Shining Tides Weddings By the Sea in Mattapoisett, MA

celebration together. The location is truly special, with private access to the entire venue, including the pavilion, deck, lawn, and beach-a combination you rarely find. It has all the effortless charm of Cape venues, but without the pretentiousness (or price tag). We held our ceremony and cocktail hour on the lawn, dinner and dancing in the pavilion, and ended the night with a beach bonfire and s’mores. The weather was beautiful, but Elizabeth also helped us prepare a thoughtful rain backup plan, which gave us total peace of mind. She is warm, friendly, professional, and genuinely cares about your experience. She was highly communicative and coordinated seamlessly with our other vendors. We also appreciated Shining Tides’ exclusive catering partnership with Russell Morin—their familiarity with the venue clearly helped the night run smoothly. The service was excellent, and the food was delicious. We feel incredibly grateful to have found this hidden gem and highly recommend Shining Tides to any couple looking for a beautiful, stress-free wedding venue.

ctful, and focused on making sure every guest had everything they needed to enjoy the party.  Truly a special venue with amazing and dedicated people working incredibly hard make it the best possible experience. We loved working with them!

ng with Elizabeth made everything easy. Since the moment we decided this would be our place, she guided us with such care, professionalism, and ease. Elizabeth and Russell Morin formed a partnership that put us at ease. Everything between them is communicated and there was never a hassle to make sure they both knew what we wanted. Our guest still talk about the beauty that was the venue, the photos that helped capture every moment, and the staff that tended to every need. I would recommend this venue in every lifetime.

rty is a true gem that has so much to offer. We did a large tented wedding on the field. Working alongside Elizabeth and Krista (our Russell Morin wedding coordinator) was seamless. They were both so responsive, informative and helpful I cannot thank them enough for all of their help. Their expertise ensured the night ran smoothly. Russell Morin is the only caterer at Shining Tides. Many of our guests remarked on the food— we did family style service — and noted that it was best wedding food they have ever had. Shining Tides speaks for itself, and the vendor recommendations helped to make sure we had a once in a lifetime party. Everything was A++ across the board, from the florist to the cake and band. Thank you Shining Tides and Russell Morins !!!

23, Elizabeth was wonderful to communicate with and work with. Questions were answered very quickly. We had a lot of guests from out of town, Kansas and Florida, and they have not stopped talking about how beautiful our wedding was, from the location, to the decor as well as the food. We highly recommend anyone getting married to work with Elizabeth at Shining Tides.

uestions, offer advice, and she knew how to make our vision come to life. Her experience and knowledge helped us not only with the events at Shining Tides, but also in planning our whole wedding and what else we needed to coordinate in the area. In the planning process, Elizabeth helped us by supplying a list of recommended vendors and places to stay. On the day of, Elizabeth helped bring the wedding of our dreams come to life. She was a pleasure to work with! Shining Tides also partners with Russell Morning Catering and Events. We have had so many guests comment on the beautiful venue and the delicious food! We cannot recommend Shining Tides enough!

the venue team will execute your vision to perfection, Shining Tides is the place for you! This place and the people who run are AWESOME! As I am sure many of you reading this have done or are in the process of doing, we searched for a long time looking for the perfect venue for our wedding. When we first visited Shining Tides, it was a snowy winter day, but even through the snow, it was very clear to us what a naturally beautiful location it was. What was also clear to us was that Elizabeth, the sales and event manager for Shining Tides, was extremely friendly, organized, easygoing and experienced. This proved to be absolutely true: Throughout the planning process, Elizabeth was accessible, knowledgeable, easy to work with, and clear with all of her tips and tricks to maximize the use of the venue for us and our guests. She also worked seamlessly with the venue's exclusive catering company, Russell Morin Catering & Events, the DJ, florist, light vendor, transportation, and all of the other vendors we had present with us on the big day. Through our meetings with Elizabeth and the catering team, it was very obvious that they had everything organized and under control. Elizabeth and her team are very thorough and will make sure that both they and the couple have all necessary questions answered before the wedding day so things go off without a hitch. We had a fair amount of items to set up on Saturday and when we say Shining Tides did a truly incredible job setting every single decoration up to perfection, we mean it. We were amazed when we arrived at the venue; everything looked better than we imagined and from there, the day and night were just pure magic. The Shining Tides staff was kind, helpful, and on top of everything throughout the entire day. And then of course the venue itself was and is beautiful and has lovely views of the water; the ceremony and cocktail reception were out on the beautiful front lawn next to the water and the reception was on the open-air covered deck for the rest of the night. Our guests seemed to be as mesmerized with the place as we were. It was truly the best day of our lives and we feel very lucky that we chose Shining Tides as the place to do it. Thank you so much to Elizabeth and the Shining Tides team!!!

Elizabeth for all of her help throughout the planning process. Would highly recommend Shining Tides!

ute dream to work with. The caterer that they work with, Russell Morin, was perfect and their on site team too day of the wedding was incredible. They were all so attentive, kind, and helpful. I would recommend this venue to anyone and everyone!! If my friends are seeing this, get married here so I can attend again please!!

oad past a golf course in Mattapoisett. Elizabeth who is the venue coordinator was absolutely fantastic to work with! From the first venue visit in 2019, to postponing in 2020, to finally having our dream wedding last month, she was along for the ride and could not have been more helpful, professional, and thoughtful during the process. The venue itself is stunning, the ceremony and cocktail hour are on a big lawn right in front of the water and the reception with an amazing ocean breeze coming through when dancing. The caterer for the site, Russel Morin was incredible! The best part is that this is a YMCA property (you would never know besides the sign on the main road) and your fee for the venue goes back to the Y! I am so happy that I chose Shining Tides and that we were finally able to celebrate with friends and family at our dream venue. Hurry and book your wedding here ASAP!

ve, helpful and kind. Our wedding day was better than we ever could have imagined! The venue is absolutely gorgeous. The perfection combination of classy and coastal, but not stuffy. We love how a portion of the proceeds go towards funding scholarships for the camp that is held at the YMCA. We would give 100 stars if we could!

e coordinator recommended heaters for the evening reception as it got chilly (May wedding). The coordinator knows the site very well and the best way to make use of the space. We cannot thank her enough for helping us make our wedding dreams a reality. Our guests loved the location and our photographer was able to capture so many stunning photos. Highly recommend this venue if you are looking for a cozy coastal wedding venue and plenty of space for photos and fun!

e vendors (caterers, rentals, staff) that Liz referred to us were all extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and easy to work with! On top of having a great experience with LIz, the venue at Shining Tides is something out of a magazine. We ended up with a beautiful summer day (although they are equipped for rain!), which made for a gorgeous backdrop of the ocean, boats, dock and later on in the evening a beautiful view of the deck all lit up. One of the best parts of having your wedding at Shining Tides is that some of the money you pay towards the venue goes to help children afford summer camp there! What's better than that? We were absolutely thrilled with our experience, we cannot recommend Shining Tides enough.

I was literally shocked at how perfect everything was .. the lighting came out just as I had hoped, the views were unreal, communication was spot on. The nice thing about shining tides is that it’s really just a beautiful shell and you can do whatever you want with the space! You can do everything on a budget or opt for some classier higher end options.. it’s not a cheesy one size fits all venue. Highly highly recommend! Plus, the catering company they use is soooo good. Definitely on the pricier side but everyone said our food was the best they ever had at a wedding!

is good to know that not every hit is a home-run @ Shining Tides. The venue is honestly beautiful. The teams execution and then follow up was where we were disappointed. No reparations were attempted after involved emails were sent to management.

ews, being right on the water, the open-air porch, it felt comfortable and was the perfect fit. We also loved that the cost to rent the space was benefiting children. While Shining Tides is a YMCA camp, you don't notice this when the venue is setup for a wedding. Elizabeth, our coordinator, was absolutely wonderful to work with. She was responsive and organized and brought me so much peace of mind. The grounds were in perfect condition and all of our details were perfectly put together. Despite wind and rain throughout the day, she did everything possible to make sure we still had our ceremony and cocktail outside as planned. We are so thankful that Elizabeth made everything so perfect and special. We have received endless compliments about how incredible the day and venue was. We couldn't have asked for more.

rue! We appreciate her and the staff for creating the most smoothly transitioned day. I did not have to worry about a THING once I got there after the ceremony. It was a picture perfect day and Elizabeth is WONDERFUL to work with!!

, lounge on the deck, walk the beach, or play lawn games. There is something for everyone at Shining Tides!

ell Morin ( the caterer), and the rental company were all amazing. I would highly recommend them, and I love that the venue rental money goes to the YMCA for such a wonderful cause. Jane D.

th ceremony and reception. Elizabeth is wonderful to work with--extremely responsive, flexible and kind. The added bonus of your payment contributing to the YMCA scholarship fund puts Shining Tides over the top as a choice for a wedding venue!!

ve. Once we pulled up to see the venue, it was exactly what we were looking for. Our wedding day in July was more magical and perfect than we could ever imagine. Elizabeth was so kind, relaxed and thorough throughout the process, which made for peace of mind. Everything came together SO perfect!! Not only did WE love it but we got so many compliments from all our wedding guests on how beautiful the location was - between the covered deck, grounds and water being right there for photos. 10/10 for Elizabeth and the venue!!!

annot give her enough praise! As one can imagine, my mind was all over the place on the wedding day, it was so amazing to show up to the venue and have every detail taken care of... 10/10 would recommend!

d, staff, atmosphere, & overall experience was nothing short of perfect! The beach bonfire at the end of the night was definitely an added plus! It is truly a hidden gem! All of our guests are still talking about what an amazing wedding ours was! It was definitely the most perfect day!

ow beautiful the venue was, how did we find this gem etc. I stumbled upon Shining Tides when expanded search to "On Water Off Cape" and I am so happy I did. Elizabeth was a pleasure to work with. She helped me get a great discount on linens at my last minute request and coordinated all of our rentals from three different vendors. The day of the wedding I had zero concerns that everything was going smoothly. Bonus - It's a YMCA so your money goes back to the organization!

about the catering staff, the set up was perfect and they took time to match our vision perfectly!

Tides in our research and were struck by the natural beauty, privacy, and personality of the site. We learned quickly that it was a YMCA property – easily the most beautiful YMCA we’ve ever seen! Elizabeth was extremely helpful from the start in setting up conference calls, answering questions, providing vendor info in the area, and inviting us to a great open house event. I’m happy to report that we picked a date and signed the dotted line shortly after the open house – it is such a special place and (obviously) books up fast! In the year leading up to our wedding, Elizabeth kept in touch and assisted us via email and phone calls. We also loved working with Russell Morin Catering, Shining Tides’ exclusive food vendor. Our actual wedding last weekend was magic. The weather was definitely unpredictable until the hour before the reception start, and Elizabeth was amazing about keeping in contact with us about the plan. The rain miraculously held off and we were able to enjoy a gorgeous cocktail hour on the property’s sprawling green lawn. It couldn’t have worked out better. The rustic porch with bistro lighting (Lightworks New Bedford) was exactly what we had envisioned and Elizabeth/Russell Morin’s brought our vision to life. It was incredible to see it all live and soak in all the little details. The open air porch and ocean breeze blowing onto the dance floor was like no other! We received compliments on the venue and setup from our guests all night long. Still basking in the memories from the night a week later! We could not recommend this venue or Elizabeth more. Look no further than Shining Tides!

e for food. The food is great, but you're definitely stuck with their price structure.

and you get the Cape Cod vibe without the Cape Cod price tag. Elizabeth was easy to work with, and very responsive. I can't say enough good things about Shining Tides!

beach followed by the cocktail hour to the right and reception on the porch. Fortunately, the early fall weather was absolutely perfect with not a cloud in the sky. We had about 160 guests and had a band but still was no problem fitting everyone. Thank you Elizabeth and Jackie to help create the perfect day!

re to find a venue where you get complete privacy and the run of the whole space yourself (ie no other weddings), including access to the waterfront/beach right there! They also have separate private rooms for the groomsmen and bridesmaids to get ready, which is nice for taking photos. They do require that you use their catering service Russell Morin, but they are fantastic so that didn't bother me at all. Extra perks are getting to have lawn games on the grass outside the reception area, and a bonfire/smores on the beach. I wish that the wedding coordinator Elizabeth had made more contact with me/been more hands-on and responded better to my outreach attempts however. I did plan to have bubbles blown by guests upon walking back down the aisle, and the guests were apparently not notified of this so I was a bit disappointed with that. I am wondering if they don't pay as a much attention to smaller weddings. I will say that they don't have a guest minimum, and overall my interactions with other staff at the venue were positive. This venue is great if you want a rustic, natural beauty feel to your wedding...Even though it is technically a YMCA summer camp you would never know it as they really know how to run very professional and classy weddings! Lastly I thought it was awesome that the proceeds for the wedding go to pay for kids in need to attend camp!

earch! After looking at plenty of venues actually ON the Cape, we didn’t really feel drawn to any of them. They were all super expensive and felt like impersonal “wedding factories”. We decided to expand our search and made an appointment to visit Shining Tides-- thank goodness we did! This place is special and we fell in love with it almost immediately. It had everything we were looking for- quaint New England character, beautiful views, reasonable prices, outdoor/indoor ceremony and reception space, casual but elegant ambiance, as well as a meaningful purpose outside of weddings (it’s also a YMCA preschool and summer camp). When we met with Elizabeth, the wedding coordinator for Shining Tides, she made us feel so comfortable and excited to plan our wedding at Shining Tides. From the get go, she was easy to work with and extremely helpful throughout the entire planning process. She answered all of our questions promptly and went out of her way to recommend local businesses for a variety of things we needed during our wedding weekend in Mattapoisett. When the weather forecast for our wedding day was less than ideal, Elizabeth didn’t bat an eye. She did everything should could to keep our wedding vision in-tact and it all turned out beautifully (even with very gusty winds and sub 70 degree weather in late July!). We have received SO many rave reviews from our guests about this venue- from the water views, to the lawn, to the covered porch and deck, to the delicious food (Russell Morin was fantastic to work with!)- you can’t find a better place to get married if you’re looking for a quintessential New England feel. We had the wedding of our dreams and cannot recommend this venue, and Elizabeth, highly enough.

hour. Dinner is held on a large, covered deck so even if it rains you're covered. In the event of rain, everything is held on the deck. The staff is really cognizant of the weather and makes every effort to keep the festivities out on the lawn if at all possible. We ended up with a cool, cloudy day but no rain! I'm glad we decided to get a basket of pashminas for guests - they all went! But Shining Tides was the perfect venue - it's a beautiful setting and the staff is top notch. Everything went off without a hitch!

that was had there the night before. My husband and I wanted a place on the water, since our lives revolve around being on the water, but we also knew we could not afford the Cape, since we were doing the wedding ourselves. Shining Tides fit the bill. Not only a beautiful venue, but Elizabeth was a HUGE help throughout the entire process. It was cool seeing all the little hand prints in the bridal suite and knowing that the space is used for a summer camp/preschool for kids made it that much more special. As for a wedding space, you had no idea a preschool existed there unless someone told you. The grounds are well kept and manicured. It's picturesque New England. So many opportunities and places for photos. Unfortunately, it rained just enough to not have our ceremony on the lawn, which was the only bummer of the day, but having it up on the deck was quaint and special, still with having the view of the water behind us. The rain quit after the ceremony and we were then able to utilize the outdoor space for photos and guests and could wander around. We plan on coming back to renew out vows, so maybe we can have that on the lawn :)

our ceremony and reception at Shining Tides. It was a typical hot and humid August day and then about an hour before the ceremony was to start, it started down-pouring. It lasted right up until the ceremony start, but Elizabeth held off on moving the ceremony indoors (onto the deck, which is covered) and right at 6pm the skies opened up and the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared. It was breathtaking, and we got to have the ceremony outside after all. Because of Elizabeth's direction and help, everything went smoothly and my husband and I weren't as stressed. Overall, Shining Tides as a venue speaks for itself. The gorgeous view overlooking the water is breathtaking (and beautiful for photos) - the catering co, Russell Morin is outstanding, and the deck where the reception is can hold up to 200 guests. We would highly recommend Shining Tides - best wedding venue in New England!

nstant match. Elizabeth is amazing! She has years of wedding planning experience and it was reflected in our wedding day. She was very easy to get in touch with during the entire planning process and helped us save money a few weeks before the big day. We had 175 guests at our wedding and it was a perfect amount. I wouldn't suggest having many more people because it will start to get very tight if you plan on having it inside the house. We also had a rain tent that we used for cocktail hour and we rented it from Chase Canopy (another great vendor to use). Russell Morin is a first class caterer. The food on the wedding day was exactly like the tasting. The staff was very friendly, helpful and classy. We provided our own alcohol for the wedding, which is another great perk of using Shining Tides. At the end of the wedding we did a boat exit, which was a great way to end the night. Overall, if you love New England and being on the water- we HIGHLY recommend you use Shining Tides as your wedding venue.

te perfect venue for our special day and I am forever grateful for finding this venue. Russel Morin catering was incredible ( we are foodies), the view cannot be beat and the property was gorgeous. All the staff we worked with were wonderful and attentive and made sure we had everything we needed. The ONLY thing I would say that was tricky was lodging and this is of course nothing that Shining Tides could help. We ended up renting a large house on homeaway.com and it was even better than getting a hotel. Basically, if you are looking for a Cape Cod feel wedding but have trouble finding one that isn't Yaght club stuffy or too beachy casual this is your venue. I loved that we didn't have to share the property with anyone else other than our guests. As I know many hotel hosted beach weddings will have multiple events in a day. You are your guests will be raving about what an amazing wedding it was for years to come!