Tell me about your beach wedding!

Don't you need a witness??

Congratulations!

I didn't have a beach wedding but o would definitely say your safest bet is probably to have the wedding by the end of September. I'm from the east coast and after that the weather gets dicey with coastal storms.

We got married in Fiji two years ago (am actually here in Fiji right now, celebrating our anniversary!)
It was just the two of us for the same reasons as you. We organised a celebrant through our resort.
I paid a lot for our photographer- as no one was coming (and I scrapbook) I wanted to make sure our photos and video was amazing.
I booked hairdresser/makeup artist based on internet reviews/facebook page with photos.

I did google search wedding beach photos - particularly ones taken at our resort, so I had some ideas to list for our photographer. We were lucky- he was prepared to stay till after sunset so we had a great variety of photos. ( married at 3pm, due to tides- arrived to wedding on a bamboo raft!)
There have been several weddings here since we have been here and all have been right on the beach, late afternoon. It is usually a bit windy then so I would think about the weather conditions for your location.
We had great ideas of getting married on a little island out in the lagoon, but it so windy we changed our minds. (also, morning of the wedding, last minute decision to wear hair up in a messy style)

Getting married in a place that has personal meaning to you is so lovely- we had been here 3 times before getting married and here we are again! Our ceremony was very simple but meaningful to us.
Is there a special place for your wedding dinner?

Oh we wrote in little cards ( with palm trees/turtle on them, bought at gift shop) on the day and gave them to each other before ceremony. You could even use postcards. And our wedding rings were placed in a Fijian bowl filed with sand and a tropical flower.
I would put some photos in but it is saying the files are too big.

Good luck planning your wedding and make sure you share your photos!
Corinne

We got married 10 years ago this week on the beach in Carmel. We found a local wedding planner who took care of all the arrangements so we just had to show up the day of the wedding. We did have people there so we didn't need find a witness upon arrival. He did the flowers, beach permit, music - everything we needed. We did bring our own officient but he had people if we needed one.

One thing I would have done differently is interview the photographers better. We went with the one he suggested and he was horrible. I would have asked to see photos before hand and talked to a few others on the list.

I haven't had a beach wedding but I've witnessed as a bystander many of them on Hilton Head Island. Where we usually stay is close to an area people can rent for their wedding receptions. With just two of you, you will avoid many of the issues such as telling your female guests to not wear heels (truly you would think they could figure that out on their own, but no.) Wind is the biggest problem as people put up or try to put up arbors with some sort of drape over them and that usually goes bad in a hurry.

If I were you getting married on the east coast with just two people, I'd consider a sunrise wedding. It's more likely to be nice weather without the threat of afternoon storms and the winds are almost always calm (at least in SC, I don't know about NC beaches but probably). If you can get an officiant out early, it would be romantic and different.

September and October are the biggest hurricane threats and I wouldn't even consider those months on the NC coast. You need two witnesses besides the minister in NC.

All that said, be sure you really want to exclude all of your family particularly your children from your wedding. I had a friend who did this with her 2nd marriage. She didn't even include her daughter who she was very close to. I don't know how her family felt but I felt like they were sneaking off. He was younger than her and I always wondered if she was secretly embarrassed to be marrying him. Your relationship and marriage are totally different I'm sure. It is just that when people can't see what is going on, they tend to use their imaginations and not always in a positive way. You could have a reception at home when you return. If so, I'd plan it in advance so everyone knows they are included in your joy.

That's a lot of nosy advice but then you are on 2P's!