Most of our brides live out of town, so choosing perfect spot for beach ceremony in Destin or Panama City Beach can be a difficult task. In this post I will try to give some professional insight and share few tips I learned in the past. So here we go:
1. Decide if you want your ceremony to be on the beach (on the sand), at the place overlooking the ocean, or green lawn.
If you go with ceremony on the beach you will l have these choices:
- Beach State park Pros: at some parks you can actually reserve the spot, pavilions as rain back up available at most, plenty of parking. Cons: you have to drive to the location, sot charge a fee.
- Public beach access. There are lots of beach access in our area, so before you choose one over do your research. Pros: most are free and do not require permits. Cons: it is public, so first come first serve basis. No guarantees that the best spot will be available.
- In front of a beach house. Pros: convenient because no driving is necessary. Cons: higher price tag.
- In front of a resort. Pros: convenient because no driving is necessary. Can have reception at the same place. Cons: usually very populated and most resorts have chairs and umbrellas on their beach.
My best helper in finding a perfect location for each wedding is Google Maps. Once you decide if you want to do your wedding in Destin or Panama City Beach, type it in Google Maps. Find the area you want to stay at (or maybe you already decided on the resort or beach house), zoom in to that area and drag little “Pegman” to the street view. Now you are able to take a virtual walk around the area and see what is there. For example I found many public beach access right next to the resorts where my brides where staying at. You can also see nearby restaurants and shops. Pegman is awesome!
One more thing to conceder when choosing your beach ceremony location is transportation and parking. Plan ahead if you know that your wedding site has limited parking. Ask your guests, and vendors to carpool, or arrange transpiration for them (shuttles or limo buses are great options).
If you have a wedding booked with us you will have one of our wedding coordinator help you with making this decisions and guide you along the way.