There are so many activities to do while out on the beach. Stand Up Paddle Board. Basking and bronzing. Enjoying a light summer read. Parasailing, kayaking and, naturally, swimming. Pledging your troth to the one you love...in other words, getting married.
June is a month for weddings, for varied reasons from different cultures. In Roman times it involved the goddess of marriage and childbirth, Juno. In later times it was when most people took their annual bath (eww). Now it is often when families have most flexibility with scheduling. As off putting as we might find the notion of a once a year bath today, the tradition continues that June is the wedding month for many people.
There is something overwhelmingly romantic about the idea of two people standing in the sand, hearts and minds united as they pledge their love, their desire to become one. Be it early morning, nearly noon, serenely sunset or under starry skies, if there is also gently lapping waves of the seemingly infinite sea, a beach wedding conjures images of wedded bliss being equally eternal.
Formal or casual, fun or serious, the possibilities are endless with a beach wedding. I have had the pleasure of being invited to several within the last two years and they are always a thing of beauty, from the simple to the complex. There was the young couple, so wondrously in love that they stood before friends and family as the sun slowly set, her hair a golden riot and he with a smile wider than his dreadlocks were long. There was the Rockabilly gathering, with the fellows in denim and leather vests, ladies with elaborate updo's reminiscent of the greatest generation, the 40's. There was the lovely wedding beneath a flowered archway, formal in all but the footwear; 'nice' flip flops for the men and lovely bejeweled barefoot beach 'sandals' for the ladies. All glorious in their own right.
For weddings on St Pete Beach, check out Gulf Beach Weddings. Their reviews are positive across the board so you can relax and focus on those crucial vows. Or simply grab a notary as those pictures did and head for the sand with your beloved. Either way, the beach is a great place to say 'I do'.