Bride, groom, and boat (Photo by Franci)

How can your wedding be more romantic than it already is? You select the ideal place from dozens of possibilities. Perhaps you love the romance of Hawaii, or the romance of a 58-room, 100-year old waterfront villa on the Sacramento River, or a river front hotel that was once a speakeasy. Then you choose a sensational gown, the perfect flowers, the right music, and plan a champagne reception for 100 friends. How could it be better?

Well, you could arrive or leave by boat. A boat is more romantic than yesterday’s stretch limo, or even a surrey with a fringe on top. It’s an adventure, too, whenever you leave land for water. Dress the boat up with ribbons and balloons or native Hawaiians in costume.

Of course, you can’t arrive or leave by boat unless your wedding is to be by the water, but that is easy enough to arrange if you are going to tie the knot in the San Francisco Bay area. There are two waterfront wedding venues in the Sacramento Delta: The Ryde Hotel and the Grand Island Mansion. Both cater to weddings, have good wedding planners, and can stage your reception, too. And both have docks. If you belong to a yacht club, you might have your wedding and reception there; most are happy to arrange for a private use of the guest dock and club house for a wedding. (For a list of yacht clubs in the Bay Area see the link list on my home page.)

Julie Duckworth and David Iljas picked The Grand Island Mansion for their wedding September 29, 2007. “We both had a long boating history, met through boating, and we wanted to be married by the water,” Julie said. “We looked at Monterey and other places, then saw The Mansion. We fell in love with it. And the Delta always has been important in our lives.” Julie and David had 100 guests for the wedding and reception. Her dad skippered the boat.

Though they live in the Bay Area, Jennifer Dolin and Steve Rinehart love Hawaii, so they decided to be married at a beachfront hotel on Maui. When the big day came, and the magic moment arrived, the guests were seated, the minister was ready, the groom and attendants were assembled -- all waiting for the bride. But instead of walking down the aisle, Jennifer surprised everyone by arriving on the beach in a Hawaiian outrigger war canoe. 

No question about it, when you add a boat, you raise your wedding to a higher level of excitement.