Beach Wedding Ideas
My Top Tips.

Beach weddings are a great way of saving on your wedding budget as the venue normally requires very little decoration.

The natural backdrop will look much better than any man-made decorations (and it's much cheaper when Mother Nature sorts it out for you!). You will however still need to provide some simple detailing to finish the look.

There are lots of little things you will need to give consideration to when planning your beach wedding, but the most important is KEEP IT SIMPLE. I have detailed my top beach wedding ideas including beach wedding decorations below:

1. Consider the weather - as it can be windy at the beach try to avoid using anything that is so light that it could blow over (or away). That includes veils, banners etc. and think carefully about your hair and dress for the same reason.

As above make sure decorations are heavy enough that they will not blow over. Candles are very difficult as the slightest breeze can blow them out and if you have any number of them, they take ages to re-light. Or, worst case scenario, they could blow over and set fire to something. Consider tea-light votives or lanterns to keep candles secure and lit.

3. Rent a garden arch - this normally isn't necessary as most beach venues provide them (but do check first). They can be easily decorated with flowers and greenery or simple fairly lights (a power supply will normally be required unless you go for battery powered lights) to provide a beautiful back drop to frame pictures.

4. The chairs - on a beach location you can get away with simple wooden folding chairs (white look fantastic). Or for that very special look they can be easily lifted with chair covers and bows to suit your wedding colours. Make sure chair covers are securely attached.

5. The aisle - this does not have to be marked out specifically, however you can mark it out with beach torches or with wooden stakes joined by rope or fabric (be aware of your guests, as you don’t want them tripping over anything). Alternatively you could use an aisle runner (has the added bonus of keeping your dress off the sand which can dirty it).

6. Your beach wedding dress - consider the length of your beach wedding dress, a full length one will drag on the sand and get dirty or damp. You can buy wedding dresses specifically for beach weddings that are made from lighter material to help keep you cool. In addition to the heat issue, many brides opt for short wedding dresses to avoid having to worry about the hem getting dirty.

7. Beach wedding invitations - beach theme wedding invitations can be very informal as simple earthy designs suit the theme. Plus they are very simple to make yourself or get online as either free printable wedding invitations or complete and ready to post out seal and send wedding invitations.

By thinking outside the box with your beach wedding ideas you will be able to create simple invites that tie in your location. For example you could create a message in a bottle or treasure map invitations etc.

8. Think about the heat - It will likely be hot on the beach (hopefully) so consider providing shade for your guests such as hats and sunglasses or parasols. You could also provide small paper fans to help keep them cool. Another nice item you could provide is chilled bottles of water, maybe even make up a gift bag with a few of these items included.

9. Footwear - Your guests should be made aware that the reception is on the beach so that they can wear appropriate footwear. You may want to detail the appropriate dress code on the invites. Alternatively a nice beach wedding idea is to provide flip-flops on the day and facilities for washing and drying their feet as they leave the beach.

10. Local wildlife - you should check your chosen beach carefully before the wedding as you won't want the local wildlife to make their presence obvious. The local wildlife can be immensely varied and while dolphins would be nice sand crabs, seagulls, jet-skiers, etc. may not be so good.

11. Decorations - beach decorations are quite straight forward and simple to do. They can be as simple as wrapping things in raffia to create a thatched beach hut look or draping fishing nets around items or on walls and putting imitation sea creatures etc in the nets.

When planning a beach wedding you should always discuss your plans and requirements in detail with your venue. You should ask them exactly what they supply and if there is something you feel is essential to your day, ask them if they can source it and how much it will cost (for example fairy lights will require a power supply). That way you can avoid any nasty surprises on the day.

Hopefully at this stage you can see that beach wedding ideas can be straight forward, stylish and save you money. The secret is to keep them simple yet elegant and don't try to out do Mother Nature. It is much easier to just try and complement her.

Related Articles:
Caribbean Weddings.
Cheap Wedding Packages.
Wedding Cruises.
Cheap Weddings in Las Vegas.

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