wedding planning - Beach Bride

Tips for Creating Affordable Beach Bride Decor

By Jenn

The great benefit of having a beach wedding is that the backdrop – no matter where you turn – is simply breathtaking. However, to truly make it a beautiful event, you’re going to want some stylish accessories. Here are some tips for creating gorgeous beach bride decor without breaking the bank.The great benefit of a wedding is that the backdrop – no matter where you turn – is simply breathtaking. However, to truly make it a beautiful event, you’re going to want some stylish accessories. Here are some tips for creating gorgeous beach bride decor without breaking the bank.

Rustic Wedding Arch

Moore Creative Weddings shows you how to create a beautiful and rustic wedding arch with materials you’re likely to find around your property. This one shows potted plants as the anchor points for the arch sides, which is definitely creative and fun!

If you know someone who is even slightly good with a hammer and nails, this one can be created for very little cost.

Chair Decor

Beachy Wreaths on Etsy has some gorgeous chair decor created for beach weddings. They are simple and consist of decorative grass and starfish. This can be created for a very affordable price with some artificial greenery and dried starfish.

You could also opt for flowers rather than the greenery. Baby’s Breath would be gorgeous! Exchange the starfish for shells or play around until you find a design you love.

Beachy “I Do” Letters

Create these gorgeous letters, showcased on TB Dress by purchasing cheap craft letters and shells. Simply hot glue the shells to the letters for a chic and beautiful addition to your beach wedding decor.

Change things up a bit by adding jute twine or even rhinestones for a little sparkle.

Fun Beach Wedding Centerpiece

This beautiful centerpiece, originally found on The Celebration Society, is absolutely gorgeous and very simple to make. Various bottles are filled with craft sand, to create a beautiful beach look. Place colored fabric or paper in a frame with a cutout number on top. Voila – you have a gorgeous centerpiece that didn’t cost a fortune!

Beach Wedding Garland

SeaGypsys on Etsy offers up a charming little seashell garland, but we believe it would be super easy to make your own with some jute or hemp twine, craft shells and a drill.

Simply drill a hole in the shell, string it onto the jute and tie a knot. You have a beautiful beach decor garland that literally costs pennies to make.

These are just a few examples of how beach wedding decor can be done for a very low price. Which one of these is your favorite ideas? Share with us in the comment section below.

Jennifer & Jason – A Bright Sunny Day

By Chie

Supposedly, beaches represent sunny and bright days but apparently, the ones in Carmel are known for the opposite – and yes, we’ve searched and it is actually known for rogue waves and gloomy skies. So when Jennifer & Jason’s wedding, which was held in the same exact place, was filled with warmth and sunlight, we just knew that it is indeed their very special day. Aside from this amazing turnout, they were also blessed with wonderful guests who acknowledged their request of wearing neutral colored clothing as to match the beach so they can have beautiful photos. This couple indeed deserved this wonderful day of celebration!

Congratulations Jennifer & Jason!

What is your story as a couple, how did you meet & fall in love?

Jason and I met at work. He is very shy and introverted. He worked at our corporate office in Ohio, and when I finally won him over, he moved to California. We were too old not to take chances. And it worked!

What makes the two of you a perfect match?

We are opposites in many ways but the parts that need to match, do! We are both “thinkers” rather than “feelers”, which according to Meyers Briggs, is a good fit!

How did he (or you) propose?

He took me to Domaine Carneros in Napa, where we had our first date. After ordering champagne, he slyly got on one knee and proposed with the most beautiful ring! Once I said yes, he just as slyly got back in his chair, and no one around us even knew what happened!

How long was the planning process? Did you think it was enough time?

We were engaged May 28,2013 and were married July 11, 2014. We had hoped to married in the middle of June but many locations were already booked. It was plenty of time to plan it all!

What was the best advice you received when you were planning your wedding?

Thankfully, we are both level headed and the wedding was pretty easy to plan.

What tips & tricks (“hacks”?) can you share future brides that you yourself have learned during and after your wedding?

Pick a theme and stick with it. I liked so many different themes, so I kept bouncing around with ideas. Once I picked one, it made everything else easier.

What were some challenges you faced planning your wedding & what would you have done differently to avoid them?

Using Wedgewood took most of the challenges out of it. They cover the majority of the vendors so that made it really easy. The only piece we had to source was our photographer, and choosing Whittaker Portraits was a no brainer! They are so accommodating and take phenomenal pictures!

What inspired your wedding décor? Why did you choose the things that you did?

We really wanted a beach wedding, but a tropical location wasn’t going to be easy for any of our family to get to. Once we decided on Carmel with beach for wedding ceremony and golf course for reception, it made all the decor and accessories easy to decide on.

What was the wedding budget?

Our budget was $10,000

Where did you save the most money?

Using a one stop shop like Wedgewood saved us the most money. We liked the idea of the winery wedding but they were so expensive just for the venue. Wedgewood allowed us to have a beautiful venue and everything else we needed with it.

What was the biggest expense?

Everything was all inclusive

How many guests were invited in your wedding and what was the final guest count?

How did you narrow down your list?

It was strictly budget related and we knew it had to be just immediate family and close friends

What songs did you use during the ceremony?

Traditional…our entrance at the reception was to Notre Dame fight song!

Where did you go on your honeymoon?

Moorea, Tahiti

What are you most excited about for the future?

Being settled and having a fantastic family unit.

Do you have advice for couples still in the planning process?

If you can find an all-inclusive venue, it makes your life much easier! Coordinating a dozen vendors will make you pull your hair out!

What would you say, the overall story for this album?

Beach wedding + golf reception = perfect match

What inspired the wedding day outfits?

I required all guests to dress in neutral colors so the photos on the beach would be amazing….and it worked!

What was your favorite part of the day?

Walking down the aisle to my soon to be husband and seeing all my friends and family in the required dress code….it really was spectacular!

Was there any Do it Yourself (DIY) projects? If so, can you describe them in detail?

We made all the signs at the venue and each goody bag for the hotel rooms contained homemade fudge by my husband and daughter

What were the highlights from the ceremony & reception?

My brother married us. I know he was nervous ahead of time, but he did a fabulous job! I loved watching him deliver our vows and wouldn’t change a thing. My daughter walked me down the aisle, which was simply awesome! We laughed the whole way because the sand was so hard to walk in, and we were about to fall over. Precious moments.

Was there a theme for the ceremony and reception?

Beach meets golf

What part of the ceremonies do you think was the most memorable for you? Your guests?

I think the dress code stood out to everyone and the reception entrance to the Notre Dame fight song. My husband’s family are die hard Notre Dame fans, so they loved it!

Here is what their photographer had to say about that special day.

What would you say, the overall story for this album?

Jennifer and Jason planned a sweet intimate affair with 50 of their closest family and friends. They decided on a beach and golf course in Carmel, California. Each guest was asked to wear white and khaki. Jennifer’s nine year old daughter, Caitlyn was her “daughter of honor.” She had the honor of walking her mom down the aisle and being by her side for the day. In the beginning of the day, Jason gave Caitlyn a bracelet to
match the one he had given Jennifer earlier. We loved the pop of color of Jennifer’s red shoes. Such a fun little detail!

What inspired the wedding day outfits?

Jennifer took the beach theme and ran with it. The guests were requested to wear khaki and white to reflect that, and the light, airy beach vibes were definitely there.

What were the highlights from the ceremony & reception?

The weather was the main highlight for the day in general. Generally, Carmel is gray and foggy, but Jennifer and Jason were blessed with a bright, sunny, warm day for their wedding!

Vendors

Photographer: Whittaker Portraits
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal
Floral Designer: Elegant Affair
Hair Stylist: Extend Your Image
Cake Designer: I DO WEDDING CAKES
Ceremony Location: Monastery Beach
Reception Venue: Rancho Canada Golf Club

Beach Wedding Art Journal Page Ideas

By Chie

Many brides keep journals throughout their wedding planning process, as a beautiful memento of the excitement and fun they experienced. An art journal is a fantastic idea for this occasion, as it allows brides to convey some of the feelings they’re experiencing through art as well as words. The following beach-inspired art journal pages can act as outstanding inspiration.

Beach Wedding Art Journal Page Ideas — janelfazio.com

Colorful Seashells

This gorgeous page features beautiful seashells done in watercolor and ink. This can easily be adapted to suit a wedding art journal, with groupings of seashells and whatever content the bride wants to place on the page – from pictures of the wedding dress fitting to a gorgeous shot of the venue.

Soft Blue Beach Scene

We absolutely love this art journal page, which is a mixed-media page featuring shells, paper flowers and various other elements. This is a great page to place a picture of the flower girl, or for any other purpose the bride likes!

Anchor and Writing

The poem on this page is just perfect, but you can add any sort of writing you’d like – maybe the song you will dance to, your vows, or a poem you love. The light anchor in the background gives this page a beach feeling.

Waves and Sun

This gloriously colorful page is perfect for adding words or lists that might otherwise look boring in your wedding planning journal. Use this as the perfect background to list out the vendors you’ve chosen, the songs you’ve added to your request list or the menu!

These beautiful pages should serve as inspiration for creating a gorgeous beach wedding planning art journal to reminisce over for years to come.

Beach Bride Memento Ideas

By Shang

All brides will have some fantastic mementos from their weddings, from the guest book to the pictures and more. However, beach brides have some unique opportunities to stock up on fantastic mementos from their wedding, and today we’re highlighting a few of our favorites!

Beach Sand Necklace

Purchase a beautiful glass bottle necklace and sometime before or after your ceremony, scoop some of the sand from the beach into the bottle. You can add whatever you’d like – from glitter to tiny paper with your vows written on it. Simply string it on a necklace and you have a beautiful beach wedding memento of your big day. This is especially wonderful for brides who are enjoying a destination wedding.

Beach Bride Memento Ideas — artsista.files.wordpress.com

Seashell Charm Bracelet

Before or after the ceremony, see if you can find any small seashells on the beach. Keep them for later to create a beautiful seashell charm bracelet. It’s as easy as using a small drill bit to create holes in the shells and then adding a jump ring. From there, you can put as many as you want on a charm bracelet. To make it super cute, add pearl beads, crystal beads or metal charms.

Beach Wedding Ornament

For this wonderful idea, you’ll need an empty glass or plastic ornament made specifically for crafting. Pick up sand and shells from the beach before or after your ceremony. When you’re ready to make the ornament, simply use a small funnel to add those items to the ornament. You can make it super cute by cutting one of your wedding invitations or programs into strips, rolling up the pieces so they curl and adding those to the ornament.

These are just a few wonderful beach wedding mementos that you can create easily but will cherish forever!

Fun Beach Wedding Theme: Shipwrecked

By Shang

If you’re planning a beach wedding but you want something a little more involved, you’re going to love today’s post. Today we’re highlighting a super fun beach wedding theme: shipwrecked! This theme fits a beach wedding perfectly and still takes your wedding from generic to fantastic. Here are some great elements that fit a shipwreck-themed beach wedding.

Props

Create fun props that lend to the illusion that you’re shipwrecked. Consider things that might be on a ship, from trunks containing treasures to lanterns, ship wheels and pieces of driftwood. This is a great way to add to the overall theme!

Fun Beach Wedding Theme: Shipwrecked — burnettsboards.com

The Cake

For the cake, you have a lot of options when it comes to the shipwrecked theme. Go with a cake that actually features a ship, like the fantastic one below.

Or, opt for a more subtle cake that is elegant and beautiful like the nautical themed cake below.

The “Altar”

Opt for a rustic-looking structure that really appears to be built from the local resources. Combined with beautiful sheer fabric and flowers, this look can be absolutely breathtaking!

Additional Elements

Throw in plenty of other little nautical treasures when adding the remaining décor, including the table décor. For instance, these beautiful “dock” table numbers are perfect!

You can also add seashells, driftwood, sand, tropical flowers and of course, plenty of delicious seafood on the wedding menu!

These ideas are the perfect place to start if you love the idea of a shipwrecked theme wedding!