John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Reviews

The Courtyard was the most gorgeous setting for our wedding. We really wanted a sophisticated and classic ambiance and the Art Museum truly delivered! Our family and friends are still in awe over the gorgeous artwork found in the galleries of the museum and the beautifully manicured grounds of the courtyard!

The Ringling museum was awesome! I loved the whole process of booking the place. Stevie was the one who gave us the amazing tour and Jordan helped me through the whole process and made it so easy for us. He was super amazing and so quick to reply to all of my questions, even after the wedding.
Now talking about the venue, it you are planning a waterfront wedding it can not get any better than that. I love art, and to me this place it's just so so beautiful, artistic and full details.
Here is my instagram if you want to see some pictures /maynanunes
I had a hard time trying to find wedding pictures at the Ca'd'zan.

Let me set the record straight here. The Ringling is one of, if not the best venue in Florida and one of the best in the states. It is an incredibly unique one of a kind living artwork, and will be sure to amaze your guests. It is no golf course venue, so if you're looking for somewhere where you can act stupid and will have the "typical" wedding, this isn't for you. They do have some rules. But they are nothing short of reasonable despite what some people might say. Some of the art contained in this place is hundreds of years old and worth millions and millions of dollars. It is a fine art collection that rivals many. It is also a public museum and park. If you are aware of this and not someone who gets pissed over stupid things, you will love it. Our wedding could not have been more perfect. It felt like it had flown right off the pages of a fairy tale. Nearly every guest who was there has told me that it was the most breathtaking and beautiful wedding they have ever been too. Stevie was our coordinator and she is amazing. She did a great job explaining everything to us, giving us tours, breaking everything down and overall helping the planning and the day of go smoothly. She recommended The Sarasota Catering Company to us, who have worked at the Ringling many times before and are on their "preferred vendors" list, and they were incredible. Not a single snag. Our wedding was in December, in the evening, at the courtyard of the Art Museum. The lighting was perfect, the whole place looked amazing, and the whole night was flawless. Not a single complaint. They drove us and our wedding party on golf carts as well as some of the older guests and helped in any way they could. If you are looking for the wedding that you or any of your guests will ever forget, do it here.

I was married at the Ca d Zan and the venue is just breathtaking. They have a lot of strict rules but it is completely worth it the only thing I recommend is for them to add to their vendor list Vendors of which serve the Indian Culture. Their approved vendor list needs updated for sure!!! All of my vendors that I brought in were A plus!

100% the best wedding venue ever. The ca d'Zan is sensational and all guests agreed it was the most special wedding they have been to. Stevie was great to work with and even stayed late the day before the wedding for the videographer to take some extra shots. Also they let me arrive in a golf buggy which was a last minute request. Really great that people can see inside the museum during the cocktail hour. Definitely recommend taking photos in the turret - the most amazing view of the gulf. If you want a spectacular wedding that you will never forget, get married here!

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL location.....the staff was fabulous and, very accommodating!

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE ON EARTH! We are so happy we got married here. We worked with Stevie who was nothing short of amazing. She was so personable and nice, and made sure everything was perfect for us. The grounds are breathtaking and our guests were astonished.

The John and Mable Ringling Mueseum of Art and surrounding grounds (Ca d' Zan) were magical. Holly and her staff exceeded our expectations. It provided a unique venue and everyone felt like they were in Italy.

It was absolutely gorgeous. They have a lot of rules because of the nature of the museum, but it is well worth it. There are specific approved vendors that you have to use at this location, which can increase the cost. The backdrop and scenery are well worth it. In the late fall or early spring is best because it is all outdoor. Mid July, it was very hot, but not miserable! :)

My husband and I booked had our wedding at the Ringling this past January and we couldn't have been happier! Their team was friendly, helpful and accommodating. Stephanie was amazing! The venue is absolutely breathtaking and our guests could were in awe!

The Ca d'Zan Mansion at the Ringling museum was the perfect setting for our Vintage/Italian wedding. With breathtaking views and an amazing staff we were able to have the wedding of our dreams.

It was great working with Stevie at Ringling. She was very sympathetic, as we had an ordeal with our previous vendor and had to switch the location of the ceremony 6 weeks prior to the wedding, which was a huge challenge. Ringling is a beautiful place for a wedding, and I don't think anyone can deny that. I received many complements and was told by many people that they want to make their wedding "just like mine." Stevie can be occasionally hard to get a hold of, but she will get back to you eventually!

This is the most beautiful venue in Florida. I cannot tell you how many of our guests told us 'It looks like a fairy tale.' The Ca D Zan mansion is beautiful, and the view at sunset over the bay is breathtaking. The only downside is that, since it is a state park, they have some rules, but they are listed on the website and you know that going in. And, honestly, none of them really ended up being a hassle for us.

Holly is wonderful to work with. She is super nice, and she was always available to answer any questions we had. Both my bride and I could not have been happier at our wedding.

The Ringling is beautiful. There are a lot of rules and regulations, so make sure you know them well or work with someone who does (such as my wedding planner, Nicole Kaney at NKProductions). I planned to have my ceremony and reception in the courtyard of the art museum, but cold weather forced us to move the reception indoors (we still had the ceremony outdoors... with lots of heaters and chilly guests!). If getting married in the winter, be advised that it can get cold at night and have a back-up plan. Despite the risks of an outdoor wedding and all of the rules associated with the Ringling, it is a truly unique and beautiful location!

It was absolutely gorgeous!

I absolutely loved having my wedding at the ca d'zan mansion at Ringling. My husband and I both love the outdoors and being on the water and I've always had a love for fine art so it was an easy decision to have the wedding there. The wedding was amazing and it was even supposed to rain that day and it turned out to be the perfect weather for an outside wedding. I really loved how guests got to tour the downstairs mansion while we were taking our wedding photos.

With that said if your going to have your wedding at such an amazing venue, it comes at a high cost. Its extremely expensive to have a wedding there and you have so many rules you have to follow. I understand the rules, its a historical and beautiful mansion and they want to keep it that way. In general everybody was really nice. I worked with Holly and Stevie and they were both super nice and helpful. Some, not all, of the staff and security not so nice. They watch you like a hawk there and can be rude if they see you doing something they don't approve of. Both my planner and my wedding party got yelled at during the rehearsal for standing in areas they shouldn't of, I guess? I'm glad they have good security but it was a little extreme and they could be a little nicer. Were paying a lot of money to have our wedding there.

With everything all said and done I absolutely loved my wedding there. Its was stunning and I have no regrets. If you want a beautiful wedding no one will forget, have it there. But word to the wise, make sure you choose a dry month. I lucked out with the weather but we ended up having to rent a tent the week of because a high percent of rain and thats a big last minute expense.

The Ringling is an absolutley gorgeous venue and I loved having both my ceremony & reception there. It is my favorite spot in Sarasota. The only reason I gave some low ratings is that while I was planning my wedding there was a lot of turnover, so rules & policies kept changing and responsiveness was a little difficult. The final person in that position, Michelle, was extremely helpful and friendly to work with. Note - you must use Ringling for your alcohol and select from a short list of caterers. They do not let you have anywhere to get ready, guest cannot come inside the courtyard until 6pm, and they do not provide tables/linens/etc. However, even with all of that it was a great decision to choose Ringling and a beautiful ceremony.

The venue is so beautiful and worth the money. My guests were in awe of the venue and it really set the mood for a magical evening. It was difficult at times to contact them and I had to change my date to accommodate their availability. My advice would be to book this venue as soon as possible! They are a bit strict on some rules and vendors since it is a museum, but it really did not negatively impact the evening.

We only did your Ceremony at Ringling. It was quite pricey but for the view it was perfect for us. I reserved the venue a year before the wedding which was great because the spots go fast. I was a little annoyed with the fact that I had scheduled the rehearsal and they had people setting up for another wedding instead of waiting for us to finish. But all and all it was a beautiful day and everything worked out fine. The Ca'd'zan Terrace is where we got married on the grounds; couldn't of asked for a more beautiful spot or beautiful weather.

This was my dream wedding venue growing up as a child and I was so lucky to get to have it. We lucked out by booking in July and there still being a date available in March. Before we booked Holly Hall (the head of event planning) was amazing and so helpful to me since I was doing everything from Seattle. She took my parents around on a tour and held the date for me for two weeks before I was required to sign the contract. That said, all in all the Ringling is a challenging venue to work with. Because of it being a historical venue there are a ton of rules to work around. Additionally, because it is such a popular venue in Sarasota, they can charge you an arm and a leg for basically everything (the base fee only includes the terrace of the mansion and the lawn for the ceremony from 6-11, if you want to take pictures before or allow your guests inside the mansion during cocktail hour, you'll be putting on hundreds extra). On the day of everything was flawless and the security guards were very accommodating (we had heaters being moved around during the reception). All in all, I am SO glad I had my wedding here and it was all I ever dreamed of, but it comes with a lot of strings attached.

Because the museum is owned by the state and they are more interested in protecting the museum, they had strict rules on when we could have access to the venue (my wife showed up when the guests showed up) based on time allowances, etc.

The place is beautiful but they are not flexible and you really need to weigh vision of the day to being able to have flexibility and really enjoy your day.

Ah the Ringling. One of my favorite museums, a beautiful landmark, a cultural staple of Sarasota, and the one thing I would do differently in my wedding if I had to do it all over again. Seriously, unless the pictures of the venue and family there are way more amazing than I'm expecting I might invest heavily in time machines and see if I can redo this one decision. But let me explain. First off you have very strict rules about when/where you can have your ceremony, how long it can last, what vendors you can use, how loud your music can be, and of course all that on top of the normal Ringling rules which since it's a museum of fine art, there are many. But you'll tell yourself that all that is okay because it's beautiful and you want to be there and you can live with what they've set out. Then you get the price. After you move the whole budget around, twice, and then inflate it to accommodate it anyway, you'll again connivence yourself you want to be there and it's beautiful and it's okay, you'll make it work.
And then you get to deal with the staff. You get a mixed bag here. Some people at Ringling are wonderful at their jobs, like Stevie, who should get a raise for having to deal with the rest of the staff and the annoyed wedding guests after they've dealt with the rest of the staff. Some people are volunteers, I think, and will boss you and your guests around like they're top dogs. That is until you call them on their nonsense, like making your bride go the long way around, in the rain, to another entrance because "people can't use the staff entrance" even after they've already let a number of people in the same door.
Pictures can't be taken inside the mansion with flash on, so unless your photographer is equipped for that, you won't be getting any in there. Not so much a fault on Ringling here, but something that was sorely disappointing to find out.