To request permission to hold a wedding or civil union on one of Lewes Beaches or Parks, please complete this form and submit with the applicable fee to: Elaine Pease, PO Box 227, Lewes DE 19958, (302) 645-7777 x100, Fax (302) 645-6406, epease@ci.lewes.de.us.
As of December 1, 2012 fees are: $200.00 in all other parks or beaches.

We added the Lewes Beach, Delaware Wedding form here – Click Here

When you are thinking of getting married on the beaches of Delaware there are some things to consider as you might well imagine.

Is it crowded at that beach?  What about parking for family and guests?  What about a wedding reception for after the wedding ceremony on the beach?

I’m sure those questions and more roll through your head while planning your wedding in Delaware, so I hope this “Beach Wedding Spots” helps you out.

Lewes beaches, there are two (or 3) beach spots that I’m thinking of that make for a great place for a small to medium size wedding on the beach.  These spots are close together, so its real easy to check them out.  The Georgia Ave beach location, has a long narrow parking area and it has dunes on either side of you.  And to the West or North of that area, just a few hundred yards, is the other spot,  and its a lot more spread out, and if you are thinking of getting married there, just make sure your guests know where you are in that larger area.  They might arrive and find themselves at someone else wedding thinking its yours, and you are a few hundred yards away.

View Beach Locations for Delaware Weddings in a larger map
Parking shouldn’t be a problem at either of the locations.  And with any beach wedding I would recommend getting married near around sunset, about an hour and a half before sunset, for many reasons.  Better pictures (less horrible shadows) and less people on the beach.  As it is not a private beach, there will be other people sharing the beach with you.  With Lewes beaches, you will want to check out our other posting about the permit for getting married on Lewes Beaches. There is quite a few places within a few miles to in and around Lewes, Delaware that you can have your wedding reception at, so another plus.

Cape Henlopen, beaches for weddings are great, as you have a lot more spots to choose from, more scenic, and a little more private.  They do have something of a wedding venue there in the park, and you would also have to check with them about permits and pricing on the venue as I’m sure it changes yearly.  For the smaller weddings and you are a bit of a outdoorsy wedding couple, there are a lot of camp area and BBQ areas to call your reception area, however bring your bug spray.  As there are many areas that one could get married at on the beach, be sure to have a GPS location you can send to the smartphone users and print up maps for those guests who like using maps, so that your guest arrive at the right location.  To get into the park there is an entrance fee, of $4 for vehicles with Delaware state tags and $8 for out of state tag vehicles.  Even going in the park and scouting out the various beaches to get married on, you will have to pay, unless you get a pass, so bring some $1s.  And set aside some time to get some nice pictures while you are out there, maybe 2 hours before sunset, it’s a great place for wedding photography, for sure.

Rehoboth Beaches for weddings are pretty nice, wedding reception areas galore.  I could recommend looking at beach locations, north near around the Henlopen Hotel and work your way down.  There are a few beach areas north of the Henlopen Hotel, but then you are getting back into the Delaware Park areas, and if you are in Rehoboth, might as well getting married on those beaches.  You have the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk, so many beach spots are accessible via the boardwalk and if you’re having your wedding near around sunset means, less people on the beach and better pictures.  Parking will be your biggest issue for sure so if your wedding ceremony location and wedding reception isn’t in the same area, you will encounter headaches I’m sure.  For your wedding party and yourself I would recommend hitting up Atlantic Limos for Wedding Limousine service to help with the stresses of parking.  They even have limo buses if you have a large wedding party.

I think if you are having your wedding reception at a specific place in Rehoboth, look for the closest beach and get married there.  Walking to that closest beach spot is an option however depending on the heat, I might not recommend it as I’m sure it will tire you and your guests out.

With that in mind, I could pass long these beach wedding tips or ideas that you might find useful.

Having some hand held fans, that have your wedding details on them would be nice, as well as maybe assigning an usher or friend to have a small cooler with little bottles water would be a life saver for your guests.

If you are thinking of dressing up the beach for your wedding ceremony, we do provide some of the best looking beach setups around.  Wedding archways, palm trees, the whole wedding setup, complete with chairs for your guests.  No setup or tear down for you or anyone, we take care of all that, in our beach packages.  And think about adding an hour of professional wedding photography, as we have a pretty creative photographer that will capture your wedding memories for you.

If you are involving any pets, typically dogs, into your wedding ceremony on the beach, be mindful if there are any restrictions.  A lot of weddings I’ve seen with dogs on the beach, there were no problems, but there was that one time.  Thankful it was a small wedding, and the beach patrol didn’t raise too much of a fuss.

Always aim for having your wedding at sunset, having it during the mid day or before 4 pm, you are looking at all kinds of issues.  Crowded beaches, heat and the sweating, shadows and no one is getting good pictures, lunch crowds if you are closer to noon.  You get the idea.

And about the last thing I can think of to pass on is, plan as much as you can, but don’t be upset if things don’t go as you plan.  I found that no wedding ever really goes as planned, things come up, and its best to roll with it and be happy.  As long as you have your special someone there with you on that day and no one dies, it will be a great wedding day, rain or shine.