How to plan your Beach Wedding Ceremony

Though planning my beach wedding ceremony had me pulling my hair out on several occasions.

A few instances like the finer details of the beach wedding ceremony itself are what saved me from balding.

Deciding on the type of beach wedding ceremony, our wedding vows and decor details of the ceremonial place, were the few little gems amidst the bigger rocks of budget and the guest list debacle.

HOW TO PLAN A BEACH WEDDING CEREMONY

There are several aspects to consider regarding a beach wedding ceremony. It’s not just the event itself but also the type of service, the place of ceremony and the content of the ceremony that make up the whole event.

There are no set guidelines for the type of beach wedding ceremony you may choose, it all depend on your faith, on your religion and belief system.

Some considerations that you will have to make are whether or not you and your fiancé want to have a religious or a civil ceremony.

• Consult your officiant if you have personal vows to incorporate into the ceremony,he or she may advise on the most appropriate moment to incorporate them into the ceremony programme.
• You may also be requested to attend premarital counselling, depending on if it is required by your clergy.
• Depending on your choice you may have to seek out either a civil servant such as a mayor, justice of the peace to name a few to conduct a civil ceremony.
• If you prefer a religious ceremony then you will have to consult the minister of your faith.
• If you are an interfaith couple then you may find ministers who specialize in interfaith ceremonies or you may choose to decide on a single faith.
• If you're writing your own vows you may want to consult with your officiant ahead of time about your vows.
• You may have to follow specific guidelines if you're having a religious service. Ditto for any specific readings or music you may want to include in your ceremony.
• Don’ forget to meet before your rehearsal so that you and your fiancé can go over every part of your ceremony with your officiant.

Once you’ve decided on the type of beach wedding ceremony itself, you can move on to one of the real joys of wedding planning like the details of your ceremonial canopy.

HOW TO FIND THE IDEAL CEREMONIAL PLACE

You may have found your ideal beach wedding ceremony location, now it’s time to find your ideal ceremonial place.ie. the place where you will be saying I Do.

Will it be in the gardens overlooking the shore, under the palm trees, behind the rocks or right on the shore.

Choosing your ideal ceremonial place will significantly be determined by the time of the ceremony, do consider the comfort of your guests,for example if your ceremony takes place when the sun is at it's harshest then you may want to consider providing parasols or have a covered seating area.

But if you opt for an evening wedding however, you may require a permit after sunset, so be sure to enquire in advance.

Also take into account tide times if you are on the shores.

And most important scout out location at various times of day to see how crowded it gets.

The last thing you need is wedding crashers or semi-nude sunbathers in your wedding photographs.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

PAY ATTENTION TO GUESTS NEEDS AS YOU WOULD THE DECOR

Parasols, Giant beach umbrellas covered in mosquito nets, tents, translucent chiffon, shell encrusted or floral delights. Wedding canopy ideas are endless as they are delicious to look at.

It does help having a colour scheme to work with, when finalising finer details.

I simply couldn’t pick one particular style so I opted out of a canopy entirely. But at the time it simply wasn’t necessary.

Our beach wedding ceremony took place just before sunset so it was quite cool and I didn’t think there would be any need to have shaded protection from the sun, instead I wanted to enjoy the sunset.

Just as you place emphasis on your decor details, make sure your guests are going to be comfortable too.

Select chairs which are comfortable enough to last the duration of the ceremony don’t get reclining chairs though since you would want anyone falling asleep or worse falling off their chair.

Consider if you would prefer to walk down to the ceremonial place on an isle of fabric to match your colour scheme or perhaps petals.

Depending on the time of the ceremony, they may prefer seating in a shaded area.

You could also provide or request that they bring flip flops for the seas shore ceremonials have plenty of fluids on standby if it is a hot day.

It's simple yet personal sentiments like these that will make guests from both families truly feel like they are witnessing not just a union of two people but of two families.

MAKE YOUR WEDDING VOWS PERSONAL

Now that your ceremonial place is taken care of, you can focus on the most important aspect of the beach wedding ceremony, your wedding vows.

It is your pledge to one of the most important people in your life, in front of all the other important people in your life.

It will be more heart warming if you could draw on a personal connection that you and your partner share for example.

Write your story about how you met and what kept you together.

You are inviting them to celebrate your love after all, why not share with them exactly what you are feeling and why they are celebrating.

LET YOURSELF BE HEARD

Since you will be outdoors you won't have the same acoustic effect as you would inside a church.

On the beach you will have to contend with the sound of waves crashing and other outdoor noise like nearby traffic.

When choosing the ceremonial place, make sure you scout the area at different times of the day making note of peak noise levels.Use these findings to help choose the ideal spot.

By opting for a canopy or similar structure you could help avoid situations like the video attached.

The last thing you want on your special day is for the groom not to hear your well thought out wedding vows.

I hope I have inspired you to get started.

Yours sincerely

Betsy

P.S. I hope that you have found this hub useful.