Renewal of Vows - Oriana

Share your experiences of getting married onboard a ship, or ask any questions you have about getting married onboard - even renewing vows.
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AngieT
Third Officer
Third Officer
Posts: 167
Joined: January 2013
Location: Leeds

Renewal of Vows - Oriana

#1

Post by AngieT »

We celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary last August & my husband was 65 last month so we marked the occasion by going on the Oriana 35 night Transatlantic cruise on 11th February. We decided to make it even more special by Renewing our Vows onboard. We booked the package by email & paid for it 6 months before - the date of the ceremony to be arranged once on board (usually late afternoon on a sea day) & all we requested was that it took place whilst we were in either Caribbean waters or in the Gulf of Mexico.

Once on board we met with the Assistant Food & Beverage Manager & discussed all the arrangements including the date of the ceremony & details of the guests. Although we had no family & friends joining us on the cruise we had made several friends of our fellow passengers through the community forums & we had 14 guests on the day. Invitations were sent to them by the AFB Manager & colours for the flowers etc arranged. The package included - bouquet & button holes (a good choice available), a cake (a good size iced fruit cake which was delicious), a ceremony conducted by the Captain, the services of the Photographer, a bottle of Champagne to toast (we ordered two more bottles for all our guests), gifts of one large photo in a silver frame and 2 cut glass champagne flutes.

On the day (which was between New Orleans & Key West) I was pampered by two of my new friends who did my hair & makeup. My beautiful bouquet of pink & orange Gerberas & a matching buttonhole arrived & at 1700hrs we were taken to the Wedding Venue on Deck 10 (Forward) where our guests were already waiting and we had a wonderful & most memorable ceremony including signing a certificate which the Captain & our guests also signed. We all shared a toast & many photos were taken there & then at other locations on the ship (including the terrace at the stern). The cake was later enjoyed by us all - including out steward who we also felt should help us celebrate our special day!

The whole experience was much more than we expected and we felt very fortunate to have shared our special day with our new friends.


Boris+
Senior First Officer
Senior First Officer
Posts: 3367
Joined: February 2013

Re: Renewal of Vows - Oriana

#2

Post by Boris+ »

Hi Angie T,

Well done, well done, well done! I'm so truly glad that your special day was every bit as lovely as ours - I'm sure you will treasure your photos etc.

Em :D


simeon
Able Seaman
Able Seaman
Posts: 16
Joined: February 2014

Re: Renewal of Vows - Oriana

#3

Post by simeon »

It sounds like it was an incredibly lovely experience for you. We will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary next summer and we have already been discussing the idea of renewing our vows to mark the occasion. We still get along fantastically well, but I believe that is because we have taken the time to renew our vows every full moon in order to re-affirm the vows we took when we got married and remind us of our commitment to one another. We have narrowed our search to only a few ships and the Oriana is one of our top 5 choices. After reading about your experience I am only more sold on the idea of not only renewing our vows, but of making the Oriana a real contender for top 3. I would imagine that Key West only added to the romance and overall experience. Key West is beautiful.

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