A Beach themed wedding is perhaps one of the most popular motifs for weddings today. It stirs up all kinds of creativity and with a little imagination you can have a lot of fun planning your beach wedding. The atmosphere for beach weddings are light and gay but it can also be sweet and romantic at the same time. Nothing is more moving than to have that first kiss at sunrise or sunset.
I know it seems that the first thing that any bride to be thinks about is the wedding dress, but really the first thing should be the wedding budget. The budget for your wedding even determines the amount you can spend on your dream wedding dress. Decide on the amount you can or are willing to spend on your wedding and keep to that budget. Once you have settled on a budget you are comfortable with, everything will fall easily into place.
For invitations, send out “message in the bottle” invitations. Write out the invitation and roll it up, stick it in a small bottle, cork it and mail it out in a padded envelope. There are many traditional wedding invitations that would be lovely. They are more casual with beach scenes. One of the cutest beach wedding ideas we have come across is to use starfishes as invitations with written invitation attached. These also will need to be mailed in a padded envelope. These, in padded envelopes can be more costly than the average invitation, because they are heavier, so if you will be sending out a large quantity of invitations, you might want to forgo this idea.
Food is another one of the most important considerations for any wedding. With beach weddings, receptions can be held indoors or outdoors. Dessert can range from ice cream to tropical fruits. Wedding cakes have been a wedding tradition ever since the Roman Empire and it would not feel like a wedding without one. You can also serve up cupcakes, or individual pieces in little boxes. Beware though, that the wedding cake should not be brought out until around sunset so you don’t have a wedding cake puddle!
Beach weddings can be decorated with starfishes, shells, wave designs, mermaids and corals; the whole sea can be an inspiration for your beach themed wedding cake. Your groomsmen boutonnieres can be made up of a small starfish and tiny flowers and if you have a flower girl, she can have a basket decorated with seashells and toss small seashells or flower petals in the sand. For a less traditional idea, try a whimsical touch by having your flower girl wear a hula skirt and toss sand and small seashells as she goes.
You can add small seashells and flowers to your hair, weaving them into a French braid. Your bouquet, while smaller, may be just a gorgeous as those larger traditional ones by using some bright colors and add seashells to it. Or, maybe you want something romantic for your wedding bouquet. Try white and pale pink flowers along with seashells in the same colors. There are white seashells that have just a touch of pink, also try pale pink sea urchins. They are delicate, round and look lovely in a bouquet.
If you are going to have chairs, try attaching large starfish to the chair on the center isle where you will walk. A wedding arch with lots of greenery and many large seashells woven in would give you a beautiful place to stand to say your vows.
Use hurricanes with candles deep inside to keep the wind from blowing them out surrounded by sand and seashells, will make a very romantic setting for your wedding reception tables. If, however, your reception will be right on the beach, you’ll need to check the codes and rules for that beach to see if this is allowed.
You see the ideas are endless and I haven’t even mentioned some of the more whimsical ideas. Since the mood is almost always light and festive compared to church weddings you can make your day just about whatever you want.
