Waterfront Weddings in Bristol RI
The Herreshoff Marine Museum offers a spectacular waterfront location with an unparalleled historic nautical environment in the quaint town of Bristol, Rhode Island. Located on the Narragansett Bay, our waterfront tent and red brick pier makes for the perfect space for your New England coastal ceremony and reception. Overlooking the water and sailboats in the harbor, our venue includes our beautiful 60x90 Newport Tent with string lights and drapery, tables and chairs for up to 240 guests, waterfront restrooms and on site parking. Ad on's available include, day of coordination, cannon shooting, extended time and more! Let us bring your waterfront wedding dreams to life!
Pricing details
Starting prices
Reception:
$2,500
Ceremony:
Contact for price
Bar services:
Contact for price
Catering:
Contact for price
Starting prices don't include service fees, taxes, gratuity, and rental fees. Guest count and seasonality may also affect prices. Peak season for this venue is Jun-Sept.
Amenities + details
Amenities
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Settings
Beach
Waterfront
Historic Venue
Museum
Tented
Venue Service Offerings
Planning
Rentals & Equipment
Tents
Service Staff
Any questions?
Reviews
4.8
out of 5.020 reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
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Hannah H
5.0
10/14/2024
We couldn't have asked for a better venue for our 170 person late September wedding! Alyssa and her team were kind, attentive, professional, and helped us execute an incredibly special day.
All of our guests couldn't stop raving about how beautiful and historic the venue was. Everyone loved being by the water and getting to check out the Hall of Boats during our cocktail hour. There were so many special touches like getting to ring a large bell to signal the end of our cocktail hour, firing a cannon between the cocktail hour and our reception, and allowing us to fly a flag of our choice on our wedding day. <3
Alyssa was amazing to work with and answered all of my questions quickly and helped put my very stressed out self at ease lol. We are so thankful for everything the Herreshoff team did to make our day seamless and stress free for us and our guests!
Tara C
5.0
7/30/2023
The venue is beautiful. The event coordinator is helpful and knowledgeable. She was very easy to work with and answered all my questions. The price was reasonable and I would definitely recommend it.
Any questions?
Courtney M
5.0
9/09/2021
My wedding here was more beautiful than I ever dreamed about! The ceremony right on the dock was so perfect with the sun setting behind us. Everyone loved the cocktail hour within the Hall of Boats to see all the history the museum has and the tent was huge for lots of space during our reception! They even let us bring our boat onto the dock for the day for pictures! Nicole from Pranzi was super helpful setting everything up and making sure everything got done properly. The dockhand Jacob was one of nicest people I have ever met and would get us anything we need from the museum and let us store things overnight as needed. All of guests loved how unique of a wedding venue it was! If this place is a consideration for your wedding, book it, and when you do, ask to shoot off the cannon!
Jacqueline S
5.0
12/17/2019
This venue was beautiful and even better included everything we needed. A ceremony site, a reception tent, chairs and tables! The event staff is incredibly helpful and will help make sure everything has been thought of and organized.
Katie H
5.0
10/13/2019
I can't say enough great things about Elsie (the venue manager) and this venue. I knew about the Herreshoff but hadn't really though much about it for my wedding until we happened to pop in last September after a full weekend of venue hunting in Newport. I immediately fell in love with the incredibly beautiful waterfront setting, the unique Hall of Boats and the laid back atmosphere. It felt like us and Elsie was so welcoming and knowledgable from the start.
Planning a wedding is stressful but planning a wedding cross-country is even harder. Elsie was great to work with always with a fast response and inviting me to come see other weddings that were taking place when I was home for planning so I could get a feel for the day.
When it comes to the actual wedding day it was PERFECT! Our ceremony was on the dock, our cocktail hour in the Hall of Boats and our reception in the tent. All of our guests were commenting on how cool the venue was. Ben and I had the most fun at our wedding and enjoyed every second. Ben especially when he got to fire the cannon at the start of the reception. :)
If you are looking for a water front venue in Rhode Island seriously consider the Herreshoff. It was everything we wanted and more!
Mary Ellen H
5.0
9/24/2019
The Herreshoff Marine Museum was a spectacular venue for our daughters wedding. After visiting multiple venues in RI with availability stretching out over a year - we visited the Herreshoff. The event manager, Elsie, was so engaging, supportive and assured us that we could have a “ beautiful wedding “ for our daughter. And there was a Sept. Sat.night available. Our daughter flew back to the west coast and after discussing with her fiancé, the Herreshoff was booked.
The ceremony was on a beautiful quay, the cocktail hour in the historic Hall of Boats, and dinner and dancing the night away in a beautiful tent located 15 feet from Narragansett Bay. There is a suite for the bridal party also. It’s necessary to have a caterer and there are multiple excellent caterers that are approved by Herreshoff. This venue is special, unique and a backdrop for a fantastic sunset. We had guests from all over the USA and England who not only attended a beautiful, fun wedding but were treated to a bit of maritime history.
Elsie the venue manager was so helpful to me, MOB, answering all my questions and assuring me while planning a wedding with the bride on the west coast!
She is great to work with.
If you want a wedding with a water view, sunset, dock, nautical venue in a quaint NE town, make a visit to the Herreshoff Marine Museum!
Kaleigh C
5.0
8/19/2019
Elsie and Jen from the Herreshoff were the sweetest and most accommodating ladies. We loved this beautiful harborside venue! Shooting the cannon was the highlight of our night. :)
Highly recommend for a beautiful summer night event!
Ellen C
5.0
8/15/2019
Hi--have only positive and glowing comments about my daughter and fiancee's wedding at the Herreshoff. It is a gorgeous setting on the water--the guests all raved about it. Elsie was helpful, friendly, and responsive. The outdoor ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception were all more beautiful and fun than I'd let myself imagine they would be!
MOB
Lindsay S
5.0
2/05/2019
We absolutely loved the Hereschoff - the venue was perfect as we have a history with Bill and the Americas Cup, and the clambake (Thanks Compton) really impressed our guests! Some minor small mishaps with seating and needing a table for our pre wedding ketubah signing but otherwise flawless and truly amazing. We'd love to come by for our anniversary this year! Thanks again for all your hard work and Elsie for personally walking me down to the ceremony as I was taking my personal time before seeing everyone! :)
Vendor response 02/21/2019
Thank you so much Lindsay for this beautiful review! We absolutely loved your wedding day ...
and the energy you two brought. Your pictures on Facebook are gorgeous! Congratulations. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness. Come visit us around your anniversary!
Rosemary O
5.0
11/14/2018
OMG, Elsie- the wedding coordinator at the Herreshoff was sooooooooo amazing. She went beyond the call of duty to make our daughters wedding so fabulous. She was always available to answer ALL our questions. She was a true delight. The house of boats was a beautiful and unique setting.
I'm so grateful we chose the Herreshoff.
Vendor response 12/17/2018
Hi Rosemary! Thank you for such a wonderful review! We were so happy to be a part of your ...
daughter's wedding and are thrilled that you had such a good time. We wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and a Beautiful New Year!
Hannah O
5.0
10/09/2018
Elsie and the staff at the Herreshoff Marine Museum were fantastic! There wasn't much we needed to do at the venue the year leading up to the wedding, but anytime we wanted to stop by to see something or email Elsie with questions that came up, she was more than accommodating!
The venue is absolutely stunning and speaks for itself! We chose to do our ceremony on the dock, which was so beautiful. We chose a caterer outside of the preferred vendor list and they did not move the chairs for us from the ceremony to the reception tent, but Elsie was able to have her staff move the chairs for a nominal fee. We also chose the Hall of Boats for our cocktail hour, as soon as we saw this spot, we knew we had to take advantage of the super cool space! Our guests loved looking at the boats, and even being able to board some of them! If you're getting married in the summer, I highly recommend getting some industrial size fans to create some cross breeze. We got married in August on 90+ degree day and were told there would be a breeze (there wasn't and it was very hot!). In hindsight we would've rented a few fans to create a little breeze. Regardless of heat, our guests were happy!
The waterfront has just been redone and is stunning! The landscaping is beautiful and there are so many places to take photos, including the docks with the many beautiful boats. One of the reasons we chose this venue is that every time we went for a visit, regardless of weather, even with no decorations, it is just absolutely breathtaking! You really need very minimal decorations to make it magical. Another reason is that even if we did have a rainy day, we would still have that inside/outside feel. The bathrooms, which are a fancy porta-potty set up, are nice and clean - and air conditioned! There is a space outside the building where you can set up amenities, not much room inside.
They also have the option to shoot a small (but loud!) cannon at sunset, which was a really fun touch for us and our guests!
Elsie is upfront with what the staff is responsible for on the day of, which is very little. Anything that has to do with facilities, they are there to help out with! And Elsie was there to help us set up before walking down the aisle, making sure everyone went on time and in the right order. But all other event coordination is done by someone else of your choosing (most likely the caterer.)
We couldn't have been happier with our choice to get married at the Herreshoff Marine Museum! It has been three months and our guests are still telling us how much they loved it! If we could do it all over again, we would choose Herreshoff every time! <3
Also, I would HIGHLY recommend renting the Peacock Alley house. It is so gorgeous and was the absolute perfect place to get ready on the day of our wedding. We actually chose our wedding date based on when the house was available!
Vendor response 12/17/2018
Hi Hannah! Thank you for such a wonderful review! We were so happy to be a part of your aw...
esome wedding and are thrilled that you had such a good time. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together and hope to see you again at the Museum.
Amy A
5.0
10/06/2018
We couldn’t have asked for a better venue for our wedding. Elsie and the rest of the staff were amazing and all of our guests couldn’t stop talking about what a beautiful and unique location it was. I would highly recommend a New England style clambake (Compton catering was awesome) and having cocktail hour in the Hall of Boats. It was a true New England party.
Vendor response 12/17/2018
Hi Amy! Thank you for such a wonderful review! We were so happy to be a part of your beaut...
iful wedding and are thrilled that you had such a good time. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together and hope to see you again at the Museum.
Julie M
5.0
10/02/2018
I cannot say enough about how amazing our wedding at Herreshoff was! From the beginning we knew this was a perfect venue for us and Elsie was an absolute pleasure to work with. She was there to answer any question I had and I had many! Having grown up in RI I was worried a waterfront wedding would be unreasonable however Herreshoff is a fantastic value. It is stunning and you get huge amounts of space both on the docks and under the tent. The entire staff is easy to work with and incredibly accommodating. We had a clambake rehearsal dinner in the hall of boats, rented the peacock alley house for the weekend and had an outdoor ceremony/cocktail hour with reception under the tent. Having the house next to the venue rented made the weekend beyond perfect. We were able to have the bridesmaids get ready there and also use it as a "home base". This means the groomsmen got use of the bridal suite and it made pictures beyond easy as we were all in one location. Words cannot describe the whole weekend properly, we wish we could go back and do it all again! Thank you Elsie and Herreshoff for the wedding of our dreams!
Vendor response 12/17/2018
Hi Julie! Thank you for such a wonderful review! We were so happy to be a part of your wed...
ding and are thrilled that you had such a good time. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together and hope to see you again at the Museum.
Kara E
5.0
9/25/2018
Everything was perfect! Not only is this venue absolutely amazing, they offer different options for your ceremony, cocktail space, reception space, etc. Both Elsie and the dock master Marc helped my husband and I achieve the wedding of our dreams complete with a flag ceremony and cannon blast. Elsie answered any and all questions we had leading up to the meeting, met with myself and family more than a couple times and on the day of the wedding was there to help with EVERYTHING. Thank you Herreshoff!
Vendor response 12/17/2018
Hi Kara! Thank you for such a wonderful review! We were so happy to be a part of your spec...
ial wedding and are thrilled that you had such a good time. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together and hope to see you again at the Museum.
Liv S
5.0
9/11/2018
I loved Herreshoff! Working with Elsie (wedding coordinator) was so easy and made the wedding planning flawless. The venue is gorgeous and you have access to so many options, including a getting ready suite. We had an outdoor wedding, with cocktail hour in the hall of boats and the reception under the tent. We had perfect weather and the photos came out beautifully! I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a waterfront, nautical themed wedding. We loved that we could also use the beach for our caterers to set up a New England clambake. We had around 215 guests and it was just right.
Vendor response 09/12/2018
Hi Liv! Thank you for such a wonderful review! We were so happy to be a part of your weddi...
ng and are thrilled that you had such a good time. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together and hope to see you again at the Museum.
Kasie A
5.0
9/11/2018
Our wedding took place at the Herreshoff Marine Museum on 9/2/18 and the entire experience was wonderful! I lost count of the number of times our guests mentioned how stunning and perfect everything was.
Moreover, Elsie, Marc and the entire Herreshoff staff were incredible. Elsie answered every question and ensured everything went off without a hitch!
We also rented the Peacock Alley House which was beautiful and incredibly convenient.
After looking at what felt like every venue in MA and RI, nothing compared to Herreshoff and we couldn't be happier with how everything turned-out.
You can see pictures of this beautiful venue here, taken by Lyndsay Hannah Photography: https://lyndsayhannahphotography.com/2018/09/02/indian-meets-italian-americas-cup/
Vendor response 09/12/2018
Hi Kasie! It was such a pleasure working and planning with you! Thank you for such a wonde...
rful review! We were so happy to be a part of your wedding and are thrilled that you had such a good time. Your wedding photos are absolutely beautiful! We wish you a lifetime of happiness together and hope to see you again at the Museum.
C A
1.0
9/10/2018
I had a bad experience with the event coordinator. Priority is to book as many events as possible. One event was booked prior to ours. It delayed setup for our wedding. A lunch rehearsal was booked inside the museum during our setup. Guests who arrived early had trouble finding parking for the ceremony. Most of her time was at spent at this rehearsal or her office and briefly made an appearance at our event. It seemed like she was avoiding us. She blamed everyone else for a chaotic setup, did the least amount of work possible, and gave no apology.
She claims it’s normal for setup to be chaotic. This was unorganized chaos, not organized chaos-there’s a difference. She blamed me for hiring someone to help setup. She took this opportunity to leave instead of staying on-site to help answer questions. If I didn’t hire someone to help, it would have been worse. You don’t book two events to overlap and help BOTH clients.
Vendor response 09/11/2018
Hi C. We are sorry to read this. Our main focus is to provide a venue that leaves you and ...
your guests with happy memories. Your wedding day is a special celebration and it saddens us to learn that you had a bad experience with us, your caterer, and your day of event coordinator. Please call us at your convenience and we're happy to discuss further. Our Fridays are full but no events were booked inside the Museum during your wedding. The clambake, rehearsal run, and venue tour are a staple here and do not interfere with the evening wedding set up as your caterer and your wedding coordinator are the ones focused on that. Your caterer had called us afterwards to apologize for being short staffed that evening and for not setting up the ceremony and cocktail hour as they should have. Our staff jumped in to help and we set up both ceremony and cocktail hour tables and chairs and even assisted with the decoration inside the tent. Our staff was on site until midnight routinely visiting the waterfront, checking the facility and checking in with your coordinator. Our security guard guided the guests to parking spaces and we had the lawn available as well which didn't end up being fully needed. This has never been an issue before. Again, we are sorry you feel this way and we're available to talk more if you'd like. Best wishes to you both.
Liz G
5.0
12/26/2017
We had our wedding at the Herreshoff this past September, and we couldn't have been happier with our choice. The location is beautiful, the event coordinator Elsie is fabulous, and it was the perfect venue for a traditional RI clambake. We found everyone on staff to be very easy to communicate with and very honest (which is always appreciated!) The tent is spacious for a reception and the dock was a beautiful setting for our ceremony. We appreciated that there was plenty of parking for guests and that everyone had room to explore the waterfront during the evening. The getting-ready room in the museum is an added bonus. A fantastic package at a good price! Can't recommend Elsie enough - she totally took the reigns as soon as we got to the venue and we didn't have to worry about a thing. Peace of mind on your wedding day is priceless!
Vendor response 05/14/2018
Thank you so much!!!! Hope you're having a wonderful year and remember to stop by around y...
our anniversary!
Kara B
4.0
9/25/2016
I'll start off by saying we had a beautiful wedding at the Herreshoff this September! You cannot beat the views especially for the price that you pay. You can basically decorate the tent however you want which makes it easy to put your own personality into it.
We did run into issues in terms of the organization of the Herreshoff. In the year leading up to the wedding we had three different coordinators, which unfortunately meant things we were promised originally we were told they couldn't do down the road. My only advice would be to definitely consider hiring your own Day-Of coordinator to keep on top of things - otherwise, great choice!
Karla B
5.0
9/10/2012
Herreshoff was the perfect spot for a waterfront Rhode Island wedding. We had our ceremony at the end of the pier overlooking Narragansett Bay and the reception under the tent. It was magical, and all our guests kept commenting on how beautiful the setting was. Maggie Church, the event coordinator, was so sweet and easy to work with, and the Museum lets you bring in any caterer you want. They also have an indoor space (a boat hall) you can use, as well as a waiting/dressing room for the bride. Best of all, the space was a steal compared to other venues in Bristol and Newport. So happy we got married at Herreshoff!
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