Congrats to Heidi & John!

Heidi & John arrived on the Ruby Princess and were married on Brewer's Bay Beach this last Wednesday. They had chosen our old Sweet Memories package which does not include an on-site wedding planner so I didn't get to go. =( But I did snap a picture of Heidi's bouquet before it was delivered to her - my "favorite thing" as part of my October favorites! What could be better than those orange ranunculus!?

The Ultimate Cruise Ship Wedding!

There are a million and one different ways to have a cruise ship wedding. Often times it is just the bride & groom coming off the ship, leaving friends & family at home. Sometimes it is 100 of the bride & grooms closest friends & family joining them in the week long celebration. For those that have guests, we often hear two different opinions on the reception. Some couples choose to have the reception back on the ship, often making arrangements at the higher end restaurants that the ships have...or even reserving the nightclub on their ship for a few hours. But other times, we have couples that want to have a true island experience, get their guests off the ship and show them an amazing time. And this is why we created the Ultimate Cruise Ship Wedding Package! The name is lame, sorry, I couldn't think of anything better....and it really does describe the package! Absolutely everything you need is included in this package...photography, transportation for you & guests, open bar, delicious lunch, live music, DJ, centerpieces....and more! Check out the Ultimate Cruise Ship Wedding Experience here.

Our wedding on Monday wasn't exactly this package, but it did help to inspire the creation of this package. We often do these type of events for cruise ship weddings, but this is the first package we've created specifically for this type of event. Since Monday's wedding was very similar, I took a lot of photos that I'll share here. I'll also point out what would be considered an "upgrade".

First, with the package you have your choice of a garden ceremony or pool ceremony. Here is a picture of Monday's wedding ceremony in the garden:

Upgrades to the package: Chair ties ($2 each) and flowers for the aisle chairs (pricing varies), crystals hanging from the large palm ($200)

You also have your choice of the pool deck for the ceremony which has views of the harbor (and if your ship is in Havensight, you'll be able to see your ship!).

(Photo by Elisha Orin)




One of the best things about Villa Botanica is the covered reception area. We did have a small rain shower (lasted less than 5 minutes) at our wedding on Monday and nothing (and nobody) got wet! Here are a few pictures of the set up:

Upgrades: Flowers (the package includes shell, glass vase & candle centerpieces, with the option of lanterns for no additional charge - pricing on centerpiece upgrades vary), chair covers & ties ($4.50 per chair). Included in the package is table linens & napkins.

And a few special touches added by our bride....luggage tags to direct guests to their table...

And adorable little silver sailboat to hold their name cards

The package does include a wedding cake

But I think our bride had a sweet tooth - she also ordered these adorable miniature fudge cakes for each guest...

She had these adorable shell ring holder and flower girl "basket"...

And of course, the package includes a bouquet & boutonniere, but you do have the option of adding additional flowers for the bridal party:

But you know what the best "upgrade" or "add-on" is?? The Caribbean Dancers!! These are always such a big hit - weddings guests love it. It's so unique and so Caribbean. I wish I had known about them for my own wedding, I would had them in a heartbeat!

Nothing better than a limbo at a reception! I'm not kidding, it gets the crowd moving!

Thank you Amber!

Amber was a bride of mine from January. She recently sent me the link to her photographers blog with pictures of her wedding day - just gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing and congrats on a gorgeous wedding!

Part 1: (these really highlight how bringing your photographer along for the cruise can yield some really great wedding photos you may not otherwise get)

http://www.gregkauffmann.com/blog/2012/03/amber-daniels-wonderful-wedding-on-the-u-s-virgin-islands-1st-part/

Part 2:

www.gregkauffmann.com/blog/2012/03/amber-daniels-wonderful-wedding-on-the-u-s-virgin-islands-2nd-part/

In case you're curious...Amber arrived on the Oasis of the Seas and was married on Magen's Bay Beach.

Cruise Ships & Flowers

Some of the cruise lines have a policy about taking fresh fruits/vegetables and flowers on and off their ships. Thankfully, I have never had a bride tell me that she wasn't allowed to bring her fresh flower bouquet back on board of the ship (if you are a past bride that couldn't get your flowers on board though, please do leave a comment and let us know!). I think the security guards don't have the guts to tell a bride all dressed in white that she isn't allowed to keep her bouquet!

Some brides have not wanted to take the chance - or simply want to keep their bouquet forever. If this is the case, silk bouquets are a popular choice. I wanted to share a picture I took of a bouquet that a bride brought down a few months ago for her island wedding. There are a lot of online shops that sell silk bouquets (to my surprise, at the same price or much more than fresh flowers). Silk bouquets are also a good alternative for brides that want phalaenopsis orchids (live phalaenopsis orchids are very fragile and do not hold up well in bouquets). In the bouquet below, there were pink phalaenopsis orchids. They really do a great job replicating these in silk flowers!



The pink phalaenopsis boutonniere: