I was married two weeks ago in Islamorada, Florida, and I have several amazing vendors to recommend for couples planning their big day.
Location: Our ceremony and reception were at La Siesta Resort & Marina. They have an amazing 5 bedroom executive house that you can rent, which comes with a private lawn, small beach and dock. The setting was absolutely gorgeous as they keep the lawn and landscaping of the house very well manicured. Our closest friends slept in the house and the rest of our guests stayed in the resort. The location provided an easy out to drinking and driving since all of our guests could just walk back to their rooms. I urge anyone who is seeking a beautiful serene beach wedding to check out this location. The one downside was that all of the staff was not very professional or organized. We actually ended up dealing with 4 different wedding coordinators. In the end it did not cause too much trouble, only extra strife during the planning process.
Wedding Dress: I purchased my dress from Boca Raton Bridal located off of Federal Highway in Boca Raton and it was the best experience. The staff was amazing and the owner, Jack, was very involved and courteous. I had my alterations done right there in the shop and they did a great job. And of course their selection of dresses was the best I found in all of Palm Beach County, Florida.
Photographer: My husband and I could not be more thrilled with our photographer, Belinda Serata. She completely blew us out of the water with her spontaneous shooting and our pictures are amazing. Plus, she was so experienced and kind to our friends and family. Make sure that if you are having a Florida Keys wedding you check our her website - www.bserata.com.
Audio Equipment and Tent: We used Keys Audio Production for our speakers, microphone and music station. We chose to skip a DJ and use all of our own music. We were able to rent the speakers and just plug our tablet into them and play our own playlists. We saved thousands doing it this way and I recommend that any of you who are very particular about music, do it this way. We dealt with Paul Caceras and he was so nice and professional. His crew did the set up and tear down as well, all for a very reasonable price. Our tent was a 40 x 20 and initially was only purchased in case of rain. In the end we were very happy to have the tent because it had two cute little chandeliers and complemented the candle light we had with our table settings.
Catering: We used Catering by Green Turtle Inn & Kaiyo Grill. Green Turtle Inn is a longstanding establishment in Islamorada and they have the most delicious food. All of our guests simply raved about the buffet. The best part is that they let you customize the buffet, even allowing us to pick dishes that were not on their catering menu. My husband had to have crab cakes for the wedding and when we tried Green Turtles' crab cakes it was a no brainer...they were meaty and delicious without any fillers. We had two grill stations with chefs at each one, grilling and serving seared loin of ahi tuna and prime rib. The overall cost was a bit more than we wanted to spend but I must admit it was totally worth it!
Hair and Makeup: I took my best friend and 5 other female family members to Ciao Bella Salon & Day Spa for manicures, pedicures and hair. The staff was great and I loved the way the stylist did my hair. I simply showed her a picture and she did what I wanted. I never went in for a trial style due to the distance....I live in West Palm Beach and did not want to drive 3 hours just to get my hair done! Overall we were pleased and I recommend them for hair and nails. I had my make-up done by a local artist named Jessica Graziano and she was fantastic. She lives in Delray Beach but travelled down to Islamorada to do my makeup. She does not have a website but if anyone is interested I can provide you with her contact info.
I know this is longwinded but I feel that my experiences will help someone out there! I stand by these reviews and hope that anyone who chooses these vendors will have the same great outcome that we did!