BY LYNN ELMHIRST
Romance and cruising go hand in hand: sparkling seas and exotic shores, gentle breezes as you and your beloved stand against a teak rail and gaze into infinity. Add in the ease of unpacking once, having your every need taken care of onboard, and a built-in idyllic honeymoon, and no wonder more and more couples are planning cruise weddings. But not all cruise lines offer weddings. Some offer legal ceremonies, while others are symbolic. Most cruise lines that offer weddings have pre-cruise and onboard specialists to ensure your event goes according to plan – stress-free!
Is it your dream to be married on an open deck by the ship’s captain? You can have that dream wedding – on your own or surrounded by family and friends. A professional travel advisor knows the different cruise lines, ship and itinerary features, plus offers and packages to give you the best options.
Here’s how four very different cruise lines do weddings at sea:
PRINCESS CRUISES
It’s the actual, original “Love Boat.” Princess Cruises takes its romance legacy seriously, with a dedicated cruise wedding program. The cruise line recently appointed a “Love and Romance Ambassador.” Bridal designer and TV host Randy Fenoli has introduced new designer wedding packages exclusively for Princess Cruises. In “Princess Perfect Weddings,” ship captains serve as officiants, and all packages include wedding specialists helping couples plan pre-cruise and onboard. Packages can be customized with choices of indoor or outdoor ceremonies, fresh flowers, wedding cakes, sparkling wine toasts, photography, live music, bridal hair and makeup and more.
Princess Cruises offers both symbolic and legal weddings as well as engagement events, vow renewals and, soon, “Weddings Ashore.”
CELEBRITY CRUISES
Another contemporary cruise line, Celebrity Cruises, offers couples the options of proposal events and vow renewals, as well as symbolic or legal wedding ceremonies, onboard or ashore. The cruise line has a Marriage License Coordinator to help couples do the paperwork for legal weddings in different jurisdictions: in international waters by the ship’s captain, on the ship in port, or ashore.
Packages include indoor or deck venue, private reception, food and beverage service, fresh flowers, cake, champagne and a photographer – all coordinated with event managers before your wedding cruise, and handled onboard by wedding coordinators, so all you have to do is relax on your cruise.
In certain ports – and only on embarkation day – couples can even invite guests who aren’t passengers onboard to celebrate their cruise weddings.
CUNARD
British luxury line Cunard’s captains have been performing weddings onboard for more than 180 years. For modern times, the line also now offers vow renewal and engagement ceremonies.
Nothing lends elegance and ceremony to your special day like Cunard’s white-gloved service, Art Deco décor, making your entrance down the stairs of the Grand Lobby escorted by a red-capped Cunard bellhop, and stately fine dining.
The line offers private indoor celebration venues for ceremonies of various sizes, and will permit larger groups to take over one of the ship restaurants for a lunch-time reception.
It’s all coordinated by pre-cruise and onboard Ceremonies Specialists, who plan and ensure smooth execution of your chosen flowers, music, cake and champagne, catering, photography, port experience and more for cruise weddings.
WINDSTAR CRUISES
Small-ship cruise line Windstar offers some of the most romantic itineraries at sea, including a long-standing specialization in Tahiti itineraries. And since ships host only between 150 to 350 guests, some couples even charter an entire sailing for their cruise weddings, so you’re surrounded only by friends and family for your entire cruise.
Windstar offers only symbolic ceremonies for couples who have already taken care of the legalities. And the cruise line offers two types of packages: with or without a vow exchange ceremony officiated by a ship captain.
The vow exchange ceremony package comes with bridal and venue flowers, cake, champagne and canapés, photography and customized add-ons like long-stem roses, afternoon tea or even an overnight stay in a romantic overwater bungalow in Tahiti with private dinner on a beach and breakfast delivered by canoe.
It’s irresistibly romantic: Windstar’s president recently renewed his own wedding vows during a Tahiti cruise.
Lynn Elmhirst is the producer and host of World’s Greatest Cruises on PBS.
Check out our Today’s Bride Magazine for more inspiration and wedding planning tips.
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