Planning Articles

In the excitement of planning a beach wedding, many focus on the location and then start planning their beach wedding ceremony. However, it's a good idea to plan these together, especially if your beach wedding planning involves a resort destination. Resorts don't offer as many choices as you might ordinarily have, so it's important to check with them as you plan to ensure the ceremony you and your fiancé are dreaming of will be accommodated.

When planning your ceremony, consider the time of day you want to exchange to vows. If your wedding is to be right on the beach, there's no better than time than morning. As every photographer knows, morning light makes for the best shots.

In the morning, the beach is typically at its quietest as most beach goers come later in the day after it warms up. Morning also carries the symbolism of a new beginning. Sunset is also a favorite time for wedding simply because there's nothing much more romantic than a gorgeous sunset over the water. Sunset and morning both have the advantage of cooler weather. Even in the informal attire that most wear at beach weddings, the afternoon sun on a beach can seem pretty hot to anyone not in a swimsuit.

Weather is another important considering for beach wedding ceremony planning. While you can't control the weather, you can consider weather patterns for your top choices of locations before setting the date. You could even choose a location that typically gets little rain during any time of the year such as the dry Kohala Coast on the island of Hawaii. Even desert-like areas get storms from time to time, sometimes unexpectedly, so its good to have a contingency plan. This plan could mean that you have an indoor venue available or an outdoor location with cover reserved.

Beach wedding ceremony planning will also include some music selection. Some couples like to have soft instrumental music playing in the background during the ceremony. One or two guitar players could provide this, and the natural acoustical music would be very fitting for a beach wedding. If you're planning a beach wedding in the Caribbean or with a Caribbean theme, a calypso band would be fun, especially for the reception. The type of music you have depends on your preferences and budget. If considering a band, make sure to check on any possible restrictions on our wedding party size. Recorded music is another option. Should you want a recording, though, remember to have the sound system checked in advance.

Decorations are also an essential part of your ceremony. When planning your decorative scheme, keep in mind that the beach can be very breezy and that anything that hasn’t been secured can end up in the water. You have several decorative options for your beach wedding. Most couples include native flowers just as with traditional wedding. Other decorations may support a theme. Search carefully for decorations that fit both with your theme and with your location.

Last but not least, a very important part of your beach wedding ceremony planning will be your wedding vows. If you and your fiancé are writing your own, be sure to plan for enough time to do so, and if you aren't writing your own, you may want to check with the officiator to see how they are written. Some officiators allow for changes in the wording.

You may find that there is more than you thought to beach wedding ceremony planning, but once you get started, you may also be surprised at how well it goes. A beach wedding is unique and so calls for a bit different planning than a traditional wedding, but it also one of the most fun and romantic weddings.

So your dreaming of a beach wedding in Hawaii or in the Caribbean? Making that dream a reality isn't really difficult or as expensive as you might think. More and more couples are choosing destinations weddings and beach weddings are by far the most common. As you begin to make your decision about whether to have a beach wedding or not, we've put together a list of what you need to know.
It Can Be Easier . If you've thought of spending the day before (and the day of in my case) your wedding relaxing on the beach instead of running hundreds of errands then you are not alone. This thought is driving brides and grooms to think about beach weddings. You may worry about the difficulty of planning a wedding from thousands of miles away, but the truth is, destination wedding are often far less work than traditional weddings. Most hotels and resorts offer wedding-planning services and packages and take care of the details for you. You still have work to do up front in determining locations & travel arrangements for yourself and your guests but you won't have to worry about all the small details of the ceremony and reception if you don't want to. Beachweddingplanning.com is here to assist you in making the planning easy.
It Can be Less Expensive. Beach Weddings are usually less expensive than traditional weddings. This is typically because you don't have as many guests that you are paying for. You still have to buy your dress, pay for travel and in some cases host a reception when you return, but all in all it's typically cheaper. If you check our FAQ you will find help with understanding who pays for what in a destination wedding.
It Can be Different...or Not. For some of you, the idea of the traditional church wedding is out. You want to do something different. A beach or destination wedding isn't your typical home town wedding reception with a dance band and bridal dance is it? However, you will see that you can still have a religious ceremony if you want, still incorporate traditional aspects to the ceremony or you can do something completely different. You have the option of making it your own, making it different, but making it as traditional as you want. Many brides still wear a traditional wedding dress (see pictures), many still hire a minister and many still have a reception when they come home.
It Can Be Longer. A beach or destination wedding give you the opportunity to turn a wedding day into a wedding weekend or even a wedding week. You guests will typically join you for three or more days and can join in the fun and festivities you have planned. You have the opportunity to actually get to spend some one-on-one time with your guests. You won't be so busy running around before the wedding or being pulled by the reception photographer & wedding coordinator in so many directions you don't have time to visit with friends and family. We've all been to wedding where we barely get to speak to the bride or groom.
It Might Be Smaller. At most weddings there are typically some guests that will have to travel, but generally that is a small number. With a beach wedding everyone will have to travel. You may have to accept the fact that your guest list will be smaller. Not everyone can afford to attend or can take off as much time as needed to make the trip. It's something you must seriously think about. However if you are looking for that intimate guest list, a beach wedding may be exactly what you are looking for. Typically your closest friends and family will be those most likely to attend.
You do Need to Save The Date . Invitations are supposed to be sent 4-6 weeks before a wedding. But that is not enough time if your beach wedding requires guests to travel or take time off of work to enjoy the destination you've chosen. It's important to give your guests as much advance notice about your beach wedding as possible. Sending out Save the Date letters or cards between 9 and 12 months ahead of time gives your guests time to save and make necessary arrangements. If you have a wedding website (which we think is a must) you can use the save the date card to direct them to the site where they can get information about the wedding.
You do Need a Wedding Coordinator . If you choose to get married at a resort that offers wedding packages, you will have a wedding planner there to help with the details. You will be communicating over the phone or e-mail so you have to ensure that your requests are very specific. If you choose to hire a wedding coordinator not associated with a resort you may have more flexibly in planning your wedding but more details will be on you to make decisions about. It's even more critical to correspond often with them and be as specific as possible about what you want. Check our beach locations for resources on hotels that offer wedding packages and outside wedding coordinators.
You Need to Understand the Legal Requirements. If you are getting married in another state or in another country, you will need to understand the legal & marriage requirements required by the local, state and country governments and as well as those in your own state. Passports may be required as well as local marriage licenses. Different states & countries have different requirements around blood tests or immunizations. Spend some time in our legal requirements page to read about the legal requirements for locations you may be considering.
Is a destination wedding for you? It's not for everyone. If you've been dreaming of the big church wedding with the formal fairy tale dress with 10 foot train and pipe organ playing for 300 guests, it might not be the right decision for you. If know you will be very controlling of every small detail it may not be right for you. With far away weddings you have to be able to turn some of the details over to site coordinators. You have to be able to relax and put faith in the planner you hire or resort coordinator. Figure out what is important to you. Then you have to be able to trust and let go. If you can't do that, a beach or destination wedding my not be right for you.
If your still ready to start planning your dream beach destination wedding, read our Getting Started article to being planning and check out the rest of the resources at beachweddingplanning.com to help you plan the beach wedding of your dreams.

So you're thinking about a destination wedding, Congratulations! Here are some tips to get started. As you have more questions, check out our FAQ or visit our forum to ask questions of other brides in the planning stages.

Location: The first thing you must do is pick a location. There are many things you need to think about when picking the perfect location. Expense may be the first thing on your mind. Hawaii will be more expensive than Mexico. But Mexico may be more expensive than the California coast. Expense is important for you as well as your guests. The more expensive, the fewer guests you will have. A second thing to consider is what activities and amenities are available for you and your guests. Are you choosing an all-inclusive resort? Or will there be plenty of shopping, restaurants, spa services and sports and recreation for your guests? Check out our locations page to begin your planning. If you don't have any idea where you might go it can be overwhelming. Our suggestion is to narrow it down to 3-4 locations and then start to dig into the details.

Picking the Date: There are many factors in picking the date for your wedding. In choosing the best date for a beach wedding you must think about the weather. Check www.weather.com to get historical information on weather patterns in locations you are thinking about. You want to try to avoid rainy season or times when the outside temperature are too hot or too cool. You must also think about price when choosing a date. Contact a travel agent to see when it's 'high season'. You may choose to travel when it's off season to save money for you and your guests. Traveling right before or right after the 'high season' may allow you take advantage of why its high season (better weather) but also the cheaper price.

Coordinating with Family: If its important to you that certain members of your family attend the wedding, meaning you won't have the wedding without them, you will want to coordinate dates, locations, costs with those family members. It may take a little bit of back and forth between what you want and what would works best for those family members (which did get frustrating at times) but it will be 100% worth it in the end. Advice: Be patient but be firm about what is most important to you.

Legal Requirements: In most cases all the states in the United States will recognize a legal wedding from anther state or anther country. As long as it's a legally recognized wedding. You must check with local authorities in the states or country where you are getting married to make sure you understand the local requirements for you marriage to be legal. You may need a local marriage license, birth certificate, or blood tests. And you may have to pay for those documents to translated into a different language than then back again. Most wedding planners or resort wedding coordinators in other states or countries will have this information. Some brides and grooms choose to get legally married before or after their beach wedding to avoid some of the additional paperwork and requirements.

The Ceremony: There are many factors in determining your beach wedding ceremony. How many people will be attending, what's your budget, what time of day will it be, do you want a religious ceremony, and how traditional do you want to be. Your options may more or less be limited if you hire a local wedding coordinator versus getting married at a resort. Click here to read more about planning your ceremony.

Choosing a Coordinator: If you are planning a wedding in location you are not, you will need help! But you have choices just like you would at home. You can hire a professional to help. Most beach wedding locations will have multiple wedding professionals that specialize in coordinating beach and destination weddings. Click here for our extensive list of wedding coordinators and other vendors in each of our featured beach wedding locations. Local wedding coordinators can often help with logistics around travel, helping plan activities, arranging the ceremony, the officiate and planning the reception. You will most likely have more flexibility in panning going this route. Or you can choose to get married at a resort that offers wedding packages and has onsite coordinators. You options may be somewhat limited in terms of the ceremony and reception but the stress (and cost) of planning will be greatly reduced. If money and time are non issues, you can always plan the wedding yourself. You can pick the site, the florist, the officiate, the ceremony the baker and the music yourself. This is the toughest way to do it and probably a very expensive option if your beach wedding is located in another state or another country.

So are you thinking about a beach wedding in Hawaii, Mexico or in the Caribbean? There is nothing more special or memorable than having your wedding on a beach. Many couples who choose to get married on the beach do it for that very reason; it’s something different. Something you and the guests you have will surely not forget. However, a destination wedding at a beach is not for everyone. You will need to consider the following pros and cons to having beach wedding.

Why a Beach Wedding is Right for You

It’s a chance to do something different, something memorable for you and for your guests. A chance to make your wedding day stand out. A beach wedding allows you more creative freedom.

It’s a chance to actually spend some quality time with your guests. Depending on how the wedding is ultimately organized you might have up to 3 to 4 days with your guests before the wedding. Imagine spending several days with your family and best friends on vacation leading up to one of the most exciting days of your life.

You might save some money in the long run. It’s not always true that a destination wedding on a beach will be cheaper than a wedding at home, but it many cases it will be. Read here to get a better idea of how you can both save money and the extra expenses associated with a beach wedding.

As soon as you are pronounced husband and wife you will already be on your honeymoon. No waiting, no travel time. You are already there!

You have freedom to make your wedding truly your own. It can be tradition, very untraditional or a little bit of both.

Why a Beach Wedding May Not be Right for You

You probably will not have as many guests at your wedding as you would at home. Not everyone will be able to take the time or have the money to spend on the trip. (If you are trying to have money, this might be a good thing). But if you have dreamed of the big wedding with hundreds of guests, you might be disappointed.

You will have to learn to be more laid back and relax about some of the details. Unless you can afford to make several trips to the location that you will be married, you will have to leave some of the details up to persons that are far away and possibly in another country. You will have to be comfortable using e-mail to plan your wedding. A destination wedding on the beach is not always stress free. Bridezillas should think twice before they undertake a beach wedding

You may have some extra tasks such as organizing extra events for guests at the wedding location.

You will have to consider the weather and have contingency plans made. If you cannot accept that you wedding location may have to change due to weather then a beach wedding may not be right for you.

So, given the pros and cons, if you think a beach wedding may be right for you, read our Things You Need to Know About a Beach Wedding article or our FAQ for more information about having a beach wedding.

When planning your beach wedding, having some ideas for your save the date cards will help. Beach wedding save the date cards, just as any other wedding save the date cards, serve as announcements about your future wedding so friends and loved ones can keep that date free.

If your beach wedding is a faraway designation wedding, save the date cards are an absolute must. Generally sent out 10 to 12 months before the wedding, save the date cards provide contact information for easier planning by your guests. Typically more informal than invitations, this is your chance to try some fun and funky save the date ideas.

Send out your save the date cards only after you know the exact date and location of your wedding. A save the date card typically includes the url to a wedding website where they can find additional information. If you haven't yet set up a wedding website, include a letter with the additional details. Be sure to add that an invitation will follow.

The information that needs to go on the save the date cards includes:

• Name of bride and groom
• Date of the wedding
• Location
• "Invitation to follow."
• Your wedding website's url "for more details"

These details should include:

• Hotel/resort options
• Flight information
• Group booking plans
• Travel agent recommendations
• Destination information
• Dress code

If a guest doesn't have Internet, attach a letter with the above details.

Essentially, you should think of what your guests can use to make travel preparations. All this will make your beach wedding the happy time it should be – for everyone.

When creating your save the date cards, keep in mind that they don’t need RSVP instructions. This will be on your website and go out with your wedding invitations. Also, save details about the receptions or rehearsal dinner for your wedding website or letter you tuck in with your save the date card.

Since save the date cards aren’t meant to be as formal as invitations, you can be a little more creative in your selection. A beach wedding theme lends itself to graphics like palm trees, seashells, starfish, dolphins, flip flops, beach umbrellas, etc.

Save the date brochures with original tropical artwork and scented with orchid or plumeria would be nice. Save the date card ideas could also be created in the form of postcards, magnets or letter style cards. Beach save the date cards would also be fun in the form of surfing or tropical flower themed magnets. A magnet save the date card allows the wedding information to be kept where it is often viewed, such as on the refrigerator, and it provides a lasting memento of the event.

Here is some sample wording for your save the date cards to get you started:

Something romantic is in the air!
Please save the date
For a tropical marriage celebration uniting

Katherine Jones
And
Jonathan Richardson

August 10, 2008
Aruba

Detailed information is available on our wedding website
www.ourwedding.com

Invitation to follow.

Beach wedding save the date cards allow the romance and tropical splendor of your upcoming ceremony to shine through, and your guests will truly appreciate having this extra time to make all the necessary arrangements to be a part of your special celebration.