CreateA Caribbean Wedding With These 5 Tips

While the idea of a destination wedding appeals to many couples, it just isn’t practical for most people. A destination wedding is something many guests would not be able to attend, whether it is for financial reasons or logistical issues.

If your dream wedding is somewhere on a tropical Caribbean island, you can easily recreate a setting reminiscent of a tropical resort with the right venue and decor. Here are five must-have components for a Caribbean-inspired wedding theme.

1. Choose the Right Flowers

When most people think of the Caribbean, they think of bright, vibrant colors. No Caribbean-themed wedding would be complete without an abundance of tropical flowers and foliage. Consider brightly colored orchids, flowering gingers, and ornamental banana blooms.

Pair the flowers with foliage such as the Hawaiian good luck plant, fig leaf palms, and the giant split-leafed philodendron. Use tropical flowers not only for the bridal bouquet but also for your attendants’ flowers as well.

Use the same flowers for your table centerpieces. You can also alternate clear glass vases that contain colored glass pebbles and submerged tropical blooms with hollowed-out pineapples used as vases to hold your bigger arrangements.

2. Serve a Caribbean-Themed Menu

You can’t have a tropical wedding without authentic food. For your appetizers, select spicy Hawaiian meatballs in a pineapple and sweet pepper glaze, jumbo butterflied shrimp in a coconut batter deep-fried and served with an apricot sauce, and marinated Polynesian chicken and pineapple kebabs.

Tropical chicken with a mango salsa, zesty jerk chicken, and Caribbean red snapper fish stew are great entrée options. Peas and rice cooked in coconut milk, butter and cinnamon plantains drizzled with honey, and spicy black beans with pineapple are the perfect accompaniments.

3. Create a Tropical Signature Cocktail

Blend frozen pineapple and succulent Georgia peaches with vodka for a fruity adult slush. Put a twist on a classic daiquiri by using coconut and bananas in addition to the rum and lime juice. Replicate the azure sky and sea with a Caribbean Mist cocktail using mango rum, pineapple juice, soda water, and orange-flavored Blue Curaçao. A traditional creamy piña colada is another option.

Serve your signature cocktail in an assortment of whimsical plastic cups from the party supply store. Your guests walking around with their cocktails in pineapples, coconuts, pink flamingos, palm trees, tikis, and tropical birds will add to your tropical theme and evoke the feel of a Caribbean resort.

4. Skip the Traditional Wedding Attire

Who says the bride must wear a long white gown with a never-ending train? In the Caribbean, women often wear lightweight, flowing dresses that are short and have long blowing veils. Rather than high heels, they often opt for cute sandals or just go barefoot since weddings are typically held outdoors or on the beach.

Brides can have their bridesmaids wear similarly fashioned dresses or opt for brightly colored tropical dresses with bold prints such as corals, seashells, or large flowers. For grooms and their attendants, choose simple white tuxedos or natural linen suits. Don’t forget to use tropical flowers for the women’s hair, wrist corsages, and men’s boutonnieres.

5. Request Guests Don Caribbean-Inspired Apparel

The clothing your guests wear can add to your overall theme. Hawaiian print shirts and dresses, khaki pants, Bermuda shorts, and bold prints will enhance your décor and add even more color to your big event.

Your guests will likely be more comfortable, too. Be sure to let guests know in their invitation they are welcome to dress casually in tropical clothing rather than traditional, stuffy formal wedding attire.

Whether you are dreaming of a tropical wedding reminiscent of the Caribbean islands or have a completely different theme in mind, Pristine Chapel Lakeside can help make your dream come true. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our wedding planners.