Elope on board?

[chik1987]

Not sure they will do an "unofficial" wedding if you haven't been married prior. I know when you book a DCL wedding, you have to be married before getting on the ship. The "wedding" onboard or on Castaway Cay isn't an official one. It's only for show.

Yea and not to mention they normally charge $3K minimum for a 15 min ceremony and a 45 min reception I doubt they would be willing to do that for free.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Yea and not to mention they normally charge $3K minimum for a 15 min ceremony and a 45 min reception I doubt they would be willing to do that for free.

What ever you decide......Best Wishes for a long happy life!

AKK

 

[chik1987]

What ever you decide......Best Wishes for a long happy life!

AKK

Im not the OP

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

If your just wanting something for show why not just have a someone random on the ship go through the motions of the ceremony?

Im not the OP

opps......my error,

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Has anyone ever eloped on a Disney cruise? My fiancé and I have always talked about eloping, we recently discussed if it was possible to do while on our upcoming cruise. We are really just looking for an officiant. Any advice?

Well, what ever you decide to do..........Best Wishes and a happy life together.


AKK

 

[MUN]

Hey guys, let's keep this thread on topic of helping the OP get married. There is no need to hash out opinions on lawyers here. Thanks!

Thanks! Rude behavior and trying to start arguments should not be tolerated on this forum. It's not just against Disboard rules, it's also common courtesy.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

I have to agree with the others, it's best you get married in Florida before or along the way. It's easy and painless to get the paperwork out of the way (We were married in Disney and our courthouse trip was only a few minutes long as it was during the week!). The captain would most likely not be allowed to do a quickie wedding, even if it was not real, because of the financials involved with the paying wedding people. If it got out that something like that happened, can you imagine the others that would want it done as well...

 

[FigmentSpark]

I don't understand. In this day and age where just about anyone can marry you after filling in a few online forms to become a "preacher", why is a captain not allowed to marry people? Is it dependent on what country the ship is from or where they are (which waters?)?

 

[chik1987]

I don't understand. In this day and age where just about anyone can marry you after filling in a few online forms to become a "preacher", why is a captain not allowed to marry people? Is it dependent on what country the ship is from or where they are (which waters?)?

The short answer to your questions is it matters where they are.

You have to look at the legal and ceremonial aspects of a marriage as 2 separate items. Legally you get a document issued by the state stating you are getting into a contractual agreement with another party. Since the contracts (licenses) are issued by the states they have to be acted upon in the state in which it was issued. So for example I am a court clerk in kansas and part of my job is issuing marriage licenses. I tell people "once you get your license you have to get married sometime in the next 6 months SOMEWHERE in the state of Kansas." You cannot take a marriage license issued in Kansas and get married in Florida.

For Disney cruises they ask that you either have a civil ceremony before the cruise or you can get issued a Florida marriage license that they will provide the notary for to sign on the ship before it leaves port.

The problem with ceremonial marriages (and not already being legally married) is they have no contractual agreement at all but you may end up spending thousands of dollars in legal fees if all you do is have a "for fun wedding on the ship" and the other party wants to argue in court that you weren't actually married. Which is true your just still out the money for a lawyer to defend yourself.

 

[FigmentSpark]

So even if the captain is a registered officiant and legally able to marry people, it's the fact that he's no longer in a U.S. state once he's out of port that makes the marriage not legally binding.

 

[chik1987]

So even if the captain is a registered officiant and legally able to marry people, it's the fact that he's no longer in a U.S. state once he's out of port that makes the marriage not legally binding.

Yes the legal part of the wedding has to take place in the state where the license was issued. We are getting married on the disney dream in october 2017 and we will legally be married on the ship the day it leves port with a florida marriage license. The ceremony will be the next day but when I am asked for the date I got married on any legal forms I have to put the first date down. The ceremony part as no legal parts so it can be wherever with whomever because it's really just for show you dress up take pictures eat cake etc.

 

[chik1987]

You can legally get married in another country but from my experience it's more trouble than what it's worth for the legal contract piece of paper. It's much easier to do the legal stuff in the us.

 

[AquaDame]

So even if the captain is a registered officiant and legally able to marry people, it's the fact that he's no longer in a U.S. state once he's out of port that makes the marriage not legally binding.

Yep! I don't feel its so much a grey area so much as the work around makes it confusing... technically you have to be IN a country for it to be legally binding. Easiest to get married in and reference a U.S. wedding if you live here, but you can absolutely be married IN another country and have it be valid as long as our government recognizes their issued certificates.

Yes the legal part of the wedding has to take place in the state where the license was issued. We are getting married on the disney dream in october 2017 and we will legally be married on the ship the day it leves port with a florida marriage license. The ceremony will be the next day but when I am asked for the date I got married on any legal forms I have to put the first date down. The ceremony part as no legal parts so it can be wherever with whomever because it's really just for show you dress up take pictures eat cake etc.

Super common with destination weddings...! At least of the people I know, most will go to the courthouse before they leave and do all the "legal wedding" bits, then go have the "ceremonial wedding" where they choose. I do wonder sometimes which day they use for their anniversary... I'd be tempted to say both! More cake that way.

 

[MUN]

Im not the OP

So you don't want a long happy life?

 

[chik1987]

So you don't want a long happy life?

Well of course I would love one. I just knew she wasn't meaning to quote me lol. We have all our decisions made. Just gotta wait the 400 ish days until October 2017 lol.

 

[chik1987]

Yep! I don't feel its so much a grey area so much as the work around makes it confusing... technically you have to be IN a country for it to be legally binding. Easiest to get married in and reference a U.S. wedding if you live here, but you can absolutely be married IN another country and have it be valid as long as our government recognizes their issued certificates.



Super common with destination weddings...! At least of the people I know, most will go to the courthouse before they leave and do all the "legal wedding" bits, then go have the "ceremonial wedding" where they choose. I do wonder sometimes which day they use for their anniversary... I'd be tempted to say both! More cake that way.

The way I've been looking at it for us is dates really don't matter much on vacation so it will all be October 2nd either way lol. But yes I like your thinking...more cake!!

 

[MUN]

Well of course I would love one. I just knew she wasn't meaning to quote me lol. We have all our decisions made. Just gotta wait the 400 ish days until October 2017 lol.

Are you getting married? Congratulations. I hope you both have long happy lives together!

MUN

 

[chik1987]

Are you getting married? Congratulations. I hope you both have long happy lives together!

MUN

Thanks! Yes we are getting married on the dream on October 2 2017. Just a long wait.

 

[elvispursley]

We inadvertently had a "destination" wedding when DH and I got married. At the very last second (6-weeks to be exact), our minister backed out of performing our ceremony. In order to be married in our church, the church wanted us to go through lengthy pre-marital counseling sessions that would take longer than 6-weeks. Long story short, we went to Las Vegas, got married at the Little Chapel of the West on Sept. 4, 2002 and my father performed our "real" wedding ceremony (the one my family forked big $$ out for and the one all the invites were sent out to before the original dude backed out). We tend to celebrate our intended wedding on Oct 12. When I went to renew my passport years after we got married, I actually had to go find the marriage license b/c I couldn't actually remember the legal date we were married on!! When DH and I remember, we do try to celebrate both...good to recognize each other (and have a good dinner out/cake )

 

[NWOhioAngela]

We got married on the beach on a Friday--just the two of us and an officiant-- and then hopped on a cruise the next morning. I had cruise themed announcements printed up before we left and mailed them back home on the way to the port Saturday morning. The news made it back home before we did and it was a lot of fun. Congratulations!