Happy Monday and Happy Memorial Day to all of those fans in the USA! Hope you are having a great weekend!


This week we decided to go with a Beach Wedding. Different from the Nautical Wedding in quite a few ways, we wanted to show how you can incorporate the sand and the sea with beach touches and not boating touches.
First up...the Invitations!

 First up are these handmade paper invitations from PassionPaper.com. Simple yet luxurious! These are really feminine invitations that would set the mood for a very elegant occasion.

If you are looking for something more gender neutral then these gorgeous invitations from hanahouproductions.com may just fit the bill! With a real sand dollar in the center of the boxed invites these are sure to Wow your guests and it definitely sets the scene for a beachy wedding.

 If you plan to get married ON a beach, not just overlooking one, then this is a wonderful idea. Walking on the sand in heels is a very hard thing to do and a lot of people are not comfortable, especially in formal wear, kicking off their shoes. This boardwalk makes it easy for everyone to get to their seats or to the head of the aisle.

But if you are going for a more casual feel to your ceremony and have invited everyone to kick off their shoes, including you and your Groom, then this is a gorgeous way to go. Using flower balls, drift wood, large shells and a layer of white sand for your aisle runner, this aisle makes a bold, elegant statement!

 Flowers for a beach wedding can be everything from a full bouquet made from shells to something like this gorgeous bouquet from Daren Fong which is just accented with shells and an elegant starfish broach.

We fell in love with this boutineer from Creative Bridal Solutions. Very simple, very elegant and very beachy at the same time!

 A sand ceremony is a wonderful way to include other family members, especially if you have children. Each member gets their own color of sand to pour into the keepsake container...

Then you have a gorgeous keepsake to spotlight in your home. This particular set was topped with a votive candle which makes the sand glow. This is my own personal sand sculpture with each of our kids pouring a bit of colored sand in for our renewal ceremony.

Little touches, like this Beach Wedding sign, are a great way to add special details to your wedding ceremony. In fact you could use this as just one of many signs pointing the way to the ceremony, the cocktail hour, the reception, the bar, etc. Really cute idea using drift wood for this project!

And speaking of signs...how cute would it be to take a photo as Husband and Wife with your own shades on while holding this sign! Totally adorable!

 Onto the reception! And what a great way to let your guests know which table is theirs but to write their names/table numbers on sand dollars or shells. These have ribbons attached so your guests can use these as home or holiday decor after your wedding!

Or use pretty paper cards and put them into shell place card holders set into a bed of sand then...

use the same place card holder style for your tables to let your guests know which seat at the table is theirs.

 The canopy idea is wonderful if your reception is up on a bluff over the beach. It shades your guests but also adds a lot of charm to your decor.

Beach dining is becoming a special touch that many couples are deciding upon for their receptions. Using tall wooden poles set deep into the sand, this look includes twinkle lights and a hanging light fixture to really make it elegant.

 There are several wonderful ways to set a table using shells and flowers...or omit the flowers completely! I love how they submerged the shells in water in these trifle bowls and added floating candles. 

Or you can add flowers in a big way and accent them with shell or beach themed details like these ceramic coral based vases filled with shells and water and topped with floating candles. Lovely.

 Do you want a really unusual guest book!?! Yup, a surfboard! Have it painted with your names and wedding date and then leave out sharpie markers for your guests to sign their names. What a wonderful keepsake!

Beach favors are pretty easy to find online. Everything from candles to bottle openers, wine stoppers and chocolate shells. We really fell in love with these stoppered sand and shell decorations from YourUltimateWedding.com

 Finally there's the Cake! I'm featuring two of my own designs this week. The light blue and navy blue confection above is decorated with edible rope trim and chocolate shells on a bed of cookie crumb sand.

If you are not a fondant fan then maybe this buttercream Ocean Dreams cake would fit the bill. Covered in piped buttercream and decorated with edible handpainted shells, starfish and sand dollars as well as poured sugar coral. Just enough for 30 guests but you could make this same style in a tiered cake if your guest list is a large one.


Hope you enjoyed our trip to the beach! Next week we'll be spotlighting another birthday idea!


Cat