What is your hometown, what brought you to the
Emerald Coast and how long have you been here?
Simply stated; What brought me here….Birth! How long
have I been here…since Birth! I was born in Valparaiso and
have lived in Fort Walton Beach and Destin my entire life,
with the exception of 7 years being a Flight Attendant for
Pan Am and my travels abroad.
What is your profession and give a brief description
of what you do.
I am a hopeless romantic that loves people and travel. My
dream was to travel the world, so right out of high school I
moved to Miami and became a “Stewardess” for Pan Am,
based in Miami and New York, doing mostly international
fl ights. Then one day, I saw and met my future husband
of 36 years. Love and the love of family brought me back
to this wonderful area we know as Destin. With two very
different careers, him as an Engineer BSME and an MBA
and me a fl ight attendant, and wanting to spend more
time together, my husband and I decided to open our own
business, which turned out to be the business of love -- the
Wedding Business. We opened Simply Elegant Bridal
(Fort Walton Beach) in 1982 and Simply Elegant Couture
(Pensacola) in 2015 and work side-by-side 24 hours/day. We
love helping and dressing our local brides and customers.
We have expanded in the arena of love, as we BOTH are
Certifi ed Sandals Specialists, helping to Plan and Book
weddings and honeymoons (and vacations) to Sandals for
our brides and friends. As we Love to travel, we have been
to ALL 16 Sandals resorts in just over 2.5 years. In addition,
we are opening a wedding/event venue called Elegance on
The Bayou which overlooks Don’s Bayou (next to our Bridal
Boutique) this fall. We are now BOTH hopeless Romantics
that love Destin.
What do you like best about Destin and what makes
it unique?
The best part of Destin to me is what Destin was about
when it was a fl edgling little “Luckiest Fishing Village”…
the HARBOR. The harbor is still the center of what attracts
our many visitors; the Fishing Fleet, the many businesses
and restaurants along with the pristine beaches we enjoy.
Give us three words that best describe you.
Adventurous, Compassionate, Energetic.
Favorite things you like about Destin.
I love the beauty of Destin with it’s soft white sand, aqua
blue waters. Destin has awesome wine, art and songwriters
festivals. I just love the feeling when I am in Destin. But
mostly, the support the community gives to local businesses
and charities.
I AM DESTIN because…
I Love Destin….I feel most at home in Destin! Destin is on
everyone’s Sand Bucket List, more than once!
I AM DESTIN
debbie
west
photo by
Zhalman
Harris
98 IamDestin - Debbie West.indd 1
5/25/18 4:18 PM