Our Beach Style Wedding Guide & Tips

 [dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you are one of those brides-to-be who like to ditch tradition and do things their own way, then choosing an intimate beach wedding over a traditional one is right for you. Imagine the salty air, breeze, sand, and sea as your background. Sounds like your thing, right? But before you can dive right into planning, here are a few suggestions we have put together to help you create the ultimate beach wedding.

[large_title title=”Beach Wedding Dress”]

With sand, wind, and humid air at the beach, these conditions doesn’t always translate well for the bride wearing a ball gown, high heels, plenty of expensive jewelry, and heavy makeup. Instead, we suggest going for a more natural look that still looks elegant but works beautifully with your beach wedding. A major plus to this is that you can wear anything you feel comfortable in, even real short silk dresses that resemble nightgowns and no one will blink an eye. You truly have a plethora of wedding dress options to play around with. 

Natural materials are often recommended as they usually do well under these weather conditions so aim for lace, linen, cotton, and chiffon. Of course, if you’ve always dreamed of  an elaborate gown beautifully crafted with pearls, glitter, and beads then by all means go for it. Just make sure it doesn’t give you trouble breathing or create any difficulty when and if you have to walk over sand and pebbles.

[large_title title=”Wedding Invitations”]

Of course, you will have the exact location printed on your invitations, but why not take it a step further and have the very look of your invitation say: “We are having a beach wedding!”? There are beautifully decorated wedding invitations with motifs of seashells, seahorses in gold print, pearls, sunset, and palm trees for your consideration. Even for those on a budget or going the DIY route, there are so many options you can do to really create your unique beach-inspired wedding invitations. But make sure to make a few mock-ups or simply jot down in a wedding planner, how you want your invitations to look exactly before you get them done. This will not only guarantee you’re happy with the finished product, but also helps you focus on the theme and feel of your beach wedding. 

[large_title title=”Dress Code for Guests”]

You can include a style guide in your invitation, but make sure you have a serious talk with friends and relatives so they know what you expect of them. Beach weddings are usually casual and intimate, so ‘beach formal’ might exclude ties, cocktail dresses, high heels, and patent leather shoes.

If your guests wish to dress more formally, men can wear sandals (i.e loafers) and linen suits, and women can wear knee-length summer dresses. But this is all depends on you and your fiance’s preference. Some couples want a completely relaxed feel and so they encourage guests to come barefoot, wearing shorts, skirts, beach kaftans and even swimsuits underneath their clothes for when  join the bride and groom for a swim after the ceremony. And of course, there are couples who are looking to mesh the beautiful beach backdrop with a more semi-formal setting. Whatever the style, just make sure to make the dress code obvious to your guests. 

[large_title title=”Decorate the Space”]

Now if you had wanted a completely formal ceremony, you would have gone the traditional route and called it a day. But you didn’t. You wanted your venue to be at a place where your groom, guests and you could look out and soak in the vast space, the blueness of the sky and sea, and feel the breeze. When it comes to decorating the space, you want to work with this beautiful setting you have.  So many couples decide to use pergolas and gazebos, add light chiffon curtains, and a beach-inspired decorations like seashells, sea glass, and pebbles during their ceremony and reception (i.e tablescapes). 

If you’re set to have a sunset wedding, we suggest placing plenty of lanterns and small candles in sand-and-pebbles-filled mason jars. If palm leaves are available, you can make little palm leaves fans for all of your guests if the day is really hot; they will love it.

We love how you’ve chosen the beach as your ideal backdrop to express your love for each other and nature. We hope this Beach Style Wedding guide helps you in planning your amazing beach wedding.