23 Beach Wedding Ideas You Can DIY to Make a Splash at Your Seaside Bash

Saying your I do's before an ocean backdrop? Personalize your celebration with handmade touches—from easy centerpieces to last-minute escort cards—inspired by your location. These how-tos will get you in the swim of things.

Use depictions of nature—in this case, palm leaves and orchids—to give your beach wedding invitations a pretty punch.

Walk down the aisle with this cluster of bivalve blooms. This pretty posy is easier to construct than you'd think—it's simpler than making a flower out of silk. 

Elevate a bamboo arch, Polynesian-style, with these DIY strands made from a sand-friendly staple: grass skirts.

A collection of shells and ocean-y elements, arranged like a cabinet of curiosities, makes getting guests to their seats a breeze. 

For an on-theme display, curate still lives of shells and coral on sand placed inside glass fishbowls and vases.

Salt and seashells are a match made in the ocean. To make this pretty dish for your reception tables, press the shell edges into a gold stamp pad, and then fill the shell with sea salt. 

Even if you party late into the night, the sun will never set on your drinks thanks to these cute swizzle sticks.

Tell your friends to pack their bikinis, but you'll provide the sarongs. Find our wave and leaf designs at Spoonflower, a custom cloth maker, and order two yards per pal. Then bundle with twine and our cheery tag.

Forget tin cans tied to a car bumper, and hop onto a bicycle built for two with a trailing pennant spelling out your new status. 

Most sunny locales have one thing in common: amazing fruit! Think oranges in Florida or mangoes in Mexico. Our patterns, secured with twine, complete the package. 

These translucent vellum shapes mimic the frosted luminosity of sea glass. A glassine envelope carries that theme one step further. 

Make a wave with takeaway gifts. Wrap boxed treats with coral-printed paper and seal with a scalloped sticker. Or corral goodies into coral-printed favor pouches. To make them, fold a 15-by-5-inch piece of fabric in half, right sides facing, and stitch the sides. Turn the pouch right side out before trimming the top with pinking shears and cinching with a sticker and punched card-stock tag.

Sea-glass candy resembles the real deal at parties on (and off) the beach ($82.50 for 40 oz, etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets).

Dress tables with sculptural shells and coral-like pieces. Large conch and murex shells, with cattleya orchids nestled in their openings, and smaller marlin spike shells surround a vase filled with tiny shells and a pillar candle. Painted manzanita branches stand in for real coral.

Tie capiz shells (sold with predrilled holes) atop rolled-up napkins with ribbon and rest a small branch on top for an oceanic white-and-brown color scheme.

Your ceviche appetizer will feel right at home served in a seashell.

Say "mahalo" to guests—that's "thank-you" in Hawaiian—with bags of sea salt in cut bamboo cups. Top each with a mini wooden spoon and a grateful tag. 

The Details: Bamboo cups, $29 for 20, and spoons, $21 for 50; bioandchic.com. Muslin bags, #24988, $31.50 for 100; celestialgifts.com. Sea salt, $36 for 2.8 lbs; foodservicedirect.com.

Grouped serenely on a bed of sugar-soft sand, sea urchins prop up skinny candles that light the way for guests at an evening beach wedding. 

Transform inexpensive silk flowers into delicate garlands. Just dismantle the blooms to separate the layers of petals, removing any greenery. Overlap edges of petals slightly, and join them using dabs of hot glue. Then glue beads in centers to cover stem holes. String garlands along aisles, at the altar, or across chair backs.

These cheerfully colored umbrellas sporting seating assignments can dot miniature sand dunes at the entrance to a beach-themed reception.

They may look like the real thing, but candy pebbles in small galvanized pails are a sweet and delightful favor for an outdoor wedding. A note lets guests know they are for eating!

Turn kids' metal beach buckets into custom centerpieces by painting them in the wedding colors.