Newbie with questions about St Pete area! (long)

shannon5176

Good afternoon ladies!  I am new to this board and wanted to intro myself first.  My name is Shannon and my boyfriend Matt and I aren't yet engaged but the ring has been ordered and the proposal is only a matter of time so we have begun to look at destinations.  I live in Indiana and want a beach wedding!!!  We're looking solely at FL since it's in the U.S., warm in November (2012), and less expensive for our friends.  I originally looked at the Keys but I think that's going to be difficult for logistics and cost.  As such, I'm now concentrating on the St Pete beach area.

We are planning a very small wedding (approximately 20 people).  My plan thus far is a ceremony on St Pete Beach with www.beachweddingsinflorida.com.  I love their packages and the photography seems of better quality than most package deals.  Has anyone used them?  Good? Bad?  Any feedback is great.

I am looking at hotels for us and our guests to stay at.  I do NOT plan to have the ceremony at the hotel.  I do not plan to have a formal reception.  With only 20 people we just plan to take everyone out to dinner after the ceremony.  The dinner can be at the hotel or at a seperate restaurant.  It really doesn't matter to me but I would of course like to keep things as simple as possible for both us and our guests. 

I am looking for a hotel that is not super expensive (ideally $100-200/night).  I have done some searching on this board and see that Tradewinds (Island Grand or Sandpiper???) and Grand Plaza are the two most popular hotels for weddings.  I would be interested in hearing any other hotel suggestions as well as feedback from individuals who have used either of these two venues and why they chose the one they did. Post here or email me at sreichelt5176@gmail.com.

As for dinner, since most of our guests are coming from the midwest seafood is going to be huuuuuuuuge.  I definitely want somewhere known for having good seafood.  Preferably a place on the beach or with ocean views. I have compiled a list of places previously mentioned on here (John's Pass, Friendly Fisherman, Salt Rock Grill, Spinners, Crabby Bills, Wildwood BBQ, The Hurricane) and plan to look up each of these to get a start. Any other recommendations? Which of these mentioned places is best for seafood? Do any have a small private room for about 20 people that won't cost me an arm and a leg? LOL

Help me out, please ladies!!!!  Trying to plan a destination wedding in FL from Indiana is not proving to be an easy task.  I haven't been to St Pete since the age of 5 so 30 years later that does me no good.

Oh.....one last thing..........someone recommended the trolley rental to take guests to the ceremony and back.  Anyone have any cost info on this so that instead of emailing the company and waiting to hear back I can get immediate info?

Thank you all so much!
Shannon

rmjones6

CHeck out the Alden! Great rates, and on the beach!

LionyLoo

I am planning to use Mya as well!! Love their photo's. I'm new to St. Pete, so finding great spots have been pretty tricky too! Do you want to stay on the beach i.e. for hotel, restaurant etc. or are you willing to move to maybe downtown St. Pete for all that?? Reason I ask, is that we looked at restaurants near the beach and found them to be too "beach food"-y. I love Hurricane's location, but the food is just blah. Same for Crabby Bills. Most of the places you listed I also find to be very casual type places. If that's what you're going for, they are perfect! Flip flops, people without anything but bathing suits/bikini's on etc. Don Cesar Hotel seems to be a favorite too. Great location.

You could look into 400 Beach in downtown St. Pete as well as The Vinnoy Hotel. Not on the beach, but they have ocean views still and are right next to each other. That way if you're going for something less beachy, people can still dress up to go to dinner. The drive from the beach where you would have your ceremony, to downtown, is less than 20 minutes and a very easy drive!

Good luck and let us know what you decide!!! All my stuff is still up in the air ........ until we can figure that whole budget and guest list out. =O)

ellentravis

Hi, we're from Chicago and also getting married on St Pete Beach!

Grand Plaza rooms were pretty old, though completely adequate. Tradewinds is quite expensive. That's where we're having our wedding, and because our wedding is there we could obtain a room block -- for $179 a night. I believe the prices have gone up from there.

You could definitely do a great buffet outdoors in the garden courtyard at the Tradewinds -- that's about $20 pp. That is what we're doing for our rehearsal dinner, although I don't know any more details because that's the one thing I'm not in control of.

Best of luck -- St Pete is a great location. You won't have an issue finding something there!

teachermegs

Welcome to the board. I haven't spent too much time over in St Pete. I know my parents got a good deal on an apartment on Treasure Island.
As for the trolley, if I remember correctly, they got back to me pretty quickly, but I don't remember the rates.

shannon5176

LionyLoo, I am definitely wanting a hotel on the beach.   

I have talked with Kristi at Grand Plaza and she was extremely helpful.  Answered all of my questions. What I'm learning is that for such a small group my best bet is to have the ceremony on the public beach with Mya.  I'm thinking Grand Plaza is good because we can have dinner at Spinners (great view) and then head down to the beach bar for drinks after and everyone will be on-site with no need to drive. 

Tradewinds is appealing because of the 5 pools (one being adult only which is a HUGE bonus as we won't have any children present) but I'm not a fan of the menu at Bermuda's which would mean needing to find a seperate restaurant for dinner.

Then again the two are next door so why not stay at Tradewinds and make a dinner reservation at Spinners?  We could WALK over.

I guess my main concern is that once people drive over to the ceremony and back, I don't want them to have to drive to dinner, drive to a bar, drive back to the hotel.  I think I am going to look into the trolley prices just to see if that's feasible.  If I were to do that.....what NICE restaurants (somewhat dressy or at least not people in bathing suits) would you ladies recommend?  And is there somewhere fun to go at night with live music or a DJ so we could go out partying and dancing in lieu of the formal reception?

Jeesh...this is stressful. LOL

LionyLoo

I agree having the ceremony on the beach with Mya is the best. We were planning on doing that but going a different route having people stay in hotels in St. Pete (downtown) and have dinner there too - so driving would only be to ceremony and back. =O)

As far as more dressy places for dinner on the beach, I'm not sure. I know there HAS to be some, but I haven't discovered them yet since we mainly stay downtown and Tampa for dinner/nights out. I think up and down Gulf Blvd there are SO many places (bars, restaurants etc.) that no matter where you have dinner, there will be no limit of places to choose for dancing after. For dinner, I was considering Madfish. I haven't been there, but it seems pretty cool. There's a huge club out there somewhere but I can't think of the name?!?

I believe the trolley works on a schedule and isn't expensive. I'm sure if you want it privately it would be more, but can't imagine it being that much.

LionyLoo

The place I was thinking of was Shepherds in Clearwater. You'd definitely need the trolley though. Looks like an awesome fun spot!

rmjones6

a great planner is Monica from Elan Event Studio

boderoe

The great thing about having it out on the beaches is that they have what is called "free beach ride" you call them when your ready for pic up and then they come get you. You just tip the driver however much you feel like it. 

The friendly fisherman is a great restraunt, but they do not have a private room. but Try the Middle Grounds. Its an amazing place to each as well. Both are great places and not the beachy type!

I've live in St. Pete my whole life. Growing up on the beach is a great thing So if you have any more question just let me know. My email is KLWALL24@gmail.com.

shannon5176

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_florida-west-coast_newbie-questions-st-pete-area-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:62Discussion:364b2890-d671-4035-bc9d-f92cd11b60c5Post:ef08f128-c4da-458f-aaf9-80dc2f5a1a63">Re: Newbie with questions about St Pete area! (long)</a>:
[QUOTE]The great thing about having it out on the beaches is that they have what is called "free beach ride" you call them when your ready for pic up and then they come get you. You just tip the driver however much you feel like it.  The friendly fisherman is a great restraunt, but they do not have a private room. but Try the Middle Grounds. Its an amazing place to each as well. Both are great places and not the beachy type! I've live in St. Pete my whole life. Growing up on the beach is a great thing :) So if you have any more question just let me know. My email is KLWALL24@gmail.com.
Posted by boderoe[/QUOTE]

Thank you sooooo much for the advice.  What is this "free beach ride"???  That sounds AWESOME!  and much better than spending upwards of $500 for a trolley or limo. 

I will look at both restaurants you suggested too.

We are looking at taking a trip down for a weekend in October.  This will allow me to scope things out and make a final decision.  I think I'll feel alot better about it if I have actually SEEN the place in person before I book <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" />

lynns0606

We are getting married in Nov. on the beach at The Sirata Beach Resort (www.sirata.com) and having the reception in their Royal Palm Room (8th floor, great views).  We chose The Sirata as it is where we had our first beach date!!      Melanie is their event coordinator and she is great.  The have several options for hotel rooms (sizes & views) and the prices are VERY reasonable, even with a gulf view.  For restaurants, Crabby Bills is nothing but fried food served in paper baskets and you sit at picnic tables.  The view from their outdoor deck is great but you won't be able to reserve the whole deck for your party.  The Salt Rock Grill is a great choice.  I've heard good things about The Black Pearl but have never been. 

Congrats & Good Luck!!