Sunken Gardens

BRIDES BEWARE 🚨🚨DO NOT BOOK HERE Unless you have an unlimited budget and a full time wedding coordinator that can bully sunken gardens staff into not ruining your wedding and you don’t have to communicate with the vendor at all. My wedding was in June and I am just now able to leave this review due to the very real ptsd I’ve been experiencing from working with these people and what they did to my wedding. I can’t even watch weddings on tv anymore bc I have flashbacks. This is supposed to be a magical day of loving bliss and it seemed that the wedding staff of sunken gardens did everything in their power to make it as miserable as possible. These people are horrible dream crushers who will milk every penny out of you and serve up nothing in return. You have no agency over your own wedding. You cannot use any of your own lighting, make adjustments to their lighting, decorations must be self standing, forget a fog machine, and offer zero support during the actual wedding and reception. The women who were supposed to be in charge hid in their office the whole night and my maid of honor had to spend the entire wedding doing their job. The bar cost well over 2k for 40 ppl (champagne and tequila not included, that must be bought separately and individually THROUGH THEM at double the price) and they pour 2 count pours. Everyone was sober as a judge the entire night despite having several drinks. Obviously you don’t want people to be wasted but they ensured that even tipsy was unachievable. Why would you pay all this money for a full bar just to have everyone be able to legally drive home in a zero tolerance state at the end of the night. My guests got car services for no reason. It was awkward. It made dancing and toasts extremely awkward. When one of my bridesmaids ordered a mojito (our signature drink that we had to buy all the materials for alongside an up charge for having a signature drink) the bar staff told her they forgot to get the stuff from the back and told her to go get it herself if she wanted one. They only had one elderly woman working the bar and the lines were to the bathroom. When my maid of honor brought this to their attention, did they step in to help? No of course not. They remained in their office. But when I tried to lower the lights a little, you better believe they were right there to put them back on full blast. They micromanage everything except the things you need them to. They are not there to help you in any way, just there to enforce the rules. The bride and groom dressing room is a complete joke. The grooms dressing room is in a storage room with boxes, cleaning supplies, a conference table, and no mirrors. The bride’s is in a glorified closet. I had 6 bridesmaids and it was so tight we could hardly get any pictures. They all had to be areal. There were so many more horrific details I wish to include but it’s been a while and I’ve been working really hard to forget… I’ll update as they come to me. All in all, they crushed all my dreams, shot down anything that I brought to the table, made my bridesmaids do all the work during the reception, and charged for anything you can possibly think of. These people are RUDE, and not on your side at all. They just want you to give them your money and get out. I would recommend booking literally anywhere else. 100% not worth it

The venue is gorgeous -- I hardly had to decorate anything -- and the staff was helpful and responsive. The best part was that our friends and family could wander around the grounds during cocktail hour and see all the plants and birds. It was a very low-stress experience through-and-through, and I love that we can go visit the gardens and see where we got married.

Sunken Gardens is one of the most beautiful venues and we are so happy we went with it for our wedding! We booked VERY far in advance so keep that in mind because they do have a lot of bookings but it was so worth it because it was just absolutely stunning. Sarah and Stacey was so easy to communicate with and wonderful to speak to about everything. They were very accommodating with everything and provided the chairs for our ceremony and the tables for cocktail hour and the reception. It was the perfect venue for someone who lives in Florida but wants something that doesn’t feel like Florida. We booked for our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception which was perfect because it gave the guests a variety of spots without having to drive anywhere.

Sunken Gardens was the perfect venue for our wedding. The gardens are wonderfully maintained nd they provided the exact scenery we were looking for on our big day. Stacey was very easy to communicate during the wedding planning process and the 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.

I was so excited to find Sunken Gardens, I wanted an outdoor wedding, but not on the beach or in a barn... which is a TOUGH find in Florida... Finding the Sunken Gardens was like finding the diamond in the rough. Stacey was very responsive and 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!

Sunken Gardens did a phenomenal job for our 02.04.22 wedding. Everything from the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception was absolutely beautiful. Sarah and Stacey are angels, they helped my husband and I with any questions that we had. The ceremony 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.

Sunken Gardens is unbelievably beautiful. It was the perfect location for our October wedding! We worked with Sarah and Stacey throughout our wedding planning and they were always super responsive and kind. I planned our large wedding myself, so 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.

If you want a venue that is stunning, one-stop location for the entire event, and memorable Sunken Gardens is it. Classic Florida location to get married in and celebrate! Few tips to note when selecting this state park: 1) Make sure understand 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.

the grounds are AMAZING! it was beautiful and i got the romantic vibe i wanted as the bride. Having your ceremony and reception outside is a must though. The bartender they gave us was such a hit, and Stacey was amazing and so nice to communicate 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)

We bad our wedding at Sunken Gardens last weekend and it couldn't have gone better. the gardens were gorgeous and the staff truly went above and beyond to make sure we had the best experience possible. Everyone had a fabulous time!

If you want to get married in a tropical paradise look no further !! This place is gorgeous & gives you so many amazing photo ops for you, your husband & your guests - truly a magical setting that we loved every bit of . The team here at Sunken 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 !!

We just had our wedding at the Sunken Gardens this past weekend. It was beautiful, unique and truly perfect for my husband and I. I can’t believe we had the whole gardens to ourselves. Everyone at the venue, especially Stacey Fuqua, was great to work with through the whole process of wedding planning. Look no further, if you want your wedding or event to be remembered.

The entire staff at sunken gardens were incredible and made us feel very welcomed on our special day!! We dealt mostly with Sarah. She was very quick and friendly when responding to the MANY questions I had over the year of planning our wedding. 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!!!

Sunken Gardens is absolutely beautiful. You barely need to decorate because it is so naturally beautiful. Our photos turned out incredible as well, and everyone was in awe at the beauty of the venue. Our reception in the Oak Pavilion was like a 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.

We had our wedding at Sunken Gardens and it was beautiful! We were suppose to get married in April but had to postpone until October. Stacey and Sarah were so helpful and accommodating throughout the entire planning process and were always available 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!

Having my wedding at Sunken Gardens was the best decision I ever made. The gardens are absolutely breath taking and can really make a wedding elegant. I got married in the North Lawn and it was absolutely gorgeous. My cocktail hour was in the oak 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!!

The gardens were beautiful and Sarah was a pleasure to work with. Coordinators were very nice, however, they disappeared throughout the event. At one point, I sat in the bridal suite with my girls, and no one had come to get us to let us know everyone was ready. Other than the that, my husband and I couldnt have been happier with how everything turned out.

My husband and I had our wedding here on 4/20/2019, and it was incredible. Stacey Fuqua helped us with planning and renting the gardens and was our go-to for payments and so on. Sarah Carvalis was the person who helped us with our bar services 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.

Sunken Gardens is definitely a beautiful venue. Stacy was helpful and responsive, however the coordinators we had, specifically Allan, were unprofessional and rude. He made our bridesmaid cry and he was offensive and demeaning to her. He complained 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.

The most BEAUTIFUL setting. The pictures turned out gorgeous and I had so many complements from my guests on the location!

As the mother of the bride I was very pleased with my daughters wedding. Sarah, Stacey and Alan were all top notch and so helpful during the entire process of a long engagement, changing of the wedding date and oh so many details. Everyone who came is in love with the Sunken Gardens and how lovely it really is! Thank you all so very much!

It was absolutely beautiful the day of our wedding! We held our ceremony on the North Lawn. The staff made it go flawlessly. I'm so glad I had their help to coordinate our flower delivery and violinist, I would not have had time to do everything 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!

Our wedding couldn't have gone more perfect! Sunken Gardens was a beautiful location for our ceremony. They also let us walk around the park for a few hours for photography. The park was open to visitors but never felt packed or like people were ever in the way. Perfect venue for a wedding!

This is the most beautiful place for a wedding! We were married on the main wedding lawn, then our guests had cocktail hour under the oak pavillion and were able to walk around the garden while we took pictures, before our reception in the ballroom. 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.

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful venue. We got married in the Oak Pavilion & it was absolutely gorgeous. Stacey & Sarah were great to work with the whole process. Stacey was our main contact & she was awesome. She answered e-mails right 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!

I worked with the coordinators at Sunken Gardens for over a year in planning our wedding and they couldn't have made it easier! We held both our ceremony and reception at Sunken Gardens and we were thrilled with how it turned out. They were extremely 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!

The Sunken Gardens was a beautiful venue! If you're looking for a garden wedding then look no further. I had my wedding in the North Lawn, cocktail hour in the Oak Pavilion, and reception in the Garden Room. My guests are still gushing to be how 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 were very happy with our choice to get married at Sunken Gardens. We had a morning ceremony underneath the live oak tree which was an amazing place to gather our family and backdrop for our ceremony. Everyone there was great to work with and 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!

Disappointing is the best word I can use. The liquor/wine situation was dreadful. The basic wine they offer in their package is undrinkable as far as I'm concerned. In order to upgrade, I had to pay inflated prices and order by the case. And...they got to keep the leftover wine and Captain Morgan's rum! We had ordered mosquito repellent tabletop things for each cocktail table (6) that were @ $35 each. They 'disappeared' after the cocktail hour and no one knew where they had gone. Look very carefully at their charges and costs, because the wedding cost a whole lot more than I had ever anticipated.

Omg Sunken Gardens was perfect!!! And the staff was amazing. From my first visit to answering questions till even the time we said I Do!!! If your looking for a hidden jem in Tampa area this is the place. Truly the best day of my life. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stacey and Barbara on the Sunken Gardens team are absolutely amazing! The venue speaks for itself in how gorgeous it is. We had our ceremony in the North Lawn, our cocktail hour was under the Oak Pavilion, and our reception was inside in the Garden Room. We were going for that "secret garden/fairytale garden" look-and-feel and that is exactly how it turned out. Once we signed with Sunken Gardens, we were able to visit the venue multiple times before our wedding day so we could truly plan and picture where things would go, how we would want things set-up, and all of those details. Stacey helped with all of the planning and she was beyond helpful. I had so many questions, just trying to ensure I had everything in place, and she was super responsive and so accommodating with everything! Barbara helped for the rehearsal and the day-of and she was so sweet and helpful, as well. They had a staff of six that helped the day-of and though I didn't get to meet them all individually they all helped in making our big day more than perfect. If you want a gorgeous venue with an amazing staff, Sunken Gardens is your place!

Sunken Gardens is the perfect wedding venue! Our wedding was 2/22/18 and the day couldn’t have turned out better! Everyone was so great to work with! Thank you for all you did over the past year!

We had a vision to do an intimate garden ceremony for our Feb. 24 wedding and Sunken Gardens was the ideal venue! The lush flora and immaculate greens of the North Lawn were the perfect backdrop for our special day - and Stacey's help coordinating our rehearsal and day-of was wonderful! We didn't need any extra flowers or decor - Sunken Gardens natural beauty was amazing! On a gorgeous sunny day, we walked down a cobblestone aisle that wound around the full garden and then said "I do" under a canopy of exquisitely draped flowers -- it was beyond magical! We cannot wait to see our photos from that day - our photographer was able to capture so many amazing shots throughout the entire gardens :) We also had access to a bridal changing room and private banquet room for the groom, so that our entries were planned seamlessly. Stacey was also super responsive and helpful throughout the entire process -- even when we decided last minute that we wanted to bring a fan to hide behind the alter (it was a bit warm that day), she was super accommodating and helped make it happen. Such a fantastic experience working with Sunken Gardens to make our dream ceremony a reality!

Choosing Sunken Gardens for our wedding venue was the best decision we could make. The gardens are beautiful and even with the cooler weather on our wedding day, our guests are still commenting on how gorgeous and fun our wedding was. We had our ceremony on the North Lawn, cocktail reception in the Oak Pavilion, and reception in the Garden Ballroom upstairs. Sarah C., Barbara, and Stacey F. were all an absolute joy to work with and were very patient to my many, many questions throughout the year before the wedding day. Overall, this is a wonderful venue and would highly recommend to anyone! Five out of five stars.

Sunken Gardens and their staff were terrific in helping me plan and execute my wedding. Sarah and Stacey were very responsive in answering my questions and making sure everything was on time. Barbara’s assistance for day of coordination was invaluable. And of course, the venue speaks for itself. Everything was just beautiful.

The gardens were beautiful on our big day and the staff were great. The only issue is that it is very hard to get someone on the phone or meet with someone face to face as their hours are not friendly for those that work normal business hours.

Sunken Gardens made my wedding so magical and amazing. I am still dreaming about it now. Even though the storm had hit us that week, they were hard working to create the perfect venue for my wedding. I am so honored and happy to have my wedding at such a beautiful location. The staff was so wonderful, friendly and professional. I am so happy we had our wedding ceremony at this location. Everyone loved it and how beautifully everything was set up. Stacey and Sarah were amazing to work with and definitely went above and beyond to give us that special day. Thanks to them our wedding turned out amazing.

Absolutely beautiful vendor. Advice: Do yourself a favor and hire an actual wedding planner. Do not depend on any sunken gardens employees to run the show. This was my biggest regret. My expectation of what they are able to do per the discussions we had ended up very different than what they actual did and the services provide. They are nice people, and pleasant to work with, but they are there for SG, not you, and don't make the same confused mistake that I did. Communication problems go both way, and a bride planning her own wedding is unable to know what she doesn't know. Plus, there is a lot of confusion with different vendors, no one person to take responsibility or give a straight answer. A third party wedding planner that is there for you day of is well worth the price. Warning to Brides: We heard them complain about a lot of other couples. This made me uncomfortable and shy about communicating with them, which is on me, and caused larger issues in the end. When it was found out that they misrepresented about when we could have the venue that day, they ceased treating me as an adult, went around me to my mother. Whether or not you are acting like one, they will treat you as a bridezilla, and talk about you to other brides. They will also talk about you your other vendors - not to exchange important information, but in a catty, very human way.

Has the pleasure of officiating a ceremony, today, at Sunken Gardens. Always a pleasure to be there and be part of a special day. The staff, as usual was welcoming, informed, detailed, on time and just a pleasure to work with. We don't perform many ceremonies there but wish we did. Barbara and staff are top notch and make the day special...for everyone. Thank you!

Sunken Gardens was a great venue, the staff was very easy to work with and responsive to my questions and for the price it really is an incredible deal. I will say that you should be prepared as they are very busy and as a result had another wedding booked the day of ours, which gave us limited time for setup so not the most DIY friendly location. They do have a list of approved caterers and require you to use their own, but I found their approved vendors fairly priced and great options.

Booking our wedding at the Sunken Gardens was a no-brainer. The gardens are absolutely gorgeous! Three months later, our guests are still talking about it. We did our ceremony on the North Lawn, cocktail reception in the Oak Pavilion, and dinner/reception in a tent on the Wedding Lawn. The entire event felt like a tropical dream! Sarah C. and Stacey F. were fantastic to work with in the months leading up to the wedding, and phenomenal the day of. They're calm, patient, and highly knowledgable. We felt the booking price was very fair for everything we received, and we saved considerably on flowers and decorations. We also had access to the Garden Room, and if it had rained, we could have moved the whole event indoors. It was a bit frustrating not being able to purchase our own wine/beer/liquor for the reception, but this is a city-owned facility, so we understood the rules. Overall, this is a wonderful venue, and I'd highly recommend checking it out!

Venue is gorgeous. If you have your heart set on this location, think very hard about exactly how you want your day to go -- photos, cocktails, "getting ready " room, etc. and then get them to agree to your conditions in writing before booking. In my opinion, the documentation between their wedding contracts vs. their brochures & what's published online is misleading. Some people here are very helpful. Some people here I hope I never deal with again. I wish I had looked into Earthscapes in Palm Harbor before we booked here.

Planning to have my wedding at Sunken Garden. Trying to make as affordable as I can. Can anyone recommend vendors? Thank you!

Sunken Gardens was the perfect location for our spring wedding. We had our ceremony on the Wedding Lawn, cocktail hour in the Oak Pavilion, and the reception in the Garden House. Our wedding photos turned out so beautiful and romantic with the gardens as our backdrop. It was like a fairy tale. The staff at the Sunken Gardens was great to work with and very professional. Sarah was very quick to respond to questions I sent via email. They also made sure to have the tables set up the day before the wedding so I could decorate and not have to be stressed doing it the day of.

Sunken Gardens was the absolute perfect location for my wedding. Most of my guests were coming from out of town, so we wanted to find a place close to things to do. Everyone loved the fact that they were so close to restaurants, bars, museums, etc. The garden itself was beautiful and I received many compliments for finding such a "gem" in the middle of the city. Most of my guests came early the day of just to explore the gardens. The North Lawn was the perfect size and the cocktail hour in the oak pavilion was beautiful. They also made the entire process very easy and everything ran smoothly. If you're planning on doing an ipod playlist for your wedding, however, make sure you have a back-up! Their system wouldn't recognize my ipod, but they were able to bring out some breakaway fender speakers that worked out just fine. My only real complaint- which isn't even real- is the ceiling in the Garden Room. They have this beautiful wooden paneling above the dance floor that's covered up by ducts and piping. It's just so odd and kind of an eye sore for photos. But in the grand scheme of things everything else was so great it didn't matter.

Not only is Sunken Gardens absolutely gorgeous itself, the staff at this venue are absolutely amazing to work with. Sarah Carvalis, Natalie White, Stacey Faqua, and Barbara (so sorry, I don't know her last name) were just a few of the wonderful employees with whom we had the pleasure of sharing our wedding! We got married in the Oak Pavilion; we had a smaller wedding (~80 people) and loved the backdrop of the gardens with the brick layout extending throughout. My husband and I got engaged under an oak tree, so it was important to us to carry the symbolism of an oak with us into our ceremony. The Sunken Gardens Oak Pavilion was perfect!!! The Garden Room, where we had our reception, was perfectly sized and was VERY easy to decorate and make our own. The rest of the gardens, where we took our pictures, were absolutely stunning - greens, oranges, reds, purples, yellows.. any color of nature you can possibly imagine. Such a gorgeous venue! Sarah, Natalie, and Stacey were extremely attentive to all of my crazy questions throughout the process. They made planning this wedding (which I did on my own, I didn't have a coordinator) much easier and allowed me the freedom to do what I wanted with decorations, seating, etc. Barbara was our wedding day coordinator, who also worked with us at the rehearsal, and she was fantastic!! She was knowledgeable, professional, and knew exactly what she was doing - she made us feel super special and really adhered to our questions and needs. The rehearsal, ceremony, and reception were PERFECT, and we have the Sunken Gardens staff to thank for that!!

Absolutely wonderful. :)

Sunken gardens was a beautiful place and truly made my wedding dreams come true!

We were just married at the end of October and the weather was PERFECT! Our ceremony, cocktail reception and reception were all outdoors. What a beautiful setting.. all the flowers were in bloom! Everything looked beautiful. We also used the indoor classroom to make a kid’s party room.. We had food and games in there for them and they had a blast! It was great to have the extra space for the adults in the courtyard. The staff was wonderful in coordinating and guiding us through everything.. and I must give a very special and warm THANK YOU to Natalie as she is the one that we had our initial meeting with and was more than helpful throughout our months leading up to the wedding and answered all of my questions and was a tremendous support. It was truly a magical spot to have our wedding!

Sunken gardens had always been where I wanted to get married. The gardens themselves are beautiful, and the banquet room is unique with partial hardwood ceilings and a slight industrial feel. I was devastated when I saw the gardens just a day before my ceremony- the contractor that they had hired to re-vamp the drainage system had not kept his word of having the gardens "wedding ready." Parts of the lawn were torn up with substantial mud, patchwork sod in other parts. . . generally terrible looking. We had a few options, but I had my heart set on the wedding lawn. The ladies at Sunken Gardens worked with my mom to make the lawn as beautiful as possible, and re-routed guest traffic; no one even KNEW that the lawn had issues! My guests had a wonderful time, and I received several compliments on the venue itself. When booking your venue, remember that things *do* happen, and when they do, the people at the venue are going to be the ones who either fix it or make it worse. So glad for our decision to have it at Sunken Gardens!

We had our wedding in early March at Sunken Gardens, and were so happy we did. Everything was perfect - the venue, the staff, the weather. The staff at Sunken Gardens was wonderful - Sarah patiently answered all of my questions and offered up vendors when I needed help. Barbara was there the day of the wedding (in addition to another staff member) and was so friendly and pleasant that she put me and our families at ease. If I needed anything, she and the rest of the staff there was happy to help. The venue was so beautiful - we had rented out the entire Gardens and were happy we did. The flowers were beautiful and it was so peaceful. Our guests couldn't stop talking about how beautiful it was. We had our reception upstairs in the Garden Room and were happy we did. Our guests didn't have to go anywhere after the ceremony and could walk around and enjoy the Gardens. The view from the Garden Room was incredible - it overlooked the area where we had the ceremony. We would highly recommend Sunken Gardens to anyone. The only other thing I'd mention is that if you're a warm body, like me, you might want to consider having your wedding before April, as it does start to get warm outside....

I LOVED using Sunken Gardens! They have three outdoor venues to choose from ranging in price and feel. They also have an indoor area to use for the entire wedding or for just the reception if you prefer. My husband and I chose the Oak Pavilion. It's a beautiful old brick area that is covered by the incredible canopy of a 200 year old oak tree. We were married in the morning and the sunlight through the canopy was beautiful and the breeze was cooling. We got married in October, so it was fairly perfect. At no additional cost, a wedding coordinator is provided for you. He or she handles your wedding from start to finish, helping you on your big day. Please don't think that this is a wedding *planner*. The coordinator is someone who will help you keep people going in the right order and make sure things go smoothly on the day of. The ONLY downside was the decorating. Because they do not supply a clean up crew, you have to figure out how you're going to clean up any decorations that you bring in. That may be difficult to do when you're the one getting married. They have a sound system in place that you can use as well. Since I got married in the morning, lighting was a non issue so I'm not very sure about how that goes. It's a DEFINITE option if you want an outdoor venue. I saw it and from the moment I laid eyes on it, I knew that it was the place I wanted to be married.

The staff that helped us for the rehearsal and the day of the wedding was absolutely amazing and so helpful, we could not have asked for better service to make our wedding day run smoother!!!

Sunken Gardens was an absolutely beautiful venue to get married at. If you want something that is “Florida” but isn’t the beach, than this is the place for you. That and you won’t have the random dude in the Speedo watching your ceremony! The staff at Sunken Gardens was extremely easy to work with. We initially worked with Sarah C. to get our date and contract in order. She was very helpful and always quick to respond. The day of our wedding, Barbara and Stephanie were on site. They worked seamlessly with my day-of coordinator, and everything went off without a hitch! Well, there was one hitch, but I’ll get to that. Sunken Gardens did all of the set up and tear down for the chairs at the ceremony, the tables at the cocktail hour (Oak Pavilion), and the tables and chairs at the reception (Garden Room). They also provided a sound system for the ceremony and offered us speakers to use during the cocktail hour. The one drawback was that we had to go through the City for our alcohol (which is why I gave slightly lower marks in Service). We paid the gratuity up front and requested no tip jars on the bar. There was also an option to pay for the alcohol without gratuity and allow the bartenders to have a tip jar, but we didn’t want our guests to feel obligated to pay for anything. It turns out that while everyone was getting their pictures taken, the bartenders put out a big ole fishbowl for tips. When my day-of coordinator asked them to take it down, the bartenders gave her pushback. It would be one thing if only the bartenders were there, but the person we signed the alcohol contract with was present as well. Just keep an eye out if you decide to pay the gratuity in advance! But overall, our experience at Sunken Gardens was very positive. The gardens are such a unique place to get married. In addition, the Garden Room was a beautiful place for the reception. The windows are a real plus, particularly if you set up the wedding party table right in from of them; then all of your guests are looking at you and the garden outside. When we initially looked at the Garden Room, I thought the dance floor was in an odd place, but once you see the room set up, it will make perfect sense.

Married: Sun April 10, 2011. http://stephanieasmithblog.com/?p=2553 I went with my fiance in DEC2009 on a "Garden road trip" around Florida-about 8 gardens from Tampa to Miami. Although there were lots of beautiful gardens, this felt the most "tropical" to us-and it had everything we wanted. I had the ceremony in North Pavilion, Cocktail hour on the wedding lawn, and reception on the Oak Pavilion. Everything was outside and our backup in case of rain was an inside location they had with a dance floor (which wasn't needed, yay!). It was pricey but to me it was worth it and I saved money on flowers (b/c the garden came with it!) and the chairs and tables didn't need that much decorations (again, the flowers were pretty enough and were covered with the venue). Sarah C. was great from beginning to end. I havent been to that many weddings (umm...2 my whole life) and didn't really know anything about weddings before I got engaged, but Sarah answered a TON of questions (even really minute) with a very quick response time. She doesn't answer her phone that much because she is a busy person, but it's better to email when asking questions when planning a wedding (then on the wedding day you can print all the Q's & A's just in case-you can't make assumptions on what is authorized and what isn't). On the wedding day the Vendor staff (Barbara and ?) were great. I barely noticed they were there but everything ran smoothly. I DID notice Barbara there during the ceremony because she did a great job at cue'ing everyone properly with the music (when we are all the most nervous). The only thing I would've changed was to have a day of wedding planner/family member not in party come early to double check that chairs/tables/ect were put out properly for peace of mind(my bridesmaids had to run around for tiny last minute stuff). But the venue puts out any chairs, tables, microphone & Speaker set-up, spray bug spray (there ARE mosquitoes when you're in a garden-even in April) that you request. Another thing, I was allowed in the Garden for free whenever I wanted. I came with the photographer one day and visited with my fiance a couple times. To me this was really cool, because the venue so peaceful-it was always a nice experience. The only other thing I didn't care for was I didn't get to chose my own bar service-I HAD to go with the city of St pete's bartender. I would prefer more options because it was sort of difficult talking to Richard when writing the contract up. But in the end on the wedding night the bar staff was professional and did a great job. This Venue was wonderful, I give it 5 stars because 1) I was extremely comfortable with them BEFORE the wedding while planning because they responded to emails and were professional and worked with me, and most importantly 2)they did a great job on the WEDDING DAY and did everything they said they would.

We had our wedding in April of 2011 at Sunken Gardens. We had our ceremony on the wedding lawn and had our cocktail hour in the Oak Pavilion. Our reception was upstairs overlooking the gardens. The staff was excellent and we also had a open bar for 5 hours that was fantastic. Sarah made sure that everything was just the way we wanted. Thank you to all of the staff that made our wedding event a 10!

The Sunken Gardens was absolutely phenomenal for our wedding. Not only did our ceremony look absolutely breathtaking on the North Lawn, but the staff went above and beyond in giving us what we needed. Sarah allowed us to work in the Garden House setting up for hours the day before the wedding. Also, the coordinators on site were kind and helpful. They sprayed for gnats and mosquitoes 30 minutes before our ceremony to ensure our guests would be comfortable. They were kind, professional and very helpful.

Can not say enough great things about Sunken Gardens. Everyone who helped us with our wedding was very nice. Sarah C. originally showed us Sunken Gardens was very helpful, she was always quick to answer back emails and friendly too. Barbara and Stephanie (coordinators Sunken Gardens provides) were wonderful, friendly, and most helpful. I can't imagine our wedding going any smoother and a lot has to do with having the help of Barbara and Stephanie. Highly recommend.

Everything was perfect for our ceremony. It was perfect. The pictures turned out great. We just used them for our cememony.

My small wedding at Sunken Gardens was nothing short of beautiful. Such a pretty venue at an affordable price! Barbara, the coordinator, was wonderful to work with. Everything was set up as it was supposed to be on the big day. I would recommend this to any bride that wanted an outdoor wedding at someplace other than the beach.

The scenery here is just made for weddings and photo opportunities! The wedding coordinators are just amazing! They supply all tables and chairs (no added expense!) for both the ceremony in the park and the reception in the Garden Room. They are extremely helpful and accomodating. The Bar Manager, Dick, is just great! They also give you a day of wedding coordinator (Sweet!). They wil get all of your other vendor info and call them if their late so that the bride & groom don't have to worry about it (Woo-Hoo!). We rented the whole Gardens from 5PM-midnight for our wedding & reception and couldn't be happier with the whol experience. Awesome venue for a surprisingly reasonable price. This will pull on every romantic hearstring you have without completely killing your budget. $3250 for the whole gardens and garden room, 5PM-midnight. WOW!

This venue was everything I was looking for. It is an excellent place to take garden pictures. My photos were taken in the Japanese Garden portion and they turned out beautiful. The staff is very helpful and accomodating. They do require approvals for caterers that are not already approved on their list. Their list, however, included a good variety of caterers in every price range. They also have some decorating safety rules. My overall experience was great. I lived out of state and they were very easy to work with and well prepared.

The gardens and surroundings;If it thunders or rains heavliy the cermony would have to be done inside in reception area.

I loved the wall that faced the gardens - It was the length of the entire room and featured huge windows that overlooked the greenery and tropical foliage outside. Since our wedding took place in the morning it was breathtaking and made for such a picturesque reception with the sun shining in! I also loved the lofty wooden ceilings - it gave the room a great presence.;As with many venues be aware that some of your back tables may seem like they're placed into a corner. Also the first entrance to the venue isn't visible by all of the tables so when doing your 'Grand Entrance' remember not to dance or do anything too memorable until you round the corner :)

We held our reception at Sunken Gardens. When guests arrived, they were able to walk all throughout the gardens. The bridal party and family were able to take pictures with a gorgeous back drop right at the front of the park. We were able to see and talk to our guests as they came in. The actual dinner and dancing was held upstairs in a loft-like room with a great view of the garden. It was a really beautiful place to have a reception. And the price was extremely reasonable. I would highly recommend.

I used the Oak Garden for my ceremony and it had an intimate and elegant feel. After the ceremony we had run of the whole garden and use of the indoor loft for our reception. The flowers and landscaping were picturesque! There was such a warm romantic glow throughout the Garden.;Make sure you realize that there is a city tax on your catering and that you have to use a city approved caterer since the Sunken Gardens are a city owned property.

Perfect size room for our small wedding party. Ambience was wonderful the food AMAZING and the staff was very friendly and accomodating.

I loved that the bathrooms were large enough to accomidate all of our guests, and that they were located directly off of the reception room. More so, the absolute beautiful backdrops the gardens provided!;You are required to use a caterer from their approved list.

The site was unbelievable. Because it was so picturesque, decorations were unecessary (saved alot of money). I also loved that the Gardens has many options for the wedding packages, as well as the wonderful reception location on site. Everything couldn't have been better. Perfect location for a garden wedding (I suggest an evening/dusk wedding with lots of candles and twinkle lights - it was truly magical!);Make sure to have your photos done in enough daylight in the Gardens (before evening hits). Otherwise you'll end up with photos taken in a room with vinyl floor and green walls , like I ended up having to do (blah!).

We had the entire gardens to ourselves. The view over the gardens was beautiful. We also had control of the lighting, so if we wanted it lighter or darker, we could use the dimmer.