February 6, 2017
There are a variety of LBI wedding venues on Long Beach Island, NJ for couples to choose from! I think I might even have trouble narrowing my favorites down to one. But if you are searching for the perfect wedding venue on LBI, here is a great place to start.
Picking from one of LBI’s wedding venues can be one of the more challenging aspects of planning a wedding. It took me a while to settle on the type of wedding I wanted. There was a lot to consider. Each time we revamped our plan and analyzed our wants/needs, I felt like I was starting over from square one. For the most part, I was. And it was stressful. So, I decided to attempt taking some of the research stress out of your LBI wedding venues search by compiling a list of places to get married in LBI.
The following list includes LBI wedding venues to have your reception. If you are looking for the perfect spot for your ceremony, check out this post here with a guide to LBI Ceremony venues, here. And if you want to find the perfect place for a small intimate wedding or elopement on LBI, check out this post here.
Yacht club weddings on LBI present some unique challenges. They were, for the most part, not designed as an LBI wedding venue. While most have full kitchens, some are more caterer-friendly than others. Some are more wedding-friendly than others. And some are only available to members. But a yacht club wedding is always amazing. In my opinion, yacht club weddings require a wedding planner. There can be so many details to manage. If you really want to relax and enjoy your day, a planner (like myself) can help to ensure that you so.
One of my favorite LBI wedding venues, the Brant Beach Yacht Club is a beautiful bay front venue that can accommodate up to 170 guests, comfortably. With stunning sunsets, and reasonable site fees, it’s one of LBI’s most popular venues.
The Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club is a beautiful place to host your wedding, but it is for members only. It is an amazing place to host your wedding. If you want to see more (and really, who wouldn’t!) check out Kathleen and Richard’s navy and green nautical theme wedding here.
The Shelter Harbor Marina is a small wedding venue that is available only to members of the marina. You can do a sit-down dinner here, but I wouldn’t recommend it for more than 75 guests. A cocktail-style reception would be prefect. A beautiful view and their sunset are the bonus, but it’s third floor location (with an elevator). And this can make it a challenge for deliveries and vendors.
One of LBI’s older yacht clubs, Spray Beach Yacht Club has a beautiful design. It is available for members to host a wedding reception.
Surf City Yacht Club is available to the public for weddings and is a beautiful spot with views of the Barnegat Bay and sunsets that can’t be beat. And those ceilings and windows! You won’t have to do much with the decor because the view is the star here! With a stunning deck overlooking the ceremony space and the bay, this is a beautiful location. This is one of the Ycaht Clubs on LBI where you do not have to be a member to rent for any type of event. You can also increase the capacity here by tenting the bayfront.
One of my FAVORITE places to plan a wedding on LBI, the Foundation, is a pretty unique space. If you want to read about it in more detail, check out our Venue Spotlight on the LBI Foundation of Arts and Sciences.
The LBI Foundation of the Arts & Sciences is a really fun place to plan a wedding. It’s not a traditional venue, so you will have to be prepared to “bring in” many things that traditional venues would already have on hand. But if you ask me, it is sooooo worth it! You’ll probably want to bring on a planner to help with all of the details, but depending on the size of your wedding, you could try to DIY it. I have been longing to work on a wedding here, so puuuuhlease, contact BWE here, if you’re getting married at the LBIF!
Hotel LBI is LBI’s newest wedding venue, having opened in 2019. Located in Ship Bottom, immediately past the bridge. Hotel LBI is a gorgeous wedding space. The Conservatory (ballroom) can hold up to 220, but I think it’s best kept around the 200 mark (especially if you are considering a band). Ceremonies can be help down the street on the beach in Ship Bottom (just get a permit), on the Hotel’s roof, or even at the Lighthouse in Barnegat Light.
Bonnet Island Estate is a gorgeous bay front venue that can accommodate up to 250 guests, and is one of the premiere venues on LBI. The site fee is $14,000 – $29,000; depending on the season and the extent of your rental (the entire estate vs. 5 hours window). Want to see more, check out the fabulous winter wedding of Alyssa and Robert at Bonnet Island!
The Gables is a Victorian Inn in Beach Haven, NJ. It’s a charming venue with a garden atmosphere and the food is incredible! They can accommodate an out door ceremony with 120 guests, an indoor reception with 110 guests, and an outdoor reception with up to 200 guests. They do have a 75 guest minimum. Here are some beautiful photos of wedding inspiration shot by Idalia Photography and planned and styled by BWE for Bay Magazine.
Mallard Island Yacht Club is another premiere LBI wedding venue. It can accommodate a maximum of 250 guests. It has beautiful views of Barnegat Bay and is surrounded with decks overlooking the water and fire pits for a relaxed atmosphere. Site fee is $13,000-26,000; depending on the season and the extent of your rental (the entire estate vs. 5 hours window)
Photo by Delaney Dobson Photography
The Sea Shell Resort is available April, May, June, September, October the Seashell feels like a destination wedding resort without having to travel to an island! They can accommodate up to 217 guests and they have plenty of room for guests to stay on location. With a beautiful location for an ocean front ceremony and reception.
Parker’s Garage can accommodate up to 180 guests. It’s got amazing bay front views and the sunsets are unbelievable. Most couples plan for a beach ceremony and reserve the LBI Historical Association or the Spray Beach Chapel as a “plan B” in case of bad weather.
Photo by Susan Elizabeth PhotographyPhoto by Susan Elizabeth Photography
Daddy O’s is now available for complete buy-outs, which includes all 22 modern hotel rooms, the restaurant and private dining rooms, bars and outdoor spaces between September 16th – June 17th. We planned an amazing welcome party in their Rum Garden.
The Mainland is one of LBI’s newest wedding venues. It has ben completely redone and is gorgeous, with a really chic industrial style reception space with wooden farm tables and exposed duct work. . While it’s not on Long Beach Island, it is only minutes away in Manahawkin.
The Surf City Hotel can accommodate anywhere from 3-100 guest, the Surf City Hotel is another great LBI wedding venue option.
The Daymark is located in Barnegat Light and is a great place to host your reception after a ceremony behind the lighthouse. The food is impressive (try the conch fritters!) and the decor is hip, funky and fun. Impress your guests with sunset views and the lighthouse! Check out our Bar Mitzvah celebration for the Bitman family.
It’s difficult to find homes on LBI that are also used as LBI wedding venues. In the case of most homes, it would be considered operating a business in a non-business zone if they operated as a wedding venue in addition to renting their home for vacationers. There are a few homes located in business zones, but they often have restrictions based on the number of weddings they can offer per year, and the number of permits they receive for tents.
The Williams Cottage Inn is perfect for elopements, and small wedding parties. It can accommodate approximately 10-50 guests max
You can find more information on 101 Centre Street on Facebook @101Centre, or check out the BWE Venue Spotlight blog post. You can rent the home and tent the side yard. Here, with a tent you can have 100 guests. You may also want to check out a few of our blog posts on individual events at 101 Centre Street. The Nicholson’s chose 101 as anniversary celebration’s “homebase” and Mallory & Cameron had a stunning wedding with a clear top tent in early June.
If you enjoyed today’s blog, please check out some of our other helpful LBI wedding planning resources, especially our guide to wedding ceremony spaces, here, and our guide to eloping on LBI, here.
Thank you to the photographers who allow us to use their images on our site:
Ashley Mac Photographs, Heather Palecek Photography, Idalia Photography, Jessica Erb Photography, Susan Elizabeth Photography, Delaney Dobson Photography, Ann Coen Photography, Lovesick Inc., K Hulett Photography & Melanie Cassie Photography
BWE | 825 Devon Street | Forked River, New Jersey 08731
(973) 477-1392 | jeanne@bogathevents.com
[…] Monday’s BWE blog gave you a comprehensive list of LBI wedding venues, check it out here, and download the BWE Guide to LBI Wedding Venues here. There are some amazing wedding venues on […]
Good Morning,
My wedding is 9/22/2018. I am having my ceremony at the gazebo by Barnegat Lighthouse and my reception at the Daymark. I am trying to look for a backup location for my ceremony in case it rains. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Bonnie, I would love to give you some backup indoor ideas. I’m pretty sure that in a pinch, you could have your ceremony indoors at the Daymark. It would be difficult to flip the space quickly. You might look want to check out the Spray Beach Chapel. It would be a little bit of a drive for guests, but as a back-up plan, it’s an affordable one. If you’d like to talk more, I’d love to see what other north-end options I can dig up for you. 🙂 Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
Thank you so much for the recommendation. I will look into Spray Beach Chapel. If you could dig up some other options closer to the lighthouse, that would be great. I’ve been continuing to look as well but haven’t been able to find anything.
That’s the problem, on the north end of the island, there are not as many churches or venues. I have plans to swing by the Barnegat Light Historical Society next week. They have funny off-season hours. But when I find out more, I will let you know. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call if you need anything. 🙂