Dream Destination Wedding Locations in the Southeast

Fort LauderdaleMiamiNorth AmericaOrlandoPensacola BeachSarasotaTampa

Turn your special day into a vacation for you and your guests with a destination wedding. From beaches and botanical gardens to historic mansions, Florida and the northern Gulf Coast are full of fabulous outdoor locations that provide a great setting for laid-back ceremonies or extravagant galas. IHG Hotels and Resorts has gorgeous properties in all of these seaside locations where you can reserve a block of rooms for wedding guests, or a space for a rehearsal dinner or reception.

Here are 8 dreamy destinations you should consider for your wedding.

Get Married By The Shore

Sand Key Park—Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida

Sand Key Park is a pristine paradise on a 95-acre barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, filled with seashells, palm trees, and white sand beaches. It’s a perfect place to get married by the shore, whether you choose a spot on the main beach or the rock jetty area. Sand Key is a seashell’s throw from Clearwater Beach, but its beach is far less crowded. The island faces west, so you can get great wedding photos with a pink and orange-tinged Florida sunset over your shoulder.

Rosemary Beach—Florida Panhandle

The sugar-white sand and emerald water on Florida’s Panhandle are legendary for their beauty, and a popular spot for couples to tie the knot. Rosemary Beach, an adorable 30A town, offers several sites to say “I Do” in addition to its gorgeous beach, including pools, town greens, and its quaint Town Hall which has a courtyard made for wedding receptions. The town will even have a beach bonfire on the eve of the big day for you and up to 180 of your friends and family.

Key Biscayne—Miami, Florida

The lighthouse overlooking the waters of Miami in Key Biscayne, FL

If you want to say “I Do” on a Miami beach that’s less crowded than Miami Beach, consider Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne, outside Miami. There are several options for your ceremony, including the white, sandy beach, the pier, or the picturesque Cape Florida Lighthouse built in the 19th century. Restaurants in the park can cater your event.

Ryckman Park—Melbourne/Titusville, Florida

Ryckman Park in sleepy Melbourne Beach looks out over the Indian River Lagoon and is a popular spot for weddings. There’s a large gazebo for ceremonies and plenty of lawn space for a reception beneath the park’s moss-draped oaks. Ryckman Park is also home to the historic Melbourne Beach Pier, a 19th-century structure that’s a great spot for photos on your big day.

Get Married In A Garden

Bellingrath Gardens and Home—Mobile, Alabama

With 65 acres of azaleas, Spanish moss-draped live oaks, rose gardens, and more, Bellingrath Gardens and Home provides a beautiful backdrop for a wedding. The estate and gardens were built in the 1930s by Coca-Cola franchisee Walter Bellingrath on the banks of Fowl River, about 30 minutes south of downtown Mobile. Say “I Do” in an oak-shaded courtyard or in The Chapel, for a more intimate ceremony.

Bok Tower Gardens—Florida Central

One of the most popular gardens in Florida, Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, is a serene and elegant place to get married. Famous for its Neo-Gothic singing bell tower and swan-filled ponds, the 250-acre tropical garden was built by Ladies Home Journal publisher Edward William Bok and designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. The gardens feature a 1930s Mediterranean-style mansion available for receptions, as well as a nature and bird sanctuary.

Harry P. Leu Gardens—Orlando, Florida

Weddings have been a tradition at Leu Gardens for decades. The 50 acre-gardens feature more than 2,000 plants and dozens of distinct gardens, including Florida’s largest formal rose garden, as well as camellia, butterfly, cactus, fruit, and tropical gardens. Built on the former lakefront estate of a citrus entrepreneur, Leu Gardens has six locations where you can say “I Do” with up to 200 guests.

The Casements and Rockefeller Gardens—Daytona Beach, Florida

Have your wedding at The Casements, the former winter estate of John D. Rockefeller in Ormond Beach, Florida, just minutes south of Daytona Beach. The 9,000-square foot mansion and its two acres of surrounding gardens were built in 1914 and sit on a barrier island overlooking the Halifax River. Say your vows in the brick courtyard or one of several distinct gardens and have your reception in the mansion’s formal dining room, which can accommodate up to 80 guests.

Learn more about IHG® Hotels & Resorts and start planning your wedding at one of these dream wedding destinations.

 

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