Cruise Wedding

We heavily researched a cruise wedding but ultimately decided against it because the max time we could get was 1.5 to 2 hours total with our guests including the reception. I would rather spend $10,000 to get 6 hours with my guests. Other than that, it seems to be okay value for money. The other thing I didn't like was the rooms they offered. Tacky carpet, barely any decorations, and you got married with a big white projector screen behind you. I mainly looked at the options for getting married in port so guests who couldn't cruise could still attend the wedding. If you wanted to do a ceremony at one of the islands with the group you're sailing with, it would probably be worth it.

I personally think a cruise wedding is unfair to guests. It's so cheap because it's a super short "reception" with only appetizers. You're basically just passing costs off on the guest.

I agree with LB that it's kind of crappy to do to your guests. They have to pay for a cruise the may or may not be interested in just to attend your wedding for super short amount of time. I would get married elsewhere and take a cruise for your honeymoon.

We were planning to have the church bless the wedding and have a ceremony that way at home and have a back yard bbq. That way if they don’t want to cruise they can still be a part of it and no one feels forced. Both of our families take cruises all the time as well. I see your point on passing off the cost. Do you have any tips on keeping a wedding under 15,000?

View Quoted Comment I’m having a really hard time getting it to 10,000. Every thing seems to be 20,000 and up

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I know it's really tough. It took me 3 months to find a venue that would work with my budget. How many people are you inviting?

View Quoted Comment Are list is about 150, thinking about 120 will come to a classic wedding.

I don't think I would ever go on a cruise wedding as a guest. And judging from what everyone else says where it's short, that doesn't seem worth it! A wedding can certainly be done under 15,000 you just can't expect to utilize the pricier venues. What is your style of wedding? Golf courses tend to be affordable or like county clubs. You could also look into a bare-bones venues where you get to pick all your catering and vendors. My friend had a barn wedding and she got the caterer separate and bought the alcohol, hired the bartenders, etc and it was 10,000.

We are getting married in November on a cruise. If I could go back, I wouldn't do it. The cruise lines make it seem like everything is included, but its not. And add 20% on EVERYTHING. It's a huge ripoff when you look at it in comparison to a wedding at home. When all is said and done, it will be between 12-18k for 2.5 hours of appetizers, cake and some dancing. And our biggest obstacle is getting everyone to RSVP properly having nonsailing guests. The ships require information from the guests for security, which is like pulling teeth from people. If we could start over, we would have taken a cruise to a destination, gotten married, and thrown the reception at home.