Waterfront Wedding Venue Ideas

Weddings are a matter of impeccable planning. If your idea of a perfect wedding is a beach destination, with beautiful shores, or a venue with a tranquil lake in a resort, then you’ll need some ideas to capture your special day. A picturesque beach or a lake is a wonderful place to tie the knot. However, you’ll need some photo ideas, to help you remember the moments of your special day. If you’ve chosen the perfect beach or wedding venue with a tranquil lake, then this blog is just for you! Read along to find out some amazing photo ideas for your waterfront wedding: 

Pre-wedding Photo Session at the Beach 

When you’re planning a wedding, especially a themed wedding, you need to make sure that the elements of your chosen theme are coordinated. If your dream wedding day is on a sandy beach with a brilliant sunset, you should consider setting the tone with your save-the-date cards! After the wedding invitation, your guests will send the save-the-date cards back with their choices. This will cement the idea of your beach wedding for them. That being said, a beautiful save-the-date beach wedding card demands a stunning photo. For that reason and to create a photo book with your brilliant pre-wedding, engagement, and wedding photos, you should have an elaborate pre-wedding photoshoot!

For beach pre-wedding shoot ideas, you can make use of a stunning beach. You can pose in front of the rocks with the open sky as the backdrop, this kind of photo will look perfect as your wedding invitation idea! If the beach you choose has rocks with the water gushing over it, you can work with your photographer and time the photo perfectly where you can see the vast open sky, with water crashing into the rocks, with you and your partner embracing each other. For your pre-wedding photoshoot, you can also prance along the beachline and have fun with each other. Try to be as natural as possible with each other. If both of you surf, you could make use of some photos from while you’re surfing together, or with your surfboards. Pre-wedding photoshoots are unique to every couple, which is why it is important to consider what you’d like and what you’d love. If you want to make use of props to add a charming touch to your pre-wedding shoot, then go for it. Props will add vibrant colors to your pre-wedding shoot. 

The Beach-loving First Look 

When it comes to choosing the best places to tie the knot with your soulmate, nothing beats a beach, the cool sand under your feet, the breeze ruffling your hair, and the infinite horizon, these qualities make a beach the perfect wedding destination! Before we get into photo ideas for other areas of your wedding, let’s talk about the first look photos! While it is true that not all couples want to have a first look, many love the idea of the first look. If you’re one of those couples who love the idea and are going for it then hang on, and read along. If you’re not going for a first look, then simply move on to the next section! 

The first look is delicate and emotional. What we love the most about first look ideas is that it is solely for the couple. The two lovebirds get a chance to be in each other’s company, with emotions running on high, without other guests. This moment is extra special because a lot of anticipation, planning, and hard work goes into planning a wedding. And when your partner steps in front of you, dressed for the wedding, it is impeccably wonderful. That being said, you can make use of the infinite horizon to have your partner face the horizon with their back turned towards you. The pretty horizons along with the tranquil waters will make for the perfect first look photo! 

Another photo idea that we love is using a  cliff overlooking the vast ocean or sea. If your destination has a cliff where you can see the vast waterfront, you can have your partner stand on the cliff, with their back turned towards you, waiting for you. And you can walk up the cliff for a first look photo!

Wedding Photos! 

Now for the primary attraction of a beach wedding, the wedding photos! The beach and the shoreline give you so much to do with the photos. You can make use of the backdrop to click photos with your family and friends. One of the ideas that we love for stunning beach wedding photos is a photo booth, complete with a flower and greenery-laden decor. Bringing beach-inspired colors, such as dark green, orange and yellow will do the trick for you! What’s more, if you’re using the same outdoor venue for your wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception party, you can have the photo booth up and running before the day’s events begin. This will give your guests, and you, a chance to click photos with the different colors of a waterfront wedding. 

However, if you’re not choosing a beach destination wedding, but have a venue with lakes or ponds, you can make use of the tranquil, still waters as your backdrop. The photo booth and outdoor arbor will look just as well here! To match the lake or pond backdrop, you can change the kind of greenery and colors. Beach, for example, is known for tropical leaves, humongous in size, and large, colorful flowers. A lake or a pond, owing to its smaller and quieter elements, will look amazing with some pastel blue and sage green streamers, along with smaller flowers. Since lakes and ponds add a fresh vibe to your photos, you can make use of flowers such as Peruvian lily, carnations, heather, sunflowers, and roses! 

As for the arbor, you can decorate your outdoor wedding photo booth, you can make use of Love-Lies-Bleeding, a branch-like reddish-pink flower tassel, and different shades of delphiniums. However, for a beach wedding birds of paradise, anthurium, plumeria, and king proteas can be used. With that in mind, these are just ideas. If you’re planning to take wedding photos with an outdoor photo booth and arbor, don’t be limited to these choices, you can incorporate the flowers you love as well. For that, all you need to do is ensure that you match the color scheme! 

Waterfront Wedding Detail Photos 

Waterfront wedding decor details are charmingly wonderful. You could add some seashells to your wedding decor, probably a sea shell curtain for entry, or have seashells sprawled on the tables to hype up the waterfront wedding. To add more tropical accents to your wedding, you’ll need a wonderful centerpiece. For waterfront-inspired centerpieces, you can make use of the flowers you’ve used, and add them to a lantern, or you could make use of fruits and berries, and spread them out, for your guests. A spread of fruits and berries will serve two functions, one, this will add a wonderful accent to your wedding, and two, it will help your guests to help themselves to some fruity flavors amidst the wedding celebrations! 

Now, if your wedding venue decor contains massive elements, like a big archway with balloons, flowers, and sprigs, or a wall with neon signage with you and your partner’s name, these backdrops will look amazing. Furthermore, lantern-inspired decor, string lights wrapped around trees, and semi-floral archways, can be placed outside. These areas will be just perfect for your wedding photos, as you will be able to capture your wedding details as well!

Getting Ready Photos

When you have a waterfront wedding, chances are that your dressing rooms will have a view of the waterfront. You can utilize the vantage points of your room’s location to capture yourself getting ready with the wonderful waterbody in the background. What we love the most about getting ready photos with calming waters in the backdrop is that these photos capture the true essence of your wedding. One look at these photos will be enough for anyone to know the type of wedding you had. Getting ready photos will capture the details of your rooms, which will have some of the wedding decor elements, capture you in your wedding day outfit, and the backdrop of the venue! This is just perfect to capture the best of your wedding. 

Bridesmaids, maid of honor, groomsmen, and best man

Another amazing waterfront wedding photography idea that we love, is to make use of the waterfront for your bridesmaids' and groomsmen’s photos! You can either have your bridesmaids and groomsmen line up side-by-side, or you could have them pose alternatively. With the water as the backdrop for your wedding photos, you can have the bridesmaids surround the groom, and groomsmen surrounding the bride as well. Or you could have a large group photo. Feel free to make use of some props, if you like. The best part about props is that if you’re good with crafts, you can fashion your very own props, giving your photos a unique quality! 

More on Capturing Waterfront Wedding Details

Another idea that we love is capturing the wedding venue and the wedding details in all their glory. A waterfront wedding has an immersive charm to it. It looks brilliantly fresh and appealing. Don’t forget to capture the wedding details. You can even ask your wedding photographer to capture wedding details with guests enjoying themselves, this will give your wedding photos a natural charm. Also, be sure to let your wedding photographer know what kind of wedding detail photos you’re looking for. If the photographer does not know that you want wedding details and the scenic background captured in a single photo, they won’t be able to do it for you. So, before your big day begins, you should discuss the kind of photos you’re looking for at the end of the day.

Bonus Idea 1: Don’t Forget This One! Ideas for Waterfront Locations with Wharfs 

If you’ve chosen a wedding venue, such as a lake resort, or a venue near a pristine water body in the city, you’re likely to find a wharf along the waterbody. A wharf, in itself, looks like a vintage backdrop for any kind of photo. However, for wedding photos, you can make use of this area with some glorious decor details! You can have a floral hoop and place it at the mouth of the wharf or the edge of the wharf. Now, to make this idea just as brilliant as your wedding day, you should keep the season in mind. For example, if you’re tying the knot during winter, then you can contrast the weather with bright flowers. 

But then again, the arbor design or the floral hoops that you have on the wharf should be as per your choice and should match your wedding theme. For example, if you’re going for a Halloween-themed wedding then you can place some decorative pumpkins in different sizes to add the Halloweeny charm! Apart from this, if you want to add a DIY charm to your wedding, you can add hand-painted pumpkins, with different colors or expressions! For a better spooky touch, you can craft small, cute, ghosts out of white cloth!    

Bonus Idea 2: Capture the Beauty of the Scenic Waterfront Venue with Panoramic Shots! 

When it comes to capturing the best of your wedding, panoramic wedding shots are the best idea, especially when you’re throwing a waterfront wedding. If you have a waterfront venue, the best thing to do here is to choose the best locations, go for scenic vantage points, and pose for the camera. The panoramic shots will capture you and your partner, along with the mesmerizing beauty of the backdrop. Panoramic wedding photos will help you reminisce the moment or even frame the photo to hang it at your house! 

When it comes to capturing the best moments of your wedding, the first step is to speak to your wedding photographer or photographers. As you’re planning your wedding, make sure that you keep the aspect of wedding photography in mind. Additionally, visualizing your wedding setting will help you to create the perfect setting, which will improve your chances of creating spaces for some amazing wedding photos. Also, before you make a decision keep your partner in the loop. Make sure that you approach your ideas of waterfront wedding photography will help you create something truly timeless for both of you, you, and your partner.