Angela and Wayne
will be married on
February 3rd, 2001

Planning a Cruise Wedding

Although we are both still planning our destination cruise wedding, here are a few hints and tips we picked up along the way -- RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! To start with, your main resources will be from the wedding and cruise internet communities and your local travel agencies. Use these resources to research the different cruise lines, their wedding packages, cabin rates, and your travel agent.

Your greatest source of information on cruise weddings will be from other brides and grooms who are planning or have had cruise weddings. To connect with these brides and grooms, join different webrings (like the Destination Wedding Ring) that specialize in destination weddings. Also, post your questions on the wedding message boards and get great advice from brides and grooms that are in the same boat as you. For information on cruises, visit the different cruise sites (like cruise-addicts.com and cruisemates.com). They have active message boards, ship reviews, destinations, etc. Ask the cruise experts their most and least favorite cruise line and travel agency, and learn from their past mistakes. Once you've narrowed your choices, visit the cruise lines' websites (like carnival.com). And don't forget to visit your local travel agency to pick up cruise brochures.

Your travel agency and agent will play a major role in your cruise wedding and not just with the cruise. Make sure the agency can meet all your travel needs (we recommend AtlasTravelWeb.com) - they will be organizing and booking you and your guests air and ground transportation, and your lodging. (We recommend arriving the day before.) It is also very important that your travel agent is experienced with cruise weddings. This helps avoid the hassles of breaking in someone new to the wedding industry. An incompetent agent could turn your dream wedding into a nightmare (like cruise.com - who we do NOT recommend). So interview several agents, and get everything in writing, if they don't answer promptly, don't book with them. Choose wisely. You will be working closely with your agent for many months.

There are so many cruise lines to choose, but not all perform weddings or may have restrictions. For instance, Carnival limits number of guests, and Norwegian prohibits non-sailing passengers aboard, so do your research. Some cruise lines can perform ceremonies only state side while docked in port (so you can invite your "seasick" sister). Others like Princess perform ceremonies at sea. Other lines offer weddings on a beach at one of the ports.

You can basically cruise to anywhere, and your cruise can last one day or up to two weeks, but make sure it's affordable for your guests and that everyone can take time away from school or work. Cruise lines also offer different wedding and reception packages - with the prices ranging from $625 to $1,425 - to accommodate small or large weddings (8 to 100). You can also customize your wedding package (at additional expense) with silk flowers, live music, and photography and videography services. You can even rent your tuxedos or dresses, but not all wedding packages or services are available at all ports.

Never pay the cabin rates listed in the brochure, all prices are negotiable, and rates quoted usually do not include the taxes and port charges, air/ground transportation, lodging, parking, tipping, and shore excursions. So do your research -- there are some pretty good deals on the internet or through your local travel agency. Cabin rates are higher on holidays (sometimes double) but basically depend on which month you cruise and cruise line: Value rates (low) mid September to early December; Base rates (middle) are April and May; and Season rates (high) run January to March and June to August. But, keep in mind hurricane season runs from June to November in the Caribbean area. You may want to consider a group cruise wedding, inviting all of your family and friends - what better way to join two hearts and two families. Just ask your travel agent for group rate discounts for all of your wedding guests, and Tour Conductor rates (free passage) that you could give as gifts or apply towards your own cabin.

Well I hope this helps you out some! Make sure to check out our website at http://www.WedAtSea.com (and sign our guest book) where we have cruise tips on packing, cures for sea sickness, links for birth certificates and passports, and much, much more. You can contact us at "Wedding@WedAtSea.com".

For more info on planning a cruise, please visit Jamie and Season's "cruise website". For a list of other possible destination wedding locations, and planning tips/ideas, please visit the Destination Wedding FAQ.

Boutique Butterfly
Weddings held in
Westminster, CO

BOUTIQUE BUTTERFLY WEDDINGS ARE NOW OFFERED AT WESTIN WESTMINSTER

Westminster, CO -
Westin Westminster and Butterfly Pavilion have joined forces to offer intimate "Butterfly Weddings" in Colorado.

The Butterfly Pavilion, the only free standing butterfly conservatory in the country, is a lovely venue for a smaller wedding ceremony of up to 60. Wedding guests find themselves surrounded by more than 1,200 free-flying butterflies in a lush, tropical conservatory. A gazebo, the visual centerpiece of the space, is the perfect size for that very special wedding.

Following the ceremony, guests can stroll across the promenade to The Westin Westminster for a reception in O'Byrne's, the hotel's restaurant or perhaps to the Library for an intimate dinner.

For large parties of up to 1000 guests, the hotel offers a 12,000 square foot grand ballroom which features a 60-foot glass wall overlooking a lavishly landscaped courtyard. A private entrance, abundant free parking, easy highway access and access to outside courtyards make the ballroom unique in its competitive set.

All event and function space is located on the ground level of the hotel, with separate entrances for hotel guests and those attending a function in the hotel's conference center.

Located equidistant between Denver and Boulder, the hotel is part of The Westminster Promenade project to include the upscale hotel and conference facility, a 24 screen cinema complex, entertainment venues, 45 miles of hiking and bike trails, retail shops, restaurants, two office towers and a two acre lake.

For additional information about Butterfly Weddings or special events at The Westin Westminster, call (303) 410-5000.

In Colorado, Westin also manages The Westin Tabor Center, Denver. Westin Hotels & Resorts, with more than 110 hotels and resorts in 25 countries, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. through its St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points and W brands, is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 700 hotels in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. For more information or to make reservations call (800)-WESTIN-1, contact your travel counselor, or visit the Westin Hotels and Resorts website at: http://www.westin.com.

This article is copyright 2000 Lovetripper.com

The above article is a

Husband and wife team Paris Permenter and John Bigley have authored over 20 guidebooks and also edit the FREE Lovetripper.com, a romantic travel magazine featuring worldwide destinations. Article is copyright 2000 Paris Permenter and John Bigley.

Frommer's has a great wedding group airfare discount article online. Group travel discounts are available on American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, US Airways, and Northwest/KLM, to name a few...

Don't forget to read last month's destination wedding articles! The topic covered Key West destination weddings by a couple that took the plunge themselves. Have a destination wedding article or summary that you'd like to see published? If so -- please submit it here.

Be sure to check back monthly for more great Destination Wedding and Eloping articles, and visit the November "destination of the month". Then join the Destination Wedding "Message Board" and Webring -- and read the Destination Wedding FAQ! And send Robyn any questions that you might have.