Delaware Beachfront Weddings Venues: Part 1
Guest Post by Meghan Paradee | Photos submitted by Collective Event Group
Have you always dreamed of an elegant outdoor wedding, overlooking a nautical, nature-infused backdrop? We’re here to help you plan your Delaware beach wedding!
Outdoor weddings, particularly in coastal towns, seem to always be at the top of the list when asking couples what their dream wedding concept would look like. There are dozens and dozens of wedding venue options, so let's get started with a few of our favorites providing a waterfront view!
Breaking it down by town; we will take a tour of coastal Delaware and let you in on all the awesome waterfront wedding venues in the sought-after Delaware Beaches, that just so happen to be perfect for tented weddings! While some of these beachy and coastal wedding venues are very well known, others are hidden gems that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Delaware seashore destinations, such as Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Dewey, and Millsboro, have many gorgeous wedding venues to choose from.
Indian River Life Saving Station
If heading south out of Dewey Beach, you don’t have a choice but to drive past this first wedding location (as there is only one way to drive south out of Dewey 😊) If you get to the inlet bridge, you’ve gone too far. You may have passed it several times and not realized it’s even there.
The Indian River Life Saving Station as well as its “sister” location, Indian River Inlet Marina is located at the base of the inlet bridge, on the south side. Both venues provide the perfect beachy or nautical backdrop for your wedding or special event! They are operated by Delaware Seashore State Parks and adorned with waterfront views, spectacular sunsets, and provide the feel of a true Delaware Beach Wedding.
The locations both require tent and equipment rental, which is an added cost. However, this allows couples to essentially build and design their wedding from the ground up!
The Indian River Life Saving Station Museum can be left open during cocktail hour for guests to explore and learn some of the Delaware Seashore history!
Indian River Life Saving Station weddings are a blank slate. When you’re building a wedding from the ground up, you can easily throw in your personal touch and create the feeling you want your guests to have when entering the space.
Below are a few vastly different Delaware beach reception styles, showing how versatile these tented venues can be!
Take a glimpse of the sunset views you will have overlooking Rehoboth Bay at both Indian River Life Saving Station, as well as Indian River Marina.
Big Chill Beach Club
Heading further south, crossing the inlet bridge, sits Big Chill Beach Club. This venue sits inside of a DE Seashore State Park, however, it is owned and operated by LaVida Hospitality Group, formally known as Nage Catering.
Big Chill sits on the second floor, boasting panoramic views of both the ocean and bay, including the inlet bridge! Big Chill doesn’t require a tent, however, we wanted to include them on our list, based on the uniqueness of the venue. In the early years of Big Chill, they did have a permanent structure tent installed, which was used for all of the events, recently, they have built a pavilion-like building with roll-up doors, which on a beautiful summer day with the doors opened, will feel like you’re right on the beach!
This venue definitely has a stunning sunset view!
Lighthouse Cove Event Center at Hyatt Place Dewey Beach
Heading into the bustling and action-packed town of Dewey Beach, we have Hyatt Place Dewey Beach, also known as Lighthouse Cove Event Center. Dewey Beach is an excellent choice for your wedding location. Your guests can easily make a weekend of it and there are no shortages of restaurant and bar options for daytime and evening entertainment!
Lighthouse Cove has a hotel on site (obviously, as it IS the Hyatt, ha-ha!) for your guests, as well as a large indoor ballroom and several smaller meeting spaces. Hyatt boasts a sprawling deck off the ballroom, which overlooks Rehoboth Bay facing westward, ensuring a front-row seat at sunset! Collective Event Group and Hyatt have partnered to provide guests with several tent options for the waterfront deck! Whether the tent is covering your waterfront ceremony or setting up a space for guests to enjoy the view during cocktail hour – you can’t go wrong.
Below are a few shots of tents installed on the deck at Lighthouse Cove/Hyatt Place Dewey, showing the panoramic view of Rehoboth Bay.
In addition to weddings, Hyatt Place Dewey Beach also hosts several galas, fundraisers, and conventions each year; we work with Hyatt staff and their clients to build some very creative tent combinations to utilize the additional deck space and fulfill the individual event needs!
Shown below, are some of the activities under our tents during the annual Dewey Beach Winter Gala.
Rehoboth Beach Yacht & Country Club
Heading slightly north of Dewey you'll find the town of Rehoboth Beach.
Rehoboth Beach Yacht & Country Club sits in an upscale community just off Route One in Rehoboth Beach. The clubhouse has a newly renovated second-floor ballroom, overlooking Rehoboth Bay. They also have a dedicated outdoor waterfront ceremony arbor and a large waterfront back lawn surrounded by lush golf greens, perfect for your wedding tent!
Some couples choose to hold their ceremony and cocktail hour outdoors or under a tent, then move into the ballroom for the reception. However, you can also opt for your reception to be tented on the waterfront!
The event staff at Rehoboth Beach Country Club work closely with Collective Event Group to make sure every detail of your wedding is taken care of.
Below are a few photos from Kelsey + Ben’s Rehoboth Beach Country Club Tented Wedding.
Kings Creek Country Club
Next up is Kings Creek Country Club, located in Rehoboth Beach, and another great spot for your tented wedding! Kings Creek isn’t strictly waterfront, but it is still “at the beach” and the location gives guests easy access to tons of beachfront accommodations. They have a newly renovated clubhouse and ballroom, as well as outdoor locations for your wedding tent!
I would like to highlight a summertime wedding at Kings Creek, in which Collective Event Group provided the massive sailcloth tent, pure white carpeted event flooring, a generator to power the entire event, a dance floor, the band stage, and a variety of other rentals.
Bennett + Kirk’s wedding was so vibrant and fun with crisp and clean modern accents.
Pots Nets Seaside Pavilion
Located off the beaten path and around the bend from Dewey and Rehoboth sits Millsboro, and particularly Long Neck, DE. This hidden gem of a community is bursting with boat and fishing life as well as this adorable hidden wedding location inside of one of the Pot Nets communities. Pot Nets Seaside Pavilion is located inside of Pot Nets Seaside. The pavilion is located on somewhat of a point, where the Indian River Bay meets Rehoboth Bay.
Although you technically must be a resident of one of the Pot Nets communities to rent out this location, let’s just say...I’m sure you could find someone you know who lives within the six communities under the Pot Nets brand.
The pavilion itself is a perfect backdrop for your wedding tent or your outdoor wedding ceremony! There are so many places for beautiful photo ops within steps of the pavilion.
The Clubhouse at Baywood
Down the street from Pot Nets communities, you will find The Clubhouse at Baywood. Now, I know, this location isn’t technically beachfront… BUT I wanted to give them a mention as they do have a pond and adorable bridge, that offers perfectly classic photo opportunities!
The entire property is expertly and meticulously landscaped to perfection! A great choice for a garden party-style soiree.
Shown below is the picturesque pond and bridge I mentioned, so perfect for those newlywed shots!
Check out Meghan + Matt’s gorgeous Sailcloth Wedding by Collective Event Group, held at Baywood. Below are a few vantage points of the tent exterior and tent interior and set up! They selected black chiavari chairs and mixed round and king-width banquet tables for seating. You can view our chair rental selections, perfect for your Delaware Wedding here!
To Be Continued: check back for part 2!
Meghan Paradee, VP of Sales & Marketing
As the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Collective Event Group, your premier tent and event company in the Mid-Atlantic, I bring over 20 years of industry expertise and leadership. Based out of our four showroom locations, I oversee our operations across Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
My role involves leading our dynamic sales team to drive revenue growth and expand our brand presence. By creating and refining procedures, maximizing resources, and enhancing inter-departmental communication across our four branch locations, I ensure seamless execution of our events.
