Henderson Beach Resort & Spa Wedding in Destin, FL || Tom + Joby

Tom + Joby’s wedding at the Henderson Beach Resort & Spa in Destin, FL was literally one of the most stress free weddings I’ve ever photographed. Joby was a bride who knew and told me exactly what she wanted, but in the sweetest way possible. I knew that their biggest priority was having a laid back, low stress atmosphere, so I asked her what her biggest tip was for achieving that. She said, “Stay organized.... prioritize what’s important and let the other little things go. USE A WEDDING PLANNER - this saved our life the day of the wedding. We didn’t have to do anything or worry.” I 100% agree with hiring a wedding planner! Tom + Joby hired Jamie with Fancy Events. She and her team did a phenomenal job keeping the day running smoothly and making everything look good.

I asked Joby why they chose the Henderson Beach Resort & Spa and she said, “We only looked at one place and knew it was it. We wanted a beach ceremony and outdoor reception with an intimate vibe. It was all on a gut feel for us. We didn’t factor in other opinions.... just our own.” To be honest, I didn’t know this place existed until I went to tour the venue and I’m in awe of how beautiful that venue is! I’d have never expected such a nice venue to exist in Destin and the staff there are really friendly too.

While Joby’s favorite colors blue, white, and gray were a classic choice for a beach wedding, her dress was not. Most brides choose lacy mermaid dresses, but I really loved Joby’s choice of an elegant, simple dress. She chose it for it’s form fitting design and added in a long veil for a wow factor. I also loved how practical and comfortable her Birdie shoes looked, but they were still really pretty.

This wedding held a lot of meaning. Most importantly, they wanted to incorporate Tom’s dad’s memory as much as possible into their day. They had a dessert table set up in his memory, because he was a huge fan of sweets. Same! I was really excited when Joby told me Bonne Vie Specialty would be making the desserts, cause her sweets are the best! Something really special happened during the ceremony, but I didn’t realize it til later. There was a huge, billboard boat gliding behind the ceremony and I took a photo of it so they could laugh about it later. When I told them about it and that there was an ad for Dairy Queen on it, they got so excited. DQ was one of his dad’s absolute favorite places to go to for desserts and it brought tears to my eyes. Thank God that I took that photo at exactly the right moment! Joby also told me that a shooting star shot through the sky during her dad’s speech and she felt like that was also his dad being there with them that day.

If you’re looking for an elegant venue with access to the beach and a rooftop with a view for your reception, fill out my contact form because I would love to shoot there again!