Ever seen a wedding on a pier?

[luvthemstrawberries]

Another followup to previous thread about finding a wedding venue. FI and I both are leaning towards having our reception in an aquarium at the beach a few hours away from where we live - it''s really an awesome place. They have a room you can have a ceremony in too, but it''s kind of boring, and you can''t even start letting people in until 6:30pm after they close. (Is 6:30 too late to start a wedding ceremony then have a dinner reception?? Would people be starving??)

There''s a local hotel that has a pier and also offers the beach and a courtyard for wedding ceremonies. I don''t know yet about the "public" aspect of being able to have whichever area to ourselves. We wouldn''t choose the actual beach because of the wind/heat and my grandparents would have a hard time getting out there. But we love the idea of having something outdoors, and I thought the pier would be a neat option because you still have full beach view, but without the aggravation of sand on everybody else, and there''s usually a nice breeze out there. Only problems I can think of are the long walk out there, if they don''t restrict other people from being on the pier, and the possible fish smells/remnants that are almost always on the piers.

(It''s not just a small "dock," it''s a long, tall pier used for ocean fishing.)

So what do you guys think - would that be weird / just more trouble than it''s worth?? Anyone ever seen a wedding on one?? (We do have the aquarium''s room to fall back on as a last choice ceremony location.)

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

This is their beach location... I''m trying to get a photo of the pier.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Love it when the photo doesn't work...

This is pretty much what the pier looks like. It's not the same one but it's on the same island, used for same purposes.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

So here''s the real pier. I think it''s actually owed by the hotel here, so maybe it''s not public. Still in talking with the coordinator there.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

AHA! OK promise last picture. I just found it and it shows the pier much better.

 

[Tuckins1]

I think that would be really cool! And a great backdrop for wedding photos!

I got married at a yacht club, right out on the grass in front of the water, and it provided the most beautiful backdrop for pictures!

 

[lliang_chi]

Mia,

I thinking the idea of a pier wedding is AWESOME! BUUUUUT....

My brother used to do a lot of pier fishing in FL (WPB, Ft. Lauderdale, etc) and I used to go with him from time to time. It''s DIRTY. There''s a lot of birds (read: bird poop), fish guts, general grime on the pier. The wood is always beaten to hell, it''s not going to be a nice sealed deck that you would see in people''s houses. If you''re going for a casual wedding, meaning, no train, guests in short sundresses, flip flops, etc, it''d be a cool place for a wedding. But if you''re doing anything remotely formal, I''d say it''s probably a bad idea.

Just my two cents.

~Lisa

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Date: 12/31/2008 10:33:16 AM
Author: lliang_chi
Mia,

I thinking the idea of a pier wedding is AWESOME! BUUUUUT....

My brother used to do a lot of pier fishing in FL (WPB, Ft. Lauderdale, etc) and I used to go with him from time to time. It''s DIRTY. There''s a lot of birds (read: bird poop), fish guts, general grime on the pier. The wood is always beaten to hell, it''s not going to be a nice sealed deck that you would see in people''s houses. If you''re going for a casual wedding, meaning, no train, guests in short sundresses, flip flops, etc, it''d be a cool place for a wedding. But if you''re doing anything remotely formal, I''d say it''s probably a bad idea.

Just my two cents.

~Lisa

Thanks Lisa! You bring up the exact thing that I kind of thought would ruin it. I''ve done lots of pier fishing myself since I was little. The ones we used to use (I''ve never been at this one, but I''m sure it''s the same) have a fish cleaning station on the pier near the entrance. We cut the bait on the railings, and birds hang out on the railings and light poles all the time, so I definitely know your meaning of dirty!

And my parents NEVER let me go barefoot because of the uneven wood/splinters/stubbed toes we always got, plus (more importantly) there''s always the chance of a hook left behind somewhere.

Anyway, we of course wouldn''t be out there barefoot, but you bring up a good point about no train on the dress. And I doubt many women would enjoy walking out there on the uneven/holy (gotta love the random HOLES in the wood haha) in heels. Definitely would need to be more casual, which is certainly ok. I might miss a little train though...

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Date: 12/31/2008 9:38:50 AM
Author: Tuckins1
I think that would be really cool! And a great backdrop for wedding photos!

I got married at a yacht club, right out on the grass in front of the water, and it provided the most beautiful backdrop for pictures!

Thanks for the input Tuckins!

Do you guys think it would be cool to have the ceremony out at the end of the pier, and everyone just stands around? (We MAY have around 75 people, but that high is doubtful.) When you have such a long way to walk do you just do it and have no processional music - would I just keep walking all the way down the pier then right through the people and up to FI? Hmmm...

 

[meresal]

Date: 12/31/2008 10:33:16 AM
Author: lliang_chi
Mia,

I thinking the idea of a pier wedding is AWESOME! BUUUUUT....

My biggest fear would be the winds, out over the water. If you decide to go with this, make sure that you are standing with the breeze at your face, or your hair could be everywhere.

The pier is very pretty!!

 

[meresal]

Date: 12/31/2008 10:44:56 AM
Author: luvthemstrawberries

Thanks for the input Tuckins!

Do you guys think it would be cool to have the ceremony out at the end of the pier, and everyone just stands around? (We MAY have around 75 people, but that high is doubtful.) When you have such a long way to walk do you just do it and have no processional music - would I just keep walking all the way down the pier then right through the people and up to FI? Hmmm...

I would think that you would have a small 2 or 3 piece instrument section. Maybe a violin and chello?

 

[lliang_chi]

Most fishing piers should have a enough space at the end to seat 75 ppl. You could probably have a small group of musicians, 2-3, up behind/next to the "altar" so you can have some music. I really think you would need music. But you''d have a hard time being heard by a lot of people, e.g. exchanging vows etc.

 

[elrohwen]

I can''t tell you the last time I was on a pier, so I don''t know how dirty/yucky it will be ...

But, I think it''s an awesome idea! It''s like getting married over top of the ocean. So cool.

 

[Tuckins1]

I think that would work out just fine! And you could have a few strings instruments out there... Or see if there is a PA system to play music. Just a thought.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

I''ve actually started daydreaming/brainstorming and found a great violinist in the area - I think that would be so beautiful with just her playing out there.

And I wondered also if people should sit or stand out there - it wouldn''t be a very long ceremony, and it may be a pain to take all those chairs out there. But I also think it would give it much more of a "ceremony" feel with chairs and an actual altar area.

Any thoughts?

 

[Deelight]

The only thing about a pier that I would want to consider is the noise of the wind and waves, you might need a mic so the people in the back can hear you . I went to a beach wedding once and you couldn''t hear the ceremony from the wind which was a disappointment.

Otherwise I think it would look fantastic

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 12/31/2008 11:08:01 PM
Author: luvthemstrawberries
I've actually started daydreaming/brainstorming and found a great violinist in the area - I think that would be so beautiful with just her playing out there.


And I wondered also if people should sit or stand out there - it wouldn't be a very long ceremony, and it may be a pain to take all those chairs out there. But I also think it would give it much more of a 'ceremony' feel with chairs and an actual altar area.


Any thoughts?

We did something similar at ours... It was right out on the lawn in front of the water. We had an archway there for us to stand in front of, and 3 rows of 5 or 6 chairs each, on each side. (for the grandparents, or people with small children, parents, etc...) The rest of the people just stood on either side of the aisle. Our ceremony was about 10-15 minutes, so it wasn't too bad for people to stand.

ETA- I wish I could post a pic, but there would be too many faces to blur out!!

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Date: 1/1/2009 12:06:11 AM
Author: Deelight
The only thing about a pier that I would want to consider is the noise of the wind and waves, you might need a mic so the people in the back can hear you . I went to a beach wedding once and you couldn''t hear the ceremony from the wind which was a disappointment.

Otherwise I think it would look fantastic

Definitely a good point! That''s kind of why we leaned away from an actual ceremony on the beach, because other people have said the same thing - the wind and waves make so much noise that you can''t hear anything else going on, let alone people trying to speak vows. I think all the way out there on the pier, from what I remember when I was little, it''s actually remotely quiet out there at the end of the peir once you get past the breaking point for the waves. Sometimes it''s breezy but not too bad, really just depends on the day.

Would it even be possible to hook up a mic out there? That''s a heck of a way to run power, unless they have power plugs on the pier every so often... they do have lights out there... awesome - definitely questions I know to ask now!!

Thanks for the input deelight!

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Date: 1/1/2009 10:16:03 AM
Author: Tuckins1

Date: 12/31/2008 11:08:01 PM
Author: luvthemstrawberries
I''ve actually started daydreaming/brainstorming and found a great violinist in the area - I think that would be so beautiful with just her playing out there.


And I wondered also if people should sit or stand out there - it wouldn''t be a very long ceremony, and it may be a pain to take all those chairs out there. But I also think it would give it much more of a ''ceremony'' feel with chairs and an actual altar area.


Any thoughts?

We did something similar at ours... It was right out on the lawn in front of the water. We had an archway there for us to stand in front of, and 3 rows of 5 or 6 chairs each, on each side. (for the grandparents, or people with small children, parents, etc...) The rest of the people just stood on either side of the aisle. Our ceremony was about 10-15 minutes, so it wasn''t too bad for people to stand.

ETA- I wish I could post a pic, but there would be too many faces to blur out!!

Thanks Tuckins! That''s actually a really good idea - just give my parents/grandparents and maybe a few more people chairs, then let everyone else stand - then there''s no worry about fitting all those chairs! Definitely something I''m gonna remember.

Hehe feel free to post a picture if you get the urge to blur

Or I promise I won''t look at the people!