I found the Hilton Carillon Park through my hairdresser that got married there last year, and I am so happy that I did. The hotel is beautiful! There are so many neat places to take pictures... the fountains (especially the front fountain/walkway at night), around the lake, and in the bar. It's tucked away and quiet because most of their business is during the week for corporate travellers and meetings. Even though there was another wedding there earlier in the day, I felt like the whole day was about me. Some of the other hotels in the area have 6 weddings in one day, many going on at the same time, but it was nothing like that at the Hilton Carillon Park. The outside patio where we had the ceremony was beautiful as well.

Wendy Baratta, the coordinator, was amazing! I sent her so many e-mails, many asking her things I knew I already had in the past ("bride brain"), and she was so quick to respond back. She kept me on track throughout the planning process and was able to recommend some vendors for me. She also has a good reputation with the Tampa area wedding vendors. Many that I talked to knew who she was when I mentioned the Hilton Carillon Park and had great things to say about her. Wendy is also the day of coordinator, which was a huge help! I know I was a bit anal about how my place cards table, guest book table, etc were set up, but everything was perfect! She was there during the entire wedding and reception which also gave me peace of mind, though everything went off without a hitch!

The food was great at the wedding. Many of our guests told me that after the wedding, which was a surprise since typically banquet food isn't anything to rave about. And the portions were huge! Although we were not present during the cocktail hour, I heard great things about the food displays and passed hors d'oeuvres. We also had a good-bye breakfast at the hotel restaurant the following morning and the breakfast buffet was excellent!

I had my dream wedding at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park and it was all thanks to my wonderful wedding coordinator Wendy Baratta! I cannot even begin to pick what my favorite part about getting married here was. First, it was all-inclusive that made all the planning far less stressful. I didn't have to worry about finding a caterer, bartender, tables, chairs, linens, placeware, centerpieces, someone to remove the garbage and clean up afterwards (which I would not have even thought about on my own), etc.. There was a beautiful outdoor patio for the reception (and a backup ballroom in case of poor weather), that was wonderfully decorated with gorgeous trees and flowers, and a wonderfully elegant fountain. And the indoors were incredible! I had absolutely zero decorating to do. All of the beautiful designwork on the inside, combined with the gorgeous outdoor garden/terrace made a perfect scene for pictures. The groomsmen had a fabulous room to play pool in while they waited on us girls (and we had a comped suite to get ready in). Our wedding suite for the evening was comped too. The food was phenomenal, I was really impressed. But seriously, Wendy was so amazing as our wedding coordinator (she works for the hotel) I don't know how I would have done it all or survived the day without her! My husband and I had our perfect wedding, and everything went so smoothly. It was a beautiful start for this next chapter in our lives.

Alan and his staff were simply amazing! The food provided for our reception dinner was exquisite! From the time we got there until the time we left the service, food and environment were wonderful. If you are getting married in St. Pete and looking for a restaurant to have your reception at, I would highly recommend Cafe Luna Bistro!!