Weddings
The Smith Island Inn offers the perfect elopement, intimate wedding, commitment ceremony, or vow renewal packages for couples who seek old fashioned, rustic simplicity in a quaint personalized ceremony. If you are seeking a grand, flawless, large wedding event, we are likely not a good fit for your dream wedding. Smith Island offers a step back in time, a slower pace, and a quaint unique setting.
Our small, historical crabbing village, located in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay, offers individuals a quiet simplicity that is merely extinct in modern society. Couples choosing the Smith Island Inn for their special day are provided with a wedding consultant team who will ensure that the couple’s individualized wishes are honored throughout the planning journey. We provide thoughtful, meaningful ceremonies for diverse couples and are known for our sensitivity when marrying widowers, blended families, traditional and non-traditional couples. We are also more than willing to work with families with disabilities and accommodate guests with special needs.
Couples at the Inn can choose from a variety of settings for their ceremony, including the Inn’s intimate parlor, the pergola in the rose garden, a screened backyard gazebo, or the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Weddings can also be performed on the county dock overlooking the water.
The Smith Island Inn is a family-owned bed and breakfast and embraces couples and families from all backgrounds and family constellations. The Inn welcomes all types of families and strives to make each and every ceremony unique and special for each couple, and to ensure that your wedding is an event to be remembered and treasured for years to come!
Getting started
Our elopement packages begin with your initial inquiry. A brief call provides you with initial information to see if you would like to schedule a planning visit. Smith Island is a unique niche setting, and to ensure it is the couple’s ideal dream setting, we do ask that couples come in person to view our location and venue. All couples will receive our individualized wedding planning services. A telephone consultation is conducted to select the desired wedding package. The wedding coordinator will assist you with your selection of your choice of venue.
Our comprehensive planning and coordination services for guests are designed so that once you board the ferry in route to the Island, the details fall to us, allowing your stress to evaporate as our staff creates a magical event you will treasure for many years to come. The Smith Island Inn provides beautiful simplistic wedding decorations that fit every bride and style. Couples may bring additional decorative items which we are happy to incorporate into the ceremony and reception.
We have several packages to meet every budget, unique personalities, accommodate a variety of preferences, & can assist with selecting the perfect date and time. All ceremonies are performed by a certified registered wedding officiant who will complete all required paperwork for the county clerk’s office.
The Inn provides a rustic country theme complete with decorations for the ceremony and reception. All guests who are engaged, married, or who honeymoon at the Inn are given a free anniversary return certificate that allows the newlyweds to stay free of charge when the other two guest rooms at booked by family members or friends at the time of the return visit.
Please call for pricing details and options!
afternoon escape
Our most basic package for guests arriving and departing on the same afternoon of their ceremony. Guests are picked up at the dock and whisked to the Inn where accommodations are provided for dressing and preparations for their short 2.5 hour stay on the Island. The Inn’s parlor, rose garden, gazebo, or the county dock can serve as a back drop for your special ceremony and will be decorated to reflect the classic historical rustic charm of the Inn itself. Traditional vows are exchanged. After the ceremony, tea and coffee are served along with a Smith Island Cake © that is boxed for the return afternoon ferry ride back to the mainland.
traditional simplicity
This elopement package includes the complete wedding package but offers the flexibility for guests to choose their own ceremony time when traditional vows can be exchanged. A coffee and tea, cookies, and Smith Island Cake© reception is also included. An overnight stay for the couple, with a full breakfast is served the following morning in the dining room. A light afternoon tea reception with Smith Island Cake©, homemade cookies, fruit, and chocolates are served on heirloom china following the exchange of the vows which creates a sense of elegance post-ceremony. An overnight stay and a gourmet breakfast the following morning are also included.
This elopement package offers a full Inn wedding package with choice of setting, and customized vows. Beverages are served at the location of the wedding and a toast is performed in antique keepsake glasses for the couple to cherish for years to come. A sit-down seafood dinner is served that evening for the newlyweds, either indoors in our intimate dining area or in our screened shaded gazebo. An overnight stay in one of our Inn suites is included and the newlyweds are treated to a special Inn breakfast the next morning.
casual elegance
This elopement package offers a full Inn wedding package with choice of setting, and customized vows. Beverages are served at the location of the wedding and a toast is performed in antique keepsake glasses for the couple to cherish for years to come. A sit-down seafood dinner is served that evening for the newlyweds,
either indoors in our intimate dining area or in our screened shaded gazebo. An overnight stay in one of our Inn suites is included and the newlyweds are treated to a special Inn breakfast the next morning.
an enchanted evening
Bring your family and friends!
For many couples, the presence of family, friends, and loved one’s is an important and essential component on their wedding day. We have several reception options to accommodate guests who attend wedding services.
Same day guests are able to attend afternoon weddings and return to the mainland on the evening ferry at 4 PM. Private charters are also available for hire for guests who desire a later departure time. Wedding guest fees are based on the couple’s package. Couples opting for the packages Afternoon Escape or Traditional Simplicity can include invited guests for a fee of $17 per person which includes tea, coffee, and Smith Island Cake. Couples opting for the Casual Elegance package may have invited guests join them for tea, coffee, a non-alcoholic toast, Smith Island Cake ©, a variety of homemade cookies, fruit, and chocolates for a fee of $25 per person.
Same day guests
The “I do again” package is designed for couples that wish to renew their vows. These packages can be customized to include children and other family members. Couples can plan a lavish second wedding or a quaint special intimate affair. Our wedding consultant team will work with families to ensure that every detail is set to make the vow renewal ceremony a special event you will cherish for years to come. Prices are based on chosen options.
“I do, again…”
We offer small personalized receptions for couples who desire a more traditional wedding reception feel. Receptions can be customized and offer the flexibility of different food, time, and location options. The Smith Island Inn owns additional properties that can be utilized to allow overnight guests to stay on the Island. Couples who opt for overnight accommodations for their group have flexibility in terms of menu selections, dessert or high tea receptions, dinner, or brunch options. Prices are based on the couples preferences, menu, and desired venue.