Sandcastles by the Sea
I had been happily married for nearly 25 years when my husband asked me to participate in a vow renewals ceremony. I was touched that he had thought of something so sweet. When we married the first time, money was very tight, so we had one of the budget beach weddings in Destin, Florida. This time, I did not need to look for an inexpensive wedding package. We were comfortable enough to hire a wedding planner and have the vow renewals ceremony of our dreams.
My husband has a very unique hobby; he participates in sand castle competitions. He and several friends travel to two or three competitions each year. They are held at various beaches throughout the country. The sand castles they create are not simple sand and bucket creations, they are truly works of art and often include moving pieces. I wanted to use his passion as a basis for our vow renewals ceremony. Our wedding coordinator had plenty of ideas on how to incorporate sand castles into our wedding theme.
They key element of our wedding was, of course, several large scale sand castles created by my husband and his team. They built a six foot tall replica of the Disney castle by the area the ceremony was to be held in. To create an aisle space, they built several smaller versions of the castle. Our wedding reception was to be held on a tent on the beach, so our wedding planner asked them to build a large display at each corner. They ended up replicating four of their award winning designs. Each separate piece was special in its own way and our guests very much enjoyed them.
The wedding photographer we selected, with the help of our wedding coordinator he suggested we take at least some of photographs around the sand castle displays. My husband, as a special treat to me, built a single sand castle himself that was large enough for us to stand in front of. I have to say that the effect of my off white dress against the sand was stunning.
To round out the theme, copper sand buckets were used to create our centerpieces. Our menu was designed as a picnic – meant to remind our guests of picnicking on the beach. While we didn’t’ go so far as to serve the food on paper plates, picnic baskets were used to hold condiments and our linens were in the traditional red and white check. For our gift to our guests, we gave away small shovels engraved with our names and the date.
Vow renewals are a great way to reconnect with your spouse and share your happiness with your friends and family. Using a professional wedding planner is a great way to get your ceremony and reception planned without struggling through the mundane details. I know that I will never forget my beautiful and unique sandcastle wedding – it was simply amazing.