May I ask you DCL brides a few questions?

[disbridemimi]

Well, since going through the Passporter, I have found most of the answers I was looking for. I do still have a fewe lingering detail questions pretty please!!


Am I correct in saying that if we run off to city hall and get married before we go, we can do the vow renewal and save a grand? I imagine this would also save us a hassle with legal requirements of getting married wherever we end up?


How hard was it to get guests to join you on the cruise?

What was the length of the cruise you chose? How many days & what locations?

How many total did you invite, how many actually came?

Did you use a travel agent?

Do any of you have a list of total expenses, because I suspect I am missing something.

It says the after dinner is held at an all adult resteraunt, what if you have children with you?

 

[BELLE16127]

I will try and help you a little bit, our daughter is getting married on the Wonder in November 2009.

They sent out 30 invitations and gave guests until June to reply. As of right now there are 14 they know are booked, so that is half. They have a few definate no's because of jobs and so on. So thats not too bad right now it's about half.

We will be taking a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas, they thought that was a good length and not too expensive for others to addend. Many of her guests are from Florida any way (both DD and her Fiancee went to college at University of Central Florida) and they are college frineds so there is no Air involved.

She did not use a travel agent, she sent all of the booking info in her invitations. She did however ask that when they respond and book their cruise that they send their confirmation number along on the responce card and then DD will contact the Coordinator who will link all of the Guests together for dinner, so we will all be either at the same table or very close together for dining.

What they are spending...I know she told me and I can find out, they are being Married on Deck 7. I know they have a category 6 stateroom with a verandah. They were going to add an hour or two of extra photography but after looking around a bit, DD found a Photographer who is going to COME ALONG on the Cruise...DD is paying for a stateroom for the Photographer and 1 guest and in exchange she will get her pictures. A contract has been signed between the two so that is all set and the cost is about the same as they would have paid a Shutters photographer for the extra time and photos, and they will get a bit more of what she wants I think. They decided not have attendants, since they will actually be "married" in port before we sail....everyone who was to be in the Wedding Party will still be there but there is no expence for Flowers and so on. I will see if I can get an actual amount for ya.

UMMMM dinner, she was thinking of paying for the private room at Palo for everyone to have dinner that night, since she is getting married on the deck it is a short "reception" that Cathy was going to have moved inside somewhere for DD since her Mom in Law will just be finishing Chemo and can't be in the sun alot, we arn't sure where inside it will be yet but DD isn't too concerned about the Where just that they will be allowed to do so. Dinner may not happen as I believe she is at the MAX for the private room now and if more come then the number will be too big, again she isn't too concerned, she wants it to be calm and relaxing, and really so far it has been.

I hope this helped you out a bit...I will ask DD and see if I can find out anything else in more detail for you I do believe I am more concerned about it all then she is she wants everyone to come and have fun....that is why they picked the deck instead of Castaway for the Ceremony she didn't want anyone to miss the Island time by being at the wedding.

Have fun planning and let us know what you come up with.....

 

[Goldeelox9]

HI! Welcome to the world of Cruise Weddings! They are amazing!!!

How hard was it to get guests to join you on the cruise? Not too hard. I invited everyone I would have invited if I was having the wedding at home....About 200 people. Now I knew lots wouldn't come....LOL We ended up with about 30 guests, my closest friends and family. I included TONS of info with the invite. Check out my PJ for pictures of it all. If you would life copies of any of the information I sent out let me know!

What was the length of the cruise you chose? How many days & what locations? We went with 4 nights and the cruise went to the Bahamas and to Castaway Cay. Now looking back we would have done 7 nights for sure. We picked 4 nights in hope that more poeple would join us, but after talking to all who went everyone would have still went had it been a 7 night cruise.

How many total did you invite, how many actually came? Opps already answered this one....We invited like 175 and 30 came....HUGE differance, but we knew when we invited people that alot wouldn't come. We never expected work friends and such to join us, but didn't want them to feel left out.

Did you use a travel agent? Yes we did...ME! I booked everyone's trip and it worked out wonderful. I am a Travel Agent and if you need any help just let me know!

Do any of you have a list of total expenses, because I suspect I am missing something. I don't have a real list, but we had the cost of the cruise plus $2500 for castaway cay. We had an additianl $200 fee for the guests over the allowed 8. We had the fee for my floral upgrade which was $50 and we got the largest photo package that was $1000. We of course had favors, we gave Personalized Beach Towels and they were about $300 total. That is pretty much it!

It says the after dinner is held at an all adult resteraunt, what if you have children with you? If you have a Castaway Cay wedding the "Reception" is in Palo. There is no dinner just cake and music and the toast. Kids are welcomed. We had out first dance, our father daughter dance and a mother son dance, cut the cake had the toast and mingled. It lasted a little over an hour. It was perfect, we then changed and headed to the beach for lunch. You do get a free meal in Palo for the bride and groom and this can be made any time during your cruise...The brunch it to DIE FOR!

If you have any questions let me know!!!!

 

[29apr00]

Am I correct in saying that if we run off to city hall and get married before we go, we can do the vow renewal and save a grand? I imagine this would also save us a hassle with legal requirements of getting married wherever we end up? YUP!! We are doing this for our 10th anniversary, and our CC ceremony is $1000 less than a wedding.

How hard was it to get guests to join you on the cruise?
We invited family and close friends only, and I'm actually suprised at how many people actually are coming. I think we invited about 30 and we have 18 so far, maybe 2 or 4 more.

What was the length of the cruise you chose? How many days & what locations?
We did the 3 night, because a lot of our guests have children in school and we didn't want them to have to miss too much.

How many total did you invite, how many actually came?
invited 30, so far 18 are booked.

Did you use a travel agent?
I didn't plan to because I knew i could do it myself, i used to be a TA. But i booked with Dreams Unlimited for the $100 onboard credit offer. that's a big incentive for my guests.

Do any of you have a list of total expenses, because I suspect I am missing something.
Aifare and Cruise, the ceremony cost, private dinner in palo, photography package, extra floral enhancements, hair appts.

It says the after dinner is held at an all adult resteraunt, what if you have children with you?
The package includes dinner for BRIDE AND GROOM ONLY in palo the night of your ceremony. your guests do not get to eat with you. We are booking the private room in Palo which holds a max of 14 ADULTS ONLY. The kids will eat then head off to the Kids club while we have a relaxing adult meal.

Hope that helps!!

 

[WishingMom]

I just checked the DFTW website and it appears that the cost of a DCL Wedding and Vow Renewal has gone up about $1000 or so.

 

[lurkyloo]

Really? The FAQ section still has the old prices (but then DFTW's website is notorious for having inconsistent and inaccurate pricing....)

http://disneyweddings.go.com/site/wed/cru/wed_guide/com_quest.jsp#3

 

[lurkyloo]

Curiouser and curiouser....

The DCL Wish Book prices say $3,298 and $4,298 for weddings and $2,298 for vow renewals, but it also says prices are good through Dec. 30, 2008.

I wonder if the Wishbook is giving last year's total price of the DFTW *including* the cost of the lowest-priced cruise.... after all, the Wish Book is even MORE notorious for inaccurate pricing than DFTW's website!

 

[disbridemimi]

Oh dear, SO WHICH PRICES ARE CORRECT?

 

[pinkcow]

I can't speak so much to the pricing.. But here are our plans so far-

How hard was it to get guests to join you on the cruise?
I think my parents are most excited about it. I believe only our close friends and family will attend.

What was the length of the cruise you chose? How many days & what locations?
We're going with a 4 day cruise, as the 3 day seemed too short, and the 7 day too expensive. Our ceremony will be on Castaway Cay. Our party will be too big for secret deck 7 and we really wanted the ceremony to be outside, so the lounges were out.

How many total did you invite, how many actually came?
We're inviting about 90, I anticipate between 25-30 to actually sail.

Did you use a travel agent?
Yes, we thought it would be much easier to have a central contact person. Group space was not available on our cruise. Even still, the TA onboard credit would be more than a group discount.

Do any of you have a list of total expenses, because I suspect I am missing something.
I'm calculating everything, dress, shoes, alterations, hair appt., groom's attire, favors, flight, hotel prior, excursions, rental car, honeymoon stay, extra guests, photography, cruise itself, and castaway wedding.

It says the after dinner is held at an all adult restaurant, what if you have children with you?
Since one of my BM's is my little sister who will be 13, I can't have dinner at Palo the night of the wedding, it just wouldn't be right without her. We'll be doing our regular dining rotation. We haven’t ruled out a dinner with our parents at Palo one night of the cruise.

 

[lurkyloo]

Oh dear, SO WHICH PRICES ARE CORRECT?

For now, I'm going to assume that the old prices ($1,500-$3,500) are correct. They're getting ready to release new Escape pricing in a few weeks. Maybe they'll update Cruise pricing then too, although it sticks in my mind that cruise pricing changes with the new fiscal year, in October... but it's all speculation on my part!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I was told that DCL pricing changed in August..When I called in August 2007 for my date, Cathy sad1booked it, but told me that the price might change at the end of August when the 2008 packages came out...it didn't change in 2007, 2008 or 2009 so it could this year

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Curiouser and curiouser....

The DCL Wish Book prices say $3,298 and $4,298 for weddings and $2,298 for vow renewals, but it also says prices are good through Dec. 30, 2008.

I wonder if the Wishbook is giving last year's total price of the DFTW *including* the cost of the lowest-priced cruise.... after all, the Wish Book is even MORE notorious for inaccurate pricing than DFTW's website!

I noticed this this morning too. I was kind of shocked to see the $2298 price tag when I was expecting $1500. We're toying with this idea (and a few others) for our 10th so I hope the prices don't go up too much!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

i don't think you can go by that..Ours showed $1900 but we were only charged $1500 plus the $100 for the extra people