First mates from ‘I do’

As the busy wedding season starts up this month, hundreds of couples will make fantasy a reality and tie the knot aboard a yacht in Newport Harbor. Although there’s no way to guarantee a happy ending, getting hitched on a boat is certainly a fairy tale beginning.

The allure of marriage afloat is the beautiful scenery, one-stop venue and above all, the fun, said American Yacht Charters Vice President Andrea Waite.

Waite, the charter company’s chief wedding coordinator, plans weddings each year aboard yachts of all sizes.

“It’s become increasingly popular,” Waite said.

The ideal location and climate makes weddings on boats a big business in Newport Beach, said Jessica Roswell, marketing and public relations manager for the Newport Beach Conference and Visitor’s Bureau.

“It is a very large business in Newport Beach,” Roswell said. “We are definitely a wedding destination.”

Many people choose to get married on a boat because they have an attachment to the water, Waite said. The scenery is romantic, and the wedding pictures are unique.

“It really pops ? it’s spectacular,” she said.

The wedding boats don’t go out of the harbor and move slowly so no one gets sick. The ever-changing scenery wards off any cases of wedding boredom, and guests don’t have to drive anywhere for the post-ceremony reception, Waite said.

Like American Yacht Charters, most of the charter companies in Newport offer a one-stop destination wedding at a price that includes the ceremony, pictures, champagne and a disc jockey.

“It’s all in one location, and it’s easy. It’s a very stress-free way to handle your wedding,” Waite said.

The charters work with their own vendors and in-house caterers to pull off a flawless wedding with minimal anxiety for the happy couple.

Lido-based Electra Cruises does almost 70% of its business in weddings and wedding receptions, manager Lynda Guinther said. Their wedding coordinators work with couples to make each ceremony unique.

“We tailor-make their whole wedding on board,” Guinther said.

The weddings with Newport Harbor charter companies start at around $5,000 and top out at nearly $18,000. The prices shoot up on weekend nights and vary depending on how many people, what time and which day the ceremony is held.

Plan a Saturday afternoon or evening wedding in the summer and you may have some competition ? those dates sell out at least one year in advance, charter representatives said. But it is possible to schedule a weeknight wedding with less lead time, Waite said.

For couples who still want the romance of a wedding on water, there are smaller and less expensive alternatives. American Yacht Charters offers a scaled down package starting at under $3,000.dpt.02-water-2-CPhotoInfoGD1RIOAJ20060602j07h07ncAMERICAN YACHT CHARTERS(LA)A wedding ceremony is held aboard an American Yacht Charters boat. dpt.02-water-1-CPhotoInfoGD1RIO6F20060602j07gy0ncAMERICAN YACHT CHARTERS(LA)A bride and her bridesmaids make final adjustments before a ceremony aboard an American Yacht Charters boat available for weddings in Newport Harbor.