Secret Garden Event Center is a wedding venue located in Phoenix, Arizona. Originally built by Walter Strong, who wished to create a home for his loving wife, the gardens are now open for events and special occasions. Couples who book this venue can bask in the glorious scenery complete with manicured lawns, stunning florals, and aging trees.
Facilities and Capacity
This venue offers a selection of both outdoor and indoor event spaces for couples to choose from, each with their own distinguishing features. Couples can wed on the Grand South Lawn, which boasts a grand staircase for the bride to make a dramatic entrance. Vows can be exchanged in front of up to 400 guests before an ornate stone altar. Some of the event areas are intrinsically entwined in history, for example, the Walster Strong Historic Home. Built in 1929, this space offers classic and traditional decor and is ideal for more intimate gatherings. The Carriage House, which has stood for over 85 years, is a charmingly rustic building which can accommodate up to 60 guests. As an alternative, couples can choose to dine underneath an 85-year-old Mesca tree. Strewn with dotted lights, this exceptional location offers a truly magical atmosphere for a romantic occasion. Before the ceremony, couples may avail of sumptuous get-ready suites to prepare for the day.
Services Offered
This venue offers a selection of packages, in addition to all-inclusive options. These include services such as a DJ, who can perform 6 hours of music and provide lighting options, and a dancefloor. The team can organize the officiant to perform the ceremony, as well as a professional florist. These vendors understand that every wedding is different, and are happy to tailor their services based on the couple’s tastes. The venue can also provide additional wedding equipment, such as:
Tables
Chiavari reception chairs
Centerpieces
Furniture
Lighting
Cuisine
Culinary needs will be taken care of by the center’s trusted catering vendor, Creative Hands Cuisine. This team can work to accommodate any style of wedding, offering buffets, plated meals, food stations and hors d'oeuvres. Desserts are also available, including the option of a chocolate fountain. Couples can avail of a menu tastings, in addition to custom designing their wedding cake. Late night snack options are also available.
This catering service will also take care of libations throughout the event. Couples may bring their own alcoholic drinks, which will be served by staff. Creative Hands Cuisine can bring a range of non-alcoholic beverages for guests, including juices, tonic waters, and pink lemonade, as well as coffee.
our wedding was on 11/2, and it was so beautiful. This venue is really incredible as it gives you options for your big day. We had 220 guests, so we were too large to have dinner inside. However, the patio behind the giant beautiful tree on the property had just been paved last year and provided a perfect place for an outdoor dinner. We ate and danced under the string lights and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. There's a beautiful fireplace out there as well that SG covers with flowers and candles. It was so romantic and beautiful and we had so many compliments from guests as most wedding dinners aren't outdoors! Then we went inside for the reception (kept the indoor/outdoor vibe going and kept the bar outside) which was lovely. We left all of the doors open so people could mingle in and out. Also, Stepheny was amazing and definitely kept me sane the last few weeks before the wedding. She has planned/managed around 2000 weddings and basically nothing fazes her. We moved our seating chart multiple times and even had a few people back out last minute that caused us to remove place settings and chairs. At the end of the night she helped us gather everything which made it so easy to pack up the cars and head out. She was great to work with and I'd absolutely recommend Secret Garden and Stepheny to anyone looking for a beautiful venue in Arizona!!
Sent on 11/04/2019
Shelby
· Married on 10/19/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Secret Garden Event Center is the venue you want!
Five stars is not enough for the Secret Garden Event Center and our coordinator Stepheny! The Secret Garden Event Center was the perfect place to have our wedding. The vendors they work with are top notch! Aside from how pretty and well maintained the venue is. The real hidden gem is their event coordinators! Our coordinator was Stepheny, and she is phenomenal! From our first email, she was extremely attentive. Any question, concern, or hiccups that came up she had an answer.. The closer we got, the more we reached out to finalize details. Without fail Stepheny always got back to us on the next business day. Even after the wedding, she got back to us on her day off! If I called she always made herself available or called back that day! When we had our tasting she was there with us. We had the good fortunate of meeting her husband, who is a chef with Creative Hands Cuisine, he was our chef for that night. We had several attendees who have dietary restrictions, including myself. Both Stepheny and Stephan know the menu inside and out. They were able to help us plan an amazing menu! We could not have had a more perfect wedding day! To be perfectly honest a good portion of that goes into how organized Stepheny and the vendors contracted with The Secret Garden Event Center are. Stepheny handled every little detail. At the end of the night she even grabbed the heels, I had changed out of and got them in a box so they made it home! I can’t even imagine how stressed if I would have been the day of the wedding, if not for Stepheny and the vendors we had! Thankfully I had no stress and that is in large part due to the fact that I knew Stepheny had it handled. She knew our wedding and all the plans inside and out, and took care of it all! Every detail Stepheny has thought of, and will be able to use her knowledge and expertise to make your event as amazing as ours! Creative Hands Cuisine will take care of any and all dietary needs! On top of that the food will be top notch! You can not find a venue with better food! The contracted cake vendor is Inspired Sugar, and the cake is amazing! We could not have asked for more delicious cake. Our guests told us best wedding cake they'd ever had! They even suggested the bakery we got gluten free cakes from, for our guests. Starz Entertainment has an amazing online portal to take you through the entertainment package process. The djs they have are top notch. Stepheny had all the details handled better than anyone else! The being said the dj we had, Brent has bringing a party to life down to a science! Fred's Florist is one of three florist we had the choice to choose from. We felt Renee with Fred's Florist connected best with us. They really added to the beauty to our event! The bouquets, centerpieces, flower girl crowns, corsages, boutonnières, chuppah, and all other decorations they were involved in were gorgeous! The only vendors we had to find outside of their package list we photography/videography and specialty cake. For photography/videography we went with RMW Photography and Videography. Rebecca and her whole team are incredible. We didn't even know they were there, unless they were giving direct instructions for photos. Specialty cake was made by Jewel's Cafe and Bakery! Guests couldn't even tell it was gluten free, or that the other specialty cake was gluten free, dairy free! Our guests are telling us we had the best wedding ever! It was made possible by The Secret Garden Event Center.
Sent on 10/28/2019
Secret Garden Event Center's reply:
Thank you Shelby for your kind words. You and your family were such a pleasure to work with and your wedding was absolutely beautiful! We wish you and David many years of happiness.
Natalie Harpe
· Married on 09/01/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Perfect Venue for Us! Loved It!
We got married here and I could not be more happy with how everything turned out. I did not get a package and hired my own vendors. The venue was extremely accommodating with me and everyone who worked on my event. Only the photographer and the baker had worked with the Garden previously, but all of my vendors felt welcomed and had a fairly smooth set up and tear down time. Their Coordinator make herself completely available to you. I was dealing with excessive heat warnings and a potential storm. They had several backup plans in place to make sure everything went smoothly, and it did! For those curious, we only experienced a lot of wind as the ceremony started. The ceremony space is outside so I don't know if I would recommend it for a summer wedding as it can get very hot. We had 3 evaporative coolers and it did not help much. But the space is beautiful, with tons of space for pictures. The entire upstairs is the bridal suite, which was plenty of room for me, my mom, and 7 bridesmaids to get ready. The Grooms room is downstairs, and had plenty of space for all the guys. There is a beautiful staircase to descend for the procession, and the tree where the ceremony is held is completely lit with lights making it a perfect backdrop for sunset and evening events. Honestly I could go on and on about how great everyone was here. Definitely check them out if you want a beautiful outdoor venue.
Sent on 09/10/2019
Secret Garden Event Center's reply:
Thank you Natalie for you amazing review. You looked absolutely beautiful in your dress and we were so honored to be a part of your special day. We wish you and Josh a lifetime of love and happiness!
The Secret Garden is a unique and truly beautiful venue. The staff will work their magic to make sure your special day runs smoothly and as planned. Please check out the wonderful packages they offer or customize your own package at this wonderful Secret Garden!
