Downtown St. Pete – The Event Spaces at Red Mesa Events epitomize the essence of Downtown St. Petersburg—character, charm, and uniqueness—the perfect setting for a quintessential St. Pete wedding.
Once the city’s original fire station, this exclusive venue by Red Mesa Group preserves historic architecture while infusing modern elements, offering a blank canvas for visions to come to life.
Tucked above a St. Pete favorite, Red Mesa Cantina, Red Mesa Events feature three distinct areas: The La Florida Ballroom, Cantinita Terrace, and the Desanto Rooftop.
The La Florida ballroom showcases original exposed brick, chandeliers, a marble bar, and panoramic downtown views. The space accommodates 100 seated guests or 175 for a cocktail style reception.
The Cantinita Terrace, an open-air balcony lounge, is ideal for intimate gatherings, seating up to 65 guests overlooking the lively courtyard.
Additionally, the Desanto Rooftop offers a stunning third-story space for ceremonies or receptions, accommodating up to 150 guests amidst a Brazilian walnut deck and a custom champagne wall.
This multi-tiered venue includes a dedicated team of banquet chefs, bartenders, and servers under the Red Mesa Group, offering a menu blending Cantina favorites and exclusive chef-curated dishes. Known for their expert mixologists, their extensive tequila and mezcal selection ensures personalized signature cocktails for your special day.
From grand celebrations to intimate affairs, Red Mesa Events crafts each wedding with meticulous detail, ensuring your day is nothing short of extraordinary.
The Ceremony:
La Florida Ballroom: With original exposed brick, two brilliant chandeliers, and herringbone wood floor, La Florida Ballroom is an exquisite, 1200-square-foot space that seats 110.
DeSanto Rooftop: A chic third-story lounge overlooking the heart of downtown St. Pete. With a rich Brazilian Walnut deck and a stunning view of the sunset for up to 150.
- LGBTQ friendly
The Cocktail Hour:
Cantinita Terrace: Trendy second-story balcony lounge overlooking the courtyard and bubbling fountain. Max capacity 120.
DeSanto Rooftop & La Florida Ballroom: Available for cocktail hour
The Reception:
La Florida Ballroom:
When you walk into the La Florida Ballroom, you’ll immediately notice the historic charm with its original whitewashed exposed brick walls, yet the event space features a modern touch with two majestic chandeliers, a white marble bar, stunning herringbone wood floor, and large windows overlooking downtown St. Pete. The 1,200 square-foot ballroom seats 120 guests in a formal dining setting or 175 for hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.
The ballroom is decked out with state-of-the-art AV and uplighting and features its own cutting edge banquet kitchen so that your chef is dedicated to your wedding menu.
- 100 guests for a formal plated reception
- 175 guests for a cocktail reception
DeSanto Rooftop:
One of the few private rooftop spaces in downtown St. Pete, the DeSanto Rooftop is a stunning third-story lounge overlooking the heart of downtown St. Pete. It features a rich Brazilian Walnut deck, lounge seating, and 30-foot bar specializing in exclusive handcrafted cocktails. This chic 1,200-square-foot space is the quintessential location for sunset outdoor ceremony, cocktail hour or reception for up to 175 of your closest friends! With three semi-private lounge areas, even smaller events are welcome.
- 175 guests accommodated for a cocktail reception (Cocktail only available on DeSanto Rooftop)
Cantinita Terrace:
This open-air balcony bar and lounge offers a trendy space that overlooks the Red Mesa Cantina courtyard and bubbling fountain. If offers a private bar and catering, perfect for a rehearsal dinner of 25 or 75-person cocktail hour.
- 25 guests for a formal plated reception
- 120 guests for a formal cocktail style reception
The venue rental fee includes: Private Space Rental – including cross-backed chairs, tables, linens (black, white or ivory), cutlery, glassware, uplighting (La Florida & DeSanto), state-of-the-art audio system, microphone, 24′ foot built-in bars in each space, 25-foot screen and projector (La Florida). One hour ceremony rehearsal is included.
- Venue Rental Fee: $1,500-$15,000 event minimums
- Gratuity & Tax not included: 20% service & 7% tax
The Food & Drink:
The Food
With Mexican cuisine at its heart, Red Mesa Events blends Latin and Caribbean kitchen traditions to create a menu of bold, fresh flavors. Their wedding menus include Red Mesa Cantina menu favorites as well as classic wedding dishes with a unique twist.
- Food and beverage minimum depends on space, day, and time.
- Heavy Hors D’ouvrés $24 | Buffet $50 | Plated $55
The Drink
If cocktails are a priority, the wedding venue has the most extensive selection of tequilas and mezcals in the South! They are able to create signature cocktails for any palate and include specialized offerings in their beverage menus.
Red Mesa Events sources local St. Pete distilleries and breweries, to showcase our city, on all banquet menus.
- $12-$20 per person, per hour, champagne toast included
Red Mesa Events Reviews from Marry Me Tampa Bay Couples:
Marry Me Tampa Bay curates the below reviews from real couples whom we've personally interviewed. As Tampa Bay's most trusted wedding planning resource, these reviews are 100% accurate and aren't created by fake accounts.
Terracotta Boho-Chic Downtown St. Pete Wedding | Red Mesa Events
We wanted a venue that matched our style, which we were learning towards a modern industrial look. I was really inspired by the brick walls in the Florida ballroom.
We chose Red Mesa Events because it was everything we were looking for in a venue and more. I really wanted an outdoor ceremony space with an indoor reception. We loved that the venue had separate ceremony and reception spaces and even included a rain plan that, thankfully, we didn’t need to use.
We were also looking for a venue that was more of a one-stop shop, a place where we didn’t have to look for multiple vendors for bar, catering, and rentals. They have their own in-house bar and catering and the most beautiful chairs, linens, and tableware that are ready for use. Leigh and the Red Mesa team were very communicative and answered my billion and one questions leading up to the day.
They were very accommodating in terms of the catering. My mom has a severe latex allergy, and they made sure that there were no latex gloves handling food. I also had a few vegan plates, and my vegan guests raved about how delicious their meal was.
Burgundy and Gold Downtown St. Pete Rooftop Wedding | Red Mesa Events
I used to work in the hotel industry so we wanted something a little more unique than your average ballroom. Since we were also hoping to have our ceremony and reception in the same place, a venue with multiple options was also important. And, of course, a venue that was pet-friendly!
I looked at a number of venues but after visiting Red Mesa Events, nowhere else even compared. Leigh Wilson-Arwood was not the original Events Director I booked with, but I could not have been more grateful that she was the one there on our wedding day. Leigh has a ton of experience and a great eye for detail, so when I walked into the ballroom for the first time, I was completely blown away. She took my vision and brought it to life tenfold. Everything from the food to the service was excellent, and our guests are still raving about how fantastic our wedding was! We also knew that we wanted to continue celebrating even after the reception so the fact that Red Mesa is walking distance to some great nightlife was definitely a plus.
Whimsical Boho Downtown St. Pete Wedding | Red Mesa Events
We wanted the ceremony and reception to be at the same location. It also needed to blow us away and not break the bank. We loved the rooftop and the reception area at Red Mesa Events. It was exactly what we were looking for.
Red Mesa was the perfect space for us, we were drawn to the history and the beauty of the building. Our sunset ceremony and cocktail hour were held on the De Santo Rooftop, which overlooked downtown St. Pete. The atmosphere added romance and sophistication, not to mention the great photo opportunities! Our reception was held at the La Florida Ballroom. The details of the design make for a cozy, yet formal setting. Upon entering the room you can't help but fall in love with the exposed brick and beautiful warm lighting.
Our service from beginning to end was fantastic. Red Mesa was very easy to work with; they had everything at their fingertips and ready to assist. It's no wonder they are known for throwing it down in the kitchen; we were very happy with our food and so were our guests. Overall our experience with Red Mesa was top notch!
Boho Rooftop Downtown St. Pete Wedding | Red Mesa Events
Our must-haves were being outdoors (preferably a rooftop) and the venue being cost-efficient with either all-inclusive or partially-inclusive packages.
We chose Red Mesa Events for so many reasons! For starters, their eclectic rooftop. This was such a big part in achieving the atmosphere we wanted for our wedding.
While Brendan’s love language is food in general, mine happens to be Mexican-style food, and theirs is amazing! They also offer inclusive packages that reduce costs and unnecessary wedding planning stress. They checked all our must-have boxes and then some. A bonus is their amazing service and hospitality! A majority of our vendors were recommended by Leigh Wilson, the Red Mesa Events coordinator.
Beige, Boho Downtown St. Pete Wedding | Red Mesa Events
My husband and I knew we wanted to get married by the water, so I only looked at venues in areas that were near the water. In addition, I wanted an elegant space with natural lighting, and once I stepped into the ballroom at Red Mesa Events, I knew it was the one!
Rustic Copper and Green Downtown St. Pete Wedding | Red Mesa Events
Value was very important to us as we didn't have a lot of money to spend.
Red Mesa Events provided excellent cost-to-value by providing not only a beautiful downtown space for a ceremony but a convenient and air-conditioned reception area as well.
