Driftwood Beach Elopement | Big Talbot Island, FL

Read here for information on HOW to elope in Florida!

This driftwood beach elopement on Big Talbot Island was the perfect mix of intimate, quiet, and private. With hardly anyone else on the beach, and the silhouette’s of huge driftwood trees lining the shores, I can’t think of anywhere else quite like it in Florida.

J+C chose to include a private picnic (provided by The Honey Picnic Co) where they shared their first bite of cake and popped champagne. They also had a fun time exploring the black rocks that line part of the beach and shared their first dance among the driftwood trees. We also pulled out some lanterns as the sun went down for a few extra romantic photos.

A few things about this location:

This particular beach on Big Talbot Island involves a .5 mile hike (1 mile roundtrip) to and from the beach meaning we carried most of our things out to the sand in my handy little beach wagon. The walk is very flat, but there are lots of roots from the trees so wearing flats on the trail is recommended. Once you make it to the beach access you are more than welcome to ditch your footwear – I know I will be!

A permit ($50 fee) for weddings at this location in addition to park admission is required. Park admission is 3$/car and is done via honor system. Permits can be acquired through Florida State Parks, or you can call the ranger station at (904)-251-2320. Parking is very limited – about 15 spaces – and can not be reserved. While the parks do not have many rules about setup, whatever is brought in should always be packed back out and the onsite trash can (which is pretty small!) can not be relied on to hold large amounts of trash. While planning for this location I always help my couples pack essentials like extra trash bags so we can be extra respectful of the environment.

P.S. 

It’s always important to be mindful of the tides. This beach can have some swift currents as the tides change, so I don’t recommend going in any deeper than your knees. This means that we can still get some fun water photos but we probably won’t be going too deep!

View the photos from this driftwood beach elopement below!

This elopement on Big Talbot was also featured in Wandering Weddings!

Want to plan your own beach elopement? Contact me here.