Travel Questions

What airport should we choose?

Northwest Florida Beaches Airport (ECP) and Valparaiso / Destin-Fort Walton (VPS) are essentially equidistant from our celebration. Both are very small and very easy to navigate. Select based on your preferred airline and price.

What should we do?

Our celebration schedule reflects our desire for you to be able to enjoy your time at the beach. Tack on a few days before or after the big day (Friday) to enjoy all Santa Rosa Beach has to offer — from golf and tennis (or pickle…) to beach and boat days. For any scheduled activities like charters or tennis lessons, we recommend booking in advance.

Do you recommend a hotel or rental house?

There are, quite literally, thousands of accommodations from which to choose. Hotels will typically offer the most flexibility and consistent amenities, whereas vacation rental amenities will vary in amenities (bikes, beach, and pools) and accommodations by community and management company.

Should we book a car?

In our experience, ride share platforms like Uber and Lyft are not as reliable or readily available in our area. So, we recommend renting a car for transportation to/from the airport, our ceremony, and exploring the area.

Where should we stay?

Short answer: it depends. For maximum walkability + bike-ability and the ultimate 30A experience, we recommend choosing a hotel or rental in Rosemary Beach or Seaside. Alys and Kaiya are for the design-minded and will offer amenities and guaranteed beach access + usage. For amenities and beach access, Watercolor is a great pick, too.

What should we pack?

This is a casual area! Pack suit or dress for the ceremony, then pack for a casual beach weekend: bathing suits, pickle or golf outfits, and a swimsuit will work. Oh! And brink a light layer, there’s a slight chance you’ll need it during April evenings.

We suggest arriving no later than Thursday afternoon to enjoy dinner with the Grau and Hogan families on Thursday, April 17th. And while we hope you’ll enjoy as much time as you can, please note our planned activities culminate with a bonfire on the evening of Friday, April 18th.

Accommodations

Please remember most of our beaches are private, regardless of public beach access points. If you would like to ensure you can “sit and stay,” we recommend booking a hotel or rental in Rosemary, Alys, Kaiya, Seaside, Watersound, or Watercolor. Unincorporated communities vary by access and distance to the beach. Please feel free to reach out to us directly with any questions!

Hotels

The Court, Seaside*

Camp Creek Inn, Seacrest

Hotel Effie, Sandestin

The Lodge, Seagrove

Watercolor Resort, Watercolor

Management Companies

Vrbo

Cottage Rental Agency, best for Rosemary

Alys Beach, exclusively Alys

Kaiya, exclusively Kaiya Beach Resort

360Blue, all communities

Airbnb

Recommended Spots

Rosemary Beach

Alys Beach or Kaiya Beach Resort

Seagrove

Seaside

Watercolor

Grayton Beach

Dining

We hope you will join us for dinner Thursday, as well as brunch + dinner on Friday. For your other meals, we highly recommend the following restaurants.

Breakfast & Coffee

Black Bear Bread Co. (Seaside & Grayton)

Donut Hole (SRB & Inlet)

Raw & Juicy (Alys & Grayton)

Fonville Press (Alys)

Lunch

Summer Kitchen (Rosemary Beach)

George’s (Alys Beach)

Trailers at Seaside

North Beach Social (Santa Rosa Beach)

Shunk Gulley (Dune Allen)

Dinner

Amici (Inlet Beach)

The Bay (Santa Rosa Beach)

Red Bar or Louis Louis

Bud & Alley’s (Seaside)

Activities

Our community has so much beyond the sea + shores. In addition to a few recommendations for making the most of the Gulf of Mexico, we’ve included a few of our favorite shops and activities to enjoy while you’re in town. P.S. We recommend making reservations at least two weeks in advance for tennis or dolphin tours.