acireta

Sorry for the delay! I don't come on often enough anymore!

He and I did meet up on the boat, in the main level bar, which was empty at 9 AM. One of my friends walked me down and dropped me off. I kind of did an appearance from behind a staircase/elevators and it was a little bit but not too dramatic :-)

He and I got off the boat, found our transportation, went to the courthouse and did pictures together all before the ceremony. I LOVED spending that pre-wedding time with him. He's my best friend, who else would I want to spend my wedding morning with?! It was perfect for us.

Good luck with the decisions ladies!

Originally Posted by Dawn Grobe 

Did you and your husband go with each other from the boat to the courthouse house and then to the ceremony?  I'm just curious if he saw you before you came down the aisle?  I'm also planning my wedding with Janelle...just wondering how you did this. 

 

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Dawn Grobe 

 

Since posting this question I have seen that sometimes couples will pick a spot on the ship for the "first look."  For example - the grand staircase, somewhere on an upper deck, etc.

Originally Posted by CAKnight 

 

Based on your experience of being a cruise bride, what did guests use and what didn't they use? If you could did it again, what would you add?

I would have put more Dramamine! People kept running out and coming to me for more. They used the little fans a lot also. The ladies used the shawls constantly.

I probably would have skipped the playing cards and the sunblock, it wasn't enough for a week and people brought their own. The shotglasses and picks were silly additions, but they meant a lot to us so I would do them again!

I probably put a lot of extra stuff in there that everyone could have lived without, but people loved the bags and they were such a fun project to put together, especially with a small guest list like we had :-)

Joanna, you did a beautiful job!!

I used fabulousbrooch.com alot also. I never even thought to go to Charming Charlie's, but that is a great idea!!

Joanna, you did a beautiful job!!

I used fabulousbrooch.com alot also. I never even thought to go to Charming Charlie's, but that is a great idea!!

Originally Posted by Barash 

 

It looks just great! Amazing job! How much did it cost you in total?

I never did a price breakdown! It was about $100 for all the brooches, about $3/each. It was probably about $100 for all the rest of the supplies (real-touch roses, leaves, wire, tape, ribbon, photo charm). Considering they're $500-600 on Etsy, I saved myself a lot of money! But it was a big project.

Originally Posted by olive0y1 

 

Hello!

 

I know this is old and hopefully you get to read this, but I was wondering, did you book your hair appoitment before you boarded the ship or after?

I made my appointment before getting on the ship. I called Carnival, who put me through to the spa management company, who put me through to three other people. I eventually got to the person who managed my ship's spa and made the appointment. Then I checked in with them the second I got on the boat to confirm appointments. Make them send you email confirmations and bring those emails! :-)

Sign up for their emails on their website, they're constantly sending out promo emails with free stuff! You'll have to pay shipping. Sometimes, I would order duplicates in multiple orders so they'd all be free (such as t-shirts and hats, 1 free per order, pay shipping).

Originally Posted by mthackeray 

How did you get everything from Vistaprint for free?

my husband and his groomsmen wore bouts with short-sleeves and long-sleeves rolled-up. I guess it's all personal preference and what you think looks right! :-)

Even if you just called cabs, it's not that far to the terminal, and would be much easier than dealing with the free shuttle. I guess it depends how many people you have... Just my opinion, it was a hot, stressful morning :-)

Originally Posted by maridr2012 

 

I know I probably will sound really mean for saying this, but...I think nothing irks me more than girls that call their boyfriends "hubby", when they're not married at all.  I've seen a grown trend in this, especially on social networking sites where they'll refer to him as their "hubby"...like not even HUSBAND, but "hubby".  Everytime I see it I want to reply back to their post and call them out on it and be like, "You aren't married, you're not even engaged, and you don't live together so he's not even your common law husband, he's your BOYFRIEND".   lol..Of course I've never done it or ever would actually say that to them.  And I probably sound like I'm being a snob now because I'm engaged and will actually have a husband soon, but I've always hated that, long before I was engaged.

 

Does anybody else feel that way?

 

Oh wait it gets worse.  I actually don't even like the term hubby, even if you are married.  I mean, to each his own. I totally get that its a cute term of endearment and is used when you're actually married.  But I don't think I could ever refer to my husband as "hubby". haha I feel silly even saying it.  

 

I've also noticed some of my friends, close friends mind you, will refer to their husband in conversation with me as "husband".  Like, as if I don't know who their husband is, I've only been calling him by his name for 10 years!  And you've always referred to him by his name, now you're always referring to him as "husband"?  Example, "Well, my husband (pronounced with an emphasis) and I went out to dinner last night, blah blah blah".  Everytime it happens I laugh and call them out on it.  What the heck is this?  Do chicks feel like they need to remind everyone they're married now?  Yes....I know, he's your husband.  I was at your wedding.  I didn't suddenly forget what your relationship status is.  haha it cracks me up each time!  I totally get referring to him as your husband if its someone who you dont know, or are introducing him to someone, etc.  But really? C'mon!  Stop the madness.  lol!

This is hilarious, and I fell the exact same way about all of it. This kid I work with always calls his wife, "my wife," like I haven't met LAUREN 500 times. She has a name and an identity, dammit! I always call him out on it and he laughs, he knows its just a habit he's gotten into

Originally Posted by Lizrmt 

 

Hahahaha I'm so guilty of this, I refer to my FI as hubby all the time! I think part of this is because we're both in our 30's and we do live common-law. I feel childish referring to him as my BF and I actually can't stand the term FI. I find alot of women when referring to their FI do so in a very snobbish way... it erks me! No offense to those that say FI (all the time).

It took me forever to get used to calling him fiance. I dont think I was even used to it when we got married. I always said it with a french accent - accidentally to people I didn't know a few times too! LOL maybe you'll like this article: http://offbeatbride.com/2011/04/the-f-word

Hey just FYI, the legs/arms aren't tattooed anymore. They're all silver now after the 2.0 drydock.

The cabinet lounge is plush but a bit dark. The piano bar is a giant piano. Literally - all black and white, with a spinning piano in the middle. It's not bad, but it's definitely a piano bar. Plus it's a smoking lounge and not very private. The cabinet is probably the most private venue.

You can bring your own photog if you want, you just have to sign a waiver. But I've seen and heard really good things about ships photogs, they usually do a good job, but the prices are high (probably not any higher than bringing your own).

Good luck!

Thanks, Koretta!

Can't believe it's been three months. Crazy. I just met my friend's baby yesterday who was born the day after our wedding (she was supposed to be a bridesmaid but was a little bit busy LOL) and he's HUGE, so it made me realize how quickly three months have flown by!

awesome, Britney! I know you must be relieved!

The big fancy font (the "Paradise" part on the cover, page titles and song lyric on the inside) is called Hawaii Lover :-)

my grammar usage leaves something to be desired today apparently :-)

love it!! these are going to turn out awesome!

absolutely love the second one better also, it just seems more balanced.

Thank you! I hope you find a good one, it made dress shopping so much easier and more pleasant! good luck with your search!!

Originally Posted by shanandcal 

Wow your dress was gorgeous. I am looking for a plus sized bridal shop in the Atlanta Area right now!

Lots of choices! Can't wait to see your finished product, whatever you choose! I'm sure you could sell or use the envelopes, if you end up buying. Hopefully the printing will be affordable and you'll be back in track before you know it. You're still okay as far as timeline goes, so don't stress too much, lady! :-)

Maybe you could use your own envelopes and paper to make attachment cards and just buy the magnets from them? You could probably sell the magnets to another DIY queen!

Originally Posted by MissBubbles205 

 Oh WOW... Those are amazing!!!... I hate I bought all the paper, magnets, and envelopes to DIY my own.. ( I may just have to bite the bullet if I want these nice ones. Thanks for sharing!!!.. )

We went with www.agiftfulheart.com. they weren't cheap but their quality and options were amazing. i know a lot of people use vistaprint and zazzle also. Good luck!!

Some of the black folders were premade from envelopperinc: http://www.envelopperinc.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ENVLPR&Product_Code=FA3125

For the folders that needed to be just a little bigger, I just cut some cardstock and folded the bottom to make a pocket. I used the premade ones as a template. It was a trial and error kind of thing.

The photo release form was for the cruising guests. If they bought photos from the ship's photographers throughout the week, they would need the release to make copies at walgreens or whatever. They didn't have to sign it, it was just for them if they wanted to make copies of pro pics at kinkos or something.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have other questions!

Thanks much! The door hangers are rack cards from Vistaprint, and I used a circle cutter to cut the hole and snipped the side so they'd fit over any door knob.

Originally Posted by Canadian 

I love all your stuff and will be using it for my wedding!! How did you do the door hangers? did you just cut the hole out??

Hi there, Wright doesn't charge fees because (I think) their commissions come from the resorts and vendors they book for you. They are a great company. I worked with Patty, and she was great! The owner of Wright Travel is also the owner of this site.

From my experience, the bad agents charge fees up-front and the reputable ones recieve their commissions from the resorts and cruiselines, etc. That was my small, terrible experience though, that may not be the industry standard.

Here's some reviews: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/wright-travel-agency-destination-wedding-and-honeymoon-specialists

I'm trying to play around with the packing list and print it. How did you print yours? I've tried to upload to vista print on a rack card but I can't get the dimensions right. Can you help?

I agree with Speckles, it was a little weird being a destinatin bride. But if I did it again, I would set up an email specifically for the show and use a fake phone number. You will get so much spam after those shows it's not even funny!