The Ultimate Guide to Destination Wedding Venues in Florida

The Sunshine is more than just beautiful (although it certainly is that too); it’s also big.

We mean, like, really big. 

Especially if you’re American, it can be easy to forget just how big places are.

But Florida is almost twice the size of Portugal, and you could fit all of Nepal inside of Florida. 

Nepal is where Mount Everest is. 

Think about that. 

So when you’re searching for the best destination wedding venues in Florida, you’re searching across a land area that’s the same size as all of Greece and is home to twice as many people.

And that’s why we’re giving you our local insight. 

Instead of driving randomly all the way around America’s Greece, narrow your search by…

Determining Your Budget

Learn this and drill it into your head: it doesn’t matter how nice a venue is if you can’t afford it. 

Over half of all newlyweds in this country take on debt to finance their weddings, and if you asked them, we’d guess that a lot of them didn’t expect to. 

This is because couples regularly go into their wedding planning without, well, planning. 

And the most important thing to plan is your finances. 

If the price tag for a particular venue is too high, drop it from your list. 

If you’re going to spend crazy money on something, at least save it for your honeymoon. 

For the average cost of a wedding in the US (which is $35,000), you could both just check out and go live on a beach in Tanzania or Sri Lanka for a full year before running out of money. 

How’s that for a honeymoon?

But yeah, you will have to spend a little bit of money on your wedding because you’re essentially throwing a big party for yourselves and everyone else you invite. 

Even so, you don’t need to break the bank. When shopping around for venues, check on their pricing, including what is included in whatever price they quote you. 

Always get an itemized list of expenses, and be wary of any suspicious-looking charges, like when your caterer charges you an extra $500 for “management fees” or something else vague. 

Also, keep in mind that, even though there isn’t really a winter in much of Florida, there are still peak seasons and off-seasons for weddings. 

If you want to get the best prices for things, try to shoot for off-season if you can. 

Even at the very best destination wedding venues in Florida, you’d be surprised at the sorts of deals you can get off-season.

Decide On Your Wedding Date

Another thing you need to drill into your head and use as a quick criterion to eliminate candidate venues from your list is time. 

More specifically, if your time and the venue’s time don’t match up, then it doesn’t matter what else might be right or good about it. 

If you can’t book it for your preferred day(s) because it simply isn’t available, then that’s all there is to it. 

That’s one reason why American couples commonly book their wedding venues a year or more in advance. 

It gives all their guests time to make their own arrangements so that they can attend. 

And it also provides the couple with a wider range of the best destination wedding venues in Florida to choose from, since it’s not on short notice.

“Maximum Capacity Has Been Reached”

This is what you don’t want. 

It’s never good to book a place only to then discover that it doesn’t have enough space for all the guests you’ve invited. 

Also, as a side note, try not to invite more guests than you can accommodate. 

While it’s true that not everyone you invite will be able to show up, you still want to plan for the possibility that they might. 

So, always confirm and reconfirm a venue’s space and maximum capacity before booking. 

As with prices and available dates, this is important information you need to have before agreeing to hand over any money.

You’re Not In Kansas Anymore

Well, if you’re like most people, you’ve never been to Kansas at any time. 

But that’s not the point. 

The point is that, like Kansas with its hail and tornadoes, Florida has some local weather and climate stuff you’ll want to be aware of and factor into your planning and venue selection. 

Any decent place will offer some kind of contingency plan or alternate space in case it rains. 

And it does rain, like almost every day. 

So this is something you should absolutely expect from the best destination wedding venues in Florida.

Location, Of Course

For this last section, we’ll cover what you probably thought was coming first: location. 

Now, it’s important to note here that Florida is, once again, a pretty big place. 

As such, there are a few different regions within the state that each have their own considerations. 

For example, Miami and Pensacola are two very different cities, and they’re farther apart than Rome and Berlin. 

That’s to say nothing of the Florida Keys. 

You’ll want to consider the region where you’ll be hosting your wedding because local weather conditions and prices can vary a lot (those Florida Keys are pretty, but they’re not cheap). 

Likewise, you’ll want to consider where exactly within that region you’ll be. 

For example, do you want to be directly on the beach (money), or would you prefer to have your wedding a little further inland and then enjoy the beach later when you’re wearing something more comfortable? 

Lastly, don’t underestimate how expensive Miami has gotten in recent years. 

You can virtually always get much more bang for your buck in Orlando or Jacksonville than you can in Miami. 

And you won’t be missing out on scenery either way.

The Inside Scoop

We understand that this isn’t exactly the advice that a lot of other venue owners will give you, but that’s exactly why we’re giving it to you. 

We won’t say that we want repeat business, because that sort of implies that we hope your marriage doesn’t work out. 

We only want you to get married here once. 

But we definitely do want good recommendations and for you to tell your friends about us. 

And you’re more likely to do that if you’ve had a very positive experience that didn’t bankrupt you or cause you to get sick because your caterer didn’t fry the oysters all the way. 

So, follow these guidelines to ensure that your wedding experience is one that you’ll always be happy you chose to have here in America’s best state. (Yeah, we said it, Florida is the best.) 🌴