Throwing A Tropical Wedding: All The Tips & Tricks For The Perfect Day

A tropical wedding is a fun, festive theme that uses the beauty of nature to create a relaxing and celebratory atmosphere. Whether you live in a tropical region or you’re planning on having a destination wedding, we’ve got lots of tips and tricks to ensure your wedding is truly the perfect day.

Here’s our advice on locating a venue, planning the decor, getting the perfect photos, and choosing the ideal bridalwear for a tropical wedding!

Find a tropical wedding venue for hourly rental

The right wedding venue can make all the difference in the overall vibe of your wedding day, and a themed wedding is especially dependent on this. After all, a tropical wedding really makes the most sense in a tropical location. Choosing a venue that suits your budget, aesthetic, number of guests, and other requirements is a crucial early step in the wedding planning process.

One of the most useful online tools for locating wedding venues (as well as event spaces of all kinds) is Peerspace. n fact, iIt is the largest online marketplace for hourly space rentals.

Curious about what’s available on the site? To give you a general idea, we’ve gathered a couple of examples of Peerspace listings that we think would be well-suited to this wedding theme:

Tropical Cantina

Maybe you’re planning a small (up to 40 person) tropical wedding indoors to protect you from the consequences of any last-minute rainstorms. Then this Austin, Texas-based tropical cantina is an awesome option.

Here’s a description of the layout of the space: “The space boasts a colorful backdrop of deep blue hues and tropical plants. The room consists of an L-shaped bar counter, plus bar seating along one side wall and a community table. The bar opens up to a covered porch area, with access outside via a sliding garage door”. It’s somewhat of an “empty slate” that you can decorate and arrange to your heart’s content to ensure your wedding is exactly as you envisioned it.

To quote one satisfied reviewer who booked a party here, “Jody was so kind and helpful through the entire process. The space was awesome and fit what I needed perfectly. Will definitely be booking with Jody for my next event!”

Downtown Botanical Garden

If you’d prefer to have your wedding take place outdoors, thenthis botanical garden in downtown Naples, Florida could be perfect. It can accommodate more than 100 guests but is equally well-suited for smaller gatherings, too. This space is “a beautiful botanical garden that lends itself to any special occasion, photo and video shoots”. It includes “two large open areas with about 800 sq ft of grass. The rest of the yard has many nooks tucked among lush tropical landscaping.”

You’ll have a beautiful, verdant backdrop for your nuptials, celebrations, and taking fabulous photos. One reviewer wrote of their experience with the garden: “I would highly recommend this spot. Dana was more than accommodating and all around a wonderful human being. The location is gorgeous and for the price and hospitality you just cannot beat it! . . . The spot [was] beautifully maintained and felt like you entered a dream oasis.”

Tropical wedding decor

One great way to bring a tropical feel to your wedding is through your choice of flowers, both for centerpieces and for your bridal bouquet. Martha Stewart Weddings suggests “​​filling your wedding’s floral arrangements with exotic flowers — like protea, hibiscus, and orchids — or lush green palm and banana leaves”. Even something more unexpected like picturesque tropical fruit could make a unique decorative addition to your centerpieces.

Another place to highlight your wedding’s tropical theme is with your wedding invitations, which should match your venue decorations. Here’s what Wedding Forward recommends on this topic: “As your wedding invitations often set the tone for your big day, consider making this theme consistent in all your wedding stationery. Colorful flowers, bright colors, bamboo, and palm leaves should feature also at your wedding ceremony venue, tying the theme together perfectly.”

Your wedding aisle can also display the tropical theme beautifully: “Some tropical wedding theme ideas include lining the aisle with palm leaves, sand, or beautiful petals of the magnolia flower. Using bamboo or wood chairs will also go a long way in sprucing up your aisle tropical style.”

Similarly, your wedding arch/altar is another place to apply the tropical theme. Check out this list of 18 tropical wedding arches and altars by Hi Miss Puff for some helpful inspo.

Our guide on tropical theme party ideas can also help. Give it a look!

Tropical wedding photography

Photography for your tropical-themed wedding should, ideally, highlight the beauty of nature that is so much at the forefront of your theme. This means using natural scenery as the backdrop of your photos wherever possible.

For instance, if you’re having your wedding near a beach, take advantage of the proximity to an ocean vista and have some romantic photos taken right on the sand. Or if you end up getting married in an outdoor garden like the example linked above, take full advantage by taking photos in lots of different areas of the garden to vary your backdrop with different species of plants.

For some inspiration, check out this tropical wedding photoshoot by wedding photographer Monika Normand, this tropical wedding celebration photoshoot by Jenna Hidinger Photography, or photos of this tropical destination wedding in Mexico by Barbara O Photography.

If your wedding will be in the Bay Area, discover the best outdoor photoshoot locations in Oakland to complement your theme.

Tropical wedding bridalwear

For this type of themed wedding, you’ll want to choose a less formal and more casual, comfortable wedding dress. Think something relatively simple, airy, and very flowy, a dress that will look great blowing in a tropical breeze!

There are all sorts of options out there in this vein, and to help you sort through them all, tropical and mountain wedding planner Aimee Monihan has assembled a fabulous list of tropical dresses that’ll help you get started in your search for your ideal wedding gown.

Also helpful is this list of 25 airy tropical dresses by Weddingomania, which notes that fabric choice is especially important for a wedding in warm weather. “The best fabrics for hot weather are cotton organdy, chiffon, crepe or voile over silk because they won’t make you feel too hot or sweat too much.”

Find unique wedding venues on Peerspace