An elopement package is a bundle: one seller gives you the place, the person who marries you, and usually the photographs, for one price. In Florida they're sold by chapels, inns, resorts and beach-ceremony companies, and published prices run from about $100 for a bare ceremony to $2,500 for a styled beach setup. The catch — the whole reason this guide exists — is that no two packages contain the same things, so the word “package” is marketing. The inclusions list is the product. Learn to read it and you can compare any two offers in the state in about ninety seconds.
What's normally inside
- The officiant — in Florida, very often a notary public; this is one of the few states where notaries can perform marriages, and the elopement industry is built on it.
- Venue time — typically 30 minutes to 2 hours. Read the clock carefully: at most venues, setup, ceremony and photos all come out of the same window.
- Photography — the most common bundle item after the officiant. The questions are how many edited images, at what resolution, delivered when. “Photography included” can mean 20 images or 200.
- The small ceremonial extras — a bouquet, a cake for two, a champagne toast, music. Inns do this best: Casa Grandview's $1,499 package folds in the officiant, witnesses and a cake for two.
- Witnesses — Florida doesn't require them for a valid marriage, but some venues provide them for the signing anyway. Couples eloping truly alone appreciate this more than they expect to.
- License guidance — good packages walk you through the Clerk of Court steps. But read the next line twice:
Never included: the marriage license itself. Only a county Clerk of Court can issue it, you must apply together in person, and it costs $86 ($61 with a premarital course). A package that says it will “handle the license for you” means paperwork help — it cannot mean the license. Full details in how much it costs to elope in Florida.
The four shapes Florida packages come in
1. The chapel package
A room, an officiant, a short guest list, a printed price. Jacksonville is the capital of this format: Rainbow Wedding Chapel publishes a MICRO tier (2–10 guests) at $150 on weekdays, and the Walk-In Wedding Chapel starts at $350. In Winter Park, ’Til Death Chapel sells three tiers up to 20 guests, $600–$1,300 — pets allowed, their emphasis.
2. The inn package
A bed-and-breakfast wraps the ceremony into a stay: the two of you, a garden or gazebo, cake and champagne, photos around the house. Amelia Island Williams House publishes packages at $750 and $1,200 (room extra, two-night minimum); the Fairbanks House, on the same island, runs an elopement strictly for two. The room is never in the package price — compare inn packages on the combined total.
3. The beach package
A ceremony company brings the arch, the chairs and the officiant to a permitted stretch of public beach, then takes it all away. The Beach Picnic Co. in Naples publishes a two-guest elopement at $2,000 — you're paying for styling and permits, and beach packages live and die by those two things plus the rain plan. Ask about all three.
4. The resort package
Big hotels almost never publish small packages, which is what makes the Hyatt Centric Key West guide unusual: an elopement package for 2–4 guests from $1,500++ and a micro-wedding package for 5–24 from $2,250++. The “++” means tax and service charges ride on top — budget for the landed number.
Six questions that expose the fine print
- What happens if we bring more guests than the tier allows? Overage fees are common and almost never on the website.
- How many edited photos, at what size, delivered when? Get a number and a date, in writing.
- What is the rain plan? A backup room, a reschedule, or a refund — for beach and garden packages, this is the whole ballgame in a Florida summer.
- Is the price the price? Tax, service charges, weekend surcharges (Twisted Oak Farm publishes its $500 one openly; most venues don't), travel fees.
- How long do we actually get the space? A one-hour package is a ceremony and a photo sprint. Two hours breathes.
- Who files the license? Your officiant must return the signed license to the clerk within 10 days. Confirm the package treats that as their job, not yours.
Browse the venues themselves in the Florida micro wedding and elopement guide — every venue links to its own site, so the package you read about is the package the venue itself describes.