huge convention in New Orleans the weekend of our wedding. Prices are high. I picked one that I've stayed at by the airport and another closer to the port. I thought I wanted one design for our cake but found something else on Etsy. I hope it won't be a problem when I change.

Well I just booked our wedding cruise! We will be getting married on embarkation day on the carnival breeze, sailing May 7, 2016! Yay! I am so excited now that it's all booked :).

We're getting all of our paperwork filled out for the cruise line now- it's exciting, but I did get slightly upset with the additional fee for music at the reception... $275 for their music or $225 to bring our own- I feel like they should just roll that into the package price to begin with so I'm not going to my parents every 10 minutes asking them to charge something else! Ok, end rant [emoji6]

Next on the agenda will be finding a hotel to block rooms- has anyone looked at hotels that offer a park & cruise option? We're leaving from Charleston and I see that available on some of the rooms- think it would come out cheaper than the $17/day charged by the port but not sure