Welcome! 

Hi, I’m Nick Weiss, owner and operator of instant Beach wedding.  Today I’m going to run down the typical lead up and event day for your Instant Beach Wedding experience. I understand It can be intimidating to book such an important day online. Allow us want to walk you through the typical experience with our service.

Booking

Step one is making your booking. Booking and payment is all done online, and it’s very easy. You just pick your date and time, any add-ons, and you’re booked with a few clicks. If you have any questions prior to booking, please head over to instantbeachwedding.com and book a free consultation. I’ll personally be on every phone or video call. Our website also has an FAQ section that answers the questions I’ve gotten most in my 20+ years in the wedding industry. I’d say it’s about half-and-half between clients who have consulted with me before booking and those who have just gone straight to the website and booked their date. You’re welcome to do whatever you’re most comfortable with. 

The Information We Need

Once you’ve booked your date with Instant Beach Wedding, you’ll receive an email from us with a brief questionnaire. This is asking basic stuff like your names as you would like to be used during the ceremony, your music selections if purchased, whether you’re exchanging rings, have personal vows to share, etc. We also ask a few optional questions if you’d like to share any fun, funny, or sweet details to add into your ceremony. It’s all painless and straightforward, and the required parts of the questionnaire can be finished in a few minutes.

About Coronado Beach

This questionnaire will also ask you about your chosen wedding location. Typically, we perform our services on Coronado Beach, about 10 minutes from downtown San Diego. You can get married there with 25 or fewer guests with no beach use permit. There’s no other place in Southern California like it. It’s absolutely beautiful, and free to use, with a few important restrictions.

First, your guest count must be 25 or fewer. Second, you can’t bring rental chairs or an arch or any other “non-beach items” to the beach without a permit. A chair or 2 for elderly or disabled guests is fine, but as a company, we won’t bend or break the policies of Coronado beach, since we’d like to see it remain free to use for small events like ours. Some clients have chosen to get the Coronado beach use permit for larger wedding parties and rental of chairs and arches, and while we don’t provide those services ourselves, I’ve been in the wedding industry for a long time and we can point you in the direction of the proper permitting offices and rental vendors. 

Meeting Locations

On Coronado beach, We have two meeting locations that we recommend, either near the hotel Del Coronado, or near the corner of Ocean Boulevard and G Ave. There are pros and cons to each spot, but they are both parts of the same Beach, just about a half a mile apart. We have a detailed pdf of the locations here:

Other Wedding Locations

If you would like to use another location in the San Diego area, that’s fine too. Keep in mind, just about every other location will have either a venue rental or permit associated with it, which is the client’s responsibility to obtain. But if you so choose, we have performed at rental houses, hotels, and other parks where they’ve obtained permits.

Custom Floral Design

If you’ve purchased flowers with your instant beach wedding package, you’ll also receive a request for your design ideas. Our florist is excellent and can create custom fresh bouquets and boutonnières based on photos you send. They’ve even made silk flower arrangements for non-natural colors or out-of-season varieties. This is due 1 month ahead of the event. If you booked with us under a month ahead of time we’ll reach out and make sure we can accommodate you. 

Marriage Licensing

If you’re doing a legal wedding ceremony, you’ll need to obtain a marriage license. Most clients, even those from out of town, get them from the San Diego County Recorder a few days before the wedding. If you’re local, you have the luxury of planning that a little further out. You must make an appointment online, and both parties need to go to the appointment in person. 

Out of Town Licenses

Some folks from out of town have brought licenses from their home authorities, which we will gladly sign. It’s up to your state/country what the best procedure is. While this is not legal advice, our research indicates California marriage licenses are legal in the United States and Canada. You will need to obtain your license, have the wedding performed, and return it to the San Diego office within 90 days; if you are getting your license elsewhere, be sure you know the timing involved. 

Returning your license

If you do obtain your license in San Diego County, we will return it to the County office for you after the ceremony! If not, it is up to you to file it with your chosen authority. For more help with this, I recommend calling the San Diego marriage license office at (619) 237-0502, they’ve always been very pleasant and helpful in our experience. 

If you have already legally been married and are just doing the ceremony or a vow renewal with us, there’s no need to obtain any license. 

Professional Consultation

Your purchase includes up to 30 minutes of phone consultation, and unlimited email consultation, so if you have questions about logistics, hotels, restaurants, or wedding details, we are more than happy to answer them.

Day of the Event

So, you’ve completed your questionnaire, ordered your flowers and gotten your license (if necessary)… well now you’re in deep… nothing left to do but get married! 

In your questionnaire, you will have chosen your Wedding meeting location. We will meet at your desired location a half hour before the ceremony is due to begin. From the meeting point, we will decide a spot on the beach to perform the ceremony. if you have purchased photography, you will meet your photographer at this time and they will begin with pre-ceremony candid photos. 

Just prior to the ceremony, any guests will join the officiant at the ceremony location we’ve chosen on the beach, and gather around for the processional. The procession will be accompanied by live guitar or ukulele music of your choice (if purchased). You get two live music requests, some clients have opted for recorded music which we can also accommodate. 

The ceremony itself will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Our base script is secular and catered to the beach wedding experience, but we’re happy to add any religious content you’d like. If you have written personal vows to each other, any special ceremonies, etc., I will introduce these features. Et voila! You’re married! Any post-ceremony music will commence at this time. 

Wrap up

If you have purchased photography, we will then commence family photos and the bride and groom photo session, which typically lasts about an hour after the wedding. Once that’s done, we will make sure all of the paperwork is in order, and you’ll leave to carry on happily ever after. If you got your marriage license in San Diego, we will return it to the county office for you.

We Look Forward to a Beautiful Event! 

I hope that was helpful, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. While Instant Beach Wedding is a fairly new business, we have already served many happy customers, and have decades of experience in the wedding and entertainment industry. We’d love to share our knowledge and experience with you, and help create a day to remember. Thanks again for taking a look, Cheers!