This thread is turning out to be a real lifesaver. I have another question.
Shane and I have started looking at our guest list. How have you guys whittled down your lists?
We have about 40 people we want at the wedding for sure (and have verbally told us they're coming), another 50 we would like to invite but aren't sure if they would cruise or not, and 40 more that we'd like to invite to a reception back home.
Should we just invite all 130 guests to the cruise and reception, both? Or do we send invitations to the cruise to the 90 and send a separate reception-only invite to the other 40?
I have a feeling I'll be reading a lot of planning journals to find out how other couples have dealt with this issue. This is stressful!
Thanks in advance,
Diana
I'll be honest- I didn't know who to invite! I had a guest list for a regular wedding that was near 100-120. My mom didn't think many people would come on the cruise (to pay their travel to florida, then to pay for the cruise) so she told me to invite everybody! I sent out 50 invitations (assuming that at least 2 would be coming with each invitation) and I was surprised by the amount of friends and family that were able to come! we had 47 in our party, which means 45 guests. We were too large for the Outlook or the balcony by the Meridian Bar on deck 12, so they set up a space for us in D-Lounge. I was NOT pleased with this response, but they transformed it to a gorgeous space.
Of course, with all wedding invites comes prioritizing. It sounds awful to "categorize" your family and friends, but when I was planning, I was told to make an "A" list, a "B" list, and a "C" list. Mail out all of your A invites and see how many RSVP's you get! Then if enough say "no" you can send out your "B" list, then if you still have space, you can move onto your "C" list. Then for your at home reception, I'd say invite everybody you can to get more gifts
I mailed my invitations out nearly 1 year in advance to give my party time to save up and book the cruise, and most of my guests were booked within the first few months. I only had a few late joiners. Also, keep in mind what time of year you are sailing! Are you going during the slow or busy season? I booked slow season (working in the tourist business, myself!
) and I still sent out invites early to make sure everybody could book the category of room that they were comfortable. The longer you wait, typically the more expensive the rooms get.
I also highly recommend starting a google document- make an RSVP spreadsheet and give the link to those who you invite- then have your guests RSVP "Yes" or "No" in one column, then add all of their information: Full Names of all guests attending, Cruise Confirmation #, Room #, Cell #, Home address. This information will all become useful along your journey! ESPECIALLY their confirmation #'s because you will need those to link your party together!!! You'll also want to make a list of guests and what rooms they are in so you can distribute lists to your guests so they call call each other on the wave phones while onboard! Ginger had a wonderful notion to have the "guys" take the Wave phone #1 and the "gals" take the wave phone #2 to make it easier to reach your contact! The phone number to each wave phone is the room number plus 1 or 2 depending on which phone you have. If you're in room 7076, your wave phones will be 70761 and 70762
Wow, I might have gone on a tangent there! Whoops! You can leave some of that as food for thought at a later point! If you need any tips or pointers, let me know! haha
There is a cap on guest count for ceremony. I'm not sure what it is but I would check with your planner for max guest cap for onboard and castaway cay.
I don't think they could or would actually limit you on your guests. (They may say it, but I don't think they would enforce it) I know that certain venues can't exceed a certain amount, but when I told my planner (back when it was Shanda) she didn't mention any problem to me inviting more than 100 people. Generally speaking, the bottom line with Disney is this: if there's money to be made, they'll make it work. I had 47 in my party, much larger than they usually get, and they just moved my large party into a larger venue! They created the lovely space in D Lounge- and they arranged it in a way that they had never done before! To be safe, you can always ask your wedding planner, of course. But to me, it makes NO sense to set a limit on your guest count!
Has anyone done or planning a wedding on DCL out of Galveston? We are planning a 11/13 wedding on the Wonder out of there. It will be a second wedding for both of us and it will just be us and our 6 kids. Any advice or tips would be appreciated! 
