futuremrsO

jeffica - i just recently had my wedding on oct 25th in clearwater which is a couple hours north of sanibel. our ceremony was at 5:30pm so that we can take pics with the sunset. the weather was gorgeous all day saturday, sunny, not humid, and warm, around 70's. it was really breezy by the beach which made it cooler. we were cold while picture taking on the beach. but guests were definitely enjoying the sunny day louging by the hotel pool or on the beach. end of oct early nov is great weather. it was still warm when we got back from our honeymoon on nov 3rd as well. hope that helps. oh and it rained all day thurs and friday before the wedding. a strom system came in but left just in time. we woke up saturday morning to beautiful blue skies! it was perfect!

Hi! I'm a Clearwater bride and planning from afar. Only 2 months to go! Some suggestions that may be of help to you. I know how tough it is to plan from states away. I was lucky that my FI's family is not to far from Clearwater. Anyways, for hotels, there is the Quality Hotel on the Beach just down Gulfview Blvd. It's newly renovated and looks nice. Their prices were $100-$150 a night. There is also the Holiday Inn as well. I looked into the Holiday Inn in Indian Rocks which is 7miles south of clearwater and it was $100 a night for a block of rooms. Unfortunately they had 2 weddings already going on the same weekend as mine. It used to be a privately owned hotel before Holiday Inn bought it so it's not the same chain type hotel. For a rehearsal dinner, I recommend Columbia's restaurant. They have really good food. They also can accomadate a party and make it semi-private for you. They are not badly priced either. It is right next to the Marriott across from Sand Key Beach. For hair and makeup, I've heard great reviews of Darla Stafford. She comes to your location and apparently isn't too pricey. If you google her you'll see many reviews on her and her makeup assistant. I'm a no frills kind of girl, i never wear makeup, so we are just going to a local salon. For cake, a lot of brides in florida go to thier local Publix. My future sister in law used them for her wedding and her cake came out great and tasted really good too. They have their standard designs on their website but you can also bring in a picture and have them make it for you. Best part is they are not super expensive like most cake decorators. I think that's all I have. If you want more info feel free to PM me. Good luck with the wedding planning!

Hi. I'm having my wedding in Clearwater in October. We are also having our ceremony in Sand Key Beach! Our reception will be at the Wine Cellar a few miles down the road in North Reddington Beach. We are having a smaller wedding around 60ppl, but the Wine Cellar is a restaurant that can hold over 100 people in their reception hall. They have several wedding menu options, the least expensive one being $50+ per person. You can check our their wedding packages on their website the Wine Cellar Fine Dining - Award wining Fine Dining Restaurant North Redington Beach Quality Service and Gourmet Food- Weddings, Special Occasions, Catering and Banquets. They also have a reasonable charge for the room. After looking around at reception places in Clearwater/St.Pete area, we found that hotels were just out of our budget. How many people are you planning on having at your wedding? There were other places I looked into but they were for smaller (<75ppl) venues. If you want more info let me know. I may have some pictures of sand key beach if you would like me to post, and if i can figure out how to do that Hope this helps!

Hi! 1. Margie 2. October 25th, 2008 3. Clearwater Florida Wedding planning is in progress and I found this forum while doing some searching. Can't wait to get ideas, advice, etc, on planning a wedding from afar. Thanks!