Sanibel Island weddings offer picture perfect panoramas and a serene setting for your big day.

Before I go on, I’ll tell you my conclusion first. Sanibel is a perfect place for people that want a peaceful and quiet setting for a vacation or destination wedding. It’s probably not the place to go if you need to be humming with activity at every turn. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, just quiet and relaxed.

This barrier island sits off the southwest coast of Florida near Fort Myers and has a sister island on the north side named Captiva. For the purposes of discussing Sanibel island weddings, we’ll include Captiva as well. It has an east – west orientation that makes for great shelling and wide sandy beaches.

It’s unique in that there are no high rises and it retains a peace and quiet that is just not typically found on Florida or other beaches (the Florida Keys are an exception). There are restaurants and shopping but they are fairly spread out and have a quieter boutique feel rather than a mall or outlet experience.

There are activities such as fishing, bike riding, and so forth, but there is no central area that is buzzing with activity. You can go off the island for more variety but the bridge toll is $6.00 so that discourages too much back and forth driving. If you need nightlife, you’ll probably want to pay the $6.00 to go somewhere else.

When we were there, we saw a beautiful wedding being set up on a beach. There were white folding chairs, a white arch with tropical flowers, and attendees wearing khaki shorts and white shirts. It wasn’t clear which hotel, if any, was part of the setup but there are lots of hotels that work with local merchants for Sanibel island weddings. The island has lots of little hotels, some very old but charming, rather than lots of resorts. We stayed in one of these smaller hotels. It was nice and had everything we needed for relaxing.

If I was having a sanibel island wedding, just as a matter of personal preference, I would stay in one of the resorts – either South Seas on Captiva or Casa Ybel on Sanibel. If you’re considering a Sanibel island wedding, it seems like it would be hard to beat the offerings at either.

If you like having a central part of town where you can mingle with the crowd, you really won’t find it here. If you like all the amenities that major resort hotels and business hotels have (in room coffee, lots of activities in a central location, expansive grounds to walk or relax on, a nice pool, etc.), then research carefully at www.tripadvisor.com or www.sanibel-captiva.org.

Because of the nature of the island – quiet, serene, low profile – you won’t necessarily find all of that in one place except at the resorts. You’ll also find that, if you stay on the beach, you’ll probably have to get in the car to get little things – drinks, sandwiches, etc. The small hotels that primarily dot the beach just don’t necessarily have big gift shops, though the convenience store or grocery store is a short drive away.

You can ride individual, surrey, or tandem bikes, watch the sunset, pick up some shells, do some kayaking, and some fishing (really fun and productive but expensive to charter a boat). For inexpensive fishing options, you could fish from beaches and a pier. There is some golf on the island.

The reason why a Sanibel island wedding may be a great idea, is the same reason that families return there year after year for vacations. With family, it would be great to be in a place like that with no other distractions. Your group would be your entertainment and you could easily escape the festivities for some peace and quiet at any time.

The other thing that makes it perfect is the setting. The beaches are wide and sandy so there’s lots of room no matter what the tide is doing. The view of the gulf at sunset is perfect. And, you’ll feel like time has stopped. And maybe, just maybe, on your wedding day – that’s exactly what you’ll want time to do.

If you were to have a wedding with lots of guests, it would probably be best to stay at one of the resorts or rent a large vacation home. Except for Captiva, everything is pretty spread out so you’d want to have cars for people to get around.

In short, Sanibel island weddings are perfect for you if you’re into nature, peace, quiet, and being laid back. If that’s what you’re looking for, you will find it. If you’re looking for a place to be entertained by something other than quiet beaches and a relaxed pace, you might want to try it out for a couple of nights before you decide. If you decide to have your wedding there, check out our beach theme items for Sanibel island weddings.