Can anyone recommend a nice hotel or resort for our destination wedding in Sanibel Island, Florida?|120673

It will be my fiance, myself and about 20 guests. We are looking for an affordable but nice place for everyone to stay on Sanibel Island. Maybe even a place we could also do the wedding? What about reception ideas?

Sanibel is great go there every year. If you are planning a wedding you really need to check out this site:

http://www.sanibelcaptivaweddings.com/


This lady does the best work. She has lived on Sanibel for years and every wedding that I have seen her do has been AWESOME!!! Most of the hotels are on the beach; however you can have your wedding on the beach wherever you want, all you need is the permit and someone to marry you, again the site above can help! She is great she can help you find a photographer, get the permits and so on. If you don_t want to use her service you really just need to find someone to marry you and you need to get the permits. Just call city hall they can help you with all of that, or you can even email or call the visitors center, they do weddings all the time. They are a really big help and a free service. Here are some websites to help you:

http://www.sanibel-captiva.org/


http://www.sanibelisland.com/weddings.ht��


http://www.sanibel-online.com/island_wed��


As for places to stay there are all kinds of wonderful places, I am sure if you contact the hotel and tell them you are planning a wedding they can assist you. You also have a large group of people coming most hotels will give you a group rate, so you need to call and speak with the manager or the sales department. Here are some places that I really like:
The Sanibel Inn is always nice; the company that owns this also owns a few other resorts on the island, all of them are very nice and should also have reception space. The other resort they own that I really like is the Seaside Inn, classic beach resort.

http://www.sanibelcollection.com/sanibel��


You might also try the Sundial Resort. Very nice place! We stayed there a few years back and it was really nice and the staff was great. I believe they also had banquet rooms to have the reception.

http://www.sundialresort.com/


Gulf Breeze Cottages is also a nice place to stay, although I would not call it a full service resort, they have these wonderful cottages that are located on the beach and very romantic!

http://www.gbreeze.com/rates_online.htm


I also like the Sandpiper Inn again it is not a resort but it is a true tropical paradise and this little inn makes it feel like you are on a private island. The staff and owners were great when we stayed there.

http://www.sandpiperinnsanibel.com/


The Sunset Beach Resort is also another very nice resort here. They even have a little bit of _private_ beach. They have a wonderful staff and everything you need to make your stay enjoyable. I am sure that they can assist you with your wedding plans.

http://www.sanibelcollection.com/sunset%��


Believe it or not the Holiday Inn here is really nice! It is not like some of them that I have been to on the mainland. This one is very clean, on the ocean, full service and a great staff. They have waterfalls, a beautiful pool and more. Hey it is worth checking out! They have some really neat places to get married on their grounds; they have cool little paths and things like that. Also it is a very nice place to take some pictures!

http://www.beachdirectory.com/hisanibeli��


Here are some websites with listings of places to stay on Sanibel; I will tell you there really is no run down motels, dirty places, or crappy resorts on the island. I have been to several more to pick friends up or whatever and they all have been really nice. Way different then a large city!

http://sanibel-captiva-hotels.beachdirec��


http://hotel-guides.us/florida/sanibel-i��


http://www.floridavacations.com/fv/Sanib��


http://www.casaybelresort.com/


Of course depending on how long some people are going to be staying down there they might be better off renting a condo. There are several places on the Island that have condos for rent. The best thing to do is contact the visitor��s center for a list of them. We stay at the Shell Island Beach Club by the lighthouse. It is really great plus they have all kinds of other amenities.

As for reception ideas what are you looking for? Do you want a traditional reception or something more low key? There are several wonderful restaurants on the island that might be able to assist you. I have never checked for banquet rooms, but I am sure if you contact them they will assist you. They have several that are waterfront, ocean view ect... Some of my favorite places are:
The Green Flash
The Bubble Room
The Hungry Herron
Sanibel Steak House
Red Fish Blue Fish
Dolce Vita

I know that the Thistle Lodge does receptions; they are very good however they can get expensive so you will want to check with them about deals and how much it cost. It is however a very beautiful and romantic place!

http://www.thistlelodge.com/


There is so much to do on Sanibel, you and your guest are going to have a great time. The beaches are white, the water is blue and you have some of the best shelling in the world!!! I totally recommend doing a wedding at sunset or sunrise, they are so pretty and you get some really good photos. I have been going to Sanibel for years and I can tell you that when people have weddings on the beach, people are respectful of them and really do try to stay out of the way. Even though it is a public beach everyone tries to walk around your party, tries not to get into pictures and will not _join_ in. I have seen a ton of weddings done here and the bride has never had an issue. I also find this website very helpful when planning our yearly trips there:

http://www.bestofsanibelcaptiva.com/


Well I hope this helps you, you will have a wonderful wedding, Sanibel is always picture perfect! I have been going there forever and trust me you can never have a bad day on Sanibel! Congrats on your marriage!

I was in Sanibel Island in April. We stayed at the Sanibel Inn, but there are other hotels on the island. The hotel is right on the beach. There is a restaurant at the hotel, I don_t know if they do weddings, but it wouldn_t hurt to ask. I have some really nice pictures of the island if you like to see them just let me know. Oh, Congrats.

Sanibel is so nice - great place for a wedding!

Try TripAdvisor.com - they have user reviews on hotels, etc., and also have forums on various topics at each destination.

Good luck to you!

What is the best and most economical way to move furniture from coast to coast?|119313

Relocating from Ca. to Md. and need someone to move us.

We moved from CA to FL 2 yrs ago (husband is Army) and it was cheaper for us to buy new furniture when we got there, I sold our old furniture on Craigslist.org and got a fair price for it so with the money from the old furniture I think we threw in an extra 2000 and was cheaper than moving everything.

Uhaul is a big mistake. for that kind of money you can buy an 18 wheeler 48 foot trailer with a 5000 pound liftgate and load it yourself and hire a trucker to take it and sell the trailer later. A trucker will get better fuel mileage than any uhaul and carry a lot more

the rental price for a uhaul will be more than fifteen hundred dollars and you can buy a trailer for about 5000 and sell it later

It really depends on how much stuff you have. If you don_t have a lot, you could rent a U-haul or some other brand like it...they have different sizes, from a trailer that you pull to an actual truck that you can drive (if you have someone going with you to drive other cars). I would also get a few companies to come and do free estimates on the cost, most towns have _Two Men and a Truck_ that is cheaper than others. With gas prices like they are though either way is going to cost a lot more than even a few months ago :(

You may be better off getting rid of some of your bigger pieces

Good luck on your move though! :)

I found that penske is the cheapest way to go....

I saved about 1500 dollars using them instead of UHaul and their trucks are bigger..

Those pod things are ridiculously expensive....they are not worth the it!!!!

Personally I_d have the pros_s do it it_s a flat rate and they_ll do all the work. Flat rate can_t go wrong but don_t take the first price look for the best price.

Get rates from moving companies.

UHAUL

Sell all of the old stuff - move with nothing, then buy everything when you get to MD.

Throw it into the ocean...if it gets back to you on the other coast, that means it was meant to be!

Buy more furninture and sell the old stuff

Wagon Train or U-Haul

How much does it cost for taxi for 4 people from Fort Lauderdale Airport to Miami?|117892

I need to go from Fort Lauderdale Airport to Miami Seaport. What would be an economic way to travel? Taxi or shuttles? And how much? Thanks.

According to TaxiFarefinder, it says it_s about $100 after tip. The metered rate is about $84. I selected, _Downtown_ as From, and _Fort Lauderdale, FL_ as To.

I assume it_d be cheaper on a shuttle, but at least this site will allow you to gauge as comparison points.

This question previously answered. Search the answers.
You may want to look into taking Tri-Rial and then Metro-Rial into Miami.
Shared ride vans cost 50 to 80 per head, depending where you are going. With 4 people a taxi may be your best bet, around 80 to 120 depending on destination.

If you can get a cab to take 4 people + baggage it will be a better deal at about $80 or so including tip. There_s a shared ride shuttle that may be a few $$ less but you have wait for them to fill up _ drop off. [Note all the cabs are asking for rate rises for fuel so rates are in flux]

What is there to do and see in Colorado?|130411

We are planning on visiting Denver, Colorado Springs, Buena Vista, and Glenwood Springs this summer.

MANY things!!! In Denver, the zoo, Museum, Casa Bonita, Butterfly Pavilion. 16th St Mall. the mint, state capitol, art museum..all are outstanding. In Co. Springs, the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls, Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak. In Glenwood..the big hot springs pool, and for Buena Vista..see site below. Have a great trip.

go up to the mountains it_s really cool to go camping and just look out at nature.

What are the mode of public transport available between Chicago and Toronto?|130306

Planning to take a trip to Toronto from Chicago in Mid July. I do not live in the US but need some advice here. Any assistance in this will be appreciated

AMTRACK. now i may not get 10 points, but really, do i have to explain it

It_s at Union Station. go there. It_s pretty cheap. The train is classy.

Amtrak gets you between the two.

There used to be a train to Detroit then VIA Rail went on from there to Toronto. The Amtrak map however shows the route to be the train through Toledo and Cleveland on to Buffalo and then around Lake Ontario to Toronto.

Review the Amtrak site link below to see your options. You cal also call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245) if you prefer talking to someone about planning your route.