How to Plan Your Beach Wedding in New York
Beach weddings in New York are remarkably easy, fun, and can be very affordable.
What was once a scruffy enclave, Montauk, the most easterly point of Long Island, has been colonized by fashion-forward boutiques and hotels that are one-upping the rest of the Hamptons with a refreshingly relaxed sense of style. The locals call the area “the End,” and the best time to visit is in the fall, when the weather is still wonderful and the crowds have cleared out.
Hither Hills State Park offers visitors scenic picnic areas and fireplaces, sport fishing, a sandy ocean beach, playing fields, and a 168-site campground on the ocean.
The entire southern border of the East Hampton Village is one of the world’s most beautiful ocean beaches. The wide, white, sandy beach and dunes provide an expansive vista of the Atlantic ocean.
Many towns on Fire Island are not able to accommodate visitors, or even a boat landing. So when looking to have a wedding of more than a handful of people, it would be best to choose one of the five towns that have hotel accommodations or go the house rental route and hook up with a realtor to book your days. These should still be rented in a larger town for choice of homes and ferry route.
You will get tons of additional free info about these options when you visit the links I display below in my “Location. Location. Location” panel.
In considering which of hundreds of potential beaches to site your wedding ceremony, keep in mind the nearest airports, accommodations and “civilization” (caterers, wedding cake bakers, musicians, photographers,and restaurants to provide for your guests before and after the wedding itself). Also,think about whether it is important to be on the beach at particular times of the day (such as sunset) and where the sun is likely to be at that time.
Huge beach houses can often be rented more affordably than putting up most people in a resort hotel. They also often offer large decks or entertaining areas that would be great for the rehearsal dinner, the wedding reception, and even the post-wedding breakfast.
So, explore! Enjoy! And relax!
Sarah Forrester
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Check out these links to fabulous beach areas that New York offers.
In general, larger cities and towns are going to have more choices of hotels, motels, and bed & breakfast inns (as well as restaurants, bars, and entertainment for your guests) than remote locales. But don’t avoid considering those remote beaches. They are often far less populated, which will give you more privacy and fewer worries about gawkers and potential party-crashers. BEACH PERMITS: |
New York has a 24 hr waiting period between obtaining the license and the wedding. (This can be waived by a judge.) Since you’ll have plenty to do in the days before The Big Day, it’s a good idea to take care of this about a month beforehand.
Marriage licenses are issued by Clerks in each New York county and independent city, but the licenses can be used anywhere in the state. The bride and groom must appear in person and present a picture ID (driver’s license, passport) or a certified copy of a birth certificate, school record, naturalization, immigration, baptismal or court record. Previously married folks may need to document the date of divorce with a divorce decree or certificate of dissolution of marriage. The license fee is a $40-50 ($35 in the City of New York). The license is only valid for 60 days. No blood test is required. In addition to clergy, mayors, city clerks, marriage officers and most judges can officiate at weddings. The officiant will sign your marriage license, which must be sent to the town or city clerk within 5 days after the marriage for it to be legally recognized. Because marriage license requirements can change, please do not regard this guidance as legal advice.
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Planning so far in advance for a beach wedding means that you need to equip yourself with facts about the weather (temperature and possibility of precipitation) for the beach location that you have in mind.
Although there certainly are exceptions, when it comes to weather, the past is a pretty good predictor of the future. and it will almost always be better than a wild guess. This link provides historical weather data over nearly 50 years for thousands of locations in the world. You won’t want to have the bridal party standing at the water’s edge for the ceremony if the tide’s coming in. But when will that be? Find the time of the high tide for your beach location for any day in 2009 with this link. |
What if a major storm occurs or the groom has an accident that requires the wedding to be postponed or even canceled? What if an important vendor goes out of business before the wedding and you can’t get back your deposit for the cake or the music?
Consider wedding cancellation insurance. It is available online for as little as 1 cent for every dollar of insurance, and it can cover the honeymoon, too. Here’s one site that has designed a special insurance policy just for coverning wedding -related events: http://www.wedsafe.com/ |
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING
To help you through the sometimes mind-boggling decisions that you must make,
I discovered an inexpensive and highly readable book that spells everything out for you.
I mean everything! Click here and check it out for yourself!– Your host, Sarah Forrester
