Here is part 2 of our interview with Jeff Copeland of Florida Beach Weddings! Stay tuned for our final part of the interview and feel free to comment with questions!

Are your packages all inclusive?

They are in that we do everything associated with the wedding itself. We provide the ceremony, officiant, photographer, video, decor, music, arches, bamboo canopies, chairs, etc. We do not do lodging or catering, but we maintain a preferred vendors list to provide our clients with trusted sources for those and other services.

Planning destination weddings are different; what’s the first step a bride should take once she’s decided on her destination?

The the most important things are the 3-D’s: Destination, Date, and Deposits. You can’t plan a wedding without knowing the destination and the date, and as soon as you have those two things set, you should make deposits with all of your vendors and venues for both the wedding and reception, and get all your contracts and paperwork in order. Afer that, everything tends to fall into place.

Based on your experience, what are some things brides should know, but don’t?

With regards to beach weddings, one of the things most people don’t realize is how noisy the beach actually is. It doesn’t seem loud when you’re there – but if your’re trying to listen to something a few feet away (like a wedding ceremony or wedding music!), the wind and waves tend to drown everything out. For this reason, it is critical to have a professional sound system for both the ceremony and music. We offer this to all of our clients.

What is Simple Weddings Florida’s refund policy? What other provisions should brides make?

We require a nonrefundable deposit to reserve a wedding date, and our cancellation policy is phased in after that. If a couple cancels with more that sixty days’ notice, they would only lose their deposit. Inside of sixty days, it goes up to 50% of their total, and inside of three days it goes up again. We rarely have cancellations (on the contrary, we have a waiting list for some dates), but we have to protect ourselves against cancellations because once we take a date off our calendar we may turn away several other weddings for that date, and we have employees who literally plan their lives around our wedding schedule. We also allow couples to reschedule for a small fee of they give us enough notice. We realize travel plans and work and family issues can come up and we always consider the details on a case by case basis.

If you missed our part 1 of the interview, you can view it here!

Photo by Claire Copeland of Simple Treasures Photography in St Petersburg, Florida

When I think of destination weddings, the first question that comes to mind is where do you start? We recently had the chance to interview Florida Beach Weddings expert Jeff Copeland. He and his wife own Simple Weddings in St Petersburg, Florida. Jeff works with a lot of couples from Canada planning destination wedding packages, so we asked him to share some tips and advice with our readers! We had so many questions that this Destination Weddings interview will be in 3 parts so stay tuned for the next 2!

What are the best places for a Florida beach wedding and what areas do you service?

If you’re planning a wedding on the beach, there are a few key things you want to look for – you want the area to be easy to get to (via air if you’re coming from Canada), you want the beaches to be scenic (nice sand and clear water), and if you’re planning an evening wedding, ideally you want the beach to face west for the sunset. The West Coast of Florida from Tampa Bay to Naples has all of the above, and has several beaches that have been named in the top ten beaches in the U.S. by “Dr. Beach”! We service this entire area, as well as Miami Beach, which has a lot going for it as well.

Are destination weddings cheaper? What type of price range are brides typically looking at?

In my experience, the wedding itself tends to be less expensive – mainly because destination weddings tend to be smaller. Our clients who opt for beach weddings also save thousands of dollars by not having to rent a venue – the beach is generally free! As far as price range, for the wedding itself, we have all inclusive packages starting as low as $799 US, but most of our clients spend between $2,000 and $3,000 US on the wedding itself, and probably a similar amount on the reception. While that’s well below the $30,000 or so that the average bride spends, destination wedding clients also have to factor in travel expenses and accommodations.

What is the proper etiquette regarding airfare? Are the couples responsible for their guests or are guests responsible for their own airfare?

Generally the guests are responsible for their own airfare and lodging.

Typically how much prior notice should the couple provide their guests?

Every couple is unique and has their own planning timeline, but obviously as soon as the date is set, you want to let your guests know so they can make travel arrangements and take time off work if necessary. I think four to six months out is reasonable to make travel plans, but couples should actually book their wedding venue and vendors sooner than that. Most of our destination weddings are booked six months to a year in advance, and our calendar starts to fill up about six months out – though we do occasionally do weddings on very short notice.

Photos by Claire Copeland of Simple Treasures Photography in St Petersburg, Florida