Problems with getting married at sea

What could be more romantic than getting married at sea? A tropical clime, a beautiful dress, (for the girl hopefully), the perfect scenery of a beautiful sea, what could possibly go wrong?
Well hopefully nothing but you do need to make sure you do your research!

I heard about a couple recently who had never cruised before but liked the thought of getting married at sea. They checked which cruise lines offered weddings at sea, picked their favourite one and then booked a cabin. They then told all their family to book cabins as well. Then they called the cruise lines wedding planner which is when the problems started. All without speaking to a travel agent for any advice.
Many, many cruise lines advertise the fact that they offer weddings at sea. What many don't advertise though is that it's only a 'blessing'. For the marriage to be legal you also need to go on land at a port of call, (necessitating additional costs), to get married 'properly' with a license. Very few will conduct a legal marriage onboard.
Now some people might not mind this, using it as an excuse to have two ceremonies, which is fine as long as you are aware of it ahead of time.
But if you just want the one ceremony and you want everything to go off without a hitch make sure you speak to a good travel agent ahead of time and definitely before you book anything, otherwise, (and I'm talking to all the grooms out there), you could end up having to plan, gulp, two weddings!!!

Happy cruising.