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Beach Wedding Ideas on a Budget

Tulika Nair
Organizing a beach wedding? Use some of these ideas to cut down on those huge bills that you may have staring at you at the end of the ceremony.
Maybe it is the influence of the many romantic comedies that feature beach weddings like, 27 Dresses, and The Shrink is In, or maybe it is just the logical culmination of lifelong dreams that people have of getting married at their favorite vacation spot.
Whatever the reason, beach weddings have seen a surge in popularity in the recent past. Many people are opting for seaside weddings to give their special day a touch of the exotic.
While many people think that a beach wedding will always translate into having to bankrupt yourself of all your savings, this may not be necessary.
There are many ideas that you can use to save money. Your wedding does not have to be synonymous with extravagant expenditure. It can be as stylish and elegant as you want it to be even if it is on a minimalist budget. Here are some awesome ideas about it.

Simple Yet Effective Ideas
While planning your wedding, the first thing that you need to pay attention to, is the venue. Having a wedding on the beach means you need to decide on which beach you are getting married at. Zero in on a beach that is not too far away from your residence.
This will save you a lot of time and money, as far as traveling is concerned. One of the ideas that you can use, is to rent a beach house at the location that you have decided. This will cut down your costs drastically where hotel expenses are concerned.
You could stay at a beach house before the wedding and use it for all the planning while using it as the venue for your reception. Before executing this plan, find out if you need a permit for the venue you have decided on. Once you have taken care of the details, your venue will be all set for d-day. This is the best way to cut costs for your wedding.
Another important consideration would be the guest list. It is always a good idea to have the wedding ceremony in the presence of a few close friends and family members. Stick to a guest list that comprises people you are in constant contact with.
A wedding with a lot of guests may also cause logistical issues. Restricting your guest list allows you to save on the cost of wedding invitations. With a beach wedding you can afford to opt for casual invitations. This idea can save you a lot of money. If you have a graphic designer friend, you could ask him to design your invitations, and print them out.
You can also save a lot of money on the decorations by choosing DIY or minimal decorations. When you have the sea serving as a backdrop for your wedding, you cannot exaggerate the setting with decorations.
Keep it minimalistic with silver painted stakes driven into the ground serving as the fencing for the aisle and candles at the end to highlight the same.
An evening wedding can be lit perfectly with tiny fairy lights, entwined around the picket fence for a soft romantic glow. You can match the colors of the fairy lights and the stakes, to the beach wedding colors that you have picked out
If you opt to have the wedding in the twilight hours, you can save money on a tent. This is one of the ideas that will save you hundreds and thousands of dollars. Rent chairs for the guests, and arrange the sitting area yourself. You can rent a canopy if you are worried about untimely rain showers. Use candles inside hurricane lamps to light up the area.
One of the main expenses at any wedding is the reception, and you can save money on the reception by hosting it at either the beach house that you have rented, or by having a simple yet elegant wine and cake reception at the beach itself. You could alternatively opt for a local catering company to provide the food, if your budget allows for it.
Lastly, using these ideas does not necessarily mean that your wedding will not be stylish or elegant. In fact, some of the classiest weddings can be organized on some of the most minuscule budgets. You only need to plan it right.