need help: beach decor items

CCBelATC

Hi everyone! I'm getting married in Orleans in 6 months (time is flying!) and am struggling to find the centerpieces/favors I need. We're naming our tables after Cape locations and trying to find items that represent those locations. I don't need mass quantities of centerpiece items, just one or two, so I'm looking for these beach theme items to be fairly large if possible. I'm not originally from this part of the country (I'm a country girl from the Midwest, new to New England), so if you have ideas of where I can find these items, I would SO appreciate it!

Here's what my fiance and I are looking for: a lifeguard stand, adirondack chair (2), kayak (2), lighthouse, fishing boats, and plastic (?) lobster & crab.

I'm also looking for lots of starfish and sand dollars. I've seen people post about getting them from Oriental Trader but I'm concerned because the reviews on the OT website are so variable.

Lastly, has anyone ever seen a starfish, sand dollar (or even sea urchin!) in colors other than white? Our wedding colors are wisteria and citron green. All the men are wearing white shirts, so if I tried to use a white shell it'd get lost in the photos. (We're doing DIY everything!)

Can't wait to hear from you guys. Thank you SO much!!!!!!!!

mandflans6

  The Christmas Tree Shops usually have all of those items you are looking for, especially the Hyannis and Sagamore shops.  There is also a great Christmas Tree Shop in Natick if you live in the Boston area.  I've gotten many Cape Cod decorative items there over the years!

  As for colored starfish- I have decorative yellow/orange ones around my house that I got at Pottery Barn.  The Christmas Tree Shops usually have collections of shells too.  There is also an Army Navy Shop on Main St. Hyannis that has a huge collection of all kinds of shells- sea urchins, sand dollars, starfish if you're in that area.  Good luck- hope this helps!

loljules

What about lobster pots,  some old buoys or some large sections of rope tied in nautical knots?  That would be a kind of cool play on words with "tying the knot".  Also, sand dollars are very porous and could be painted with a very watered down acrylic paint.  The natural color of starfish would fit your exisiting color scheme.  Good luck! 

CCBelATC

Thanks mandflans6 for the store recommendations. Unfortunately I'm up in the Lakes Region of NH so I'm pretty far from the Cape and Boston at this point. Does the Christmas tree shops sell those items year round? Sounds like I need to take a trip to Hyannis.

loljules, I love the idea about painting the sand dollars, that sounds perfect, thank you for that! I think a lobster pot is just a big pot, right? And I'd love some buoys, but again don't know where to buy them. I'm such an "inlander" that I don't know where to go...guess I need to hit google and bing harder.

Thank you both!