The best beach wedding locations on Earth

The best beach wedding locations can of course be found on the best beaches in the world. The Caribbean, The Maldives, Hawaii, Bali and Phuket are best-ever favorites when it comes to destination weddings. With crystal blue sea waters, powder-white sand, lush greens, and beautiful sunsets, these tropical islands make for a stunning backdrop to your wedding photographs. At the same time, they are great places to spend your honeymoon too!

Nothing is more romantic than marrying along a majestic beach amid the rolling waves, and the Caribbean offers some of the most impressive beach wedding locations in the world. The most practical thing about a Caribbean beach wedding is accessibility. If you live on the East Coast of the US, you can simply jet off your entourage to these islands.

Montego Bay has some of the most exquisite resorts in Jamaica. For a colonial Caribbean theme, select one of Bermuda's upscale pink sand beaches. St. John in the US Virgin Islands provide a more tranquil alternative away from summer crowds. Perhaps the hottest beach wedding location in the Caribbean is the Bahamas. Paradise Island, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, and Harbor Island feature powder-white beaches and an auspicious climate all year round.

One of the most romantic beach wedding locations is the Maldives, where the blue waters of the Indian Ocean appear to blend with the blue horizon. The bride makes her entrance from a dhoni, a local sailboat, and is carried to the beach where her groom is waiting. After exchanging rings, the couple is whisked away to a barbecue dinner reception to the celebratory drumming and dancing of Bodu Beru music. A coconut tree is symbolically planted the morning after in respect of the newly weds.

Southeast East Asia is home to beautiful beaches and rich cultures -- the ideal atmosphere for a beach wedding. Set your wedding ceremony against Bali's lush emerald-green rice terraces and warm tropical breeze, or Lombok's coral-rich clear waters in Indonesia. Create wonderful Thai wedding memories in serene Krabi, vibrant Phuket, or picturesque Phi Phi, where the movie The Beach was filmed.

Some of the best beach wedding locations are close to home. Couples have a lengthy list of wedding options when in Hawaii - they can get married on the sand, on a surfboard, under a gazebo or in a tropical garden, all with an extraordinary view of the Pacific Ocean.

Florida and California are also notable options for a beach wedding location. Exchange vows in carefree Miami Beach, action-packed Daytona Beach, tropical Key West, laid back Cocoa Beach, or on the emerald waters of Destin, Florida. Out west, you can create an special wedding experience in Long Beach, Newport Beach, Mission Bay, Coronado Beach, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, and Malibu in California.