Beach wedding rental checklist

Ceremony on the sand

• Chairs for every guest who will sit. Folding styles carry across the sand and set up fast: white folding, Hollywood folding, wood folding and resin folding. See the ceremony chair layout guide for rows and aisle width.
• An arbor or focal point. The arbor sizes guide lists heights and widths for the bamboo, Carolina, round and other arbors.
• A small table for the signing, a unity piece or the rings. A 30-inch bistro table at table height does this job.
• Chairs for the officiant, musicians or anyone in the ceremony who needs to sit.

Cocktail hour

• High-top bistro tables, about one per 8 to 10 standing guests. See how many cocktail tables.
• Beverage dispensers, with insulated units for long outdoor service, and coolers and a chiller table to keep refills cold. See how many drink dispensers.
• Punch bowls in hammered stainless.

Reception tables

• Guest tables: 60-inch or 72-inch rounds. See how many tables and chairs for 100 guests.
• A sweetheart table or a head table of 8-foot tables.
• Cake, gift, card and guest book tables.
• Reception chairs. Chiavari chairs suit a floor or deck; the Chiavari vs folding guide covers the trade-offs.
• Linens: round and rectangular tablecloths, runners and napkins, in a wide range of colors, sizes and styles.
• Flatware, with a piece per guest for each course. See how much flatware per guest.

Catering support

• Chafing dishes for a hot buffet. See how many chafing dishes.
• Insulated food pan carriers to move hot and cold pans from the kitchen to the site.
• Serving trays, tiered displays and dessert displays.
• Coffee: a 100-cup percolator or hot beverage dispensers. See how much coffee for 100 guests.

Filter the list by the beach rules

Public beaches around Destin and 30A cut the list down. Before you order, check the beach wedding permits guide for your beach. The rules that change a rental order most:

• Glass is banned on City of Destin, Okaloosa County and Walton County beaches. Okaloosa and Walton rules also cover ceramics, which rules out porcelain serving pieces on the sand.
• Setup is time-boxed: in South Walton it starts one hour before the event, and on Okaloosa County beaches not before 7:00 a.m. Keep the sand to what can be set in that window.
• Nothing stays on the beach overnight.
• In South Walton, the permit application lists how many tables, chairs and lights you will set up, so settle the counts first.
• Chafing fuel and candles are open flame. Okaloosa County bans fires on its beaches outside county grills, and South Walton requires a fire district permit.

Numbers to have before you order

1. Guest count, and how many will be seated at the ceremony.
2. Where the ceremony and reception are, and whether either is on a public beach.
3. Service style: plated, buffet, family style or stations.
4. The timeline, including the setup window the beach allows.

Send those with a quote request and the order can be built around them.