I am newly engaged and I am already over-whelmed with the whole wedding planning thing.  I want a VERY simple, cheap wedding on a beach but I have no clue where to start.  I want to pick a place that is easy for friends and family to get to.  The whole problem with my wedding thing is that I am NOT good at planning things and have NO money!  Does anyone have any sort of advice for me?

do you live close to a beach, or would this be a destination wedding?
jamaica weddings are VERY reasonable and tend to be cheaper than any beach wedding you could have in the US – at least in my experiences.
and of course you would honeymoon there as well. if you don’t have any “must attend” guests that have any travel restrictions, i highly recommend researching jamaica for your cheap, simple beach wedding.

good luck!
liz

Hi Jen!  Congratulations on your engagement!  Your post doesn't give any clue as to what part of the country you are in, but I can give you some tips based on where we are based (Destin, FL – panhandle).

A beach wedding is so beautiful and relatively affordable.  Be sure to check with the county to verify if there is a beach permit fee.  Every area is different.  Sometimes there is no fee for a group of 50 or less, but it varies.  Depending on your religious preference, an officiant/minister from your church may perform the ceremony for a donation, others charge a set fee.  A close family member or friend can actually obtain a free license online to officiate your ceremony here:  http://tiny.cc/kD1YD .  (Be sure to check under the FAQs for guidelines from your state).  If you are having a small group, you can have guests sit/stand in a circle around you during the ceremony.  There will still be a fee to obtain a marriage license, but it is usually less than $100.

You can also ask guests to wear a certain color/shade to add to the “decor” (all white, shades of blue, etc).   Enlist the expertise of family and friends to help.  If you have a friend who takes amazing photos, ask him to be your photographer.  An talented cook might be able to make a lovely dinner for everyone.  My suggestion is to ask, ask, ask.  You never know until you ask.  Also, check out places online like craigslist.com for resources and youtube.com and ehow.com for great tutorials on everything from how to make a gorgeous bouquet to how to print your own beautiful invitations.

My last suggestion is to prioritize what is important to you.  I always tell brides to focus on the help of a good wedding planner and an excellent photographer.  If you don't have someone reliable who knows what they are doing to assist you in your planning AND someone who can take photos of the day that you will treasure forever, then wait until you have saved up some money to proceed with the wedding, if at all possible.  You do NOT have to break the bank to have a beautiful wedding if you are willing to get creative, ask for help and keep things in perspective!  At the end of the day you will be married to the love of your life, which is the most important detail of all!  Best wishes to you both!

Saw StyleMePretty's tweet about you. Thought you might want to check out http://weddings.simple-treasures.net and http://www.floridabeachweddingguide.com !

Hope that helps!

JC

Jen Wing said:

I am newly engaged and I am already over-whelmed with the whole wedding planning thing.  I want a VERY simple, cheap wedding on a beach but I have no clue where to start.  I want to pick a place that is easy for friends and family to get to.  The whole problem with my wedding thing is that I am NOT good at planning things and have NO money!  Does anyone have any sort of advice for me?