When Thanh and I began discussing our wedding it was clear that neither of us wanted a large scale production of a wedding. However, we did want something romantic and elegant. (Something short and sweet just like my beautiful fiancée :) Neither of us wanted to plan every miniscule detail ourselves but still wanted a professional quality wedding. My sister Michele stepped up and offered to plan it (Thank you Michele). We gave this some serious considerations as Michele’s wedding was fabulous and we were sure Michele would have done an excellent job for us especially since this is at least in part what she does for a living now. However, it would have needed to be in Savannah which would have made it difficult for the majority of our guests to attend. We reasoned that most of our family that travels easily is from the Savannah Georgia area and most of our family and friends that might not be able to travel so far are from DC, Pennsylvania and Virginia area. So, we knew we needed to flip things around a little. 

   Instead of dwelling on the wedding location problem we began discussing the honeymoon and happened upon the idea of taking a cruise. I believe actually it may have been my Dads idea (Thank you dad). While at Royal Caribbean’s website we came across the Royal Caribbean Royal Weddings. After spending some time researching this idea and looking at online reviews we desided that this was a great way to have a unique yet simple, elegant and short wedding. An added bonus is that it is economical and ties in seamlessly to a relaxing, and romantic honeymoon. 

  We have decided on the MS Grandeur as the venue for our wedding and reception because she is a beautiful ship that has recently undergone a $48 million renovation and will be taking us on our honeymoon cruises of New England and Nova Scotia which is especially romantic in the fall. The MS Grandeur of the Sea like most cruise ships holds formal events every couple of days and weddings several times a year so they have a lot of experience. Additionally, the service and food on cruise ships in general and especially on Royal Caribbean ships are known to be impeccable, and the ship, in general is well equipped for weddings with many beautiful venues available.

   Our wedding will be short approximately 30 minutes which is what we want. Unfortunately, it will be followed by a short reception as well. We would like to spend more time with you all at the reception. However, the ship will be getting underway for our honeymoon that afternoon and unfortunately all guests not on the cruise will have to depart. Additionally, we are not able to change the wedding date as it will have to be when the ship is in port. Therefore, the wedding will have to be on a Thursday (17^th of October 2013). I know this is a big negative for our guest as it means taking off from work. Thanh and I want you to know we do not take lightly your commitment and support. We hope that our wedding will be a magical time for us and we want to share this magic with you all, the most important people in our lives.