Castle Green 4.4 out of 5.0 4.4/5.0
.. at your very own Castle!
99 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105
Check Availability
626-389-8575
  Profile   Reviews (14)   Website   Map    
Overall Rating
Quality of Service:
   4.6 out of 5.0 (4.6/5.0)
Responsiveness:
   4.3 out of 5.0 (4.3/5.0)
Professionalism:
   4.5 out of 5.0 (4.5/5.0)
Value For Cost:
   4.4 out of 5.0 (4.4/5.0)
Flexibility:
   4.2 out of 5.0 (4.2/5.0)

Endorsements
"What a great setting for a wedding. Whether inside of out, the location has style and class."
"One of the Premiere wedding venues in Southern California. I have had the pleasure of perfoming multiple wedding at the Castle Green and every one of them was handled with the utmost professionalism! Heather Lee was the coordinator we worked with and she is the best!"

 
Sort By:
jiawong and John
Wedding: 11/01/2009
Reviews: 5
4.6
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 4.5 out of 5.0(4.5/5.0)
Responsiveness:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:4.5 out of 5.0(4.5/5.0)

Not sure why these reviews have to be written by the Bride! LOL. My new wife and I had a wonderful wedding recently at Castle Green. We both fell in love with the place the moment we saw it, and new it was the place for us. Was slightly bummed that it was too warm a night (the first of November) to light the big fireplace in the main lounge...but we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. Marcela is marvelous, and happy memories of the Castle will stay with us forever!

Reviewed On:
11/19/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

tobemrsf
Wedding: 10/18/2009
Reviews: 2
4.8
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:4.5 out of 5.0(4.5/5.0)
Flexibility:4.5 out of 5.0(4.5/5.0)

I am completely happy with our experience with Castle Green. We had an outdoor ceremony and an indoor reception. The location is beautiful, no doubt! Photo Ops galore! Marcela was a breeze to work with. She took all my calls, there were a few, with stride.
We did choose to use an outside caterer which meant having to pay an additional fee to CG. However we still saved a ton of money because the caterers they recommend were, in my opinion, very over priced. There are quite a bit of rules that must be follwed due to that fact that the location is also a residence.
I would and have recommended the location to others, I would just say make sure you really read the contract well and ask any and ALL questions before signing on the dotted line. As with any location you need to know the specifics.

Overall this was a dream location. I really have no complaints about our day!
Many of our guests said it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to!
I think that should say it all!

Reviewed On:
10/28/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

bvsalva and Chris
Wedding: 09/20/2009
Reviews: 1
4.1
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 4.5 out of 5.0(4.5/5.0)
Responsiveness:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)
Flexibility:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)

Castle Green is an amazing venue. We had our wedding ceremony and reception there. Both were held outdoors. It was beautiful. The events coordinator was very responsive to all of our questions and got back to us in a timely manner.
If you are thinking of having your wedding there I would highly recommend it.
My only thing that I didn't care for too much for was that the bathrooms were inaccessible to those that are disabled and that there were only a few stall available. Other than that, I think it is an amazing place to have a wedding!!!!

PS if you do end up having you wedding there, be sure that the DJ stops playing the music a few mins before your rental ends. otherwise, residents @ castle green get pretty cranky and you will get charged even if you are a min. after your rental is over.

Reviewed On:
10/14/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

Gabriel
Wedding: 08/29/2009
Reviews: 5
4.9
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:4.5 out of 5.0(4.5/5.0)
Flexibility:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)

Castle Green was the perfect place for us. You walk in and step back in time. It was built in the 1880's and the building brings all of that authentic charm and life to the wedding. There are old photos on the walls, a grand staircase, various parlors with endless things to look at, a beautiful sun room, a giant porch that wraps around the building, a pretty fountain and a great classic ball room.
Marcela, the contact as Castle Green is easy to work with and a total sweetheart. Every time you talk to her you feel her genuine excitement for you about the wedding, and she works her butt off to make sure you have what you need. She gives great recommendations for vendors and everything went flawlessly for us. We had our wedding on a hot day during the wildfires, but most of the vendors had worked there before and knew just how to handle it all - when to put out the flowers, when to deliver the cake etc. The ballroom is the only air conditioned room, so be forewarned if that's a problem for you. At our wedding nobody even noticed the heat though - the venue was just too interesting to care....and we were all sweaty from the dancing anyhow. The great thing about Castle Green is that nobody will feel trapped in a ball room. There is plenty of space to roam and things to see. We loved it!

Reviewed On:
09/11/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

HappyBride
Wedding: 03/14/2009
Reviews: 2
2.4
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Professionalism:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:2.0 out of 5.0(2.0/5.0)
Flexibility:1.0 out of 5.0(1.0/5.0)

Castle Green is indeed a beautiful place to host a wedding. The grounds a re well kept and the interiors are very nice. However, every castle has its secrets. If you book an event here be prepared to spend a very huge amount of money (not including food and decorations). When we had our wedding here, they made it almost impossible to pick another vendor that was not theirs. I felt they made a deal with their vendors to give them some profits if they are booked at a wedding as opposed to any outside vendors. We had a very challenging time with this. Also be sure to put the EXACT amount of guests you will be having at the reception or you will end up paying more per person and end up with no chairs for your guests. They will only put out the EXACT amount of chairs as the guest list you provide. As a result, we over estimated and ended up losing money here, but we couldn't afford to have our guests standing during dinner. The bathrooms needed much renovation and better cleaning for our event. The sound for the DJ did not travel well across the ballroom resulting in very poor quality acoustics for the building. Clean up was a nightmare. Not only did you have to pay approximately $6,000 just to have your event here, but the cleaning is not included which resulted in me, the bride sweeping and cleaning after my own wedding. This was horrible because we were literally exhausted! I did not feel like the princess in the castle. During my event I felt myself and my guests had to treat the place as if it was made out of crystal. The home owner's association made us feel like they would persecute us if any chair was out of place or stacked up wrong at the end of the night. Which resulted in a very uncomfortable and fearful feeling for us during our event. The price was much too high concidering we had almost no time to set up decorations and clean up. The time allowed for us to be in that venue was the worst 5 1/2 hours. I fellt my wedding reception was rushed and I had no time to enjoy it. If you have the money and want a short wedding this is the place. The only positive thing was the events director who tried her best to help us on top of all the limitations the homeowner's association placed on us. She remained professional and courteous through this whole ordeal. We thank her.

Castle Green responded with the following comments:

Dear Happy Bride (Mrs. Norma Maya),

As chairman of the Board for Castle Green I would like to personally apologize for feeling as though you have experienced Castle Green with a bitter taste in your mouth. On the other hand, we would like to clarify a few things before our venue is wrongly accused.

1. VENDORS:
Castle Green gives you many options and freedom of choice, one being vendors. As for Catering, we offer 4 (maybe 6 soon), extremely diverse caterers who provide a very basic / economic package, as well as a fine dining experience, in order to comfort the needs of everyone. They are on our list due to the fact they hold a very strong reputation for our historic building. As for other vendors, we allow you to choose anyone you like (rental companies, photographer, videographer, dj, cake, florist). We even allow you to provide your own alcohol to save you bundles of money.

2. CHAIRS:
Castle Green provide up to 200 gold chiavari chairs. In your particular event, you decide to you an outside caterer. This fee is normally $10/person, however we discounted this by over 50% JUST FOR YOU, due to your particular economic situation (We truly hope you remember this polite gesture). Your guest count started at 150 and grew to 180; therefore it is by common nature we would have to charge you for these additional guests, in regards to outside catering fees that have already been discounted

3. BATHROOMS:
We have staff on hand to clean the bathrooms and check on them twice during the events as well as tend to them upon guests requests. There were no requests made during these two check-ups that were made, therefore, our staff was never made aware nor had a chance to help out with your dissatisfaction.

4. DJ & SOUND:
Our ballroom has been known as having amazing acoustics, as commented on by various bands (Swing Kings, naming one), as well as musicians and duos who perform in our ballroom. I suggest you contact your Dj regarding this one and ask about his speaker system. Unfortunately we cannot be blamed for poor quality of your chosen DJ.

5. CLEAN-UP ON YOUR WEDDING DAY: Castle Green suggests four caterers for your big day, whom all handle clean-up and set up, etc. so you or anyone would NEVER be expected to do either. You had chosen Rocomar Catering, whom they informed our Event Staff they offered you help with this and you refused. I can only imagine how horrible this was after that evening, since this is something your caterers should never have allowed to happen. You stated you could not afford them to do it and that you preferred to take this task on yourself. You were warned various times of the stress this would cause on you and your family.

6. TIME ALLOCATED FOR SET-UP:
Of course, we cannot be sure if you have checked other facilities or not, but high end venues typically give you 1-2 hours for set up. OUR venue, on the other hand, provides you with THREE AND A HALF (3.5) hours for set-up and photos as discussed in your contract. I was informed by our Events Manager that she had offered you EIGHT (8) hours of set up (entering at 8am) so it is hard to fathom your disappointment.


Overall, our contract states very obvious items and we had tried everything to make it easier on you and to bend the rules. I am sorry you were not ready to take on the costs of such a major event. We all know weddings can be quite expensive, and big, expensive weddings are not meant for everyone and there is nothing wrong with this.

We wish you and your family the very best and hope you can remember Castle Green as the venue who pushed and pulled for you over and over again.



Sincerely,

R. L. BANKS
Chairman of Castle Green HOA Board

Reviewed On:
04/03/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

Heather
Wedding: 01/09/2009
Reviews: 5
5.0
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)

I couldn't be happier with the attention that we received from Castle Green. They were so pleasant to deal with and had an answer to every question we could think of to make our reception perfect. A beautiful venue that I will try to use again if I can find an excuse!

Castle Green responded with the following comments:

Thank you Heather!!

- Marcela

Reviewed On:
02/24/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

Joseph
Wedding: 08/08/2008
Reviews: 5
5.0
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)

We could not have chosen a more perfect venue for our wedding. Castle Green is simply amazing. The decor is very classy, and the grounds are breathtaking. Our guests were blown away! We would recommend anyone to use Castle Green for their wedding!

Reviewed On:
09/08/2008

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

Heather
Wedding: 05/03/2008
Reviews: 5
4.6
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)

Castle Green was beautiful. The moment my fiance, well now husband, stepped through the doors, we knew it was where we had to be. They treated us very nicely, and understood what we wanted. They are a little strict about things, but it is an historical place and needed to be treated with respect. My guests had an amazing time and every comment I got back was how beautiful the place was.

Reviewed On:
07/24/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

K
Wedding: 08/25/2007
Reviews: 4
5.0
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)

Castle Green is a beautiful venue - our guests loved it and we did too. The staff there was very pleasant and accommodating throughout the planning process. The logistics are a bit complicated (no kitchen on site) but our caterers had no problems working around the rules set by Castle Green. Our photos were fantastic, thanks to the beautiful gardens.

Reviewed On:
01/05/2008

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

Kelly
Wedding: 07/14/2007
Reviews: 1
3.4
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 3.5 out of 5.0(3.5/5.0)
Responsiveness:3.5 out of 5.0(3.5/5.0)
Professionalism:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Flexibility:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)

Castle Green is a beautiful place to have a wedding. My husband and I had an outdoor ceremony, and the onlny thing that we were disappointed with was the fact that it was rather noisy because of Pasadena traffic. We did not notice, but some of our guests commented that it was difficult to hear the ceremony.

Though other people have been dissatisfied with the communication at Castle Green, we did not experience any problems.

One thing to note, however -- if you're having a wedding in the summer, even with the air conditioning, the ballroom gets pretty hot. Most of our dancing guests were pretty sweaty by the end of the night.

You won't be disapointed with the surplus of picture opportunities. This is a perfect place to hold a Victorian themed wedding.

Castle Green responded with the following comments:

Hi Kelly,
I am sorry to hear you had issues with noise and a.c. Unfortunately, the noise is completely unpredictable and I wish there was a better way I could garentee a peaceful setting in the heart of Pasadena :) !!

On the other hand, fortunately, Castle Green has FINALLY (February 2009) announced to permanently install A.C. into the ballroom. Hopefully, for your next event, you can enjoy the perfect "breeze" for your event! Hope you are your hubby are doing well. :)

- CG Events Office

Reviewed On:
10/30/2007

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

jamianne
Wedding: 02/10/2007
Reviews: 4
5.0
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)

Simply beautiful! Very affordable compared to other places not nearly as elegant. Everyone was nice and willing to help. The rooms inside make a great place for guests to gather for cocktails, and the ballroom is perfect. This is the best place for a fairy tale wedding.

Reviewed On:
02/14/2008

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

Leslie
Wedding: 12/10/2006
Reviews: 7
4.0
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Professionalism:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)

I had my wedding here on December 10, 2006. I thought it was a great location - very unique. The staff was sometimes frustrating to communicate with (thus the three stars), but overall I would highly recommend Castle Green. My pictures came out beautiful - just a lovely and unique location capturing the charm of Pasadena.

Castle Green responded with the following comments:

Hello Leslie! I am very sorry you had a bad response in terms of communication. At the time (towards the end of 2006) there were a few changes made in our staff, some leaving, and new ones coming on board -- as well as new job deions. We have now finalized these changes and can easily accommodate all your needs within our present staff. Again, we are sorry for any inconvenience. We hope to hear from you soon!

Reviewed On:
01/07/2008

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

lovemeeko
Wedding: 11/20/2005
Reviews: 5
4.6
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)
Flexibility:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)

Castle Green is a lovely Victorian Hotel now converted into private luxury apartments. The former hotel lobby, conservatory, cigar room, solarium, ballroom, and outdoor garden are available to rent for weddings and events. If you are looking for something unique and not the run-of-the-mill wedding location, definitely check this location out. Many movie studios have even used this building for filming locations and you will understand why, the inside is lovely complete with period furnishings!! So not only will your wedding location be rememberable, but so will all your wedding pictures~~~
I had an indoor wedding ceremony in the conservatory, in front of one of their many grand fireplaces, and then the reception in the ballroom. The price tag is high, but it's well worth it!!!

Reviewed On:
11/04/2008

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue

sugarbooger
Wedding: 01/19/2003
Reviews: 6
4.4
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: 5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:4.0 out of 5.0(4.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:5.0 out of 5.0(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:3.0 out of 5.0(3.0/5.0)

This is a beautiful venue! I loved my pictures and I loved the uniqueness that my wedding had! These people were great to work with. The only problem I had was that I was asked to allow people in the main hall who were filming on the top floor, use the elevator, but they worked with me on this and we did not have to accommodate them. I love the fact that you can have a ballroom as well as the other entry rooms for appetizers and such. It was just great! They aren't that flexible in terms of allowing you to spend a lot of time beforehand taking pictures, but we got a good 3 hours at the location to get ready and everything. A WONDERFUL SITE!!!

Castle Green responded with the following comments:

Hello... "sugarbooger"... :)
I am sorry you had the slight stress of another filming taking place on the upper level during your event. Since I have been here only from 2004 and on, I can just tell you that I have never allowed other events at the same time. Hopefully you will keep us in mind for future events! Best Regards, The Castle Green Events Office

Reviewed On:
01/17/2009

Services Used:
Ceremony & Reception Venue