Yes, just imagine standing on a sandy beach in paradise — a golden sunset lighting up the horizon as you and your beloved offer a wedding toast for your future love. . . do wedding memories get any better than this?

Many choose are realizing that a beach destination wedding can be surprisingly affordable. But to have the wedding of your dreams, you must first select just the right island on which to have your once-in-a-lifetime wedding. So what should you look for? Here are a few of my suggestions:

1. You want a smaller island. Now their are many great beaches off of places like Florida, the east and west coasts of the United States, Australia, and in other locations. But the larger the continent or island, the more likely it is that you are going to find your beach to be crowded.

2. Choose a semi-tropical island. England is an island, but I wouldn’t recommend most of its beaches because of the weather conditions and crowdedness you are likely to encounter. No offense towards the British, its just not the perfect place for a beach wedding.

Nor do you want to go to a truly tropical island which will like also give you high humidity and lots of bugs. What you want to look for is a warm, hospital island that offers good climate.

3. Select an island with great beaches. There are many nice islands which have limited beaches. You might be surprised to discover that many well know islands have very few sandy beaches. The Big Island of Hawaii is one example. Jamaica is another (Did you know that most of the resorts have trucked their sand in to create man-made beaches).

4. If possible select a beach on the west side of the island. Why? Well if you want to have you wedding at sunset, you need need to be facing into the west. Unless you want a sunrise, and then you’ll want to select an eastern shore beach. (BTW, sunrise weddings are MUCH harder to pull off, because you have to arrive in the dark for your wedding and time it perfectly).

Good west side beaches are hard to find on many islands. So if your heart is set on having a beach destination wedding at sunset, be sure and do your homework. In Hawaii, many of the islands don’t have very many good beaches on the west side. This is especially true of the Big Island, Kauai and Oahu. The best west side beaches in Hawaii are found on Maui. No wonder over 50 percent of all beach destination weddings in Hawaii take place on Maui.

5. Choose a secluded beach on your island. One of the big secrets to having a beach destination wedding, is choosing a location that is secluded. Without a little seclusion, it will be unlikely that you’ll have the private wedding that will excite your imagination with enduring memories.

Finding a private beach can be a challenge. But it can be done, especially if you have selected a destination wedding planner who has experience with what your island has to offer.

On Maui all of the beaches are public, but the more crowed beaches have been restricted from having weddings. You are really more likely to have a good experience if you choose a planner who knows the best spots.

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