Photographing First Wedding on Virgin Voyages’s Brilliant Lady

Ahoy! Before April 2026 I have never been on a cruise. I always talked about it with my husband but never was able to sit down and plan it. I knew very little about cruises aside that I knew they had drink packages. Alyssa & Daniel reached out to me and asked if I could photograph their wedding on Virgin Voyages’s newest ship that would be leaving Long Beach, sail down to Mexico and then back to Long Beach. It was a 6 day cruise and they even said my husband was welcome to come. The catch was that Virgin Voyages’s is a no kids cruise. After arrangements were made my husband and I had our first vacation (first nights alone) since having our child. We sailed off along the California coast and the first full day on the cruise was Daniel & Alyssa’s wedding. It was a lovely overcast day on the Pacific Ocean, the ceremony space was set up on The Perch on the back end of the ship. The captain of the ship had offered to officiate the first wedding on his vessel, the management team of the ship all came out to witness the ceremony, alongside Daniel & Alyssa’s family and friends. After, we had dinner at the Italian restaurant, one of Virgin’s many delicious restaurants they have on board. Once we finished up dinner we all went back up to The Perch where their reception took place. Drinks and music were flowing and everyone danced the night away as we sailed to our first stop in Mexico. The rest of the trip, my husband and I explored parts of Mexico, hung by the pool, gambled, tanned, napped, drank, ate a lot, and explored all the nooks and crannies of Brilliant Lady. Although once our ship arrived back to Long Beach I was sprinting off the ship to get back to my child, my husband and I plan to hopefully go on Brilliant Lady’s Alaska voyage next summer.