On the Beach or On ship?? Help me decide.

Hey everyone. I'm getting married on the Enchantment of the Seas June 2007. I need to decide if I want to get married on Key West beach (Smather's Beach) or on the ship (there's no chapel). I have pros and cons of both options. What are your thoughts? Anyone get married on the beach?......what about it being too hot and too bright? On the ship?.....lounge not "nice" enough for a ceremony?? I hope you can give me your thoughts. Thanks!:)

While beaches are beautiful, you cant control the weather. Too hot? Too cold? Maybe. Overcast, rainy or beautiful? Maybe...

If you decide beach then I would mentally prepare yourself for the location to change to a lounge on the ship depending on weather.

If it all works out then you will have a beautiful ceremony at an exquisite location!

We decided to do the lounge on the ship due to the fact that, if we chose a beach location, everyone would have to assemble early to get to the wedding location and then travel back to the ship afterwards for the reception. We figured we could have a more relaxed wedding and reception if the furthest anyone had to travel was from their room to the lounge.

We were very pleased with the choice. Royal Caribbeans onboard group coordinator (NOT Royal Romance/ The Wedding Experience's coordinator) did a fantastic job of making all our dreams come true.

The only thing RR/TWE wedding coordinator did was bring the flowers onboard, and then proceed to eat and drink throught my reception! :mad:

Elena, employed by Royal Caribbean, got us pedestals, silk flower arrangements, a balloon arch, extra tables for gifts, favors and the wedding picture. She made sure the tacky curtain behind the stage was covered in a few white tabecloths and put a briday party table, again covered in white table cloths, in front of it.

The wedding and reception was 3 hours total and then everyone was able to get off the ship and enjoy some time in Cabo.

That was imoprtant to us too. We thought, since everyone has paid to go on this vacation, we didnt want to rob them of a chance to enjoy the port of call we got married in.

Hey everyone. I'm getting married on the Enchantment of the Seas June 2007. I need to decide if I want to get married on Key West beach (Smather's Beach) or on the ship (there's no chapel). I have pros and cons of both options. What are your thoughts? Anyone get married on the beach?......what about it being too hot and too bright? On the ship?.....lounge not "nice" enough for a ceremony?? I hope you can give me your thoughts. Thanks!:)

I live in northern FL and it is 97 here today with equal himidity. No way I would plan an outside wedding anytime during the summer months. It is truly miserable here and I cannot even imagine the heat in the southern part of the state.:)

Also, there could be a storm that changes your itinerary completely and then you will be disappointed.

I am getting married in Key West in late November. We chose a garden site with an option in case of rain. And storm season is over so we should be safe but I do realize there are no guarantees. The average KW temps in Nov. are low 70s in the daytime.

If you book it at a port then have to change you will not be able to be married. For that reason I decided that Port was the way for us. Also I didnt want to use a whole port day for he wedding, I want to do it asap so I can relax the rest of the week. MY sister went to Sandals in Jamacia for their 5 yr ann. ( thats where they were married, or beaches??)

Anyways on the 3rd day they played sand volleyball and she went up to hit the ball , landed and boom , she landed funny and tore her ACL ! can you imagine getting hurt and port and hobbling to your wedding. Good luck with whatever you decide!

We're on the Enchantment and getting married in Key West in 17 days! I'll let you know how it goes!

we got married in KW and it was great - but yes, weather can be a contingency; you might choose a venue that has a weather contingency - venue research at the yahoo key west weddings group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/keywestdestinationweddings/

Another thing to consider is how many guests you will have.

Our original plan was to be married on the beach while in port in Key West. But as our guest list grew, so did the cost and hassle of transporting them to the wedding site. It meant wrangling all our guests, departing the ship at the same time and getting them onto two specially hired buses -- then back again. And with 60 people to keep track of, I was convinced someone would miss the boat. With a smaller wedding group, the logisitcs are not nearly so daunting. But it's definitely something to keep in mind.

Since we were in port during the wedding, it felt like we had the ship almost to ourselves. And it worked out very nicely.

dcdiva brings up a good point; when I chose our venue, I picked something close to the ship pier; the Hyatt in Key West was within very easy walking distance, but I also provided cab vouchers for my guests in case they couldn't walk the few blocks.

Im getting married on the beach

I am also deciding between the beach in St Thomas or on board the Crown Princess.

I want to have it on the beach so our pics will be pretty, etc but I am picturing the heat and the sun... I also dont want to use up everyones day in St Thomas. Personally, I would rather be swimming and enjoying the beach that day rather than sweltering out in the hot sun in a wedding dress. Also, where would our reception be? I want it to have a DJ and dancing in AIR COINDIOTIONING! Also, trhe ship only ports from 7-3 in St Thomas and we would have to go to the courthouse and I am afraid time will be too tight... I am thinking the ship is a better choice for me but am worried that the chapel on the Crown is tacky. Has anyone seen it? I saw some nice pics of ceremonies on a deck in the back of the ship... maybe I can have it there...? Feel free to email me everyone sara_rice@hotmail.com

I am also deciding between the beach in St Thomas or on board the Crown Princess.

I want to have it on the beach so our pics will be pretty, etc but I am picturing the heat and the sun... I also dont want to use up everyones day in St Thomas. Personally, I would rather be swimming and enjoying the beach that day rather than sweltering out in the hot sun in a wedding dress. Also, where would our reception be? I want it to have a DJ and dancing in AIR COINDIOTIONING! Also, trhe ship only ports from 7-3 in St Thomas and we would have to go to the courthouse and I am afraid time will be too tight... I am thinking the ship is a better choice for me but am worried that the chapel on the Crown is tacky. Has anyone seen it? I saw some nice pics of ceremonies on a deck in the back of the ship... maybe I can have it there...? Feel free to email me everyone sara_rice@hotmail.com

Traffic in St. Thomas is a mess most all of the time so I think you are right to be concerned.

I have seen the wedding chapel on the Caribbean Princess. It is not tacky but I personally did not like the artificial flowers at all. They were tacky, but not the room itself.