If you’re looking for a venue to get married at along the Gulf Coast that is on the beach, has rooms on site for your guests to stay in and provides a high end experience and setting, The Henderson Resort in Destin is hard to beat. It’s got it all and is one of my favorite places to photograph weddings at. Chanda and George thought it was pretty perfect too.

“Our destination was the beautiful white sand beaches of the Florida Panhandle. We envisioned a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere that reflected both of our tastes and provided a comfortable yet sophisticated vibe for our guests. After Hannah gave us our tour of The Henderson we realized it offered a classy beach feel in a well-maintained, high-end resort. The boutique aspect of the resort offered the unique flare we wanted. Following our tour with Hannah that day we made the easy decision on our drive back to Seaside to make it our location. I can say without hesitation we made the right choice.”

George when asked about why they chose The Henderson:
“I grew up vacationing in the Florida Panhandle and after attending Florida State University I moved out west, yet the beauty and my love of The South always remained in my heart. When Chanda and I started dating I would bring her back to the area and we would experience what northwest Florida had to offer… Beach walks, deep sea fishing, the beautiful weather, FSU football games and many other aspects of north Florida living. As a result, Chanda fell in love with the area as well and thus it was an easy choice when we were deciding on a Destination Wedding location.”

“Chanda was adamant that our ceremony take place on the beach with the backdrop of waves crashing. She thought that it would offer up a beautiful setting in nature and be the perfect place to exchange vows.”

“A sunset wedding was an absolute “must have” because there is nothing better than a beautiful sunset on The Emerald coast. As luck would have it the March weather was perfect and our vision of taking our sacred wedding vows at sunset with family and friends in attendance crystallized right in front of our eyes.”

Chanda wore a Moonlight Couture Crepe Mermaid Wedding Dress with a Lace Cutaway Train.
“I fell in love with the dress as soon as I put it on. I went with my mom, 2 sisters & Hudson to try on dresses and it was such a special time for us all. It meant a lot having my family there.”

George wore a tailored Giorgio Armani suit with custom made vest.
“Since our wedding was not formal we found the perfect blue to accentuate the coastal color theme we were going for.”

“We had guests who traveled from Kansas, California, North Carolina, Colorado, central Florida, and Tennessee to celebrate with us. Witnessing our guests have a great time and getting well wishes from them was touching and meant more to us than they will ever imagine.”

Their first dance was to “Always Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga
“We wanted a song that symbolizes our love and how we wanted people to think of us as a couple. We choreographed the dance so it would be memorable not only for our guests but for us as well.”

“Joe, a huge Ohio State fan, walked onto the dance floor halfway through our reception dressed as “Brutus” (The Ohio State mascot). This was one of the funniest things any of us had ever seen! It brought the house down!!!!!”

Advice for future couples from Chanda: 
“Hire a wedding planner, I didn’t think I needed one till I met Michelle. It made my whole planning process a breeze and I didn’t have to worry about anything!
Have fun, relax and take it all in. The day went by so fast!!”

Advice for future couples from George: 
“Make sure you have picked the right one otherwise it gets costly! 🤣
Try to make time to spend with friends and family before, I was able to talk with people and hangout instead of trying to do that on the wedding day.”

Thanks goes out to:
“We can’t thank Michelle Dickerson with A Perfect Plan Wedding Consulting. She was absolutely amazing and made our whole planning process a breeze.

Erika you were absolutely amazing and your photography with both our engagement photos and our wedding day was so fun and beautiful. We also can’t thank you enough.

Hannah our venue coordinator at The Henderson was great.

Carly at Showtime Events made our wedding look amazing! Loved my floral arrangements.
Bay Kings Band was amazing, loved them.

My hair by dear friend Tiffany Shellenberg and having Destin Mobile Make-up Box for make-up and hair for my family.

And of course our family and friends!”