Frequently Asked Questions
For Weddings, Quinceañeras, and Bar Mitzvahs at Mixon’s

Mixon’s in the Grove offers a variety of facilities to rent for ceremonies, receptions, or both! Whatever your event may entail, we have several different options to meet your needs. Our facilities fees range from $100 for a small dock overlooking the Koi Pond, to $2800 for the Garden Oasis complete with Gazebo, expansive covered Pavilion, and lush Garden Pathways. There are many in-between options depending on the facility chosen, length of event, and day of the week, etc. Our Event Coordinator will be happy to show you the various facilities, discuss specific pricing, and help choose what best suits your needs. We are more than happy to work with you, within your budget – if you want to get married in the Grove, we want to make it happen. Generally, for a Ceremony and Reception on a Saturday the Garden Oasis rents for $2,800 and the Butterfly Garden/Honeybell Hall rents for $950. For weekday rates and Holiday pricing, please contact the Event Coordinator.

There is a $500 Reservation Deposit, nonrefundable, which will be applied to the total cost of the Wedding/Event. This deposit/payment secures and reserves the date of your event. There will also be a $500 security deposit, due before the wedding. The security deposit will be returned in full within 30 days of the event, if there are no damages incurred or additional charges.

We strive to make planning your event easy for you. Our rental fee includes items many places do not, to help eliminate the stress of dealing with excessive rental cost. This gives you a better idea of what your event will actually cost.

The rental of our Garden Oasis - Gazebo and Pavilion area includes the following:

• The Garden Oasis area between the hours of 10am - 11pm on the day of the wedding; 6 hours for the actual event, and we allow plenty of extra time for set up and decorating prior to the ceremony. Events must end no later than 11pm. Music after 10 pm must be below 60 decibels, due to the county sound ordinance.


• Covered Gazebo for the Ceremony


• Covered Pavilion for the Reception (200+)


• Tables for up to 150 guests – 6-ft Rectangular Table (seats 6) or 5-ft Round Table (seats 8)


• Chairs for up to 150 guests – White plastic Garden Chairs or padded Banquet Chairs. We recommend chair covers when using the Banquet Chairs – price not included.


• Set up/ break down of Tables/Chairs


• Koi Pond with surrounding area featuring lighted Pathways and Scenic Overlooks


• Large, beautifully decorated Bridal Dressing Room and separate Groom’s Dressing Room


• White “Twinkle” Lights on every other beam of the Pavilion’s Ceiling


• Roll-down clear, vinyl panels around the Pavilion if needed for inclement weather


• Eight 7-Ft Tall Heaters if needed for inclement weather


• Eight Ceiling Fans


• Lush, tropical landscaping so any additional “decorating” is very minimal


• Gazebo & Pavilion equipped with Web Camera System so non-attending friends and family can log on to our web site and virtually watch your wedding. www.mixonevents.com


• 2 Mixon Staff Members to oversee property, plus 1 Security Guard


• An Insurance/Liability policy valued at $250


• Kitchen “Set Up” valued at $75


• 5 total hours of consultation with event personnel

The Rental of the Honeybell Hall and Butterfly Garden include the following:

• Metal Semi-circular Gazebo for Ceremony


• Indoor air conditioned Banquet Hall for Reception


• Outdoor Deck area attached to Hall


• Tables for up to 75 guests – 6ft Rectangular or 5ft Round


• Padded Banquet Chairs for up to 75 guests


• Garden Chairs for up to 75 guests


• 5 hours maximum, ending no later than midnight


• A Insurance/Liability Policy valued at $250


• Projection Screen and DVD Player


• 1 Mixon Staff member to oversee property, plus 1 security guard

The Garden Oasis Pavilion seats over 200 people comfortably, allowing plenty of room for buffet tables and a dance floor area. The actual covered Pavilion is 40 by 80 feet, with a covered Pergola area at one end that is 24ft by 40ft. This additional space can be used for catering, a stage, etc, allowing more room for guests underneath the Pavilion. For smaller events indoors, you may choose to use our Honeybell Hall which seats up to 75 comfortably and includes an outdoor wooden deck area.

Our package includes tables and chairs for up to 150 people. If you have over 150 guests, additional chairs and tables will need to be rented from us. Rectangular Tables are $5 per Table, Round Tables are $9.20 per Table, White Garden Chairs are $1.00 per Chair and cushioned Banquet Chairs are $1.50 each. Depending on the nature and size of your event, additional staff may be needed at a cost of $20 an hour and additional security guards may be needed for larger groups at a cost of $25 an hour. We also handle the Bar and Beverage Services, Bartenders are $20 per hour, usually 1 for every 75 guests.

Other items that you should consider for your event:

-Table Linens & Linen Set-Up
-Dance Floor Rental if desired
-Beverage Services, including Beer/Wine of your choice
-Catering Costs (including servers at $20/hour and china rental costs)
-Cake cutting and clean up

Our Web Camera System allows them to log on and launch our Gazebo & Pavilion Web Camera to "VIEW" the entire ceremony and reception while it is happening! For an additional fee your guests can HEAR your "I DO’s". Want a keepsake of your event? We also offer a service that would include a DVD with sound of your "LIVE" event from our web camera system. Need a DJ service? Ask our event consultants for pricing.

A Special Events Liability Insurance Policy is mandatory and will protect you from liability for injury or property damage that may happen before, during or after your wedding. Our insurance company provides an affordable and complete plan that will protect you. The policy’s cost is $250 and it is INCLUDED in the rental fee. Our Event Coordinator will acquire the policy for you and supply you with a copy of it for your records.

In house catering is available through Mixon’s for events with 100 guests or less. We offer two different style menus to choose from. The first is the banquet buffet menu, which includes hot appetizers, entrees and sides; approximate cost $30 per person. If your event calls for finger foods, or a lighter menu, we offer a Party Platter Menu. This menu includes a variety of choices including various sandwich platters, gourmet cheese, fresh fruit, and fresh vegetable platters just to name a few and are priced per platter.

Outside caterers are welcome here at Mixon’s as long as they carry liability insurance and are approved by our event coordinator. There are several catering companies that we have previously worked with and would be happy to recommend. With any outside caterer there is a $2.00 per person facility usage fee. Self catering is not permitted. We understand that people may want to cut costs by bringing in their own food, but we do not allow any unlicensed and uninsured personnel to serve food at our venue. Special menu situations can be discussed with the event coordinator.

Outside caterers usually offer cake cutting services. Mixon’s does have this service with clear acrylic cake plates for $2.00 per person which includes cake area clean-up.

For your convenience, click here to view our list of preferred vendors of caterers, photographers, florists, bakeries, DJ’s, entertainment, rentals, hotels, limos, and officiates. As a member of the Weddings Group of Sarasota, Mixon’s has well established relationships with others in this field. We recommend that you use one of our approved vendors, we are confident they will provide top quality service that will contribute to an overall successful event. Also, all of our partners are licensed and carry full liability insurance, so you can rest easy knowing that you and your guests are protected. If you choose to use another vendor, who is not on our list, we will need to have copies of their license and liability insurance.

No matter who is doing the catering, Mixon’s is always responsible for operating the bar and non-alcoholic beverages.

Mixon’s has a beer and wine license, all beer and wine must be ordered through us. We offer many flexible packages for alcohol – from open bar to cash bar to ordering kegs or wines by the bottle or case. Our Event Coordinator can supply you with a full beverage service menu and give you sample pricing. We can also set up a wine tasting where you can sample all of our wines before selecting which you would like to serve at your wedding.

Our license does not include liquor so we are not able to sell liquor to you, but you can purchase and bring bottles of liquor and mixers yourself, with our bartender serving the liquor along with the beer and wine. To include liquor to your event, we have a minimum purchase of beer and wine of 1 keg and 1 case of wine for parties under 75 people and 2 kegs and 2 cases of wine for over 75 people. There is also a $5 per person pour charge. This $5 charge covers you for the whole event. If you would like to utilize this option, please discuss it with our Event Coordinator. It is important that we will be responsible for serving liquor, since any alcohol consumption on our property is our responsibility. We want to insure we have hired the necessary amount of bartenders based on the types of liquor that is involved. You may also choose to serve one of our “signature drinks” that feature our fresh-squeezed orange juice, including Mixon’s Sangria, Mixon Mimosas, Mixon frozen Margaritas and Pina Colada Wine Coolers. An important thing to note: drinking alcoholic beverages in the parking lot or in a car is not allowed. Anyone found doing this will be asked by our security guard to discontinue and if they continue they will be asked to leave the event. It is important that guests have identification in order to be served any type of alcoholic beverage.

Yes, since we hold the beer and wine license, and due to liability issues, we are responsible for monitoring the alcohol consumption on our property.

Sure! We have tried to design and landscape our Garden Oasis area so it is amazingly gorgeous as it is, but of course you will want to make your event your own by adding personal touches. Our landscape artist has designed the area so at all times of year, colorful flowers are blooming. You may hang decorations, as long as no nails are used and no damage is done to our facility. Candles may be used as long as they are housed in a glass container since open flames are a hazard to our grove. We offer several different decorations to rent including lanterns, floating candle vessels, drapes, crystal beaded curtains, and chandeliers. Ask our Event Coordinator to see samples of what we have available.

Our Event Coordinator can help you with any questions you may have that relate to the venue. Other things our Event Coordinator will handle for you are as follows (these items will be added to your Mixon’s Event Estimate and Proposal):

-Rentals (including items like tents or a dance floor)
-Linens & Linen Set Up
-China
-Bar and Beverage Services
-Limited Coordination with Caterer

With our Garden Oasis facility, no “back up” plan is necessary if the forecast calls for rain. Our covered Pavilion has roll-down, clear vinyl sides that will turn the Pavilion into a large outdoor room, still allowing view of the surrounding area. The ceremony can easily be moved to under the Pavilion, or a tent can be rented to cover the open area between the Pavilion and Gazebo where guests sit for the ceremony.

Our store and deli are open to the public Monday – Saturday from 10 am – 5 pm, so if your wedding happens to fall during that time period, you may be sharing the parking lot with our customers, but there is no need to worry – we have plenty of parking spaces to accommodate wedding guests and customers alike. On days when we have an event scheduled, our employees will be parking in a grove across 26th Ave., so the parking area directly behind the store’s building will be open for wedding guests to utilize.

No. This is a working citrus farm, so we do have tractors, farm equipment and large trucks that are used here for the citrus portion of our business, but usage of those items are largely contained to Monday – Friday, ending before 4 pm. There is a large cooler that is located on the side of the Pavilion’s Bathroom/Dressing Room area – this typically makes a noise similar to a large refrigerator, but on days of the event it will be turned off for the entire duration of the event so your event will be quiet and as “farm free” as possible.

In order to reserve your date, we require a $500 non-refundable deposit. After that, we will figure out all of the other details – from table linens to catering to the bar. At least 50%, or a minimum of $2500, must be received here at Mixon’s in the Grove 60 days prior to the event. The final 50% is due (the $500 deposit will be applied toward this final payment) two weeks before the date of your event. In addition, your $500 security deposit will be due 10 days prior to the event. If we find no damages to the property and there are no outstanding balances, we will return the $500 security deposit to you within 30 days of your event.

Fill out our contact form, call or Email our Event Coordinator Debby LaMontaine, at 941-748-5829 extension 280 or Events@mixon.com. Debby will gladly answer any questions for you and assist you in planning your wedding at Mixon’s.