Cruise Ship Wedding in the Atlantic Ocean

A Cruise Ship Wedding in the Atlantic Ocean with the Awesome Tyla and Rob

I am so excited to be able to share Tyla and Rob’s cruise ship wedding photos with you! It was one of my highlights of 2017 for two reasons. 1) Tyla and Rob have been close friends of mine since our kickboxing shenanigans back at university. 2) Holy crap I got to shoot a wedding on a cruise ship! How cool is that? I love shooting weddings in different/ alternative locations and this was certainly one of them.

Preparing the photos for this post has brought back so many great memories from an awesome adventure with a fantastic crowd. And now, over to Tyla and Rob to tell their story.

What was your favourite part of your alternative Cruise Ship wedding?

We both loved the karaoke in the evening, which was made extra fun by the fact that it was also black tie night on the cruise, so it felt like everyone was dressed up for our wedding. We both don’t really like to sing or dance in public, but the adrenaline of the day (and lots of alcohol) meant that we both threw ourselves into the singing and dancing that evening.

It was also fun to walk around the ship after our ceremony in all our finery, whilst everyone else lounged on deck in their swimwear. Matt got some great pictures of confused sunbathers staring at us, and people even applauded us (which Tyla really loved).

What made you choose a Cruise Ship for your wedding?

We decided to get married on a cruise because we’d been on one before and really enjoyed it. It was also so much cheaper than a more traditional wedding on land, and it helped even out the guest list – Tyla’s family all live in Southern Africa, where she’s from, so it would have been a rather lopsided wedding had we gone gone the conventional route!

It ended up being a really intimate wedding which made it more special for us, and people are always so interested in hearing about how we got married on a ship somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

We got married on the second day of the cruise, so it felt like our wedding stretched on for the whole week, which made our experience unique.

Do you have any advice for other couples planning their wedding?

Try as best you can to make choices that make you happy, even if they don’t seem too popular with friends or relatives.

To be honest we don’t remember many of the details (neither of us can remember what the ceremony room looked like!), but we do remember having fun with some of the most important people in our lives. We don’t think we’d change anything about the day.

What was it like working with Matt the photographer?

Matt was an amazing photographer, and luckily he’s also our friend. We met at university and have known him for nearly 10 years, so it was great to have someone we knew so well to document our wedding.

Matt is such a easygoing person that he makes anyone feel at ease. He managed to get some lovely candid shots of our grandparents in particular, who aren’t used to not posing for photos. He also made our brothers feel really at ease, both of whom are autistic, which really shows how good he is at his job.

We love our photos and the fact that they were taken by a friend just makes them extra special. Although, he did forget to bring a bow tie to a cruise with two black tie nights, he was willing to wear a jazzy one from South Africa, which made Tyla forgive him.

More about Tyla and Rob’s Amazing Cruise Ship Adventure after the Photos

Some mini adventures in France and Spain

One of the cool things about being on a cruise ship (this was my first experience of one) is that you get to enjoy lunch and a little adventure in a different country each day. Pretty cool right? :)

What made you choose your decor and outfits for your wedding on a Cruise?

Tyla decided to wear her mum’s veil and headdress, and actually chose a bridesmaid’s dress in white instead of a traditional wedding dress. Her bouquet was made of blue and white origami flowers because she’s allergic to pollen, and we chose to make everything blue and white themed because of that, and to bring in a nautical theme.

Rob wore a dark blue suit and had an origami boutonniere to match the bouquet. We didn’t have much else really because the cruise line decorate the room for you and everything is so beautiful and fancy anyway. It was nice not to worry about loads of tiny details and made the day really relaxing for us.

Did you have any Entertainment on your Day?

Ourselves! Part of the beauty of a cruise wedding is that almost everything is taken care of for you. There was a band, dancing, karaoke, and a nightclub to enjoy in the evening. Of course, lots of people you don’t know will also be there, but that was part of the fun for us. Everyone was so friendly and excited for us, even though they didn’t know us, and it felt like we were midly famous.

Thanks again to Tyla and Rob for inviting me on their awesome alternative wedding adventure!!