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If you have never attended a beach wedding but you’ve received an invitation, you might be bewildered by how to go about selecting appropriate beach wedding clothes. Most weddings are either formal or dressy, but now you’ve been invited to a wedding where the ceremony is on the beach!

Guys might wonder whether they should wear beach shorts with tropical prints or go more formal with designer silk suits. And is it better to neatly comb your hair, or let it be wild and tangled like a surfer’s? Ladies can also have questions about wedding beach clothes. Would a pair of flip-flops be right, or should you wear the $500 red Prada pumps you save for special occasions? Typically, a beach wedding is less formal than a more traditional church wedding. Beach attire for a seaside wedding normally is more casual too.

Some wedding guests are fortunate and receive invitations with hints about what they should wear. If your invitation didn’t give you a clue, send the bride and groom a quick email asking for their suggestions before you start planning your beach wedding clothes. They will probably suggest some type of upscale beach attire, but no matter what they recommend, they’ll appreciate your concern and the indication that you are planning to attend.

If you’re still unclear after you ask, here are some guidelines to help you:

Men’s Wedding Beach Clothing: You can forget about wearing black beach wedding clothes. Black is usually reserved for the groom (although this rule isn’t quite as strictly followed as the rule that says white is reserved for brides). A white cotton shirt with a button-down collar is usually safe for a less formal ceremony when it’s paired with dress slacks.

If you’d feel more comfortable in a suit, go with linen slacks and jacket in a lighter color with a casual, striped shirt underneath – this will give you an air of relaxed formality and help you strike the perfect balance between casual and dressy. If you want to be more adventurous (or beachy) go with well-tailored cotton, linen or silk-blend draw-string pants or shorts and a tropical-print silk shirt.

For footwear, leather sandals are a good choice (though you want to make sure they’re open enough to let the sand out). Leather flip-flops work well too. It can be fine to even go barefoot, although that depends on how formal the occasion is and exactly what you’re wearing (you wouldn’t want to go shoeless if you were sporting an expensive linen suit).

Women’s Wedding Beach Clothing: Never out-dress the bride. You don’t want to upstage the star of the show. Formal weddings give you more opportunity to dress up. If the ceremony will be casual, the sort of beach attire you’d wear at an upscale resort would be your best choice. Tropical destinations almost beg for lightweight cotton or rayon skirts. Match one of these skirts with an island-style cotton or rayon top in bright, primary colors, and the look you achieve will be perfect. Jersey dresses, when they’re well tailored, are another good choice.

As for length, a shorter dress or skirt will be best on the wedding beach. Try to avoid wearing a long dress and high heels, because these can make walking through deep sand almost impossible. Add some chic, subdued “bling” like a bracelet, necklace and earrings with an island or beach theme and you’re almost there.

To complete the look, wear sandals or dressy flip-flops with pretty painted toe-nails. If you’d rather go barefoot, wear a toe ring, ankle bracelet or barefoot sandals. Foot jewelry works particularly well if it is crafted from coral, shells or other items that show off your beach wedding clothes.

BeachWeddingMagic helps soon-to-be-married couples create their own magical on beach wedding. Visit BeachWeddingMagic.com for expert how tos on beach wedding clothes, decorations, flowers, invitations and much more.

You might be planning a beach wedding, or perhaps you’re simply planning to use a beach theme for your wedding arrangements. Either way, it makes perfect sense to please your guests by giving them appropriate wedding favors. Beach themed wedding favors that match up with the romance of your seaside setting are best. They enhance your wedding’s ambiance and will become a tasteful memento from your ceremony. Your wedding day will be fondly brought to mind whenever a guest sees your favor in their home.

Of course you want to please your wedding guests, but you don’t want to overextend your budget either. Read this article to help you choose attractive wedding favors with a beach theme that are easy on the pocket.

Placing a votive candle inside a small beach bucket or pail creates a simple but appropriate seaside wedding favor. To make these favors, you need to buy plastic beach pails. They can easily be found in hobby shops, so buy several in various colors. Also buy some colored sand while you’re at the hobby shop. Fill each bucket about one-quarter full with colored sand, then set a votive candle into the sand. After you tie a brightly colored ribbon around the bucket you’re finished! These beach wedding favors are both simple to make and inexpensive, but they also perfectly reflect the ambiance of your ocean-side wedding. Your friends and loved ones will think of your ceremony fondly whenever they see them in their home.

Seashells are another tasteful, inexpensive choice for wedding favors with a beach theme. Hobby shops, craft shops and party supply stores carry unbroken shells. You want shells which are all roughly the same size. While you are still in the store, also pick up some inexpensive fishing net material. Cut the fishing net into small squares and place a few seashells in the middle of each one. Pull each square’s corners together and then tie up the corners with a piece of pink, blue or coral colored silk ribbon to create attractive favors. Your wedding guests will cherish them.

You can also use magnets with a beach-related shape and design to make lovely favors for your beach wedding. Use magnets shaped like seashells, starfish, palm trees or some other object that evokes your seaside location. Your guests will probably prominently display your favors on their refrigerators. They’ll see your favors daily and will be reminded of your wedding day.

An alternative style of favor for a beach ceremony is place-card holders. Place-card holders can brighten the atmosphere of your reception and also give your guests a keepsake. Wedding and gift shops typically sell inexpensive place-card holders in the shape of sailboats, starfish, seashells, dolphins and others. Place these on tables at your reception to hold cards with your guests name and table number. Back home, your guests can insert a picture and use the place-card holder as a fun, hip alternative to a more traditional picture frame. Guests will appreciate having a practical use for these wedding favors and they will be reminded of your wedding often.

For practical, inexpensive favors, beach themed bookmarks top the list. Look for something durable and chic like plastic or chrome bookmarks instead of simple paper. Bookmarks topped by palm trees, starfish or even flip flops are easy to find and perfectly match your beach wedding theme. Bookmark favors are practical, too, and guests who love to read will especially appreciate receiving them. The bookmark will be even more treasured if you place it in a small album of photos from your wedding or a book of romantic poems.

BeachWeddingMagic helps soon-to-be-married couples create their own magical on beach wedding. Visit BeachWeddingMagic.com for tips and how tos on wedding favors, beach themed, wedding cakes, decorations, wedding planners and much more.

For some reason I was always a little unsure of whether I would get married when I grew up. I had no idea why, but those feelings lingered on through the years. I had learned to live with it, and chose a career that I guess subconsciously compensated for it I had decided to become a professional wedding planner. I learned the business by working with a reputable one more than five years. I was very good at turning plans into reality: I could visualize what people wanted, and I could convince them into what might be better for them with them thinking it was all their doing.

Eventually it was time for me to start my own business. That “eventually” came when my oldest friend, Jana, asked me to plan her wedding. She told me, “It’s you, or me …” I really had little choice. If I let her do it, it would definitely fall under the heading of “Bloopers.” Her family had to budget for it, but they were determined to give their daughter a wedding as beautiful as the rising sun when it shimmers on the horizon. Brother, did I have my work cut out for me … this would be as much Jana’s wedding as it would be my entree into the society of wedding planners.

Over the years I had built a viable and quite enviable network within the business. Because our work covered the broadest and most detailed spectrum of wedding planning, I had made several friends who specialized in one – sometimes more – area of the business. Even more important, I had bent over backwards to accommodate their occasional nuances and boundaries. I was going to be on the phone for quite a while enlisting their help. After all, it was going to be like me vicariously getting married alongside Jana. And, the best way to advertise and market oneself in this kind of business is by word-of- mouth.

Jana’s favorite colors were ivory and ice pink; and Mercer’s, her finance, was copper. Jana loved crystals and the colors they radiated; and I knew just the flower specialist who could and would give me a great deal on crystal lotus flowers. Two decisions made: the flowers and the overall color theme. I had family in the printing business: invitations taken care of too. There was a local – very talented – band called the Crystol Lights. That would take a bit more work. Off hand, I didn’t have any contacts there, but you never know. I had worked with a truly nice caterer on many occasions that had connections with the owner of a private country club with a divine space to have a wedding: catering done and venue 90% done. I’d work with Jana and Mercer on the menu, and then finalize it with the caterer. It was all coming together: my future jobs should be so uncomplicated. Once I arranged all that, it would be easier to deal with other incidentals that came along.

Later that afternoon, I showed Jana some pictures of crystal lotus flowers: she started crying and thanking me. I hugged her and told her that I wanted as beautiful a wedding for her as I would have for myself. She started to cup her hands together though I’m not exactly sure why, but the gesture, the image, gave me thought to her wedding favors. They would be a simple but lovely hand palm up with a crystal lotus flower resting in it. And yup … I knew just the person who could design and model one for her and he knew who to tap to have them made up: and, he owed me big time. I told Jana, and guess what … more tears but with smiles.

It was going to be a fantastic wedding, Jana was going to shine, Mercer was going to fall in love with her all over again. They were going to be on cloud nine, and I was going to be exhausted and resting on cloud eight. This was going to be their “once in a lifetime” day, and it was my wedding gift to them.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for unique wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.