Saugerties Steamboat Company

Dilemma: you want a waterfront wedding and a barn wedding too. As barns aren’t all that often built smack up against a waterway, there’s little chance of having your cake and eating it too. Or is there? The Saugerties Steamboat Company provides a solution for your surf and turf wedding dreams.
Before we get to this new venue, which is a sister property of Saugerties’ Diamond Mills Hotel (also a wedding venue), a history lesson is in order. In the early 1700’s, German immigrants set up sawmills along the Esopus creek near its confluence with the Hudson River to provide lumber to the British navy. After the Revolutionary War, the sawmills became paper mills and the lumber camp grew into a village first known as Ulster, but soon after renamed Saugerties (meaning “the little sawyer” in Dutch). Thousands of miners and brick makers soon followed, supplying bluestone and brick for construction in New York City. A shipping industry developed along the Esopus Creek to move all these materials and passengers up and down the Hudson River. By 1830, a dock was built on the creek to service passenger steamboats, an industry which thrived for 100 years. By the 1930’s, with steamboats going out of style, the site was taken over by a local businessman named Cornelius Lynch. Lynch’s Marina was comprised of two large buildings which were sold to Diamond Mills’ owner Thomas Struzzieri in 2015.

Since then, the marina has been developed into a commercial center meant to welcome visitors to Saugerties coming by boat, and as a restaurant and events facility with a creekside promenade. One of the two historically landmarked buildings is now complete with two floors of event space which can accommodate up to 100 guests.


The building is fully air-conditioned and heated in the wintertime, yet offers the same rustic ambiance as a barn: a wide open floor, farmhouse support beams, warm lighting …

… except that it has outdoor seating looking right out onto boats and dock.

Laurie Higgenbotham of Diamond Mills tells us that brides can opt to make their dramatic arrival by boat if they wish, and full weekend packages can include kayaking and paddle boarding activities incorporated into rehearsal dinners or farewell brunches.

Ceremonies can also be held out on the grassy bank beside the Esopus Creek.

Should your guest list exceed 100 people, additional seating can be provided in an optional tent, or in the second building of the marina expected to be fully renovated by 2018 or 2019.

Site fees for outdoor ceremonies and additional seating apply and are determined based on season.

An on-site wedding coordinator is available to help couples with their planning. Unlike most barn venues, the Saugerties Steamboat company provides all linens, tables, seating, plates and glassware. Themed linen colors are available at an additional charge. Customized menus are also available.

Food is catered in from the Diamond Mills hotel, which is just down the Esopus Creek, or cooked onsite in this mobile kitchen truck:

Since the property is connected to the Diamond Mills Hotel, wedding guests can easily book rooms there for a weekend stay. Laurie warns that the rooms do fill up fast for events, but the hotel is also happy to steer overflow guests to nearby lodging.
Another nice feature that we like about the Saugerties Steamboat Company is that full weekend wedding packages can mix and match sites within the Diamond Mills properties. “Some people may opt to have their rehearsal dinner at the Steamboat Company, their reception at Diamond Mills, and a farewell brunch at Diamond Mills tavern,” says Laurie. “People like the different sites for different reasons and when you plan a weekend event like this, you get a taste of each of them.”
Imagining your wedding or event at Saugerties Steamboat Company?
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Additional Information:
Learn more about Saugerties Steamboat Company visit http://www.saugertiessteamboatco.com/.
To discuss your Saugerties Steamboat Company wedding with Duetimage Hudson Valley Wedding Photographers, call (845) 905‑6323 or visit: http://www.duetimage.com/contact.