Top North Port Venues

A family-run wedding and event site, Wandering Oaks is situated on more than 20 acres of tranquil, undeveloped land in Myakka City, Florida. A canopy of oak trees that spans the property greets visitors as they approach the lengthy paved entrance. A rustic style pole barn, wedding and groom suites, wooden ceremony benches, and sparkling Edison lights may all be found hidden inside the wandering oaks. The Wandering Oaks family enjoys working with clients to design and inspire their ideal event. Make an appointment to see our lovely grounds by getting in touch with us right away, OR reserve your day! We are aware of how much effort goes into organizing and carrying out the particulars of a wedding or other special occasion! We strive to make things as simple and straightforward for you as we can because of this. You will not be charged extra to use our venue for the entire weekend of your event if you hire from us. This provides you plenty of time for a rehearsal and setup on Friday evening, a celebration on Saturday, and cleanup and item collecting on Sunday. Please contact us if you have any questions or to find out more.

• Spaces for 60-285 Guests
• 2 Outdoor Spaces
• 3 Historic Spaces
• 3 Total Spaces

Bay Preserve at Osprey is a 4.3-acre historic waterfront estate on Little Sarasota Bay, managed by Big Waters Land Trust. The property centers on the 1931 Burrows-Matson House, a Mediterranean-influenced mansion listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Sarasota County Historic Register, set against a backdrop of ancient oaks, sweeping bayfront lawns, and open water views. The preserve accommodates weddings, private parties, corporate retreats, board meetings, and community events across several distinct outdoor and indoor settings. The Great Lawn hosts tented receptions for up to 285 guests, while the Bayfront Lawn seats up to 175 for waterfront dinners. The historic house provides intimate indoor space for smaller gatherings, with a bridal suite and separate groom's cottage available to wedding parties. A performance pavilion, bayside oaks ceremony site, boathouse with observation deck, and a private dock round out the property — with boat arrival and departure available by arrangement. Michael's On East, Sarasota's exclusive on-site caterer, handles all food, beverage, and rental coordination for events at the preserve.

• Spaces for 80 Guests

Sara Dance Center is Sarasota's home for social dancing, private lessons, and community-centered dance events. Located on Cattlemen Road, the studio serves dancers of all levels — from newcomers discovering their footing on the floor to competitive students refining their technique. The studio's warm, elegant space features a hardwood dance floor and large windows, making it a natural setting for weddings, social dances, and special events. A roster of professional instructors — spanning ballroom, Latin, and social styles — brings expertise to everything from weekly socials and guest workshops to private wedding choreography lessons.

• Spaces for 150-200 Guests
• 1 Outdoor
• 1 Historic Space
• 1 space at this venue

The Edson Keith Mansion is a 1916 Italian Renaissance estate listed on the National Register of Historic Places, set within Phillippi Estate Park on the shores of Phillippi Creek in Sarasota, Florida. Designed by the architectural firm Otis & Clark, the two-story home was built for Edson and Nettie Keith and remained in private hands until Sarasota County acquired the property in the late 1980s for park use. The mansion's interior comprises a grand foyer, an expansive living room, twin sunrooms with Palladian windows, a paneled library, and a formal dining room — spaces well suited to intimate ceremonies, seated dinners, and cocktail receptions. The surrounding 60-acre park extends to the creek's edge, providing a backdrop of moss-draped oaks and graceful palms for outdoor ceremonies and lawn receptions. The mansion accommodates up to 150 guests indoors or up to 200 for reception-style events, with tent installations on the grounds expanding that reach considerably for larger gatherings. The venue is available for weddings, private receptions, corporate events, cultural gatherings, and art exhibits. Bride and groom dressing areas, a dance floor, and ample on-site parking — including valet service — are included with rental.

• Spaces for 8-150 Guests
• 4 Restaurants

The Café Gabbiano is a venue that is 4,000 square feet in size and provides the ideal environment for your upcoming special event, whether it be a wedding, a rehearsal dinner, a club or company party, or any other type of event. We are able to host both small gatherings of four people or fewer as well as large gatherings of up to one hundred fifty people thanks to our private wine rooms as well as our outside terrace that is climate controlled. We encourage you to take use of our in-house event coordinator so that you may create a gathering that is just as memorable as you had envisioned it being. We are pleased to provide catering services for your off-site special occasion if all you require is the superb food and wine that Café Gabbiano has to offer.

At this exclusive, 45,000 square foot clubhouse, tucked away in scenic West Florida, enter an enchanted world. The ideal location for any event is the Laurel Oak Country Club in Sarasota. You can choose to host your event in the Laurel Room or Garden Room, split or combined however you choose, and both rooms can comfortably accommodate 72 to 400 Guests. The event planner at Laurel Oak can work with small or big groups and can offer helpful advice on how the Club can plan, set up, and run on the day of your special event. Laurel Oak offers some of the most stunning settings for photography, relaxation, and energetic entertaining. It is private and isolated, with a freshly renovated, modern Clubhouse and perfectly managed green grounds. Your event at Laurel Oak will be flawlessly planned and put together, with every beautiful detail being given the utmost care. For bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, wedding receptions, holiday, birthday, and anniversary parties, fundraising events, business meetings, and golf tournaments, we can host more than 400 guests.

• Spaces for 30-237 Guests
• 1 Restaurant
• 1 Museum
• 6 Total Spaces

Florida Studio Theatre is a contemporary regional theatre in downtown Sarasota, Florida, comprising five intimate performance spaces that together welcome more than 230,000 live attendees each year. Founded in 1973, FST has grown into the largest subscription theatre in Florida, with a history that spans more than 30 world premieres and 90 regional premieres across its five-plus decades of operation. The theatre campus offers seven distinct rental venues suited to events of 10 to over 200 guests, from intimate board meetings to full theatrical productions, wedding receptions, luncheons, and corporate retreats. Flagship spaces include the Gompertz Theatre, which seats 237 guests on its main stage; the historic Keating Theatre (originally built in 1915 as The Woman's Club of Sarasota), seating 173; and two Parisian-style Cabaret spaces — the Goldstein Cabaret and the John C. Court Cabaret — each accommodating 100 seated guests with full stage, lighting, and sound systems. On-site catering is available through The Green Room Café & Bar, FST's dining venue, which can be reserved independently for smaller gatherings of up to 45 guests. An events coordinator supports planning and technical production across all rental spaces, with audio-visual staffing and Box Office ticketing services available as add-ons.

• Spaces for 30-300 Guests
• 1 Bar
• 10 Hotels
• 10 Total Spaces

Lido Beach Resort sits on a 300-foot stretch of private beach on Lido Key in Sarasota, Florida, less than a mile from St. Armand's Circle. The contemporary beachfront property spans two buildings and offers more than 6,000 square feet of event space on the eighth floor of the Palm Building, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing views of the Gulf of Mexico and the Sarasota skyline. The resort's event spaces range from the 3,000-square-foot Royal Palm Ballroom — divisible for smaller gatherings and capable of seating up to 220 guests for dinner — to intimate settings like the Mangrove Boardroom and the Poolside Alcove beside the resort's Tiki Bar. The Sunset Sand Garden, an outdoor venue of nearly 4,000 square feet, accommodates up to 180 guests for ceremonies and receptions on the resort grounds. Lido Beach Resort hosts weddings, corporate meetings, and private celebrations, with in-house catering featuring custom menus built on fresh, local ingredients. A dedicated events team handles planning, vendor coordination, and multi-event weekend programming, including rehearsal dinners, farewell brunches, and weekend-long wedding celebrations.

• Spaces for 135 Guests

Tarpon Lodge & Restaurant is a historic 1926 waterfront property set on 32 acres along Pine Island Sound in Bokeelia, Florida. Built with the character of Old Florida, the lodge offers a secluded yet accessible setting — reachable by car, boat, or helicopter — where events unfold against views of the sound and swaying palms. The property hosts weddings, corporate events, fishing tournaments, family reunions, and private celebrations from May through January. Ceremony and reception options span a waterfront gazebo, a working dock, the historic 1926 Lodge, the stilt-style Island House, a cottage, and a boathouse. On-site accommodations across 20 rooms and 2 cottages allow guests to extend their celebration into a full weekend. Tarpon Lodge's fine dining restaurant — among the most respected in Southwest Florida — anchors the culinary experience. Executive chefs collaborate with event hosts on customized menus, buffets, and banquet stations. When the event calls for it, the restaurant closes to the public for full-buyout privacy.

• Spaces for 30-160 Guests
• 4 Hotels
• 1 Ballroom
• 4 Meeting Spaces

Hilton Garden Inn Sarasota-Bradenton Airport is a newly renovated 115-room hotel situated on the border of Sarasota and Manatee County, minutes from the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport and within reach of the Ringling Museum of Art and the Powel Crosley Estate. The hotel offers 1,848 square feet of flexible event space that can be configured as a single ballroom or divided into three separate meeting rooms, accommodating groups of up to 160 guests for receptions and 130 for banquets. In-house catering is available for all events, with banquet and corporate menus prepared on premises. The hotel's 115 guest rooms include group-rate accommodations for event attendees, complemented by amenities including an outdoor pool, fitness center, and on-site restaurant and bar.

• Spaces for 40-250 Guests
• 3 Outdoor Spaces
• 4 Farms
• 4 Total Spaces

The Pavilion at Mixon Farms is a wedding and event venue set on a historic citrus farm in Bradenton, Florida that has been in the Mixon family since 1939. What began as a garden viewing area with a gazebo and waterfall grew into a full-service venue — now home to sprawling garden pathways, a grand covered pavilion, a Koi pond with cascading rock waterfall, and a newly remodeled Farmhouse Inn tucked within the orange grove. The venue offers multiple ceremony and reception spaces suited to a range of group sizes, from intimate gatherings to celebrations of more than 250 guests. The Grand Pavilion's 40-by-80-foot covered space features a wood plank ceiling strung with hundreds of twinkling LED lights and clear vinyl sides that can be lowered for weather protection. For smaller groups, Honeybell Hall provides an air-conditioned indoor setting with an adjacent outdoor deck, while the Farmhouse Inn — a four-bedroom, three-bath home sleeping 13 — offers a self-contained option for rehearsal dinners and intimate receptions. In addition to its spaces, the venue provides preferred catering partners, coordinator services, wedding rentals, and an on-site team with more than 50 years of combined event industry experience. Mixon also holds a beer and wine license and manages bar service for all events held on the property.

• Spaces for 25-200 Guests
• 3 Museums
• 1 Outdoor
• 3 Total Spaces

Manatee Village Historical Park is an open-air museum set on nearly four acres in Bradenton, Florida, dedicated to preserving the pioneer heritage of Manatee County's founding period from 1840 to 1918. Opened on July 4, 1976, the park encompasses 14 carefully restored and relocated structures — from an 1860 courthouse to an 1887 Methodist church — grouped beneath a canopy of century-old oak trees. The park hosts weddings, ceremonies, meetings, birthday parties, and other private events in several of its historic spaces. The 1887 Old Meeting House Church seats up to 125 guests and features original 1887 pews, stained glass windows, air conditioning, and two ready-rooms. The Courtyard and Gazebo provide a shaded outdoor setting accommodating up to 100 guests, with a classic gazebo framed by Spanish moss and oak trees. The 1860 Courthouse — the oldest remaining wooden courthouse in Florida — is available for smaller gatherings and photo opportunities of up to 25 guests.

• Spaces for 200-300 Guests
• 1 Outdoor
• 1 Historic Space
• 1 space at this venue

Burroughs Home and Gardens is a historic waterfront estate in the heart of downtown Fort Myers, Florida, set on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. The centerpiece of the property is the 1901 Georgian Revival mansion — the only historic home of its era still standing in its original location in the River District and open to the public — managed by the Uncommon Friends Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The grounds span a richly landscaped property featuring century-old oaks, palms, bougainvillea, a free-standing fountain, a grotto fed by an artesian well, a secret garden with a reflecting pool and gazebo, and a palm alley leading to the water. The Gale McBride Pavilion, built in 2016 on the riverfront, serves as the primary event space and can be configured as an open-air or fully enclosed setting for up to 200 guests. The venue hosts weddings, galas, fundraisers, holiday parties, corporate events, and luncheons. All rental packages include access to the mansion, grounds, gazebo, pavilion, and the Bridal Suite and Grooms Room inside the historic home. The venue works exclusively with an approved list of catering partners, and event insurance is required for all bookings.

Our historic and endearing lakeside wedding venue infuses all of its events with a touch of elegance. Worthington offers a really unforgettable experience with its diversity of locations throughout, each with their own personalities and all while enjoying the expansive views of Lovelee Lake. Worthington is located just off Interstate 75 in Ellenton, Florida. Each venue provides countless opportunities for event design and production that fully realizes your vision. If you discovered us, then thank you and best of luck! The non-traditional lakeside wedding location and events in Worthington are charming and reasonably priced and offer a distinctive and individualized experience. Your wedding has the potential to become everything you want it to be and so much more when you work with our team of certified wedding planners & trusted vendors, just like an unpolished gem stone. We're here to use our vast experience and this lovely environment to help you realize your idea. Every time a couple joins Worthington, we take the time to get to know them. We're interested in learning more about your background and your ideal vision for your big day. We are eager to go over your wedding day in greater depth and address any queries you may have.

• Spaces for 150 Guests

Motorworks Brewing is a craft brewery and event venue in Bradenton, Florida, built around what the brewery calls Florida's largest beer garden. At the center of the outdoor space stands a 150-plus-year-old oak tree that anchors the garden's character and provides a natural canopy for gatherings of all kinds. The venue accommodates private events for groups of up to 450 guests, with the setup and cleanup handled by a dedicated on-site team. Motorworks partners with Blue Water Catering to offer customizable menus — from plated dinners to relaxed buffets — and drink packages ranging from curated selections to a full open bar. The property also includes an air-conditioned taproom, making it a workable option in any weather. Motorworks Brewing hosts weddings, corporate gatherings, birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and milestone events. The beer garden setting, with its live music stage and outdoor atmosphere, suits celebrations that call for a relaxed, lively backdrop rather than a formal ballroom.

• Spaces for 250 Guests

Bradenton Country Club is a private sports and social club founded in 1924 on Florida's Gulf Coast. Originally established as Palma Sola Country Club — its name drawn from the "solidarity palm" that once guided ships into Palma Sola Bay — the club was renamed alongside the city itself in the early twentieth century. At its heart is an 18-hole Donald Ross golf course, which the legendary architect designed after declaring the land ideal for the game. The course has been recognized as the Best Private Golf Course in Manatee County and served as the host venue for the LPGA Drive On Championship and LPGA Founders Cup in 2024 and 2025. Beyond the course, members enjoy a full-service clubhouse with fine dining, seven tennis courts, pickleball facilities, a fitness center, and a pool complex with cabanas. The club's stately setting — mature hardwood trees, manicured fairways, and a clubhouse visible from the green — reflects a century of investment in its grounds and traditions.

• Spaces for 170 Guests
• 1 Historic Space
• 1 Garden

Manatee River Garden Club is a historic garden club and event venue set on beautifully landscaped grounds in Bradenton, Florida. Founded in the mid-1920s and incorporated in 1945, the club has cultivated its property for nearly a century, offering a lush, garden-filled backdrop for weddings, receptions, corporate meetings, seminars, showers, birthday celebrations, and family gatherings. The clubhouse centers on a spacious 1,600-square-foot main room featuring a fireplace and three sets of French doors that open to a connected screened patio — allowing events to flow between indoor and outdoor spaces. A separate conference room rounds out the facility. Together, the spaces accommodate up to 170 guests and can be arranged for seated dinners, buffets, cocktail receptions, or dancing. The venue provides complimentary Wi-Fi, off-street parking, and a full kitchen, and welcomes clients to bring their own catering, entertainment, and vendors. Adjacent Lewis Park, available through a separate City of Bradenton permit, extends the outdoor options further.

• Spaces for 125 Guests

Palmetto Riverside Bed & Breakfast occupies a beautifully restored 1913 home on the north bank of the Manatee River in Palmetto, Florida. Built by J.A. Lamb — son of the town's founder — the house arrived as a Sears & Roebuck catalogue kit home and has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Original heart pine flooring, crown molding, and period antiques are preserved throughout, alongside modern systems and amenities. The property offers six guest suites ranging from the cozy Lillie's Room to the 500-square-foot Riverview Suite, several with river or garden views. The enclosed Florida room overlooks the Manatee River and serves as the setting for gourmet multi-course breakfasts and private dining experiences. For private events, Palmetto Riverside accommodates parties of up to 20 guests in a completely private setting, with capacity for weddings, anniversary celebrations, birthday gatherings, and holiday parties. A 200-foot private pier provides Gulf boat access to the property, and the venue's sister restaurant, Château 13 in Bradenton, extends the dining options available to guests.

• Spaces for 275 Guests

Verandah Club is a private country club situated along the Orange River in Fort Myers, Florida, offering 36 holes of championship golf and a recently renovated event venue well suited to weddings, galas, and private celebrations of all sizes. The River House serves as the entertaining centerpiece of the club. Its 5,000 square feet of event space features riverfront views of the golf course, a permanent dance floor, expanded dining areas, updated furnishings and lighting, and a full-service bar. The space accommodates everything from intimate family gatherings to larger formal occasions, with in-house culinary staff and a dedicated Wedding and Event Specialist on hand to guide planning from first inquiry through event day. Outdoor ceremony space is available on the club grounds, where Spanish moss-draped oak trees and native palms create a natural backdrop characteristic of Southwest Florida.

• Spaces for 40-300 Guests
• 3 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 7 Total Spaces

'Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa has anchored Captiva Island's shoreline since 1931, occupying a narrow strip of land between the Gulf of Mexico and Pine Island Sound. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the resort's origins trace to F. Bowman and Grace B. Price, who built the original inn and grew it over three decades into one of Southwest Florida's most storied island retreats. Notable guests through the years have included Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh and cartoonist Jay "Ding" Darling, who wintered here for seven seasons in the 1930s and '40s. The resort offers multiple distinct event spaces suited to a range of celebrations and group sizes. The Old Captiva House — originally a one-room schoolhouse built in the early 1900s — anchors the property with restored hardwood floors and floor-to-ceiling French doors that frame Gulf sunsets; it accommodates up to 120 guests for a seated buyout. The Wakefield Room is a second-floor banquet space with beach and sunset views, seating up to 90 guests. For outdoor events, three beachfront ceremony sites face the Gulf directly, and the Serenity Pool area can host up to 130 guests under open sky. The resort's 137 accommodations — cottages, suites, studios, and guestrooms — sit on the same grounds as the event spaces, making on-property lodging straightforward for traveling guests. In-house catering and a dedicated events team support weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate gatherings, and private celebrations throughout the year.