Anna Maria Island’s wedding industry has grown from about 50 weddings a year five years ago to nearly 1,000 in 2008. And a large number of the members of wedding parties return to the Island as vacationers, said Caryn Hodge, marketing director for the Sandbar Restaurant in Anna Maria. “Many of them who are visiting the Island for the first time with a wedding party say they’re coming back for a vacation....

  Down the 7-mile stretch of white sand on the Gulf of Mexico, waves lap and sea oats sway in the dunes. Two bridal parties and a few dozen tourists assemble by The Sandbar lounge/restaurant for Anna Maria’s nightly rituals: sunset weddings and guessing which minute the red orb will drop below the horizon. The Sandbar winner typically gets a bottle of Champagne (dessert or T shirts for teetotalers). Unlike...