Weddings by the sea in beautiful Southern California.
Sounds like a TV fantasy, doesn't it? Yet joining hands in front of crashing waves, on the sands of Manhattan Beach or Malibu can become your reality, with just a little planning and some elbow grease. While hefty fees have to be paid to the county, it's still a fraction of what a hotel would charge.
And how about those killer views?
We decided to look into exactly how to stage a Los Angeles beach wedding. . We found that it all goes through the Los Angeles County Dept. of Beaches and Harbors, which requires $150 permits to hold a wedding near a lifeguard station. An additional 15% of vendors fees (what you pay florists, chair rental companies and photographers such as ourselves) goes to the county as well.
You also need to arrange for a $1 million liability insurance policy (around $100), and if you have music coming through speakers, or being performed live, you need to contact the local police department for a sound permit. Permits for beach weddings are generally arranged by asking to be positioned near a specific lifeguard tower. For more info, go to the county website, http://labeaches.info and click the permit form. The phone contact is Pamela Miller, at 310-574-6756.
The cities with the most locations for beach weddings are Malibu, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach. Pacific Palisades has one location, Will Rogers State Beach, as does Venice and Topanga. Marina del Rey is also liberal with its use of oceanfront scenery.
