The Bournemouth beach chapel is the first in the UK to be able to offer couples the opportunity to have a legally binding marriage ceremony on the beach. In order to comply with UK law, the ceremony must be conducted in a “permanent covered building”, and there was some debate over whether or not the beach hut met these guidelines, which resulted in a delay in getting the wedding chapel rubber stamped for use.

Now all of the official paperwork has been done, and the Bournemouth Beach Chapel is open for business between April and October. The Dorset resort is hoping to lure couples away from flying off to sunnier climbs such as the Caribbean, Maldives and Europe to tie the knot by being the only venue in Britain to offer beach weddings.

With packages starting from as little as £999, a Bournemouth beach wedding is cheaper than a beach wedding abroad and likely to be within reach of many couples, plus there’s no worry about flying your guests out to your chosen resort when you choose a seaside wedding in the UK.

While the weather can’t always be guaranteed, if the sun doesn’t shine on your Bournemouth beach wedding, an undercover option is also available to shield you and your guests from the elements. Brides and grooms will also be able to make an entrance to remember, either arriving on the land train, or drop in on your wedding by descending from the lift.

If the wedding rumours are true, it will be the second marriage for the Along Came Polly star as she was previously married to Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt. The pair married in a Malibu in 2000 but the marriage last just five years, with Jennifer and Brad divorcing in 2005.

Second time around, and a source close to the former Friends star says she’s planning a low-key affair for her wedding to screenwriter/ actor Justin Theroux. According to the friend, Jen has suggested she’d like to tie the knot on a beach in either Mexico or Hawaii, joking that she may even exchange vows in jeans and flip flops.

Close pal and Friends co-star Courtney Cox is apparently in line for maid of honour duties, with the date of the wedding expected to be sooner rather than later as the 42-year-old actress wants to start a family with her new beau. However don’t expect the wedding to be featured in any glossy magazines as Jennifer is said to be keen for the nuptials to be an intimate and private affair.

Hollywood beauty Megan Fox married in secret beach ceremony last month

Hollywood actress Megan Fox has tied the knot with fellow actor, Brian Austin Green, in a romantic beach ceremony in Hawaii.

The couple, who’ve been dating on and off for the last 6 years, married at sunset on a deserted beach in a ceremony performed by a Hawaiian priest. The bride and groom stood side by side, along with Brian’s 8-year-old son Kassisus, as they exchanged their vows.

The wedding took place on June 24^th however the newlyweds have only just confirmed the news and released a handful of official photographs. There was widespread speculation weeks earlier that the pair had married while on holiday as they were snapped wearing wedding bands.

The low-key ceremony at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai was a far cry from the typical Hollywood style wedding. However the bride did pull out all of the stops to look sensational on her special day.

The 24-year-old walked barefoot across the sand wearing a strapless Armani Prive gown with a sweetheart neckline and a billowing 16ft train which flowed out behind her. The bride carried a bouquet of big white blossoms.

The male members of the wedding party went for the casual look with white linen outfits and bare feet.

After meeting on the set of Hope and Faith back in 2004, when Fox was aged just 18 and Green 30, the pair started dating and have been together ever since aside from a brief separation in 2009.

Nicole and Lewis reportedly planning a beach wedding

Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton are reported to be planning a beach wedding after the Formula 1 star proposed in secret.

The pair have been dating since 2008 and despite a brief separation, the couple have got now got their romance back on track are said to be getting hitched.

According to a report in British celebrity magazine, Nicole and Lewis will announce their engagement at the end of November once the Formula1 racing season is over.

Earlier this year we reported on how Nicole Scherzinger had told a shop assistant in a Los Angeles boutique that she was shopping for a wedding dress, adding further fuel to the wedding rumours.

A source close to the Pussycat Doll singer says the racing driver has proposed numerous times, however the 32-year-old singer finally accepted after the huge amount of support Lewis gave her during her time on the US dance competition, Dancing With the Stars, which she went on to win.

Plans are now said to be underway for a romantic beach wedding in which the two will tie the knot. The ceremony itself maybe an intimate affair, however sources say the newlyweds will then throw a lavish party at one of their favourite haunts, the Dorchester Hotel in London, where they plan to hold a big wedding reception to celebrate their nuptials with all of their celebrity friends.

Couples call off beach weddings on Gulf Coast as a result of the US oil spill

Thousands of brides and grooms-to-be planning a beach wedding in Florida have been forced to cancel their arrangements due to the oil spill which is affecting much of the Gulf coastline.

The Panhandle area of Florida has been a popular choice for beach weddings in the States for many years. In fact, this part of the coastline has hosted so many beach nuptials that it’s been dubbed “the Las Vegas of beach weddings.”

However the US oil spill is having a detrimental effect on the wedding business on the Gulf Coast this year with some wedding industry suppliers reporting a 50% drop in the number of bookings for the peak wedding season.

Weddings are an important part of the local economy as they bring visitors and business to the Florida area. But with many brides and grooms fearing their dream beach wedding will be ruined by the oil which threatens to fall on the Florida beaches, many are calling off their seaside weddings.

Even when couples don’t cancel their Florida beach weddings, the planners are left with a headache. One wedding planner told recently of a bride who refused to give her wedding the green light until 48 hours before the big day so as to ensure oil from the spill had not been swept onto the beach by the sea.

The last-minute go ahead for these weddings is high risk as the planners have very little time to prepare the area ahead of the ceremony. For this reason, added luxuries like an arch of flowers looking over the ocean have to be scrapped due to time restrictions.

All stops are pulled out to ensure those who do proceed with their wedding on the Gulf Coast have a venue free of oil and tar balls as teams of workers are drafted in to clean the beach of any debris ahead of a ceremony.