Vintage Nautical Chic Beach Wedding: Courtney + Brad

I thought this Bahamas wedding was perfect to start the week off. I love that Courtney + Brad had a beautiful beach wedding turned into beach party – what a fun day! The guests were even instructed to bring bathing suits for the reception! After saying their vows right by the ocean, the couple had a delicious breakfast with their guests and then spent the next several hours on the beach with volleyball, dancing, cupcake attacks, bocci, a private bar and personal cigar roller, and lots and lots of laughter. What a fun wedding – gather your family and best friends, throw in a beautiful day and a beautiful backdrop in a beautiful location, tell your partner you will love them forever and then party the day away. Thanks so much to Our Labor of Love for the photos and Canvas and Canopy Events for the gorgeous event design!

beach wedding sign

bride with ostrich feather bouquet

A bit into their day from Courtney, the bride: “Werewolves vs Sharks” was the underlying theme to our Bahamian wedding. Werewolves because we like the song “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon and sharks because “Jaws” is Brad’s favorite movie. From there it evolved to include a lot of vintage nautical pieces and rock-and-roll elements. Cortnie from Canvas and Canopy Events was able to incorporate our barrage of eclectic ideas andmade everything seem to make sense.

groom in blue suit

My dress was a “mermaidy” mint green dress with a royal blue ostrich feather bouquet. Because we are originally from Vegas, the groomsmen had vintage poker chips for boutonnieres.

poker chip wedding boutonniere

beach ceremony structure with driftwood

Their morning beach ceremony had a shipwrecked feel with vines growing up the whitewashed benches. Courtney walked down the aisle to “Breathless” by Nick Cave and lyrics from the song adorned the entrance to the ceremony. From Courtney, “The attire was “nautical chic” which I thought was self-explanatory but apparently it threw our guests for a loop. People showed up in sailor hats, suspenders, and all sorts of nautical garb. It was fun to have our guests get into it.

beach ceremony structure with driftwood

beach ceremony structure with driftwood

bahamas beach wedding

bahamas beach wedding

bride and groom with feather bouquet

bridesmaids in purple dresses

The bridesmaids carried brooch bouquets and each wore dresses in different shades of blue.

beach wedding bride and groom

bride with lots of necklaces

wedding invitations on playing cards

beach wedding reception on the beach

beach-wedding-ropes

beach-wedding-bahamas-16

beach wedding decor

egg as wedding decoration

wedding flowers white and green

beach wedding food

A breakfast buffet was served after the ceremony and featured a surprise by Brad’s brother who flew in vocalist Patrick Park to entertain! After breakfast, they changed into bathing suits and partied til dusk at the beach. Music was really important to them, so guests received a cd of their favorite songs in their welcome booklet. They also had song lyrics everywhere in the decor – from the eggs placed on the breakfast tables to calligraphed pillowcases at the beach party.

beach wedding favors

Guests left with beach bags, a “Too much fun, Too much sun” kit that Courtney made, and cigar boxes with different bottle openers.

wedding totes beach

beach wedding cake

bathing suit wedding bahamas

bathing suit wedding bahamas

My mom and I DIY’d where we could. We made chandeliers out of origami boats and vintage fishing lures, hand-stamped and decoupaged the eggs, braided the napkin rings, etc. It was an amazing day that celebrated us as a couple but also let our guests enjoy the day equally with us.

Big congrats to Courtney + Brad and thanks so much for sharing your fun wedding celebration with us!

vendor love to:

photography: David + Kendrick of Our Labor of Love // event design: Canvas and Canopy Events // planning: Canvas and Canopy Events // calligraphy: Laura Hooper // the reclaimed wood sharks: John Birdsong // bridesmaid brooch bouquets: Noaki Jewelry // boutonnieres: Noaki Jewelry // feather bouquet: Diamond Willow // wedding dress and headpiece: Stephanie James Couture // bride's swimsuit: Thom Thom Vintage

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