Choose the ceremony path before the venue.

Use this when the legal marriage matters more than staging a traditional ceremony. Plan photographs, a meal, or a larger celebration as separate activities.

Prove before committing

• Current appointment and walk-in procedure, operating hours, and office location.
• Whether a clerk or deputy clerk will perform the ceremony and what the ceremony service includes.
• How many guests may attend, where they may wait, and whether photography is permitted.
• Accessibility, parking, identification, license effective date, and return/recording procedure.

Hard stop: Do not treat an administrative marriage service as a private venue package. If décor, music, a formal entrance, privacy, or a guest program is essential, choose another path.

Use this when the couple accepts public access, outdoor exposure, limited setup, and a ceremony that can move to a separate backup site.

Current Smathers Beach facts

• The City requires a permit for a wedding in the designated Smathers Beach area.
• The application is due at least 14 business days before the requested date; shorter notice may be considered but approval is not guaranteed.
• An exact time is required. The permit covers no more than four hours, including deliveries, setup, and cleanup.
• The application currently requires general-liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, with the City listed as certificate holder and additional insured.
• Current base permit fees are $150 for 1–25 people, $250 for 26–50, and $350 for 51–100, before taxes and surcharges. Groups of 101 or more use the special-event application.
• City restrictions include no alcohol, glass, open flames, generators, pets or animals, vehicles, balloons, confetti, or obstruction of public access. Only real, undyed flower petals are allowed.
• From March through October, artificial lighting is not allowed on the beach after sunset because of sea-turtle nesting rules.

Rules and fees above were reviewed August 10, 2026. Recheck the City beach-wedding page and the current application before relying on them.

Hard stop: A Smathers permit is not exclusive ownership of the beach and it is not a weather guarantee. Reject the plan if public access or moving the ceremony to the written backup would ruin the event.

Use this when the event needs staff, utilities, restrooms, food service, controlled setup, and an indoor or covered replacement under one contract.

Prove before committing

• Name every ceremony, reception, cocktail, staging, dressing, storage, and backup space in the contract.
• Confirm whether each space is exclusive, private, climate-controlled, accessible, and large enough for the contracted guest count.
• Price rental, food-and-beverage minimums, staffing, service charge, sales tax, resort or destination fees, power, rentals, security, and overtime.
• Identify the weather decision-maker, decision deadline, room reset plan, and any charge for holding or using the backup.
• List required or prohibited vendors, insurance limits, load-in windows, curfew, sound limits, and delivery boundaries.

Hard stop: “Indoor backup available” is worthless unless the exact room, capacity, setup, timing, and price are written into the agreement.

Use this when a smaller group can hold the ceremony and reception in one indoor operating space and food service is more important than a large transformation.

Prove before committing

• Whether the room is fully private, semi-private, or separated only by furniture or curtains.
• Seated ceremony capacity, reception capacity, table plan, aisle, officiant position, and accessible route.
• When setup begins, when guests enter, when service starts, and whether the room must turn between ceremony and dinner.
• Food minimums, service charge, tax, gratuity, cake cutting, corkage, outside desserts, vendor meals, sound, and closing time.
• Who supplies chairs, microphones, décor labor, cleanup, refrigeration, storage, and safe return transportation.

Hard stop: Reject the plan when the contract sells a “private event” but does not guarantee exclusive use and control of guest access.

Use this when a distinct Key West setting is central to the event and the group can operate inside preservation, public-hour, delivery, and noise limits.

Prove before committing

• The legal entity that controls the property and the person authorized to approve the event.
• Public opening hours, visitor overlap, exclusive-use boundary, capacity, restrooms, accessible route, and emergency access.
• Rules for candles, lighting, décor attachment, tents, generators, amplified sound, food, alcohol, and protection of historic surfaces.
• Load-in route, vehicle access, storage, vendor arrival, cleanup, security, insurance, and damage deposit.
• A rain and heat replacement that preserves access and capacity—not merely a porch or small room.

Hard stop: Reject the site if the main attraction disappears under the required rain plan or if essential guests cannot use the real route.

Use this only when the owner or authorized manager permits the exact event in writing and the property can carry people, vendors, vehicles, noise, utilities, cleanup, and weather replacement.

Prove before committing

• The rental is legally offered. The City recommends confirming the validity of a vacation rental before sending payment.
• The signed rental or event agreement authorizes a wedding—not merely lodging, visitors, or a small gathering.
• Maximum overnight occupancy, event attendance, vehicle count, vendor access, noise, music end time, and neighborhood limits.
• Insurance, restroom capacity, electrical load, food preparation, refrigeration, trash, rentals, pool safety, and post-event cleaning.
• Where every guest and vendor parks or unloads without blocking streets, driveways, or emergency access.
• What happens if the property becomes unavailable or the host, platform, association, insurer, or local authority rejects the event.

A licensed rental is not automatically an approved event venue. Use the City Licensing FAQ to verify the rental, then obtain separate written event permission.

Hard stop: If the answer is “the owner knows” or “small events should be fine,” the permission is not proven. Do not pay.