This is one of the main questions clients ask during their first consultation. Most wedding planning companies offer both services as well as elopement services.

Wedding planning is a more comprehensive service that starts as early as the client decides to begin with the wedding planning process, whereas wedding coordination is a service that starts two months prior to the big day.

A wedding planner will guide you from Day 1 and help with venue as well as vendor scouting, in addition to performing the tasks of a Coordinator.

When you hire a Day/Month of Coordinator you will have to do all of the vendor scouting by yourself, and when the coordinator takes over about 45 to 2 months prior to the big day, they will review your contracts and invoices, create a layout and a timeline, and be there for you the entire day of the wedding.

The very first step in planning your wedding is choosing a wedding planner and a venue.

Half of my clients already come to me with a venue already booked, or at least an idea of the venue they would like to lock down.

It is strongly advisable that you hire your wedding planner first. Always bear in mind that your planner is a local and they will know all of the venues and details of each and every single one of them. Your planner will help you with dates, availability, site fees, and food and beverage packages, among others.

We normally recommend hiring a wedding coordinator when you are a very organized person and definitely have the time to take care of the wedding planning process.

If you live in Florida or think you can visit the keys on more than one occasion to meet with your future vendors, then Coordination might be the right service for you.

Weddings that take place in the Florida Keys are, most of the times, destination weddings. A Full Wedding Planning Service is highly recommended for those clients who live really far from their destination wedding location and do not have the time to take care of the venue/vendor scouting.

This is the NUMBER ONE question.

First of all, there is no way you can control the weather. It is understandable that getting married in the keys entails very unpredictable tropical weather, but there is no use in worrying about rain when there is a planner involved.

The first step is to check if the venue booked has an indoor/back up space. Most of the times, the decision can be made early in the morning of your wedding day or the day prior, based on the weather forecast.

If your venue does not have an indoor space , then it is 100% advisable to reserve a tent.

It must be noted that rental companies are scarce in the florida keys and most of the times there are more weddings than tents available.

Reserving a tent does not mean that you have to pay for the total cost of a tent. Most rental companies offer “weather back up tents.” This means that you pay a non-refundable deposit (normally between 30% to 50% of the total cost) on a tent and 48 hours before your wedding you make the decision, based on the weather forecast.

Always make sure you schedule a phone consultation with a planner/coordinator you may be interested in hiring before signing a contract with them.

It is essential that you remember that you will be working A LOT of time with this person.

My #1 piece of advice is trust your instincts and hire someone based on how you “vibe” with them. Not all planners will be a good fit for you and vice versa. There will be a lot of work involved and it is important you feel 100% comfortable with the person you hire.

Part of the wedding planning process involves informing our clients on how to take care of the legal aspects of their wedding. To begin with: NO, you do not need to legally marry in The Keys. A lot of clients prefer to “get it done” at the courthouse in their state of residence so they do not have to worry about any paperwork while they are on island time.

However, if you want to make it legal in Florida, all you have to do is obtain a marriage license anywhere in the state of Florida.

The only requirements are that you bring a valid ID and if either of you has been previously married, that you bring a copy of the certificate proving the marriage ended (divorce, death or annulment.) Also, if either of you has a Florida ID, a three-day waiting period will apply.

The cost of a marriage license is $86.00 and it will be valid for a period of 60 (sixty) days.

For more information on locations to obtain a marriage license in the Florida keys, please check the clerk of the court's website

When it comes to picking a wedding date, a lot of couples like to choose dates that are significant to them ( first date, engagement date, first kiss.)

However, if you are getting married in The Florida Keys it is important to factor in weather and our calendar of events. You want to avoid high temperatures, rainy season, and large crowds when special events or festivals take place.

If you want to stay away from the high temperatures, I would highly suggest that you mainly avoid the months of July and August.

If you want to avoid the rainy season, I recommend that you stay away from the months of August and September.

Finally, Hurricane Season. The Atlantic hurricane season formally begins June 1 and ends November 30. Historically, the chances of hurricane activity are greater between August 15 and October 15.

This is a very common concern among our couples but fortunately the chances are excellent that your destination wedding will not be interrupted by a hurricane.

As for special events and any additional information, you can check the Official Website of the Florida Keys

This is a detail I always like to point out at the first consultation I have with a client. Most people have never planned a wedding before, so it is my job as planner to explain how the process works and which vendors will be involved. This will give them a better idea of what goes to the overall budget of the wedding.

The main vendors that need to be considered when planning a wedding are the following:

• Venue

• Catering Company (if the venue does not offer food + beverage)

• Rentals (I cannot stress this enough: a -weather back up- tent is extremely important if there is no indoor option at your venue) Also, a rental company will take care of the set up of such rentals as lighting, dance floor, and any upgraded furniture you may be interested in. Some of these rental companies also offer tableware rentals (glassware, silverware, chargers, etc.)

• Photographer

• Entertainment - DJ/MC, live musician(s), band.

• Officiant.

• Florist + Designer: Bear in mind that yes, a florist will provide any and all florals you may want to include in your big day, but I have had many clients who a) did not like flowers at all b) were extremely allergic to them. A florist will still help with the design, and most of them offer an arch, ceremony set up, linen rentals, chargers, silverware, and centerpieces other than flowers.

• Bakery/ Sweets

• Videography

• Transportation

• Any additional entertainment

This is a question I get all the time!

Getting married in the Keys means that you will want to get married BEFORE sunset so you actually get some sunset photos after your ceremony and you can use as much daylight as possible.

So the first step I always take as a planner is to check what time the sun will set on the wedding date selected by my clients. Please bear in mind that Daylight Saving will also affect sunset times.

Now that we know sunset time, we have to check with the venue selected the time frame assigned for your private event. It must be noted that some non-resort venues also operate as museums so private events are only allowed after 4.45pm (once the museum closes) unless we are talking about an elopement.

It is not always possible, but it is absolutely ideal when we can schedule cocktail hour during golden hour (about 20 minutes before the sun sets, when the light is perfect and the sun is not up high) so the couple can sneak away for some sunset photos without missing an important part of their wedding or dinner.

This is a topic that tends to be somewhat confusing for most brides and grooms. As a destination wedding planner, I always recommend that you think of stationery as part of the design of your wedding: once you choose a theme, color palette or style, you might want to incorporate it to your Save the Dates, Invitations and other details.

The first piece of stationery you will be sending out to your guest is your SAVE THE DATE. This only needs to include the wedding date and location. You do not necessarily need to mention the actual venue.

The next step will be sending your invitations. Along with the actual invitation, most clients add an RSVP card as well as a details card. I always recommend including as little wording as possible and adding all detailed information in your wedding website instead.

some couples even provide a card with a QR code to their website, where they can confirm or decline their attendance and look at all details regarding the welcome event, wedding day, accommodation, travel details, wedding registry, etc. the great advantage of having your guests RSVP through your website is that it eliminates any delays on the part of the post office.

With your RSVP, remember to always ask your guests if they have any dietary restrictions/ allergies. This is very important!

I always recommend to set your RSVP dates around 6 to 7 weeks prior to your big day. This will give you some extra time to follow up with those guests that actually forgot to RSVP (this happens all the time)

Lastly, remember that your stationery will be photographed along with other details the day of your wedding, so do not forget to get some extra copies to bring with you and give to your photographer and/or videographer.

I decided to include a little information about wedding signage as this seems to be an area of wedding planning that sometimes gets confusing and difficult for some clients.

Wedding signage includes your welcome sign, seating chart, bar signs, table numbers, place cards and meal indicators. It can also include any other signs you may want to include such as guest book or ‘in memory of’ signs.

These are all additional details that do not necessarily have to be included in the wedding design. However, If you do decide to include them, I would highly recommend that you keep their design consistent with that of the overall wedding style/theme/color palette.

Most of these items can easily be designed and purchased on Etsy, Zazzle, and other similar wedding websites. However, since most of our clients come from other areas of the country to get married in the Florida Keys, it is important to note that traveling with the signs becomes really inconvenient.

At the moment there is only one local Signage company that can customize and create any signage you may want to incorporate to your big day, and even though signs are almost final details of your wedding, I highly encourage my clients to make sure this company has availability to deliver on their wedding day. The final details (for eg, guest names for place cards and seating chart) can be provided closer to the date, but it is important to not leave wedding signage for last and get penciled in at least a few months in advance to guarantee this service.