~The Venue - Bliss and the Beach~

We decided early on a beach wedding, which is something that I've always wanted. Luckily, Dan liked that idea, and was all over the venue search right away! It took a while but we found this great location - St. George Island, which is on the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle.

Neither of us is big on formality, so it will be a casual event. The venue is a large beach house with a roomy poolside lanai. We'll get married on the beach, and move the guests to the pool deck for the reception. We are planning, paying for, and hosting it ourselves; so we just wanted to keep it simple, make sure it would suit both of our personalities, and be fun and relaxed for everyone. 

Some photos of the home:

Beach property rental courtesy of St. George Island Vacation Properties. Edit: The house has changed hands and is now managed by Resort Vacation Properties of St. George Island. Property name: Aisle of Palms.

For our evening reception, the entire pool deck of the venue will be lit with candles, including ones encircling the pool and the dance floor (the half-moon shaped area nearest the beach). We'll also string Christmas lights along the fence line, on the trees and bushes, and overhead.

Underneath the house will be set up as a bar/lounge area, with some seating and paper lanterns, as well as more strand lighting. I'd like to drape the walls with sheer white fabric to give it more ambience.

We'll be accommodating the bridal party in the house for the weekend of the wedding, and when it's all over, we'll stay for the rest of the week and honeymoon there. We love the idea of having this huge house all to ourselves! We're also so excited to be able to pull our kayaks out into the water from right there to dolphin-watch, or go biking in the huge state park that's about 500 yards from the front door!