Happy Monday! This week on our Facebook Fan Site we are talking about Destination Weddings. One of the favorite types of Destination Weddings is the Tropical Wedding. Whether you are thinking of Hawaii, Tahiti or the Bahama's we have some ideas for your day.

Blue and white is probably the most common color palette for a beach wedding. These very elegant invitations from weddingpaperdivas.com are only about $1.74 each and really capture the feel of the shoreline and water of the tropical locale.

But if you are looking to go another direction you can always go towards the colors of the sand and go with an invitation such as these from Weddingpaperdivas.com for only $1.64 each. Still Tropical in feel but more color neutral.

For those who are a bit more adventurous you can always go with these fun Air Mail type invitations. Check out Etsy for the different available styles. These set the mood for a Destination Wedding without giving away your decor for when they get there. 

 Beach weddings have the advantage of the trees, sand and ocean as their stunning backdrop. This means you need to do very little yourself to have a stunning wedding look. Little touches such as this sign/entry way and the chiffon chair ties add just that little bit extra that makes it stand out as your wedding.

Not fond of the toes in the sand idea? Lots of the hotels have overlook decks where you can be married on the deck, next to the infinity pool and surrounded by trees on one side and the ocean as your backdrop.

Either way remember that your dress and your 'maids dresses need to work with the locale. Big Princess type dresses with long trains will end up sandy and dirty looking by the time you reach the head of the aisle. So think flowing but not trailing for your dress and for theirs consider either a wrap dress which echos the look of the islands or even a shorter dress so they don't have to worry about sand in their hems.

Another welcome touch for your wedding party and your guests, consider putting together a big bucket of flip flops to make getting around on the sand during the ceremony a bit easier. Just pick out an assortment of sizes or actually ask your guests what size they wear and include a little name tag on each pair.

Whenever traveling to the islands it's best to use local flowers for your wedding bouquets and boutonnières. These Heliconia would look stunning in any bouquet and would work very well for the boutonnières as well.

 Orchids are very popular for island weddings for good reason. They are a sturdy flower that's both beautiful and fragrant that works very well in all types of arrangements.

My favorite island flower is the Plumeria. They come in many different colors from all white to white and yellow, to white with yellow and orange to pink. A Bridal Lei of these would be an amazing touch to your wedding day. And don't forget that mini leis for your table would be a gorgeous way of tying your ceremony and reception together.

 Seating cards are always fun for those of us in the Planning biz. We are always trying to come up with new and unusual ways of presenting this teeny bit of information. I love the way they used the "message in a bottle" idea for these seating cards. 

But if you are more traditional then how about these cute little tags snuggled into a tray of sand. They still follow the beach theme but make it a bit easier to find the guests name and table.

 Flowers on the table doesn't mean it has to cost you a lot of money. You can use just one stunning bloom along with a pillar candle and some beach "debris" such as drift wood, rocks and shells.

 You can keep your "debris" in a gorgeous glass centerpiece bowl and leave the flowers behind. Adding some shells or something like these ceramic starfish ornaments to the napkins just continues your theme elegantly. They also can be your wedding favors for your guests!

The big issue with the last centerpiece is what do you do with it when the party is over. You are thousands of miles from home so it doesn't make it an easy thing to do. So either you rent the bowls and return them or go with a smaller idea such as these colorful small vases with a few flowers tucked inside and a large shell at it's base. Remember you still have the sea, the trees and the sand as part of your backdrop so you don't need much to continue your theme to your tables.

Favors for a Destination Wedding can be anything from something small and edible, a more expensive keepsake or you can arrange to have a basket of favors waiting in each guests hotel room welcoming them to the Islands and thanking them for traveling all that way just for you. Single favors run anywhere from $2 to $10 depending on what you are purchasing. A basket like this one from abcstores.com runs about $20 per family. This one gives them 3 keepsakes to take home with them, the lei, the mug and the basket will all remind them of your wonderful tropical wedding.

And, finally, there is cake! Just because you are having a Destination Wedding with just a few guests, doesn't mean you can't have a gorgeous cake. This cake from Cat's Cakes features hand painted sugar shells, starfish and sand dollars along with poured sugar coral. A showstopper for your small wedding and a wonderful way to add to your wedding palette and decor.

Next week I'll bring you a Rustic Country Wedding. I found so many really great ideas I might have to make it a two part series!

Cat