Seashell Theme Wedding:
Seashells By The Seashore

This seashell theme wedding takes its idea from those beautiful shell collections we collected as children and helps you to create an engaging beach wedding celebration.

Let Your Guests Know That It's All About The Shell:

Did you know that there are two types of shells? Gastropod seashells are shells that are not hinged or joined together. They look like they are one complete shell. Periwinkles and conch shells are two examples of a gastropod shell.

The most popular type of shell found on a beach is a Bivalve shell. These are two piece shells that are hinged and can be opened by prying the shell apart. Clam, mollusk and cockle shells are all considered bivalve shells.

For your seashell theme wedding, print out trivia cards for the guest tables. Have a picture of a specific sea shell printed on one side with the name of it on the other. Guests can pass the time between courses trying to identify the shells. For some great pictures and corresponding names, check out this seashell identification guide.

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• Use large conch shells as table centerpieces. Set them on a flat, clear plate with regular or colored sand. Scatter some smaller shells around the plate along with small pieces of driftwood for unique table decor.
  
  
• Fill small bowls half full with sand. Add some pretty seashells to the top of the sand and insert a candle in the center to use as a table centerpiece.
  
  
• Fill up different size wine glasses with seashells and organize 3 of them per table (in varying heights) as centerpieces. Place small glass tea lights around the glasses.
  
  
• Order or buy napkins with seashell imprints or decals on them.
  
  
• Hang seashell wind chimes near open windows and doors.
  
  
• Use large clam shells as containers to hold rolls, napkins and other lightweight items.
  
  
• For table lighting around the room, use seashell shaped floating candles in a bowl of blue tinted water.
  
  
• Drape grass skirting around your serving tables and hang seashells along the edge.
  
  
• Use topiary trees on serving tables. Decorate the trees with various sea shells and ribbons. Add a large gauze ribbon wrap and bow to the underside of the topiary.
  
  
• Spruce up plain toasting glasses by wrapping raffia and sea shells around the stem of the glasses. You could also buy a small glass etching kit at a local hobby store and etch your names or a sea shell design onto each glass. It's pretty simple to do.
  
  
• If your wedding is being held outside, light the area up with tiki torches. Decorate the torch poles with raffia bows and large clam shells.
  
  

• When we were in Hawaii for our honeymoon we bought some cheap shell necklaces, which would make great favors for your wedding guests. You could also string these together to make swag loops in front of your tables and over the bar to serve as decorations.
  
  
• Give your guests a chocolate candy bar with a personalized shell wrapper.
  
  
• Wrap 2 or 3 floating shell candles together in netting and tie with a ribbon.
  
  
• Pretty sea shell shaped soaps or bath fizz balls would be lovely favors for the female guests.
  
  
• Place a small pretty shell in a net or organza bag. Add a few shell shaped chocolates, candies, and/or mints to the bag. Tie closed with a ribbon.
  
  
• Seashell place card holders serve a dual purpose - to tell your guests where to sit and as a pretty take home favor. A great idea would be to name each guest table after a specific shell.
  
  
• Another popular gift idea is a seashell candle, especially gel candles. These are also quite easy to make at home, even for those that aren't very crafty.
  
  
• Another novelty item my husband and I came across when in Hawaii was a "sea shell in a bottle" (just like those ships in a bottle). They're small and make an interesting favor.
  
  
• For a quick and easy gift, make shell magnets for the fridge. Simply glue the sea shell to a small magnet and let dry. You could opt to paint the shells or perhaps add some glitter glue sparkles in your wedding colors to the edges and ridges as a special added touch.
  
  
• Make your own wine glass charms by threading 20 gauge copper wire through a hole in a small cone-shaped shell. Bend one end of the wire into a small loop. Thread one to three shells onto the wire through the straight end. Create a hook at the end (so the shells don't slide off) and hook the charm around the stem of each glass.
  
  

• Mollusks are a favorite food source for man with the most common seafood choices being scallops, oysters, clams and escargot (tree snails.) In fact, an acre of cultivated mussels can provide 10,000 pounds of meat in a year, which is 500 times more than the 200 pounds of beef an acre of pastureland can produce.
  
  
• The oldest form of money known to man is that of the seashell. Many cultures throughout history (even a few today), used the shell as a form of barter and trade.
  
  
• There are between 50,000 and 200,000, species of mollusks which results in thousands of different shapes, sizes and colors of sea shells
  
  

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