A Florida destination wedding in Destin combines the amenities of a city with an ideal beach town.

That is this – some of the nicest beaches and beach towns in Florida, and perhaps in the continental U.S. and Caribbean are in northern Florida. You don't believe us but read on and imagine this...

The beaches are wide expanses of fine white powder sand with clear, emerald green water and gentle, rolling surf. You can drive for half an hour and see nothing but quaint beach towns with buildings in light pastel and soft white colors, with tin roofs, wooden balconies, and architecture that will have you taking pictures all day.

The beach and the bays are separated by narrow strips of land that has - get this - lakes! So you can go from beach to lake to bay in minutes.

There are friendly people everywhere, riding bikes, pulling wagons of laughing children, walking and enjoying the sun. There are outdoor cafes and restaurants with relaxing music playing over speakers on the patios. There are tons of things to do - golf, biking, fishing, playgrounds, kayaking on the bay, nature walk trails, beautiful parks.

It is everything the Caribbean promises but almost never delivers because it just doesn't offer a consistent environment outside the artificial world of the big resorts. As we often recommend, if you go to the Caribbean, find a great hotel with expansive grounds and lots of activities, and don't leave until it's time to go to the airport for your return trip.

This perfect spot for a Florida destination wedding is found in a unique area, increasingly known as “30-A”. This name comes from the road that travels along the beach through the area from Destin eastward for about a 30 minute drive or so. If you’re like us, you’ll find that it’s hard to find a place that you don’t like on the drive. We’ll get to that on our Seaside, Florida destination wedding page but for now, we’ll get back to Destin.

Destin has its own resort area, known to most as the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The name sounds like it’s a simple resort hotel, but it’s really a huge area full of all types of accommodations, from hotel rooms to condos to luxury vacation homes.

Another perfect place for Florida destination weddings, there is plenty of room for groups from small to large because this place has a unique setting of its own and every amenity you might need.

The resort grounds cover 2400 acres with the beach to the south and the bay to the north. In between are 30 distinct neighborhoods, 72 stocked ponds, four golf courses with great water views, 15 tennis courts, playgrounds, a bayside shopping and restaurant district (shown below), and a full service marina.

When you stay, the resort gives each guest a card that's good for discounted and even free use of certain amenities such as canoes, bikes, and fishing poles. If your guests don’t have a rental car, there's a tram that takes guests around the resort for free. You can literally park your car, never leave the resort, and go from beach to bay, tennis to golf, fishing to kayaking, nature walking to shopping, and everything in between.

There are plenty of places to stay no matter how large your group is. They can stay in hotels, villas, cottages, condos, or large homes on locations by the beach, bay, lakes, fairways, shops, or quiet streets. You can have your wedding ceremony on the beach, in a garden setting, at a private luxury home, or any number of other locations.

And if you want to leave the resort area, to the west are open air, upscale shopping areas. To the east are towns with names like Seaside, Watercolor, Grayton Beach, and Watersound. Each one has a distinct flavor – colonial, pastel and teak, Key West, Cape Cod, even European architecture – that lets you know you’re in a special place with every turn.

We’ll let you explore this spot for yourself at the resort’s website at www.sandestin.com. No matter what you decide, if you’re considering a Florida destination wedding, don’t miss a chance to visit this area. It’s truly one of Florida’s best kept vacation spot secrets.