Florida Keys...

hcarver312

Hello I'm new to this board. We just got engaged Christmas Eve, and we definitely want to have a destination wedding. We want to keep it close but not too close to us (Tampa Area), and have decided on the Florida Keys.

My Fiance has been quite a few times however I have never been. We are planning a trip within the next couple months to nail down a venue. Just wondering if anyone has been married there or is planning on getting married there...

shannon5176

You may want to check the south FL boards.  There are lots of keys brides there.  That was what I THOUGHT I wanted until I realized what it would cost for 4 days in the keys (flights, hotel, ceremony, reception) I could do two weeks AI in Mexico! LOL  I got some great advice and info over there!

EmilyL113

Hi!

I live in Tampa too actually and am getting married in Key West in April at Ocean Key Resort!

I'd be happy to help or answer any questions you have on Key West!!! 

Good luck!!

TrudM75

Congrats on your engagement!
We are also planning to get married in the Keys and are going down in a few weeks to check out some venues!  Once we are back I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the locations we visit.

We are looking at these in Key West:
Ocean Key Resort
Marriott Beachside Resort
Southernmost on the Beach
Casa Marina

We are also visiting one place in Marathon Key:
Hawk's Cay Resort

catcon2006

Hi everyone!
We are getting married in Key West on March 24th. We had done a lot of phone work talking to vendors and venues but decided to go down last weekend to check it out for ourselves. I am so glad we did! The venue we had initially selected was far too smalll for our growing guest list. By the way, that is one thing that we heard a lot from vendors -they guest count always goes up, never down with a Key West wedding. So be careful if you pick Key West then suddenly everyone you have ever talked to says "I've always wanted to go there!" 

Beach Location:
Although Smathers Beach is free, we are glad we picked Fort Zachary Taylor as you are ensured to have your own piece of paradise (without the general public getting caught in your photos).

Reception Sites:
The key is asking what their food and drink minimums are and how many guests the location will hold. These two numbers will help you really hone in on what may work with your budget and your vision. We have 45 guests coming which really surprised us. Yes, as Shannon mentioned above, the cost is not cheap and you will find much better deals in Mexico. However, given the turmoil there, we found not everyone is willing to travel to Mexico at this time. The older family members, in particular, were not keen on that idea.

Ocean Key/Hot Tin Roof - only good if you are going to buy out the entire restaurant. We initially selected this venue but after seeing how small the patio was, decided to go elsewhere.BTW, this is a fine place if you want to have just a lunch-type of reception. Do keep in mind that the cruise ships park just to the East and block some of the view during the day. The ships must leave by a certain time at night on Saturdays however because they block the view from Mallory Square.

Roof Top Restaurant - this is where we decided to have our reception. The food is AMAZING! It also had that tropical feel that we want.

Other places we considered/looked into:
Antonio's

Grand Cafe - old house with old house smell - would be ok for brunch/luncheon reception

La Tratorria (new location near airport) - nice but not really a separate room - great food

Casa Marina (part of Waldorf Astoria) - really nice but minimum is $12K

Southernmost - we are staying here but not having the reception here because it is inside/outside and dancing on the beach would be difficult, as well as more expensive

Commodore - more formal but large windows overlooking marina

Azur - ok, but not our style

Square One - loved it - this was our 2nd choice.

We also spoke with florists, three bakeries, booked a sunset cruise (Jolly Rover II) for our guests for the prior evening, etc. The trip was well worth checking out the vendors and I'd be happy to share information with anyone who has questions. I hope this was helpful!!
Cheers,
Cathy