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Up until a few months ago, I was also a Seacoast bride planning a beach wedding. The state parks won't let you set up chairs and you'd have to hold the reception somewhere else. The only place that we've found that's even slightly beachy is the Seacoast Science Center in Rye. They have a massive white tent that they rent along the water. The upside is you can do the ceremony and reception in the same location. The downside is that it's rocky, not beachy. This is the link to the photo gallery: http://www.seacoastsciencecenter.org/visit_today/gallery/slideshow.php?g=12&x=1
The only other water themed venue we explored was Wentworth by the Sea and they are a bit more on the expensive side.
Super cheap option: You can rent the Salisbury state beach picnic area ($150 i think) - it has picnic benches under a roof that would probably seat most everyone. It's not fancy, but it's cheap and the shelter is very good.
I was in the same predicament- I was real close to booking the seacoast science center, but it was a little over budget for just the venue (4k for a sun. lots more for sat)
I ended up at the gloucester elks- affordable, seats a bunch of people, having the ceremony on the grass in front overlooking the ocean- you can opt to have a wedding on one of the sand beaches nearby. But you can't DIY your food here, you must hire a caterer.
I'm not sure if Surfside 5 in Salisbury center (MA) lets people rent out their deck for private functions, but if they do that's about as close to the ocean as you can get. They boast an "8,000 sq.ft. ocean front deck". It's a bar in Salisbury center though, so it wouldn't exactly be private or fancy.
The Elks lodge is gorgeous! I think I have friends getting married there next year. Good find danicalifornia
@Carnival_Bride: Thanks! And shockingly affordable! My Mom heard the price and immediately got out her checkbook- no lie.
I was also in your shoes before my parents came in to save the day. Fort Foster in Kittery, ME has pavillions you can rent, and lots of nooks and crannies if you're feeling more adventurous. It's pretty, on the water and just barely in Maine. It's a bit hard to find, but might be worth a look.
The Seacoast Science Center is beautiful. I really wanted that to work for us, but it just didn't.
Good luck!
Never been here but I did a quick Google search and Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NH mentions that they do weddings.
I also came across a few real weddings in the Seacoast NH area. (http://www.weddingmapper.com/g/nh/rye/planning/weddings)
@BayStateBride: Like I said, rather pricey for JUST a venue site, but it does include a tent- and she can't DIY food there.
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I got engaged 2.5 years ago and we're finally getting around to starting to plan the wedding! We're trying to keep the budget as low as possible since we're broke and our parent's aren't much better off. We want a DIY wedding (which will help keep the buget down) so we've got food, flowers, decorations, music covered. We (let's face it, I!) really want a beach wedding were we can have the ceremony and reception in the same place, but still relatively close to lodging for afterwards. Given the tempramental New England weather, having a place where we can bring in a tent with tables/chairs would be ideal. We would like it to be in NH or very close to it since we have a lot of guests traveling from the central/seacoast NH area. We have ~150 guests. I need suggestions on finding a spot!!! Help please!!