Krista + Mike’s Party-Filled Key West Elopement

Krista and Mike planned a fun, unique, and intimate elopement experience at the iconic Key West in Florida. From a clothing-optional bar to sharing key lime pie and dancing the night away, these two did it ALL on their special night. Get all the details from their special day below.

Are you ready to elope? Explore our Florida elopement packages. 

About This Elopement

Photography by Anna Holden Photo

“Krista and Mike’s Key West elopement was the epitome of a good time because these two know how exactly to have one! Their day was filled with tons of fun from excited family and friends, a rooftop clothing optional bar turned wedding ceremony, sharing key lime pie and sipping mojitos, eating hot dogs from a street cart, and dancing welllllllllll into the night.

Once they were ready for their wedding, we planned a private first look between the cigar cottages of the Paradise Inn. The white buildings and tall palm trees opted for the perfect backdrop and Mike turning to see Krista in front of it in her wedding dress had to be the best start to an amazing life together. Once I captured their first look, I left them to have a few moments together and give Krista space to read Mike her letter to him in her own words.

Next stop: Garden of Eden – a clothing-optional rooftop bar in Key West. While this bar is known for its nude guests, it’s also a centrally located rooftop bar right off Duval and conveniently above The Bull (where they first met). According to one of the bartenders, this might have been the first wedding that the bar has seen.

During the ceremony, airplanes flew overhead which I felt was an ode to K+M’s traveling spirits. After the ceremony, the dance floor opened and everyone was ready to rip it. While everyone celebrated on the rooftop, K+M slipped away and headed to their first kiss spot, which is conveniently located in a back alley. Before heading to the next adventure, Krista popped champagne in the street and it was probably one of the best champagne pops I’ve ever captured.

After our champagne shower, we headed to their first date spot – Half Shell Raw Bar – to enjoy a slice of key lime pie as their wedding cake. Once people noticed that they just got married, they were greeted by so many people who wished them well. If you’re getting married in Key West, you’re bound to have so many strangers become friends.

Our last stop before heading back to everyone was General Horseplay to grab some espresso martinis. This place is amazing for cocktails, but they also have this fun game where you call your price. You roll some dice and whatever it lands on is what you pay for your drink. Of course, we had to get in on that!

Once we got back to the Bull, their friends and family welcomed them back with cheering and Krista proceeded to cut off her dress train on the dance floor. One of her friends would use the cut train as a scarf for the rest of the evening and honestly, it complimented her outfit.

The rest of the evening was spent doing the Duval Bar crawl, listening to live music, and dancing the night away. It was the perfect end to an even more perfect day.” [Anna, the photographer]

Learn how to elope here.

Deciding to Elope

“I have typically never wanted a big traditional wedding, and frankly, I have always tended to do things unconventional. Michael and I love to travel and we decided that we wanted to take the money we would spend on our ‘wedding’ and travel instead of paying for guests to eat a dinner.

Michael and I met in Key west- He was on a fishing trip and I was at a friends birthday party, where he spotted me in The Bull and came up to talk to me. We kept running into his group throughout the weekend and 5 months later, we had our first (5 day) date back in Key West. It holds such a special place for us as a couple, but also individually.” [Krista, the bride]

Check out these reasons to elope. 

Planning Process

“The planning process was relatively easy considering we weren’t planning on doing much. As we told friends and family that we were eloping, many of them said they would come down and celebrate with us. Anna listed out venues for the ceremony, hair/ makeup, and florists that I reached out to. In the end, we had our friends help with hair and make up and booked our venue (Garden of Eden) for $200.” [Krista, the bride]

Anna Holden Photography- $8,000 for engagement/wedding photos/planning

Garden of Eden venue- $200

Dress- $70

Hair/makeup- Free

Florist- $200

Open Bar- $2,000

Total ~ $10,470

Learn more about elopement costs here. 

Permits and LNT

“All the locations for K+M’s Key West elopement were at various locations within the city. Key West is a very flexible city and doesn’t have many permitting restrictions.

Key West is a very friendly party town! Be prepared for people to high five you, congratulate you at every turn, and buy you drinks if you’re in your wedding attire! With that said, if you’re looking for privacy and intamacy, there are locations, but for the most part everyone is excited and wants to be a part of your day in some way. I’ve even had people photo bomb couples and want to take pictures with the couple.” [Anna, the photographer]

Learn more about leaving no trace during your elopement. 

Memorable Moments From this Elopement

From the photographer:

“When we were in the car, my husband made a comment about Nickelback being a terrible band. In disbelief as a true Nickelback fan, Krista put on one of her favorite songs on full blast and her, Mike, and I sang every word and rocked out before getting out to our next adventure. It’s moments like this that show me how lucky I am to work with couples that truly feel like best friends.”

From the couple:

“Getting married in the bar we first met at and it being a clothing optional bar. While many wouldn’t think this would be a good ceremony spot, the rooftop and greenery surrounding the bar made it absolutely ideal for a couple who didn’t want to plan any type of decor. Being able to say that we met and got married at the same location when the odds were not in our favor, is always a fun story to tell!

Anna also re-created special places on our first date (the barstools we met at, the alley of our first kiss, us eating our favorite Key Lime Pie and hot dogs and finishing with our iconic espresso martini). She absolutely captured everything about our personalities and love story, and I can not thank her or recommend her enough!”

Final Words of Advice

From the photographer:

“This elopement was the embodiment of ‘do whatever you want’.

Elopement photographers are always telling couples they can do whatever they want or their elopement, but part of me feels like that gets lost in translation for couples that have never been married before. K+M took their first date experiences and created an elopement out of it – getting ready at the boutique hotel that they had their first couple trip in, getting married on top of the bar that they first met, stopping at the oyster bar for key lime pie and Guinness where they had their first date, popping champange and reenacting their first kiss down the alleyway, sipping espresso martinis where they first fell for each other, and having hot dogs from their first night together. Your elopement can truly be anything you want.

Anything that makes you happy.”

From the couple:

“This day was truly about Michael and I. We did not feel obligated to do any ‘traditional’ activities that we didn’t want to. It felt so authentic to who we are as a couple and what we wanted. I feel that some traditional weddings can cater to family members and their wants/needs and can take away from the couple. With it being a small group, we were able to really spend quality time with the people who made the trip down to celebrate us. Because it was a destination location, many stayed for the whole weekend, so we got to celebrate for 3/4 days vs. just 1 night in a typical fashion.”

Vendors

Photography | Anna Holden Photo

Hotel | Paradise Inn
Ceremony | Garden of Eden Rooftop Bar

Photos From This Elopement