Beach wedding

How to organise a wedding by the sea?

Tips and suggestions for getting married on the Apulian beaches

If you dream of a wedding by the sea, Puglia is your place. The warmth of the sun, the beauty of the beaches, the waves crashing on the shore and the scents of traditional cuisine are just some feelings you can experience on your most important day.

In recent years, the marriage rite has changed. In Puglia, above all, the ceremony and the wedding party have moved further and further from the clichés of the tradition, embracing the latest trends in wedding fashion and the needs of young couples of spouses.

The civil ceremony and the wedding on the beach are two examples that testify how much the Apulian wedding has changed, renewing itself in every season. In this article, we will guide you to discover the relationship between the wedding and the sea, starting with a question. How to organise a wedding on the beach?

From the dress to the wedding favours, passing through the location, the setting and the wedding banquet, a wedding on the beach must meet some requirements.

Find out with us what are the main tips for organising a unique and unforgettable wedding, in communion with the maritime landscape.

Apulian beach wedding: the characteristics of the event

In Puglia getting married by the sea is amazingly simple. With its 940 km of coastline, the beach can always be reached wherever you are. From the high cliffs of the Gargano, to the long sandy beaches of the Salento, up to the Ionian Sea where the splendid Gulf of Taranto overlooks.

And each beach is special because it is different from all the others. The Apulian coastline, in fact, has no continuity, it changes a lot from one location and another, offering landscapes of striking beauty.

In this context, getting married by the sea has an exotic taste, a bit cinematographic and very informal chic. In recent years, informal weddings are on the rise as more and more couples choose to create a more relaxed and modern wedding party, challenging traditionalist ideas for the ceremony and highlighting elements that reflect the taste and style of the couple. This also applies to the dress of the spouses and guests, less elegant, and more casual, while remaining chic.

The organisation of a wedding by the sea, like all wedding parties, starts with the choice of the location. In this case, the type of seaside locations will make the difference. A low and sandy coastal zone will allow the spouses to choose a restaurant directly located on the beach. This could be a suitable solution for the sea of Salento. In general, our advice is to choose locations with private beaches so that you can enjoy all the beauty of the sea while ensuring the right amount of privacy.

On the contrary, rocky beaches and high cliffs, such as those of Gargano, prefer panoramic terraces, villas and ancient farmhouses overlooking the sea which in this case will be a pleasant and romantic background.

And obviously, each location will lead the couple to define a different type of setting.

Civil rite by the Sea

Location: La porta dei Leoni

Generally, couples who choose to get married by the sea also go for a civil ceremony. This typically American habit, in last years, has also become customary in Italy. And Puglia with its beautiful beaches lends itself very well to this type of ceremony.

Let’s face it: the civil rite celebrated on the beach is probably for the spouses the most romantic and suggestive type of ceremony.

The shape of beaches allows to host numerous guests and to realise decorations without placing any limits on the fantasy and taste of the spouses. And then, with the sea as a background is easy to create a fascinating and unforgettable wedding context.

Apulian wedding on the beach: the setting up of the location

In a wedding celebrated by the sea, open spaces dominate. Especially if you choose the beach, it is important to create a setting that integrates with the surrounding landscape and delimits the spaces well so as not to create disorientation and mess for the guests.

A fundamental distinction is between the place where the rite is celebrated and the space where the party actually takes place.  The place of the ceremony can be decorated with a wooden pergola and floral arches.

The ceremony space, on the other hand, can be realised with large gazebos covered with curtains and fabrics, boarded by lanterns and candles. A simple idea to accommodate your guests in a chic and fresh environment.

Apulian wedding on the beach: what is the look of the spouses?

Credits foto: La porta dei Leoni

The wedding on the beach is a party that only can be celebrated in the Summer. Although it may seem like a simple rite, it actually asks the spouses to pay more attention to more details than another type of ceremony.

A very important detail is the outfit of the spouses. In fact, weddings by the sea allow you to have a slightly different look from those worn in more traditional locations.

But how should the spouses who choose the sea dress? We asked Domenico Carriero, Bridal Stylist of the atelier Harem Sposa based in Bisceglie.

“For a beachwear-themed wedding, we propose dresses with soft and floating lines that echo the wave motion of the sea made of soft and impalpable fabrics, such as silk tulle hand, chiffon, or georgette. To embellish the upper part of the dress we suggest a structureless bustier with games of transparencies, lace appliqué and bold necklines.

For the most fashion-loving spouses, we offer dresses ranging from the warmest shade of natural silk white to a blush colour background.

Even for the groom, the perfect ceremony suit for the beach is made of linen. Linen is one of the most common choices for a summer suit: it is high quality, resistant and highly breathable, all characteristics that make it perfect for summer weddings.” 

And let's not forget the guests. For some, a wedding on the beach could be an absolute novelty, so we would like to remind you to also recommend to them some tricks on the look so that they can stay comfortable and at ease, without suffering too much from the heat.

Apulian wedding on the beach: the menu

Credits foto: La porta dei Leoni

The sophistication of a beach wedding also involves the menu. The sea in front suggests that lunch or dinner should be based on fish. As with the inland towns, the seaside places in Puglia also differ in specialities and typical products.

The common ingredient is the freshest fish, excellence of our region, served raw or prepared with vegetables, aromatic plants, and other culinary products all belonging to the food and wine tradition.

The ease with which in Puglia you can reach the sea has always allowed the fusion of flavours.

Wedding in Puglia on the beach: Olivetta’s wedding favours

One of the characteristics of our Olivetta wedding favour is to accompany the spouses whatever the style of their wedding is. 

 “For the most sceptical: even a wedding by the sea can reconfirm itself as an occasion of elegance, with the right mix of freshness and refinement” – Luisa Scaringella says, owner of Artemisia, flower designer.

Proof of this is the choice of carefully selected materials for the favours, decorated by her, that incorporate marine elements, transforming them into wedding decorations. Small shells and starfishes become symbols of the wedding celebrated on the beach.

For a wedding by the sea, we recommend colours such as blue, light blue, mid-blue, and grey that represent the shades of our Adriatic Sea. And, in addition, some of the warmer colours such as orange, yellow, and burgundy a homage to the sunsets seen from the beach.

Conclusion

As for traditional weddings, even for the weddings celebrated by the sea, Puglia offers always new and different landscapes and awesomeness. Our tips represent a small guide to know what the main elements of a wedding on the beach are but as always, the couples of spouses must make their wedding their special day.