Weddings big business for island

MANATEE — Call it the Love Boat.

Jill Chandler-Fisher and Orca Fisher’s vessel is not as big as the famous TV cruise ship, however.

It’s cute, classically romantic and a little more churchy.

The Fishers are owners of the “Floating Chapel on the Bay” — a classic-looking church with stained-glass windows, cathedral ceilings, old-fashioned pews that seat up to 100 people and a steeple that’s as blue as the sea. It comes complete with a wrap-around deck, a bridal suite and twin engines to carry it through the Intracoastal waterway.

“The beauty of being able to cruise up and down the Intracoastal has literally stopped traffic,” said Jill Chandler-Fisher. “People get out of their cars. They wave, take photographs.”

The chapel, based at the Cortez dock, is bound to pull in more wedding traffic with the third annual Anna Maria Island Wedding Festival Sunday . The vessel will be docked at the Tortuga Inn Beach Resort during the event.

Weddings are big business for area companies — large and small — who benefit from Anna Maria Island’s white sand beaches and the vibrant sunsets that make for picture-perfect wedding memories.

“This area of Anna Maria as well as Sarasota — they both kind of vie to be the wedding capital of Florida,” said Jill Chandler-Fisher. “I’m kind of floating between both of them here.”

The Fishers will showcase the floating chapel during wedding festival, which is expected to attract 500 to 700 guests this year. The event is touted to be one-stop shopping for brides-to-be planning their dream wedding. They get to meet with nearly a 100 wedding pros — from bridal wear specialists, florists and photographers to hair stylists, caterers and DJs. The festival will include 14 to 15 locations around Anna Maria, with guests being transported via trolley and limousine to visit each group of vendors.

“By the time they are done here, they will have everything that they need,” said Deb Wing, executive administrative assistant of the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the matrimonial extravaganza.

Plus, they will have a chance to win more than $10,000 in prizes — which, in this economy, is icing on the cake.

Those looking to get married on the floating chapel soon may have to wait until May. The Fishers have 27 weddings to host through April. They’ve had the chapel since the beginning of this year. Phil Henderson, the previous owner, operated the chapel in St. Petersburg for about five years before he retired recently. The Fishers were so taken with it that they just had to have it.

“The beauty of the chapel is that it combines the tradition of a church setting, if you will, along with being able to cruise — a one-hour or two-hour cruise on the Intracoastal,” said Jill Chandler-Fisher.

Average cost of renting the vessel: $1,700. Packages start at $700 and go up to around $3,000. The price includes a wedding coordinator, rehearsal time, a cruise on the water, the Fishers officiating the ceremony and optional music, silk flowers and affordable la a cart wedding reception service on the deck.