By Clive West
A beach wedding is often seen as the most romantic way of getting married but, before you take the plunge and commit to making those vows in some faraway place, think about some of the consequences. Here are ten things to ponder upon when considering a beach wedding.
Unless you are planning a very private and small wedding, your guests will also have to travel to your chosen destination for your beach wedding. Many people will find this difficult from a point of view of finding the time and also because it is likely to work out very expensive for them - especially if they just stay a day or two.
On the same theme, some guests - eg disabled or elderly may not be able to travel for a beach wedding and children may be too young for a long flight or have school commitments. Children may also not be welcome if the resort is purpose-made for couples.
No matter how you time the beach wedding or where you locate it, there are going to be many guests who just cannot make it and, even if they did, the hotel will probably not be able to accommodate them.
With a 'local' wedding, the bride and groom will have a chance to meet the main service providers - eg caterer, musicians, photographer, priest (or registrar) and so on. With a beach wedding, these people will be assigned by the hotel or travel company and their standards or style may not meet the couple's expectations. Enjoy it now, pay later
Because the beach wedding is going to be so far away, there will be no opportunity for 'dry-runs'. Everything will literally be live and unrehearsed - this will make for a much more tense ceremony than if it had been possible to rehearse it all beforehand.
With the hotel or travel company assigning all of the services and facilities for your beach wedding, there is considerable opportunity for many additional fringe charges to creep in. The couple will be a captive audience - there are no alternatives and, on the day itself, it is going to be easier to agree and worry about the cost later than to appear to be mean in front of the guests while you argue about what is and isn't included.
Although the beach wedding ceremony and reception should be an enjoyable event, one of the great pleasures of the day is the escape. Getting into that car and driving off; exhausted, relieved its over, slightly the worse for wear and looking forward to your new life together. With a beach wedding, you are already on honeymoon and there is nowhere else to go. Next morning, you will meet your hungover guests and family members over breakfast and, later, over dinner.
Even if you have the reception before going off for your beach wedding, you can be sure that the hotel will have made it public knowledge that you are newly-weds. Nods, smiles, knowing winks and pointed questions will mean you are 'on show' for the duration of your honeymoon.
Many beach wedding resorts don't just offer beach weddings, they specialise in them. As a result, the services may be rushed and the performers appear jaded.
With more weddings every day, your own beach wedding may lose some of its magic as the resort begins to look grubby and the ceremony appear to be more of a production line than the special occasion it should be. Many couples do have a lovely and highly memorable ceremony and honeymoon - there is no reason why you can't have that too. Just bear in mind these points when planning your beach wedding.
Clive West has been married to his wife, Damaris, for 18 years. They are retired now and live in Central Italy where they are modernising a rebuilt Umbrian farmhouse. You can see more about living in Italy or other free helpful guides on their websites.
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