I got married on this boat and the celebration was LEGENDARY.
I have gone to quite a few weddings, both American and French, and I must say that this venue is as good as it gets for an amazing event. So many of our guests described the evening as either the best wedding they can remember or one of their top life events period. The owner never ceased to bend over backwards to accommodate our needs and requests and to make little tweaks that we had not even thought of that made everything come off perfectly. No stress, no mistakes, no failures, no missed opportunities. I recommend this venue from the bottom of my heart and assure you that you are in good hands while on board.
We reserved about one year in advance and given we had more than 120 people, the package that the owner proposed to us included just about everything we could want. For the per-person price that he quoted us - the package included the reservation of the entire boat from 4pm Saturday to 1pm Sunday, and this includes all 23 cabins which roomed about 48 guests for the event. The guests were required to pay for the rooms in addition to the wedding package but for an extremely reasonable price given the boat's location in the middle of Paris. Our suite was included free of charge and it had its own private deck behind the boat.
First of all, the owner is the major asset of this boat. He has an amazing ability to remain calm and positive in all situations and he is very kind in general. Furthermore, he has done this kind of event so frequently that he is able to predict problems and resolve them before they even arise. Basically, the boat's crew managed things so well that we had very little to take care of regarding the preparation of the venue (except delivering the decorations the day before and organizing the photographer, our own cake, and some other little details). The boat even proposes a photographer option if you want them to manage that as well!
Our price included an introductory hour of champagne, a delicious 28 piece cocktail-style dinner served to the guests by a wonderful waitstaff, very nice quality red and white wine served with dinner, a dessert (wedding cake), and a great DJ. Plus the boat owner managed the entire event and everything went forward like clockwork. Also, the boat has an arch already in place that can be decorated and used for the wedding ceremony backdrop. Given we had our own cake, the owner agreed to give us coffee, juice, and pastries for brunch instead!!
Second, the experience of floating (fairly quickly) down the Seine, surrounded by friends and family while watching the beautiful sights of Paris fly by and dancing to your favorite songs is something magical that everyone who lives in (or even visits) Paris should experience at least once in a lifetime. Actually, this should just be something everyone does as regularly as possible :) The ceremony took place with the boat parked perfectly with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Also, as you go down the Seine, you have to duck your head or sit down for some bridges because the party takes place in the open air on the upper deck and you can reach out and touch the underside of several ancient bridges. The experience is breathtaking!
Finally, there is a large dining room where the part can continue after the cruise without bothering the neighbors (too much) at the dock. The dining room opens up onto a lower exterior deck so people can still easily get fresh air. Also, there is a system to project photos and slideshows. The DJ was very talented but at the same time, completely willing to listen to our requests and ideas. In the end the music was a mix between our playlists and his own song ideas and we had a hard time keeping people from dancing non-stop until 5am!! He also took care of the microphones and PA system for the ceremony for a small supplementary fee (totally worth it). At the end, people could stay very late because they were sleeping on board. Such a strong point.
I will be looking to come back for some anniversary celebrations!! :D read more