Back from Enchantment Cruise Wedding

[scottishflower]

We were married Tues Feb 28 in Key West, the first of three port stops on our 5 day itin (Coz & Belize also) and it was simply amazing. We had 30-ish of our sailing guests attend and they had a great time as well. So beautiful, memorable, fun, etc. My only regret is that it all went by so quickly, oh, and that I had to return home to the snow and cold (ech!)

 

Anyhow, I posted a vendor review at the Yahoo Key West weddings board, if anyone is interested - but I wont post those details here because they are not really cruise ship related. The link to the group is:

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

 

I am really happy with my decision NOT to use Royal Romance, and coordinate it in Key West on my own (with a little help from Hyatt coordinator and a lot of help from the Yahoo group mentioned above). I truly had the best vendors Key West has to offer, our own, self-written wedding ceremony with readings from Walt Whitman, ee cummings and some Celtic flair thrown in; an amazing photgrapher who got great candid shots of us all over the place (not just the posed stuff), a talented stylist who has worked all over the world, a harpist with great talent and timing, and a beautiful little private beach and palm-tree venue. I wanted personal and unique, and not a last minute "here's what your wedding is going to be" package.

 

What helped? The weather cooperated, it was beautiful, so no rain contingencies hampered things. We were in Ft Lauderdale for a couple of days early to get our marriage license, and being from out of state, made that process a snap. It also helped that I chose a venue (Hyatt) close to port for easy access for my guests.

 

It also helped that our cruise itinerary was a standard routine for RCCL, so little chance of last minute port surprises, and not during hurricane season, which could have put me in a real jam.

 

We parasailed in Cozumel, did snuba in Belize and loved almost every part of the cruise (except the night they encouraged us to do the Macarena in the dining room - this alone gives me reason to reconsider another cruise on RCCL).

 

A few other thoughts:

- getting a marriage license at a major county courthouse and pressed for time? get there early - long security lines can form.

- We packed OOT bags in a large box with handles (PC box) and checked it as luggage; we boarded early and delivered them to each room (we found an attendant in each room area to help us access the rooms; with 15 total, it ended up being pretty easy)

- get a suite if you can; we felt so special and pampered, and met great people in the concierge club, a suite perk

- it was easy to disembark in Key West early in the morning; no lines to get off early (did some waiting to get back on though)

- tendering in Coz was a pain; must have been nicer with piers

- hotels in Ft Lauderdale are not great for the high prices

- Ft Lauderdale airport was a ridiculous zoo with very cranky workers; I will avoid FLL like the plague in the future.

 

This is all I can think of right now, but I wish you all good luck in your wedding and honeymoon planning, enjoy it, it all goes by too quickly!!

[scottishflower]

Oops! Almost forgot to mention that we had a lovely cocktail reception in the Royal Viking Lounge, which had great views of the pool and deck. We did drinks, appetizers, and we hired their sound tech to play CDs I made (no DJ). The service was outstanding and everyone enjoyed themselves. No complaints there!

[stevesgirl1111]

Congratulations! I am so glad that everything went well for you! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I hope that my wedding goes as well as yours did:)

[scottishflower]

Thanks - can't wait to hear about yours!

 

In the end, it's such a happy occassion, all the little stress details fly out the window, and you just get to feel the love from your family, friends and most importantly, the love of your life. It's bliss :)