The Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, Autograph Collection

arried in the tea garden and had our reception in the Grand Ball Room, and it was beyond anything we could have imagined! I would highly recommend getting married here. Thank you again to the entire staff at the Vinoy!

ted to have their ceremony at a local park but I am excited to be able to shoot here again! Here is a link to a teaser from their film: https://youtu.be/uujXhfqdF-g Link to my website: https://lensculturephotography.com/

ate once our RSVP's started coming in and we were running into capacity issues. I can't thank Sheri Morgan from their team enough. She was an absolute dream come true in helping us navigate everything, going above and beyond for us with options and being so flexible in such a crazy year. I also have to very much thank Sean McGrath from their team, who ALSO went above and beyond for us with catering and logistics beforehand, day-of and even day-after! The food was absolutely incredible and we are still getting compliments about it. Their team was so hands-on, professional, flexible and took care of SO much. We had an amazing, SAFE, and fun wedding in 2020 and the Vinoy was a dream!

ked through the front doors and just automatically knew it was going to be our venue, to having to switch to multiple different coordinators due to COVID-19, to the very end of the event, the Vinoy made the entire process simple and stress-free. The Vinoy understood that it is no ones dream to plan a wedding during a pandemic, and they took so many precautions to enable us to keep our original wedding date. They were so easy to work with, making multiple accommodations in our favor in order to make sure everyone was safe and to make sure it was still the wedding of our dreams. I know for a fact that (even if we weren't in the middle of a pandemic) they would have done everything in their power to help our dream wedding become a reality!! Just a few of the key points about the Vinoy... Their friendly, helpful, and kind event coordinators and staff at the hotel (Sheri was an absolute blessing!!!), the delicious food (I am still getting compliments on how amazing dinner was!), and the beautiful newly renovated Grand Ballroom! Definitely a venue that should be on your list to check out!

ning experience. Megan Noldan was our contact there in the events department. While our wedding was beautiful, Communication for the 13 months leading up to our big day was the most painstaking process of wedding planning. Don’t get us wrong, we LOVED the Vinoy as did our 400 guests. The food was DELICIOUS. The packages were accommodating to our plans but it took a significant amount of time and discussion to get things settled out between us and our planner reading over every word to ensure it was what we had agreed upon. As for the cake in the package, we were told our super simple cake idea (plain white icing cut down the middle for florals) was too much and would be significantly extra and we ended up having to find an outside vendor. We were guaranteed certain things before signing then once we signed so many things changed including the number of people we could have and which ballroom we could use (we had to rent our own chairs and tables to make it work in the grand ballroom). We have had payment issues that just got resolved a few days ago nearly two months after our wedding. The Vinoy is beautiful and the food is amazing. The process to get those things, however, is difficult.

the sales team is based on how much money they think you’ll be spending. After touring the event spaces with my intended date of NYE 2020 for 75 people with a sales member, including not one, but two ceremony locations, I was told the next day they “did not have a ceremony space/time to offer for New Year’s Eve at this time”. With the “not at this time” added to that statement it’s pretty clear they are holding the spaces for a larger wedding’s ceremony and willing to lose my business over it. After push back they offered a 3pm ceremony time which is ridiculous for a NYE wedding. I was also told I could look at the sunset ballroom on the golf course portion of the resort on my own and was disappointed a member of the sales team couldn’t be bothered taking me there. Unfortunately the Vinoy was on the top of our list because we love to stay there multiple times a year but sadly won’t be having my wedding there due to their shady and snobby behavior. Go to the Don CeSar if you want a historic hotel in St. Pete where you’ll be treated as a person and not a dollar sign.

was by far the best wedding we’ve ever been to (good thing it was our own!). This is a testament to our amazing event coordinator, Megan, as well as the entire service staff. With the Vinoy, you definitely get what you pay for: a gorgeous setting amongst a fun downtown with plenty of entertainment for your guests, delicious food and cake, attentive service, and a beautiful hotel for your honeymoon suite. We had our ceremony in the Tea Garden and our reception in the Sunset Ballroom (1.5 miles from the hotel, at the Vinoy’s Snell Island golf course). I was sad at first that we couldn’t justify the Grand Ballroom, which would have been perfect if we were having a much larger wedding or a limitless budget, but I have no regrets now. If you go with the Sunset Ballroom, transportation is easy and your guests will love the outdoor space for cocktail hour and a break from dancing. My tip for couples getting married: Whichever reception location you pick will come with a minimum cost for food/beverage. Try to plan so your guest count + food/bev choices come in just under that minimum so you can add UPGRADES! We were able to upgrade to the top tier bar PLUS we added chicken & waffle poppers, which were a huge hit after a couple hours of dancing! We’ve loved the Vinoy for the past few years and now it will mean so much more to us when we come back to visit in the years to come.

o get ready in. The only downside is that our bridal suite wasn’t ready until over an hour after check-in, so that was a little frustrating but they let us check into the other room early to make up for it. I definitely recommend this hotel for your getting ready photos as it’s just so incredibly gorgeous. The other big downside is parking is SO expensive (which makes sense for such an expensive hotel), but the valet is a lifesaver!

so modern, but still with that vintage Florida feel. If Megan is still on the events team, hire her! She was a blessing to work with throughout the entire process.

oy is absolutely incredible! Our guests were blown away by the food, the professional service, and everything. The Vinoy is expensive - but it’s worth the money! The service is up to par and top notch.

e we knew it would be the perfect location for a dinner to welcome our families and bridal party to St Pete. Chris and Alex were very helpful throughout the planning process and always answered our questions quickly. We also were able to get a room block at the hotel for our guests, which was convenient since our wedding reception was nearby at the Birchwood. When we arrived to our rehearsal dinner, I could not believe how beautiful the terrace looked - the staff did a great job setting the space up. The food for our buffet dinner was great, especially the desserts! A lot of our guests told us it was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. Thank you to The Vinoy staff for giving us the perfect rehearsal dinner and memories that we will cherish forever!

f is absolutely stunning inside and out and has such a historical old Florida/tropical vibe which is exactly what we were going for since many of our guests were from out of town. We got married in the stunning tea garden and had our cocktail hour and reception at the Vinoy Golf Club Sunset ballroom. There were so many incredible places to take photos it was hard to choose where to take them! What we loved most about the VInoy, besides how beautiful it is, is that each of the events were located in one location and it was right in downtown St Pete so guests had plenty to do. What we didn't expect to love so much was the event staff that came to assist in planning the wedding. Chris Starman and Alex Landry went above and beyond in every single sense to make everything perfect. They worked so hard and had every single detail covered including going beyond their scope of work to make sure everything went smoothly. (Chris literally jumped into the fountain in his suit in 40 degree weather when my garland fell into the fountain!) I am so grateful for both of them and don't know what I would have done without them! Although, we went out of our budget for the VInoy, we truly believe it was worth every single penny. Between the impressive wait staff, beautiful settings, Alex +Chris, amazing food & cake and the ease of having everything included in one price it was a good value. I had no worries going into the wedding day because the VInoy is so professional at doing events and that is priceless!

ew the Vinoy was the place. The planning process was effortless due to the amazing work of our coordinator Alex Landry. Anytime I had a question or a thought, she was quick to respond and help me figure it out. The day of the wedding was stress free. She took care of everything. The day was magical and perfect. The food and drinks were over the top delicious! I would relive this day every day if could.

lp. I had a ton of questions and she was always quick with responses and recommendations. The day of the wedding went so smoothly and I would thank the Vinoy for that! The speeches and dances went faster than expected and they were able to accommodate this change easily with bringing the food out earlier and extending the bar. I would recommend the Vinoy to anyone planning a wedding with its great staff and professional nature!

enu testing and ultimately the day of, it was an amazing experience!

enient to downtown St Petersburg. We worked with a wonderful team including Sarah Metcalfe, Vibeke Sansone, and Pam Daerr. They were attentive and accommodating to both foreseen and unplanned circumstances. Our wedding would not have been nearly as spectacular if it weren’t for Sarah’s hard work. We were married in the tea garden, which had a magical, enchanted ambiance. It was exactly how we envisioned our ceremony, if not better! Our cocktail hour and reception were at the sunset ballroom, which was the most spectacular venue I’ve seen yet. We must have given Sarah over 20 boxes of props and décor for the room, which she set up perfectly. Our memorabilia table, candy bar, seating arrangements table, photo booth, gift table, dessert bar, and most importantly: bacon bar, added so much to our special night. I cannot tell you the number of compliments we received on the additives, band, lighting, chairs, décor, etc… The Vinoy had the BEST food and cake we’ve seen or experienced at any wedding. Guests have still been reaching out to me to ask for tips for their weddings. It was THAT good. They even accommodated a number of food allergies, including my own. I am counting down the days until I receive the photos and video from that night. I wish I could do it all over again…and again! I cannot thank The Vinoy and Sarah enough! You are in safe hands if you choose them for your big day.

htaking and the pictures are an understatement! Our complimentary suite on our wedding night was absolutely beautiful! We look forward to staying at the resort again in the near future!

wasn't complimentary WiFi , parking, or really anything that I knew of. The parking was a little annoying since it's downtown and I had to walk a bit with my luggage and everything to the hotel, which I guess that's why people feel that it's worth it to pay for the garage. I just feel like such a luxurious hotel should feel a bit more luxurious but I guess that just means more expensive lol. All in all it was a nice experience and the grounds are very beautiful with a great location downtown. Regardless, it was wonderful to stay there on the best day of my life. :)

ostly staying at the Vinoy, but they were all raving about how beautiful the facilities were and how courteous the staff was the entire weekend. Yes, the price was steep for the Grand Ballroom, but it made an impression with our family and friends to the point where several asked about condos around the area and talked about coming back there for a future vacation. That's the best compliment you can get!! I would recommend having a wedding coordinator in addition to the Vinoy's coordinator, and read your paperwork carefully. There were a couple of big misses in our final writeups that I had to change at the last-ish minute. There were also times where our Vinoy coordinator was not particularly responsive. However, she more than made up for it the weekend of the wedding. She was at our rehearsal, entire wedding day, and the day after brunch and mingled with our families, asked us what we needed...she was wonderful. I'd gladly take some slower response e-mails for making our families feel special the entire weekend. But, again, I would recommend at least an additional day-of coordinator to make sure all details are taken care of and you can enjoy yourself as much as possible!

we decided to pick our battles and the only contingency we had was that the entire wedding be held outdoors in their tea garden. Upon approach to the Vinoy, you feel as though they may ask for your membership card as you walk up the stairs to enter the lobby. You feel as though everyone will turn up their noses at you. However!!! It was quite the opposite and I was very pleased. We were welcomed with smiles and open arms. I felt very comfortable there in no time. It turned out that my dad's reasoning behind booking the Vinoy was on point. They have everything. They offer multiple locations for both your ceremony and reception. They had contingency plans in case the weather wasn't in our favor. The tables, chairs, linens, flatware, banquet servers, bar tenders, etc were all worked into the price. They worked to give us what we wanted within their capabilities... even special requests! They catered our event (my dad's menu) and made the most delicious wedding cake (our selection based on their options: Raspberry Amaretto with Italian butter-cream and raspberry jelly between the layers and iced with Italian butter-cream!) Numerous guests told us that it was the best wedding cake they ever had! The grounds are beautifully maintained. The lobby adorned with Chihuly glass collections and multiple restaurants. They even have an in-house spa, which my sister and I took advantage of to have our manis and pedis done the day prior. Great service! Stephanie Pettia was our Catering Manager and the one who made sure that all of the details were in place. Stephanie was very helpful although I felt that she was pushy at times... she had a job to do and that was to organize and maintain a schedule. She did her job well. You do need to hire your own vendors for things like flowers, music, lighting, etc. Pricing... I know you are thinking, "The Vinoy! That must've been costly" Well, I never saw the final bill, but I do know that it was up there in price based on an initial quote that I got my hands on. BUT! And that's a giant BUT... you can control the cost based on the quantity of guests and the selections that you choose. Weddings on Fridays or Sundays have a smaller rate for the space and the minimums are also less. I feel that if you had a smaller party (we had about 135) you could get a lot for much less than you would've imagined. They also throw in a room for the night of your wedding so you don't need to worry about travel until the next day. (Of course, its all worked into the price, which again is based around your menu) Don't forget... you dont' need to worry about chair, table, linen, etc. rentals. Did I mention that they offer valet parking (at a cost of course)... no need to worry about finding parking downtown. Also, being downtown makes the photo opportunities endless. Even though we were initially reluctant with the idea of having our wedding at the Vinoy, it was a perfect day and I wouldn't change it for anything. I hope that this review gives you some insight and helps you narrow down where you want to spend this monumental occasion Happy hunting and all the best to you and your future together!

he weekend of the wedding and the day of went so smoothly! The staff was so nice and helpful and we didn't have any issues. I will say during the planning phase that communication was a little difficult. Our coordinator was Stephanie and she truly made our day very special and beautiful however getting an immediate response even the month of the wedding was challenging at times. Another issue we had during the planning, was the call center or reservation desk. They kept telling our guests that our room block was completely full when we still had over half of our rooms left. Some of our guests ended up paying full price for their room when they could have been in our block and paid the reduced rate. Our event was pricey but definitely worth it! Other than those two little issues our wedding was amazing! The food was outstanding and the staff the night of was so helpful! The hotel is so beautiful and charming that if you are okay with at times bad communication, I would definitely recommend this venue to anyone.

e Vinoy staff! Katie in particular was fabulous! She is a rock star! So happy we choose this venue for our wedding it was perfect! :-)

she would return our phone call almost always on the same day. The food tasting was great, and we were able to modify the menu slightly to our liking. We were even able to add some food that wasn't on the tasting menu. Our guests absolutely loved our menu and we'd didn't hear any complaints about the food. It came out hot and they met our guests dietary restrictions. They also had food reserved for us and our bridal party in a separate room during the cocktail hour and provided us with drinks immediately. The cake was delicious and we were able to build the tiers how we envisioned them. We were able to combine several different frostings and fillings as well as cake flavors. We showed them ideas we had found on Pintrest and the cake was beautiful! They are very receptive to your ideas. We had chocolate covered strawberries and champagne in our room after the reception. Thank you so much Stephanie and the Vinoy!

edding, and Katie made it very easy to plan from a distance. Everything flowed seamlessly; this is a very well orchestrated team. Katie was also in contact with all of my vendors, so I didn’t have to worry about a thing on my wedding day. The grounds are also gorgeous (ceremony in Tea Garden and reception at the Sunset Ballroom). The pricing is based per head and includes everything (ie dinner, cake, drink, toast etc), but you can work with them to get EXACTLY what you want regardless. The food was phenomenal and the cake blew my mind. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Vinoy to anyone who wanted a relaxing wedding day because they truly take care of everything and was a pleasure to work with.

lace is amazing, full of history and charm. The grand ballroom with the Chihuly chandelier is breathtaking and besides uplighting it really didn't need much additional decorating. The staff (with the exception which I will mention in a bit) makes you feel extremely special. During our food tasting we couldn't decide on the type of steak we wanted and the chef actually had a short rib made on the spot, although it wasn't even on our menu selection, because he thought it would fit our menu best. He was right, because that is the meat we chose for our entree. Also, we really wanted to have fried mac'n'cheese to go with out our late night slider station, and although the chef has never made that before, he agreed without hesitation, and it was a hit. Rhonda, the banquet manager the night of our wedding was absolutely FABULOUS! She truly made us feel like royalty, and even took care of a wedding crasher by ensuring they got trespassed from the resort. From the food to having our own server during the wedding, and everything in between, it was truly amazing. The only reason why I did not give 5 starts was because Stephanie, the event coordinator, did not live up to the service and standard the rest of the Vinoy staff provided. It took her a very long time to respond to my emails (weeks at a time) and it seemed that every request we made was a burden to her. She actually lead us to believe that we had the ballroom the whole morning of the wedding to have our vendors come in and set up, only to find out 2 days before the event that we only had 3 hours! Good thing I had a personal wedding coordinator, because I would not trust her with ensuring my event went smoothly. With that said, outside of Stephanie, we loved the venue, staff, and service, and would highly recommend the Vinoy for your wedding.

et me explain the 4-star service rating. Our coordinator was Stephanie. She absolutely without a doubt knew what she was doing. The problem was her attitude. She never seemed to find it important to explain how things work or what we needed to know. I understand that she does this all the time, but we do not. We are only planning on having one wedding, and this was it! We had no clue what to expect going into it. She always had a snotty attitude when we would ask questions to clarify something, and her response half the time was, "This is the VINOY." We thought, well, yes, we understand that this is a very nice hotel, but we still need to know what we're getting, for goodness sake. But like I said, she did in fact know what she was doing; her only downfall is that terrible attitude she has! Aside from that, everyone else who works at the Vinoy is great! All of my guests felt special and pampered. Just about all of the staff is incredibly accommodating. The two waitresses working the outside smoking area did get quite snippy our first night there, but we figured they hadn't been expecting us all to congregated there at once (but neither did we). Most of my family arrived that night, so we all sort of ended up in that space. I'm sure they were just overwhelmed. The venue is beautiful, but I would suggest knowing the ins and outs of wedding planning before signing up. They do include a lot of the elements of the wedding (ceremony, reception, catering, cake, linens, tableware, tables, chairs, cocktail hour, etc.), but that's why it's so important that you know what's going on. They know their stuff, just make sure you do too!

the way. She was very professional and got things done quickly and efficiently. She was very responsive to emails and calls leading up to the wedding, which was reassuring, since I did not live in St. Petersburg. We had our ceremony in the Tea Garden, which provided a beautiful setting and beautiful pictures. We had the reception at the Sunset Ballroom which is a very unqiue style ballroom and I got so many compliments on the venue. Although the packages do appear pricy, for all they include, it is very much worth it, and you could spend much more at a venue that did not include everything that the Vinoy does (Cake, cocktail reception, full bar, etc). I recommend the Vinoy very highly!

y made my special day wonderfully magical, and they far exceeded my and my family's expectations. I would recommend this resort to anyone who is looking for an elegant style wedding with a vintage flair, or anyone at all for that matter!

nclusive to the cost. This venue is timeless. Tammy, who helped coordinate, is so well connected and has some great ideas. She was able to help us figure out the details. Very much worth it!

ng :) by having a smaller Sunday wedding we were able to have the wedding I dreamt of. Having a Sunday wedding is cheaper to rent the tea garden plus you can rent Fred's resturant for the reception for a flat fee and pay per plate. No pesky outrageous ballroom minimums plus Fred's has tons of character so decoration can be kept at a minimum again saving on flowers and such. Another advantage to a Synday wedding besides being extremely less expensive is that you will most likely be the only wedding like we were. When we Fid our rehearsal on Saturday there were two weddings booked back to back plus our rehearsal so I feel like those brides might have been rushed plus it's no fun to share your day with someone else. Also great about the Vinoy is that you really do get a lot for the price. When you break down what you get in the price per plate it is a good deal. Also you don't have to get a separate wedding coordinator because they provide someone that works with you through the whole process and coordinates everything with your vendors.

he Sunset ballroom which was perfect. The food at both the coactail hour and the reception was delicious.

t of the time, but we had to initially speak to a different person and she was not my favorite. It was worth putting up with that because by the time it got close, Stephanie was awesome and on top of everything!

planner, but the planner working with the hotel was extremely helpful the last few weeks before the wedding. Everything went smoothly and the venue is so gorgeous you don't need to spend much on flowers or other extras. The food was delicious and we got rave reviews about the food, the setting, and the ambiance. People have all complimented us that it was the most elegant and classy wedding they have attended. I loved every minute. However, be prepared that they will not make many concessions when you are negotiating the contract and you will not have much communication in the months before your wedding as they work every weekend and have Mondays off and are slammed on Tuesdays. But when it comes close to your wedding, they will make you a priority. they let us store our Godiva chocolate favors in their kitchen and everything got set up perfectly. The only odd things was they were short chairs for our ceremony in the tea garden, but it kind of created a more intimate, cozy feel to the ceremony to have people gathered and standing. I do agree with another comment that they spread the rooms out everywhere and the bridal suite is far from the tea garden and main hotel. Nothing is ever perfect and of course if I could redo it, I would tweak some things, but I can honestly say it was still an ideal, perfect day and I have no regrets.

reception on the Terrace overlooking the bay. The weather was perfect, the food was great, and overall I had a good experience. It has a great historic charm. All of my guests commented on how wonderful the Vinoy was for my wedding. Staying at the Vinoy was really great, but my family were all spread throughout the entire hotel and it was difficult for us to find each other and communicate. I would have paid more attention to the room locations if I had it to do over again. One reason why I did not give the Vinoy 5 stars was communication. One thing that the Vinoy did not do great was communicate to us - if you choose to have your wedding here please make sure that you ask TONS of questions because if you do not ask, you won't be told. We had quite a few mix ups over the entire weekend and it was mostly because of the lack of or poor communication on behalf of the management and Vinoy wedding planner. If I had it to do over again, I would have hired my own wedding planner and not relied on the Vinoy planner as much.

l and everything exceeded our needs. The food was outstanding and we are still receiving compliments on it 4 months later! I would recommend this place 110% to anyone!

the food. The biggest problem was our wedding coordinator. She was not around for most of the reception and we could not find the man she left in charge half of the time. She lost our wedding favors which were made by 1 of the guests at our wedding. It was very embarassing to not have the favors when 1 of the guests had made them by hand. When confronted with the issue, she offered excuses and blamed us and never really apologized. We had to spend a lot of time the next day hunting down items (cake topper, cake cutters, top of the cake, etc). Someone should have informed us or a family member where those would be located the night of the wedding. No one was around when we cut the cake to assist us. The DJ had to tell us when to do it and we hoped it got cut appropriately. The sign for the reception had misspelled the word RECEPTION as RECCEPTION. Overall, most of the things that went wrong, only me and my husband knew about with the exception of the wedding favors. For the money we paid, the service needs drastic improvement.

he food at the reception was excellent. I got a lot of compliments, and the tea garden was a perfect ceremony location. The only downside was the price but it was worth it!!