By Sharon Naylor

If you’re looking for something different for your wedding, consider holding your nuptials on the water. There’s something so romantic and regal about a yacht wedding—your guests climb aboard and already this is unlike 99% of the weddings they have attended. Depending on your choice of Charter Company, the yacht may be an elegant, well-appointed vessel with a mahogany sitting room and five-star private cabins. A caterer works his or her magic in the galley, or brings your gourmet feast aboard, and your guests mingle on deck with their champagne glasses, marveling at the glorious view of the city lights or the sun setting over the harbor or ocean. As the ship’s horn blows, the cruise begins, and your ceremony takes place in the open sea air with amazing scenery all around you.

The romantic appeal of a yacht or cruise wedding comes with a few realities to keep in mind:

1. A reputable yacht or cruise company is paramount. You don’t want to book your wedding aboard some random person’s boat—rented out so that the owners can make payments on said boat—but rather with a company that has plenty of experience with shipboard weddings.
2. Choose a boat that has indoor space, large enough to suit your guest list, in case the weather doesn’t cooperate, as well as adequate outdoor space.
3. Make sure you advise your guests on the invitations that they should leave the stilettos at home and wear more sturdy and comfortable shoes. Ship decks can get slippery.
4. Get stylish jackets or wraps for yourself, your bridesmaids, and the kids for when the evening gets cooler.
5. Check for current permits and inspection licenses for any ship or yacht company you interview.
6. Keep the weather in mind. If the seas are choppy or a storm is brewing, the captain may decide to keep the boat docked at the marina rather than taking it out into seasickness risk.
7. You can have any formality of wedding you want aboard a yacht or cruise wedding. Formal, elegant, traditional weddings have been held on boats, as have quirkier, more casual weddings.
8. When inspecting yachts with the owners, make sure the restrooms are clean and large enough for you to use with your gown on and that private dressing room cabins are available for you and your bridal party’s use. Ask how the boat will be decorated, such as with light-strung masts or rails.
9. Bring along an emergency bag of seasickness medication or wrist bands for your more sensitive guests.
10. Make sure all of your vendors know that this is a boat wedding. Some will not work a shipboard wedding due to constrained space, and some musicians and photographers don’t want to expose their instruments to sea air. It’s far better to work with a company that offers its own collection of partner vendors. Sheila Schwartz of Lots of Yachts/Lots of Spots (www.lotsofyachts.com) says, “We have florists, deejays, bands, caterers, photographers, videographers, all of whom know how to work on the yacht and how to capture the harbor and scenery in photographs and video. We can be right by the Statue of Liberty, or right beneath fireworks in the harbor.”
11. Check into the validity of your officiant’s license. Be sure that he or she has the authority to marry you on a yacht or cruise.
12. Be aware that many cruise and yacht companies offer dramatic extras, such as your approach to the wedding via a separate boat that has been light-strung.
13. Know that your yacht wedding can be arranged for your ceremony only. Some companies allow for a brief cruise, and then everyone disembarks at the site of the reception hall. You are not limited to having your entire event on board.