Getting married on the beach.
It sounds beautiful and romantic.
The stuff dream a dream marriage ceremony is made of.
It can be, but you have to have spent some time coming up with the planning for it (as well as a bit of luck).
The Benefits of a Beach Wedding (The Good)
You will get amazing photos in a perfectly picturesque setting. No need for your photographer to hunt around for the perfect place for photos, you are standing on it!
Some of the best photos we have seen have come from beach weddings.
Another great thing about a beach wedding is the unique element for some of your guests. Often weddings bring together people from far and wide, which will likely include guests that vary rarely get to see the ocean, let alone see a marriage occur on it.
A beach wedding certainly creates a very memorable moment not only for the couple getting married, but all your guests too.
The Challenges of a Beach Wedding (The Bad)
A beach wedding certainly comes with it’s range of challenges which need to be considered prior to making the decision to have your marriage ceremony on the beach.
The first of course is weather. As with all outdoor ceremony locations, you should have a back up indoor plan should the day be a rainy day.
Consider the element of wind. We’ve all be for walks on the beach when the wind is really blowing hard and felt the sting of the sand on our legs. It’s not pleasant. What if your day is windy like this?
The ever changing ocean is part of it’s mystery and attraction, however this isn’t ideal when it comes to planning a day in the future. You simple can’t tell if the waves are going to be huge and crashing or small and an almost flat ocean. Even on the quietest days when the ocean seems more like a lake than an ocean the sound is surprisingly louder than you realise. This makes hearing the speaker for your music and speech difficult to hear. On a day when the ocean is really pumping, hearing becomes almost impossible even with today’s powerful speakers.
Ensure sunscreen and hats or umbrellas have been provided for your guests to protect them from the sun.
Of course, the other element is a social one. You may get passers by sticking around uninvited to watch the ceremony and, as it is a public beach, you, I nor anyone else has the legal right to ask them to move on. Even worse, you could get some people decide this would be a funny time to be in the background to ruin shots, however I haven’t seen this happen personally I have heard of it occurring.
Unlikely, but it happened … (The Ugly)
An unlikely, but possible consideration (which I was there and saw happen), was one of the wedding rings at the point of exchange was dropped in the sand!
Now, as soon as it was dropped there wasn’t too much concern, we could see almost the exact spot it dropped. Everyone assumed it would be a simple case of just picking it up.
Not so. The groom and all his groomsmen got down on hands and knees desperately digging for the elusive ring to no avail! It was horrifying knowing the value of the ring that had been lost! After a good 10 minutes of searching the ceremony had to continue without the ring. The spot was marked and later a professional metal detection service was hired who sadly also was unable to locate the ring!
I’m happy to help you beach or not!
Whilst the list of considerations against a beach wedding is a little longer, it doesn’t mean I don’t love them. If you are lucky and all the elements go in your favour then a beach wedding is perfect. I recommend to my couples that if they are the type that wants to have a day where everything goes right, then a beach wedding is throwing far too much uncertainty into their day and to reconsider another ceremony location option.
However, if my couple are the type to roll with the punches and laugh off adversity then a beach wedding could be just the ticket as they are more happy to throw caution to the wind and let the cards fall where they may.
Whatever your ceremony location, I would love to chat with you about YOUR special day and how I can create a ceremony unique and personalised for you.
Warmly,
Nik Reeds
Civil Marriage Celebrant
