Sunken Gardens

bar staff was very efficient throughout the entire reception. My wife and I would 100% recommend this beautiful place to other couples, we cannot wait to come back and see the gardens again.

helpful leading up to the day, during the rehearsal and before the ceremony I was so happy that Stacey and Stephanie were there to help things rough smoothly they were great! I loved the Sunday Daytime Ceremony time of 11am before the park opened to the public at 12, it was our own private hour!

mony was held in the North Lawn, and the bougainvilleas were in bloom with reds and pinks. I could honestly go on and on with how amazing this venue was. I would 100 percent recommend this venue for anyone looking to do a wedding.

o I appreciated their patience throughout the process and for answering my many questions! There are a lot of rules since it’s owned by the City, but you kind of have to overlook them because the location is so beautiful.

d they run the bar for all events and must follow their rules, 2) Take a look at the approved vendor list to ensure you feel good about your options to work with, 3) Remember it is a state park so there are more regulations then your parents back yard, 4) Do the walkthrough with their team before the wedding so you can confirm all details, 5) On the big day remember to take a moment to soak in all the beauty that is the Sunken Gardens and trust the team there who will be on-site to take care of everything.

te with. Cons - Sarah was snippy and rude, the more money you spend the nicer she is to your future husband/partner. The coordinators they provide do nothing, all they did was lock my bridal suite on me at 8:30 and after multiple attempts to get them to unlock it the bartender did at 9:45pm, causing me to miss my exit shot and our car driver to be impatient. They also had us clean up our own wedding while they watched and rushed us (this is after i asked multiple times, before the wedding, if i got a clean up crew for the after part)

Gardens are super friendly & their communication is amazing. Any questions you have they are more than happy to answer at any point in your planning process . I would definitely say that depending on which package you book at Sunken Gardens they are all moderately priced but depending on how many guests you plan on having their bar services is where the prices really can go up if you are looking at any sort of open bar , so certainly be mindful of that when booking as there is no BYOB. However this place is amazing & if you are looking for a tropical paradise this is your place ! The beauty of it is unmatched & I would highly recommend this fantastical place to anyone that maybe considering this as their venue !!

o work with through the whole process of wedding planning. Look no further, if you want your wedding or event to be remembered.

. Stacy was efficient as well. Monica was our day of coordinator, she made sure everything was perfect! During the rehearsal, the day before the wedding we decided we wanted to change the lawn we were supposed to have the ceremony on. They accommodated us with no issues!!! They actually called me to ask if I wanted to change ceremony lawns because they overheard me saying how hot outside it would be. Everything about the staff and location made for such a magical day. We can’t wait to explore the gardens again knowing it holds such a special place in our hearts. I would definitely recommended sunken gardens!!!

dream. I Working with Sarah, Stacey and Monica was great, too, especially Monica. She was so kind, helpful, and thorough. I did have a couple unpleasant interactions with another coordinator the day of. I'm not sure what her name was. We had a 20 minute rain delay for the ceremony, after which the forecast was totally clear and it didn't rain the rest of the day. We had been discussing rain-option backups in the event it didn't clear up, and Monica was easy to talk to and supportive of our decision to wait and see to try and keep it outdoors if possible. This other coordinator, well before the ceremony, tried to pressure me to agree to have the cocktail hour inside. I didn't agree, and it worked out fine, but it was uncomfortable. She also tried to convince me to let my string quartet play from inside the building, and just play loudly and hope we could hear them from the ceremony lawn, and included some advice that it would be to "protect me." I'm a lawyer and felt weird getting unsolicited legal advice from an unrelated vendor. We also paid for an open bar for all but the last hour of the reception, when it was supposed to turn into a cash bar. I was surprised when the DJ called last call on the bar an hour early. I went to this coordinator because she was bartending, expressed my confusion and she acted super exasperated with me that she was apparently not informed it was supposed to be a cash bar and was planning on closing it down. She also tried to pressure me to agree to close it early. I didn't agree, but at that point the guests were confused and people didn't get more drinks because of it. I know when you're in the wedding industry that you see weddings all the time, but for us this was our one day, and it was uncomfortable that she attempted to pressured me into making decisions I didn't want. I still would definitely recommend Sunken Gardens, I would just be aware of this and be prepared to stand up for what you want.

ilable to answer all of my questions! Stephanie and Monica were our attendants on the day of and they made sure everything ran smoothly! We had about 45 guests and had our ceremony on the North Lawn, cocktail hour in the Palm Plaza and reception in the Oak Pavilion. Everything was beautiful and our pictures are amazing! Highly recommend Sunken Gardens!

ak pavilion and reception was held in the garden room. Stacey was my coordinator and she was fantastic! She answered all my questions and responded right away. For the price, I got so much more than I ever imagined at Sunken Gardens. I loved the fact that I got the whole gardens with my wedding package. My guests loved it and I’ve been told multiple times my wedding venue was one of the most beautiful ones they’ve been too. I also love the fact that there’s an option to have a brick engraved with whatever you choose. My husband and I got a brick engraved with our new last name and wedding date. It was the perfect touch to our wedding and it was placed right where we said our vows. It’s a memory we can cherish forever when I visit the gardens. They even allowed me to have my fur babies at my wedding ceremony and that was a HUGE must for me. They were very accommodating! I highly recommend Sunken Gardens as a wedding venue!!

veryone was ready. Other than the that, my husband and I couldnt have been happier with how everything turned out.

s and payments. I do have several complaints, 1) The bar package was quite expensive for what it was. We got the Call brand/Wine/Beer/Soda package that was $18.00 per guest over 21, $8 for guests 6-20, and $0.00 for guests 5 and under. We only had 53 guests, but with all of the fees (porter, staff, outside bar) and gratuity, it was way too expensive, considering most of my guests couldn't even get the basic drinks they wanted, such as a mojito or long island iced tea (they had all of the ingredients, they just said that mixed drinks were not included in the price of the call brand package - which is a bit ridiculous if you ask me). 2) They also taxed not only the porter fee and bartender fee but the gratuity as well, this is the first vendor that has EVER taxed the gratuity. Gratuity is a tip, you don't tax the tip or the fees. So it ended up being $1483 after the package, fees, gratuity, and tax which is extremely expensive for 53 guests and NO mixed drinks. 3) the coordinators, Alan and Barbara, were barely any help at all. Barbara was nice, but Alan was a complete jerk to everyone except the men (groom, fathers, and groomsmen). He was demeaning toward all of my bridesmaids, even made one them cry because he was so mean and rude to her but claimed she was rude to him first. Then he had the nerve to complain to my father, the father of the bride, that "the bridesmaids were pissing him off." My dad had to go up to my bridesmaids and apologize for his behavior. I'm sorry, but when you're spending $5000 on a venue, you expect SO much more. Of course no one wanted to tell me this the day of because they didn't want to ruin my day due to drama. He also complained about my photographer to her assistant photographer, so unprofessional!!! He may be doing 200 weddings a year (that's what he told us), but in no right does that excuse his behavior, how he was acting, and how rude he was to everyone, including myself. 4) the coordinators helped themselves to our catering and wedding cake, even though NO WHERE in the contract does it say we are to provide meals to the staff, nor the emails I received from Stacey or Sarah. All they did was help my party going down the aisle (while being a raving jerk about it) and then disappear afterwards before reappearing to get dinner, then to get cake. Had they shown us the courtesy to ask for dinner, I would've said yes. Had Stacey told us to buy them meals through the caterer, I would have done it, but the least these coordinators could do is not treat their customers and paying renters like crap and then feeling entitled enough to help themselves to dinner and cake. They were just sitting down in their office not doing a thing, and they were probably getting paid for that by the city of St. Petersburg to do so. 5) they also disappeared while guests were arriving and my father had to hunt them down to help point guests in the right direction. And, when the reception was starting, again they were nowhere to be found, and my bridesmaids and groomsmen had to rally up all the guests to come inside to the garden room for the reception, even though that was part of the coordinators jobs.

lained about the bridesmaids to the father of the bride as well as to the photographer. He complained about the photographer to the photographer's assistant, and was down right rude when my daughter (the bride) wanted to change the line up at the start of the wedding ceremony. The coordinators were nowhere around when guests started arriving and I and my husband had to be responsible for pointing the guests to the right area, and 1/2 of the groomsmen couldn't make the rehearsal due to weather conditions and personal issues, and so on the day of the wedding they had no idea where to be. The father of the bride had to go and hunt down the coordinators in order to wrangle people together and instruct the groomsmen. The open bar we paid for, wouldn't do mixed drinks, and the venue taxes included tax on the gratuity and all the fees including the porter fees.

came is in love with the Sunken Gardens and how lovely it really is! Thank you all so very much!

g myself! They had everything set right on time, but were flexible if we needed a few extra minutes. Overall they were very helpful and we loved the gardens!

were ever in the way. Perfect venue for a wedding!

room. It was absolutely stunning and our pictures turned out amazing. Our guests could not get over the venue! Another plus is that you don't need extra flowers or decorations for the ceremony or cocktail hour because you cannot compete with the beauty of the gardens.

ght away (one of the most important things in my book) and was very communicative the whole year we wedding planned. We asked our guests to walk around the gardens while we took photos and they were happy to do so because it’s so pretty (a great upside is that your guests get into the gardens for free!) The one downside is that the backup plan in case of bad weather (if there is a second wedding already booked that night) is a hallway but luckily we had the most gorgeous weather I ever could have asked for and didn’t need to worry about that. Definitely recommend SG for a gorgeous venue that you literally need no decor for!

remely helpful with my many questions during the planning process (I was out of state!) and willing to meet with us at any point. I would highly recommend this gem of a location!

w beautiful everything was and how much they enjoyed the venue. It really feels like you step into a fairy tale when you're here. The staff is friendly and responds quickly (usually within hours) to any email you send with questions or concerns. Booking was easy and everything leading up to the wedding was a breeze. The day of the wedding is wonderful as well. They have staff the day of, ensuring that if anything is wrong on their end it will be fixed. The bartenders they provided were fantastic as well. If you think you want a garden wedding, you must look here!

we had no problems during the process at all. Its also great that everyone gets to wander around before/after because its built in entertainment!