Sunken Gardens

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.

hemselves were breathtaking as always. Loved it!

e 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!

ay 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!

endors 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....

on. 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.

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.

t "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.

r 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!

se 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.

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.

d this to any bride that wanted an outdoor wedding at someplace other than the beach.

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!

provals 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.

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 :)

e 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.

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.

their approved list.

g 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!).