Notes on the light
Avalon sits in a valley with hills close on both sides, and that decides the day. The light leaves the sand and the harbor front early while the ridge above the town is still bright. So the usual coastal plan runs backwards here: work the water and the waterfront while you still have them, and save the hillside for the end.
The other constant is that water is in almost every frame. The town stacks up the hillside above a small bay and there is no angle that turns its back on the harbor. That is the reason to marry here and it is doing most of the work in both films we have made.
The boat, and what it changes
Everyone arrives by boat, and that changes the shape of a wedding more than couples expect. It compresses the day, and it turns the whole thing into one weekend rather than a few hours in the middle of a Saturday.
Be accurate with them about the crossing. Catalina Express publishes about an hour from Long Beach, an hour and a quarter from San Pedro and an hour and a half from Dana Point, and the Catalina Flyer runs from Newport Beach. Telling a guest it is an hour when they are sailing from Dana Point is how people miss a ceremony.
Once you land there are no car rentals, and no way to bring one either, because there is no vehicle ferry. Avalon is the only city in California the legislature has authorized to cap the number of vehicles on its streets, and resident permits are limited enough that the city will not estimate the wait. Golf carts rent by the hour rather than by the day, so a cart is not a plan for a whole wedding day. The walkable town is about a square mile, which is what makes that workable, but it means you walk between locations carrying whatever you brought.
How we film an island day
It is a logistics problem before it is a creative one. Everything crosses on the ferry, so the kit is limited to what can be carried and there is no going back to the car for anything. We plan a smaller and more deliberate setup for Catalina than we would for a mainland wedding, and we build the timeline around boat schedules rather than around sunset alone.
What you get back for that is a backdrop nowhere on the mainland offers. The Casino rises the equivalent of twelve stories of Art Deco at the end of the bay, sea on three sides, and it lands in almost every wide shot whether you plan it or not.
The films, so far
We have made two films on Catalina: Timothy & Amber, married in Avalon and photographed on the sand with the Casino across the bay behind them, and Kyle & Ava, whose portraits were made on the hillside above Avalon with the whole town stacked up the slopes below.
Have you filmed weddings on Catalina before?+
Twice. Timothy and Amber were married in Avalon, and Kyle and Ava's portraits were made on the hillside above the town. Both films are on this page.
What happens if the boat is cancelled?+
It is the risk that has no workaround, so it is worth planning for rather than hoping about. Crossings can be pulled for weather, and there is no road alternative. We come over the day before rather than the morning of, and we suggest your other vendors do the same. A wedding party that is already on the island cannot be stranded off it.
Should guests stay the night?+
Almost always. The last boat sets a hard end to your reception if people are trying to make it, and a room on the island removes that clock entirely. It also turns the wedding into a weekend rather than an afternoon, which is most of the reason to marry out here.
Do you charge travel to Catalina?+
There is a ferry crossing and usually a night on the island, so it is not the same as driving to Newport. Tell us your date and where you are marrying and we will put the whole thing in one note, plainly, with nothing added later.
Planning notes, and the boat
Checked August 2026
Catalina is not one venue, so there is no single rate card to quote. What follows is the part that applies wherever on the island you marry, and it is the part couples underestimate: everything here is downstream of the crossing.
- Where it is
- Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island, twenty-two miles off the Southern California coast. Reached by ferry, helicopter or private boat.
- The crossing
- Catalina Express publishes about one hour from Long Beach, one hour fifteen from San Pedro and one hour thirty from Dana Point. The Catalina Flyer sails from Newport Beach, daily in season and on reduced service in winter. Build the timeline on the published schedule for your guests’ port and month, not on an average.
- Getting around
- No car rentals, and no vehicle ferry, so guests cannot bring a car at all. Avalon is the only city in California the legislature has authorized to cap vehicles on its streets, and the city itself will not estimate how long the resident waiting list runs. Golf carts rent by the hour with a two hour maximum, so a cart is not a plan for a wedding day.
- The town
- Avalon covers a little under three square miles, but the developed part people actually walk is about one. Plan the walk between locations anyway, because you carry what you brought.
- The Casino
- Rises the equivalent of twelve stories at the end of the bay, sea on three sides. It is the most visible thing in Avalon from the water and it will appear in your wide shots whether or not you planned for it.
- The light
- The valley walls take the waterfront early while the ridge stays bright. This is the single most useful thing to know when you set a ceremony time here.
- Venue rules
- Rates, capacities, curfews and permits vary by property, and beach and public-space ceremonies carry their own requirements. We have not published numbers here because there is no island-wide answer. Ask your venue directly.
Crossing times from Catalina Express. Vehicle rules from the City of Avalon. Golf cart terms from island rental operators. Town size from the city’s published figures. Checked August 2026. Confirm schedules and any venue’s own rules before you plan around them.
