Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Reviews

We were married in May and had a lovely time at this beautiful venue. There were no boats docked around Navy Point, which allowed our guests a beautiful view. The museum aspect and the old boats were very cool for our guests to explore during before the wedding started.

CBMM is the most beautiful venue on the eastern shore - I know I am biased because that is where I got married, but it is seriously stunning. While the pictures you see are gorgeous, just wait until you see it in person. It is truly one of a kind. We held our wedding on August 25th and had our ceremony in front of the bandstand, and had our cocktail hour in the boat house. Many guests commented on how amazing the boat house was - they loved getting to see all of the antique boats, and there is a dock on the other side that made for some amazing photos! We held our reception under a tent on navy point and it was truly spectacular. Many guests complimented that it was one of the most beautiful weddings they had ever attended. Working with Liz Cowee was amazing! She is so flexible and will answer all of your questions (My now husband and I had a ton leading up to the wedding)! Liz even unlocked the light house and we were able to go to the very top to get some amazing photos and have a birds eye view of our wedding! I highly recommend this venue! You will not regret it! Thanks CBMM we will be back to see you very soon!!

We don’t know where to begin- from the start the CBMM was nothing but professional and wonderful to work with!!! If you want to get married in Maryland on the water go to CBMM, you will not be disappointed

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was an absolute DREAM venue and the most stunning backdrop for our wedding weekend in St. Michaels. My husband and I got engaged in St. Michaels and knew from that moment on that we wanted to get married there. We came across the Maritime Museum and were instantly blown away by the gorgeous views on the Navy Point and unique property. We decided to have both our rehearsal dinner on the property (in the Small Boat Shed) and our ceremony and reception (on Navy Point). Liz and her team went above and beyond in so many ways -- including by making the wedding planning process leading up the wedding seamless and fun and, on the day of, making sure every detail was in place and perfect. The CBMM team even arranged to have a golf cart transport my husband’s grandmother right to the ceremony so she wouldn’t have to strain walking the grounds. We are so thankful to the CBMM team for everything they did to make our wedding an absolute fairytale for us, and look forward to coming back for years to come to relive the happy memories.

Beautiful venue and the staff was incredible. Highly recommend!

Ida Heelan made our selection of the museum campus a perfect choice for our wedding! She graciously helped with all aspects of planning and getting the insurance for the event. She went above and beyond on many occasions but most memorably when my necklace broke. She fixed it herself by using thread to replace a broken chain link and saved the day! Many thanks to the whole museum team!

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was the perfect setting for our big day. The weather was perfect and our guests absolutely loved the location. It was so much character and charm. We could not have been happier with the way it turned out. Ida, Melissa, and the entire CBMM staff were wonderful to work with as well. Strongly recommend!

The team at CBMM is outstanding, especially the Event Coordinator Ida Heelan. The setting and services were extremely professional but more importantly, the great amount of concern demonstrated to ensure our special day was perfect. Ida provided excellent guidance and was present both before and during the event to ensure all expectations were met. When the weather worked against us, Ida had prepared us well in advance for all of the options and it was a simple and easy adjustment to ensure that all our guests stayed warm and dry. I can't say enough. If I could do it all again, I would.

We held our son's rehearsal dinner at the Steamboat Building, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. We were guided by Ida Heelan, which was extremely helpful considering .....we live in Connecticut and everything had to be done by email or phone. The site was absolutely beautiful...the cocktail hour was held on the deck, then a buffet dinner inside. Ida also helped with recommendations for a caterer and flowers. We used Gourmet By the Bay and Seaberry Farms and were delighted with the cooperative spirit of all the vendors! Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was a great place to start the wedding weekend!

We could not have imagined a more wonderful experience! The venue was very accommodating and provided a spectacular setting for pictures.

The CBMM was the perfect wedding venue for us and our guests. Our weeding day was beautiful, well organized, and a wealth of fun. Thank you CBMM!

The CBMM is a fabulous location for an event. Everything went smoothly and the weather was perfect. Our guests loved the venue and had a great time. Many thanks to Ida Heelin for all that she did to help with the event!

The venue was beautiful! Ida helped out with everything and the day couldn't have been nicer!

This is the second year the Maryland Commission for Women held their annual Strategic Planning session at the CBMM. The venue is perfect. Offering space, easy accessibility, use of kitchen amenities, and a view of the Miles River. Ida Heelan is always a pleasure to work with. Her attention to details is greatly appreciated.

The rehearsal dinner for my son and his wife was beyond my expectations. The Maritime Museum is a beautiful setting for a more casual event and proximity to the water adds to the ambience. While we can't credit Ida with the weather, which was perfect, we can thank her for all that she did to ensure that our event was special.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a beautiful site to host a wedding. The event coordinator, Ida Heelan, was very professional and helpful with all our decisions that needed to be made regarding the event.
Thank you CBMM for also providing the gorgeous backdrop for our tented wedding on the bay.

CBMM was the PERFECT location for our September 2014 wedding ceremony and reception. I have been coming to CBMM since I was a just a little girl, so it meant so much to have our wedding there.

The campus is absolutely gorgeous with the Hooper Strait Lighthouse, numerous boats docked, the bandstand and bell tower and the At Play on the Bay Building. It also has a fabulous rain option, in the Small Boat Shed (although we did not have to use it!!). The venue has a lovely rustic nautical feel and cannot be beat in terms of location in St. Michaels. We were able to host most of our guests at local hotels so everyone was able to walk onto campus and no transportation was needed.

Ida Heelan was also so lovely to work with during the planning process. We visited campus during OysterFest in 2013 and actually signed our contract on our first visit with her, as we knew it was the right place. She was very helpful in working with the vendors and was also accommodating to some special requests I had along the way. She was also on site for both the rehearsal and for the wedding, which was very nice. CBMM also provided security at the event who was very helpful and friendly.

My only recommendation for CBMM would be to consider offering a lifetime (or at least a 5 year) membership to the Bride and Groom when they sign the contract. I understand the Museum has a number of expenses and does so many good things for the maritime community…but I think it would go a long way to offer such a small token of your appreciation considering the rental fees.

Overall, CBMM was the PERFECT place to host our very memorable day and we received SO many compliments on the location and the event overall. Don't hesitate to reach out with questions!

We held the rehearsal dinner for my son's Easton wedding in the boat shed on the CBMM property. The venue and the museum campus were absolutely perfect for our event. The event coordinator, Ida, was both professional and responsive. Each time I visited the campus during the planning process she provided the access and information I needed to create an event that was enjoyed by the happy couple, our families and friends. The museum staff members were helpful, polite and knowledgeable. Ida offered suggestions that were useful and assisted in many ways both small and large that contributed to a smashing party on a beautiful, hot summer evening. The boathouse and museum property overlooking the Miles River provided a stunning backdrop for pictures and conversation for our guests. The price tag was a little high but truly worth the investment. Our rehearsal dinner was an event to remember, due in large part to the people that work to maintain the museum grounds, buildings and collections in a manner that will continue to welcome guests for years to come.

Our wedding at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was very memorable for us and our guests. The grounds of the museum provided exactly what we were looking for when searching for our nautical setting on the Chesapeake Bay. Our pictures and video serving as memories from our special day were exactly what we were hoping for. Ida and Tracey were great to work with and I would highly recommend this venue!

Coordinator was very responsive and helpful, and of course the site was absolutely beautiful.

My experience with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was overwhelmingly positive. Ida Heelan and her team, along with the vendors that they worked with, were truly professional, so nice and great to work with and really took care of all the details that made our day wonderful. The familiarity between the staff at CBMM and the vendors that they use came in handy and makes it much easier because you are working with parties who deal with one and other all the time, and are in constant contact. Certainly because it is a museum on a historic piece of waterfront property, there are certain rules and processes you have to operate under, but generally there is a lot of flexibility and while our event was simple I think that there is a lot of leeway as to what you might be able to do.

Great views, great venue, definitely not cheap - but well worth it if location is important to you (it was to us). Like many places, they have a list of "preferred vendors" - and a significant fee applies for using a vendor (and "vendor" seems to refer to caterers and florists) not on the preferred list. I used a "preferred" caterer and florist and was definitely not disappointed! Understanding that this is a working museum, and that they necessarily have high standards, they were overall pretty flexible with special requests I had, including allowing a 5-piece rock band to play the wedding. I would recommend this venue, and looking back on it I definitely don't regret it.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was a beautiful backdrop for our wedding. The Museum worked with me to allow us to have exactly what we wanted. Ida was extremely helpful throughout the entire process and I am grateful for all her help.

Navy Point at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was the perfect location for our wedding. Our guests couldn't get over how beautiful it was and were honored to be a part of it. (They are already asking if we can "renew our vows" at the same location in a couple years!) The guests that couldn't make it, after seeing pictures, were sorry that they missed out. The only complaint I would have (and I don't know if there is much the CBMM could do about it) was that some family on their boat lingered in the water behind our ceremony and made it into some of our pictures which was unfortunate. Overall a beautiful location, I wouldn't change a thing and Ida was amazing to work with!

Excellent location and everyone involved was very helpful.