My husband and I got married yesterday at the Seminary, and we are so thrilled we did! We can't say enough positive things about this place- it is so beautiful and magical, people kept saying they felt like they were in Europe. We had both the ceremony and reception on Geneva Terrace, and lucked out with clear skies in the 70's during the day (end of September). During the day you can see Mt. Tamalpais in the distance, and at night we danced under a sky full of stars, including some falling ones! Debby Carrey, the event manager, was always available to answer questions and was very accommodating. We used the lovely Shaw Guest house for the wedding party lodging and our rehearsal dinner, and loved it. Some of our guests stayed in the dorms for the weekend, and really enjoyed the convenience of being on campus. We have no regrets at all. Go with the Seminary!

My husband and I got married at SFTS on 7/2/2016. First off, this venue is amazing. The view is so pretty and the buildings look like Hogwarts. Definitely one of the most romantic places ever. We fell in love with it the moment we drove into the parking lot.

We ended up having our ceremony on the patio outside of the church, overlooking the hills. I think the venue gave us about 4 hours to set up, have our ceremony, and clean up. We also got to use several rooms as the bride and groom's dressing areas. The bridal suite is beautiful. It has a grand piano, some really tall windows, mirrors, and a terrace that overlooks the ceremony location. We got some really good pictures here and the lighting was perfect. The venue also comes with white wedding chairs, which was perfect and helped us save money on rentals. Also, Debby was so flexible and professional. We had a person that was assigned to our wedding to help out with opening doors or answering any questions, and honestly that was such a help. Price for the venue was so reasonable. I would highly recommend having your wedding here!

Some cons:
- The location is a bit hard to find because Google maps tells you some weird directions.
- Parking is a bit limited. People needed to park on the hill and walk up to the terrace.
- We weren't allowed to move anything up using the elevator, so we had to get a bunch of volunteers to helps us lug sound system equipment and tables up the steep flight of stairs.
- It was pretty hot on the patio in the summer, so would recommend some type of shade, fan, or water for your guests.

My husband and I were married at the Stewart Chapel at the San Francisco Theological Seminary and had our reception on the attached Geneva Terrace this past weekend. For people looking for a similar experience, we would highly recommend it without any hesitation! The entire experience from our first visit on has been wonderful, drama-free, and very personal. Below were some of the standout points that really set SFTS apart for us.

The best unexpected part of booking SFTS was being able to work with Debby, Assistant Manager of Conference Services Weddings & Special Events, and Kristen, Chapel Coordinator of Conference Services. Debby gave us the tour and was with us every step of the way, encouraging us to email with questions as they came up and she gave us wonderful suggestions based on what she has seen before that she felt would fit our wedding. Kristen stepped in for the rehearsal and the day-of as the venue coordinator – not to be confused with a wedding day-of coordinator. She was simply perfect in her role. Kristen was warm, thoughtful, and had helpful suggestions when we asked. Much like Debby, she was attentive and made herself available for us and for all the vendors involved.

This venue is beautiful. Seriously. The terrace and the chapel are gorgeous. We wanted to be married in a chapel and since most of our guests were traveling, we had hoped to reduce transportation between the ceremony and reception. We held the ceremony in the chapel and our guests walked out, took a group shot on the terrace with the photographer above on the balcony, and cocktail hour started immediately. We were able to get all the family photos and a few couple shots and be back to the terrace for dinner within the hour. Logistically speaking, this was a huge weight to have lifted.

When we toured the space, Debby also mentioned a guest house that was available to rent with the seminary. It’s at the foot of the hill and both of our families stayed at the house and used it as command central. It was our storage place, a morning coffee destination, a place for people to hang out after the reception to send us off, and a meet-up spot for our group hike the day after. Every amenity our families needed was there and having the ceremony, reception, and guest house all together (and on one invoice) was great. We even booked a caterer at the foot of the hill (Ann Walker Catering) so everything was kept incredibly close.

We weren’t too concerned with costs, but there a few bonuses about SFTS that might be helpful to others. SFTS is a non-profit and compared to other Bay Area venues is very reasonably priced. Second, the seminary has nice tables and chairs that they include for free in the price of the space rental. We didn’t appreciate the cost savings here until we saw quotes for hauling tables and chairs in from one of the caterers. The space was clean, well tended, and we received so many compliments about how the whole thing came together. I honestly can’t think of a downside and would recommend it to anyone looking for a similar wedding near San Francisco.