6 Tips for a Beach Bride

Having your wedding at the beach? Or thinking about making your beach dream a reality?

As a fellow beach bride (married 1.7.23 in St. John USVI), I am so happy with some of the choices I made for the big day. I didn’t want my wedding theme to scream “beach,” but I wanted to incorporate it as much as I could.

I’ll share my top tips from nail color to table decor, for your wedding day by the sea:

Getting Ready Robe: Etsy – BellaDonnaUa

Your robe is key to looking and feeling your best while getting ready. If your destination will include hot temperatures, I have the perfect robe for you. I wore this on my wedding day as the sun was its usual Caribbean self, so it was important I wasn’t sweating my makeup off after it was just applied. I needed it to be light, and of course, beautiful.

I can’t explain how much I loved this robe. Not only did I receive so many compliments, but I felt like my best self in it. It was light, had sparkles and feathers, had a train, and gave me ocean wave vibes.

The Etsy shop owner asked me for my exact measurements so it would fit me perfectly.

2. Classy, Neutral Nails

I wanted to include the nail color I had for my wedding because I loved it so much. It was natural, had sparkle to it, and gave me major beach vibes. I thought it was a classier option than white/pearl, and more natural than pink. It matched everything while still giving me a bridal feel.

3. Instead of table numbers, use nearby beaches as table names

I did this for our reception tables, and it was a hit. Our seating chart had guests’ names under the beach name, and beach names sitting in our florals on the tables. My sister had the table names custom made, and they were beautiful.

We used the main beach names nearby our venue (and even had cocktail hour on one of them!) This is such a unique idea to incorporate your beautiful local wedding area.

Examples listed below:

4. Buy your wedding dress secondhand

If you’re having a destination wedding, you’re probably like me, who doesn’t like to sweat the small stuff. I know that your wedding dress is so important, but it is only for a day! If you’re going to be in the sand, dancing, drinking, and even taking a dip in the ocean…who cares about the dress! Buy it secondhand so you don’t have to worry about getting it dirty.

My dress was $250 from a consignment store and it fit me perfectly, so I was extremely lucky. I ended my wedding day with a couple pounds of sand in the mesh lining of my dress. It was so dirty from walking on the street, the beach, and from the water. On top of that, I had about 5 guests spill their drinks on me at the reception. Find something that makes you feel beautiful, but doesn’t make you limit yourself on your big day.

5. Incorporate local flowers in your bouquet

Since I was in St. John (USVI), I wanted to have bougainvilleas in my bouquet! They are all over the island and bring such a fun pop of color. I will always hold them in a special place in my heart.

6. Buy a Polaroid for your wedding reception and use it as your guest book

I bought a Polaroid camera off of Amazon, along with a photo book. It was one of the best decisions I made. I loved the photographer, but the Polaroid pictures were candid and funny, and it makes a great coffee table photo book.

One of my bridesmaids assigned herself to the camera and made sure every guest had their picture taken for the guest book, and they wrote notes on the bottom of the photos. The bartenders were having fun with it, and guests took a picture for themselves to take home.

I wanted an elevated look to the camera, so I ordered this one from Amazon: