Anyone eloped/ married at Vanuatu or on a cruise?

[strawberrypatch11]

FH and I want to get married while on a cruise. I saw this website and you go on a P&O cruise and while at Villa, Vanuatu get married. I found a few great packages and it is so cheap! We would rather do this and go on a nice honeymoon and get married at the same time. We still have to save for the cruise. But to elope is so much cheaper and no fuss. And romantic I think! The thing is we could spend $15000 on the wedding alone and not get married for 5 years. Or we elope for heaps cheaper and have an extra special day. By eloping we could marry within 2 years. Thing is, we are going to keep quiet for the time being. Hopefully our families will be ok, as we are planning to go on our own. Won't say anything until we book. Hopefully they will understand that it is what we want and for money reasons.

Has anyone eloped before and what was it like?

Also I would especially love to know, has anyone eloped or gotten married while on a P&O ship. Either while on the ship, when at the port, Villa. Or at Villa Vanuatu?
Would love to see photos as well. Thank you.

[strawberrypatch11]

anyone??

[strawberrypatch11]

Just checking if anyone has?

[strawberrypatch11]

I have just booked a 11 night trip to Vanuatu. My Fiance and I are eloping at Tamanu on the Beach (about 20 mins drive out of port villa) on the first of May, the next day we are heading to stay closer to town for a week so that we can eat at restaurants and explore the place. His parents are divorced and live in QLD and Melbourne, and my parents live in NSW and we live in the NT, so planning a wedding was a logistical nightmare, not to mention expensive! We ended up canceling the wedding because we couldnt please everyone and decided to just go on and have a child.

Now we realise that we will never please everyone and so we have decided to elope. I think people understand more now but this time we didnt ask them what they thought of us eloping we just told them thats what we were doing. I know it probably sounds harsh but we think our wedding should be about us not them... and I just want to be married!!

If you havent gone already, ill let you know how we went and give you some advice when we get back..... in the meantime ive gotten heaps of good information off a website called tripadvisor, its got a forum on Port villa and everything! You should check it out!

Good luck!!

Thanks for your reply. Your wedding sounds beautiful! And you are right, getting married is about the couple, not what the parents want. I hope you have a wonderful wedding!

[Karisma]

FH and I want to get married while on a cruise. I saw this website and you go on a P&O cruise and while at Villa, Vanuatu get married. I found a few great packages and it is so cheap! We would rather do this and go on a nice honeymoon and get married at the same time ...

Also I would especially love to know, has anyone eloped or gotten married while on a P&O ship. Either while on the ship, when at the port, Villa. Or at Villa Vanuatu? ...

We're looking at getting married in Vila, Vanuatu, in October 2009. We originally considered being married by the ship's captain on a P&O Cruise, however we learned that this cannot be legally done by Australia cruise companies. They can arrange a ceremony, renewal of vows etc but the union would not be a legal one and would need to be registered with BDM on return to Australia (meaning that you wedding day would officially be the day you visit/lodge with the registry).

However, a wedding in Vila is legally recognised in Australia, provided that the necessary paperwork etc is completed/lodged. We are seeking the assistance of a wedding planner local to the area, to ensure that everything is organised and someone local can lodge paperwork, make contacts etc where needed. Wedding planners in Vanuatu can also provide wedding packages that include the celebrant, certificate, photographer etc.

We will be going with our young son, as we would like him in the ceremony of course, and immediate family members and close friends who are willing to come along. We're telling people when are where, giving them the details of the person to book through and leaving the rest to them. We want as little fuss as possible... emphasis on "if possible..."

Barefoot on a beach, a honeymoon and holiday all rolled in to one, with the people you love. It can't get much better than that!

[strawberrypatch11]

Hi,
We are getting married on the 15 Feb 09, we are leaving on a P&O cruise from Sydney on 6th Feb, and will be getting married in Vanuata at Erakor Island Resort. Our 4 kids will be the only peolpe with us. We are all excited, a bit unsure as to what the weather will be like, hot and hopefully not raining.

Sounds great! Hope you have a fantastic day and hope it is everything you dream of! I love cruising, so I think it is the ideal place to get married at and I love Villa, Vanuatu.

My wedding won't be for a few years as we are waiting for my FH to finish uni, so I am checking out our options. At the moment a cruise wedding is my favourite possibility. I had been thinking Cook Islands too but I think a cruise appeals to me more plus you don't have to worry about catching a plane. No matter what though, we are definitely eloping, just us. It is hard, because I can't tell anyone our plans. But it is what we definitely want!

[strawberrypatch11]

FH and I want to get married while on a cruise. I saw this website and you go on a P&O cruise and while at Villa, Vanuatu get married. I found a few great packages and it is so cheap! We would rather do this and go on a nice honeymoon and get married at the same time ...

Also I would especially love to know, has anyone eloped or gotten married while on a P&O ship. Either while on the ship, when at the port, Villa. Or at Villa Vanuatu? ...

We're looking at getting married in Vila, Vanuatu, in October 2009. We originally considered being married by the ship's captain on a P&O Cruise, however we learned that this cannot be legally done by Australia cruise companies. They can arrange a ceremony, renewal of vows etc but the union would not be a legal one and would need to be registered with BDM on return to Australia (meaning that you wedding day would officially be the day you visit/lodge with the registry).

However, a wedding in Vila is legally recognised in Australia, provided that the necessary paperwork etc is completed/lodged. We are seeking the assistance of a wedding planner local to the area, to ensure that everything is organised and someone local can lodge paperwork, make contacts etc where needed. Wedding planners in Vanuatu can also provide wedding packages that include the celebrant, certificate, photographer etc.

We will be going with our young son, as we would like him in the ceremony of course, and immediate family members and close friends who are willing to come along. We're telling people when are where, giving them the details of the person to book through and leaving the rest to them. We want as little fuss as possible... emphasis on "if possible..."

Barefoot on a beach, a honeymoon and holiday all rolled in to one, with the people you love. It can't get much better than that!

I agree, a lot more romantic when it it is just you and your very close loved ones and FH of course. I think it sounds great. And getting married while on a cruise works out so much cheaper than getting married at home. Are you going by cruise ship or staying in Vanuatu? Either would be lovely. I always thought it would be nice to stay at Villa for a week or 2. Beautiful place. But then again I cruising so much!!

[Karisma]

I agree, a lot more romantic when it it is just you and your very close loved ones and FH of course. I think it sounds great. And getting married while on a cruise works out so much cheaper than getting married at home. Are you going by cruise ship or staying in Vanuatu? Either would be lovely. I always thought it would be nice to stay at Villa for a week or 2. Beautiful place. But then again I cruising so much!!

We'll just be in Vila for the day, just enough time to jump off the ship and get married. Staying on in Vila would've been nice, but we couldn't afford to do so, nor run the price up too much if others are wanting to come along. The few days on the cruise ship home will be all the honeymoon we need! Especially with our 5yo in tow.. it's his day too, he tells me!

[strawberrypatch11]

I agree, a lot more romantic when it it is just you and your very close loved ones and FH of course. I think it sounds great. And getting married while on a cruise works out so much cheaper than getting married at home. Are you going by cruise ship or staying in Vanuatu? Either would be lovely. I always thought it would be nice to stay at Villa for a week or 2. Beautiful place. But then again I cruising so much!!

We'll just be in Vila for the day, just enough time to jump off the ship and get married. Staying on in Vila would've been nice, but we couldn't afford to do so, nor run the price up too much if others are wanting to come along. The few days on the cruise ship home will be all the honeymoon we need! Especially with our 5yo in tow.. it's his day too, he tells me!

That is so cute and also so special that your 5 year old will be there on the day with you! He sounds so cute and I bet it gets you more excited too!! Do you know where you will get married at in Villa? Are you having a reception at Villa or dinner on board the ship? Either would be fantastic. And the great thing about a destination wedding is the flexibility! You can do what you want, which is so good.

[Karisma]

That is so cute and also so special that your 5 year old will be there on the day with you! He sounds so cute and I bet it gets you more excited too!! Do you know where you will get married at in Villa? Are you having a reception at Villa or dinner on board the ship? Either would be fantastic. And the great thing about a destination wedding is the flexibility! You can do what you want, which is so good.

I know.. he'll also be turning 6 on day 4, so the lady at P&O said they'd arrange some balloons and fuss for him! He asks to see the dress, he talks about flowers, and what he thinks he'd like wear!

As for our Vila plans, not sure. We'd like the barefoot beach wedding... but haven't yet decided what we'll do after the ceremony. Perhaps we'll have cocktail drinks on the beach, and then head back to the cruise ship for dinner, cake etc. We need to make some enquires first..

So what about you?