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Florida's Scenic Wedding Spots
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Among the most popular settings, from left: Don CeSar Beach Resort, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Walt Disney World and Philippe Park.
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Published: May 9, 2008
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Florida boasts all sorts of romantic getaways for weddings. With miles of seashore, acres of lakes, lush gardens and world-renowned theme parks, the state offers brides and grooms myriad idyllic settings in which to say, "I do."
Don CeSar Beach Resort, St. Pete Beach
This Loews resort hotel overlooking the Gulf of Mexico even looks like a giant, pink wedding cake. Its history of romance dates to 1928, when it opened to great fanfare and praises for "The Pink Palace by the Sea."
During the Jazz Age and in their happier days, author F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, holed up at the Don. Now, 400 couples a year marry there. They exchange vows barefooted on the beach along the Gulf or by the pool or dress up for more formal ceremonies in the ballroom. Scottish bagpipes, Texas line-dancing, Persian Muslim ceremonies - the resort can accommodate them all and more.
Couples can select videographers, bands, flowers, cakes and other amenities through the resort.
Wedding prices range from $110 to $155 per person. The ceremony charge is $2,000.
The resort is at 3400 Gulf Blvd. For details, call (727) 360-1881 or go to www.doncesar.com.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota
Who doesn't enjoy gardens? And few are more attractive or soothing through which to stroll than Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on Sarasota Bay, just south of downtown.
The gardens are beautiful any time of day, but they're spectacular when the sun is setting over the bay. Most couples exchange vows on the Schimmel Wedding Lawn and Pavilion and at the Bayside Oak adjacent to Marie Selby's former mansion. Others choose the Mansion Museum or the Great Room by the Bay, whose sweeping windows look over the water - and at sunsets.
The gardens provide catering services, but couples are not required to use them.
Wedding rates range from $950 to $1,900; weddings and receptions range from $2,000 to $5,000.
The gardens are at 811 S. Palm Ave. For details, call (941) 366-5731 or go to www.selby.org.
Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista
Invite your guests to your wedding at this vacation Mecca and, chances are, most will come.
An astounding 27,000 couples have gotten married at Disney World since 1991, making it one of the most popular destination wedding and honeymoon locales in the world.
Typical of Disney, all sorts of tempting options are offered. Couples may marry in the glass-enclosed Wedding Pavilion, ride afterward in Cinderella's glass coach pulled by white ponies and hang with Disney characters at their receptions.
The Victorian-style Wedding Pavilion, overlooking Seven Seas Lagoon and an easy walk from Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, is one of the most popular Disney wedding venues. But brides and grooms can choose from all sorts of Disney-themed weddings and receptions at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian Resort, Yacht Club Resort or any of its other many resorts.
"Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and African Kingdom safari receptions are just a few theme options.
Other fun facts:
•Two couples running in Disney marathons have cut out of the race to get married in front of Cinderella's castle.
•Couples from every state and Japan, Saudi Arabia and other countries have married at Disney World.
The average Disney wedding costs $28,000 for 100 people. Wedding prices start at $4,000 for an Escape Wedding Collection gathering for two; Wishes Wedding Collection ceremonies start at $10,000 for 10 guests or more.
Wedding and honeymoon packages are also offered. For details, call (321) 939-4610 or go to www.disneyweddings.com.
Philippe Park, Safety Harbor
This may be one of the least expensive places to marry with multimillion dollar water views. Last year, about 50 couples exchanged vows in this Pinellas County park overlooking Old Tampa Bay. The record was nine in one day.
And what better place to look forward to the future? The park is shaded by towering oaks and dotted with picnic shelters - one holds 300 guests. Most couples pick a place along the waterfront between shelter Nos. 1 and 7 to exchange vows. One of the most popular spots is atop a huge Indian mound left behind by the Tocobaga Indians, who lived there from A.D. 1,000 until Europeans arrived.
The view at the top of the mound is more breathtaking than the hike up.
Couples who don't hire vendors - for food, chairs and other amenities - may not have to even pay to marry in the park. More elaborate affairs are priced according to number of guests. Weddings with vendors and 51 to 150 guests, for example, can cost $150 a day and require a special event permit. (Prices are subject to change).
The park is at 2525 Philippe Parkway. For details, call (727) 669-1947. For information on an events permit, go to www.pinellascounty.org/park/special_event_permits.....
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