What Gulf Beach Weddings does

Gulf Beach Weddings is a privately held Florida LLC that designs, sells, and delivers destination beach wedding ceremonies and receptions along Florida's Gulf Coast. Founded as a brand in 2007 and operating full-time since 2011 under founder Brandon Wheeler, the company runs a tiered portfolio of nine all-inclusive wedding packages — from the $1,195 Intimacy elopement to the $9,895 Waves & White Linen premium ceremony-and-reception — plus à la carte add-ons such as videography ($455+/hour), live musicians ($400+/hour), extended photography, and rehearsal services. Core technology is the proprietary Beach WeddingStudio® online configurator, which allows couples to select a location and customize arch style, chair sashes, fabrics, music, photography, and ceremony type before booking 24/7.

The business operates on a direct-to-consumer go-to-market: couples book online through Beach WeddingStudio® or via three regional phone lines (Tampa Bay, Sarasota/Bradenton, Destin), with bundled services covering permits, setup, officiant, photography, teardown, and (for out-of-state couples) Marriage License by Mail filing. Supporting assets include a published Florida Beach Wedding Guide (2023), the FirstLook 24-hour photography add-on, and partner integrations with Booking.com, Better Together Travel, and Enterprise/National Car Rental. Geographic operations span 47+ beach locations across Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Okaloosa, Walton, and adjacent Florida counties, with physical offices in Clearwater (headquarters) and Fort Walton Beach (Destin warehouse, completed 2019), plus a St. Pete Beach storefront.

Revenue mechanics are one-time project fees plus professional services add-ons, with deposits of $500–$1,500 depending on tier. The company has performed 11,000+ weddings since 2011 (a peak of 980 in 2021), holds 2,000+ five-star reviews, and has been recognized on Inc. 5000 (2018, 2019), Seminole 100 (2018, 2019), WeddingWire Couples' Choice (2018–2022), and Entrepreneur 360 (2019). It is entirely founder-owned with no external equity or debt funding evidenced.

Name

Gulf Beach Weddings

Legal name

Gulf Beach Weddings LLC

Website

https://gulfbeachweddings.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gulf Beach Weddings is a privately held Florida LLC that designs, sells, and delivers all-inclusive destination beach wedding ceremonies and receptions along Florida's Gulf Coast, serving couples from elopements to 100+ guest events via its proprietary Beach WeddingStudio® online booking platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wedding Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Florists (45931)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Wedding Planning (HSACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Destination Wedding Planning (HSACABAD), Vendor Sourcing & Management (Venues, Catering, Photo/Video, Music) (HSACABAG), Wedding Budgeting, Timeline & Logistics Management (HSACABAI), Day-Of / Month-Of Wedding Coordination (HSACABAC)

Keywords

• Beach wedding packages
• Destination wedding services
• Wedding ceremony coordination
• Elopement wedding planning
• Beach wedding venues

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Pete Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Wedding Package Sales: One-time fees for all-inclusive beach wedding packages ranging from intimate elopement packages to large ceremony and reception packages. Packages include ceremony site, arch, chairs, officiant, photography, music, setup/takedown, and coordination. Additional revenue from à la carte add-ons including videography, live musicians, rose petal aisles, champagne toasts, and extra photography hours.
2. Professional Services Add-ons: Additional fees for videography ($455+ per hour), live musicians ($400+ per hour), extended photography sessions, rehearsal services ($250), and travel fees for distant locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gulf Beach Weddings plans, coordinates, and executes destination beach wedding ceremonies and receptions on Florida's Gulf Coast, spanning Tampa Bay and the Destin/Emerald Coast region. The company sells nine pre-designed all-inclusive wedding packages scaled by guest count (from bride-and-groom-only elopements to 100+ guest formal events), each bundling ceremony site, arch and decorations, chairs, officiant, photography, music, setup/takedown, and coordination. Customers customize and book through the proprietary Beach WeddingStudio® online builder.

Product overview

Gulf Beach Weddings operates as a destination beach wedding service provider with a tiered package portfolio spanning entry-level elopement services to premium all-inclusive ceremony and reception experiences. The core offering consists of 9 pre-designed wedding packages (Intimacy at $1,195 through Waves & White Linen at $9,895) organized by guest capacity and service scope, complemented by the proprietary Beach WeddingStudio customization tool. Additional service modules include photography add-ons (FirstLook 24-hour delivery), marriage license processing, and partnered travel services through Booking.com, Better Together Travel, and Enterprise/National Car Rental. The company services beach locations across Florida's Gulf Coast including Tampa Bay areas (Clearwater Beach, St Pete Beach, Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key) and the Destin/Emerald Coast panhandle region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beach WeddingStudio®: A proprietary custom wedding package builder tool that allows couples to interactively choose their location and custom package options.
• Florida Beach Wedding Guide
• FirstLook

Products and services

• Intimate Barefoot Beach Wedding Package

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,000+ weddings performed since 2011
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car & National Car RentalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partnership providing Gulf Beach Weddings customers with preferred/discounted rates on car rentals at 6,000+ Enterprise and National locations throughout North America. Account Number XZ42H93 for booking.
• Booking.comcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVacation rental partnership through specific search engine designed for Gulf Beach Weddings couples to help select ideal lodging locations for wedding guests. Covers Tampa Bay and Emerald Coast areas with zip code-specific searches.
• Better Together TravelminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFull-service travel agency specializing in romance travel and hotel room blocks. Manages group bookings for 10+ rooms with 2-night minimum. Removes stress of sourcing and negotiating hotel blocks at no cost to couples.
• Destin Wedding Vendors NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of vetted local vendors in Destin area including: EAM Photography, Penny Deal Images, Transcending Dreams Photography, Mae Grace Photography, Culinary Catering 365, Sunquest Catering, Emerald Coast Mobile DJ, and live musicians (Rodney Brown Saxophone, Michael Thomas, Mitch Rencher, Emily Palmier Harpist)
• C12 GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChristian business CEO membership organization for peer-to-peer business networking and growth support

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Simply Eloped: Simply Eloped is a direct peer offering all-inclusive elopement and small wedding packages in multiple US destinations. It competes with Gulf Beach Weddings in the same micro-wedding and intimate-ceremony segment, with a similar online booking and pre-designed package model.
• Destination Weddings (destinationweddings.com): Destination Weddings is a direct peer in the destination-wedding travel and package space, bundling travel, lodging, and ceremony planning for couples traveling for their wedding. It overlaps with Gulf Beach Weddings' destination beach wedding model across Caribbean and beach geographies.

Others

• Here Comes The Guide: Here Comes The Guide is a wedding and event venue directory serving the Western US. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant (venue lead generation) rather than a direct wedding services competitor, comparable to WeddingWire in role.
• HoneyBook: HoneyBook is a business management and CRM platform for event and wedding professionals, used by many planners. It is an enabling/ecosystem participant, comparable in that Gulf Beach Weddings' staff could use it, rather than a competing consumer-facing wedding service.

Broad incumbents

• WeddingWire: WeddingWire is a leading wedding vendor marketplace and planning platform where Gulf Beach Weddings holds a Couples' Choice Award. It is a broad incumbent and a major distribution channel for wedding professionals nationwide.
• The Knot Worldwide: The Knot is the largest US wedding planning platform, marketplace, and content destination, offering vendor directories, planning tools, registry, and website builder. It is a broad incumbent Gulf Beach Weddings is listed on, and a channel for top-of-funnel customer acquisition.
• Beaches Resorts: Beaches is an all-inclusive family-friendly Caribbean resort brand with a destination-wedding offering. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same destination-wedding couple with bundled resort experience rather than standalone beach ceremony services.
• Zola: Zola is a broad incumbent wedding planning platform combining registry, website, planning checklists, and vendor booking. It addresses the same end-couple audience as Gulf Beach Weddings but with a national, technology-led model rather than regional in-person service.
• Sandals Resorts: Sandals is an all-inclusive Caribbean resort brand with a dedicated destination-wedding program bundling ceremony, reception, and travel. It competes with Gulf Beach Weddings for the destination-wedding couple, but in a fully-resort-integrated model rather than a third-party planner on a public beach.

Emerging players

• Joy: Joy is an emerging wedding website, planning, and registry platform with growing vendor tools. It intersects Gulf Beach Weddings' planning and website services (the company offers its own custom wedding website), but at a national self-serve layer rather than in-person service.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/floridabeachwedding
• Xx.com/GulfBeachWeddin
• Facebookfacebook.com/BeachWeddingFlorida
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gulf-beach-weddings

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gulf Beach Weddings