Fun Suggestions for Getting Married on The Beach

Here are some great ideas to consider if you are planning a wedding at the beach.
More and more couples are going off to exotic locales and getting married on the beach. It is one of the most romantic settings. Here are some ideas for the wedding and reception to help you keep with this theme.

Beach Theme Invitations
You could get the theme off to a good start by putting a small amount of sand in each guest’s wedding invitation. Another idea is to have the invitations resemble a postcard with a photo of the bride and groom at the beach with the words, “Wish you’ll be here...” You could also take a photograph of that wording written in the sand.

Beach Wedding Decor
To decorate guests’ chairs on the beach, you could string garlands of shells, starfish or coral between their seats to connect them. Use charms of sandals as wine or champagne glass markers at the reception. You could also have white galvanized buckets holding bottles of water for your guests to take as they need throughout the ceremony and reception and give each person a palm leaf fan to stay cool. You could also place four large rattan poles upright into the sand and drape white gauze over top as a canopy for your guests to sit under. Gauze is only about $5 a yard and comes in a variety of colors if you do not want white.

At the reception, use decorative pieces of driftwood as place card holders and thread either a beautiful ribbon or natural raffia through a sand dollar to use as a napkin ring. On each table use candles that smell like tropical fruit such as mango, papaya, coconut and kiwi.
Line the base of your gift table, head table or buffet table with real grass skirts – the raffia ones in natural, not the cheap green paper ones.

Other Details
For your wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses if you want a long dress, consider a loose fitting and fluid scarf dress with an empire waist, and either halter, strapless or off the shoulder. It can be made of chiffon, mesh or silk, either a solid color or a subtle print of flowers or paisley. Look at dresses by Mary L Couture for inspiration.

Most people would think to dress the wedding party entirely in white, but you could also have your bridesmaids and groomsmen wear shades of ocean green, sky blue and sand beige.
Avoid having your wedding in the afternoon, instead choose early morning or dusk to avoid your guests having to sit in the hot sun, and there will be less people using the beach.
For your wedding cake, think key lime or pineapple.

You could set the wedding march to a reggae beat and use Caribbean type instruments for your wedding music, such as a steel drum or a bamboo flute. In fact, a nice touch would be to have the bride’s arrival announced by a conch shell horn.
You could decorate a lobster trap with tropical flowers and use it as a money box or, for something more elegant, have envelopes left in a mother of pearl bowl. A captain’s log book would make an interesting guest book.

Disposable cameras have become so popular at weddings, that they now make them in various designs, including a beach theme. You can find the beach ones at Westport Style.
Fun wedding favors to give your guests would be a small bag of tropical flower bulbs like plumerias, or saltwater taffy.

Decorations that Set the Mood for a Seaside Affair

The beach is a common for weddings throughout the year. It is versatile, fun and allows the couple to celebrate in a setting that almost everyone has fond memories of both as children and adults. Worldwide, the beach is a setting that people enjoy year round.

Almost everyone has spent at least one day of their lives visiting a beach. Whether the day was spent playing, enjoying the sun or just relaxing… beaches are magical places that allow us to forget the worries of the day and enjoy some of the finest environments that nature has to offer. The beach is also a magical and mystical place, offering up unique treasures such as polished rocks, shells and even occasionally relics of days gone by, such as bottles, pottery and parts of ships. There is nothing more calming than sitting on the beach and staring at the water and horizon of the ocean or at the unique patterns in the water, lake or river side.

Beaches are also place where romance blossoms or matures. Walks in the moonlight alongside a lake or ocean set a mood for even the most unromantic. Lying side by side or sitting on a beach allow a unique closeness that is hard to replicate in virtually any setting, even if the beach is mobbed by people. Who would not be impacted by the image of a wind swept, sandy beach as lake or ocean waves gently and methodically lap the shoreline?

For all these reasons and many more, beaches provide the perfect theme for most weddings. Whether ocean side or landlocked, everyone can relate and almost every one can enjoy the theme, using their own memories as fuel to get in the mood of the wedding theme. Even the most unromantic can find something to like about the beach, ocean or environment even if it is only misty nights, distant clanging of boat mooring lines or the unique sound of foghorns.
With that in mind, beach wedding decor can set a mood that can be “all things to everyone.” If you enjoy the ocean or bodies of water, a beach theme evokes images of children playing and warm sunny days. If you enjoy the mystery of the ocean or a lake, the beach theme replicates that imagery as a metaphor for the mysteries a happy couple will unfold in their new lives together. If you enjoy those misty seaside nights, a beach theme can use that imagery of warm, humid nights with interesting sounds to build a mood of mystery, adventure and security.

To set the mood from the beginning, try using beach towel stickers affixed to your beach wedding invitations or as an add-in with them. Have guests sign a seaside allure traditional guest book as they arrive at the wedding. Colors such as sea-green or aqua blue can be used to decorate your reception hall and if you have a separate cocktail hour before the reception but after the wedding.

Decorate your tables with metal boats filled with mints. You also can give guests a Starfish Wine Stopper that is a great way to preserve wine and will remind guests of you for years to come. Using boat wheel favor / place cards on your tables give guests a memento that is easily stored and can be placed in scrapbooks when guests get home.

Other decorations can include vases filled with miniature shells. Food also can be a decoration, particularly if you use foods that are synonymous with the beach such as lobster, clams and salads that focus on crisp greens. Napkins in seaside colors can also play a role in setting your theme. If you want more traditional colored napkins, use beach colors and pastels for cocktail napkins.

The beach is versatile and offers something positive and friendly for almost anyone. By using it as a theme in your wedding, you give guests the ability to enjoy your interests and create their own images according to the big day as well as their own memories. Beach themes set the mood for fun and can enhance your decorations whether you are celebrating your commitment by the sea, a lake or river.

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The Destination Dream Wedding You Never Had

Destination weddings have grown more popular over the past decade. There was a time when most people wouldn’t consider exchanging nuptials anywhere outside of their own hometown. Many have argued that the mere idea of having a destination wedding is well worth considering- given the fact that many couples have found it to be far less expensive than throwing an extravagant 150-plus reception at a local banquet hall. Let’s face it, the ceremonial portion of the wedding is deemed to be the most important and it happens to be the least expensive, but the celebration is the most memorable. Let’s consider some of the pros and cons of a destination wedding.

Beach Weddings (Pros)

• Creates a beautiful atmosphere.

• Automatically incorporates the honeymoon.

• Less expensive for the bride and groom in some cases.

• Stress free.

• A nice getaway for close family and friends.

Beach Weddings (Cons)

• Reduces the amount of family and friends that can attend.

• Expensive for the bridal party and guests.

• May interfere with a previously scheduled family trip.

• Organized by a total stranger (Destination Wedding Planner).

• Non-traditional.

Now, if you’re like the vast majority of the population, the cons of hosting a destination wedding weigh heavier than the pros. With that said, consider hosting a beach themed wedding. You can create the atmosphere of a destination wedding in the comforts of your own hometown. This will eliminate the problem of disappointing your relatives and friends who otherwise could not attend if it were an actual destination wedding. With the wide selection of beach wedding favors, accessories and even stationary for your invitations, conjuring a beach theme may prove to be a simple task. Your event can become even more of a niche with the beach theme turned Hawaiian theme. Just think of the tropical drink stirrers to pass out as wedding favors or even the Hawaiian lei and grass skirts to distribute to each guest. This could be an enormous amount of fun with a budget of half a destination wedding.Don’t forget the vast array of beach wedding favor ideas to add a nice touch to your special day. Your guests will always remember your wedding day as a tropical paradise right in their hometown. So remember, your guests are a special part of your wedding day. Bring the destination to them. It will be a wedding they will never forget. You will remember it as the greatest destination dream wedding you never had!Maria Romain, founder of Academic Success Management, Inc. is a writer for HQ Wedding Favors. A family owned company that offers the most unique wedding favors that fit any budget. Find more articles on wonderful wedding favor ideas by visiting today.
© Copyright 2007 by Maria Romain

Beach Weddings Bring Ocean Awareness to The Forefront

As more and more couples opt to veer away from the more traditional wedding ceremony in a church and look towards more budget friendly options and/or unconventional ceremonies such as destination weddings or beach weddings a trend seems to be arising. The mere desire to have a beach wedding reflects an obvious love of the ocean. There is a serenity, peacefulness and calmness that no one can deny when amongst the sound of waves flowing in and out. For a couple starting a life together what could bring more harmony then uniting beside one of the most beautiful and powerful forces our planet provides.

Couples are now being inspired to give back to this wonderful beauty that so many people take for granted or abuse. As a show of appreciation they are opting to take donations for Greenpeace in lieu of wedding gifts and handing out pamphlets alongside the ceremony program or with the beach wedding invitations outlining the key threats to our oceans.
Greenpeace sites 6 major threats that beach wedding couples are hoping to spread the message about; Industrial fishing, bycatching, unfair fisheries, unsustainable aquaculture, global warming and lastly but certainly not least important, pollution (visit greenpeace.org for more detailed info).

One couple even opted to line the walls of their beach wedding reception with photos and excerpts explaining what some of these threats are literally doing to the ocean. One might say Karma may be in play here by giving back on one the most important days in a couples lives but the most important thing is that awareness is being brought forward from an extremely loving place in these couples hearts. Saying your vows while standing beside the ocean is a privilege indeed. Saying thank you to the ocean is small way to repay it and by letting your loved ones in on your passion to bring awareness can only blossom.
©2008 www.beach-wedding-ideas.com