Riverboat Wedding -any Experiences?

Sounds awesome! Some of my family members get really bad sea sickness so it wouldn't have been an option for me but I would love to attend a wedding on a riverboat. Do you get to take a cruise on it to see how it feels on the water? That would possibly be something I would want to experience before asking my guests to.

That's a good point! We've done one in Louisville and I didn't hardly notice we we're on a boat at all, it was very smooth. But it's a good thing to ask and try to experience! I tend to get a little nauseous on some boats, so if I'm okay most people probably would be as well!

Can you cruise during the ceremony and maybe just a little while during the reception, then continue the party at the dock? If you have guests that want or need to leave a little earlier they would be trapped on the boat.

I’ve never been to a wedding on a boat, but I’ve been to a fraternity formal on one and it was a great time. If I was you I’d let guests know what time you’ll be leaving and docking, so they know they won’t be able to arrive late or leave early.

I've been to a wedding on a boat. It was really neat, but there were downsides. 1, your guests are literally stuck on the boat the entire time. No one can leave once the boat departs until the end of the reception. 2, If someone gets stuck in traffic, makes a pit stop, whatever and doesn't make it to the boat on time they're SOL. 3, The boat we were on had 2 setups, so we were sharing the outside deck with a quinceanera. Bathrooms were also shared. 4, Seasickness was a thing for a few people, they spent most of the time outside on the dock. 5. Music. If you didn't like the music, its too loud for you, your options were to deal with it or to go outside on the deck. We were lucky and there was good weather, but had it been raining a bunch of the older people wouldn't have been too thrilled being stuck inside.

It really depends on if you're comfortable with the downsides and how well you know your guests. Make sure if you go this route that your guests know what to expect.

These are all great points! I will definitely be asking about exactly what happens if someone is late, etc. I do know that we would likely share the boat with another wedding, but they are separate decks with separate bathrooms and a separate bar as well. We would be docked for the ceremony and part of cocktail hour, then the cruise part is 2.5 hours and ends at 9:30. A little early of a reception but hopefully that means people don't feel too trapped! We are going to be at around 50 people, possibly less, so I feel like at least people will hopefully have room to move around! Thank you everyone for the great points, and keep them coming because sometimes I forget to think of certain details!

I've never been to a wedding like this, but I really love the idea, JJ brings up some really good points so definitely weigh the pros and cons. Also double check that none of your VIPs are easily seasick. It would be extra awful for, say, the MOB to be seasick the entire time. Would the boat be shared or would it only contain your wedding?

ETA- Nvm on the question haha. The idea of separate decks sounds great.

I’m getting married on a sunset harbor cruise. West coast though. But maybe my experience can help. Logistically it’s been interesting. But yes, as long as your guests know A) when they can get on the boat B) that the boat will be leaving the dock at exactly X time and C) they are stuck on said boat until we return to dock at Y time. We aren’t having any kids because we didn’t want issues with anyone needing to leave early because the kids were acting up or past bedtime or whatever. It was also important to us to find a boat with central AC since literally ours is the only one in the area that offers anything but “opening the windows”. We also found something with designated men’s/women’s bathrooms (again not the norm here for some reason), and it’s a multilevel boat so guests aren’t stuck in one space the whole night. Good luck planning!

In addition to everything @JJ said, I'd like to know if the indoor areas are climate controlled. I had my junior prom on a boat cruise and hated it. It was so humid and gross and there was no AC anywhere, and we were just trapped for hours, because, well, it was a boat.

View Quoted Comment This is great insight, thank you so much!!

View Quoted Comment I know there are at least ceiling fans on the inside (pictures), and the wedding will be mid to late September in the evening in Ohio/northern Kentucky. Do you think it would be totally miserable if there isn't AC? Genuinely looking for info, I would hate for anyone to be miserable! Our first plan was all outdoor at a farm, so no AC there either, but obviously no one was trapped on a boat in that case.

I mean, I don't know what the weather is like down there, but in NY, it can still be high 70's, sometimes 80 in September. My October wedding day last year was 75 degrees. I would think it would only be warmer down south, so yea, I think AC would be necessary. It really is for any wedding, unless it's winter, of course, then you'd need heat. But you have to have some sort of climate control or people will be very uncomfortable.

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AC is necessary for a boat. You'll have a tun of people packed in. If you don't have climate control it's going to get hot and start smelling bad. At the very least you'll want to make sure the windows can open, but even then it'll get loud. Outdoor at a farm with no AC isn't a good idea either, but at least then it's open and aired out. You don't want people to remember B.O. at your wedding.

View Quoted Comment I'll definitely look into the window and ac situation when we go this weekend. Average temps for the evening in September in southern Ohio seem to be pretty mild fter a quick search, but of course rooms can get warm any time there are a bunch of people in one place! Thanks 😊

Oh! And don’t forget to verify how much load in time your vendors have to set up. We only get an hour before the guests arrive so it’s meant I’ve had to cut back on decor

View Quoted Comment Thank you! Because we are scaling back, we probably won't have much decor. The riverboat handles catering and entertainment, so at most we will have a cake being delivered, an officiant, and a photographer lol but it is still a good thing to know!

I am getting married in a privately chartered cruise in FL. I agree with a lot of what PP’s say. One major thing is to know if you would have the boat to yourself, or if you would be sharing with another group or people on a cruise. Our boat is a sailboat, so not air conditioned, but it would be a good idea to have for a boat with indoor areas. Make sure they are open to your music options and decorations. We are only allowed to decorate with live flowers in case they may blow into the ocean they will not harm the animals. Good luck I hope it goes great!

Sorry, I'm going to keep remembering things about that wedding throughout the day. They could only do a beer and wine bar because of the space issue. I can't remember if they didn't have a storage space or if the bar itself just wasn't equipped for liquor but that was one of the things the bride had to settle on. I doubt this'll be an issue but if you want a full bar you may want to ask about that.

I also remember that once we pulled into the dock and exited the boat we were NOT allowed back on for any circumstances. My mom somehow left her purse at the table and we had to stand around for half an hour waiting for everyone else to get off the boat before someone who worked on the boat could check to see if they could find it.

My wedding will be on a boat! We knew that's what we wanted immediately, and I am really happy with the decision. Most boats are very inclusive (my includes catering, a sea captain officiant, entertainment, cake, flowers, and some more decor). All I am paying for outside of the boat is attire and photography. The boat will be docked for the ceremony and sail for the reception.

Some downsides to the boat are that the guests are stuck on the boat for the duration of the reception. The other downside is that after the ceremony and cocktail hour, the boat will be open to the public.

Unfortunately we wouldn't be able to comfortably attend a wedding on a boat. FH gets really bad motion sickness and we have yet to find a good remedy. This is definitely something big to consider for your guests.