Disney Cruise Brides!!! Part Deux!!

[Evi]

Welcome back Willow. Its always nice to hear from experienced cruise brides.

Evilqueen, I'm not sure about an aisle runner. Its my understanding that the aisle is very short. I think an experienced cruise bride or your planner maybe able to answer that though.

 

[1EvilQueenfan]

Evilqueen, I'm not sure about an aisle runner. Its my understanding that the aisle is very short. I think an experienced cruise bride or your planner maybe able to answer that though.

Evi, thanks for the advice

 

[DisneyWillow1975]

Hi Everyone!

Well, it seems as though my DF and I are finally going to tie the knot!! We will be getting married on-board the Disney Dream, in February of 2014. My immediate family lives in Indiana and his in New Hampshire, so I thought the best thing to do for our families would be to assemble a newsletter. I have started doing some research and looked at some of the other brides' newsletters to get ideas, but the font is so small on most of them that you cannot tell what people have included. I am lost and overwhelmed at the same time as to format/layout as well as what information to include for our families and friends. PLEASE HELP! Thanks so much

Hi! I did both a newsletter and a website for our wedding. I tried to include basic information on the newsletter for cruise and WDW newbies. I focused on transportation (to/from MCO, WDW, and DCL), the advantages of staying onsite at WDW (we did a welcome dinner at California Grill the night before the cruise), WDW tickets, cruise FAQs(dress code, tipping, pre-booking Palo, spa,and shore excursions, dining rotations, etc.), the cruise itinerary, and offered a few suggestions on possible group activities. I can try to find a copy and scan it, if you are interested. To be honest, I didn't feel like our guests really paid attention to anything in the newsletter or in subsequent informational packets, either. Everyone kind of did their own thing, which worked out for the most part. We had issues with some of DH's family, because they didn't want to read anything I prepared or talk about things, but then expected us to be their tour guides for the entire vacation. They were pretty frustrated that they weren't included in our group Palo reservations, even though we'd asked them repeatedly and they just never replied. Same with the basic dining rotation/events. We provided copies of the dining rotation and events like formal night, pirate night, and semi-formal night, but they didn't pay any attention to it. On formal night, DH's dad and stepmom were upset that they didn't pack any nice clothing and blamed us for not telling them. We didn't let it get to us and just rolled with it. Even with the family drama (and there was more of it than I had expected), it was still an amazing vacation and wedding, and I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[tellemarie]

Tellemarie, Congratulations on your engagement as well as your wedding on the Disney Dream. Are you getting married Feb 2014 or Feb 2013?

I had planned on sending the newsletters out with the save the dates and 'follow-up' one in between invitations just to see where everyone is at with planning and maybe a pre-rsvp. Thanks for the help, btw.

I'm getting married Feb 2014! We'll be on the 6-9th sailing

That sounds like a really good idea, trying to keep everyone on track! I'm going to be sending out our save the dates Feb 6th and after that...I have no idea. I've seen people sending out invites at such differing times I don't know what to do!

 

[tellemarie]

Welcome!

Congrats on booking your DCL wedding!!! I was an onboard bride married at Nassau! (When I see commercials for Atlantis on Paradise Island, I always say... I got married near that!!!) I honestly think that being on a cruise is an easy way for your guests to be in one place- and it costs a lot, but you have to remember that a cruise is your hotel, your food, your entertainment, your transportation... It's all-in-one! I got great feedback from my guests and it was a very memorable occasion!

I worked on my welcome bags for MONTHS! I have tons of posts about what I put into my bags, a lot of which was homemade (I'm a crafting nerd) and I also found a TON of nautical themed items from the Dollar Spot at Target last year! Here's a list of what I put in my bags- a clear zip baggie that had 2 Disney band-aids, 1-time use polysporin, 2 individually wrapped hand wipes, and 1-time use sunscreen. I made two types of Mickey soaps- one in the silhouette shape of Mickey, and one that had a Mickey face embedded into an oval soap. (Some of the DIS brides were envious and I wound up making soaps as favors for 2 other events, too!), I got post-it notes and made a post-it note cover with shimmery cardstock paper and a custom logo made by a DISigner. I made personalized magnetic Disney character nametags for each of my guests doors as well as an "I'm here for Jillian & Michael's Wedding" from another DISigner. I put in WDW pens (I have a gazillion accumulated from over the years!) and some nautical pens and a nautical themed pad of paper, I made vials of Pixie Dust, I ordered personalized matchbooks (theknot.com), Ring-pop candies, chapstick/lip balm...

I think that's about everything... I had tons of other ideas, but you can only do so much, right? I wish I'd spent more time on a welcome letter to put in the favor bags with a personalized itinerary on when our group planned to meet in which places. I also wish I'd spent more time working on an index of our guests with their room numbers for easy access for the Wave Phones.

As for newsletters (and more welcome favor bags) check out Ginger's PJ- her newsletter that she posted was GORGEOUS! I only sent out text only e-mails to all of my guests with information that I thought would be useful and relevant. I also started a wedding blog (which I did not update NEARLY as often as my PJ!) and I made a page on facebook for our wedding cruise. We used those 3 forms of communication to spread the news around!

Anyways, CONGRATS again! My wedding was onboard (although in the D-Lounge b/c of my large group) and I posted about all sorts of subjects in my planning journal and there's tons of photos in the trip report at the end. Check it out if you get the time! Good luck in your planning!!!

I've been reading your PJ!! I actually am really thinking of including things like a magnet for the door (I need to figure out how to make it/how I want it to look) and I reeeeally loved the idea for doing soaps in wedding colors, I may try to make some of my own (however, if it pans out like I think it will you might be getting a PM from me soon ).

I probably have TOO MANY spreadsheets. I've got spaces already for confirmation numbers AND room numbers, plus I have separate sheets for the budget, to do, ideas, a detailed to do...so many sheets!!

I will definitely be keeping some of your photos in mind for my photographer, you had some amazing shots!!

 

[stl_figment]

Although we didnt send out a newsletter. We included some of the traditional newsletter things in our passport invite. By the time we mailed them we already knew who was coming so we used them as both an official invitation and as a newsletter for some basic cruise information. I believe pictures are in my pj.

 

[drummergirl]

You dont really need an aisle runner! The aisle for the onboard ceremonies is SO short, it just doesn't make sense. Besides, it's one less thing you would have to worry about carrying on and then bringing home.

 

[drummergirl]

I know some brides in the old thread were able to get some color added on to the standard cakes and wanted to see if any more recent brides were able to get the same done! I love the Touch of Whimsy cake but it's SO BORING in just white!

I've done a lot of research and they changed the cakes to plain white to keep things consistant. Your "pink" and the ship's "pink" are usually two different pinks. Then you would be unhappy with the ship's pink. With everything kept the same color, there are no issues.

 

[drummergirl]

Afternoon ladies!!
I'm all caught up with your chatting and photos now thankfully ... I have borrowed a few of the photos for my Pinterest board so I can share with my photographer friend. Some of the ideas are lovely and I hope we can have them re-created.

Mick and I were lucky enough to be on the Fantasy in October (the week before Sandy!) and I spoke to the on board co-ordinator about the problem I have with sand (Want CC wedding, but not on sand as allergic).

She said she didn't think it would be an issue at all, the only problem with other locations is the supply of electricity for the keyboard. But as we would like to use the wooden jetty by the Heads Up bar, it should all be fine as the bar has electricity. It also has cocktails and we sampled those for test purposes! Mick has said that he will have one waiting for me if we do manage to have our ceremony there!

Been great reading everyones updates and looking at the photos ... congrats to all. Less than 3 years to go for me now (yawn yawn)

I have a question for you...if you are allergic to sand, then why do you want a Beach wedding? Also, you cant count on what someone onboard has told you. They don't make the decisions. And more to the fact, that person you spoke with may not be there the next time. I know they used to have ceremonies at the Head's Up bar, but discontinued them a few years ago when the construction for that water play area started. The beach ceremonies take place in the sand, at the end of the beach that faces the ship.

 

[1EvilQueenfan]

You dont really need an aisle runner! The aisle for the onboard ceremonies is SO short, it just doesn't make sense. Besides, it's one less thing you would have to worry about carrying on and then bringing home.

Thanks for the advice! I'll save my money !

 

[JBeanBunny]

I posted about this in the facebook group, but in case you're not part of that group yet....

I was just asked tonight if I want to be recorded for an episode of the Disney Wedding Podcast! Carrie thinks, "your event is great inspiration for anyone considering a DCL wedding." :-D A little bit scary, but still exciting!

I've been reading your PJ!! I actually am really thinking of including things like a magnet for the door (I need to figure out how to make it/how I want it to look) and I reeeeally loved the idea for doing soaps in wedding colors, I may try to make some of my own (however, if it pans out like I think it will you might be getting a PM from me soon ).

I probably have TOO MANY spreadsheets. I've got spaces already for confirmation numbers AND room numbers, plus I have separate sheets for the budget, to do, ideas, a detailed to do...so many sheets!!

I will definitely be keeping some of your photos in mind for my photographer, you had some amazing shots!!

The magnets were something so fun and it was an easy way to identify where your guests were staying when wandering through the halls! (Though some people are mean and steal magnets... somebody stole my flower girls' magnets ) The way I did mine ended up being EXPENSIVE! Granted that I made one for each guest plus an additional one for each room, PLUS I made about 15-20 for our own door! The way I made them was by printing the image onto card stock (2-3 per page) laminating the cardstock paper, then I cut them out by hand and affixed the sticky-backed magnets. I just got a roll of magnet and cut it to the size I needed. I did this all at Kinkos and probably spent $150 in the end... ouch!

Making soap is SO much fun, but it's a LOT of time and money to start up a new craft... as a creative/crafty person, I used my wedding as ANY excuse to pick up a new project (JoAnn's and Pinterest were the death of me!) and the soaping one, in particular, has cost me a lot of money in the end! Granted, it's something I enjoy doing and I use all of my own soaps when I shower! I'd be happy to give you tips about starting up a new hobby (I use brambleberry.com for all of my supplies, even though shipping costs are atrocious because they're in Washington state and I live in Florida!) or I would be happy to assist you by making soaps for you. I've got 3 weddings worth of Mickey soaps under my belt Just keep me posted! I'm always itching to have an excuse to make more soap! I can also make lip balm favors or bath salt favors or pixie dust favors- I found the most adorable little glass bottles with cork stoppers that I've filled with pixie dust, and I tied a ribbon bow around the neck and put the "Pixie Dust" stickers on the bottom like I did for my wedding... To be honest, my new version of Pixie dust kicks the butt of the pixie dust I gave away at my wedding! Keep me posted! I haven't had a lot of time to develop my Etsy but I hope to do some updates soon! Feel free to PM me whenever!

I love that you're a gal of many spreadsheets! When I started making my spreadsheets I felt so accomplished and organized! And please feel free to use any of my shots for inspiration! I had SUCH a hard time finding photos for MY inspiration on DCL, that's why I left a link to ALL of my photos so it would be available as a resource to future DCL brides! Maybe it'll even convince a few to book one! Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[1EvilQueenfan]

I posted about this in the facebook group, but in case you're not part of that group yet....

I was just asked tonight if I want to be recorded for an episode of the Disney Wedding Podcast! Carrie thinks, "your event is great inspiration for anyone considering a DCL wedding." :-D A little bit scary, but still exciting!

Yay! Jillian that is SO exciting. Thanks for posting it here, I'm not on Facebook. I can't wait to hear it. We are definitely going with the cruise wedding, we just need to book it!

 

[JBeanBunny]

Yay! Jillian that is SO exciting. Thanks for posting it here, I'm not on Facebook. I can't wait to hear it. We are definitely going with the cruise wedding, we just need to book it!

I'm very excited for you!!! Let the planning begin!!!

On a side note, I just booked a cruise for 02/11/13-02/16/13 on the Wonder heading to Grand Cayman and Cozumel with 2 days at sea! I love this itinerary (I don't even think I'll miss CC, honestly!) I'm going with my DM and DH and we booked a Tequila & Tacos shore excursion in Cozumel (Valentines day!) and we booked Stingray City for Grand Cayman! It's nice to plan a cruise entirely for the purpose of ENJOYING ourselves instead of all of that entertaining friends & family then having all of that wedding stress The wedding cruise was WONDERFUL but we didn't have any time to do any relaxing!

 

[Evi]

Super excited for you Jillian. Can't wait for a future planning session I mean review lol. I so want to do that itinerary hehe.


EvilQueen: Though the aisle is short you do have the option of flower petals or they have a package of conch shells and palm leaves.

http://disneyweddingsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Korri-with-Buddy-and-Lisa-2-520x344.jpg

I believe you can bring silk petals as I've heard other Brides have done this.

I'm sure it will be beautiful with or without. =)

 

[JBeanBunny]

Super excited for you Jillian. Can't wait for a future planning session I mean review lol. I so want to do that itinerary hehe.


EvilQueen: Though the aisle is short you do have the option of flower petals or they have a package of conch shells and palm leaves.

http://disneyweddingsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Korri-with-Buddy-and-Lisa-2-520x344.jpg

I believe you can bring silk petals as I've heard other Brides have done this.

I'm sure it will be beautiful with or without. =)

I brought silk petals for my flower girls to throw! Just a tip, if you do this, PRACTICE throwing petals with your flower girls! Apparently mine didn't start throwing petals until almost the end of the aisle!

 

[wiigirl]

I brought silk petals for my flower girls to throw! Just a tip, if you do this, PRACTICE throwing petals with your flower girls! Apparently mine didn't start throwing petals until almost the end of the aisle!

x2 on this. I don't think my flower girls threw any!

 

[tellemarie]

Just in case anyone was interested, it looks like Disney Fine Art Photography changed (aka raised) the rates for the Bridal Portraits (both Magic Kingdom and the other parks).

Previously the MK alone was $1500, two parks $1700, now it's $1700 for the MK, $2000 for two!

http://www.disneyeventphotography.com/brochures/Bridal_Portraits_2014.pdf

 

[tellemarie]

I posted about this in the facebook group, but in case you're not part of that group yet....

I was just asked tonight if I want to be recorded for an episode of the Disney Wedding Podcast! Carrie thinks, "your event is great inspiration for anyone considering a DCL wedding." :-D A little bit scary, but still exciting!


The magnets were something so fun and it was an easy way to identify where your guests were staying when wandering through the halls! (Though some people are mean and steal magnets... somebody stole my flower girls' magnets ) The way I did mine ended up being EXPENSIVE! Granted that I made one for each guest plus an additional one for each room, PLUS I made about 15-20 for our own door! The way I made them was by printing the image onto card stock (2-3 per page) laminating the cardstock paper, then I cut them out by hand and affixed the sticky-backed magnets. I just got a roll of magnet and cut it to the size I needed. I did this all at Kinkos and probably spent $150 in the end... ouch!

Making soap is SO much fun, but it's a LOT of time and money to start up a new craft... as a creative/crafty person, I used my wedding as ANY excuse to pick up a new project (JoAnn's and Pinterest were the death of me!) and the soaping one, in particular, has cost me a lot of money in the end! Granted, it's something I enjoy doing and I use all of my own soaps when I shower! I'd be happy to give you tips about starting up a new hobby (I use brambleberry.com for all of my supplies, even though shipping costs are atrocious because they're in Washington state and I live in Florida!) or I would be happy to assist you by making soaps for you. I've got 3 weddings worth of Mickey soaps under my belt Just keep me posted! I'm always itching to have an excuse to make more soap! I can also make lip balm favors or bath salt favors or pixie dust favors- I found the most adorable little glass bottles with cork stoppers that I've filled with pixie dust, and I tied a ribbon bow around the neck and put the "Pixie Dust" stickers on the bottom like I did for my wedding... To be honest, my new version of Pixie dust kicks the butt of the pixie dust I gave away at my wedding! Keep me posted! I haven't had a lot of time to develop my Etsy but I hope to do some updates soon! Feel free to PM me whenever!

I love that you're a gal of many spreadsheets! When I started making my spreadsheets I felt so accomplished and organized! And please feel free to use any of my shots for inspiration! I had SUCH a hard time finding photos for MY inspiration on DCL, that's why I left a link to ALL of my photos so it would be available as a resource to future DCL brides! Maybe it'll even convince a few to book one! Let me know if you have any questions!

Congrats on being asked! That'll be so much fun, I'm sure!!

The magnets sound like they'd be a fun (albeit intense, haha) process! I'm probably just going to make one per stateroom, but I'm honestly not sure how I'll present them/what they'll say. Glad I've got a little over a year to figure that out!

PINTEREST IS MY DOWNFALL I will fall down a very dark hole of finding amazing recipes (I went from about 53 recipes to try to around 80 in ONE DAY) so I know exactly how you feel! I'm pretty crafty myself but haven't had the time, but recently my schedule changed so I'm thinking that I might try to get back into the "craft scene" and soaps might be a good start, especially since they'll have a purpose. However, like I said, we'll see how much my resolution to craft holds out...it is very close to New Year's resolutions after all I know I want to make something for the wedding, but I might just end up sticking with what I'm good at - design and ideas!!

I just counted and I have NINE spreadsheets just in my wedding doc...this isn't including any extras that I have for the honeymoon, different sections of the sheets, I think I might have a problem

 

[Bellhop Brittany]

Newly Engaged...ready to plan a Disney Cruise Line Wedding.
Hey All! I am so excited to see this thread. I am newly engaged and really interested in planning a DCL wedding but am a little lost.

My fiancé and I have only been engaged for a month but I am super psyched and want to get a move on. First if you want to know our engagement story, my fiancé really out did himself. We checked into The Wilderness Lodge and received a letter in our check-in package stating that we were randomly selected to be the Flag Family of the Day. As the Flag Family of the Day we had the privilege of raising the flags atop of the Wilderness Lodge. The "Ranger" of the Wilderness Lodge gave out the flags to my fiancé, best friend, and myself. We each raised a different flag. I was told that I would be raising the Disney Vacation Club flag. In fact the flag that I raised said "Brittany, will you marry me?" My fiancé and I met through working for the Disney Vacation Club it was only appropriate that he propose this way. I was so shocked I said "Oh my god" seventeen times in the video footage of the proposal. It was pretty hysterical.

Anyways, I am asking does anyone have any suggestions as to the first steps I should take towards planning a DCL wedding. My fiancé and I are thinking the Disney Dream, 4 nights.

We would like to get married aboard the ship and if possible have our guests eat in Palo together that night. Does anyone know, is it completely impossible to have a large group eat in Palo together?

Did anyone do something other than the Disney transfer from WDW to Port Canaveral?

Excited to hear back from everyone!

 

[dclwonderprincess]

I love your proposal story, so sweet! I would suggest you check out the wedding options, on board vs castaway cay. I'm doing a 4 day Bohemian cruise and I personally think 4 days will be perfect amount of time to spend w/family & friends.