Beach Wedding Invitations

Is your aisle going to be covered in sand? Are you saying “I do” in a tropical paradise? Do you plan on having a luau at your reception? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then beach wedding invitations might be the best choice for you. Let's talk a little more about the beach theme.

Basics of Beach Wedding Invitations

Before we talk about when you might want to choose beach wedding invitations, let's talk about when you wouldn't. Basically, if you are having a formal or even a semi-formal wedding, you should stick with traditional invitations. Remember the golden rule of invitations is to choose a style that matches the tone of your ceremony. You don't want your guests to arrive expecting something casual only to find something more formal.

With that said, beach wedding invitations are appropriate for weddings that are going to be casual or informal. However, your invitations should also reflect your theme. If you want beach-themed invitations, then beaches should somehow be connected to your wedding.

You can work in that beach theme in a couple of ways. The most obvious way is to get married on a beach. More couples are opting for this choice, especially since celebrities have been enjoying high-profile beach weddings. Anna Nicole Smith and her lawyer, Howard K. Stern, were married on the beach of Sandy Cay in the Bahamas while Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock tied the knot on a yacht just off of Saint-Tropez. Either couple could have sent out beach-themed invitations.

Another reason to choose this style of wedding invitation is that you are having a destination wedding some place tropical. With the cost of weddings ranging between $20,000 and $25,000, destination weddings are just as economically feasible, even if you choose to fly in a few friends and family members. You can also use the beach theme for your wedding announcements – you'll probably be sending out more of these than invitations.

Finally, you might choose to have a beach-themed reception. Some couples choose a more traditional approach for their ceremony but want something more unique for the reception. We'll talk more about some ideas for this type of reception later in the article.

Beach Invitation Ideas

If you do decide to use beach invitations for your wedding, you have almost complete creative freedom because there are numerous ways to incorporate this theme. It all depends on the look you're after and on how much you'll be able to spend.

One of the most affordable ways to capture that beach feel is with the color of the paper. Blue paper, either in a light shade like the sky or a darker color like the water, can be a beautiful backdrop. Pastel yellow resembling sunshine is another good choice.

If you want a more obvious beach-theme on your invitations, then find a photograph of a beach or tropical getaway and include it on the cover of your invitations. You could also work with a graphic designer about creating wedding invitations shaped like beach items, including palm trees, coconuts, waves, sea gulls, seashells, etc. This might cost a little more, but the creative results might be worth the investment.

You could also choose paper that is pre-printed with beach-related images, such as a pair of swimming turtles, tropical flowers, palm trees, or a boat.

Beach Wedding & Reception Ideas

If you're interested in having beach wedding invitations, but you don't know how to incorporate that theme in your wedding and/or reception, there are some ideas you can consider. Even if you don't live near a beach, you could get married around a swimming pool or you can create a faux beach by bringing in sand and some fake palm trees. Your wedding favors could be seashells, small bottles of suntan lotion, seahorse-shaped soaps, and more.

With your wedding reception, you could have beach-themed foods or decorations. Anna Nicole Smith's reception included apple cider and fried chicken, for example. You don't have to be that casual, but you could have a luau, serve hot dogs and sno cones, or have a surf and turf menu. If you want to be even more casual, you could forgo tables and spread picnic blankets on the ground where people can eat.

Decorations could include shells, tropical flowers in vases and pots, travel posters of tropical locations, and tiki torches. Even your entertainment could keep with the beach theme: you could have your deejay play songs associated with the beach or the summer, hold your reception around at a pool and let your guests go swimming, or hire Hawaiian dancers to perform the hula dance (Hawaiian Wedding Invitations Theme).