Planning Your Florida Beach Wedding?
Thank you Nancy J. Taussig, a wonderful Civil Wedding Officiant from Barefoot Weddings for sharing some wonderful tips with us!
What better personifies a wedding in paradise than a barefoot wedding on the beach at sunset? Here are some tips for planning your special day. Keeping these suggestions in mind will make your barefoot wedding memorable for everyone.
To get a Florida marriage license (approx. $95), go to any county courthouse in the state at least 3 days in advance (if you are a Fla. resident) and no more than 60 days in advance. Non-residents do not have the 3-day waiting period. License must be returned to courthouse within 10 days after the wedding. There are courthouses in downtown Sarasota and downtown Bradenton.
- Set a tentative date and make sure your ceremony and reception locations and officiant of choice are available. If so, nail down that date. Then make the rest of your plans – accommodations, photographer, videographer, musicians, florist, limo, cake, caterer, décor, hair & make-up, and planner if it gets too overwhelming!
- Depending on location, you may require a permit from local government Parks & Recreation Dept.
- Although we are in paradise, keep weather in mind when deciding between elegantly formal or beachy casual. For a large portion of the year, the beach is an awfully hot place to be wearing a tux or suit. On the flip side, it does sometimes get too chilly for that strapless bridal dress. In the event of rain, a possible backup location could be your reception site. Alert your guests, especially out-of-towners, as to what the weather may be. They’ll want sunglasses or hats and it will get cooler after the sun sets. Make sure hairstyles will hold up to humidity and breezes. And remember – no sunglasses on the wedding party.
- High heels on the beach are not a good idea – they’ll sink into the sand and possibly be ruined. Wear flats, sandals, or better yet, go barefoot! Just don’t forget a pedicure – guys, too. Yes, this barefoot look even works with a tux and formal gown. Speaking of gowns, avoid a train that will get dragged through the sand.
- The beach is usually breezy and most couples would not consider it a good omen if their Unity candle were blown out. You may want to substitute my unity sand ceremony or other family unity ceremony.
- Seashells or flowers can decorate your “aisle” in the sand. Carry the theme through your reception and maybe even onto your cake.
- Some musicians are willing to play at beach ceremonies. Stringed instruments and flutes are popular, easily transportable, and don’t require electricity.
- Consider your guests’ ability to walk across large stretches of loose sand – you may need to hold the ceremony closer to the dunes than to the water.
- Please don’t release balloons at the beach — they are an environmental hazard. Please don’t feed the seagulls.
- I usually schedule outdoor weddings for shortly before sunset for best weather and lighting, but officiate mornings, afternoons, and evenings, seven days a week.
Timeline and Wedding Photography – How much time is enough?
With all the information out there available to brides for planning weddings, I find it interesting that many brides contact me for capturing their wedding day, and are still unsure about how much coverage they want when I ask them. It’s okay, they don’t have to know right away off hand. But it is important that they know before going to contract with any photographer.
So how do you determine what you need or want in regards to photography coverage? How much of your day do you want captured…from beginning to end, or is it somewhere in between? I’ll give you a few things to think about to help you make that determination.
Many brides want those precious, exciting moments during the getting ready process…all the smiles, giggles, nerves, anticipation, and excitement of putting on the dress. This is really it! All those little moments that fly by so quickly are captured. So how much time should you plan for getting ready? Well, do you want me to come to the salon and capture your hair being done and make-up?I usually tell brides to plan on at least 2 hours of getting ready photos. Remember to pad your day heavily with extra time. There will be interruptions, and everything you plan will take at least 20-30 minutes longer…trust me.
Another important consideration when determining coverage time is whether the bride and groom want to have a First Look Session. The numbers are rising when it comes to couples choosing to have a First Look Session before the ceremony. A First Look Session gives the bride and groom the opportunity to have some alone time before the ceremony to get relaxed, pretty, intimate, romantic photos…no distractions from onlookers or pressure to hurry up in order to get to the reception. More and more couples are trending this way because they want the extra time for photos of just the two of them. These sessions last 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how many photographs the bride and groom want. Plus, there will need to be some “down” time before the ceremony to relax and freshen up.
If a First Look Session isn’t in the cards, then I highly recommend planning on getting some of the bridal party and family formals out of the way before the ceremony. Time needs to be set aside and scheduled for this so that this session is complete about a half an hour before the ceremony. Post ceremony there will still be some necessary family formals and wedding party shots taken, as well as time set aside to capture more beautiful photos of the bride and groom.
Now let’s talk about the reception. How much of the reception do you want captured? All of it? Or just through the cake cutting, bouquet toss, and garter toss? Are you planning a Grand Exit? Are the special traditions or activities during your reception that you want covered? How long will your reception last? I’ve had a few 5 hour receptions that also had a 1 hour cocktail portion for a total of 6 hours. In this instance 8 hours of coverage might not be enough.
When planning your timeline and photography coverage, it is important to have a realistic expectation for the timeline of your day. The unexpected can (and often does) happen…bringing some surprises to your day…some good, and some that eat up minutes of precious time. Padding each portion of the day with a little extra time will help create a more stress free environment for you, and also help you determine how much photography coverage you need. There’s nothing worse than realizing on your wedding day that you contracted for too little photography coverage. Does it happen frequently? No, but it has happened more than I would like to have happen.
So what is the norm? Most brides opt for 8 hours of coverage. They don’t want to feel rushed, (and to be honest, neither does your photographer). They do want getting ready shots, a First Look Session, pre-ceremony family formals, all the details, etc. It is all doable in 8 hours. Some brides opt for even more if they have a special breakfast or lunch to begin their day, a lot of travel time between the ceremony and reception venue, or a longer reception. And some brides opt for less. Whichever amount of photography coverage you choose, have a realistic expectation of the timeline of your day and you’ll know how much coverage you need. And when your big day arrives, I’ll be there to capture all those beautiful moments and turn them into beautiful captured memories!
Make sure your wedding officiant is Legal!
Thank you Carleen Ward Burns with “With This Ring“ wedding ceremonies for the tip!
I have come across an interesting conversation regarding being married by unlicensed officiant (be it a friend, a relative or anyone else) . I thought to myself, why not ask someone who does it on a daily bases and knows thing or two about legalities of marriages.
- It is illegal to impersonate an official and to pronounce a couple married without a license. They would also be committing fraud to ALL those that came to witness a wedding and by accepting gifts from said guests who were under the impression that a true wedding was taking place.
- Anytime an officiant marries a couple we are acting as officers of the court. The county/state gives us and judges (and sometimes JP or notaries, depending on the state) that power. It’s where the phrase “by the power vested in me” comes from…though I use a different ending.
- When marrying a couple, part of what makes it legal are asking their intentions or having them declare that this is who they want to marry (the vows) and then you must pronounce them. Once that is done, it is our legal obligation to have a license signed and returned. I have already explained the fraud.
- So, to boil it down, here’s what would be different. Both Bride, Groom and their friend would be sitting in jail. The friend would receive counts for impersonating an officer of the court, and for not returning a license, along with accomplice in the fraud. They would receive felony fraud charges based on the value of gifts received, and accomplice charges on the friend’s charges.
- As for “who would know?”. You and that friend would for starters. Whenever more than one knows anything, eventually everyone does. Do you really want to be “fake married” anyway? If something tragic happens, the other has no legal claim to anything. You deny the other death benefits, home, vehicles, insurance, etc. If you need a decision made about their care, you can’t do anything. It falls to next of kin. If the “marriage” fails, you have no claim to anything, either.