Amy and James’s romantic wedding cruise

Amy and James met on a dating app called Once, which matches couples once a day. “We went to Starbucks for our first date,” says Amy. “Then we had a proper first date at a Chinese in Manchester. We both knew we had something amazing.”

A brain teaser proposal

James proposed on the couple’s third anniversary. "We were due to go to Paris, where he had an elaborate proposal planned," says Amy. "But it was May 2020 and Covid had other plans!”

“So, on the 28th May 2020, some brain teaser puzzles, that James had secretly sent, arrived in the post. We completed them together and entered the answers online, where it said there was a video to watch at 5pm. We watched it and it was a sweet video James had put together for our anniversary. At the end, it said he had a question to ask, and then he was down on one knee!”

Shopping for the dress

Amy visited WED2B’s Bolton store to find her dream dress. “I found WED2B on Facebook and loved what they were about.” she says.

“I didn’t like the idea of waiting for a dress order, or trying on sample sizes that didn’t fit. We visited twice and I loved it. I had a list of my favourite dresses and the ladies were really helpful. They also suggested other dresses they thought I might like.”

Amy chose WED2B's Kitty dress. “I wanted a V-neck front and back, and I loved that it was lined with pearly beads,” she says. "I originally wanted a satin skirt but, after some convincing from my bridal party, I decided on tulle. As the wedding was on a cruise ship, I didn’t want to be too hot or have too much weight in my dress.”

(For similar styles try Primose, Raelynn and Camelia)

A romantic cruise wedding

“James and I knew for a long time that we’d wanted to have a cruise wedding,” says Amy. “It’s the only holiday we like to do, and I didn’t want tons of people at the ceremony. We’re a private couple, so we wanted the ceremony to be private, too."

"We decided on the P&O Ventura, and then looked at what date suited everyone in our party. The wedding was on Monday 1st August 2022 in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. P&O noted down the coordinates for us of exactly where we were when we said, I do.”

The big day

“I had my hair and makeup done in the ship’s salon, along with all the other women who came with us,” says Amy. “Then I went to my room and got ready with my bridesmaid and my mum."

"My dad walked me down the aisle, he had tissues at the ready! And my three brothers walked down the aisle before me, along with my bridesmaid. The song we chose was ‘Book of Love’ by Peter Gabriel. It’s from the finale of Scrubs and we loved it.”

“It was a very hot day, cloudy skies but still glorious. One of the most special moments was when the Captain of the ship asked us to hold hands, just before we exchanged rings. We were both so nervous and we had very sweaty hands, which we laughed about, but I felt so much better holding onto James.”

A buffet reception at sea

“The ship’s restaurant had a buffet laid out for us, which was incredible,” says Amy. “James and I wore matching aprons saying, ‘Mr Right' and ‘Mrs Always Right’. We all had champagne, miniature lamb Wellington and lots of cheese! It was so delicious. We then went onto the terrace at the back of the ship for our photos. It was everything we ever wanted. The ocean was behind us and all our nearest and dearest were with us.”

“We later returned to that spot at sunset for some more photos and it was stunning,” says Amy. “We haven’t had our first dance yet, as we’re going to have a big party at home with everyone who couldn’t make it on the cruise. We’ll do our first dance to ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ by Hearts & Colours.”

A nautical theme

“Our theme was nautical,” says Amy. “I’d spent two years planning and building gift bags for everyone. I spray painted anchors on every single drawstring gift bag. It included all sorts; sweets, a thank-you card written by us, funky sunglasses for the big day, travel sickness tablets, mints, confetti, bingo dabbers (bingo is huge on cruise ships), key rings, etc."

"The wedding party also had personalised wooden boxes to keep mementos in, and they had personalised gifts, such as hip flasks and whisky.”

Chocolates, cakes and sunflowers

“My favourite flowers are sunflowers, so I had fake flowers that I took with me and everything else was cream roses,” says Amy. “Our wedding cake was three tiers of chocolate, vanilla and fruit. It was designed by the ship’s chefs and was gorgeous. There were no other choices, which was great for us, that’s why we just said we’ll have all three flavours!"

"When everyone sat at their seats at the table, they had Hotel Chocolat mini chocolates. Our entertainment was the ship itself. We all went to the Havana club on board and danced the night away to the live singer.”

The best bits…

“The most memorable moments were walking down the aisle, reading my new name for the first time, tasting the incredible buffet and getting those pictures of just the two of us at sunset.”

My top tips…

“Keep it simple,” says Amy. “I planned everything meticulously and nothing went as planned, but it didn’t matter. On the day you don’t care, just as long as you get married!”

Amy and Jame’s Dream Team 

Photographer: Charlotte Chambers

Cruise wedding: P&O Ventura cruise ship

Wedding dresses: WED2B

Local venue: Bredbury Hall Hotel, Stockport

If you would like us to feature your big day, like this wedding cruise, then please click here to share your story and photos with us and we’ll be in touch. Your nearest WED2B is closer than you think, click here for more details about WED2B’s bridal shops.