Downtown St. Pete – The Birchwood is a boutique hotel that is ideal for couples looking for a modern and timeless venue setting. The elegance in this historic wedding venue can be seen throughout their 1920’s inspired vintage glam decor, award-winning rooftop lounge, and chic design.
The five-story Spanish Mission-style building sits at a prime location on Beach Drive, overlooking the picturesque St. Pete Pier, Straub Park, and Tampa Bay. The historic inn underwent a major renovation in 2013 and is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, as well as a historic landmark in St. Petersburg. The remodel included an upscale rooftop bar and lounge, Birchwood Canopy, that offers breathtaking views of downtown St. Pete’s waterfront, making it an ideal cocktail hour and after-hours hotspot.
The Ceremony:
Grand Ballroom: “Say ‘I Do’ with a View!” Ceremonies are held within the east wing of our Grand Ballroom while overlooking North Straub Park, the waters of Tampa Bay, and Beach Drive.
- Up to 120 guests for a traditional ceremony, combined with a ballroom reception.
- For couples with guest counts higher than 120, a reception-style ceremony is an alternative option within the ballroom. Couples are also welcome to host an off-site ceremony at a local church, park, or garden!
- LGBTQ friendly
Ceremonies include: Gold Banquet Chairs, 8’ Birchwood Wooden Posts, Ceremony Pipe and Drape & Private Champagne Toast for Couple
The Cocktail Hour:
Guests can enjoy their cocktail hour all within the Grand Ballroom, utilizing our welcome foyer, main ballroom, and two private outdoor terraces. We also offer an upgraded semi-private rooftop cocktail hour, where wedding guests can enjoy the cabanas, outdoor living room area, waterfront glass look-out area, and their own private Satellite bar.
The Reception:
The Grand Ballroom features a vintage glam, coupled with a simple elegance that is the perfect palate for any wedding day celebration. Natural light pours through the fourth floor Grand Ballroom and Terrace which spans 4,000 sq. ft. Upon walking into the private event space your eye immediately goes to the modern chandeliers, which add to the elegant atmosphere.
Located just one level below our iconic rooftop bar, the Grand Ballroom can accommodate weddings, rehearsal dinners, post-wedding brunches, and other celebrations with up to 200 guests.
The ballroom includes exclusive use of our welcome foyer, custom built-in bar, private restroom suites, and two outdoor balconies with panoramic views of the downtown St. Pete/Beach Drive area.
- 200 seated dinner/250+ Standing Reception Style
The Food & Drink:
The Grand Ballroom includes a full-service catering kitchen, complete with its own team of talented chefs who are dedicated to servicing your wedding reception. We include a la carte meal selections which allow each couple to cultivate their very own wedding menu! The Birchwood sources several local, fresh and organic ingredients in order to provide the best meal experience for all guests. A complimentary wedding tasting is also included with all booked couples. Depending on your hosted bar preferences, there are a variety of selections to feature as well as a fun Signature Drink add-on!
Pricing:
Food and beverage minimums range between $5,000-$18,000 and vary by day of week/month of/year. A’ la carte menu pricing is available. Vegan Wedding menus are available.
Average plated/buffet dinner reception range: $125-$150/pp
Average (5) hour full open liquor bar range: $44/pp
*22% service charge and 7% sales tax applies
Savings Tip: Reduced food/beverage minimums available for Sunday-Thursday celebrations!
Additional Packages:
Small Wedding Packages
Custom packages are available for intimate celebrations ranging from 30-60 guests. Available for Sunday-Thursday bookings only. Packages include 4-hour reception, decorative décor, and linens, cocktail hour hors d’oeurves/displays, plated entree/dinner buffet, champagne toast, open bar, and coffee station.
Rehearsal Dinner and Brunch Packages
Looking to kick off the wedding weekend with a large welcome reception/rehearsal dinner? Or perhaps wind things down with a farewell brunch? The Grand Ballroom & Terrace is the perfect location to host your pre and post-wedding weekend festivities!
Special Offer for Marry Me Tampa Bay Readers:
Complimentary Ballroom LED Up-Lighting (10 Lights) $500 Savings

Meet Mary and Grace
Mary Barnett is a true Florida native and lover of all things rosé! She has been working within the weddings/event industry for over 10 years and her main role as the Event Sales Manager is to help couples with the initial venue selection process. She LOVES to witness her clients making the exciting decision to (finally!) select their wedding day venue. She understands that each couple has a unique vision when it comes to their special day and enjoys offering creative and custom options to help design each couple’s perfect day! To schedule your private wedding venue tour Email Mary or call 727-317-2841.
Grace Summa is the Special Events Coordinator at The Birchwood in Downtown St. Pete! She loves her dog, pizza, and all things weddings! She knew from a young age that she wanted to be a part of the wedding world so she attended Florida Atlantic University and graduated with a degree and certification in Meetings & Events. Go Owls! She just recently got married in March 2021 and got to experience the other side of wedding planning and this opened her eyes to so many tips and tricks and helps Birchwood Couples through the planning process and to offer as much advice as she can. Grace truly enjoys celebrating every couple’s love for each other, and thrives to see everyone’s smiling faces on the wedding day.
The Birchwood 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.

Whimsical Purple Downtown St. Pete Wedding | The Birchwood
The first and most important aspect we looked for was a place where we could fully customize our dining experience. We knew going in we wanted a bespoke meal and cocktail offering. We also wanted a place that felt like us; a bit modern, a bit formal, a bit old world. Additional considerations included how many weddings were going on the same day and how we jived with the staff. Planning a wedding is one of the most intimate things you will do and having a team of people who are excited to execute the vision you have is imperative to its success.
First and foremost was the food and wine. Taking in all of our considerations for a location, The Birchwood was a natural choice. It not only has an incredible beauty with its modern Gatsby-era feel and breathtaking views of downtown St. Petersburg, but the staff was truly excited to create a unique dining experience with us. They powered through our numerous questions and requests with quick responses, unreal tastings for food and wine, and the utmost creativity, joy, and professionalism They are truly exceptional and brought every aspect of their creativity and industry know-how to bring our vision to life. The Birchwood put together a custom five-course dinner for us. Each dish was inspired by a meal we enjoyed along our journey together. The wine was an extension of those choices. We knew we wanted one red, one white, and one sparkling for the day. The wines we served are wines we love and drink often. A stand out moment was when Chef came out to talk us all through the menu for the evening. His explanation of the courses, and how we came up with the menu to share with everyone, took the feeling we have had in other wonderful restaurants along our journey and brought it to our wedding. It was such a sweet moment for us, and we hope for him, too. The Birchwood’s dedication to executing our bespoke vision was truly inspiring. They brought every bit of creativity and professionalism to their work throughout, from the cocktails to the wine, to the meal, and space. I am still awed that our vision became a reality, and their team was a huge part of that success.

Mauve, Gold, and Navy Downtown St. Pete Wedding | The Birchwood
We wanted something elegant, fresh, clean, and big enough so our guests felt safe during COVID. We chose the Birchwood because I especially love anything with a vintage vibe. The staff was amazing and very accommodating. From the very beginning, they were on top of it and made sure that every detail was discussed thoroughly and we were able to choose what we wanted. They were very caring. The day of the event was amazing! We couldn’t have asked for anything more from a venue. They over-delivered and made us feel special on our wedding day.
The Birchwood was perfect because they had the rooftop bar that made our after-party and rehearsal party so much fun. Our guests could really enjoy the scenery and fresh breeze coming from the water.

Elegant Downtown St. Pete Burgundy Wedding | The Birchwood
The most important parts of the venue search was to find somewhere that already had a finished look and wouldn't need much more work to be wedding-ready. We felt it would be a better use of our budget to spend less on décor and more on top-quality vendors. Whenever people asked about our venue, our response was, “It’s in the hotel’s ballroom, but it isn’t the bland gray ballroom you’re thinking of!”
We had eaten at Birch and Vine before and loved their food! Food is super important to us so this gave The Birchwood a slight edge over some of the other venues which would have required outside catering. The Birchwood being a hotel made get ready time very easy and straightforward. The entire Birchwood team was awesome from the first time we reached out all the way through our day-after brunch. They are all seasoned pros who can answer any and all of your questions and concerns!

Elegant Dark Blue Downtown St. Pete Wedding | The Birchwood
The Birchwood gave us the best of both worlds, elegance and a venue that provided a beautiful view of the water and the city.
We wanted to pick a venue that was nostalgic for both of us. The story of why we chose The Birchwood begins with how we almost didn’t get to see The Birchwood! We took a day during Thanksgiving vacation to visit the five places we had on our list. Naturally, The Birchwood was fifth on the list because we did not know much about it. Initially, we weren’t impressed with the other four places we visited, but when I called The Birchwood, we didn’t get an answer at first. Stefan told me, “Maybe it's not meant to be,” so I called one last time as we were getting ready to head home, and we got an answer and scheduled the first available slot for the next day.
The tour experience exceeded our expectations. We loved the Grand Ballroom and how we could visualize the space flowing beautifully for the reception. The outdoor terrace attached to the ballroom was a cherry on top because we got the view of the water and downtown, where the guests could enjoy the beautiful weather when they needed a breather from the dancing
After our tour, we immediately got into the vehicle and looked at each other, and agreed that this was the place for our special day. Everything about the service at The Birchwood was excellent. From when we selected them as our reception venue, the amount of communication and how they tended to us at each step of the reception planning process was excellent. We loved the food and drink packages. We gave our guests options for three different plated meals, and there was an open bar for four hours. Our guests told us from the moment they walked into cocktail hour, hors d'oeuvres were served constantly, and drinks were flowing from the bartenders. They also gave us a complimentary couples suite for the night of our wedding, which was beautiful.

Romantic Dusty Rose and Mauve Downtown St. Pete Wedding | The Birchwood
We wanted something that was all-inclusive because at the time we were not local to the area, and we did not have the time to handpick each and every vendor. That was very important to us. I saw how much stress my sister had when planning her garden wedding. She had to pick a vendor for every single thing such as tents, dance floor, tables and chairs, linens, flatware. etc. The thought of doing that was overwhelming and sounded very unpleasant. We already knew this would be a bit more difficult with us not being local, so we did not want to add any extra stress to the planning process.
Therefore, the venue had to provide most, if not all of that, and The Birchwood did! We wanted a venue and an area that would provide entertainment for our guests, aside from our wedding, especially for those who came from out-of-town. If people were coming to Florida in the winter, we wanted to make it worth their while and give them other entertainment, dining, and hotel options.
I was very familiar with downtown St. Pete; I went to college here, I lived down here, and going to The Canopy rooftop bar or Birch & Vine restaurant was an expected stop whenever we would hang out, so I knew I wanted to incorporate The Birchwood into our day somehow. Surprisingly enough, I never knew The Birchwood had a ballroom until our wedding planner enlightened me. Kevin agreed to the venue without even seeing it in person; he trusted me. Thankfully when he saw it he loved it! The Birchwood's service was wonderful! Heather and Mary were so helpful and easy to work with and were accommodating during COVID. The food was great, and the staff treated us and our guests wonderfully.

Timeless White Downtown St. Pete Ballroom Wedding | The Birchwood
We wanted something classy and upscale while also accommodating a pretty large guest count. We were always drawn to the hotel ballroom feel, so The Birchwood was a perfect option!
After looking at a few hotels and event spaces, we kept circling back to The Birchwood as they offered everything we were looking for. The Birchwood offers the most beautiful ballroom space and was the perfect choice for our reception.
What we loved so much was that it hardly needs decorations; the beautiful details on the walls, chandeliers, and balcony view are already so stunning! We also loved the location of The Birchwood, being in downtown St. Pete offers a city vibe while also being right on the water. Everyone was amazing to work with, and they always went above and beyond to accommodate and help bring our vision to life.