The Beaches of South Walton

The Beaches of South Walton
A Memorable Backdrop for Storybook Weddings

Kelly Wallace and her family have been coming to the Beaches of South Walton since she was a child. Every summer and spring break, her mom, dad and four sisters would spend weeks at a time in Sandestin. The Beaches of South Walton have been a relaxing backdrop much of Kelly’s life and they will be a huge part of her new future this August when she gets married during a ceremony set against the emerald-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico as a summer sunset casts a radiant glow on her and her 24-year-old fiancé Matthew Marlow. The couple will say their vows during a 30-minute ceremony that will end as the day subtly slips into the orange and purple hues of dusk. Wallace knew they’d get married here soon after Marlow proposed last June.

Ever since she was a little girl growing up in Gadsden, Ala., Kelly Wallace just knew she would get married one day in the backyard of her parents’ house, a Southern-style plantation mansion. Those plans changed when in March 2008, a spring storm blew through town and Kelly’s family home was destroyed because of lightening. Kelly, a 26 year-old law student preparing for the bar exam, says “With our house in Gadsden gone, there was no question where I wanted to come to get married because the area is so beautiful.”

The natural beauty and the convenience of the destination, combined with a great vacation for your wedding guests, spurs many brides from across the country to choose Beaches of South Walton as the storybook spot for their perfect destination wedding.

When a bride chooses a venue at Beaches of South Walton, she’s rewarded with a pristine backdrop of shimmering water and sugar-white sands that combine to produce an unforgettable day that you can’t find anywhere else. If she decides on an indoor wedding, there’s no loss of fun or romance, given the choice of chapels, bed and breakfasts and beach houses dotting the coast line.

Couples can choose from Beaches of South Walton’s 15 picturesque beach communities for receptions and honeymoon hideaways. The settings are relaxing, fun and meaningful. Ceremonies are especially spectacular at sunrise or sunset, as Wallace and thousands of other brides have, and will, discover. Couples can also bask in the convenience of a wedding and a reception in the same or nearby spots, so guests won’t need to fight urban, in-town traffic to get from ceremony to party. On the beach, it’s an easy shuffle from one spot of pristine sand to another, and the many great reception venues that are located along the Beaches of South Walton.

Often, a romantic wedding comes down to selecting the perfect venue – and Beaches of South Walton offers many scenic sites. Among those areas are six regional beach accesses: Inlet Beach Access, Santa Clara Access, Gulfview Heights Access, Ed Walline Access, Dune Allen Access and Miramar Beach Access.
Elsewhere along Scenic 30A, couples at Rosemary Beach can choose among three outstanding beachside locations for their special day. Both the eastern and western greens are on grassy bluffs overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, with dune walkovers easily accessible before and after the ceremony. Also available for weddings in Rosemary Beach is the rustic Town Hall, with access to an outdoor courtyard.

For small, elegant ceremonies to large affairs with 200 guests, many brides choose WaterColor Inn and Resort. The resort’s award-winning spa offers a range of massages for the wedding party, sure to calm everyone’s nerves before the big day, along with a full array of activities available activities ranging from golf for the guys, to swimming in one of the resort’s six pools, to renting a bike and taking in the beauty of the resorts scenic trails.

In the scenic town of Seaside, romantic weddings happen amid storybook settings: wedding white sand, pastel cottages and serene emerald waters, all of which create a natural backdrop for bubbles and rose petals often used by Seaside brides. Couples also have options for where they can exchange vows. There’s the Seaside Interfaith Chapel, a beach pavilion sunset ceremony, barefoot in the sand or one of Seaside’s three lavish town greens. Seaside Group Services can assist with everything from music, catering, floral, photography, guest accommodations, wedding venues and receptions. There are special honeymoon cottage packages for one- to two-night stays, as well as the host of other amenities that make Seaside a favorite for many brides who return year after year for their vacations.

More adventurous couples get off the beach and head for the water to say “I do.” The SunQuest Wedding Cruise aboard the SOLARIS, a local special built yacht, allows couples and their guests views of the Choctawhatchee Bay while enjoying a Florida sunset, and some of the best food around, on board entertainment, a bridal suite, and a full selection of on board wedding services; making it possible to have your entire wedding and reception while floating along the emerald waters.

In addition to all the venue choices, there are many wedding planning companies and caterers along the Beaches of South Walton. The award-winning culinary and special events team at 30A Resorts has performed events in New York, Napa, and on the island of Anguilla, not to mention the hundreds of events they’ve been part of along Scenic 30A. From start to finish, 30A Resorts can handle every detail of a bride’s big day.

Wallace and her fiancé will be wed on a deck of the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa, where they expect guests from Alabama, Virginia and as far as Canada. At first, Matthew wasn’t sold on the idea of a beach wedding. A summer trip last year with his bride-to-be changed his mind. He picked the wedding spot with a picturesque view of the gulf.

“We’re not your typical get-married-in-the-church couple,” said Wallace, who will be flanked by seven bridesmaids in strapless cocktail dresses while Matthew will be joined by seven groomsmen in black tuxedoes.

The service will include a “sand ceremony,” the beach version of lighting a unity candle. On the morning of the wedding, Wallace’s parents will collect beach sand into a jar. Marlow’s parents will do the same with a separate jar.

During the vows, Wallace will pour the sand from each of the jars into a third vessel, representing two families coming together as one.

“We’ll keep that jar forever,” Wallace said. “Every day we look at it, we’ll remember our wedding day.” …as of course does every couple who are fortunate enough to tie the knot somewhere along the Beaches of South Walton. •

Feature Resort and Venue Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village At the End of the Bridge, On the Edge of the Gulf, In the Middle of Your Dreams	Feature Restaurant & Venue Bud & Alley’s, Seaside Say ‘I Do’ to Good Food. Good Times & Great Weddings	Feature Venue Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club
Fitness 5 Surefire Steps for a Banging Wedding Day Body	Hot Gifting Trend Marry Fun and Function In a Useful Favor	Thanks to a Brand New Approach, Brides Can Now Lose 3 to 9 Inches in Just 2 Weeks!
A Word from our Publisher

Destination Beach Weddings in Destin, Panama City Beach, Seaside, WaterColor, 30A, Orange Beach. Gulf Coast Bride is Your Source for Planning Your Wedding on the Gulf Coast.

Everything You Need to Plan Your Perfect Destination Beach Wedding.
From Destin; Panama City Beach; Seaside; WaterColor; 30A.com to Fort Walton; Pensacola, and Orange Beach...You will find it all in the pages of
Gulf Coast Bride magazine each and every issue.

From Destin, Florida to Seaside, Florida -all along Northwest Florida's infamous 30a- from Panama City Beach, Florida, Pensacola, Florida, or over to Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama, Gulf Coast Bride magazine and gcbride.com serve as a bride's single best method of learning about and planning her upcoming Florida or Alabama gulf coast wedding.

Gulf Coast Bride magazine is your "one Stop Shop" for accessing the best of the best in beach accommodations, venues, beach wedding photographers, catering companies, florists, beach wedding planners, cake designers, resorts, restaurants, entertainment companies, tent rentals, even limo's and transportation to and from the wedding and associated events. Anything and everything you will need for your upcoming Gulf Coast or Emerald Coast beach wedding you can find in the pages of Gulf Coast Bride magazine. Best of all, brides coming to Destin, Seaside, The Beaches of South Walton, 30A, Panama City Beach, Pensacola, Orange Beach, and Gulf Shores, Alabama can find Gulf Coast Bride magazine on major newsstands in over 30 states across the USA.

So whether you live in Dallas, TX or Atlanta, GA, Booneville, MS or Madison, WI you -the bride- can pick up your copy of Gulf Coast Bride magazine and begin planning your perfect gulf coast or emerald coast wedding right from the comfort of your home. Best of all, be assured that the advertisers who make up Gulf Coast Bride are some of the very best known and well respected resorts, wedding planners, caterers, photographers, videographers, florists, and entertainers on the entire gulf and emerald coast. In addition you will find the editorial content, photos, real brides, real weddings, and feature resort and venue articles to be very helpful in planning your upcoming gulf coast wedding...just as the thousands of brides to be who purchase and use Gulf Coast Bride magazine, each and every quarterly issue, have discovered.

Who knows we may just show up to cover your upcoming Gulf Coast destination wedding.

Julie Skinner, Editor-in-Chief
Gulf Coast Bride magazine

Will Estell, VP. Publisher Jeff Borrelli, Pres. CEO
3G Media, LLC. 3G Media, LLC.