We're getting married!
Things To Do!
Taverna
Contemporary Italian mainstay in the heart of San Marco Square with outdoor seating and delicious pizzas, pasta dishes and the best cheese board in Jacksonville. Hands down Bert's and my favorite restaurant. Get the gambas!
Black Sheep Restaurant
Rooftop patio with great drinks and brunch right in the heart of Riverside/5 points. Not a place to be missed. If you go for brunch, order the drink called the Heaven's Gate. If you're visiting from Kentucky and need a hit of bourbon, order the Dusty Boot.
Hoptinger Bier Garden & Sausage House
German-inspired sausage house in Riverside offering a long beer list, rooftop patio and lots of televisions for sports events
Town Hall Restaurant Jacksonville
James Beard Award nominee Tom Gray’s newest restaurant uses seasonal ingredients from local farm and artisan purveyors and lives by the mantra to offer big food in small spaces.
St Johns Town Center
The 1.5 million-square-foot outdoor lifestyle center is Jacksonville’s premiere shopping and dining destination with 150 brands like Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Apple, Tory Burch and Brooks Brothers. Cool off at the Park Green’s misters at the center’s turtle pond or grab an adult milkshake at the outdoor counter of local favorite, M Shack, or an appetizer at any number of dining spots.
Cowford Chophouse
Upscale steakhouse in Downtown Jacksonville. The renovation of the historic Guaranty Savings & Trust, which also housed Henry Klutho’s office at one time, is impressive, as are the rooftop views of the St. Johns River and Main Street Bridge.
River & Post
Seafood hotspot located in Riverside with covered rooftop bar that always allows for river breezes and chilled libations.
Riverside Arts Market
Each Saturday morning, the maker community of Jacksonville comes together under the Fuller-Warren Bridge with tons of booths selling food, art, clothing and gifts while bands perform on the riverfront stage. Following lunch from the Market, stroll next door to The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, the fine arts museum that is home to the largest collection Meissen porcelain and lush Italian and English gardens along the St. Johns River.
San Marco Square
The historic shopping, dining and arts district is located just minutes from both the host hotel and the wedding venue. Designed after Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy, grab a coffee and sit along the water fountains under the gazebo and people watch.
Big Talbot Island Boneyard Beach
As Jacksonville has the country’s largest urban park system, you’ll find a number of ways to be one with nature. A perennial favorite is this oceanfront park also known as “Boneyard Beach” due to magnificent oak tree trunks that lay horizontally on the sand, white from decades of wind and saltwater. Want to get out on the water? Head across A1A to Kayak Amelia and rent a kayak or stand up paddleboard.
Beaches
Rent a brightly colored beach cruiser from a number of beach rental companies and stride along First Street past casual seafood restaurants, seaside bars like Lemon Bar and Surfer The Bar and oceanfront parks. Park your bike at any of the many public beach accesses and soak up the sunshine on the sand or book a surf lesson with Saltwater Cowgirls.
St. Augustine
Located just south of Jacksonville, St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the United States. Known as the “Ancient City,” it was founded by the Spanish in 1565 and is one of the top U.S. tourism destinations with its historic district, cobblestone streets, quaint cafes, bars, boutiques and waterfront cannons.