10 beach themed wedding favor ideas and crafts

Weddings are made more memorable and festive with special themes. A nice approach is to center your special day around a beach, nautical, or island theme. When you begin planning decorations, think fun and festive as you incorporate all of your favorite “day at the beach” objects. Seashells, starfish, and sand castles can all add an air of distinction to your wedding. Whether you are lucky enough to be marrying at an actual beachside location or if you just want to be beachside chic, here are ten decorative ideas.

1) There are lots of ready made beach favors you can use as accents for your décor or simply as giveaway items: Seashell shaped soaps, seashell holiday ornaments, seashell keepsake boxes, seashell shaped mirror compacts, votive candles with embedded starfish or shells are just the tip of the iceberg. You can wrap these items in colorful tulle and small pieces of ribbon and add your own “Thank you for joining us on our special day” message.

2) Sprinkle tiny seashells around your guest tables.

3) Make beach pails for your guests. Use small, inexpensive children’s pails and add all types of special treats - inflatable beach balls, sand dollars, natural sponges, starfish and seashells, bottled bubbles, lifesavers, tiny bottles of sunscreen, fragrant bath salts or seashell covered candles. Add a little glittery ribbon to your creations to add some sparkle.

4) Make beach bags for your guests and include inexpensive flip flops and water bottles and beach towels.

5) Use large, overturned seashells (or seashell shaped trays) to display your confections. Salt water taffy or dinner mints are not only yummy, but work well with any beach theme.

6) Purchase inexpensive wallet sized picture frames. Decorate with sand and shells or sand dollars. (Craft glue can be used to attach items to the frame.) Insert tiny placeholder cards for a nice touch at your guest tables. You can handwrite the names for the placeholders or use your computer to create a polished, uniform look in an elegant font.

7) A nice keepsake item for guests are tiny personalized glass bottles with sand and mini seashells. You can use traditional sand or get creative and use colored craft sand coordinated with your overall color scheme.

8) Place gel candles with suspended seashells in the middle of your guest or bridal party table for a soft and sophisticated touch.

9) Give your guest tables exotic island location names like St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Fiji, Samoa, and St. Thomas. Include a postcard of the destination at each table. It’s a nice and indirect conversation starter for your dinner tables, especially if you have mixed up your guest list a bit between both sides of the newly united families.

10) Diversify and use beach party items and favors: Flip flop candles, coconut candles, nautical items or tiny sailboats, Hawaiian motifs and décor, or fresh fruit such as mangos and pineapple can really mix things up and make a creative and unique wedding atmosphere to be remembered.