Hyatt Key West or other KW wedding ideas?

[landwlkr]

Hellllo Ladies!

 

My goodness. I can't tell you how many places I have considered for my destination wedding. I still haven't found that one place that really speaks to me. Now I am thinking about staying in the US, but wanted a fun destination feel to the wedding....so, maybe Key West!

 

We are planning for 2010, and no more than 30 people would be expected to come.

 

I know some of you are planning in Key West and I have seen bits here and there about the Hyatt Key West. Can you provide more information? Why (or why not) did you choose this hotel? How has your experience been working with them? Do you find it to be quite expensive? Other hints or tips? If you have chosen other places in KW, I would love to hear about them too.

 

I am hoping for an easy, no stress wedding. Budget is in the range of 20-25K for everything. I hope for a fun atmosphere, good food, and a pretty location. I have to find a place my picky mom who likes luxury, and my budget minded friends, can enjoy.

 

Thanks my friends-- I really appreciate the time everyone puts in here to help each other out!

 

Terra

[misskaytee]

Let me know what kind of responses you get! I am also getting married in 2010 with a similar budget and I want to do destination but maybe not out of the states- so I'm thinking florida- so let me know if you get some good responses!!

[landwlkr]

I think (I might be wrong on this) once you reply to a thread you get subscribed to it so that you get copies of responses emailed to you. If not, you can subscribe to the thread. Moderators can verify if this is true!

 

Hopefully some of our Key West brides will come forward soon!

 

Thanks--

Terra

[luckygirl]

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! With the specifications you listed I would say that the Hyatt would satisfy not only your budget but your mother as well. We chose the Hyatt on Front St. for it's location, view of the gulf and the hotel's recent renovations. Prior to choosing our site, we had visited Key West four times but never with the intention of choosing a wedding site. I wanted to get married in Turks and Caicos, but I could sense the economy was going downhill fast, so we decided to choose our favorite place in Florida that reminded us of being in the caribbean but with "American" conveniences. We decided a site visit was necessary to scope out the venues and I was so glad that we did. Originally I was set on a different venue and was going to put down a deposit, but my FI decided we should visit KW prior to a decision. Ava and Liza, the Hyatt's coordinators, have been super awesome helping me with planning our wedding. We have friends who will stay at the Hyatt and have offered alternatives to those who want a more budget friendly option (which who really doesn't want that!). We are trying to keep the guest count at 30 and we would like to keep the budget a little bit less than yours. With your budget and number of guest you should be able to have a really nice wedding there. I know of some other brides that have chosen Westin and Southernmost Hotel Resort collection and have been very pleased with their weddings. You can pm me for more info if you would like.

[amanda nauman]

We actually rented an awesome house that sleeps 16 and a B&B. I did fall in love with Casa Marina and the Reach Resort. I really wanted the pier at the Reach resort. The Hyatt is beautiful too. My budget is a little lower but we are also accomodating families with kids. If you need any information on photographers, hair stylists, etc feel free to pm me.

 

Amanda

[landwlkr]

Hello Again!

 

I am so glad to see the responses coming in...

 

Amanda-- can you share more info about this house that sleeps 16? I had also considered something like that. Where did you find it? Which B&B are you using?

 

Open question: I had been thinking about wedding in the spring between March and June. Any thoughts on when the "best" time would be? I want to avoid peak season prices, so shoulder season would be ideal... but no hurricanes or temps over 90! I also want to avoid major festivals that would jack up prices.

 

Final question (for now anyway!): thoughts on photographers? I am very picky about this and it's the one area I don't want to cut corners on.

 

Looks like we need to plan a trip to get down there and check it out for ourselves.

 

Thanks!

Terra

[amanda nauman]

I booked this house for our wedding week. South Point Selection Key West Vacations Homes Rental

 

I love it and the pricing was on a shoulder rate. One thing that they don't tell you is there is an additional $475 cleaning rate, about 1k in taxes, and a $200 pool heating cost (there are two pools and depending on time of year it might not apply). I booked it for 8 days and they came down a little in the price for me. Frank and Findlay were very responsive and I believe you can get the contact info from the link above.

 

I worked with Jessica/Jess at The Artist house for the B&B. I liked the look of it and she was really helpful.

 

As for photographers I had looked at a lot of portfolios. I love Studio Julie. Her website is www.studiojulie.com and she has amazing stuff on it! I am still waiting on a quote from John Hunter but I liked his portfolios too.

 

If you need hair done I am booking with Marie Pierre and her website is // Studio Marie-Pierre Key West Hair and Make-up

 

let me know if you have any other questions and you can PM me too. I hate not being able to look at your thread while responding. I might have forgot something.

[luckygirl]

I agree with Amanda. I am using Studio Julie because she is awesome. I have a friend who used Gregory Paul photography from the Miami area and the pictures are incredible, here's the link Gregory Paul Photography. I think both photographers are amazing so check them out!

 

I'm using Marie-Pierre for hair and makeup. She's coming to my room because less stress is best. Even though I am a makeup artist and can do my own hair, I need to reduce my stress.

 

May or June would be good for lower rates and it won't be hot as hell as it is in July. We were there in July. I'm used to humid heat in Maryland, but dang..it was hotter than hot! May and June will be warm, just know Key West has the highest mean temperature for the United States...meaning it's consistently warm. Memorial Day weekend is our wedding and we're running into minimum night requirements. So avoid that weekend (I've got the Hyatt on LOCKDOWN! LOL).

 

I've done a ton of research (I over research everything) and have been there 4 times. So I still have a tourist perspective. I like nice things, but I also have a beer budget in this economy. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Also, this is a place where you can have a wedding Weddings in Paradise :Old Town Manor Elegant Bed and Breakfast in the heart of Old Town, Key West, FLorida. Unfortunately, I don't have first hand knowledge of the place, but considered it for a moment. Other places we considered were Southernmost Hotel Resort and Audobon House.

[landwlkr]

So here is another question on my mind: Wedding Planners. Are any of you lovely ladies employing the services of a Key West Wedding Planner? If so, tell us about it! How do they charge you? What experiences have you had? Are they crazy expensive?

 

Thanks again for all the invaluable information! After test-driving several destinations in my head, I think we are getting closer to a decision.... may 2010 in Key West!

[luckygirl]

I guess that would depend on the type of wedding you are going to have. I am going for somewhat simple, so I'm not hiring an extra coordinator. Ava from the Hyatt will for the most part handle everything as far as setting everything up and taking things down. I based my decision from information from a bride who also had her wedding at the Hyatt. She had hired a d.o.c. because she was not having her ceremony at the Hyatt. She suggested to me that having someone pass out programs, looking over the guest book and bringing the cake and misc. items back to the room was helpful. She said that if I could have a friend do all of this (which I have a few who have offered - yay!) then I could save myself a grand. I have done a ton of research and decided to use reputable vendors to hopefully avoid issues. Of course I could have saved myself time and stress worrying about these issues and hired someone, but I have secretly enjoyed all the research. Plus I look like a star for doing all of this hard work..hehe

So I guess it depends on how much of a production you want, how relaxing you want your day to be and how much time you are willing to spend researching your options. We wanted to use the d.o.c money towards our honeymoon...I can't wait.

 

There is a KW wedding coordinator on this site, but when I get a chance I will send you info. from another one that Key West Cakes recommended. She has a great website too!

 

Here's the info:

The website: http://simplyyouweddings.com/

 

And here is a website where she talks about the company.

http://keystv.com/dynamic/index.php?...=731&pageNum=1