Cruise wedding

[jennyl772003]

I got married July 4th on Castaway Cay and it was wonderful. I know I had a hard time finding anyone who had done this, so I thought I would put out the word for anyone who might be thinking about it! So if you have any ?'s, just ask!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

Where did they perform the ceremony? Was it just the two of you, or did some family/friends join you? Would you recommend it? Of course I need to find the guy first......

 

[nghtangl01]

We are getting married this November on Castaway Cay. Would love to hear any information that you would like to share.

 

[jennyl772003]

We were married on Castaway Cay on the pier by the Heads up bar (I think that is what it was called). They also offer an indoor ceremony in Sessions on the day at sea before Castaway Cay I heard. We had my parents, brother and sister, and my son, and my husbands parents come with us. I would recommend it 100%!!!!!!!! The morning of the wedding I went for my hair appointment, and then got dresed. The guys took a stretch golf cart over to the site first, and after I was ready we went. The cart was all decorated with flowers and a just married sighn, and they take you all the way accross the island on it. I felt like I was in a one float parade. The ceremony was nice, performed by a very nice minister. Flowers were provided for my bouquet and my husbands boutinner(I know I spelt it wrong!) It was all very nice and Disney pampered us the whole cruise woth little extras. If you have any more specific ?'s, ask away! I would love to talk about it!

 

[justmestace]

My daughter will be married on CC on Sept 16th, and I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.
Was it really really hot during the ceremony? Was there any shade, or chairs? Did you do any decorating?
How was the reception? Nice, very nice, wonderful, or so-so?
Who did you meet with onboard to do the co-ordinating? We are meeting with Brent. They told us we board, have lunch, then meet Brent for the civil ceremony....was this back out in the terminal? Did you feel rushed that day?
Where did you eat lunch after the reception? How much time did they give you for the reception? And, last....(thank goodness) did you have time to do anything at Castaway Cay afterward?
Oh, sorry, I lied....one more....did you have a day at sea to look through all of your pictures?
Thanks so much for your help!!!

 

[nghtangl01]

I have heard that the indoor ceremony at Sessions is for Vow Renewals.


How was the conceirge service? What cabin category did you stay in? What time was your hair appointment? I am planning on getting my hair done to. Did you have enough time after the hair to put on your makeup? Did you get to keep your bouquet or were you not allowed to bring it back into the states?

I may have more questions but I completely lost my train of thought.

 

[jennyl772003]

We did not do any decorating, and I would think there would not be enough time. The ceremony was at 10 am and we arrrived at CC while I was getting my hair done. Someone will come in early to do your hair for you however. Our on board coordinator was Dannielle. Yes the first day was very hectic!!!! we boarded, ate lunch, met the concierge team and made all of our ressies in Sessions, went off board to have the civil ceremony, came back on board and it was time to get ready for dinner!!!! It was quite hot, my dress had a halter top, but the guys were sweltering in the tuxes. There is a little shade. We purchased a photo package, so they took us around the island and that was hot, too. Of course we went July, so that might depend somewhat on what time of year you go. Another option is to do the ceremony in Sessions. All the litereature says it's for renewals, but we found out on board you can also get married this way. Another couple did just that when we were on board. The crew seems to think the island wedding is better however. After the ceremony we did pictures and then went to Sessions for cake and champagne. We were not rushed, but we kinda wanted to go swimming, so we did not linger long. The cake was beautiful. If anyone saw the special on the Food Channel (I think) about Disney food, that is the same kind of cake they make for you. It was much to large for us! You also cannot bring it back with you, although they will serve it again for you at dinner. We were allowed to take my flowers off the ship. By the time I had pulled all of the pins from my hair and changed, we did not have much time to enjoy the island. We ate our lunch at the BBQ. We stayed in cabin 6960. The concierge service was very nice as we did not have to dash once onboard to make ressies (we would not have had time!) Our pictures arrived the very same night to look through. We did not have a day at sea to look through them as there were not any days at sea after the ceremony. We had no problem going through them and picking in the time we had. They came back to us hours after the ceremony, before we left for dinner. All in all I enjoyed it very much. So much so, that we have booked again for next year (although we will not be getting married this time!) If I missed any ?'s, just ask again!

 

[sd_carlson]

I'm thinking about having our wedding on CC and would love to hear other experiences/suggestions. I saw where they will do hair-what about makeup and such?
Thanks!

 

[justmestace]

We were on the Sept 14-18th Wonder for my daughter's wedding, and it was wonderful. They had switched the stops at the last minute because of Hurricane Isabel....we sailed Sunday & went to CC & had the wedding on Monday, instead of Tuesday. We were just glad to have the wedding on the island, as we'd been worried about not getting there at all.
The girls had their hair done at the salon at 8 a.m. and had plenty of time to get ready. There is no one to do makeup, so my daughter had gone to 3 different people here before the wedding for tips and to practice doing her own. The best tip was to make sure you have the blotting papers that soak up oil & shine, but don't smear your makeup.
Her reception was at Palo, and they also served us the top of the cake at our Palo dinner later in the cruise. The picture package prices had gone up since we reserved her wedding, but it was still a bargain, they even put them in an album for you.
We had a lot of decorations for the ceremony site and for the reception. I went up to help decorate at Palo, but Disney did the ones at the ceremony. I had taken two of the boxes that you buy (flat) and open up & pack. I put the ceremony stuff in one, with instructions on how I wanted the flowers set up, etc. and did the same for the reception. They did a great job.
We spent quite a long time at the reception, as there were 20 of us, and we took a lot of pictures, etc. We still had time to go to Parrot Cay (onboard) for lunch, and then went swimming at Serenity Bay, and also did 2 runs on the Banana Boats. The bride & groom went parasailing. So, you will have time to enjoy the island also.
I would recommend the cruise wedding over the park wedding any time (I've seen park weddings at DW and DL). The island setting, and the water..it was so beautiful. And the cruise staff treated our whole group like royalty! The bride & groom had a navigator's verandah, but were upgraded to a family suite w/verandah when we boarded. My family (DH, DD13, DS10) was upgraded from a one bedroom suite to a two bedroom.
Our wedding co-ordinator bent over backward to make sure everything was perfect, and it was! Even the day before the cruise, the co-ordinators called me, and I could call them directly any time I had a question, and they were patient & very prompt about calling back. It was like having a direct line to DCL. If I weren't already married, I would definitely get married on the cruise! I hope they are still offering this when the time comes for my 13 year old!

 

[ennazus]

went off board to have the civil ceremony, came back on board and it was time to get ready for dinner!!!!

I'm not familar with 'wedding/marriage' laws.... why did you have to go off the ship and why did you have to have a civil service?

BTW Congratulations!!

 

[jennyl772003]

I believe the reason for this is because the ship is registered in the Bahamas, so in order to be married in the US, you need to go off the ship. Castaway Cay is also a Bahamian Island. My marriage lisence is a FL license. We knew that we would be legally married right away at the terminal, so it really wasn't that big of a deal for us. Disney goes through a service to get the paper work in order before hand, so our lisence was in FL before we were and had been completed by everyone. The only people who signed it at the civil ceremony were the witnesses (which Disney can provide)

 

[jgalecpa]

BD,

Having grown up with a lot of boats in my family, we were always told (or told the "mates" to be) that shipboard marriages were only valid for the duration of the voyage.

Maybe you should have gotten married at sea?!?



Jim

 

[Keggy]

I was married on Castaway Cay last December. We loved it! Our onboard coordinator was Maria and she was fabulous. Our Faiy Tale Wedding coordinator was awful. We are so glad we went with the cruise!

Kelly

 

[ChattyKathy]

Well, lets see here, I think I'll get married while at CC...But, Mickey just isn't returning my phone calls lately, hmmmmm
If anyone knows where he's been, tell him I have been trying to contact him.... *wink, wink*




Kath

 

[rosemary123]

Originally posted by Keggy
I was married on Castaway Cay last December. We loved it! Our onboard coordinator was Maria and she was fabulous. Our Faiy Tale Wedding coordinator was awful. We are so glad we went with the cruise!

Kelly

Hi there,

Just wondered who your Fairy tale Wedding Coordinator was?

 

[rae519]

WE were at a indoor DCL wedding (Sessions) - with photographer, live piano, cake, strawberries, gifts, etc, etc. It was remarkable! And guess what - the weather didn't play any part in it!

Thank you to Matthew and Corinna for inviting us to join with them on their big day! God's blessings to you!


Rae

 

[natdencro]

Just wondered what happens if the Magic/Wonder is unable to dock at CC due to weather conditions? This happens several times a year. Guess the wedding is done onboard?

We saw a couple of wedding parties on the Magic, after people had married in Key West: apparantly that is also a favourite place to marry. Nat

 

[nghtangl01]

We just came back from a fantastic wedding on Castaway Cay.

Just a little info there has only been one wedding that had to moved to somewhere on the boat because the boat could not dock at CC. Another word of advice there was a total of three wedding aboard our cruise. There is only ONE wedding on Castaway Cay per trip (of course that was ours). The other two weddings were performed the day before at sea. But I will never give up the wedding at CC for anything else. It is so magical and romantic. We are getting ready to book another cruise would have booked on the boat but there are not booking for when we can go.