Weddingbee boards

Hello Ladies,

I'm new to the wedding bee (I mostly get all my wedding porn from it's sister site project wedding... same name too)!

We are planning a Feb 2011 wedding in Key West! However we live in Philadelphia, so we are not that familiar with the area. If you have any advice on venues to vendors please drop a line!

Any recommendations on where to start planning?

Thanks for the heads up on the Marriott! I have a few hotel/resorts that I request RFP's from, however the more I look in too it the more I like the feeling of some of the museums/restaurants in Key West rather than the whole hotel thing. I was thinking about Hemmingway’s home, however I heard there where tons of cats... which would be bad since FMIL has allergies.

I looked at the Episcopal Church (St. Peter?) and I thought that was a little pricey to hold a 30min ceremony, plus with all their requirements I don’t think I can get FI to agree.

Bees, any museum/restaurant recommendations?

I don't know how large (or small) your plans are but Sunset Key Island is beautiful!  It is a 10 minute boat ride just West of Key West.  Beautiful setting, great food, very romantic.  It is an expensive place to stay but maybe you could do an outdoor/beach wedding and reception there.  Here is the link in case you're interested.

http://www.sunsetkeyisland.com/

Another really nice resaurant is Kelly's (owned by Kelly McGillis from Top Gun).  Good food and lot's of outdoor seating.  They keep little white lights strung in the trees which makes it very pretty.  http://www.kellyskeywest.com/.  It's only one block off of Duval street. 

Then theres Louie's Backyard.  Right on the beach, great food all set in an old Victorian house.  http://www.louiesbackyard.com/  You might even be able to do the ceremony on their Afterdeck overlooking the beach.  They are located on the south side of the island so you would't get a dramatic sunset as a backdrop, unfortuantely.

Another nice place to stay would be at the Southernmost Gueast House http://www.southernmostpoint.com/.  Very pretty setting and only a couple of blocks from Louie's Backyard.

Well, that give you something's to look at.  I hope it helps.  Have fun planning.  Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.  I used to go to the Keys every other weekend in the winter and we usually went to Key West atleast once per winter.

I'm planning a Key West wedding for April 2011.  I haven't made any venue decisions quite yet.  My FI and his family are going down for a vacation over NYE and I am going to see what I like then.  We have an appointment with the Ocean Keys Resort and the Westin, both of which look beautiful online. 

We've been to KW many times and just love it there.  The Hemmingway House is beautiful, but there are a lot of kitties (just KW for you!).  You may also want to check out the Key West Garden Club, they do ceremonies there for a small "donation" of $250-300.  I believe the garden club is a historic site. 

We are doing an engagement session with Studio Julie (www.studiojulie.com) and I am having my hair and makeup done by Studio Marie-Pierre (www.keywestbridalhair.com).  These may be some vendors that you'd like to check out.

Let me know if you need any more info.  I'd be interested to hear what you choose.