For those couples who prefer to have a private, intimate and classically simple wedding or a couple who doesn’t have much time to invest in planning a wedding a beach wedding could be the solution.
Whether you live near a beach or in the UK where beach ceremonies aren’t yet legal a beach ceremony could be the answer to your dreams. Depending on your budget, your choices could be a beach on an exotic island, your local beach if your country allows outdoor weddings or a quiet cove on the coast a Mediterranean country.
Before you decide to throw yourself head first into planning a beach wedding make sure this is the right choice for you and your partner.
Depending on the size of your beach wedding, whether you pay for guests to join you on that exotic island or whether it’s a small group of family and friends who pay for themselves, beach weddings generally are less expensive than a traditional white wedding.
It’s important to decide whether you will pay for your friends to spend the day with you or whether you will expect them to pay for themselves. You may want to pay for the immediate bridal party then extend the invitation to people making it clear they will need to pay for themselves.
If a number of friends and family are planning on joining you on the day, try to make things easy for them as possible such as suggesting flights, accommodation and transport. To forewarn people about the date of your wedding you could send out beach themed save the date cards a year before your wedding so people can make the necessary arrangements to be off work and possibly use your beach wedding as a basis for their family holiday. Wedding invitations are sent about 6 weeks before the big day.
Apart from beach weddings being generally less expensive they are also less formal, there are fewer expectations to follow, such as wedding traditions and a more relaxed approach to the entire day. This includes the option to choose a more casual wedding dress and bridal accessories such as wedding combs and jewellery.
There are a couple of issues you may need to think about when planning your beach wedding and these are the wind and the tide. Ask a local wedding planner as they will be able to give you an idea of the best time to get married is and where. if the beach is known to be windy, try to find a cove that will shelter you.
Just because you’re planning on getting married on a lovely sunny beach somewhere doesn’t mean that it won’t rain, so be prepared just in case. You can rent a canopy and decorate it for the evening, for when the sun goes down and the temperature’s a little cooler. That way if it rains there’s somewhere else where the ceremony can take place.
Depending on which country you get married in will depend on the legalities of the ceremony, again check with a local wedding planner who will be able to answer questions you have regarding this.
