{inspired} a beach{ish} wedding

Happy Monday friends!

Did you all have a great weekend? :) Our weekend was relaxing ... and productive! I love those type of weekends, and they don't happen often enough. If I can find that perfect (and often elusive) balance between productive and relaxing, I'm happy.

Today I thought I'd share a little bit about one of my "hobbies" and a project I'm working on this summer. To give you a little background, I LOVE event planning. There's something about the sheer amount of details to keep track of and coordinate that makes my brain incredibly happy. But, the great thing about events is there is so much room for creativity as well! It's a win-win for me. Planning our wedding, in my mind, was the most fun ever. Seriously, I would marry Chris every five years if we had the money. So, every once in a while, and usually just for people I know {because I am busy already!}, I coordinate weddings. Usually I'm the day of coordinator ... I think they're critical and I love being able to help out people that way. I've given my coordinating abilities as gifts a couple times. And, I've taken a couple referrals and made a little money on the side. Love it! :)

pinterest

But, this summer, one of my favorite people in the world is getting married. There's a lot of background I won't go into, but she's like the little sister I never had. When she got engaged I knew I'd offer to be her coordinator, but I was tickled when she asked me to help with decor as well. YES PLEASE. 

 once wed

design sponge

She's getting married in Washington, but her theme is beachy. Since it's not at the beach, we don't want it to scream themey-beachy, but we want to give the same feeling as being at the beach: light, bright, open and airy. Her colors are a pretty bright blue, with accents of light blue, yellow, white and tan. Of course, I've been researching inspiration photos for her to get ideas. And of course, I put together an inspiration board. :) Wanna see? Good! Because it's below:

{Clockwise from bottom left} Her colors are blues and tans. She's definitely planning on having a dessert table, and I love the streamers behind this one -- so festive. She opted for no table flowers, so instead I'm thinking items that are beachy, but not themey: driftwood, sea grasses, sand, shells, succulents and TONS of candles. I love the idea of having white table clothes with a bolder blue accents. I think it will keep the room really light. Obviously, it would be cute to have fun with the straws. The room the reception's in is TALL. We're brainstorming ways to make it a little more intimate. Lanterns strung down? So dreamy. And, we'll need lots of signage to direct people I love this twine and blackboard sign. It's relaxed and casual, yet still so cute.

Friends, what do you think of when you think of the beach? How would you capture the feeling of beachy, without being too themey? The bride and I would LOVE your thoughts! :)