So you’ve decided to utilize a food truck (or food trucks!) for your special day? You’ve made the right choice! Despite the growing street food trend, not all wedding venues are necessarily food truck friendly. Different wedding venues have different rules and stipulations about the usage of outside caterers. Thankfully, we’ve done the digging for you and the 8 venues listed below have been given the Tampa Bay Food Trucks stamp of approval. We have served and successfully executed beautiful events at each of the following locations:

1. Saint Petersburg Shuffleboard Club (Saint Petersburg, Florida)

Did you know the club does more than just host shuffle board tournaments?! This charming venue is tucked away in Downtown Saint Petersburg on Mirror Lake Drive. The St. Pete Shuffleboard Club was established in 1923, and to this day boasts 1,200 members who utilize this 90-year-old club. Don’t let the early establishment fool you, as brides and grooms alike have chosen this club for it’s easily transformable space and central location. If you’re looking for a nifty vintage, coastal inspired, and/or unique wedding venue - you’ve found it! For a sneak peek, see Orange Blossom Bride's (An Orlando based wedding directory) write up on Sarah and Bryan’s wedding at the club. You can even see a food truck in action!

2. Stonebridge - formerly The Lange Farm (Dade City, Florida)

Wow your guests with a combination of southern charm and elegance at Stonebridge. This venue provides a picturesque rural backdrop, with over 80 acres of space. This venue offers a multitude of areas to incorporate into your event, including four different ceremony sites, separate groom and bridal suites, and two reception areas. Replete with oak trees, gazebos, Joshua trees, and the southern blue barn, this locale is bursting with beautiful photo opportunities. It has even been used as a wedding set in TV commercials. This venue is currently rated 4.7 stars out of 5 on WeddingWire.

3. SoireEstate (Lutz, Florida)

Spanning 10 stunning acres of land, SoireEstate steals the show as one of the most romantic, picturesque venues in the Tampa Bay area. Located in Lutz just minutes from Tampa, this location provides a breathtaking locale for weddings of any size. This venue is easily adapted to suite your event's theme, whether you are leaning toward a more rustic, bohemian or glamorous vibe - all with a hint of the tropics. The space is screaming to be dolled-up with Pin-spired ideas, and has earned a solid 4 out of 5 stars on Wedding Wire.

4. Rialto Theatre (Tampa, Florida)

Distressed brick and elegant architecture combine to create an unforgettable wedding location with a rich history. The Rialto Theatre opened in 1924 and closed midcentury as television and suburbanization soared after World War II. The space was re-purposed as a factory until it was shuttered once more in 2005. Today, the vintage space is being used for weddings and special events alike. With over 5,000 square feet of space, this Tampa Heights based venue is a great building to showcase your Tampa roots. There are three different main event spaces, and the building boasts 27-foot ceilings, giving your event a rich, open concept feel. Just a hop skip and a jump from Ulele, Downtown, and Seminole Heights, this venue is perfect for orchestrating a wedding weekend with multiple stops, be it your bachelor and bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinner, and/or post-wedding brunch. This venue earned 4.1 stars out of 5 on WeddingWire. 

5. Tampa Bay Watch (Saint Petersburg, Florida) 

Dreaming of a waterfront wedding? Think Tampa Bay Watch! This location offers a natural waterfront setting, a large deck with sunset views, close proximity to beach resorts and the airport, bamboo flooring and a neutral palette (which means lots of space to play around with and decorate!), not to mention their expansive grounds. The building is even perfectly angled to catch a classically gorgeous Florida sunset. When choosing Tampa Bay Watch as your wedding venue, you can also feel good about how your money is being spent - to benefit restoring and preserving our waterways, wildlife rescue, and educational programs. There are even two contingency plans in the event a summer shower tries to rain on your parade. This venue has earned 4.9 stars out of 5 on WeddingWire.

6. Casa Lantana (Brandon, Florida)

Casa Lantana is set on a 12 acre estate, offering a peaceful wedding and reception site. This venue is located in Central Brandon, close to I-75 and the Crosstown Expressway. This venue sets itself apart with its location and amenities including: a honeymoon suite, bridal suite, groom's suite, bed and breakfast, 3,500 square feet of air conditioned building space, and of course the buildings themselves; the Mediterranean Grand Villa and Rustic Red Wood Barn to utilize for your ceremony or reception. This venue limits their usage to one wedding per day, so your party won't be ushered off site to make way for another couple coming in immediately after. This space can be transformed for any theme you can dream up and can be as all-inclusive as you would like. This venue boasts a 5 star rating on WeddingWire.

7. Iola Lakeside (Dade City, Florida)

Located in the heart of Dade City, Iola Lakeside provides a quaint, intimate setting to exchange your vows. Hold your ceremony by the lake or inside the white and brown barn, and dance the night away under the stars and Spanish moss! Iola Lakeside sits on 5 acres of lakefront property and the barn is a spacious 4,000 square feet to accommodate your guests. This venue offers a variety of packages, and clocks in at 5 starts out of 5 on Wedding Wire.

8. Bird Island Lake Ranch (Dade City, Florida) 

Bird Island Lake Ranch is a naturally rustic outdoor wedding venue with space for up to 300 guests. Everything from the handmade wooden benches to the fire pit surrounded by rocking chairs allows you to incorporate the feel of private, rural Florida into your special day. There are several outdoor spaces available, providing a unique location to host your ceremony or reception as well as seating, private suites and lighting all available on site. Bird Island Lake Ranch is another venue that limits the use of their grounds to one event per day. This venue has been rated 4.5 stars out of 5 on WeddingWire.

Looking for some inspiration on how to best recognize your employees’ hard work? Ask yourself one question: what’s the best way to warm their hearts?

By filling their stomachs of course! Employee appreciation parties and events are a great way to increase morale by reducing stress, giving everyone a chance to get to know each other outside of the traditional context, and fostering a happier company culture and sense of community. Whether you are looking to hold an event on site or at a different location, corporate events are a surefire way to boost employee morale and spirit. As you plan your next event think about some of the following themed parties:

1. Host a food tasting
   
   What's the best way to expose your employees to new food they haven’t tried before? A food tasting! Eliminate order envy by allowing everyone to sample a variety of offerings, instead of settling on a singular meal. Food trucks have the ability to serve a selection of appetizers/small plates or half meals, with a specific amount budgeted out per person. This gives your employees the option of trying multiple menu items without breaking the bank. Food tastings can be themed, for example a tasting of world cuisines, or maybe even just one cuisine with different types of food ranging from small savory bites to desserts from a particular region.
   
   

2. Sports watch party (football, baseball, soccer)
   
   Invite your employees to bring their favorite jerseys for a sports themed night. Events may be planned to take place the same date or time as a local football or baseball game, or just as a “spirit day.” Research some trivia and post it around the office while you have food trucks outside to cook up some game day grub. Popular food truck cuisines for sports events include fries, hamburgers, grilled cheese, cheesesteaks, hot dogs, and more! Another optional add-on is to set up ice buckets for beer or hire bar service. Tampa Bay Food Trucks can provide this service!
   
   

3. Throw a desserts-only bash
   
   Donuts, ice cream, milkshakes, churros, Italian ice, cheesecake on a stick, cupcakes, and the list goes on. Whether you choose to display a wall of donuts (one of our clients used powdered and regular donuts on a peg wall to make a “50” to celebrate 50 years of business), order directly from the trucks, or set up a buffet of different delicacies, you can’t go wrong with dessert. Food trucks bring a unique experience and desserts are freshly prepared on the spot. Bringing in local street food is a sweet surprise, and ups the ante from a traditional potluck.
   
   

4. Throw down Oktoberfest style
   
   Pair this fest with food trucks who can produce German food such as kielbasa. Think cuisine such as bratwurst, pretzels, sauerkraut, french fries, brisket, and/or meatballs. You can create your own beer garden (biergarten!) on site, or take a field trip to a local brewery. We have partnerships with several local breweries, and can arrange to have the food truck meet you on site. If you’re looking to avoid alcohol, serve root beer or craft sodas instead with custom labels to enjoy with your meal.
   
   

5. Take a trip to the diner with retro milkshakes and burgers
   
   Find some poodle skirts and leather jackets at the thrift store - because we’re heading back in time to the 50’s! Serve Coca Cola in glass bottles, and set up an area with a projector to play an old movie, drive-in style. Really get your employees in the retro mindset by playing intermission snack bar commercials so they have time to refill their drinks and grab some additional food. You can even step up your party’s game with a DJ (or mobile DJ Truck) and a dance floor (which you can find at many businesses for rent including here). Really want to invest in this theme? Hire some guys and girls to serve on roller skates!
   
   

6. Have an 80’s themed party
   
   Ask your employees to dress up in their craziest outfits for this day. Hand out fingerless mesh gloves, and have a bucket of glow sticks at the ready. This is another great party to set up a photo booth area with props such as PacMen, logos (MTV, ATARI), and Rubik’s cube images on sticks for people to hold up. Utilize bright neon balloons, VHS tapes and cassettes from the thrift store, party lighting, and slinkies to hang from the ceiling as decorations. This is another event where the mobile DJ truck comes in handy - prepare with a list of your favorite 80’s hits. Seek out some vintage games like PacMan and Space Invaders for entertainment for those who are a bit shy about busting out dance moves.
   
   

7. Breakfast for dinner
   
   Breakfast food is too tasty to be limited to mornings only! Switch up a traditional catering with donuts, crepes, waffles, yogurt parfaits, chocolate covered strawberries, and/or mini quiches. These events are best held in open air, or in an area with abundant natural lighting. Service options can include ordering and serving directly from a food truck, having employees grab their food in a buffet line, or having butler service.
   
   

8. Chuckwagon Hoedown
   
   Grab some bandanas, and tell your employees to bring their cowboy boots because we’re having a hoedown! Get a BBQ and/or a burger truck (a “chuckwagon!”) to serve your crew. Menu options can include baked beans, macaroni and cheese, fries, burgers, hot dogs, green beans, corn bread, pound cake, lemonade, corn on the cob, potato salad, coleslaw, the list goes on! For dessert, serve up some pies, and chocolate chip cookies to complement the country-style spread. For venues, consider parks, campgrounds, or local farmland as a nice backdrop and change of scenery. Check out YouTube for some line dancing tutorials or hire someone to teach your employees to dance along to the music!
   
   

This article was originally published by Orange Blossom Bride on February 26th, 2018. All photos by Jordan Weiland Photography.

Participating Vendors:

Venue/Location: Loggia at Lake Mirror
Planner: Tampa Bay Food Trucks
Photographer: Jordan Weiland Photography
Florist: Taylormade Floral & Event Decor
Officiant: Rev. Rick Price
Dress: Ti Adora  from Malindy Elene Bridal Boutique
Makeup: Melissa Kinsey of True MD
Hair: Shannon Harvey of The Copper Penny Hair Studio
Men’s Attire: Nathan’s Men’s Store
Dessert: Craving Donuts
Rentals: A Chair Affair, Inc.
Invitations: Minted.com

To contact us about wedding catering and/or event coordination, please contact our office at 813-802-9119. Don't forget to check us out on Wedding Wire:

If you're anything like us, the first thought that comes to mind when attending a wedding is probably "when and what are we eating?!" Food is a huge part of wedding celebrations, setting the tone for the whole event. Great food can catapult you squarely into the "Best Wedding Ever" category, whereas lackluster eats can leave guests feeling unimpressed, disgusted and worst of all, hangry. We polled our team of foodies for what they wish they had known on their wedding days about our favorite part of the celebration - the food!

1) Your Guests Will Be HUNGRY...

The reward every wedding guest is looking forward to after sitting through a ceremony is the delicious meal afterward. Let's be honest, as happy as everyone is for you about your nuptials, yummy food is something they get to experience personally. Treating your guests to passed hors d’oeuvres post ceremony is a gesture everyone will appreciate, and helps make the transition from ceremony to celebration. It's not ideal to expect guests to wait for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and speeches to conclude, before finally enjoying a dinner served after 9:00pm.

You can also score a few bonus points by allowing guests to choose their entree on the spot (a food truck catering perk!), rather than a month in advance. Because the only thing worse than being hangry, is being hangry with a side of order envy once your entree arrives.

2) ...And So Will You. But You May Not Have Time to Eat! 

While your wedding day is one of the best days of your life, it can also be pretty hectic. You'll be swarmed with well-wishers at your reception, eager to compliment you on your new marriage, your rings, the ceremony, your dress, the venue, inquire about your honeymoon plans, reminisce about their own wedding...you get it. It's hard enough to answer all these questions between bites of food and thanking your guests for coming. Then there are the challenges of trying to eat without getting food stuck in your teeth, dropping anything on your dress, and trying to stay contained within any expertly fit shapewear!

We recommend eating a little snack as you get ready, and requesting a to-go box of your entrees in advance. You can find time to eat before you officially enter your reception or at the end of the evening. Also asking someone to stash to go boxes of cake in your getaway car is a MUST - you’ll thank us when you’re enjoying a nice little honeymoon suite snack!

3) Fancy Food isn’t Always the Best Food

Your wedding is a special day you want to cherish forever, so when the time comes to make decisions it's natural to want the very best of everything. That perfect venue calls for an equally perfect dress. Your wedding party needs to look as beautiful as you do, which means stunning gowns for the ladies you love most. Then there’s your handsome groom and his groomsmen channeling Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie” song with impeccable threads. Since the ante has been upped for every other wedding detail, you also need the fanciest reception food to blow away your guests, right?

The truth is, if your budget is on the tighter side, a luxurious menu can send you far beyond what you originally planned for. You don't want to disappoint… but does anyone even like snails or foie gras? We’ll let you in on a little secret: your wedding guests will be most impressed by great food that means something to you. We're huge fans of incorporating ingredients or dishes that carry special meaning for the two of you. Food truck catering easily allows for customizations like naming your food "first date pizza" to commemorate cute moments of your relationship, or the incorporation of ingredients from both families heritages. These are thoughtful ways to keep costs down, while making your event unique and personal.

Be guided by the food and flavors you love, and don’t feel pressured to select the priciest options because you feel like this is your "one chance" to host a fancy party. Our team of planners is here for you!

4) You Won’t Have Time to Micromanage Service or Staff

After months or even years of planning, it can be really hard to stomach the idea of handing responsibilities over to someone else. One of our recently married brides admitted, "I was kind of a control freak, I wanted to be involved in and handle everything. Then suddenly on the day of, I just didn't care about handling any of the problems that popped up. It didn't matter if the reception room blinds were closed, or how my relatives who drank too much were going to get home, or that my maid of honor suddenly decided she needed an alternate dessert because she wasn't eating gluten that week. I just wanted to enjoy myself. Thankfully our venue came with a coordinator, so she and her staff took over and handled everything to perfection."

We're all in agreement: save your sanity, and delegate! An on-site event coordinator can ensure trash cans are being emptied regularly, attend to any staff issues or guests who have unforeseen needs, and handle emergencies without tearing you or your family away from the festivities. Be sure to ask us if you’re interested in hiring an event coordinator, odds are they'll smooth any issues over before you even know there is a problem. So. Worth. It.

5) When It’s All Over, You’ll Be Hungry Again.

"When my husband and I got back to the hotel after our reception we immediately ordered a pizza. Which is funny when you think about how much money we had just spent on food," - we hear this all too often.

Your wedding appetizers and entrees may be wonderful and plentiful, but drinking and dancing throughout the night will keep your appetite at an all time high. We recommend a substantially stocked dessert table of doughnuts and cupcakes that guests can nibble on towards the end of the evening. Alternately, rolling in a food truck serving late-night snacks like mini pizzas or tacos is fun and unique addition to your event that will help fuel your guests into the wee hours of your celebration.

Interested in learning more about catering by Tampa Bay Food Trucks? Click here to chat with one of our planners.

How To Organize A Food Truck Event

Organizing a food truck rally is no easy feat! Between chasing down a food truck (or a dozen trucks!) to attend your event, ensuring they are properly licensed and insured, hoping they will show up on the day of, and that they have the capabilities to serve the number of people you have in the time allotted, it’s a task with many moving parts. How well versed are we in these difficulties? We’ve encountered new ones every time we’ve done an event! With several years of experience in hosting food truck caterings and events in Tampa Bay, we have handled just about every eventuality that may occur during your event - which means we also have a big head start on developing a work-around solution!

Part of our process begins with vetting the food trucks themselves. When you look to hire a food truck it can be a shot in the dark. Are they going to meet your expectations and be reliable? Is their food quality consistent? Can they deliver a great customer experience? Are they able to turn tickets quickly enough? We can recommend the appropriate number of trucks to fit your needs, and who will deliver the services you require. The trucks we work with have been determined to be reliable partners through experience, and know our standards and procedures. We can also help to ensure the trucks have the information they need prior to arriving, in order to be well prepared for your event. This does not mean that every truck we work with is infallible, but our history with the trucks, our knowledge of their strengths and weakness, and the vetting process ensures a much higher rate of success.

If you’re looking to have a fun and seamless experience, look to us to handle the hiring of food trucks at your next event. Contact us today at 813-802-9119 or fill out our booking form here, and a local expert will contact you shortly to discuss your event in more detail.

Looking for a wedding caterer? Look no further than Tampa Bay Food Trucks (TBFTR)! Headquartered in Tampa, FL we service weddings throughout the local area, including Orlando, Sarasota and Lakeland. Tampa Bay Food Trucks is a professional food truck caterer that has been active in the Tampa Bay wedding industry for over 4 years. We specialize in wedding receptions (including indoor and outdoor venues), rehearsal dinners, wedding brunches, late night snacks, corporate events, birthday parties, retirement and graduation parties, and employee appreciations.

What makes TBFTR unique is that we’re actually about 100 caterers in one. We have the flexibility to customize any wedding package and can help you plan your entire event, or just handle the catering. We are partnered with most food trucks in west-central Florida, and can pair you with the best possible truck(s) for your event. Not every food truck on the street is TBFTR-approved. The food trucks we have selected are all properly licensed, insured, and have a proven track record of high-quality food and service with us. We can ensure you are hiring a truck that will provide prompt and professional service, and mouthwatering food your guests will be sure to remember.

We will work with you to develop a menu that meets your cuisine requirements, as well as your preference for service. We can have your guests order from the truck itself, or set up a buffet. We can handle your entire wedding weekend from start to finish, just your reception, or just a late night request for hot dogs or donuts. We can also provide our TBFTR mobile DJ truck, dance floor, tables, chairs, lighting and assist with other rentals. The sky really is the limit in terms of how you would like to utilize our services.

Call Tampa Bay Food Trucks today, or fill out our information request form here to get started!