WEDDING ON THE WAVES
Choices of venue and location for maritime marriages are as varied as the prices
The bride and groom invited close to 60 guests but 1,500 showed up. The usual suspects — groomsmen and bridesmaids — were there, flower girls littered the marble aisle, a local opera singer lent her voice and actor Gavin MacLeod ( Captain Stubing of The Love Boat TV series) was ready to read a passage.
Do I have your attention? Good, because this requires some explanation.
My friends and longtime cruise writers Fran Golden of Porthole Cruise Magazine and David Molyneaux were married at sea off New York, two days after the naming ceremony of the Regal Princess — hence Gavin Macleod, who as one of the ship’s godparents, had been aboard for the naming ceremony. The 1,500 participants were passengers who lined three balconies overlooking the large atrium where the wedding took place with the ship’s real captain, Edward Perrin, the legal officiant.
While this was a planned spectacular with hundreds of balloons sailing down from the ceilings after “You may now kiss the bride,” it wasn’t the only wedding on this trip. Two less public wedding ceremonies took place over 48 hours. Weddings at sea are in a growth spurt.
The website Theknot. com claims 16 per cent of all proposals will take place this month. Makes sense with the holiday season and many at home to hear the good news. Chances are, some of these soon- to- be- hitched couples will consider saying their vows on the high seas.
Weddings are part of a cruise ship’s daily life, and the choices of venue and location are as varied as the prices.
On most lines there are three choices: a wedding at sea; a wedding with the ship docked at its departure port; or a destination wedding on land during the cruise — Bermuda is the most popular, according to B. C.- based Royal Ocean Events owner Tonia Scurr, one of the largest organizers of cruise- ship and cruise- related destination weddings ( royalwed.com).
Alaska and European ports such as Santorini, Greece are also popular wedding destinations.
Scurr’s company organizes weddings of all types for Princess, Holland America and Norwegian, as well as certain destination weddings for Regent Seven Seas and Carnival. “We are the wedding and planning organizer for the couples, and our job is to make sure, along with the ship’s staff, the wedding goes off without a hitch,” Scurr says.
On the other hand, some lines — such as Royal Caribbean — have an in- house wedding department. Where the ship is registered will determine if the captain can legally perform a ceremony at sea.
For weddings in the home port, the couple can be married on the ship and have a one- hour reception with family and friends either joining them for the honeymoon or disembarking before the ship sails. One group, according to Scurr, sailed with 68 wedding guests.
Simple plans for six that include a bottle of champagne, officiant, single-layer cake, flowers and music start around $ 1,900 for an hour while in port. Prices rise for at- sea and destination weddings with receptions, dinners and more added to the basic price on a per- person basis.
So if you’re among the 16 per cent of future brides and grooms planning to announce a wedding this month, the cruise option is just another choice.