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<\/p>\nWhat better place to say I do than in your favorite vacation destination? The Emerald Coast of Florida is home to the most amazing beaches in the country. Capture your special moment in time and experience the joys of your memories each time you return to the Gulf Coast.\u00a0Every year we get some guests that incorporate our beach houses into their wedding plans in one way or another.\u00a0 Because we get so many inquiries about what is involved, I decided to share some of my thoughts a provide you with a little research I\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s finally autumn which means that it\u2019s wedding season on the Emerald Coast! Getting engaged is exciting, but it often comes with hours and hours of preparation and planning. Destination weddings involve even more work. Though every couple has their own criteria for picking their wedding destination, everyone wants it to be romantic. Your wedding day is one of the days you will remember for the rest of your life. For this reason, you obviously want to make it a magical ceremony that is cherished for a lifetime. There is nothing more appealing than getting married next to the beach on a gorgeous afternoon or early evening. With the wind blowing gently, the sun shining down and the water flowing up to the sand, it is a setting you could only dream up. While many take honeymoons to locations like this, why not live the dream and get married on the beach?<\/p>\n
If you are in the process of selecting a wedding destination, you should consider Destin, Florida. There\u2019s nothing quite as romantic as saying your vows on the sandy white beach with the crystal-clear emerald waters sparkling in the background. In fact, Destin beach weddings are what dreams are made of for most couples.<\/p>\n
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One of the most common wedding venues in the area is the Henderson Beach Inn.\u00a0 With Henderson Beach State Park as the main venue, this place is incredible.\u00a0 Of course, with the great venues come the price tags.\u00a0 What typically happens that gets the DoctorsOrdersDestin<\/a> beach houses involved is that the budget will only allow for so many to enjoy the truly 1st<\/sup> class accommodations.\u00a0 Therefore, if there are 25 or 50 coming into town for the wedding, the costs for accommodations plus everything else will start adding up.\u00a0 Sometimes the Bride, Groom, and their parents enjoy the Henderson, while the rest of the wedding party and guests will want to very nearby.\u00a0 \u00a0The DoctorsOrdersDestin beach houses are about a mile from the Henderson, \u00bc mile from Crystal Beach and just a short walk to the James Lee Public Beach.\u00a0 There are quite a number of Luxury Beach house rentals along the emerald coast to choose from.\u00a0 Pricing will reflect the number of guests a house can sleep, as well as the proximity to the beaches themselves.\u00a0 Yes, you can find houses right on the beach that can sleep 30 people, but likely that will be very expensive.\u00a0 If you are just across the street, a little less than on the beach, and if you are the street off the main scenic drive, even less.\u00a0 Parking can be a huge challenge during the busy season so be careful when going farther than walking distance away.\u00a0 A couple rental agencies that I respect, even though my houses are not listed with them are Five Star Gulf Rentals <\/a>\u00a0and Beach Reunion Group Rentals<\/a>. These Destin Beach House Rentals agencies will have the large beach front houses if that is what you are looking for.\u00a0 They may cost 30k+ for a week during the season, so plan accordingly.\u00a0 Keep in mind that the bigger your party gets; the obstacles will become exponentially more challenging.\u00a0 Keeping in mind that a beautiful beach day, will bring warmth, wind, and sand, many opt for just having the ceremony on the beach during the morning or before sunset. \u00a0There\u2019s a big difference between a ceremony on the beach with a reception to follow at a more traditional reception space (hall, restaurant, beach house, etc.) and a full-on\u00a0beach reception with fifty of your nearest and dearest (including elderly and babies??).\u00a0 Keep in mind that is you wisely move the reception gathering off the beach to a Gulf Front or Gulf Side Beach House, not all will welcome that and there surely will be some extra fees involved.\u00a0 I can tell you from experience, that while we have been honored to be utilized, there is some downside to having our home be used like this.\u00a0 During a social event like this, all furniture and decorations we have so diligently arranged are going to be completely re-thought for this special occasion.\u00a0 It\u2019s typical that our cleaners are not able to perfectly put things back where we would normally stage them when slight movement occurs.\u00a0 During this occasion, nearly everything may get moved, including wall decorations.\u00a0 The chances of everything getting put back just so, are very slim.\u00a0 Hopefully you are able to see the dilemma and extra concern to allowing a beach house to be utilized like this.\u00a0 With dozens of groups coming in after your event, should it not be put back to the proper stage, it could be very damaging to the rental season for a property owner.\u00a0 So please understand if a fee is requested for your special event.<\/p>\n The best times of the year will be April\/May or Sep\/Oct but the summer months are still the most popular.\u00a0 Just be realistic that a beautiful June\/July wedding on the beach will be 80-90 degrees in most cases.\u00a0 After the ceremony, the reception is usually moved off the beach where shade, tables, and more time to relax and visit are more easily arranged.\u00a0 This is where the beach houses often come in as table can be setup there for a more extended gathering.\u00a0 If your budget allows, by all means bring it inside to a huge room at The Henderson or Emerald Grande.<\/p>\n The most common question we get is what\u2019s involved for reserving the beach<\/strong>.\u00a0 So, here\u2019s what I know for 2019.<\/p>\n The Henderson Beach State park<\/strong> will handle their own reservations, or your planner will work with them.\u00a0 You can find more about by following the link below.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.hendersonparkinn.com\/blog\/planning-destin-beach-wedding\/<\/a><\/p>\n Here is a nice write-up by Weddingwire.com on Henderson Beach State Park in Destin Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rates for Henderson Beach State park can be found here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James Lee Park<\/strong> is handled by Okaloosa County and a permit is required.\u00a0 It is a fairly simple process though.\u00a0 This venue is very close to the DoctorsOrdersDestin Beach Houses.<\/p>\n Wedding Permits\u2014<\/p>\n \u2666 All weddings taking place at an Okaloosa County Beach \/ Park shall be scheduled and permitted with Okaloosa County Parks Division.<\/p>\n \u2666 Please call (850) 423.4868 or (850) 683.6209 at least 14 days in advance for scheduling and permit information.<\/p>\n \u2666 There is a $50 permit fee per wedding.<\/p>\n \u2666 Scheduling is subject to availability and permits are given on a first-in-time basis.<\/p>\n The would like you to be 30-60 days In advance.<\/p>\n The Okaloosa permit link is here\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Crystal Beach<\/strong> is one of the most popular area along the Emerald Coast and is in the heart of Destin.\u00a0 The venue is handled by the City of Destin.<\/p>\n The Destin Parks can be reached at 850-650-1241 or 850-837-4242.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Wedding planner will take much of the stress out of arranging the many things that need to be done.\u00a0 A couple that caught my eye are<\/p>\n Sun Quest Beach Weddings<\/a>\u00a0 I especially appreciated Sun Quest’s Step by Step planning Guide<\/a>. FLORIDA MARRIAGE LICENSE<\/strong><\/p>\n Florida residents\u00a0<\/strong>are required with a minimum 3-day waiting period, unless they have completed the premarital course.<\/p>\n Out-of-state residents<\/strong>\u00a0can get married the same day they obtain their marriage license.<\/p>\n The ceremony can be performed anywhere in the state of Florida and the license is valid for 60 days of issuance.\u00a0\u00a0Florida residents are required with a minimum 3-day waiting period, unless they have completed the premarital course. Out-of-state residents can get married the same day they obtain their marriage license. The ceremony can be performed anywhere in the state of Florida and the license is valid for 60 days of issuance.<\/p>\n You must bring:<\/strong><\/p>\n Each person will need one valid form of ID \u2013 State ID Card, Valid Driver\u2019s License, Military ID card, or Valid Passport.<\/p>\n Non-residents or residents who have not completed the premarital course \u2013 $93.50 fee<\/p>\n Residents who have completed the course \u2013 $61 fee<\/p>\n No blood tests or physical exams required.<\/p>\n A marriage can not be officially recorded until the license is returned to the Clerk. It should be returned with 10 days after the wedding. The party who performed the wedding is responsible for returning the completed license.<\/p>\n A marriage license may be obtained Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm at the Clerk of the Circuit Court\u2019s Office at any of the courthouse below:<\/p>\n Okaloosa County Courthouse<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 101 E. James Lee Blvd Room 10<\/p>\n Crestview, FL 32563\u00a0 850.689.5000 ext. 3<\/p>\n Walton County \/ South Walton Clerk of Courts<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The Clerk of Courts has two offices in Walton County and in South Walton at the South Walton Courthouse Annex. Call 850.267.3066<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Destin Beach Weddings<\/strong> can be easily done if kept simple and there are many ways to keep the cost to a bare minimum.<\/p>\n DIY couples can easily save money on wedding invitations by making them yourself. You can find packs of blank wedding invitations at stores such as Wal-Mart that are affordable or online at Amazon.com. These packages also come with CD\u2019s that have templates on them for differently worded and designed invitations.\u00a0 Simply add your information to the template and print the invitations out. Then you can either hand write the addresses on the envelopes (which come with the invitations) or print them out as well. All this will cost is the invitation package, the ink for printing and the stamps for mailing. This is usually the cheaper DIY way to do wedding invitations, especially if you have a large guest list. If you\u2019re not happy with the template provided to you, do a Google search for \u2018wedding invitation templates\u2019 or \u2018wedding invitation wording\u2019 and pick\u00a0a wording and style that appeals to you.<\/p>\n The key to finding the best photographer for your wedding\u00a0is persistence. While some photographers are easy to find and seemingly always available, the best ones aren\u2019t because they will either be on the road or busy with another wedding. To receive the best results and get an idea of what style appeals to you and start with trusted online\u00a0wedding sites like\u00a0Decidio, WeddingWire, and TheKnot.\u00a0\u00a0You should\u00a0see some samples of their work, read about their experience and reviews from previous couples, and links to their websites if you want to learn more.<\/p>\n While I\u2019m trying to question those that use our houses for recommendation of whom they used, I\u2019ll be updating this post with some recommendations.\u00a0 Feel free to reach out to me if you have some.\u00a0 For Video, I\u2019ve been a big fan of the TodoInDestin<\/a> social account for a long time.\u00a0 It seems that Cali also does the CrabIsland<\/a> social account and has her own Videography Studio\u00a0 SilverShadeStudios.com<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0 Just look at her stuff and you will see she\u2019s very good.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/doctorsordersdestin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/beach-wedding.jpg\")
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\nSun Quest also shares some nice information about the Marriage License<\/p>\nGulf Beach Weddings<\/a><\/h2>\n
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<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nFinding the right photographer and videographer is key to the process.<\/h1>\n
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