A Wedding for People Who Would Rather Be by the Sea

The Carolina Estate, Roxboro, NC

A coastal wedding is relaxed and classic. It’s defined by coastal colors and wavy design elements.

Wedding Venue

Choose a venue that has a body of water on site to make guests feel at peace, even if you’re not on the coast.

Wedding Stationery and Signage

Custom signage should include a welcome sign that sets the tone for the day, as well as a seating chart titled “From Coast to Coast, All the People We Love the Most”.

Wedding Attire

For your bridal gown, choose a dress that flows, just like the waves in the ocean, but still has some drama.

For the groom’s attire, go with a more relaxed look to keep the coastal vibe. The groom can be in a white button down (sans tie), dark dress pants, and brown dress shoes.

Wedding Flowers

When choosing flowers, go with a hand tied bouquet that is comprised of large blue and white flowers, with some greenery to pull it all together. For the boutonniere, choose a single white rose, accented with the same blues and greenery as the bouquet, tied with blue ribbon.

Wedding Event Spaces

For ceremony decor, you can use the body of water as a backdrop, or for inclement weather, hold the ceremony inside in front of beautiful white drapery. Drape blue fabric across a circular stand and add floral swags with white and blue flowers accented by greenery to match the bouquet and boutonniere. You can also have coordinating aisle markers to add to the ceremony chairs.

For a unique cocktail hour, allow guests to explore the grounds, including a bar that is tucked away. Here, you can decorate with pampas grass to bring in the sandy color, put your guest book (a jenga set for guests to sign), and your cutting cake.

Moving into the reception space, choose crisp white tablecloths with blue napkins for your linens, with your napkins tied with a woven ribbon. Decorate the chairs with knotted sandy brown cheesecloth to bring more of this color into the room.

Centerpieces should have the same colors as the bridal bouquet. Complement the florals with blue taper candles and blue budvases, then identify the table with a table number that ties in all three colors.

For the table setting, place a white plate on top of a woven charger, clear glassware, and silver flatware. Round out the setting with a menu card and place card featuring a body of water.

Wedding Guest Experiences

Wow your guests with live musicians playing a steel drum and guitars to add an island feel to the day.

Wedding Cake and Desserts

Your cutting cake should have a white base and be painted in blues to look like the water, then decorated with the same flowers that are featured in the bridal bouquet.