Beach Weddings in Ventura County
Who hasn't swooned over a gorgeous photo of a couple walking along the water's edge, a mixture of blues and pinks cascading over the sun? The beach is a wonderful and very popular location to hold wedding ceremonies in Ventura County. To help you with securing a location, let's explore your options for weddings at the beach.
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Elopements On The Beach
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Since beaches are public places, anyone is able to use these spaces (to an extent) for personal use. If you walk down to the beach with a small group of people and hold a ceremony, you do not need a permit. This means no ceremony set up, i.e. no chairs, no arches, no tables, no sounds systems, etc. We can simply gather around, standing in place, and have a ceremony performed on the ocean side with minimal stress and mess.
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Weddings On The Beach
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If you do want to utilize chairs, arches, decor, sound systems, and have more than 20 people, you need to have an event permit for your wedding. Permits do take time so last minute bookings may not be an option. All permitting is done through the government entity who is in charge of the land you want to use.
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Here are some of the more common locations and where you would obtain permits:
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1. San Buenaventura State Beach
California Department of Parks and Recreation
"San Buenaventura State Beach in Ventura features a sandy beach with a shady picnic area that can be used as a reception area."
For more information, contact ventura@parks.ca.gov or call (805) 648-4059.
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2. Ventura Harbor Village (Surfer's Knoll, South Beach and Harbor Cove)
Ventura Harbor Event Liasion: Susan Boyle
"Ventura Harbor offers many settings for your waterside event. You can enjoy spectacular sunsets, extended beaches and magnificent island views, a 3 mile promenade around the harbor and a lush green lawn in Ventura Harbor Village, all providing many opportunities to view the boats and watch the water wildlife play and feed. With more than 35 restaurants, shops, hotels and services for your guests to enjoy, the Harbor is dedicated to ensuring a wonderful event experience in Ventura’s premier oceanfront destination."
For more information, you may call Susan at (805) 477-0470 or email sbogue@venturaharbor.com.
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3. No. Ventura Beaches (Rincon, Hobson, and Faria Beach Park)
County of Ventura Parks Department
For more information about Use Permits or to schedule an event, call the Parks Reservations Line at 805-654-3951 or email at county.parks@ventura.org.
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4. Port Hueneme Beaches
Only elopement style ceremonies are allowed in Port Hueneme as they do not issue permits for larger events.
For more information, please call the Recreation Department at 805-986-6542.
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5. Beaches in Oxnard (Mandalay, Oxnard, Hollywood, Silver Strand)
For more information, call Visit Oxnard CA at 805-385-7545 or toll free 800-2-OXNARD.
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Wedding Venues On The Beach
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If you're not into the DIY of weddings and would like to find a venue with a reception option as well, there are venues that offer ceremony packages which include ceremonies on the beach.
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