When we first began dreaming of our wedding, we knew two things would be key to a successful reception--dancing and food. When we stumbled across the Dockside Restaurant and realized we could book out the entire place, we couldn't believe our luck! Here are our top four reasons you should absolutely choose Dockside for your reception venue:
(1) The Food - Kendra and the team were eager to work with us to craft the perfect wedding menu. We have a lot of allergies as well as foodies in the family, and they balanced the desire for delicious food with perfect signature cocktails with the need to keep shellfish and gluten far away from a few guests. We ended up with about 120 guests, and they did a great job accommodating everything. This included mini-lobster rolls and oyster shooters with gazpacho as appetizers, HUGE portions of price rib, delicious fresh fish, a great vegan option (usually overlooked but not here!), and killer desserts.
(2) The View and Ambience - York Harbor at sunset is magical, and the Dockside is in a perfect spot to enjoy it. Everyone loved the expansive green lawn, the small rocky beach, the cute gazebo, and the long dock that puts you among the sailboats. Our guests enjoyed the grounds so much, some of them almost missed the start of dinner. Dockside itself does their beautiful location justice with large, floor to ceiling windows that let you gaze at the water as the sun went down, and an enclosed porch that meant our guests could take a break from the dance floor without feeling as if they were leaving party. As a bonus, the Dockside's floor plan makes it ideal for a dancing.
(3) The Staff - We worked with two, wonderful event coordinators due to a long engagement. Our first, Heather, helped put us at ease by walking us through rainy day plans, confirming our choice of DJ, and introducing us to the Dockside's expansive menu. Our second event coordinator, Kendra was as enthusiastic as we were about our event! She helped us work out a plan for all the allergies, and coordinated the special touches mentioned below. All our servers were wonderful! They were attentive, fast, and so kind!! It was clear that everyone on the staff wanted us to feel good and for the event to go smoothly.
(4) Special Touches - Kendra helped us plan two signature cocktails and one signature mocktail at no extra cost! The venue was accommodating of our using a school bus to pick up and drop off our guests. And we took the option of extending our night by an hour--and all of our servers stayed through the entire event!
If you are considering the Dockside for your wedding reception then look no further - this is the place!
PS. We had our ceremony at a different location, but we are confident that Kendra and the group would also do a fabulous job hosting that, too. The view of the harbor is gorgeous and they have a comprehensive rainy day plan. So much so that they were actually our rain location despite our ceremony being elsewhere.

My husband and I got married at Dockside last weekend (September 2022) with blue skies but 30mph winds. We still wanted to have the ceremony outside, and the staff was great at making sure all the decor was set up and not blowing around. Heather (the venue coordinator) was great at answering so many of my questions leading up to the event and set up the tables, desserts, decor, etc. exactly as I had imagined. She was also flexible with timing as the night went on, and was super attentive to our guests with limited mobility. The bartenders were awesome, and out photographer and DJ had worked with Heather many times before so it went seamlessly. The view was unbeatable, and I'm so happy we chose Dockside.

Dockside was the perfect venue for our wedding. Heather and her team were incredibly helpful, and our guests enjoyed their food and experiencing Maine. The views of the harbor are unparalleled and all staff members were kind and considerate. We’re very thankful we chose Dockside for our wedding.