Beach Wedding Planning Tips - Location, DIY, Go Local

Summer is creeping up slowly and beach weddings are all the rage (again) this year! I wrote this post earlier this year but think it is far more appropriate now...so this is a repost but TOTALLY worth it!

Unless you're planning a fancy resort destination beach wedding where your wedding worries are whisked away by the tropical winds or your budget allows for a super awesome planner who manages every last piece until you walk down the sandy aisle, you've got some planning to do if you want the beach themed wedding of your dreams. So grab your Pinterest app, your to do lists and a cup of coffee and let's get down to business with some de Lovely practical planning tips.

Location - After choosing your date and guest list, location, location, location is the most important decision. You've fallen in love with a gorgeous secluded beach and the breathtaking view but it is a bit out of the way, the services are few, and the only bathroom is a stinky public 1/2 mile away. Okay, a little over the top but you get my point.  Your wedding location MUST be is easily accessible for you, your guests and vendors, who may charge more for an inconvenient location.

Pre-wedding jitters should not include location stress for you; do you have a place to dress, relax, pose for pictures? Guests should be able to easily park and walk, and vendors need to access facilities. Plus your DIY projects and wedding party need a staging area.

If you want to be directly on the beach, research public and privates beaches. Beach side hotels may the best option with their beach access, reception services, and guest accommodations. Boathouses, state parks, historical beach homes, or small seaside communities offer perfectly good alternatives to the traditional resort or hotel beach wedding. Depending on the size of your wedding, you may be able to get away with a secluded beach wedding. Hire an accommodating planner who can handle all the small details and set your DIY projects in motion.

Photo courtesy of Intimate Weddings

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * Permits may be needed if your guest list is large. * Check city ordinances for laws regarding alcohol and music. * Sun and wind may be a factor, plan for the right time of day and year.

Photo Courtesy of Sproullie Designs

Do It Yourself - I am a huge fan of DIY; it saves you money, is a fun way to get people involved, and adds a touch of your personality, making your wedding anything but cookie cutter. For Beach Weddings, choose three to five DIY projects; more than that you risk overwhelming yourself. I like the idea of one or two items per time period: pre-wedding (Check out our DIY Save the Date project), ceremony, and reception. Carry your beachy brand theoughout the entire wedding for a cohesive and visually pleasing theme.

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * DIY is better with friends, invite your bridesmaids to help out. * Assign a family member or friend to be in charge on the big day. * DIY projects are supposed to save your money, don't go over the top buying sand, when you can get it at the beach.

Photo Courtesy of The Knot

 
Beach Theme: I suggest limiting your "beach" look to a few pieces of varying sizes here and there; not every decoration needs to be themed. It just looks cheesy and may actually cost you more money if vendors need to customize every item. Instead use color, music, food to enhance the celebration.

Wedding invitations set the tone, location sets the mood, reception centerpieces continue your brand and a touch of the beach on your cake finishes the theme....going overboard (pardon the pun) can ruin the sentiment behind choosing a beach theme in the first place.

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * Choose a brand and stick with it but sparingly. * Find other ways to incorporate the beach theme instead of just shells and starfish. * Scour the web and blogs for inspiration; Pinterest and Lover.ly are all the rage.

Photo Courtesy of National Garden Month

Go Local - For food and flowers, request your vendors go local or work directly with a local provider, such as a flower farm or farmer's market. It is easier to deal with smaller companies for catering or rentals as they can be more accommodating. A wedding trend for 2012 is to request caterers and hotels go "locavore", which means that food must be gathered within 50 miles of the event. It is cheaper, better for the environment and supports small businesses.

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * Vendors may charge less if they don't have to travel, especially musicians; search locally for good talent. * Use local business directories and sites such as YELP to help locate quality vendors.

Beach weddings can offer more savings, fewer headaches and more fun than a traditional wedding but in the end, it all comes down to planning and planning well. There are a million other tips to help you plan your wedding day but the very best we can offer: have fun, be casual, be yourself, make your wedding about you and your sweetie and let all the rest go.

Have a de Lovely day! xx

P.S Come over and follow us on Twitter...it is OH so much fun!

{Beach Wedding Week} DIY Favor, Make Your Own Sea Glass Candy

Well here we are again for Beach Wedding Week's Thrifty Thursday, all the good stuff on the cheap. If you want easy, inexpensive, and fun DIY wedding favors that will be a big hit with your guests, how about your own sea glass candy? You can make it any flavor and color you want to correspond with your wedding colors. Pretty tins or shells make great holders, add a tag and finish it off with some ribbon and you have a super tasty way to say thank you!  We love this DIY wedding favor idea for a beach themed celebration and thank Intimate Wedding letting us share their recipe.

Reception: Sea Glass Candy Favor

You will need: 2 cups granulated sugar, 3/4 cup water, 3/4 cup corn syrup, 1/4 – 1 tsp. flavoring oil (Raspberry and rootbeer were used here but the choice is yours) Icing sugar (to coat cooled candy for that weathered look)

Step One: Grease a cookie sheet or cake pan with butter. Measure ingredients.

Step Two: Pour granulated sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

Step Four: Without stirring, boil the mixture until a candy thermometer reads between 300 and 310 degrees. (This will take about 30 minutes.) Drop a small amount into ice water. If it separates into brittle strands its ready.

Step Five: Remove from heat and let boiling subside.

Step Six: Measure flavoring oil and pour into candy mixture. Also add food coloring if desired. Blend with a wooden spoon. (You’ll notice that it will get really steamy for a few seconds.

 Step Seven: Pour onto greased cookie sheet or cake pan. Let cool. The fridge works well.

Step Eight: Cover hardened candy with parchment paper and tap with a mallet to shatter candy into small pieces. Make sure to spread the pieces around after breaking.

Step Nine: Use a basting brush and coat candy pieces with icing sugar.

Step Ten: Place into favor tins. A cupcake form works well to keep them all together. Tie with ribbon and adhere labels. One reader suggested using a shell to hold the sea glass candy and then wrapping the whole package in tulle or tissue paper.

So there you have it, super simple, easy way to create a sweet beach themed favor for your wedding reception. It is creative and different and sure to be a hit with your guests. Edible favors are a big wedding trend for 2012 and these little yummies definitely won't be left on the table by accident.

Your reception is the best place for lots of personalized DIY projects because people will be spending more time here than any other place. It makes sense from a branding perspective to bring as much of you to the party as possible. Just make sure you have enough time and don't bog yourself down in glue and glitter. Make sure you check out our other Thrifty Thursday post on DIY Save the Dates - Message in a Bottle.

 Happy planning and Happy DIY!


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P.S. Leah commented at Intimate Weddings about a couple problems a few people were having with this recipe. She says:

If you live in a humid place, this toffee will be sticky, it’s a fact of life and nothing you do will prevent it! Keeping it in an air-tight container in the fridge will help prevent stickiness in humid places. But also, if you do not cook it for long enough, it will remain soft and pliable once it ‘sets’ which may also contribute to stickiness. In terms of color – if you take the mixture off the heat before it turns amber your colour will be truer to the original colouring. However the less you cook it the more likely it will not set rock-hard and may remain soft and pliable as I mentioned above.

　

　

　

{Beach Wedding Week} Practical Tips for Planning a Beach Wedding

Unless you're planning a fancy resort destination beach wedding where all your wedding worries are whisked away on the tropical winds or your budget allows for a super awesome planner who manages every last piece until you walk down the sandy aisle (all of which are really nice), you've got some serious planning to do if you want the beach themed wedding of your dreams. So grab your Pinterest app, your to do lists and a cup of coffee and let's get down to business with some de Lovely practical planning tips.

Location - After you've chosen the date, narrowed down the guest list, location, location, location is the most important thing on your list. You've fallen in love with a gorgeous secluded beach, its printine sand and breathtaking view but it's a bit out of the way, the services are few, and the only bathroom is a stinky public 1/2 mile down down the beach. Okay, a little over the top but you get my point.  Your location must be is easily accessible for you, your guests and vendors, who may charge more for an inconvenient location. Pre-wedding jitters should not include location stress for you; do you have a place to dress, relax, pose for pictures? Guests should be able to easily park and walk, and vendors need to access facilities. Plus your DIY projects and wedding party need a staging area.

If you want to be directly on the beach, research public and privates beaches. Beachside hotels may the best option since they offer beach access, reception services, and guest accommodations. Boathouses, state parks, historical beach homes, or small seaside communities offer perfectly good alternatives to the traditional resort or hotel beach wedding. Depending on the size of your guest list and wedding party, you may be able to get away with a secluded beach wedding. Hire an accommodating planner who can handle all the small details and set your DIY projects in motion.

Photo courtesy of Intimate Weddings

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * Permits may be needed if your guest list is large. * Check city ordinances for laws regarding alcohol and music. * Sun and wind may be a factor, plan for the right time of day and year.

Photo Courtesy of Sproullie Designs

Do It Yourself - I am a huge fan of DIY; it saves you money, it's a fun way to get people involved, and it adds a true touch of your personality, making your wedding anything but cookie cutter. When it comes to Beach Weddings, choose three to five DIY projects; more than that you risk overwhemling yourself. I like the idea of one or two items per time period: pre-wedding, ceremony, and reception. Carry your beachy brand thoughout the entire wedding for a cohesive and visually pleasing theme. Check here tomorrow for great DIY ideas.

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * DIY is better with friends, invite your bridesmaids to help out. * Assign a family member or friend to be in charge on the big day. * DIY projects are supposed to save your money, don't go over the top buying sand, when you can get it at the beach.

Photo Courtesy of The Knot

Beach Theme: I suggest limiting your "beach" look to a few pieces of varying sizes here and there; not every decoration needs to be themed. It just looks cheesy and can actually cost you more money if vendors need to customize every single item. Instead use color, music, food to enhance the celebration.

Wedding invitations set the tone, location sets the mood, reception centerpieces continue your brand and a touch of the beach on your cake finishes the theme....going overboard (pardon the pun) can ruin the sentiment behind choosing a beach theme in the first place.

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * Choose a brand and stick with it but sparingly. * Find other ways to incorporate the beach theme instead of just shells and starfish. * Scour the web and blogs for inspiration; Pinterest and Lover.ly are all the rage.

Photo Courtesy of National Garden Month

Go Local - When it comes to food and flowers, request your vendors go local or work directly with a local provider, such as a flower farm or farmer's market. It is easier to deal with smaller companies for catering or rentals as they can be more accommodating. A wedding trend for 2012 is to request caterers and hotels go "locavore", which means that food must be gathered within 50 miles of the event. It is cheaper, better for the environment and supports small businesses.

BOTTOM LINE TIPS: * Vendors may charge less if they don't have to travel, especially musicians; search locally for good talent. * Use local business directories and sites such as YELP to help lcoate quality vendors.

Beach weddings can offer more savings, fewer headaches and more fun than a traditional wedding but in the end, it all comes down to planning and planning well. There are a million other tips to help you plan your wedding day but the very best we can offer: have fun, be casual, be yourself, make your wedding about you and your sweetie and let all the rest go.

Have a de Lovely day! xx

P.S Come over and follow us on Twitter...it is OH so much fun!