The Beach Weddings

A beach wedding allows for beach brides to let their hair down, be mousse-free, what have you. Some beach brides do not want the heavy feel or tiaras and veils and any hair product while enjoying the sun on her beach wedding location. While tedious hours are spent styling hair for any traditional ceremony in town, beach wedding hair wear is as unique as the beach wedding itself.

The veil can be left out completely on a beach wedding. Some beach brides do away with the veil because of unpredictable island weather such as sudden breeze or an entirely windy day. Even tulle can become very uncomfortable during extremely hot weather, so no beach bride wants her makeup to cake underneath it. There is one style that proves to be very suitable for beach weddings too. The birdcage veil is growing increasingly popular again for that old Hollywood style.

Flowers are the next best thing to tiaras. Tropical flowers can be stuck to a simple bun or pinned to the end of a pretty braid on the side. Choose flowers that can withstand warmer (or hotter) climates for hair wear that can last until the end of the reception, as well as for décor. The flowers that are tougher to extreme weather are calla lilies, stargazers and roses. Artificial flowers can be used together with real flowers, but make sure that they don't look too faux.

Hair accessories shaped as starfishes, shells or any sea life can be pinned to hair and any beach bride will look coordinated without much effort. For a little glitter, choose the ones with rhinestones or Swarovski crystals. Mother of pearl is an excellent choice, too. Combs and pins adorned with crystals and pearls look good too. Flower girls can wear wide headbands decked with shells and pearls.

Aside from beach wedding hair wear, the style should also be given a lot of thought. Does the beach bride have her own stylist with her to the beach wedding location, or is she having this particular hairstyle copied at the local salon? In the presence of a personal stylist, clearly nothing can go wrong as this is the bride's own. As for having a local stylist copy a desired hairstyle, the beach bride should be wary that the output may vary from the inspiration. To avert this, the beach bride should have had a hairstyling session prior to the wedding day itself. One can just picture out the probable scenarios following hairstyle havoc. Not pretty.

Most beach brides want the wind blowing in their loosely curled hair, one hibiscus tucked in her ear. Others want a tied bun accentuated by tropical flowers or cupped by a jewelry cuff. Some ditch these altogether and just let their hair down. However the beach bride wants to wear her hair on this occasion, whatever look she wants to sport, she has to stick to the rule of thumb when it comes to accessorizing. Don't overdo it!

Beach wedding planning is very important because of several specific aspects regarding this wedding location that require your attention and consideration.

Here are a few important things to consider for beach wedding planning:

1. Find out in advance whether you will need a special permit to have a wedding on the beach of your choice.
   
2. You should provide shade for the guests, because it might get uncomfortable in the sun. Furthermore, it may start raining, or it may get windy on the sea. Thus, it might be a good idea to get a special pavilion.
   
3. You should make sure that there's enough water for all of your guests, because on a hot sunny day people will get dehydrated quickly. Ideally, it's better to have a water cooler for the comfort of your guests.
   
4. It is important to consider the availability of toilets. Are there any toilets nearby or will you need to rent them?
   
5. It might be a good idea to provide flip-flops for your guests, because most people will probably be wearing regular shoes and shoes with high heals. If you have a bunch of flip-flops and place them in a basket, you will insure that your guests will be very comfortable at your beach wedding.
   
6. Most likely you will need to reserve a number of hotel rooms for you and your guests.
7. Next, you will probably want to decorate the party area in a nice way. One of the nice ideas might be placing flower petals for a walkway on the beach, which will look very romantic.

Next thing is location. Where to go for your beach wedding?

Here is a list of some popular locations for a beach wedding in the USA:

- Picture-perfect Marginal Way beach in Ogunquit, Maine;
- Beautiful sunset view Watch Hill on Rhode Island;
- Picturesque Crane Beach with white sand in Massachusetts;
- Gorgeous and posh Cooper's Beach in New York;
- Peaceful and clean Avalon beaches in New Jersey;
- Private, unspoiled, and undeveloped Ocracoke Island beaches in Carolina;
- Charming Jekyll Island's beaches in Georgia;
- Undeveloped beaches of the Caladesi Island State Park in Florida;
- Romantic Coronado beaches in California;
- Breathtaking Kapalua Bay Beach in Maui, Hawaii.

A beach wedding fantasy is shared by many couples, and you actually do not need to travel far, because most areas and countries have at least a few nice locations for a beautiful beach wedding.

It almost seems a moot point to decorate a beach wedding! The deep blue of the water in contrast with the warm beige of the sand, stark white clouds, azure skies, a golden sun that will turn into a crimson sunset are really all the decoration you need. But this is a wedding and decorating is half the fun, so work with what the beach is offering.

Cake decorators are able make incredible cakes. If you find the right one, they could create a cake in the shape of a shell or a lighthouse. If you find a more traditional bakery, include some seashell designs. Since your wedding will be outdoors have shells work double duty. Not only will they provide as a decoration, but they can also weigh down table cloths, seating cards, and menus.

If you are having a wedding that will be including children have a special area with some sand toys to create sand castles or bottled sand designs. Even if children aren't attending the wedding, your guests may take delight in creating their own keepsake in a bottle. Or give them some bath sea salts.

Choose exotic flowers for your tropical wedding. Rather than a bouquet leis can be worn, or a vibrant orange lily can be placed in your hair. A tropical wedding is vibrant, but there is also a relaxed feel to it-embrace that. If you are using a lighthouse as part of your backdrop, think about using navy and khaki as a color combination. It is classic, nautical, and will be a striking look at a beach site reception.

For a tented affair at the beach, drape the open areas with tulle or a gauze fabric. It will allow the salt air to refresh your guests create dramatic movement in the sea breeze. Adorn the tables with hurricane lamps-they are meant to be able to stand against the elements, so you can have romantic candlelight and not have to worry about the flame going out. A sprinkling of flower petals and seashells are enough to make a centerpiece worth talking about.

Planning your beach wedding can be stressful enough without the added worry about keeping all of the rules straight. Without a doubt, invitations involve more rules and customs than anything else associated with weddings, but thankfully for casual beach weddings, you can safely throw most of them out the window.

But you should keep these rules/customs in mind and use them if your heart tells you it's the right thing to do. Even if your best girlfriend thinks differently.

How far in advance should I send the wedding invitations?

My best sources suggest that you send them out at least 8 weeks before the beach wedding. With this much advance notice, every guest should have plenty of time to make their travel plans, arrange for time off from work, and get the best deals on air fares.

Can I send information about bridal registries with the invitation?

No matter where you hold your wedding or how formal or casual it is, it's considered rude to include any kind of information regarding gifts with your wedding invitation. It's better to circulate this information later, possibly through word of mouth, an email, your Facebook page or private website, or even an additional mailing.

Do I need to include a separate reception card?

You'll be happy to know that the answer is No. If the reception is going to be held on the beach or very near the site of the ceremony, guests assume that everyone invited to the wedding is also invited to the reception. Even so, it's a courtesy to add a brief sentence at the bottom of the invitation announcing that a reception will follow immediately afterwards

On the other hand, if the reception will be some distance from the site of the ceremony, for a beach wedding it is still OK to include the required information on the invitation itself.

What do I do when two unmarried people are invited from the same house?

This can get a bit touchy. If they consider themselves a couple, then the recommendation is to send only one invitation, but write each name on a separate line in the address area. The custom is to address them alphabetically. However, if the two are a parent and an adult child or just roommates, then it's best to send two invitations.

Is OK to mention my deceased mother/father on my invitations?

This is a really bad idea because anyone specifically mentioned on the invitation (other than the bride and groom) is assumed to be hosting the event. If you are planning a wedding program, you can honor them there. Otherwise, consider a short memorial either at the ceremony or afterwards.

If you give a little thought to these guidelines, you may avoid making an unfortunate etiquette goof that you may regret long after your great beach wedding.

Men will never admit to "wanting to look good" and just say "whatever feels comfortable" when asked what they want to wear. They want to look good, too, but will never attempt to upstage the women in their lives. Another reason is maybe they are just really clueless on what to put together.

And in the middle of the beach bride's constant changing and re-changing of wardrobe, the groom just doesn't want to be shifting wardrobe ideas too often.

The beach bride has finally settled on her beach wedding dress and has now found the time to channel her decision making to her groom's wardrobe requirements.

While some women can take discomfort over beauty, men don't. Make sure that the groom is comfortable by picking out the perfect material for their wardrobe. Linen is lightweight, breathable and comfortable, and is perfect for a beach wedding. Cotton and polyester are common alternatives, too.

Once you have decided on the material, color is next. While cream, tan, ivory and white are popular colors for beach themed wedding; navy and black are safe choices, too.

The tuxedo is out of the question, unless the groom wants to look like a lost penguin. There are others who still want to go a bit formal even though it's a beach wedding. Going barefoot in a single breasted suit without a tie spells beach wedding ready. But "casual" does not directly translate to khaki cutoffs. Shy away from the castaway theme by opting for dress pants and linen shirts, as they are popular replacement for the suit.

As for the groomsmen, they may be dressed in uniform with the groom with just a little distinction with the color. For a less formal look, some groomsmen just want to dress in tropical/floral shirts and cream shorts. While this can be pulled off in a beach wedding, the beach bride must put her foot down if this suggestion does not jive with the formality level of the occasion.

While shoes can also be used, flip flops and sandals are more beach wedding worthy choices. Better yet, go barefoot. Lei of flowers or a floral boutonniere is the closest thing the men of the beach wedding can get to accessorizing, so don't push it.

The beach bride is likely to coordinate the color of the groom's outfit with hers. The same goes for the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Try to keep everything as coordinated as possible, else the beach wedding photograph will look like a canvas of splattered colors.

Aside from being eye candy and dessert for later, the practice of having a wedding cake has been deeply rooted in different cultures. And if you're the beach bride who won't pass up to showing a little bit of tradition on her beach wedding, the cake is unlikely to take a backseat. And for some, it's simply not as fun without a cake.

The wedding cake has taken on so many forms over the years. A multi-layered cake with butter cream frosting cannot go out of place in an air conditioned reception hall. But owing it to the different circumstances surrounding a beach wedding, choosing a cake can be more stressful than that in a traditional reception.

Luckily, for the beach bride, she is not compelled to have a towering cake on her beach wedding. (So fight off the temptation to showcase your family's uber prosperity as much as you can.) For one thing, the guest list is usually much shorter, so just have enough and avoid wastage. Second, transporting an enormous cake is anything but sweet. Delivery of the wedding cake to the beach wedding location often comes with a surcharge if the location exceeds the bakery's delivery limit. And judging from the distance of the bakery to the destination, just imagine the possible appearance of the cake when it gets to the beach wedding location. Look for bakers that transport the cake in parts and just assemble them on the location. Why not have a one-tier cake and affirm the couple's laid back, casual choice for a beach wedding?

Other than the possible stress of transporting the cake, scouting for beach wedding cakes is so much fun. Think starfish, shells, terrapins, dolphins and other sea life in place of the typical rose sculpting. Mystical sea creatures like mermaids are most welcome, too. It's a beach wedding, so naturally the terribly drab bride and groom topper should be off right away. Dress the toppers down to surfer wear and the cake will definitely be in sync with the theme.

Who says beach wedding cakes need to be round? Choose a sea shell or starfish cake, or even go nautical with a lifesaver, yacht or a ship.

Choose cakes with light frosting. Imagine your face being stripped off of makeup because of the heat. Yes, same goes for frosting. Fondant can stand very high temperatures, but does not taste very good for some people. Marzipan encrusted cakes are delicious, too. Tropical fruits and flowers add a very nice touch to the cake.

Other couples just have a small cake for themselves, but provide other dessert forms such as cheesecake bar, chocolate fountain within a chocolate dessert bar, fruit salad bar, ice cream bar and the like. Cupcakes have been very popular alternatives over the years.

Whatever the design, flavor and shape the wedding cake turns out to be, the beach bride should be particularly concerned where the cake will be placed on the beach wedding location. Temperatures can get pretty unpredictable on these beachfront sites. It would be a shame that after all the painstaking baking, styling and decorating, the cake suffers a literal meltdown under the heat. Oh, and stop those kids from throwing sand.

Without a doubt, one thing that will not bring back the best memories of you're your beach wedding in twenty years is whether you used tropical flowers or sea shell centerpieces. Although simplicity is generally a good way to economize, penny-pinching on your choice of a wedding photographer is a mistake for a host of reasons. For this job, you'll always be grateful that you've hired the professional photographer that can possibly fit your budget.

Based on the interviews that I did with some truly creative photographers before my beach wedding, these are some guidelines that they recommended.

1. Examine the photographer's portfolio very carefully. Outdoor photography presents entirely different challenges than does work in the studio. You'll want to see the photos he or she has taken at beach locations similar to yours. And especially for the time of day that you have in mind.

2. Negotiate in advance the amount of time the photographer will be on site and the minimum number of photographs that will be taken. The lesson is to ensure that both you and the photographer are on the same page regarding what you are expecting.

3. The photographer will be in a better position to give you a good estimate if you can provide a list of the group pictures that you have in mind (it is more involved to set up pictures with lots of people than with only a few). With this information, the photographer can advise you how much time will be required for taking these shots so that you can be prepared. A bonus is that there is likely to be fewer chances of chaos on the wedding day

4. Having decided to hire an experienced professional photographer, you're going to be best served if you inhibit any tendency you have for being a control freak. Give the photographer the freedom to exercise her or his creativity, even if that means you might be asked to assume some pose that feels a bit awkward. Assuming that you've chosen the right photographer, the finished images later should dispel any doubts that you had during the photo shoot.

5. Finally, because digital cameras today are so small, inexpensive and easy to use, you'll be amazed at the number of relatives and guests who will bring their own to capture "great shots" themselves. It's a good idea to give them a head's up so that they can stand clear of the professional photographer so that he or she will be able to give you everything you've dreamt of for your wedding album.