Marco Polo Miami Beach Resort Blog

The legendary “Smooth Operator” Sade will perform live with very special guest John Legend at American Airlines Arena on Saturday, July 16th at 8pm. Sade will perform songs from their collection of timeless hits including songs from their critically acclaimed album, SOLDIER OF LOVE which secured the # 1 album spot upon its release. Selling over a million copies to-date, SOLDIER OF LOVE spent three weeks in the number one spot taking its rightful place among the collection of iconic Sade albums.

Beautiful sunsets and clean, sandy beaches make Miami, Florida a great place to have a beach wedding. Many people dream of beach weddings, and it’s becoming easier to make that dream a reality. Weddings on the beach are natural and romantic. There are few natural settings that are as beautiful and simple as the beach and it doesn’t take a lot of planning to have an elegant and memorable beach wedding. Beach weddings in Miami are intimate and often informal and almost all beaches in Florida are public, so you have many options to choose from.

Bal Harbor beach is a beautiful, semi private setting for a beach wedding. It is so beautiful that it’s often called “Florida’s Paradise”. No permit is required to get married at this location, and no chairs are allowed. Bal Harbor hosts a weekly cultural night on Thursdays with concerts and other performances scheduled. This could be a great addition to your Miami beach wedding experience. Bal Harbor beach is a mile long and is located to the north of Miami and south of Ft. Lauderdale.

South Pointe Park is at the southern tip of Miami Beach. They have amazing sunsets and a fantastic view of the port and all the cruise ships. A permit is needed to get married at South Pointe Park and there are twenty foot wide walkways with limestone linings that would make a fantastic natural aisle for a wedding. There are even light towers that illuminate the walkway after dark. This park is open until 10pm every day.

Spanish Monastery is a perfect site for weddings. This Miami Spanish Monastery is the oldest building in the western hemisphere. Many brides every year celebrate their special wedding day at the Ancient Spanish Monastery in Miami. The Spanish Monastery serves as a tourist attraction, a historical landmark, a place for weddings and other events, and an active Episcopal church. Couples may choose from seven different wedding venues and four reception areas at the Miami Spanish Monastery. The French Altar, the most intimate of the Spanish Monastery’s wedding locations, is designed for fewer than 10 people, while the Prayer Well can accommodate a wedding list with 150 to 200 people.

Beach weddings in Miami are rarely canceled due to weather conditions. There is almost always sun, which makes for beautiful sunsets over the water. Another great reason to choose a beach wedding in Miami is the proximity to tourist destinations such as Disney World and Sea World. It is also a convenient place to board a cruise ship for the perfect honeymoon. There are no waiting periods required to get married in Florida and the weddings are legal for couples from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and many other countries. Check with your country if you are unsure about legalities.

Now going into its 10th year, the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine began as a one-day festival known as the Florida Extravaganza held at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. For five years, from 1997-2001, the Florida Extravaganza showcased wines from national and international wineries paired with food from local restaurants and chefs working with students of FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. In 2002, Lee Brian Schrager, director of Special Events and Media Relations at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, took the reigns of the one-day festival and brought his vision for the festival to life by relocating it to South Beach. The renamed South Beach Wine & Food Festival attracted close to 7,000 guests to a series of dinners, seminars, a Grand Tasting Village and live Auction in its first year. The following year, the festival grew, attracting close to 10,000 people and garnered extensive national media coverage. In 2004, with the addition of a number of events and a revamping of the program, the festival doubled in size and attracted more than 20,000 guests to the three-day event.

In 2006, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival celebrated its fifth anniversary and became one of the largest and most well-known festivals of its kind in the country. During the planning of the 2007 festival, Food Network entered into a partnership with the South Beach Wine & Food Festival to become its title sponsor. The resulting Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine combined the international appeal of top-quality libations from around the world, the national appeal of the Food Network and its celebrity chefs and hosts, and the appeal of Latin and Caribbean-inspired regional cuisine.

The 2008 and 2009 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festivals each attracted close to 50,000 guests over four days and garnered an unprecedented amount of media coverage. The Festival earned more than 1 billion media impressions in both years through its integrated marketing and public relations plan.

The 2010 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine welcomed over 50,000 wine and food lovers. 2010 was another banner year as the Festival raised more than $2.2 million for beneficiary, FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and garnered more than two billion media impressions.