When Anthony Rossomando told his mother about the sand sculpture he and his fiancée, Stephanie Angelone, were having made for their beach wedding at the Casa Marina, a Waldorf Astoria resort in Key West, Fla., Mr. Rossomando recalled his mother saying, “How nice.”

“When she asked the price and I told her, $700, she said, ‘What’s wrong with you?’” said Mr. Rossomando, 32, a merchant mariner.

Little did Mr. Rossomando’s mother know how much fun it would be to watch it being built, how labor intensive it would be (some sculptures take two days), how long it would stay intact — and that $700 is a nominal price. Some hotels charge more than $3,000 for a sand sculpture, depending on design, detail, complexity and size.

Mr. and Mrs. Rossomando, who live in Grafton, Mass., were married March 5. To commemorate the event, they opted for a four-foot sculpture in the shape of a compass rose with an anchor down the middle. Their names were engraved on either side.