For those couples who prefer to have a private, intimate and classically simple wedding or a couple who doesn’t have much time to invest in planning a wedding a beach wedding could be the perfect solution.
Whether you live near a beach in Europe or the States or in the UK where beach ceremonies aren’t yet legal, a beach ceremony could be the answer to your dreams. If your lucky to live near a beach outside of the UK, or your planning on flying out to a sunny retreat you’ve got a number of different choices for example an exotic island like Hawaii or a romantic secluded bay on a greek island. 

Before you decide to throw yourself head first into organising a beach wedding make sure this is the correct option for you and your partner.
Depending on the size of your beach wedding, whether you pay for guests to join you on that exotic island or whether it’s a small group of family and friends who pay for themselves, beach weddings generally are cheaper than a traditional wedding.

Sometimes guests will be unclear whether you’re footing the bill for their travel and accommodation or whether you’re expecting them to pay for it, it’s important you make this extremely clear to your guests as this could be a source of friction and bad feeling.

If your guests are paying for themselves, try to be helpful by suggesting cheap flights, decent hotels and reliable transport.  Send them information about the destination so they can treat it like a proper holiday. To forewarn people about the date of your big day you could send out save the date cards a year before your wedding so people can make the necessary arrangements to be off work and possibly use your beach wedding as a basis for their family holiday. Wedding invitations are sent about 6 weeks before the big day.
Beach weddings aren’t just usually less expensive, but they tend to be less formal too, you have less demands placed on you and there’s a more causal and relaxed feel to the day.

There are a couple of things you may need to consider when planning your beach wedding and these are the wind and the tide. Ask a local wedding planner as they will be able to give you an idea of when best time to get married is and where. If the beach is known to be windy, try to find a cove that will shelter you.

Just because you’re planning on getting married on a lovely warm beach somewhere doesn’t mean that it won’t rain, so be prepared just in case. You can rent a canopy and decorate it for the evening, for when the sun goes down and the temperature’s a little cooler. That way if it rains there’s somewhere else where the ceremony can take place.

Depending on which country you get married, will depend on the legalities of the ceremony, again check with a local wedding planner who will be able to answer questions you have regarding this.