Disney Cruise Line Castaway Cay Wedding Photos on the Disney Dream – Micaela and Dominick

There is something completely different about photographing a wedding at sea. Instead of spending the entire wedding day at one venue, a Disney Cruise wedding can take you from getting ready in your stateroom to saying your vows on Castaway Cay, taking portraits with the Disney Dream behind you, celebrating back aboard the ship, and heading out for another round of photographs after dark.

Micaela and Dominick's Disney Cruise wedding in January 2022 was exactly that kind of experience. They sailed from Port Canaveral aboard the Disney Dream with approximately 30 of their closest family members and friends, which was actually a fairly large group compared with many of the intimate Disney Cruise weddings I've photographed. Their wedding ceremony took place on Castaway Cay, followed by an extended reception aboard the Dream, portraits throughout the ship, a second wedding look, and plenty of time to actually enjoy this experience with the people who traveled with them.

They were also one of those couples who were incredibly easy to photograph together. Micaela and Dominick were affectionate, easygoing and very emotionally connected. There were plenty of happy tears throughout the wedding, but more than anything, you could see that they were genuinely good partners and really comfortable with each other.

Their wedding was later featured by Disney Fairy Tale Weddings on the official Disney Ever After Blog, which makes it especially fun for me to finally go back through the entire wedding and share the story from my perspective as their photographer.

A Disney Dream Wedding During a Very Different Time for Cruising

One thing that makes Micaela and Dominick's wedding especially interesting to look back on is when it happened. They sailed in January 2022, when Disney Cruise Line was still operating under COVID-era precautions. Guests were tested before boarding, masks were required indoors, and the Disney Dream was sailing with significantly fewer passengers than you would normally expect.

I remember there being somewhere around 1,300 guests aboard during our sailing, so the ship felt incredibly empty. It also meant we had to approach their Disney Cruise wedding photography a little differently. Indoor portraits needed to happen away from other guests, so I looked for quiet hallways and less populated areas of the ship and we spent as much time outside as possible.

It definitely limited some of the locations we could use, but we still created a really varied gallery aboard the Disney Dream. More importantly, we knew their biggest photography priority was Castaway Cay, so that was where we really concentrated our time.

Getting Ready Aboard the Disney Dream

Micaela started her wedding day aboard the Disney Dream, including having her hair styled at Senses Spa & Salon before returning to their suite to finish getting ready. I photographed her details and some quiet bridal portraits there while Dominick got ready separately.

Getting ready on a cruise ship has a completely different feeling from a traditional wedding morning. You're putting on your wedding dress in your stateroom while looking out at the ocean, knowing that a few hours later you're going to walk off the ship and get married on a private island in the Bahamas.

Because we needed to stay away from busy indoor areas, Micaela and Dominick had their first look in the hallway near their suite. It was private, quiet and gave them a few minutes together before we headed off the Disney Dream for the ceremony. It wasn't about finding the biggest or most elaborate location on the ship. It was about finding a place where they could actually have that moment together.

Micaela and Dominick's Castaway Cay Wedding Ceremony

Once we arrived at Castaway Cay, it was finally time for their ceremony. For couples considering a Disney Cruise Line wedding, getting married on Castaway Cay is such a unique experience because the island and the ship become part of the wedding at the same time. You have the turquoise Bahamian water and palm trees surrounding you while the Disney Dream sits just offshore.

And on this particular day, we also had wind. A LOT of wind.

This was easily one of the windiest wedding ceremonies I have ever photographed. It was so windy that ropes had to be used to help secure the floral ceremony arch. Micaela's dress was moving, her hair was moving, everything was moving. There was absolutely no pretending we were having a perfectly controlled outdoor wedding day.

But Micaela and Dominick handled it beautifully. They were relaxed about everything, Disney's team made it work, and honestly, the wind became part of the story. That's something I always tell couples about destination weddings and weddings at sea. We can't control what the weather decides to do. We work with it.

Most importantly, we were still able to create one of the photographs they really wanted: the two of them at their Castaway Cay wedding with the Disney Dream behind them.

Wedding Photos With the Disney Dream in the Background

When I'm photographing a Castaway Cay wedding, I don't want the photographs to look like they could have been taken on just any beach. If you chose to get married during a Disney Cruise, the ship is part of your wedding story too.

That's why I love intentionally incorporating the Disney Cruise ship into portraits whenever the location, weather and timing allow us to do it. Some of my favorite photographs from Micaela and Dominick's ceremony show them surrounded by their guests with the Disney Dream sitting across the turquoise water behind them. You can look at one photograph years later and immediately know exactly where they were.

Just Married Photos Around Castaway Cay

After the ceremony, Castaway Cay became our playground for newlywed portraits. This was one of Micaela and Dominick's biggest priorities, so I wanted to make sure we had time to explore instead of treating the island as simply their ceremony location.

We photographed along the waterfront with the Disney Dream behind them, underneath the Castaway Cay sign and around some of the recognizable Disney details throughout the island. They even had a golf cart with a "Just Married" sign, which is pretty much perfect newlywed transportation for a Castaway Cay wedding.

The entire setting photographed beautifully. Micaela's white gown and Dominick's blue suit looked incredible against the turquoise water, bright blue sky and tropical colors of Castaway Cay. Even with the wind working overtime, these ended up being some of my favorite photographs from their entire Disney Cruise wedding.

An Extended Disney Cruise Wedding Reception

Micaela and Dominick traveled with approximately 30 wedding guests, which is more than I typically see at the Disney Cruise weddings I've photographed. Many have been very intimate celebrations with around ten guests, so their group was large enough that they really wanted the opportunity to have an actual party together.

Instead of keeping their celebration to a shorter cake-and-champagne reception, they chose to extend their reception aboard the Disney Dream. That gave them more time with everyone and allowed them to include additional food and hors d'oeuvres, their wedding cake, a first dance and plenty of time for everyone to dance and celebrate.

They also had chocolate-dipped Mickey-shaped rice cereal treats covered in sprinkles, and apparently those made enough of an impression that I still remember how good they were more than four years later.

I really loved the extended reception for a wedding of this size. Everyone had traveled together to be there, so it gave Micaela and Dominick an opportunity to have the intimate destination wedding experience while still getting some of the energy of a traditional reception. There were emotional moments, happy tears and plenty of actual party time with their family and friends.

Wedding Portraits Around the Disney Dream

Once we were back aboard the Disney Dream, the photographs took on a completely different look. This is one of my favorite things about photographing Disney Cruise weddings. Within the same wedding gallery, we can go from bright tropical portraits on Castaway Cay to warm, dramatic photographs surrounded by the architecture and lighting of the ship.

Because of the restrictions in place during this particular sailing, I had to be strategic about where we photographed indoors. We used quiet elevator areas, hallways and architectural spaces where we could stay away from other guests while still creating photographs that felt distinctly like the Disney Dream.

For me, this is where experience photographing weddings becomes especially important. I don't need every location to be perfectly staged or completely empty. I'm looking at the light, the architecture and what's happening between my couple. Sometimes an unassuming hallway ends up becoming one of my favorite portrait locations because I know how I want to photograph it.

You can see more of my approach to photographing complete wedding stories in my wedding photography portfolio.

A Second Wedding Dress and Dinner at Palo

Micaela also brought a second wedding dress, which gave us another opportunity to create a completely different set of portraits aboard the Disney Dream. Her second look had a totally different feeling from the classic gown she wore for the ceremony, and I loved being able to photograph both.

She wore her second dress for portraits around the ship and for their private dinner at Palo. After spending so much of the wedding day outside in the bright colors of Castaway Cay, the rich interior aboard the Dream gave us something completely different for this part of their story.

This is one of the reasons I love having more than just a few hours to photograph a Disney Cruise wedding. There are so many different environments available during a sailing that it doesn't make sense to try to force every photograph into one tiny window. Depending on the couple's plans, we can prioritize the ceremony and Castaway Cay first and then create completely different portraits aboard the ship later.

When Pirate Night Fireworks Don't Go According to Plan

We were also supposed to photograph Micaela and Dominick during the Pirate Night fireworks. After dealing with intense wind during their Castaway Cay wedding, though, the weather continued to have other ideas. The fireworks were canceled.

That's part of having a wedding at sea. Weather can change plans, ports can change, and activities aboard the ship can be adjusted or canceled. Having a plan is important, but being willing to change that plan is equally important.

Instead of calling it a night, we pivoted and created more portraits around the Disney Dream. One of my favorites was underneath the ship's enormous red funnel with the illuminated Mickey silhouette above them. It's colorful, unmistakably Disney and completely different from everything we photographed during their wedding ceremony.

They didn't get the fireworks photograph we originally planned, but they still got a photograph that could only have been created aboard the Disney Dream.

Why Have a Disney Cruise Wedding?

A Disney Cruise wedding gives you something a traditional wedding can't really replicate: several days with the people who traveled to celebrate with you. Your guests aren't arriving for a ceremony and leaving after the reception. You're sailing together, eating together, visiting ports and turning the wedding into part of an entire vacation.

That can be especially wonderful for intimate weddings because you actually have time with everyone. And from a photography perspective, your wedding story can extend far beyond the ceremony itself. Depending on your itinerary and plans, your photographs can include getting ready aboard the ship, Castaway Cay, different areas around the Disney Dream, nighttime portraits, formal looks, Pirate Night and other parts of the sailing that matter to you.

There is also a level of unpredictability that comes with getting married at sea. Micaela and Dominick's wedding is a perfect example. We dealt with extreme wind, limited indoor photography locations and canceled fireworks, and still created a full wedding gallery that looked nothing like a compromise.

How to Book a Disney Cruise Wedding

Disney Cruise weddings are planned through Disney Fairy Tale Weddings, with the Disney team coordinating the wedding experience aboard the ship. Available ceremony locations, reception options, pricing, guest requirements and inclusions can change, so couples planning a current Disney Cruise Line wedding should always confirm the latest information directly with Disney.

Micaela and Dominick were married in January 2022, so I don't want to use the specific logistics of their wedding as though they represent Disney's current wedding packages. What their wedding does show beautifully is how much can be incorporated into the overall experience when you start thinking beyond just the ceremony.

If you're in the early stages of planning, I recommend thinking about your photography priorities at the same time you're planning the wedding itself. Do you absolutely want portraits on Castaway Cay? Do you want the ship visible in your photographs? Are you planning multiple wedding looks? Are nighttime photographs important to you? Those priorities help determine how photography should fit into the sailing.

Disney Cruise Wedding Photography

Photographing a Disney Cruise wedding is very different from photographing a wedding at a traditional venue. You're working within an active cruise ship, port schedules, changing weather, other passengers and locations that may only be available for a limited amount of time. Flexibility matters just as much as planning.

Micaela and Dominick's wedding was one of my earlier Disney Cruise weddings. Since then, I've continued photographing weddings aboard Disney Cruise Line, but so much of what I loved about this experience is still exactly what I love about them now. Every sailing gives me a completely different story to photograph.

I want my couples to have more than photographs of the ceremony. I want the getting-ready moments, the ship, Castaway Cay, the weather we had to work around, the emotional moments with family, the party, the second outfit and the portraits we created when our original plan didn't happen.

If you're researching a photographer for your own Disney wedding, you can explore more of my Disney Fairy Tale Wedding photography, browse my wedding portfolio, or read through my wedding photography FAQ as you begin planning.

A Disney Dream Wedding Featured by Disney Fairy Tale Weddings

Looking back at Micaela and Dominick's Castaway Cay wedding now, I think what I love most is how much of their actual experience is preserved in these photographs. It wasn't a perfectly controlled wedding day. It was windy. Plans changed. We were sailing during a very unusual time in Disney Cruise Line history. And through all of it, they were happy, affectionate, emotional and completely focused on each other.

Their celebration was later selected to be featured on Disney Fairy Tale Weddings' official Ever After Blog, where Disney shared their wedding story and my photography from their Disney Dream celebration. Having Disney choose to share this particular wedding makes it even more special for me to finally share the complete story here.

From getting ready aboard the Disney Dream to saying their vows on Castaway Cay, celebrating with approximately 30 family members and friends, changing into a second dress and creating nighttime portraits when the fireworks couldn't happen, Micaela and Dominick's photographs tell the story of so much more than their ceremony. They tell the story of what it actually felt like to get married on a Disney Cruise.

Contact Michelle Vila Photography for Your Disney Cruise Wedding

If you're planning a Disney Cruise Line wedding, Castaway Cay wedding or Disney Fairy Tale Wedding and want photography that tells the complete story of your experience, I'd love to hear what you're planning. You can contact Michelle Vila Photography and tell me about your ship, sailing, wedding plans and the photographs that matter most to you.

Wedding Details

Photography — Michelle Vila Photography | @michellevilaphotography
Wedding — Disney Fairy Tale Weddings
Cruise Line — Disney Cruise Line
Ship — Disney Dream
Departure Port — Port Canaveral, Florida
Ceremony — Castaway Cay, Bahamas
Hair & Salon — Senses Spa & Salon aboard the Disney Dream
Private Dinner — Palo aboard the Disney Dream
Published — Disney Fairy Tale Weddings Ever After Blog