Destination Wedding - Calling fieryred33143!!

[happydreams]

Ok, so I''m looking back at all the posts so I don''t ask the same questions that have been addressed and I see that fieryred33143 has been to/will go to a wedding in the keys (your best friend, right?). Do you have any vendors that you would like to recommend? Specifically photographer, venues and flowers.
We may end up hiring a wedding coordinator, but really value personal opinions, so if you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them.

 

[fieryred33143]

Hi Happydreams!

How many guests are you expecting? What type of wedding would you like to have? Also, would you prefer Key West or any of the keys. I don''t know of too many places along the keys.

There are a ton of really great places to get married in the Keys. When we were searching we found venues that were really beautiful. If you give me a few minutes, I can find all of the sites of the places we looked into.

As for wedding photography, unfortunately, there aren''t many in the Keys that have the kind of talent you would find in bigger cities. If photography is on the top of your must have list, then I would recommend finding one in Miami that could travel to the Keys. Otherwise, the bride used EZ Photography. The couple that owns this company were really great to work with. They had flexible hours, affordable packages, and were so sweet. They didn''t get in the way and took a lot of photos throughout the ceremony and reception.

BRB...

 

[fieryred33143]

Ok for starters, the bride had her ceremony at the Key West Heritage House and Museum. It was really cute and perfect for smaller weddings. She had about 45 to 50 guests and it was a little tight but manageable. Karen, who works at the museum, was a real pleasure to work with. The ceremony was out in the Garden but the bridal party was able to use the house to exit out into the garden. They also do receptions there. The bride had her reception at Hog’s Breath. She and her husband were looking for something really laid back and that’s what Hog’s offered. It’s more of a bar atmosphere. If it were a regular wedding, it would not have worked because it was kind of plain but for what they were looking for it was great.

Other places we looked into:

Kelly’s Caribbean: Gorgeous venue! It is actually right next to the Heritage House. They have a decent size outside area but they do put tents up for the wedding. The night that we went to book everything, there was a wedding going on and I was blown away with how beautiful everything was. The restaurant itself is small which is good because they shut it down for the reception (and the food is excellent). Note: It is not open to the public during the wedding but you can see everything if you walk by. If you prefer something more private, that may bother you.

The Truman Little White House Museum: Also across from Kelly’s and Heritage. It’s a really pretty venue. There are big white gates in front so it’s a lot more private than Kelly’s. It’s a bit pricey to rent and you would have to find your own catering company. But you could always do the ceremony there and have your guests cross the street to Kelly’s for the reception.

Doubletree Grand Key resort: I love this hotel. Every time we go to the Keys we stay here because it’s away enough from Duval that we can sleep at night but still a close enough drive that we aren’t in traffic for too long. Weddings here are beautiful. You can either have the ceremony at the beach across the street, on their poolside, or inside one of their meeting rooms. I would recommend outside for the reception. Of course the only downside to the outside reception is that they can’t close off the pool to hotel guests but they do close off the reception area itself so that hotel guests can’t crash the party. The beach is *ok.* It’s not really a beach…more like sand, some palm trees, and water but it’s still pretty.

Places we researched but didn’t really look into:

Hemingway House. If it wasn’t because my friend got married in the Keys this is where I would have gone with my 15 guests. It’s really beautiful and really affordable. The museum is great. I really love it. The prices quoted are for 30 guests but they can accommodate up to 300.

The Lighthouse museum: We didn’t look too much into this venue because she was working on a strict budget and it was a little more than what she wanted to pay but again a really beautiful venue.

There’s also a church by Caroline street where you can perform the ceremony and then go to the other venues for the reception.

Now, there are also all of the hotels alongside Duval that have wedding packages. The good thing about the Duval locations is that after the wedding is over, you can continue walking up and down the strip and partying. There are also really small hotels (if you are having a small wedding) that offer the same garden ceremony/reception packages at really good rates. I would really look into Kelly’s and see if you like it. I thought the set up was so beautiful and they all looked like they were having such a great time.

Other recommendations: Be careful where you decide to get your hair done. I don’t remember the name of the place she had her hair done but it was really expensive and I felt like a drag queen afterwards because that’s who they catered too. There is a hair salon right up the street from Kelly’s that do a really great job. We couldn’t book with them because they were already doing a wedding. I’m trying to research the name but can’t remember right now.

Skip the limo. The streets are really narrow and its hard for limos to get in and out. You can rent one of the electric cars instead and get someone to drive you around. They have electric cars that look like limos and they’re so much fun!

As mentioned with photography, there aren’t many to choose from in the Keys that give you the kind of quality photos you would find in other cities but still pretty photos. If its really important to you, find a destination photographer. I’ll ask around for recommendations. My friend used EZ Wedding Photography

Don’t know much about DJs. The DJ my friend had was sort of a last minute add-on and he was horrible. He just sort of stood there switching songs and didn’t interact too much with everyone.

 

[fieryred33143]

Oh for flowers, she bought hers wholesale so we didn't look into any flower vendors.

Also, she got her wedding cake from Publix and it was delicious. There was a layer of Key Lime that was TDF.

I forgot also about the Southernmost Point Hotel. This is a really cool venue and they do weddings there too.

 

[Inanna]

Hi Happydreams!

I'm also getting married in the Keys. Fieryred gave you some great links - we considered several of the Key West venues she listed including Kelly's Caribbean and the Hemingway House. The Casa Marina Resort is also spectacular.

We originally looked at Key West, Marathon, and Islamorada for our wedding. Eventually we decided to have the wedding at a private estate in Islamorada and we will honeymoon in Key West. If you're considering any vacation rental for your wedding, have a look at this site: Stay in the Florida Keys (my location is listed here) and also at VRBO.

Other resort venues we considered outside of Key West include:

The Caribbean Resort A stunning location but requires that you book all of their rooms to hold a wedding there. Another PSer, AceP had her wedding there: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/acep-and-mr-acep-call-it-a-day-wedding-day.81651/

The Cheeca Lodge: Another great resort that unfortunately suffered a fire around New Year's. The are renovating however and I believe they are taking reservations for 2010. I wonder if they're offering any deep discounts now because of the fire and renovation.

As far as photographers, Michelle Young (Endearing Studios) is probably my favorite in the Keys. More wedding shots on her blog.

Good luck with your search!

 

[fieryred33143]

Inanna-thanks for posting too because I don''t know of any venues outside of Key West and Islamorada is so much closer to the airport.

Cheeca lodge is stunning BTW and awesome photographer suggestion

 

[tina sparkle]

check out this thread by acep (hope the link works) she had a beautiful wedding in the keys.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/aceps-pro-photos.84137/

 

[Loves Vintage]

Little Palm Island looks like it''d be an amazing venue for a smaller wedding, 40 guests. So many great options in the Keys!

 

[happydreams]

I love all of your responses!!!! This is sooooo helpful.

We decided to get married in the keys because we visited early in our relationship and have fond memories there.
We were looking at Casa Marina, only because it is part of a large chain and we figured they would have to live up to their reputation or risk bad reviews.

We would have about 50 guests. (invite list is bigger, but we are anticipating about 40-50 guests - which means, there is always a chance the party might be slightly bigger) I haven't checked out all the websites you guys posted but wanted you to know I really appreciate the suggestions and I will respond when I have gone through them all. (in a few hours)

 

[happydreams]

Date: 5/29/2009 11:07:52 AM
Author: fieryred33143
Oh for flowers, she bought hers wholesale so we didn''t look into any flower vendors.

Also, she got her wedding cake from Publix and it was delicious. There was a layer of Key Lime that was TDF.

I forgot also about the Southernmost Point Hotel. This is a really cool venue and they do weddings there too.

Fiery, are you saying she bought the cake from Publix, the supermarket? (just googled, and that''s what came up)
Wow. That''s good to know because I would have never thought to do that.
When I think if supermarkets wedding cakes, I am thinking of going to wholefoods or costco and ordering a cake.

I will definitely try to sample something from Publix and seriously consider it.

 

[happydreams]

Date: 5/29/2009 11:39:22 AM
Author: Inanna

Hi Happydreams!

I''m also getting married in the Keys. Fieryred gave you some great links - we considered several of the Key West venues she listed including Kelly''s Caribbean and the Hemingway House. The Casa Marina Resort is also spectacular.

We originally looked at Key West, Marathon, and Islamorada for our wedding. Eventually we decided to have the wedding at a private estate in Islamorada and we will honeymoon in Key West. If you''re considering any vacation rental for your wedding, have a look at this site: Stay in the Florida Keys (my location is listed here) and also at VRBO.

Other resort venues we considered outside of Key West include:

The Caribbean Resort A stunning location but requires that you book all of their rooms to hold a wedding there. Another PSer, AceP had her wedding there: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/acep-and-mr-acep-call-it-a-day-wedding-day.81651/

The Cheeca Lodge: Another great resort that unfortunately suffered a fire around New Year''s. The are renovating however and I believe they are taking reservations for 2010. I wonder if they''re offering any deep discounts now because of the fire and renovation.

As far as photographers, Michelle Young (Endearing Studios) is probably my favorite in the Keys. More wedding shots on her blog.

Good luck with your search!

Inanna, when are you getting married? (you don''t have to tell if you don''t want)
Also, can you share why you decide to do a private island vs. doing it in key west? I''m guess it''s more intimate, etc.
Yeah, I''m not down with The Caribbean Resort, because they require you to book all of their rooms...but it is beautiful.
The Cheeca lodge is to die for, but I wouldnt consider booking something before viewing the "finished product''. Oh well.

Michelle Young photos are beautiful!!! Thanks for the advice.

 

[happydreams]

Date: 5/29/2009 12:06:51 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
Little Palm Island looks like it''d be an amazing venue for a smaller wedding, 40 guests. So many great options in the Keys!

Beautiful...but I don''t think I can ask everyone to drive since ALL guests will be out of town. It may be too much (on top of flying).

 

[Inanna]

Date: 5/29/2009 9:35:01 PM
Author: happydreams

Date: 5/29/2009 11:39:22 AM

Author: Inanna

Other resort venues we considered outside of Key West include:

The Caribbean Resort A stunning location but requires that you book all of their rooms to hold a wedding there. Another PSer, AceP had her wedding there: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/acep-and-mr-acep-call-it-a-day-wedding-day.81651/

The Cheeca Lodge: Another great resort that unfortunately suffered a fire around New Year''s. The are renovating however and I believe they are taking reservations for 2010. I wonder if they''re offering any deep discounts now because of the fire and renovation.

As far as photographers, Michelle Young (Endearing Studios) is probably my favorite in the Keys. More wedding shots on her blog.

Good luck with your search!

Inanna, when are you getting married? (you don''t have to tell if you don''t want)

Also, can you share why you decide to do a private island vs. doing it in key west? I''m guess it''s more intimate, etc.

Yeah, I''m not down with The Caribbean Resort, because they require you to book all of their rooms...but it is beautiful.

The Cheeca lodge is to die for, but I wouldnt consider booking something before viewing the ''finished product''. Oh well.

Michelle Young photos are beautiful!!! Thanks for the advice.

The wedding is this November. We decided to hold it at a private estate instead of a resort pretty early - FI really didn''t want to get married at a traditional wedding "venue". Key West had some large rental properties, but they weren''t private enough for us. There was a much larger selection of properties in Islamorada. The particular estate we chose will house 20-24 people so it solved one of our major issues - lodging for immediate family - and it has a private beach, which we loved. Islamorada is also much closer to the Miami airport, so we figured it would make traveling easier for our guests.

There are trade-offs, however. Islamorada is smaller than Key West, so there are less vendors to choose from, especially caterers and musicians/djs. The vendors that are there book up extremely quickly, so I''m glad we starting planning early.

I absolutely hear you as far as the Caribbean Resort and Cheeca. There are a few other places that I forgot to mention in my first post:

Islander Florida Keys: This is a more affordable resort in the Islamorada area. We booked a room block here for our wedding.

Casa Morada: An small all-suite resort that hosts weddings up to 20 people.

Pierre''s Restaurant: A gorgeous restaurant which hosts wedding ceremonies and receptions.

Ditto Fieryred on the cake - I have also heard from many different sources that Publix does amazing wedding cakes.

 

[fieryred33143]

Oooo I forgot all about Pierre''s restaurant. It is delicious! One word of caution though: if you go over a certain amount of guests you have to shut down the entire restaurant. I don''t know what your budget is but when my friend was looking into it (she originally wanted Islamorada because of its proximity to the airport), she found it to be very pricey because she would have had to shut it down.

And yes Publix is the supermarket. Here''s a pic of my friend''s cake. It was really good.

 

[happydreams]

Publix it is, for the wedding cake! Eh...are the prices resonable?

Date: 6/1/2009 10:07:23 AM
Author: fiery
Oooo I forgot all about Pierre''s restaurant. It is delicious! One word of caution though: if you go over a certain amount of guests you have to shut down the entire restaurant. I don''t know what your budget is but when my friend was looking into it (she originally wanted Islamorada because of its proximity to the airport), she found it to be very pricey because she would have had to shut it down.

And yes Publix is the supermarket. Here''s a pic of my friend''s cake. It was really good.

 

[happydreams]

Date: 6/1/2009 9:56:04 AM
Author: Inanna

Date: 5/29/2009 9:35:01 PM
Author: happydreams

Date: 5/29/2009 11:39:22 AM

Author: Inanna

Other resort venues we considered outside of Key West include:

The Caribbean Resort A stunning location but requires that you book all of their rooms to hold a wedding there. Another PSer, AceP had her wedding there: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/acep-and-mr-acep-call-it-a-day-wedding-day.81651/

The Cheeca Lodge: Another great resort that unfortunately suffered a fire around New Year''s. The are renovating however and I believe they are taking reservations for 2010. I wonder if they''re offering any deep discounts now because of the fire and renovation.

As far as photographers, Michelle Young (Endearing Studios) is probably my favorite in the Keys. More wedding shots on her blog.

Good luck with your search!

Inanna, when are you getting married? (you don''t have to tell if you don''t want)

Also, can you share why you decide to do a private island vs. doing it in key west? I''m guess it''s more intimate, etc.

Yeah, I''m not down with The Caribbean Resort, because they require you to book all of their rooms...but it is beautiful.

The Cheeca lodge is to die for, but I wouldnt consider booking something before viewing the ''finished product''. Oh well.

Michelle Young photos are beautiful!!! Thanks for the advice.

The wedding is this November. We decided to hold it at a private estate instead of a resort pretty early - FI really didn''t want to get married at a traditional wedding ''venue''. Key West had some large rental properties, but they weren''t private enough for us. There was a much larger selection of properties in Islamorada. The particular estate we chose will house 20-24 people so it solved one of our major issues - lodging for immediate family - and it has a private beach, which we loved. Islamorada is also much closer to the Miami airport, so we figured it would make traveling easier for our guests.

There are trade-offs, however. Islamorada is smaller than Key West, so there are less vendors to choose from, especially caterers and musicians/djs. The vendors that are there book up extremely quickly, so I''m glad we starting planning early.

I absolutely hear you as far as the Caribbean Resort and Cheeca. There are a few other places that I forgot to mention in my first post:

Islander Florida Keys: This is a more affordable resort in the Islamorada area. We booked a room block here for our wedding.

Casa Morada: An small all-suite resort that hosts weddings up to 20 people.

Pierre''s Restaurant: A gorgeous restaurant which hosts wedding ceremonies and receptions.

Ditto Fieryred on the cake - I have also heard from many different sources that Publix does amazing wedding cakes.

I see....Hey, did you ever check out Casa Marina and The Reach? I am flying down there to check it out soon but wanted to know what you thought.
Is the space good for about 40-50 people? I was looking at online pix, and the ballroom looked huge ! I wanted an intimate space, but that ballroom looked rediculously large - the tables would have to be set out like 10 foot apart!

I like Pierre''s but the whole thing about people driving there might be a bit too much. (All will be commuting out of state)

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 6/1/2009 3:27:13 PM
Author: happydreams
Publix it is, for the wedding cake! Eh...are the prices resonable?

Actually I thought they were pretty comparable to a normal bakery. Definitely cheaper than some places that make fancier cakes.

Do you have your heart set on the Keys? There are some really nice venues in Miami for 40 to 50 guests if you are concerned about traveling.

There''s also this nice winery in Homestead which is about 40 minutes from the airport give or take. The only problem with Homestead is that there is *nothing* to do there.

http://www.schneblywinery.com/wedding.cfm

 

[happydreams]

Date: 6/1/2009 3:38:08 PM
Author: fiery

Date: 6/1/2009 3:27:13 PM
Author: happydreams
Publix it is, for the wedding cake! Eh...are the prices resonable?

Actually I thought they were pretty comparable to a normal bakery. Definitely cheaper than some places that make fancier cakes.

Do you have your heart set on the Keys? There are some really nice venues in Miami for 40 to 50 guests if you are concerned about traveling.

There''s also this nice winery in Homestead which is about 40 minutes from the airport give or take. The only problem with Homestead is that there is *nothing* to do there.

http://www.schneblywinery.com/wedding.cfm

Fiery, I know you''re from Miami. I have been there twice, but only to party. I guess I sort of see it as a Party town and can''t imagine myself getting married there. Am I wrong? I saw Miami as playground for the rich/glitzy and Key West as quirky, laid back and a bit more grown up.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 6/1/2009 4:20:32 PM
Author: happydreams

Date: 6/1/2009 3:38:08 PM
Author: fiery

Date: 6/1/2009 3:27:13 PM
Author: happydreams
Publix it is, for the wedding cake! Eh...are the prices resonable?

Actually I thought they were pretty comparable to a normal bakery. Definitely cheaper than some places that make fancier cakes.

Do you have your heart set on the Keys? There are some really nice venues in Miami for 40 to 50 guests if you are concerned about traveling.

There''s also this nice winery in Homestead which is about 40 minutes from the airport give or take. The only problem with Homestead is that there is *nothing* to do there.

http://www.schneblywinery.com/wedding.cfm

Fiery, I know you''re from Miami. I have been there twice, but only to party. I guess I sort of see it as a Party town and can''t imagine myself getting married there. Am I wrong? I saw Miami as playground for the rich/glitzy and Key West as quirky, laid back and a bit more grown up.

I would definitely categorize the Keys as such

.

There are parts of Miami that are just as you described. However, there are some really nice, laid back venues. Rusty Pelican comes to mind.

But the Keys is better. It''s just unfortunate that there are no flights into the Keys. There''s the hopper which I think is $169 per person so that''s an added cost. But you know, all of my friend''s guests were from out of town (only a handful from Miami) and no one complained about the drive. I guess it''s just such a nice atmosphere that people don''t seem to mind the trip.

 

[Inanna]

I never actually visited Casa Marina although I thought the pictures online were really beautiful. FI vetoed it quickly stating that he wanted something much more quaint - he's very picky and vetoed every single larger resort I asked him to consider. Casa Marina was also way out of our budget - the required food minimum would have cost more than double what we're paying our private caterer.

Also, we discovered flights to the Key West airport could cost our guests 2-3 times the amount of direct flights to Miami, which really concerned us. All but 5 of our guests are from out of state and so far it looks like no one has a problem flying into Miami and driving 1.5 hours (or taking a shuttle) to Islamorada. Many of our friends are also flying in together and then sharing rental cars. We've invited about 75 and expect 45-60 guests to actually make it.

Also, I do consider Key West to be on par with Miami party-wise, but as Fiery said there are certainly laid back places to be found in the Miami area.

 

[happydreams]

Date: 6/1/2009 4:43:43 PM
Author: Inanna
I never actually visited Casa Marina although I thought the pictures online were really beautiful. FI vetoed it quickly stating that he wanted something much more quaint - he''s very picky and vetoed every single larger resort I asked him to consider. Casa Marina was also way out of our budget - the required food minimum would have cost more than double what we''re paying our private caterer.

Also, we discovered flights to the Key West airport could cost our guests 2-3 times the amount of direct flights to Miami, which really concerned us. All but 5 of our guests are from out of state and so far it looks like no one has a problem flying into Miami and driving 1.5 hours (or taking a shuttle) to Islamorada. Many of our friends are also flying in together and then sharing rental cars. We''ve invited about 75 and expect 45-60 guests to actually make it.

Also, I do consider Key West to be on par with Miami party-wise, but as Fiery said there are certainly laid back places to be found in the Miami area.

that''s so opposite of us. We are all about chains when we are outside our comfort zone. When we''re home, it''s all about the mom and pop shops and independent stores. I guess since we dont'' know much about key west (besides heron house, where we stayed the last time), we wanted to rely on reviews and the general reputation of chains. Will let you know if we end up booking there. We should know by the end of the month