Happy Reflections of a Past Memory about the Beach

As a little girl, I loved the beach. I loved sitting on the beach just staring out at the ocean. I found it to be incredibly serene and powerful. I always imagined myself getting married on the beach. From the time I was 10 years old, I was determined that someday I would be having a beach wedding. I carried that idea with me all the way through my college years. When my boyfriend slipped a ring on my finger, it was not what type of groomsmen gifts he was buying for his groomsmen, but rather thinking ahead to how I was finally going to have my dream beach wedding.

My fiancé wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of a beach wedding. The closest beach to our hometown was three hours away. While I realized that having a beach wedding would mean it was limiting the number of guests that would actually attend, I was still determined. After debating for several months on setting a date, he was still not thrilled. However, since he knew that it would make me happy, he caved in. I was celebrating - my beach wedding would finally take place!

I found a lovely inn that was located directly on the beach. In order to have my wedding there, it was required that I reserve all of the guests rooms for the weekend. That wasn't very cheap but we were in love with the little inn, so we agreed. I was assigned a wedding coordinator who was more than happy to take control of my beach wedding plans as well as buying our groomsmen wedding party gifts. She began to go over lots of details with me that I had never thought about when it came to exchanging my vows on the sand. She said that I really should get married in the morning because of the position of the sun. No one wanted photos taken with everyone squinting and the sun being in our eyes the entire time not even with personalized pub signs in the way. Or, she said that it would have to be late evening since I had chosen the summer to get married. In the late evening, the sun wouldn't be much of an issue either. While I knew that there is usually always a breeze at the beach, I had not thought about that in regards to how it would affect a beach wedding. I hadn't thought about my hair blowing or my dress not staying in one place. I hadn't thought about the sand blowing around either. Because of all of the factors that had been brought to my attention, I had to adjust my thoughts on buying a dress and how I'd wear my hair. I bought a dress that was a bit more form fitting and didn't have a long train. I opted to not wear a veil and wore my hair in an elegant bun. I chose to not decorate the chairs with flowers and ribbons, but decorated the inside reception instead. I made everything taking place on the beach very simply and hassle-free.