Couples planning to wed on Miami Beach’s shores may have to pay fee
Tying the knot on the sands of Miami Beach may not be free for much longer.
Tanya Baker considers herself a lucky bride. On Aug. 31, she married her fiancé on Miami Beach’s sandy shores as waves rolled, the sun set and guests cheered.
And she didn’t have to spend a cent to get hitched on the beach.
Other brides-to-be may not be so blissful.
Starting next month, couples may have to pay as much as $250 for the privilege of swapping vows amid the seagulls of Miami Beach.
With the exception of the tiny town of Golden Beach — which charges $50 for locals-only ceremonies — and county-run parks, couples can have their weddings for free on beaches throughout Miami-Dade.
The reason for the proposed wedding fees, which will be debated at a budget hearing this month, is decidedly unromantic: Like cities across the county, Miami Beach is facing a budget crunch.
Baker and her new husband, Rayon Nelson, who live in Jacksonville, were relieved to not have added something new to their $1,800 wedding budget — which included hotel, food and flowers.
Had the fee been in effect, Baker said she would have looked for another place.
”I don’t think it’s right for a city to charge to get married on the beach,” said Baker, 39, who wanted a tropical wedding to honor her husband’s Jamaican roots. “It’s open to the public.”
Under the new rules, out-of-town sweethearts who want to bring wedding props to the beach, such as chairs, aisle runners — or even, in Baker’s case, a handful of tiki torches — will have to get a permit and pay $250.
Local lovebirds would get a discount: $125.
Max Sklar, Miami Beach’s director of culture and tourism development, said the city has nothing against tying the knot.
But it has to find a way to deal with an increase in ceremonies on Miami Beach — a hot spot for destination weddings.
”The cost to monitor the gatherings, the temporary structures, the people driving on and off the beach, it is going up,” Sklar said.
The city currently issues free permits for seaside weddings, even elaborate ones requiring tents, arches and flower displays.
Last year, the number of free wedding permits issued by Miami Beach more than doubled, from 130 in 2006 to 263 in 2007.
Bare-bones ceremonies — with no accessories, no chairs, no musicians and less than 100 guests — don’t require a permit. That will remain unchanged under the proposed guidelines.
The idea for a wedding fee came up during a city budget workshop in July. The charge is only one of several new measures Miami Beach may adopt to offset a drop in property tax revenue due to a statewide measure that caps the amount of taxes local governments can collect.
Also in the offing: higher metered parking, steeper golfing fees and a fee charging vendors $2,000 a pop to give freebies like energy drinks on South Beach.
But for better or worse, it’s the wedding fee that is causing the most buzz — at least among wedding planners and their clients.
Jackie Farah Fernandez, a Miami-based wedding planner, said the fee might crimp the style of budget-conscious brides. But her clients are already willing to pay $80,000 or more for her to create fairy tale weddings.
The national average cost of a wedding is $28,000 — compared to $32,000 for South Florida nuptials.
”I don’t think this is a huge cost in comparison to everything else,” said Fernandez, who has coordinated several Miami Beach weddings.
Roy Llera, a photographer who often works with Fernandez, agreed.
”I can’t really see this stopping someone from having a beach wedding,” said Llera, whose website features several pictures of happy couples embracing near the crashing waves.
”It’s a drop in the bucket. My clients are on the high end,” he said. “They’d say the fee is like dinner for two at a nice restaurant.”
There are options, of course.
The town of Golden Beach requires a $250 deposit — all but $50 of it returned after the ceremony — but only residents are allowed to get married on its private beach.
Wedding ceremonies at a county-run beach like Haulover Beach Park in North Miami-Dade can be even pricier. The county charges between $235 and $535 plus a cleanup fee, said Edith Torres, spokeswoman for the county parks department.
And farther north on Collins Avenue, places like Bal Harbour don’t charge at all — and don’t plan to.
”The beach is public. We don’t have a fee,” Alfred Treppeda, village manager for Bal Harbour, said.
But Miami Beach, with its oceanfront Art Deco hotels, nightlife and jet-set appeal, will likely continue to lure lovers — with or without a wedding fee.
”We’re famous,” Fernandez, the wedding planner, said.
“It’s kind of like Vegas.”
The original source of this article can be found at:
www.miamiherald.com / Sun, Sep. 14, 2008
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