More about wedding harbour cruises
Congratulations – Mabruk – Muslita – Συγχαρητήρια – ¡Felicitaciones - Gōngxǐ gōngxǐ
Make your day even more memorable. Imagine your wedding and reception on a Sydney Harbour Cruise. Picture the beautiful city backdrop of the Harbour Bridge and iconic Opera House by day and a sparkling sea of lights by night. You and partner with your guest will experience a celebration to cherish forever.
We offer wedding cruises and packages with that special touch suited to you and your needs. We understand that your wedding is exceptional and unique, that's why our cruises cater for many cultures and traditions, including yours – just ask us.
We specialise in many cultural wedding cruises including Australian, Italian, Arabic, Greek, Chinese, Indian and many more. We serve cocktails and canapés (in your choice of cultural menu) on entry to one of our spectacular vessels as you and your guests make there way upstairs for the memorable ceremony.
The wedding ceremony will be magical on the top deck. We can also recommend a celebrant for you. You and your guests will experience a moment to remember with 360 degree views of Sydney Harbour. All Occasion Cruises will ensure our specialist wedding coordinator will cover all of the important details when organising your Wedding Cruise.
Afterwards, make your way down to the reception area where our professional MC introduces the bridal party and begin the fun relaxed atmosphere of your wedding reception. Ask us if you require special seating arrangements as we will be more than happy to cater for your needs.
We pride ourselves in excellence and this is seen in the quality and presentation of our freshly prepared meals adding to the overall experience of your perfect wedding. We not only provide different menu packages for different cultures, we can also customise your beverages package.
We understand each culture is different, we can personalise your wedding to cater for your needs. Ask us about the entertainment we can provide such as, Brazilian dancers, belly dancers, singers, bands or even harp musicians! We can do it all! To ensure that all your guests are enjoying the important occasion we can also provide a multilingual Master of Ceremony.
All weddings have different traditions. Here are some of the cultural specific traditions:
Chinese wedding tea ceremony
The Chinese
Tea Ceremony is the most important part in a modern-day Chinese
wedding. This takes place on the wedding day when most of the family
members are present. Tea is the national drink of China and is served
as a sign of respect. The parents serve the new couple tea representing
the welcoming of the couple to the family and the couple serve tea to
the parents as a way of saying thank you for bringing them up.
Indian wedding ceremony
Indian weddings
are colourful, bright and full of cheering. Music plays an important
role as there are different song choices for different parts of the
wedding. Indian weddings can be celebrated for days, on the main wedding
day guests celebrate with traditional foot tapping as well as modern
songs, sometimes Bollywood songs. Guests like to cheer
and dance and the music is usually very upbeat to keep the energy high.
However as the ceremony ends the music is much softer to symbolise the
sadness that the bride is leaving her parents house.
Greek weddings
The Greek Wedding reception is an enormous celebration. The most traditional
aspect would be the Greek Circle dancing. Dishes are smashed on the
floor for good luck and the musicians are given money to keep the music
going. Feasting and drinking are important elements of having a good
time in this tradition.
Arabic Weddings
Arabic weddings include Lebanese, Iraqi, Syrian, and many other Arabian
cultures. They celebrate in a unique upbeat style. Good food and flowing
drink is important. They also engage in circle dancing called (dabkeh)
as well as high energy clapping and cheering. The bride and groom are
often carried on chairs and elevated while guests gather around and
cheer in celebration.
Italian weddings
One main traditions of the Italian wedding is the bride
and groom usually breaks glass at the end of the reception. This symbolise's
the number of years the couple will share together. Another tradition
is where white doves are released into the air representing the couples
love and happiness.
Croatian Wedding Traditions
A common tradition for Croatian weddings occurs on the day of the wedding,
the brides family will create obstacles for the groom in the attempt
to defer him from arriving to the church on time.
Once the ceremony has taken place, all the female relatives replace
the Brides veil with a scarf and apron to symbolize the bride now becoming
a wife.
Japanese Wedding Traditions
In Japanese traditions, the bride to be is painted white from head to
to-symbolising her purity status. She is dressed in a white kimono with
an extravagant head piece to welcome luck and happiness into the couple’s
life. Japanese Grooms wear black Kimonos to their wedding.
At the reception, the bride will change twice, firstly into a red Kimono
and then into a more ‘western’ gown. Wedding guests are invited to offer
festive envelopes which are full of money-this is known as Goshugi.
Jewish Wedding Traditions
The Ketubah is a traditional Hebrew marriage contract which is signed
by the Bride and Groom to commence their wedding ceremony. This form
becomes a symbolic document, outlining the expectations of the couple’s
duties once they are married. It is common for this to be displayed
in their home. The Brides veil is then removed by the Groom, assuring
he has married the correct person. This symbolises a biblical story.
The Rabbi, Groom, Groomsmen and male Jewish guests wear a white coloured
cap called a Yamulkes.
