Who: Shannon Tual
Where: Her Matron of Honor’s house in Richmond, Virginia
How many guests: 35
What time of year: August 2010
Reason: Her wedding rehearsal dinner

With the weather being blistery cold here in New York, I thought it’d be fun to feature a party with a beach theme thrown at the height of summer.

After seeing Shannon Tual’s causal beach themed wedding rehearsal, I could not think of a better way for her to have celebrated her upcoming nuptials among family and friends.

With simple yet elegant decor and the good humor of her company, this day was truly an enjoyable one.

Shannon says:

My husband and I love to travel and especially enjoy the beach so it was an easy decision to plan a beach inspired wedding.

For our rehearsal dinner we chose a “Boardwalk” theme.

We had a variety of foods and snacks catered by Catering By Jill. All of the items we felt you would find on the boardwalk – grilled chicken, burgers, pasta salad, potato salad, and corn which was grilled in the husk.

Desserts included popcorn, cotton candy, and funnel cakes with toppings. We also served a variety of sodas, water and Hawaiian beers.

The tables were covered in two different shades of blue linens and blue star fish glass plates were placed on top of clear glass plates. DIY napkin rings were made of white rope, tied in boat knots with small white shells attached to the ends.

Metal fish candle holders with shells placed at the bottom, green plants in clear cases with river rocks, and white carnation arrangements in two different size vases were all part of the centerpieces.

We also had a wood Tiki Bar sign, tiki torches, a relax sign and a cardboard photo cut out.

The groom’s cake was special because it was a baseball inspired cake. Our first get away was to Baltimore, MD to watch a Detroit Tiger / Baltimore Oriole’s baseball game (I’m from Michigan originally).

It’s where we said “I love you” for the first time! The cake also had an Old English ‘D’ on it because of the Detroit Tiger’s connection, but also because my husband’s name is David.

It was a banana rum cake layered with rum caramel cream cheese filling and rum buttercream icing.

We hired vendors to entertain the guests including a singer who played a variety of beach inspired music such as Jimmy Buffet and The Beach Boys and a caricature artist drew pictures of all of the guests.

We provided mailer tubes (which we painted and labeled) for each picture. We only had two kids attend the party, but we wanted them to feel special!

I hired a clown to come in and sing songs and perform magic.

It was so popular that the neighborhood kids showed up to watch and even the adults enjoyed the show.

Looking back, I found there are many areas where you can cut back or DIY for any party or wedding.

My suggestion is to know your limits and realize when you need to hire the professional. Sometimes the extra money is worth the less aggravation.

Also, when looking for a caterer, price out several options.

I hosted a rehearsal dinner and many of the menus I saw were much more expensive because they were considered a “rehearsal dinner.”

Our event wasn’t super fancy so I asked the catering company to customize a “picnic menu,” which was considerably cheaper.

We provided our own beverages, which also saved us money. Look over your menu and make sure you have something for everyone, including yourself!

Also, make a list of everything you will need and stick to that list. It’s easy to get carried away.

Create a calendar of tasks to do to prepare for you party. This makes it easier to focus on the celebration rather than the stress of throwing the event.