Spring marks the beginning of wedding season for Caught in the Moment Photography, so we thought we’d focus on what the city of Long Beach recently named as the South Waterfront.  The Reef by the Water, the Queen Mary, and the Hotel Maya form the core of this area, and we have been honored and privileged to have photographed many weddings at all three.
The obvious commonality of these venues is the stunning views of downtown Long Beach that each affords.  What is somewhat more subtle is that each venue provides outstanding customer service.  Although each hosts a number of weddings each weekend each and every couple always feels as though THEY are the most important people on the premises.
To be more fair to the Reef, the Queen Mary, and the Hotel Maya we will detail all the attributes of each in another article, but at least we would like to provide a very broad and general summary of what each of these venues provide.
Of all three, the Reef probably has the most rooms available for parties with a water view.  These rooms vary in size to accommodate very intimate parties, read fewer than ten; to the Harbor View Room that when combined with the adjacent Garden Room can accommodate around five hundred guests.
The Queen Mary offers an unparalleled setting as a veritable icon with a rich history and the furnishings and decorative style expected of a luxury cruise liner from the early part of the 20th century.  Most of the salons available have a water view, but in some of them the view is though portholes.  For an intimate wedding with a view, nothing beats the wheelhouse, yes with the captain officiating next to the helm!
The Hotel Maya has recently gone through a transformation that not only gave it a boutique resort feel, but also maximized the potential of each of its rooms available for parties.  The Maya too anchors most of its rooms on the view, and has even activated some of its outside spaces into event spaces.
Again, apologies for the brevity but we promise to write more in depth on each of these beautiful venues.

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