Weddingbee boards

I'm getting married at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort in a few weeks...There are a lot of fantastic places on the beach, but be prepared to spend a lot.  I searched and searched, although I did want it at a place "on the beach," so I didn't look in the more western part of town, away from the beach.  I only looked on the east side.  It makes it a lot easier logistically too if all of your guests are coming in from out of town.  The Fort Lauderdale beach area  is not too far from the airport, so it won't be a ridiculous cab ride for guests to have to pay for.  Plus during the time that they are here while we don't have something planned like a rehearsal dinner, there is plenty for them to do - hang out at the beach, walk around the boardwalk, etc., since no one will really have cars.  I struggled with sticker shock, but there is just no way you can find anything super affordable.  I didn't see a single wedding package that started below $125 per person, before 22% service charge (the standard here), and 6% sales sax.  I worked with my venue to get it down to $110 per person before svc charge/tax, but I removed a lot of stuff from the menu.  I saw that the Sundy House link a PP posted has packages at $100 per person, but you can't do that package on Saturdays, and it's only a 3 hour open bar.  Since all of our guests, like yours, are coming from out of town (FI and I live here, but everyone else is coming from other states for the most part) we wanted to make sure that the reception was amazing since they came all the way down here for us, went to great expense, etc. etc.  I wouldn't do just a 3 hour open bar....I think the standard here is 4 hour, and we actually added an extra hour for a total of 5 hour open bar.  I was worried that our sit-down plated dinner would majorly cut into our party time if we only had 4 hours (1 hour cocktail, 1 hour seated dinner, only left with 2 hours to party - at SUndy house it seems like it would only leave you with 1 hour of dancing), so we added an extra hour.

Overall, our venue has really worked with us to negotiate,  And it's freaking gorgeous.  So I"m not sure exactly what you're looking for, but I suggest The Pelican Grand Beach Resort.  Ask for Brigitte. It is the most beautiful and the most cost-effective that I found (It will be about $140 per person after tax/service charge), and I looked at A LOT of places....That is honestly just what it costs to get married in Fort Lauderdale...I didn't like it either, but in the end, I am in love with everything about our wedding and I think it's worth it...I can't post pics with the whole pictures-issue on WB rignt now, sorry....Good luck!

http://www.pelicanbeach.com/default.aspx?pg=weddings