September 25, 2026 · By CDM Yachts · 4 min read
Most couples think about a yacht for the ceremony itself — and plenty of them hold one on the water (our weddings page covers that side of it). But a wedding in San Diego is rarely a single event. It's a weekend: out-of-town guests arriving on Thursday or Friday, a rehearsal dinner, the day itself, and a morning after when nobody's quite ready to go home. A private charter can anchor any one of those moments, even if your ceremony and reception happen on land.
The Welcome Cruise
If a lot of your guests are flying in, the first night is usually the awkward one — two families and several friend groups who don't know each other yet, scattered across different hotels. A welcome cruise gives everyone a single place to be and something to look at while they get acquainted: the downtown skyline, the Coronado Bridge, and Point Loma from the water. It also shows visiting guests a side of San Diego they wouldn't see from a hotel lobby.
Welcome cruises tend to be the most casual event of the weekend, so a 2- to 3-hour evening charter is usually plenty. Every charter has a 2-hour minimum.
The Rehearsal Dinner
A rehearsal dinner is typically the wedding party, immediate family, and a handful of others — which is often the right size for one of our smaller yachts. The Sea Ray 56, Sea Ray 52, and Beneteau 50 each carry up to 13 guests. The Sea Ray 56 has a salon with a dinette and a galley with a fridge, freezer, and wine cabinet; the Sea Ray 52 has a main-deck dining area; the Beneteau 50 has a glass-enclosed salon with wraparound seating around a teak table. Two-hour charters start at $1,980, $1,900, and $2,450 respectively.
If the rehearsal dinner guest list runs past 13, the Westport 100 is the only vessel in the fleet certified for more guests — up to 134. Its pricing is tiered by headcount, starting at $1,500/hour for 25 guests or fewer. See the pricing guide for the full breakdown.
You're welcome to bring your own food and drinks, including alcohol, on every CDM Yachts charter, or we can coordinate catering and bar service in advance. For a seated dinner, tell us your plans when you request availability so we can confirm what works on your vessel — a toast-and-small-plates evening is a different setup than a plated meal.
The After-Party
When the reception venue closes at 10 or 11pm, there's usually a core group that isn't done yet. An after-party charter keeps them together without a bar tab or a cover charge, and the bay after dark — harbor lights and the lit-up skyline — is a good last chapter to the night. Plan transportation between the reception and the dock ahead of time so nobody's scrambling for a ride in formalwear. For charters departing near the Shelter Island pier, public parking is available in the lot across the street, and your booking confirmation includes your exact boarding location.
The Farewell Sail
The day after is the one couples most often wish they'd planned for. A relaxed daytime charter for the couple and whoever's still in town — family, the wedding party, the friends who flew the farthest — is a calmer way to say goodbye than a rushed hotel brunch. It's also often the first time all weekend the couple gets to actually sit down and talk to people.
Planning Around the Wedding Calendar
- Book as early as your other vendors. Weekend dates in peak season are the first to go, and a wedding weekend usually needs a specific day, not a flexible one.
- Know the weather policy. If conditions are unsafe for boating, we reschedule to a mutually convenient date rather than sail. That's straightforward for a farewell sail, harder for a rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding — so have a land-based backup in mind for anything that can't move.
- Know the cancellation window. Cancellations at least 5 days before the reservation date receive a full refund.
- Loop in your planner. We're happy to coordinate timing directly with your wedding coordinator.
- Pack for the water. Evenings on the bay are cooler than on land, and heels don't mix with boat decks. Our what to bring guide is worth forwarding to guests.
If You Want the Ceremony on the Water Too
Ceremonies and receptions aboard are covered on our weddings page. One note: CDM Yachts coordinates the vessel, route, and on-water logistics, but isn't a licensed officiant or permitting authority, so confirm officiant and marriage license requirements independently.
Planning a wedding weekend in San Diego? Request availability with your dates and guest counts for each event, and we'll help you match a yacht to each one.
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