DESTINATION WEDDINGS

Friends and family from as far away as Hawaii and Boston gather on the pure white sand of a Gulf Shores beach, the deep blue of the ocean serving as a background to the wedding party under a crisp white trellis anchored in the sand. The dazzling bright sun is tempered by a cool ocean breeze gently keeping everyone comfortable as the mothers are escorted down the old quaint boardwalk onto the sand. Folks stop to take off their shoes before moving to stand around the arbor leaving a path for the bridesmaids followed by the bride and her dad. The beautiful bride is dressed in a lovely white traditional wedding dress trimmed with a green sash; her dad is dressed in casual attire with a Hawaiian shirt standing out in the bright sun as he escorts her onto the beach where a proud groom awaits. The groom is dressed in casual long pants and white shirt, but the groomsmen are wearing long shorts with white shirts. The flowers which were flown in from Hawaii along with the traditional Hawaiian Lai worn by the groom, are bright and perfect for the occassion.

The marriage of traditional and casual works well with the beach wedding and adds to the relaxing luxury of the setting. Some of the guests are dressed traditionally, wearing suit and tie, and others are wearing outfits that could be termed casual sheek. The wedding service is succinct but touching as the bride and groom each pour sand from individual cups into a jar symbolizing the joining together of their lives.

There are many photographs taken as in any traditional wedding followed by a reception around the pool of the hotel where succulent sea food is served. A disk jockey plays music and the atmosphere is one of joy and relaxation. Everyone seems happy and relaxed and appears to have a really good time.

When my son mentioned they were having a beach wedding I wondered how many people could manage to travel so far but when the wedding was held, I was impressed with the number of people who had traveled there from many different states even from Hawaii. When I mentioned all this to a friend, she told me that yes "destination weddings" happen to be all the rage right now. She went on to tell me about someone who had a Disney wedding where she entered in Cinderella's carriage and what a good time that was for the bride. She mentioned weddings in the Bahamas and the fun everyone has taking a little mini-vacation while attending a wedding. After researching this new trend on the internet I discovered many websites where you can arrange such a wedding in many exotic places.

The point of this type of wedding is to reserve a block of rooms at the hotel you elect to use and let the hotel plan the catering. But, from what I am seeing on line, you can have a wedding planner from one of the on line sites do most of the work. According to the sites I have looked at the destination wedding can be less expensive than a traditional wedding, or, it can be a luxury once in a lifetime affair that can cost as much as a half million dollars. You can decide on anywhere you have always wanted to go, beach weddings in Cabo San Lucas, Playa Del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Bahamas, Mexico the Caribbean, or Hawaii. Pick the spot you most want to be and you can plan a wedding there. Go on line and put the words "destination wedding" in your Google search and you will find many ideas to choose from.

Another plan would be to center on an activity you and your intended enjoy and have that as the background for your wedding. Do you like climbing, then you would have an active exciting wedding centering on that. Is Las Vegas more your fashion, that is easy to arrange. Or, as mentioned earlier you can have a Disney wedding with Mickey in attendance and arrive in Cinderella's carriage decked out in style.

The whole idea and the point is that when everyone gets away from their everyday problems for a few days they tend to let down their hair and have a good time. Some friends and family may not be able to attend, but the ones who do attend will have a great mini-vacation and a really good time. There are bed and breakfasts that will help you arrange this type of wedding from Illinois to the Lake Michigan shore. Just look at the website for the Hexagon House in Pentwater, Michigan which is about 82 miles from Grand Rapids. It looks beautiful and you can also go there for a renewal ceremony.

I, for one, had not heard of this trend until my son had a highly successful and beautiful once in a lifetime wedding on the beach in Alabama's Gulf Shores, most of her relatives being from Alabama. My mini-vacation in Florida and Alabama was restful and fun. Seeing him so happy and settled was even more fun and meeting friends he had served with in the Coast Guard in Hawaii was exciting along with meeting the bride's gracious family. All in all I can say that at least one destination wedding was a success. You will have to take responsibility to say if yours goes as well, but from my perspective (not being the one who had to do all the arrangements) it was a blast.