that all sounds great!

a friend who was a lifeguard had the best beach wedding…complete with a beach themed cake, and chocolate shells, she gave out starfish wine stoppers for a favor (this was years ago before favors fell out of favor). she had beach foods like fish tacos. she used sandcastle molds and beach buckets as centerpieces (can fill with water and put flowers in…or ice and stash drinks in). she had beach balls hung from the ceiling (sounds weird but was super cute and on theme).

Yep, I think this is doable! At first I thought it was probably going to be hard to find venues (beaches can also be expensive, at least in CA), but when I started looking for places in breezit, I immediately found several options below $2k. Out of all these options, though, the only one I can truly recommend is Ventura Harbor Village. According to their listing, the whole event (ceremony and reception) can last from 4-10 pm. Set up can start at 9 am, so there's plenty of time for a day wedding and a reception at sunset (sounds great tbh).

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So for my sisters babyshower, she wanted a beach theme, so I did my best to make it about the esthetic of the beach: sand, sun, sea shells... I found a GIANT bottle and wove twine all over it, and it was our "message in a bottle" to give helpful tips to the new momma. I also did stout glass bowls half filled with sand and some sea shells. And then completely clear balloons stacked on top of each other to look like bubbles.

This was the cake and cups cakes I didn't for her, along with sugar cookies. Cake was made with coconut milk and extract and then had a fudge filling. Then I made meringues with a sultane tip, which looks like urchins or shells of some sort.

I had so much fun, and I just wanted to share, to help with ideas for your special day.

I would wait till you have an idea on food and venue - those are going to be your biggest costs.

We looked into this, it was cheaper to hire a company to do it for us and have an elopement. Once you start inviting guests, provide seating, music, any kind of decor & food the costs got to a point where we figured we’d rather have a little backyard thing.

We’re in CA too, there’s a beach town we love to go to for getaways. We thought about doing it there and hosting a few guests (12) at the restaurant we like, but doing it that way was going to cost about $8k between the beach wedding and food. We set a 10k budget and now we’re having 60 guests and a whole wedding and reception instead in a lovely backyard. It’s outdoors, a pool with a waterfall, and we’re not tied down by permits and excessive restrictions.

What about beach ceremony any then go to a very nearby restaurant for reception?

What beach or city are you thinking?

It would help a lot if you'd say how many guests you're expecting and also the general location of the beach wedding. It's hard to answer without knowing this.

Food trucks are great for small weddings and are definitely memorable.

Some things to consider:

• food trucks serve food per order which results in a much slower food service compared to a catered meal.
• this will mean your guests will be eating at different times and not all at the same time as you traditionally see
• the more people you have attending your wedding, the longer it will take to get through dinner which could cut into other activities you have planned such as your first dances
• food trucks will usually ask for a minimum food spend to make it worth their while.

Some caterers are also willing to travel and might cater a beach wedding. It might be worth checking a few to see what the costs might be compared to a food truck.

You might do well to chat with the folks at your favorite food truck to find out what their experience has been.

We live in CA and have been to a LOT of beach weddings! We've seen it all... we went to like 6 beach weddings in one summer alone, haha. Hopefully these random pieces of advice can help you out!

• Check to see if you need a permit. Some beaches require them, some don't. The permits are usually pretty cheap (at least in our area) if you do need one!
• Try to avoid major holidays or busy beach weekends. Some of our friends got married during volleyball tournaments, an annual beer fun run, and 5k weekends. Even "small" local events like these can mean there are a ton of people wandering around, getting in your way.... and they make parking horrible!
• Don't try to wear heels in the sand unless you have some kind of aisle runner. I've seen so many brides in pain because they can't get the sand out of their heels or they're struggling to stay stable. At one of my favorite beach weddings, both the bride and groom were barefoot; it was so cute.
• Prepare for wind! I'd say 75 percent of the beach weddings we've attended were super windy. It never really bothers me as a guest, but as a bride I'd probably adjust my hair, veil, and dress accordingly.
• If you're going to have people stand and it's a super casual wedding, just let guests know ahead of time. A lot of our friends didn't want to pay to rent chairs, which I totally understand, but those of us with health issues need to know so we can a) bring a chair or b) make accommodations. It is more enjoyable to have somewhere to sit, though.

Lots of great advice already! Based on the beach weddings I’ve been to, here are my thoughts...

Accessibility: If you have any guests with mobility issues, like a wheelchair or walker, make sure there is some way to get them to the ceremony site safely. At one wedding they had to recruit some of the burlier male guests to carry the MOG in her wheelchair. They thought the groomsmen would be strong enough to do it, but they were not.

Randos: Beware of random people walking around behind the ceremony. If it’s a public beach this might not be avoidable, but maybe try to situate it such that people will be more inclined to go around the other way (behind your guests instead of in front of the altar/arch/etc.) Or maybe appoint someone to gently usher folks through. At one wedding that was placed facing a beautiful sunset, unfortunately an older lady in a very colorful swimsuit walked over and could be seen standing behind the wedding arch, gawking awkwardly through the entire ceremony. This lady was in most of the photos too, because it was impossible for the photographer to shoot the bride and groom while avoiding her.

Some other posters had great advice on beach weddings. Another thought about wind- it can be loud. If your officiant brings audio equipment the wind can affect that.

Hi, I am doing a beach wedding and some things Im doing are 1) shortening the train on my dress so I dont have to drag it through the sand to just barely a baby train, 2) lots of hair oil to prevent frizz from sea salt air 3) barefoot sandals I bought on etsy so basically barefoot with beautiful pearl accents Before ceremony starts we are going to be playing some beach music like jack johnson or something

I think that if you and all your friends are in DC, it's going to be easiest to do it on the east coast. I'm assuming that like you, many might not make money at this point yet and live in a HCOL area, so flying to california and paying for their lodging might be a barrier to attending.

However, if you're unconcerned about friends attending, california sure is beautiful :)

Happy to hear that you are planning a destination wedding to make your wedding more memorable and as you're planning so early, I am sure that you will be able to get lot of options within your budget.

Few important aspects that you must look upon, specifically relating to destination wedding. Selection of location, booking of venue (should be first priority), then later decor, logistics, f&b, photography and elements.

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Save the money elope and use funds to secure down payment on house/condo or w.e.

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Could you go the kaftan route a- with some embellishments?

Also doing a beach day here! I have an embellished bikini too and paired it with a neutral skirt. I bought a sheer white dress cover-up option as well, but it’s long sleeved so might be too hot. I also found fun seashell accessories and strappy sandals - check out Chloe for their jewelry and jelly sandals!

I bought this cover up while in my honeymoon and LOVE it. Not eyelet like most in the market and the open sides gave it a little edge

I got this Alexis crop and skirt to wear on our Cabo yacht day. It’s brown and white floral and feels more beachy casual when paired with sandals. The sleeves are removable too which makes it more warm-weather friendly.

This Cult Gaia could be cute. Or this or this.

im doing a beach day and thinking about this too. ill probably go bahia maria

something like this look: https://int.bahiamaria.com/products/top-el-jardin

a little less over the top but still cool: https://int.bahiamaria.com/products/flores-crochet-mini-skirt

i also like this: https://www.revolve.com/tularosa-thalassa-floral-crochet-dress-in-white/dp/TULA-WD1540/?d=F&currency=USD&countrycode=US&deeplink=true&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Product+Listing+Ads+-+PMAX+-+Zombies&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwna6_BhCbARIsALId2Z0wUJiHvnU3uXaQNrlwmsj7wzA3Mv2kkUnhcNMayM5m_aW_N24ubsoaAvVLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Umm What’s the caption/ tagline of their wedding?

Wow.. Do share prices.

Congrats and very nice

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Two ideas:

Important detail to both: you have the people you want there to pretend to be random people enjoying the beach/weather/sunset. They could be in crazy disguised or costumes, or just sunglasses and hats.

1. You tell her you really want to get some pictures with her because the sunset is so beautiful, she’s so beautiful, you want to remember these moments or get a new profile picture for social media. Then, you could “struggle” to get a good frame up for your picture and ask someone near by (which is a friend or family member in disguise) to take a picture. You have a little back and forth banter while the phone camera is put into video mode, then, boom 💍

Or

2. Maybe you could have someone you trust write “Marry Me?” in the sand. As you’re walking along the beach, you could point it out to her and chuckle or see if she mentions it, and get into a conversation about being proposed to on the beach. You could say you want to get a closer look. Maybe suggest taking a picture in front of it to troll your friends/family? As you’re walking over to it, have a disguised friend toss a frisbee or something at you guys (like it’s a stray frisbee disk). Then, have that person run up to you to retrieve the disk. You could invite that person on your walk to the “Marry Me” in the sand and talk about how you two have talked about getting engaged and thought it would be fun to get some pictures in front of it. Then ask the friend if they’d be game to take pictures of you two. You hand them your phone and boom 💍

Detail ideas?: • You could record the conversation you have with your gf on the voice memo app on your phone.

• Once she says yes, in either case scenario, you have all of your people stand up and cheer, making it known to her that they’re all there.

• You could plan to go out for dinner at a favorite spot to be celebrate the engagement with all of your people.

• You could pack a beach side picnic or if it’s allowed, have a cookout on the beach afterwards 😊

Hopefully this helps give ideas! If not, disregard ^_^

More traditional answer: A lot of beach towns have services that focus on micro weddings/elopements. Look up some beach that you are interested in + elopement packages. Dinner cruises also do these private packages.

Also look into state park beaches they may offer for ceremonies.

Then maybe do a private room at a beach front restaurant nearby.

More unconventional option: rent a beach house for the weekend where everyone can stay. I would personally recommend not using air bnb and vrbo but instead a vacation rental agency local to the area you are looking in, only because they have more resources if their is an issue like hurricane damage, the people sell, etc. I have been left high and dry by airbnb on a vacation rental on same day as check in with no assistance to find a new place.

Do one day as a beach day with coolers of sandwiches and maybe grill out that night.

And do another day as a beach ceremony and have a service come in to do something like a seafood boil for everyone at the house.

Most unconventional:

Beach ceremony followed by a beach day as the reception. I have seen someone I grew up with do this. They had the ceremony, took some photos, then set up a bunch of pop up tents, blankets, beach chairs, and towels,everyone changed in to swimsuits and they surfed, grilled, snacked, and had a beach day as their reception. Very laid back. Very fun.

During Covid my son and his husband included 6 of us in their VRBO wedding. It was special and magical and memorable. Your beach wedding with your favorite people will be too.

Air BnB prohibits events on its platform, but buying out a regular Bed and Breakfast could work out for you.

Beach with a beach bbq or dinner in a beachside restaurant after

> it feels pointless to have a venue and and catering ect when there is so little people.

Why?

A microwedding just means you have fewer guests. It doesn't mean it's less of a wedding or planning it is all that different from planning a wedding with more guests.

Have your ceremony on the beach and guests drive to a nearby reception venue/community center

Lovely! Where did you get the royal blue lilies? Are they real??

This is so pretty!

Beautiful! You did a great job :)

Thank you so much! :)

Gorgeous