Get Married at Sea on a Private Wedding Yacht – Romantic Boat Weddings Are Cost Effective and Fun!
A Romantic Boat Wedding will be remembered most nostalgically forever in the hearts of all your ocean loving guests. Getting married at sea is fun, easy and even cost-effective.
For the price to get married at a special venue, then chauffeur the party over to a pricey reception hall with all its expenses, well…, you might as well have all that done on a boat, save lots of money and really enjoy yourself! Heck, even if you were to get married on the beach at your special ocean wedding location, a boat ride would be high on the list of honeymoon/vacation activities, so by getting married on a sailboat you would collectively save that expense and have the whole boat for private use for all your guests. Perhaps a ‘Money Tree’ with the sailboat as the donation theme: pitch it as “funds for a fun time for all”–use a bucket with a sailboat picture taped to it, or a boat’s life-preserver with sack attached to the hole to hold the booty… use your imagination.
OK, maybe a Money Tree & directly asking for money AT the wedding is a wee bit tacky, but to work out collectively the cost details of certain wedding/reception & other destination activities with the folks in the destination wedding party is a great way to pool the resources & get the best ‘Bang for your Buck.’ So if the theme is “getting on the water,” figure how much each would have to pay to take a sail by themselves versus all involved pooling the funds and chartering the whole boat for entire wedding party.
Or, just consider the thrill of the time on the water a wedding gift to your wedding party–a treat to be remembered far more fondly that a stuffy indoor wedding.
For those who love the call of the sea, feel the pull of the endless horizons & dream of sailing away themselves someday, a wedding at sea on a private wedding yacht is an irresistible choice!
A Wedding at sea can vastly range from a humongous cruise ship to getting married on a Stand Up Paddle board. Let me take this moment to advise – steer clear of the ‘Floating Las Vegas Hotels’ and convince the adventurous watery souls to come to Maui for these types of wet & wild weddings… Read on!
I’d like to focus on weddings on a privately chartered boat, where the whole boat is at your disposal, whether you are a party of 80 on a custom composite catamaran or just the two of you & perhaps a few close loved ones on a lively smaller sailboat that really feels like your own personal sailboat for a day.
You can have a ‘Hip & Nautical’ Minister perform your wedding vows & the essential wedding photography to capture the absolutely stunning wedding on the water scenes. Most reasonable wedding planners will offer their full wedding services at sea for their normal land based prices and adding an excursion fee, although you may need to extend your photography coverage longer than a quick & simple beach wedding since they can’t jump ship for the duration of the voyage. However, a typical two-hour wedding sail will only require an hour & a half of photography, just a half hour more than a normal simple beach wedding.
As far as the reception part goes, that can totally depend on the budget. The very same dreamy ocean sailing wedding experience can be done with very basic ‘bring your own’ reception snacks to save expenses or you can really treat your guests to an un-apologetic multi-course meal with all the gourmet trimmings.
Here on Maui you can find a 50 foot race-class boat of slight vintage, but still a thoroughbred in the racing circles to offer lively sailing for a standard two-hour sunset wedding sailing cruise or the four-hour sail featuring ‘The Plunge’ where the bride & groom say their vows, dive in & kiss under the water in front of an underwater video camera! Wedding party couples can also ‘take the Plunge’. Please note that this is an option that will have to be confirmed with the boat captain and wedding crew. Weather is always a factor as well.
There’s a bargain catamaran of nearly 50 feet that can offer the same stunning ‘Maui’d on the Sea’ experience for intimate parties of up to 6. This means a cat that can normally accommodate up to 50 passengers will make wedding parties up to SIX feel like they are very special. Then for larger parties of up to around 80 you will find an impressive fleet of modern catamarans that feature receptions that range from cost-effective to lavish multi course gourmet feasts.
In most desirable Destination Wedding ocean locations you will find similar types of retired racing boats and catamarans of many types or even SUPs and wedding officiates that are Hip & Nautical enough to perform your dream wedding at sea. As we sailed over 25,000 miles from Los Angeles to New Zealand and all throughout the South Pacific, we often were impressed at the previously famous racing sailboats & big cats that are now whisking away dreamy watery wedding parties to live out their wildest wedding dreams on the water.
The average cost of a wedding in the US as of 3-1-2014 is currently just over $30,000. The most expensive Big Cat charter with the lavish multi course gourmet feasts, live music, photography, video and the full wedding ceremony is only half that, while a good ‘ol cost-effective charter that includes all the above but with a more modest reception can be done for less than $2000.
So, if your dreams involve a highly responsive racing sailboat that can take a zephyr of wind & present an exhilarating sailing experience or the stable sailing platform of a big catamaran, the perfect wedding yacht with full wedding services can be found for a lot less than one may think. Enjoy a truly Magical Wedding aboard your personal Dream Wedding Ship–a perfect start on your own voyage of Love!
If you will be having a Destination Wedding consider coming to Maui and get Married on a Private Wedding Yacht. Contact the Maui Marrying Muse for all your Maui Destination Wedding Planning Wishes. A ‘Tried and True’ locally based Mom and Pop – One Stop Shop!
Bobbie Jo and this article’s author Roger Curley have a deep connection to the ocean and the Tropical Islands they have sailed to and lived among during their nearly 4 years of Sailing Adventures with their son Robin aboard their ‘ol 51 foot sailboat ‘Hipnautical.’
We now live aboard and sail the Hawaiian waters on our own catamaran, that we allow ‘friends’ to join us on occasion.
We Bring the “Spirit of the South Pacific with the Soul of Aloha” – Joining loving couples in the deepest expression of Love!
Prior to our Sailing Adventures I enjoyed the experience of a 30+ year career in Hollywood’s Film, TV and Audiophile recording industry while Bobbie Jo has been performing Harp and Vocals at Wedding Ceremonies for over 30 years as well.
We bring our highly technical photography, video and worldly experiences together for Simply Elegant Dream Weddings on a Tropical Island.
Check out our awesome Maui Weddings at Sea Packages!
https://mauimarryingman.com/wedding-packages/Come to Maui and
Get… Maui’d at Sea!