It’s one of the ritziest wedding venues in the Sunshine State. But nearby homeowners would rather it not be.
Recently, Indian Creek Country Club—located on the same exclusive island where Jeff Bezos, Ivanka Trump, and Tom Brady reside—has discouraged third-party events at the club, according to two people familiar with the matter. Prior to the policy, club members could sponsor non-members to host events like weddings.
Indian Creek Country Club’s decision comes after a string of high-profile names have snagged nine-figure homes just yards away from the venue. Some of these figures, such as Bezos, employ Secret Service-like armies, while Trump is protected by the real Secret Service.
Photo credit: Michael M. Santiago – Getty Images
Jeff Bezos, who reportedly owns three houses out of the approximately 41 total, on Indian Creek island.
Photo credit: Michael Le brecht – Getty Images
Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, are said to have built a $30 milllion home on Indian Creek.
Although the club shares an island with Miami’s most powerful residents, not every homeowner is granted membership to the club. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner famously faced resistance from club members when they moved to the island in 2021. “Jared and Ivanka can lunch with their fellow ‘patriots’ at Mar-a-Lago,” a source told Page Six at the time. It is unclear whether they have since joined.
After admitted members play its 18-hole golf course, they can retreat to the clubhouse, which is where the ‘I Do’s’ take place. These are often affairs on-par with the McMansions nearby, with numerous vendors, a parade of cars, and frat-party-level noise. That combination disturbed weekend golfers, according to one source. After complaints, club leadership moved to only allow members and their children to host weddings.
There is evidence of an uptick in non-member weddings. In 2023 and 2024, revenue from the club’s “gross sales of inventory” on its tax filings—which likely captures wedding food and beverage—eclipsed $4 million. It had never exceeded more than $3 million in any of the prior seven years, according to the documents.
Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, has hosted high-profile weddings including, earlier this months, the nuptials of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and U.S. Embassy Art Director Erin Elmore. Jason Armond – Getty Images
But some are speculating that cranky complaints alone didn’t push the club to act. There is chatter that the rule stemmed from increased security concerns from Indian Creek Village Police officers, who are charged with protecting residents. One person familiar with Indian Creek said homeowners want the island to be more private, as it’s become busier in recent years. Both the Indian Creek Country Club’s general manager and the Indian Creek Village’s chief of police did not respond to requests for comment.
When weddings are hosted at the club, late-night revelers—whose identities are unknown to residents—could wander around the island (and potentially onto billionaires’ front yards). Or Instagram pictures and Vimeo wedding videos and online photo albums could inadvertently leak security information about Forbes List honorees’ properties, such as access points.
For the time being, it’ll still play wedding venue for Indian Creek Country Club members’ children, which has been a long tradition. In 2020, Molly Ford—whose parents are members—picked the $500,000-initiation-fee club to host her wedding. Her father, Mark Ford, once oversaw a number of esteemed magazines, including Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune. Danielle Rothfeldt, another Indian Creek scion, married there in 2023. It also draws regular famous people like The View co-host Ana Navarro, who exchanged vows there in 2019.
If less-connected brides and grooms strike out at Indian Creek, another ultra-exclusive Florida club is welcoming them: Mar-a-Lago, located 90 minutes north of Miami. They allow non-members to book the venue.
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