The Treasury on the Plaza Celebrates 5 years and 500 Weddings!

This year, The Treasury on the Plaza celebrates five years of being in business! That’s five years of love stories, five years of friends celebrating milestones, and five years of families coming together. Can you believe that over those five years we have been a part of over 500 weddings?!

We’re turning back the clock and revisiting some of our favorite moments over these past five years–from our renovation in 2014 through today. So sit back, grab the popcorn, and let’s take a little walk down memory lane.

2014

While it’s common knowledge that The Treasury on the Plaza used to be a bank, many people don’t know how recently our transformation took place! When the Wells Fargo moved across the street into the old Woolworth building in 2013, the first floor of 24 Cathedral Place sat vacant. We couldn’t let such an architectural gem in the heart of St. Augustine go to waste! The entire first floor underwent an extensive renovation in 2014 to transform the space into an event venue.

Renovation of The Treasury on the Plaza in 2014

While many modern amenities were added, showcasing the venue’s history as a bank was of the utmost importance. Our motto during the renovation was, “If it’s historic, we’re keeping it.” The original 1920s marble flooring, the eight towering Romanesque columns, and many other architectural details were kept intact and restored to pristine condition. Other materials were repurposed in other areas. One of our favorite examples is the use of the marble from the bank teller stations to create the counter inside The Vault Bar.

Photo of the original lobby of The Exchange Bank in 1928

The Vault Bar at The Treasury on the Plaza

Once the renovation was complete, we were so excited to host our first weddings and events at The Treasury on the Plaza. We couldn’t have asked for sweeter couples in that first year! As a new venue, they trusted our team to help them bring their wedding vision to life, often without being able to see a single photo of the venue set up for a wedding!

Mackenzie and Miles’ 2014 Wedding at The Treasury. Photos by Jessi Caparella.

Vonna and Jason’s 2014 Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photos by Lauren Kinsey Photography. 

2015

Several of those first few weddings at The Treasury were featured in national magazines and wedding blogs like The Knot, Grey Likes Weddings, and Style Me Pretty. Word got out quickly that there was a unique new venue in the heart of the Old City! We’ve been off to the races ever since!

Kellie and Ryan’s stunning Treasury on The Plaza wedding was featured in The Knot Magazine in 2015. Photo by Brooke Images.

Elizabeth and Gordon’s 2015 wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza was featured in Style Me Pretty. Photos by Still 55 Photography.

Over that first year, we worked on developing relationships with other wedding vendors in the St. Augustine and Jacksonville area. We are so fortunate to be in an area that has so many incredibly talented, hard-working professionals in the wedding industry! After carefully evaluating the best vendors for The Treasury on the Plaza, we developed our Preferred Vendor List. This list has constantly been updated over the years to reflect the best vendors that our area has to offer.

Wedding coordinator Lindsay Ohlin of Coastal Celebrations gives Treasury couple Allison and Salmaan a hand. Photo by Life & Love Studio.

Jennifer and Jonathon’s 2015 Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photo by Ashely Steeby Photography. 

Several of our 2015 couples have started growing their families! It is always such a joy for our team to see photos of our “Treasury babies.” Even more exciting is when our couples come back to visit and bring their little ones along to say hello!

(Left) Anisha and Brandon’s 2015 Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photo by Irrok Photography. (Right) Anisha and Brandon visiting us a few years later with little Peyton.

2016

There were many exciting additions to The Treasury on the Plaza in 2016. We launched a brand new website with hundreds of beautiful photos so couples could more easily envision their perfect day. We also created some amazing wedding and bar packages, featuring the best amenities and beverage options in the St. Augustine area.

Treasury mixologist, Alan, with one of his famous concoctions in The Vault Bar. Photo by Monarch Studio

We were thrilled to be featured on NBC’s The Today Show in early 2016! The show did a segment on the projected Powerball jackpot of $1.5 billion inside The Vault Bar. Reporter Kerry Sanders thought that The Vault would be the perfect place to store those billions!

In 2016, NBC filmed a segment for The Today Show inside The Treasury’s Vault Bar.

Many of our 2016 couples came up with creative ways to make their weddings stand out. We saw string lighting backdrops for wedding ceremonies, live and faux trees incorporated into wedding ceremony and reception decor, and photo and video projections on the walls of The Grande Ballroom.

Amber and Derrick’s 2016 Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photo by Ais Portraits.

Tricia and Mannie’s 2016 wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photos by J Layne Photography.

Meghan and Steve’s 2016 Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photo by Monika Gauthier Photography.

2017

Providing impeccable hospitality has been a cornerstone of our values here at The Treasury since the very beginning. Thanks to amazing reviews from our couples, The Treasury on the Plaza was awarded the Best of Weddings Award from The Knot and the WeddingWire Couples Choice Awards in 2017! We are so proud of our team for consistently providing the highest level of service, and are honored to have received these awards every year since then.

The Treasury on the Plaza has consistently been awarded the WeddingWire Couples Choice Award and The Knot’s Best of Weddings Award.

An exciting addition to our event planning experience in 2017 was the incorporation of our complimentary personalized bar tastings. Couples can come into The Vault Bar, relax, and meet with their event manager and bar team to sample and select the perfect drink options for their wedding day.

Alexis and her bridesmaids enjoy their bar selections in The Vault Bar. Photo by Life and Love Studio. 

In 2017, our couples put a lot of importance on creating a really fun wedding experience for their guests. We saw unique entertainment options during wedding receptions, such as balloon artists (Twist of Fun!) and live painters (KW Event Painting and Wed on Canvas).

Twist of Fun created fun balloon hats for Rachel and Brian during their 2017 wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photo by Angelita Esparar Photography.

KW Event Painting captured Vanessa and Chris’ Treasury on the Plaza wedding on canvas. Photo by Copper Lens Photography.

2018

The Treasury got high-tech in 2018 and added a new virtual tour option on our website. This tour allows couples and their families to visit us any time from the comfort of their own homes!

Virtual Tour of The Treasury on the Plaza

Hollywood also came knocking in 2018! Holly and Austin’s Treasury on the Plaza wedding was featured on an episode of TLC’s Four Weddings.

Holly and Austin’s 2018 wedding featured on TLC’s Four Weddings

We were so thrilled to host our first LGBT+ weddings at The Treasury in 2018. All couples who want to celebrate their love with us are welcome!

Sam and Krista’s 2018 Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photo by Sarah Annay Photography.

Ashley and Kristen’s 2018 Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza. Photo by Stout Photography.

2019 and Beyond!

We are so honored that so many couples have chosen The Treasury to be a part of such an important moment in their lives. We can’t wait to see what the future holds and help many more couples say “I do” at The Treasury on the Plaza.