Avon River Heritage & Culture Centre

There is something wonderfully fitting about beginning a marriage inside an old shipyard.

The Avon River Heritage & Culture Centre sits beside the Avon River in Newport Landing, on land connected to Nova Scotia's great wooden shipbuilding era.

Its Avon Spirit Shipyard is an authentic working-style boathouse with approximately 3,800 square feet of open space, rustic craftsmanship and waterfront views.

Weddings of around 100 guests make especially beautiful use of the room, although the building can accommodate larger gatherings.

There is history everywhere.

This shoreline once launched wooden sailing ships into the Avon.

Now guests gather here for an entirely different kind of beginning.

The ceremony can take place with the river nearby before cocktails spill into the waterfront setting.

The newlyweds can stay outside for photographs while the tide changes around them.

Then everyone gathers inside the boathouse.

Dinner begins.

Warm wood, maritime character and the river beyond the doors create an atmosphere no traditional ballroom could quite imitate.

For couples who love Nova Scotia's coast and want their wedding somewhere genuinely connected to its history, the Avon River Heritage Centre offers something wonderfully authentic.

• On the water, or with water views
• Vineyard and wines of their own
• A historic setting
• Live music welcome
• Sparklers or fireworks send-offs