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Brides to sea

Three couples on different budgets reveal why and how they set sail to say ‘I do’

The sea is one of the most affordable places to tie the knot in style. Though it is more popular Stateside, us Brits are coming round to the idea of walking down the aisle surrounded by water.

The Wedding Experience (theweddingexperience.com) organises many of the weddings onboard major cruise lines. Valerie Brizuela Mahon, their sales and marketing director, says, “Cruise ship weddings (in the States) have grown significantly in the past ten years. People realise they can get the equivalent of a land-based wedding for half the price, if not less.” For UK cruisers, the average at-sea wedding is almost £13,000 cheaper than a land-based equivalent, according to the Cruise Report 2009.

Weddings onboard start from £1,500, for which you’ll get all the basics for the ceremony including flowers, a photographer and cake.

It doesn’t, however, include the actual cruise price for you and your guests. But there is no etiquette when it comes to paying for guests – you can if you want. With your cruise fare, a large party and top-end upgrades – such as the best food, ice sculptures and live music – you’d be looking at around £18,000 for a blow-out wedding according to The Daily Telegraph, less than the UK’s £21,000 average. Not bad considering you get a wedding planner and holiday thrown in.

CASE 1: BLOW THE BUDGET

Stephanie Gonzalez, 22, and Juan Carlos Net, 26

Stephanie, a legal assistant from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, knew she was going to marry her best friend’s cousin, media salesman Juan Carlos, the moment they met. “We hit it off straight away, but it only got serious about a year and a half later.”

Fast-forward three and a half years and the couple held their no-expenses-spared wedding with almost 100 guests in Miami in March, onboard Celebrity Century, before they set off on a five-day Key West and Cozumel sailing.

“We were both born and raised in Miami, so a port wedding meant more people could attend without having to go on the cruise if they couldn’t afford it,” explains Stephanie. “We hadn’t even considered doing a fly holiday because I knew it would be more expensive and a lot of people wouldn’t have come. We had 92 guests at the wedding; 45 sailed with us, and we ended up spending $18,000 (£12,150) on the wedding and reception.

“For the size of the wedding, we got a lot for our money, including an upgrade to a Royal Suite for the two of us,” adds Stephanie. “At first we looked into hiring a banquet hall back home, and it was $25,000 (£16,900) for a basic package. I couldn’t have done as much as I did on the ship for the same amount of money. And it would have only been for one night.”

The couple exchanged vows in the Crystal Room, the ship’s upscale lounge, followed by a lavish buffet lunch, and a reception with dancing – plus, of course, Champagne. But their bigger budget also allowed them to stretch out the celebrations after the wedding with regular cocktail evenings and a barbecue day on a beautiful Caribbean beach.

 

“Even with so many guests, it still felt intimate,” Stephanie recalls. “Our coordinator, Katie, was wonderful. Everyone commented on how stress-free I was. They do everything to make your day perfect for you.

“The most important thing is to communicate every little detail with your coordinator. I couldn’t always be on the phone to her because I work 60-70 hour weeks, but she was very accommodating and efficient in responding by email.”

Though the couple have no plans to honeymoon this year, they have spoken about celebrating their one-year anniversary on a cruise. They don’t know where they’ll sail yet, but they do know one thing: “We’ll definitely be going with Celebrity again.”

TOTAL £12,150

CASE 2: AFFORDABLE

Elaine, 25, and Andy Winchester, 31

 

When Andy and Elaine realised they had forgotten to bring the song for their first dance, the last thing they expected was for their friends and family to step up. “Andy’s friend printed out the words and the bridesmaids and the best man serenaded us acapella to Spandau Ballet’s True,” says Elaine. “It was brilliant.”

The impromptu routine was the only minor hiccup to their day on Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess, where they wed last July in front of 40 guests while they sailed from Amsterdam to Copenhagen.

“I’m from Scotland and he’s from England, so a cruise made sense because either way, someone’s family would end up travelling,” reflects Elaine. “And with my grandmother attending, it was a much easier way for her to travel rather than flying somewhere.

“When you’ve got a lot of people, you have to consider everyone’s budgets,” she advises. “We wanted to go all out on the ceremony and reception, so we couldn’t stretch to paying for people’s fares. But because they had a choice of cabins, they could spend as much or as little as they liked.

“The wedding itself came to just over £5,000 with the extra touches we had,” she adds. That included a top-range buffet in the main restaurant, Rigoletto, and Champagne receptions, which followed a cosy, candle-lit ceremony in the Wheelhouse Bar, a mahogany wood-panelled lounge.

“I was worried we’d have a ‘drive-through’ style wedding for our budget, but you can make it bespoke. We customised our ceremony with two readings and my sister also sang. If you want something that isn’t in the brochure, just ask for it.”

Back on land, the couple had another function back home for those who didn’t sail, though Elaine confesses, “I didn’t enjoy it as much. On the cruise, we got an A-List wedding without the premium price tag. We also spent quality time with friends and family, and you can’t put a price on that.”

 

TOTAL £5,000

CASE 3: BUDGET

Laura McGarry, 23, and Mark Lynch, 25

When Mark and Laura took their first cruise together last summer in the Caribbean, Mark, a cardiology nurse, had a little surprise in store. “We decided to join my mum and dad on a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas,” says charity support organiser, Laura. “Mark proposed while we had our photo taken by the ship’s photographer. I hadn’t expected it at all, but said ‘yes’ straight away.”

The couple from Ayrshire, Scotland met in October 2006 through an internet dating site and are due to marry in a lowkey ceremony on another member of the Royal Caribbean clan, the hotly anticipated Oasis of the Seas, in November 2010.

“We loved the idea of getting married on the biggest and grandest ship with our closest family and friends,” muses Laura. The vessel will be docked in Jamaica when the couple make their vows.

“The basic package we’ve chosen costs somewhere between £1,200 and £1,400, but it covers everything we’re looking for,” she adds. “We’ve only got 13 guests coming so far, though we’re hoping for a few more. We had to ask guests to pay for their own cruises because we just can’t afford to foot anyone else’s bill.

“At the moment, we’re quite limited with our planning because the ship’s not finished. But we’ve managed to organise the cake, the Champagne and strawberries dipped in chocolate for the reception. Our wedding coordinator has been flexible and really swift at responding to our queries.”

Regardless, the couple are planning a back-to-back cruise as part of their celebration. After they unload their families at the end of the week, they will stay on to sail the Oasis round to the eastern Caribbean. Bliss.

TOTAL £1,400

For more, call 0800 916 3233, visit cruisethomascook.com, your local Thomas Cook or Going Places store, or see Thomas Cook TV, Sky channel 655

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