Affordable Beach Wedding Blog

If you are looking to create an affordable luxury wedding, you are already partway there. Since you have chosen a beach wedding, before you even lift a finger, you can rest assured that your ceremony venue is gorgeous. If it is in the Daytona area, you also already have a built-in honeymoon and extraordinary guest entertainment that only a Daytona area destination wedding can provide.

Now let’s talk attire. Have you ever considered a vintage wedding gown? A vintage wedding dress can provide silk, or lace and unsurpassed grace. They have become so popular, you can shop them in places as convenient as Etsy and Amazon where you’ll find everything from 1920 ostrich feathers, to beaded opulence, tulle cupcake tiers and ethereal renaissance. Flower girl, bridesmaid and mother of the bride dresses come in scads of vintage styles and colors too!

For the piece de resistance, some of the best advice for creating a beach wedding on a budget is to retain the services of a trusted and premier beach wedding planner such as Affordable Beach Wedding. Their extensive network and experience can not only save you money, but provide peace of mind, as well as the wedding of your dreams.

The consummate and reliable professionals at Affordable Beach Wedding have been planning beach weddings in the Central Florida area exceptionally well for quite a few years and they offer a wide range of wedding packages from modest to elaborate…at prices to meet every size wedding budget.

Price

In a world where gas and grocery prices continue to soar, it is no wonder micro weddings are growing in popularity. Why not create meaningful memories in an intimate setting with the people you love most…all while saving quite a bit of money? A smaller guest list translates into smaller costs for everything from your venue, to catering, décor and more…savings which can be used to create a more elaborate event, to pay for an extravagant honeymoon or to put toward your future.

Ease

It’s literally simple. Micro = more manageable. Decreasing the size of a wedding also decreases the amount of organization and preparation, as well as all of the associated stresses. So, go micro and relax and enjoy your wedding and the days leading up to it, as opposed to being overwhelmed with an enormous amount of details. You may even decide to use some of the money you save to hire a wedding planner, making your life even simpler and providing you with the peace of mind that one of the most important days of your life will be exactly as you dreamed it would.

Impact

Then, of course, there is the whole quality over quantity thing.  You don’t have to sacrifice style when you decrease size. In fact, with a wedding of 25 or 50 as opposed to 100 or 200, you can more easily afford to splurge on luxuries. You can add personal touches like customized gifts, comforts or amenities for your guests. Your dining experience can be lavish with dessert from your favorite French bakery instead of the requisite big cake. Plus, with a micro wedding, your celebration can be unique as you are. Instead of being relegated to some sort of huge ballroom or the like, choose from distinctive venues including private estates, exotic villas, boats, vineyards, boutique hotels, a museum or arboretum. Or maybe you lean more toward the simpler side and prefer a secluded beachside cove, a lovely English garden or even a backyard bonfire.

Convenience, ease, affordability and peace of mind…that’s why!

First of all, when you tap into the professional services of a reliable, proven wedding planner, you can rest assured that your special day will be a beautiful celebration full of everything you had hoped and that your guests will be competently accommodated. Choosing an all-inclusive wedding package, expertly executed by an experienced wedding planner also allows you to enjoy your wedding celebration instead of worrying about it. Imagine a professionally coordinated event instead of one for which you have to personally juggle a bunch of vendors and all the loose ends that accompany them.

With an all-inclusive wedding package, every aspect of your wedding day, from the theme and decorations, to the catering, cake, officiating, music and schedule of your day, will be handled by a single, trusted source and the cost of all of that will be one fixed price. In fact, through a well-established network of established vendors, an experienced wedding planner will most likely be able to package all of your wedding services more cost effectively than you ever could on your own…and you can put that savings toward your honeymoon or a downpayment on a house instead.

Plus, knowing that you have an all-inclusive wedding plan in place can simply greatly reduce your stress on a day you should thoroughly enjoy.

Unless you choose for your wedding to be an intimate event with only your very closest friends and/or family, it would be amazing to invite everyone you know and like, along with whomever they choose to bring as a guest. However, realistically, wedding guest lists aren’t typically that large because most of us are limited by the size of our budget and venue. So, how do you handle the whole plus-one issue the right way?

First of all, remember that your wedding is exactly that – YOUR wedding. So, although of course no one wants to offend anyone or ruffle any feathers, whatever you decide to do is perfectly acceptable.

If you do want to offer certain guests the option of bringing a plus-one, here are some thoughts on the subject that may help:

Aside from being undoubtedly close to you, your wedding party will probably invest quite a lot of their time and money for your wedding and leading up to the event. It would be a nice gesture to grant those folks a plus-one. It is also good to try to be consistent. For example, it wouldn’t really be good form to let only some people in your wedding party have a plus-one.

Family members and close friends are often given the option of a plus-one, but if you are not close to them or if other people they know will be there, a plus-one doesn’t necessarily have to be a given.

Most people should understand that “and guest” on a wedding invite means you get a plus-one. If you think those who do not get a plus-one might misunderstand, for your sake and theirs, it may be best to add a polite, but very clear explanation. Possibly something like, “Although we wish everyone we invite could bring a guest, we are restricted by budget and space. We hope you understand and look forward to celebrating our special day with you.”

Destination weddings beg for welcome bags as unique as they are. The first thing you may want to do, is to choose a reusable tote with which they can easily travel home. Then you can fill it with everything from local favorites, to items that tie into your wedding theme. Here are some interesting wedding welcome bag options to get your idea juices flowing…

If your wedding ceremony is on the beach, by all means go beachy with flip flops, sunglasses, sunscreen, trinkets made from seashells and maybe even a ball cap with your initials for memory sake.

A welcome bag full of local favorites is a great idea too, especially if your wedding is in world famous Daytona Beach or an adorable beachside town like New Smyrna Beach. Don’t forget the gift cards for an acai bowl in your preferred outdoor café or your local coffee or sandwich shop of choice.

Plus, of course Florida is famous for its citrus. So how about stuffing your welcome bags full of fresh, locally grown oranges and grapefruits?

Or fill it with a bunch of items that will make their hotel stay more comfortable, like fuzzy slippers, an eye mask for a good night’s sleep and a bunch of fancy toiletries…or go casual and pack it full of candy bars, pretzels, chips, sodas, waters, Tums and maybe even a monogrammed beer koozie.

Lean toward the luxurious with a bottle of bubbly and champagne flutes to welcome them with style. If your wedding is held at a winery, wine samples from that vineyard are perfect.

Matching everything to your wedding colors can be fun too. Don’t forget to include a note of thanks for their attendance including how much it means to you!

Every element of your wedding should be unforgettable, from your dress to your guestbook. Here are some wedding guestbook ideas that may make your wedding day even more memorable…

It is always nice to have your wedding guests leave a recorded message you can listen to long after your special day.

Or have your guests take an instant photo of themselves on which they can write a message. You will love looking back on these unique mementos which can be fashioned into scrapbook keepsake or a decorative display that’s just perfect for framing.

Speaking of framing, you can ask that your guests add their own signature strokes around artwork which is meaningful to you. It could be an artistry reminiscent of your travels, your pet, yourselves or say, if you met at college, it could be a visual representation of your alma mater.

What if your wedding guests wrote you notes they placed in a time capsule to be opened on your first wedding anniversary?

Or how about “Recipe for a Lifetime of Happiness Cards” on which guests submit their suggestions or well wishes for your long-term bliss?

Your wedding guests could sign quilt squares which you could make into a wedding quilt with sentiments to keep you both warm at night.

If you love wine or hold your wedding reception at a winery, it is nice to have your guests sign corks which you can place in a decorative bowl.

Or tie it into your favorite hobby. Love baseball? Have your guests sign a baseball or if game night is your thing, they could sign playing cards or Jenga blocks. Like to surf or kayak together? Have them sign your surfboard or a kayak paddle. You get the idea!