21 Dec How to Plan a Beach Wedding
For those seeking an alternative to getting married in a church, getting married on the beach provides a romantic setting without additional decorations. The beach offers a stunning natural setting with a beautiful backdrop that is sure to make your wedding photos look amazing. Plus, there is no better lighting for wedding photos than a sunset photo shoot. Planning a wedding of any kind is arduous, but planning a beach wedding can be more difficult due to the unique challenges of getting married outside on the beach. If you are planning a beach wedding, use our checklist below to help you plan the beach wedding of your dreams.
Beach Wedding Checklist
Is a Permit Required?
While a permit isn’t always needed, many public beaches require a permit, and they typically aren’t free. So, this must be one of the first things to check off on your beach wedding checklist. Start this process early and in the beginning, especially since certain beaches may require you to submit the permit for approval months before your planned wedding date.
Is Liability Insurance Required?
As mentioned above, some public beaches may require a permit and they may also require liability insurance as well. So make sure you look into this in the beginning to avoid any pitfalls down the road that could have been avoided. You might have to keep your wedding under a certain amount of people, or it may have other stipulations listed. So, get these two items done and squared away in the beginning stages. These first two items might make you look into other beaches to get married on or might entice you to pay for a location that offers a private beach.
Think About the Logistics
When you are planning a beach wedding, things like accessibility, parking, food storage, weather, the elements, tide timing, bugs, restroom(s) availability, windproof décor, loading/unloading zones, and more need to be considered. For instance, will it be easy for your wedding party and guests to reach the beach? Better yet, will it be simple or challenging to deal with bringing food, tables, chairs, and other decorations onto the beach? It might be hard to hear depending on how close you are to the water, so a professional sound system might be required. There are a lot of unique challenges present when planning a beach wedding, so research and foresight are needed.
Are There Any Beach Restrictions?
Being outside in nature not only comes with its own challenges but also often comes with restrictions. Restrictions are needed to help protect the environment and the beach, and many public beaches can come with some pretty strict rules. Glass, streamers, balloons, Styrofoam, confetti, and other items might be prohibited. Some beaches don’t allow alcohol or animals, and some may not allow the use of generators. There may be a limit on the highest decibel level allowed if you use amplified sound. They might even have size restrictions for canopies and tents, which are often needed to provide shade and respite from the hot sun.