Positives:
- lovely space for a wedding of 50 people (Oceanside and Beachside rooms) with a great view
- while overall expensive, actually not a bad lunch package price when you look at the other options in the area
- we eventually worked out a nice vegan entree which was important to me
- we had a great time and our guests seemed to as well, but we picked all our own vendors not on Shutters list

Negatives:
- planning process was stressful, they didn't give me much info up front and it was hard to get answers to even simple questions
- most of my requests, such as for a signature cocktail, were met with a lot of resistance so I had to be very insistent to get anything I wanted
- not much variety at the tasting, only 2 apps, 2 salads and 3 entrees even though we could choose 3 entrees so we just went with what we tasted. We never tasted any of the hor d'oeuvres
- they ended up getting much of the menu wrong on the big day
- they were very hands-off and require you to hire a coordinator

We couldn't be happier to have had our wedding at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, CA.
This hotel is the perfect place for an intimate, warm, and beautiful wedding celebration!
The food and service deserves more than 5 stars!!!
I worked with one of the catering managers onsite and he was wonderful, easy, responsive, and efficient!
Our ceremony was on the beach and reception was in the grand ballroom.
They made our day beyond memorable, it was amazing!!!

We could not be happier with the way our wedding turned out at Shutters, Toby Lent did a tremendous job. Our guests were thrilled with the great service and smoothness of the event. The food was delicious, the entire hotel staff was fantastic - they handled things before I even had to ask. We held two brunches at Coast and they were equally as accommodating. The suite is beautiful, staying before and after is a must.
Unlike most other hotels, it is nice having a per person cost so you are not surprised by the grand total. It is expensive, but worth it.
Only improvement would be offering Susie Cakes as an option (its served at the restaurant but not a package option). THANK YOU TOBY !!!

Shutters on the Beach was extremely professional and attentive to everything I needed for my wedding. The hotel is absolutely beautiful and my wedding there was breath taking. The staff was kind and very courteous I was so pleased at all their hard work. Michael Kossart is one of the best!

Our wedding day went exactly as planned. Couldnt have asked for a better venue, better day, better location. Everything was perfect!

Everything was beautiful and Shutters on the Beach is extraordinarily perfect for a small wedding of 1-50 people. They recommended excellent vendors and provided true value at every turn. Michael Kossart, the catering manager is very fair, kind, professional and wonderful to work with. He made the entire event fun and effortless to plan.

Armando, the banquet manager, perfectly executed my every wish during the event and is also very kind and professional.

It was undoubtedly our dream wedding and many guests have commented that it was a flawless evening!

Shutters made our wedding the most memorable day of our lives. Here's our review of each facet of our day:

-Ceremony area (Pacific Terrace): What a gorgeous place. It's quiet, with greenery, flower shrubs,and a fireplace. We didn't need to amplify our music, just a simple acoustic guitar. I heard our musician just fine.

-Catering: Our catering manager, Toby, was great. Always professional, prompt, and efficient. I'd email him with endless questions, and get a response in a few hours. Or if I'd call, I'd get a call back within the day. I never felt stressed out working with him. You are in good hands with Toby!

-Banquet captain: They served everyone on time, without a hitch. To our pleasant surprise, they saved the top layer of our cake for us and delivered to us when we checked out the next morning!

-Bar: We designed our own cocktails, with a few exotic ingredients like basil and lychee. Could they do it? Of course, they could!! And, the drinks were DELICIOUS. I will note that I heard a few guests complain that they wouldn't serve shots---just ask for the drink over ice and you're fine.

-Hotel Suite: Perfect, perfect, perfect. The bridal suite was bigger than a 1 bedroom apartment! We had an ocean view, with huge bathtub, closet space, cozy couches, and turn down service. The staff did a fantastic job of cleaning our room after the tornado of bridal party prep, so that we could enjoy it the evening after our wedding.

-Some improvements I'd recommend would be to update the ballroom carpet and some of the common areas, but other than that, no complaints! One other downside is that it is expensive. If you don't care about chivari chairs, or special linens, or crazy pink uplights, then you'll save money. Spend it on the venue!

Shutters on the Beach lives up to being a "Leading Hotel of the World", and I can't wait to go back for our anniversary.

Our reception venue had to be changed at the last minute, after the invitations had already been sent. We contacted Shutters and amazingly, there was a room available for our reception. Toby Lent was our contact at Shutters and we could not have been happier to meet him and work with him. The location was perfect, the food was amazing and the day was beautiful!

I knew Shutters would be my venue as soon as I walked in. It was exactly what I had envisioned for my intimate beach wedding... simple yet elegant. Michael, the catering sales manager, and his staff were excellent to work with! He always responded promptly to emails and phone calls, and provided access to the venue whenever my planner and I needed to see it. Everything was done as agreed upon. The service provided by the catering staff was outstanding! I was looking for a package deal (food, drinks, cake, ceremony and reception site) and felt that the service and quality matched the price. It even included an oceanfront room for the wedding night. I highly recommend this venue!

We decided to have our wedding ceremony and reception at shutters on the beach hotel...and Im conflicted if I would choose this hotel again or not..but lets start on a positive note:

The positive aspect is that the promenade outdoor ceremony area overlooking the ocean is amazing! The ceremony and cocktail hour set up are amazing and I can not say more positive things. The tray passed appetizers were a hit with the guests and everyone was pleased including myself.

The negative aspects are as follows:

1. You are not allowed to do many things at shutters in terms of your ceremony. For example, you may not have ANY form of amplified music. This means if you want music to walk down the wedding aisle to, you must hire a string quartet. Even with our string quartet and piano player, the music was not loud enough...thank goodness our piano player brought an amplifier just in case...because we desperately needed it. We amplified the quartet even though shutters said not to. If you truly use no amplifier you need 2 string quartet groups in order for music to be loud enough to hear outside. That would be a total of 8 players.

You are also not allowed to use fireworks of any kind..including sparklers. You may not use a confetti cannon for the same affect as we were told that shutters staff would have to clean that up...but isnt that what were paying thousands of dollars for???

2. DO NOT be fooled by the food tasting you do at shutters. The quality you receive at the actual reception WILL NOT be the same! We had the Alaskan Halibut and Filet Mignon at our wedding. On our first tasting the halibut tasted dry and old and our catering manager stated that the halibut at that time was "out of season" and to come back for a second halibut tasting in June because halibut would be fresh and in season then. The second tasting was amazing and our catering manager/ event specialist stated that the halibut would be fresh just like this second tasting we had.
The halibut on our wedding was dry and uneatable and not one guest ate it...it was truly embarrassing. We actually had guests comment on how awful it was.. this is not what you want to hear on your wedding day and after spending over $180 per plate per person. The catering manager should not have allowed the fish to leave the kitchen.
The guests did enjoy the steak and salad however...

3. You are spending a great deal of money to have your wedding at shutters..but if you want any form of "extras" such as a blocked room rate or discount room rate, chiavari chairs, ect...you WILL NOT get it..unless you are willing to pay a premium, they will not negotiate... we finally managed to get our chaivari chairs from the sister hotel next door (casa del mar) for 4 dollars a chair... thats the amount we paid for 133 chairs for shutters to walk them next door...per chair...so with their taxes it's basically 5 dollars a chair.... keep in mind this is their sister hotel 10 feet away and no one was using the chiavari chairs at that hotel on that day....

4. Our catering manager/event coordinator.....I felt several times that he was annoyed doing his job...I am not a difficult bride and I am totally easy going, so for me to get the feeling that he was annoyed was a little unsettling. Our wedding was 40,000...and I couldnt help but feel a little uncomfortable when he would use the comment "cheap" in reference to our monogram gobo for the dance floor and throughout the wedding process. Which he managed to leave out on our wedding reception... stating that he could not hang the gobo...

On the wedding day, after ceremony I asked if there was a quick way to our room to touch up my make-up before going into the ballroom as our room was far away and in order to get there, you would have to manage to get through the crowd of guests. He did comply and take me through the kitchen stating that "usually only celebrities" would get to go through the back way , but he would allow me to at this time...

Our event manager/catering manager also stated "maybe I should let you pay for your valet this time".( after coming to our second tasting for our halibut.)
Even if he was joking...I didnt find this professional or pleasant. I replied with " dont worry we have self parked at every other meeting we have had here."

I wanted to write this review because I wanted to give a truly honest response to the quality of service we received. The hotel and or catering department have not offered anything to rectify the problem that occurred with the food and or service at this time.

Michael is extremely helpful and flexible. People raved about the tray passed appetizers. Did ceremony at church, so used pool deck for cocktail hour. Beautiful.

We had both our ceremony and reception at Shutters and have no complaints. Zero. The Catering Manager, Michael, was thorough and professional from the day I met him to the wedding day. He was punctual at all meetings, great with correspondence, and answered my many, many, many questions. On the day of the wedding he was standing by making sure everything ran smoothly. Yes, it is a pricey venue but very well worth it. The food was delicious and guests told me it was the best wedding food they'd ever had, which was wonderful to hear because I'm a complete foodie. Shutters also gave us a gorgeous suite the night of our wedding, which was decorated quite nicely with candlelight and plates of food after we returned from the reception. A very nice touch and definitely set the mood for a romantic evening. Their flat-rate price does include taxes, gratuity, cake, open bar, etc. which actually added up to being less expensive than other venues we researched. They did give our guests a block of rooms at a less expensive rate on room rentals. I have nothing but good things to say about Shutters and Michael!

I am so happy we booked Shutters. Everything was perfect. The wedding package is actually quite reasonable and included a choice of cakes (Cake Divas or Vanilla Bake Shop), and open bar for 3 hours. The food was delicious, the space was beautiful, the staff was attentive and professional. Toby was a joy to work with. Our suite was amazing and we got a great deal on it for the night before the wedding so that it would be ready for the bridal party to get ready in. My only negative is how early the guaranteed room block expires. They release the block 90 days before the event - which is 2 weeks before invitations are supposed to go out. It was very difficult on some of our guests to plan that far out so we had to arrange a second hotel block as well.

Michael Kossart at Shutters was fantastic. From beginning to end, he helped make our wedding a very special day. We would recommend our Shutters experience to anyone.

Shutters made our dream wedding come true!

Shutters is an amazing venue. Everyone associated with property and our event did a great job. Everything went off without a hitch. The staff was extremely helpful and courteous. If you're willing to spend the money, I'd highly recommend getting married there.