The sea and everything related to it always stirred hearts of romantic-minded people. That is why the nautical wedding theme is so attractive: it is applicable to restaurants design, interior decor, and the very celebrations including weddings. Reception in maritime style is always beautiful and solemn yet not familiar and hackneyed, like traditional wedding banquets in mixed National-European style.

Marine venue

Many people think that such kind of celebration can be only in case if you live by the sea. Oh yeah, and sea nuptial should certainly be in summer, none of other seasons could be suitable. Don`t worry, it is just some of the stereotypes.

If one follows this logic, wedding in Hawaiian style should be carried out only in Hawaii, and gangster bridal – only for modern mobs. Actually, the reception can be held for the newlyweds, who live two thousand miles from the nearest sea. Who else can wish to dive into this atmosphere, so exotic for them and their guests?

Summertime is also not a necessary requirement for nautical wedding celebration. Isn`t it wonderful: feel hot summer with a smell of flowering plants and the noise of surf in winter. Besides bridal salons often make discounts in winter that is also very useful.

Marine reception could take place not only on the boat or in the beach. For this purpose even a restaurant, decorated in this style, will be enough. However, the seaside celebration can be held even at home if you wish. Most important – creativity, imagination and a great desire to bring to your celebration a little sea breeze!

So, here are some suitable locations for nautical nuptial:

• Sandy beach;
• Cafe on the shore;
• Other places with views on the sea, river, lake etc;
• Boat, ship, yacht, etc.;
• Cafe or restaurant in nautical design;
• Casual cafe or restaurant, decorated properly;
• Venue with a pool (for example, one can rent a hotel or resort around the large swimming pool or a house with a swimming pool).

Design

Full picture consists of many parts. Wedding is somewhat like a mosaic. Every detail is important to make it perfect. So, let’s see which items make desirable maritime style?

Outlook of newlyweds, bridesmaids and best men.

Groom can choose a white suit and a bride – blue dress. However, for marine reception bride may pay attention to mermaid silhouette, as well as short length gowns (a La “the girl on the beach”).

If the official part will be conducted in a building, bride and groom can choose classical outlook. So just before their photo session and banquet they can supply elements to their outfits: an officer’s cap for fiancé, the cabin boy beanies for best men, sailor collars for bridesmaids, etc. However, it is possible to keep up the style in costumes from the very beginning, from very foreclosure to the end of reception.

Groom can also wear in a buttonhole accessory made of shells or bent knot of the cord instead of standard flower. Bride and her bridesmaids may come with wedding accessories, made close to marine design: handbags, decorated with shells and blue ribbons, jewellery with pearls, decor for hairstyles in form of sea stars, a bouquet with seashells, etc.

Invitations

Cards can be made in shapes of shell, sailboat, anchors, etc. Classic form also fits, but with nautical decor – blue-and-white palette and relevant to the topic of the image. An interesting variant of invitation in the form of a letter in a bottle.

On the reverse side there go letters written in “parchment”, you can also put a city map and mark on it the places where the celebration will take place. If you wish to make something very unusual: for example, opening boxes-shells, where your guests will find a disk with a video invitation.

The invitation text can be standard, because the very design of card will give invitees a hint, that the celebration for the in a maritime style. However it is better to make an interesting text, inviting friends and relatives to travel to the island of Eternal love, on the ship desk, after banquet which will carry the newlyweds on the ocean waves of happiness. The text, of course, depends on the event’s concept.

The book of wishes

Instead of a traditional wedding book of regards one may pick a real logbook. Guests will be able to come up with plenty of regards, because in the log there are columns “weather”, “coordinates”, “direction”, “time”, etc. How many interesting ideas can come into the heads, when invited people start to fill it.

Wedding favours

Gifts for the guests have become a tradition. For marine celebration you can order special favours in the form of a chest (treasure chest) or a boat. If the gifts are handmade, it is a good idea to make usual little boxes made of paper, for example, in blue-and-white stripes, and garnish each with a shell.

Another option is to buy a mesh fabric and cut it into squares. Put the prepared gifts on a piece of it and then tie with the braid-cord as a bag. It will be fishing nets with fish. Inside the chocolate boxes at a seaside wedding one may put candies in form of shells, a small candle in the shape of a dolphin, magnet-shells for the fridge, sweets like pebbles, etc.

Labels on the bottles

On of alcoholic drinks’ package, you can stick a label with the words “Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum”, “Old rum”, “Pirate ale”, “Admiral moonshine” etc., Water bottles can be decorated with stickers in nautical style with the words “Fresh water” or “Melted Iceberg”.

Procession

Cars of bridal train can be turned into boats – figuratively, of course. They can be decorated with white and blue ribbons, floral arrangements using sea shells and stars, the front wheel and anchor behind.

Maritime adornment reception venue

Main colours: different shades of blue and blue-green, white, sandy. If you have an idea to make the celebration “on the ship’s deck”, use decorative fabrics. Blue drapes on the bottom will be associated with waves, and the top can make the white sails. For drapery use fishing nets.

Instead of traditional fake wedding rings at the newlyweds` table one can hang two lifebuoys. Use anchors, fish, boats, steering wheels. Don’t forget about air-balloons décor – you can prefer shapes of dolphins, mermaids, seaweed, etc.

One can likely put an aquarium with two fish on the newlyweds’ table– it would be very touching.

If possible, create a backdrop for pictures –order a large poster with images of the sea and stern. Hang the poster on the wall, put the rack with the steering wheel at some distance. The decoration is ready for photo shoots – between the feasts it is possible to arrange photo sets for the guests. You also can put there additional elements: the captain’s hat, binoculars, cadet`s cap, retro umbrella for ladies, etc.

Decoration of the room is very important. On the wall hang an appropriate picture in or posters printed by thematic photos of the newlyweds. In advance you may have the “sea” photo shoot. Also put on the wall a map of the route by ocean to the island of Eternal love.

If the wedding it is not about the ship’s theme, the reception place can be decorated in a beach or seabed style. In the first case, it will take a fabric of blue and sand colours, shells, striped chair covers (a La sun loungers). Making a banquet hall look like the seabed, use figures of various fish and jellyfish, seaweed made of fabric. Main decoration of the installation can be “sunken ship”. Aquariums will also be very useful – the more the better. Primary colours – different shades of blue and green.

Table`s adornment

Décor in a marine style usually means blue or blue-and-white tablecloths if we talk about wedding, often in stripes. Tables at a seaside nuptial are adjusted by scattering of gold seashells, candles in shapes of fish, boats, decorative compositions with pure sea sand, artificial pearls, starfish, pebbles, etc.

Handmade sea attributes can be bought even at the pet store – in aquarium section. Candles and souvenirs you can find at the gift department. Some accessories could possibly be ordered only at the professional`s but with great efforts you can make everything by yourself.