We used Essex River Cruises for a brunch cruise the morning after our wedding. The cruise was great (luckily the weather was too!). Everyone had a great time. Dylan was very easy to work with. We could bring on any food or caterer we wanted which was very nice. The price wasn't bad considering we were reserving a whole boat for 50+ people. It was a great way to wrap up our wedding!

When we started our wedding planning, we knew we wanted a waterfront wedding; what we got from Essex River Cruises was beyond expectation. Our chartered boat picked us up mid-morning (at a time approved by the captain, Cliff, to coordinate with the tides) and meandered for most of an hour to what they called "wedding beach", a sandbar that at high tide is completely underwater. We knew we were headed for a tidal beach, but we didn't anticipate anything nearly so gorgeous or so isolated, as if the sand were an island that had been waiting all this time to appear just for us.

The crew (Cliff and his first mate) set up quickly for the ceremony, making sure our guitarist was settled and then arranging the rest of the chairs appropriately. In the meantime, guests strolled along the beach, taking in the panorama of the river delta, while the groom and I got some photos out of the way. After the ceremony, by the time we wrapped up yet more photos, the chairs had been put away, and the crew had set out hors d'oeuvres on board from their catering menu. On the way back, we toasted with a specific sparkling wine we had ordered in advance (and ginger ale for the more youthful!), and three hours after we'd started the day, we were once again on the dock of the riverfront restaurant that hosted our reception.

The team at Essex River Cruises support so many options, so many configurations, so many possibilities--whether to charter one boat or two, whether to hold the ceremony and/or reception on board or on the beach, which food and drinks to serve when, what to fall back on if it rains. I probably emailed more questions to this team than to any other vendor we worked with, and they very patiently and fairly promptly answered them all and gave their recommendations, either by return email or by phone. In the end, it all worked out perfectly, and nearly every guest commented on how unique and fun the day had been. We wouldn't have wanted it any other way.