Melbourne couple Rob Ong and May Eng, who returned to the city where they met to marry, were posing for photographs on the wooden wharf at Careys Bay on Monday afternoon when a fire broke out.
A former North Sea trawler, Neptune, was severely damaged in the blaze, with up to a dozen firefighters working to control the flames spreading to other boats.
Photographer Sinead Jenkins told the Otago Daily Times she was photographing the bride and groom on the wharf when she was informed of the fire.
"We shot a few more shots as it was really small at this stage in the distance, and then as we moved back along the jetty two fire engines arrived."
The couple were easy-going, and because "the smoke was incredible and bellowing out into the sky", it was used as a backdrop for their wedding photographs, she said.
The fire failed to disrupt their big day, and the smoke made the photographs "look quite cool".
Dunedin police were yet to track down the vessel's owner, who is believed to be in Tauranga. They would review CCTV footage.
The fire was not being treated as suspicious. It was likely to have been started by a discarded cigarette left on a pile, and to have spread to the vessel in strong winds.
Otago Regional Services group manager Jeff Donaldson said the regional council's response was to ensure there were no oil or diesel spills from the damaged vessel, and this had been carried out.
A hazards expert was likely to inspect some of the items on the vessel to ensure there were no dangerous substances on board.
If there were ensuing costs, "it was not a ratepayers' responsibility, it was a boat owner's responsibility".
"If we have to remove anything or ... work to prevent pollution in the coastal environment, it is a cost to the owner."
A Port Otago spokesman said an engineering team would assess damage to the pile this week.
Anyone who knows the owner's whereabouts, or may have seen someone at the wharf at the time of the fire, is urged to contact Dunedin police on (03) 471-4800.
