Beach Ceremony Suggestions?/Introduction Thread

Aaralyn

Hi all!  Wanted to ask some advice but figured I'd give some back story first:

My boy and I are both stationed in Germany, both active duty Air Force.  We met in 2011, dated for a while, decided to move in together last fall, and a month after we moved into our place BOOM they shipped my butt to the desert.  Fun times, right?  Well, we've been throwing around the "M" word for a little while now (since before I left), and when I get home I know he's gonna be waiting with a ring.

So now comes the hard part.  We live in Germany, his family is from Idaho, my family is from New York.  I'm due to leave Germany summer of 2015, which means we have a little over a year to plan a wedding if we want any chance of being stationed together at our next base.  So we're leaning toward a LI wedding and maybe a reception in my parents backyard.  We're not exactly raking in the money, the savings from my deployment will probably pay for most of the costs of the wedding and whatever else we can scrape together will go towards flying his family to NY.

So now, my question.  We would like to do a beach ceremony (pretty convenient I grew up on an island, huh?) but I don't know good locations around Islip.  Has anyone been to a LI beach wedding?  Any suggestions?  Also, any suggestions on planning a wedding from another continent?

rachelm13

My FI is in Dublin.  If you can, have someone you trust in a "boots on the ground" position.  Sister, mother, etc.  Someone that won't take over and make it "theirs" but yours.  That knows you and will execute your ideas/wants.

As for LI beach wedding, I can tell you a lot of damage was done during Sandy, especially Long Beach, Breezy Point.  Jones Beach had damage too, so before committing to a beach wedding, you may want to check out the beaches around Islip just to make sure it's ok.  Luckily you will have some time, but, the more damage, the longer it will take to fix.  

SFlood829

You want want to look into the Sunkean Meadow Pavillion. I was looking for a beachy wedding and that spot was recommended by alot of people. I ended up picking a venue with a small beach for photos instead.

Happy hunting and thank you for your service

Aaralyn

I didn't even think of the Sandy damage! *facepalm* I haven't been back to the states since September, before the hurricane.  Thanks for the heads up on the beaches.

I have a trip planned for the end of July so hopefully I'll be able to check out some places then.  We're starting to lean away from the beach ceremony anyway and thinking of going with something a little simpler.  Maybe even do the whole thing in the backyard and go to a local beach for photos beforehand.