Make Your Beach Theme Wedding Real with Seashell Decor

Beautiful seashells make wonderful decorations for a summer wedding. They are marvelous for a nautical wedding, a beach wedding, or anytime that you want to bring the flavor the ocean to your wedding. Take a look at the myriad of ways to use seashell wedding decorations for your own special day.

Certainly any wedding motif begins with the invitations. While not exactly a decoration, they are the perfect way to set the stage for your event. For a very classic ceremony, a white heavy cotton invitation embossed with a pearlized white seashell is the perfect invitation. Choose a coordinating envelope lining pattered with classic illustrations of shells in either a blue and white palette or in neutral sand tones. For a less formal wedding by the water, select an ivory invitation with shells painted in a watercolor style. They look great as a design in one corner of the paper as a great little accent and dash of personality.

When your guests arrive at your wedding reception, there are a few cute ways to welcome them with decorative shells. A beautiful shell can be glued to each escort card. Use a variety of different shells, and lay them all out flat in nice rows. The effect is very pretty, and as a bonus, the weight of the shells will keep your escort cards anchored should a breeze come along. Another idea is to use place card holders with a silver shell motif for a formal wedding. They would work equally well for the escort cards or the place cards.

On the dinner tables, there are lots of great ways to wow your guests with shells. Martha Stewart has a wonderfully unique craft project for using large clean shells as salt and pepper caddies on the tables. Then of course, there are the centerpieces. You can opt for a traditional floral arrangement, and add a scattering of seashells among the blooms. Another idea is to design a shell based centerpiece. Take a number of large shells in different forms and combine with red faux coral, large pillar candles, and a bit of sand on a tray. This is a fun diy project that also looks fantastic.

Let’s not forget about decorating the bride. Try beach theme wedding jewelry made from stunning Swarovski crystals in the shape of seashells. Or choose wedding jewelry which is created from genuine shells for your beach wedding, such as a monogrammed pendant made from a flat piece of shell. So pretty and so unique. The bouquet can be decorated just like the centerpieces, with small seashells wired into the flowers. For a bold accent, create a cuff of large translucent capiz shell discs around your flowers. It is very offbeat and perfect for an oceanside ceremony.

Certainly, your wedding cake should also be adorned with your chosen motif. You can have the baker decorate with real clean shells (be sure to remove before serving!) or create them from sugar or fondant. A dusting of pearlescent shimmer powder will give the faux shells a natural luminosity. This is one cake that might end up too pretty to cut!

From napkin rings to cocktail picks, there is almost no limit to the ways you can use a shell motif to decorate your wedding. It is a timeless summer motif with a classic elegance that will never go out of style. Whether your wedding will be at ocean’s edge or in a landlocked location, you cannot go wrong with this wonderful summer motif.