7 Best Beaches for a Wedding in Florida

Here comes the bride! Dressed in white and sprinkled with sand. Florida is the perfect locale for a destination wedding – something that breaks away from the bland and boring. With hundreds of possible beaches to utilize for your big day, how do you narrow it down? Read our list to get a good look at your best options:

7 Perfect Florida Beaches for Weddings

Indian Rocks Beach

Just a brief drive from Tampa or St. Petersburg, Indian Rocks Beach offers nearly three miles of beautiful and accessible beaches along the glittering Gulf of Mexico. The city’s tourist population is one of its greatest assets, as people come from all over the world to visit Indian Rocks Beach for the city’s fine beaches and to watch the beautiful sunsets. The city has 27 beach access points along Gulf Boulevard. There’s no fee to get a wedding permit, and the town is also free of big resorts. Instead, rent a few cute beach cottages to get married next to, and hold your reception outside or in one of the town’s many restaurants.

St. Pete Beach

The star of the show here is St. Pete Beach. Like many Florida beaches it comes complete with sugar white sand, abundant sunshine, crashing waves, and turquoise blue Gulf waters. Spend the day laying out under the hot sun and walking for miles down this flawless beach. Keep your eyes peeled for a leaping dolphin! 35 miles of flawless beachfront await you here.. Possibly the best place to get married in St. Pete Beach is Pass-A-Grille Beach, an area with no high-rise buildings, hotels or restaurants.

Treasure Island

In the middle of it all, but offering a world of its own. Treasure Island has the sandy beaches, family-friendly attractions, and unique restaurants that are usually reserved for the big name Florida locales. Here, you’ll have the privacy and relaxation you crave, plus the endless sunshine promised by a stay on the Gulf Coast. Treasure Island got it’s name from a hotelier with a flare for the dramatic. He buried a “treasure” in the sand, then “discovered” it and told anyone who would listen. The name stuck. Visitors love its central Gulf Coast location. Treasure Island is just a short drive from St. Petersburg and Tampa and Central Florida’s major theme parks.

Siesta Key

Siesta Key is a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. It’s known for its sandy beaches and friendly locals. Fine white sand and gentle gulf breezes keep visitors coming back year after year. Prevalent sunshine and gentle coastal breezes should be expected daily. Sounds incredible, right? Well, it is. With well over 300 sunny days per year, you’d be hard pressed to visit Siesta Key at a “bad time”. Low humidity makes the area comfortable, as well as warm. Bring your sunblock to protect against UV rays and don’t forget a few pairs of swim trunks, as the warm gulf waters are perfect for boogie boarding and bodysurfing.

Siesta Beach has relatively shallow waters and it is monitored by lifeguards year-round. Plus, there’s plenty of room to spread out and enjoy a private wedding event.

Fort Myers Beach

Heaped with sugary white sand, Fort Myers Beach is a popular destination for visitors eager to engage in watersports such as parasailing and kayaking – or just as eager to simply relax on the inviting beach.

Fort Myers Beach sits on a little barrier island, about seven miles long, and the beach is fabulous – wide, gradually sloping, and thick with the area’s justifiably famed sand. You can go on a dolphin eco-tour via waverunner, or on a fishing charter. Special bonus: Just off the coast of Fort Myers Beach and easy to reach are the islands of Sanibel and Captiva.

Clearwater Beach

When someone tells you “Florida beach” you should immediately think of Clearwater. Named by TripAdvisor as the best beach in America for 2018, which is high praise and deserved. Almost a million visitors come here every year to enjoy the award-winning sun, sand, and surf along Clearwater Beach. You’ll never run out of things to do seaside or on land, you simply have to know where to look. But your search, as always, should begin at the ocean.

There’s no need to worry about warm weather – Clearwater averages 361 days of sunshine every year (yes, you read that right) and has the record of consecutive sunny days at 768. The temperature rarely falls under 50 and is typically in the comfortable mid to high seventies, touching 80 in the summer. A gentle ocean breeze cascades over the town and sways through the palm trees.

If you’re looking for a bit busier place to host your wedding — and plenty to entertain guests in the days before and after the ceremony — this is the place.

Naples

Upscale, charming Naples serves as a perfect backdrop for a glitzy Florida vacation. This sophisticated beach destination is located right along the Gulf of Mexico, on southern Florida’s “Paradise Coast”. Miles of fine sand beaches, gentle turquoise waters, and friendly locals are synonymous with this area. Shoppers delight in searching for antiques, home furnishings, clothes and jewelry. With its beautiful neighborhoods and grand architecture, the atmosphere is elegant, yet relaxing.

Old Naples, with its historic mansions and small cottages, is the most charming neighborhood in the city. Old Naples features the great shopping areas of Fifth Avenue, Third Street, and Gallery Row. Park Shore and Royal Harbor are two smaller neighborhoods featuring modest homes on the water. Pelican Bay and Port Royal are two of the most gorgeous, upscale neighborhoods around.