Legally marrying in our home state, having my brother "officiate" but not sure how to plan it

A Marriage License on its own doesn't make you married - the ceremony does. Until the license is signed by a legal officiant and filed, you aren't married. Your officiant will be obligated to sign and return the license when the legal ceremony occurs.

Maybe don't exchange rings until the Florida ceremony? Or do personalized vows vs. traditional vows?

I think it will still feel like a real wedding because you are coming down the aisle to meet your man and then you will still be saying vows to each other. Maybe at the courthouse just say your "I do's" and then for the ceremony day say your vows to each other (maybe they could be personal and written by yourselves even? )

The marriage is legal once the license is signed by the officiant and witnesses the day of the ceremony. The officiant then submits it to the town/city/municipality where the ceremony took place. A family member can get ordained online for free, very easily, through the universal life church. However, not every state allows for that so double check the laws for the state and county in which you intend to get married. You can choose to get legally married prior to the beach celebration. However, the date on your marriage certificate is whatever date the legal ceremony took place (whether that's the court house in TX or on the beach in FL). Whether or not you will have the "just married" feeling after your beach ceremony is really up to you two. Some people may feel like it isn't real because the date on the marriage certificate doesn't match the big celebration date. Other people feel like the date that they celebrated with their friends and family is all that matters. It's really all about personal perception.

Don’t hide the fact that you’re married. You don’t want to start off your marriage by hiding things, do you? I feel like it’s a good idea to be authentic, and call it a celebration of marriage or something similar.

As someone who was married in Florida, it is very easy to get a marriage license in Florida. You can get it the same day as someone who doesn’t live in Florida. Just make an appointment ahead of time and you’ll be in and out within 15 minutes. Then you can avoid losing that “newly married” feeling.

Here’s a link for getting ordained online, meeting Florida’s rules:
https://theamm.org/weddings-by-state/florida

You asked , "but isnt everyone technically legally married before their wedding ceremony when they go to the courthouse to get their marriage license?" The answer is no! Getting a marriage license isn't like getting a driver's license. The license needs to be signed by the couple, the officiant, and usually 2 witnesses, then submitted back to the county before you are legally married.

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Thats a good point - But I just didnt want to pay a stranger or make a family member pay to do it but someone else said its free. I thought when I looked online that it cost, so that changes things too. We will have the day before to do it if it is as simple as going into the courthouse. Thank you!

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Thank you - Lets say I go ahead and just go to the courthouse in FL and have my brother get ordained in FL. My wedding is on a Friday evening and we were planning to be back out of town by that Monday - How would we submit the license back to the city? Would we need to plan to stay until Monday or I wonder if we could mail it in somehow.