Palma Sola Botanical Park

I loved having my wedding at the botanical gardens. They were so affordable and laid back with soooo much natural beauty and space to work with.

Beautiful venue! Loved every minute of my wedding and really used the area to make it my own.

Palma Sola Botanical Park was such a beautiful venue, especially for the price. All of the updated landscaping was done by volunteers and the Manatee County Parks Department and look absolutely breathtaking in my pictures. Included in the price of the venue you get the bride's room (which was great for kids during the reception), the lawn, and the gallery building. The building didn't hold many people, we used it for our cake, bar, and high tables only. Dinner was on the lawn and the majority of our reception was held on the deck. I think the best part about this venue was that we were able to bring in our own vendors. This saved us a lot of money overall...since we weren't required to use the handful of select vendors they choose we were able to complete a lot of tasks on our own and even bring in our own alcohol. The only issue we encountered was not with the Botanical Park's Board, but with the office volunteers when it came to measuring and planning out our big day. They complained about us being on the premise before our wedding (even though it's a public park), saying "your insurance only covers the day of and we do not want you here measuring and planning when you're not covered by this insurance. Your contract says you should only be here on Saturday." The insurance they were referring to was our event insurance we had for the day of but this didn't make sense when people are on the grounds daily. After we left that day and before we made it back home, the woman in the office called my house to talk to my mother to make sure we wouldn't go there to do this again until our wedding day! Really?! Fortunately, the President of the Board is the most outgoing and accommodating person there and really compensated for how rude the office staff were to us. Overall, I would definitely recommend this venue to a thrifty couple who want a casual outdoor wedding with a lot of beautiful landscaping. I think we did get a lot for our money.

I must have researched a bajillion wedding venues. None were "just right." They were either way out of budget, too big, too small, too few hours, just not right. Then one of my bridesmaids told me to check out where she'd gotten married, Palma Sola. We randomly went one day after a particularly bad visit at another venue, and fell in love! Bonnie took us around the premises and explained everything. We got married on the beautiful lawn near a little lake, amid the trees. The day was beautiful, made even more beautiful by the setting. Dinner was in the Galleria building, with hardwood floors and neutral colors that let your decor shine. There's a huge covered deck and uncovered porch with plenty of room for guests to spread out. There was just enough space, and lots of room for people to roam around the sides, walk around, etc. There's a bride's room where we got ready and stored our stuff, with an extra bathroom. There's a site rep that helps guests park and another rep that just makes sure everything is copacetic with the grounds. They worked well with our vendors, were open when we needed them to be, and let us come on the grounds the night before to rehearse. And we were the only people there, and it was ours from 9 a.m. to midnight. Every place else we looked quoted us for 4-5 hours, or would have other events there. Not here! Everybody commented on how beautiful the venue was, how amazing, the perfect place to get married. I so agree! At the end of a secluded road, it's far from everything and just perfect. Thank you Bonnie and Palma Sola! Support this amazing nonprofit and consider having your wedding here for sure :)

Beautiful, great value, over all great place.

The entire experience here was perfect! The lady at the office, Bonnie, was absolutely fantastic. Everytime I stopped in or called, she was more than willing the help, answer questions, show me around, suggest local vendors, etc. The price was right for our budget and it was great to be able to have our ceremony outside in the park and then have our reception right there after!! The wrap-around porch on the building for the reception was awesome! TIP: Ask at the office about getting some turtle food and feed the turtles in the pond out front. I think its a quarter to get the food and its a fun experience- and makes for great photos!