IF YOU are considering a beach wedding, the ideas are as endless as your imagination!

One thing about choosing a beach wedding theme is that it allows you total creative freedom. Depending on the time of day, the beach itself can set the mood. At sunrise or sunset, it is a place of serenity, beauty and romance. Mid-day, it is the hub of excitement, activity, and fun. By nature, a beautiful scene has already been set for you. There is no need for many decorations! Are you planning an intimate wedding with just a few guests? Let the beach help you set the stage for your romantic wedding ideas with a dawn or dusk seaside ceremony.

The sunrise or sunset will provide a spectacular background for your wedding photos. On the other hand, if you want to "tell the world" and have a large gathering of people, consider a mid-summer day "beach-side bash" or fantasy beach wedding that includes your guests. That's the fun part of a beach wedding - your guests can participate. Everyone has fun!

Here are a few ideas to get you started...

• Be Cinderella with your Prince Charming. Have him place the "glass slipper" that fits on your foot as a symbol of your perfect union. You could hire a professional sand sculptor to build a beautiful sand castle as a background for your fairytale theme. Leave in a horse drawn carriage.
• Have a Pirate Wedding. Rent costumes and decorate with treasure chests fake gold coins and jewelry. Have a real treasure hunt. When you leave, sail off into the sunset.
• How about an "I Dream of Jeannie" beach wedding theme? Decorate with pretty, colorful bottles in the sand like the one she was found in. At the end of the day, disappear in a cloud of smoke!
• A Western beach wedding theme would be fun! Many beaches allow horseback riding. The reception could be a good old fashioned fireside "camp out" under the stars. Leave on horseback.
• Have a Rainbow Wedding. Create a rainbow to wed under out of brightly colored helium filled balloons tied together. Hold them down with the "pots of gold" at each end. Have everyone bring a colored umbrella to decorate the aisle with. Great back plan up in case it rains!
• Butterfly weddings are popular. Shades of yellow and orange with butterflies woven amongst the flowers in your tiara and bouquet would be beautiful. Use butterflies as boutonnieres for the guys.
• A Surfing theme would be neat. Of course surf boards and "The Beach Boys" come to mind here!

By the way...

Don't rule out you beach wedding ideas because you don't live near an ocean. The definition of a "beach" is - "the shore of a body of water, especially if sandy or pebbly". That includes lakes and rivers. For that matter, you may have a "beach" right by your swimming pool. There are no rules. Be creative! It is your beach wedding...it can be anything you want it to be - wherever you want it to be! Most of all, have fun! weddingflowers101