Darlington House Reviews
Reviews
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Featured
![Luke]()
Luke Sent on 10/09/2025August Wedding
The Darlington House was the perfect setting for our wedding day. The space is breathtaking and incredibly versatile, allowing us to create the exact atmosphere we envisioned. From the ceremony to the reception, everything flowed beautifully, and the natural beauty of the venue made for unforgettable photos. Our guests were blown away by how gorgeous it was. We loved the Darlington House and highly recommend it! -
![Alex]()
Alex Sent on 07/28/2024Perfect venue for the perfect day
The Darlington house was the perfect venue for our wedding day. My wife and I instantly knew it was the venue for us and it did not disappoint. Inside and out it was eloquent and full of charm. We received numerous compliments and were so happy to have our special day at the Darlington House. -
![Cara]()
Cara Sent on 03/23/2022Such a lovely place
Only great things to say about Darlington House! We rescheduled three times due to the pandemic, and the folks at Darlington House made it incredibly easy and stress free. The grounds are beautiful; it's very much like you're getting married on someone's supremely gorgeous and private estate. Carly was wonderful to work with and we can't recommend Darlington House enough. -
![Andrew]()
Andrew Sent on 05/13/2021The best venue in Southern California
We could not have asked for a better venue. The place looked like out of a storybook, and our guests were wowed by it. The value and staff make this a steal as well. Highly recommend for anyone who doesn’t want a cookie cutter wedding. -
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Britt Sent on 09/20/2019
Darlington House magic
Our Darlington House wedding was magical and exceeeded our expectations. The house was built for entertaining, it has a perfect flow for wedding activities. The property is charming, expansive and luxurious, for an amazing price. Our floral bill was only for the tabletop because the property has gardens everywhere. Carly was our liaison and she was very patient, helpful and courteous. -
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![Parastou]()
Parastou Sent on 09/05/2019Intimate, romantic garden wedding with lots of character!
Love, love, love Darlington House! It was the perfect setting for our wedding and can't recommend it enough.
Intimate and unique: We had 125 guests at our wedding on August 18 and the venue was a perfect size and fit for the elegant, intimate and warm wedding we envisioned. I didn't want the typical hotel ballroom wedding - this venue is the complete opposite, TONS of character! We planned each portion of our wedding in different areas of the venue so there was a beautiful flow and our guests loved moving from area to area.
Awesome photos: this venue has so many gorgeous backdrops that you will have such a great variety of photos. The beach is super close by so you can walk there during golden hour with your photographer and snap some awesome pictures.
Management: Carly was super accommodating with many of our requests and my frazzled bride emails, thank you, Carly! Volunteers there are very sweet and helpful. Thank you!
Don't let the 930pm end time put you off - we started early (3pm invite time) and six hours of event time was more than enough. We didn't feel rushed. We also had a Sunday wedding so that probably helped. We had an afterparty booked nearby and it was the perfect ending (if you need recs, just message me. I researched every option in La Jolla!).
Yes, the venue doesn't come with anything so you must bring in everything yourself BUT it's an opportunity to customize it exactly how you like it (trust me, you would end up upgrading chairs and what not and paying more at a hotel anyway) and all the wedding vendors in the area have worked there so they will know what to do. Ashley with Always Flawless Productions was our planner and she was amazing as she's planned so many weddings there, highly recommend her!
Cherry on top: it's a nonprofit, so your venue costs are going towards a good cause.
Thank you, Darlington House, for a beautiful, magical day! -
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![Sara]()
Sara Sent on 06/28/2019Stunning venue
After taking one look at Darlington House I knew it was the perfect location for our wedding day! I could not have pictured a more beautiful location for my wedding reception. All of our guests were raving about the the gorgeous courtyard, flowers and library and said it was the best weddings venue they had ever seen. We had 150 guests and a pretty large dance floor in the middle and we were extremely comfortable. Carly and staff did an AMAZING job making sure everything went smoothly. I cannot recommend Darlington House enough!! -
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![liesel]()
Annaliese Sent on 09/15/2010The Darlington house was a great venue....it really matched the look and feel we were going for. The staff is friendly and always open to having you come in and take a look and walk around. Emily, the site coordinator for events is super professional and is straightforward. The best part for me and my husband is that the money you use to pay for renting the place, goes to the "Social Service League" which houses low income seniors in the apartments right next door. So your money goes to a good cause...AND...they event make sure to tell you to claim it on your taxes!!
They were ver accomodating with timing issues and start time issues we had. Terry was very willing to accomodate and understood my concerns. Emily let us bring our stuff in a day early.There is a docent there that makes sure that people are complying with the house rules and kids dont break anything....This was actually really nice to have them there
There are a ton of rooms that people can gather in...we made one a babysitting room and the other room people used for drinking thier tea/coffee. The library housed the bar.....it was truly a nice set up and very unique
Tips:
your reception cant go past 10pm...so think about that.
and also they open the doors 30 min prior to your start time but your catering services/alcohol has to start at your actual start time not at that "30 min" prior mark
Parking might be an issue. It wasnt for us, but it depends on time of year and time of day. -
![Ashlea]()
Ashlea Sent on 07/30/2014Where do I even start with this breathtaking venue?! I knew the moment I stepped onto the premises that this would be the “the one.” My husband (then-fiancé) and I wanted a location where we could house the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception in one place while still having an intimate feel. The Darlington House, being a historic estate, did just that and more as it exuded warmth and charm along the way.
There are several rules along with the booking of the house, which a few brides may not be down with, but I ran into absolutely no problems. There is a noise ordinance, since everything is held outdoors, but my DJ (DJ Phreek Music and Lighting) did an amazing job at keeping within the limits and still pumping the dance floor up. There are also some limitations on the caterers and the time the wedding must end, but I found the venue’s list of caterers to be extensive and fantastic and the 10pm end time was perfect for my guests!
There really is no way to capture the true essence of The Darlington House just by looking at pictures, so I recommend you go for a site visit or if you can’t, try to take a look at any cinematic films from a wedding held at the space. The pictures from ANY wedding at this venue are gorgeous but in person you can hear the birds chirping, feel the slight ocean breeze, smell the bounty of flowers and feel the tinge of magic from the grounds of the estate.
I absolutely loved The Darlington House (if you can’t already tell) and I received many compliments from guests who said they felt as if they were in a movie during the whole wedding! If you are looking for an intimate, non-cookie cutter space that is oozing with character, this is most certainly the venue for you – I couldn’t have imagined my wedding anywhere else! -
![Brittany]()
Brittany Sent on 06/17/2024Perfect venue for our 65 person wedding
The staff were professional from day 1, the pricing/time options for renting the venue covered a good range, and their suggested vendors list was very helpful. The house and garden were so lovely that we really didn't need to put any effort into decorating aside from the tables themselves. We used one of their coordinators (Perfect Day by Renee) who got married herself at DH and has worked there for years, so it was truly seamless. -
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![Ruthie]()
Ruthie Sent on 01/22/2010The Darlington House is such a beautiful spot and was the perfect place for our wedding. It has a beautiful garden and numerous patio areas that held all of our guests comfortably. People continued to rave and rave about how gorgeous the space was. All the people that we encountered at the Darlington House were all very sweet and happy to have us there. -
![Monica]()
Monica Sent on 05/05/2026A Beautiful and Memorable Wedding Venue
Darlington House is a truly beautiful wedding venue, and overall, we had a good experience hosting our wedding there. The grounds were spotless, the landscaping and different spaces were so pretty that we needed very little additional decor, and our guests had a great time. We were also able to schedule unlimited walkthroughs leading up to the wedding, which was really helpful, and there were no issues with setup, teardown, or getting our security deposit back.
Communication with Carly, the venue coordinator, was always quick and professional through the venue’s portal. She sent reminders about vendor COIs and other important information, which helped keep us on track leading up to the wedding.
My biggest advice to other couples would be to read the contract in full and make sure you are comfortable with the venue’s rules before booking. Given that it is a historic site, the rules are extremely specific and there is very little flexibility, so you have to be willing to get creative within their guidelines. In our experience, if we asked for an exception to a rule, the answer was no.
The biggest challenge for us was the lack of a built-in rain plan at the venue level. There was no flexibility to use indoor spaces in case of inclement weather, so we had to spend a pretty significant amount on a tent to ensure the day would go smoothly. That said, Carly was helpful in guiding us toward vendors and coordinating with another couple so we could split the tent cost, which we really appreciated.
Overall, Darlington House is a gorgeous venue, and the actual wedding day went smoothly; we loved it. If you love the vibe and are prepared to work within the rules, it can be a beautiful place to get married!
Photo: @byalexaleigh Planner/Florals: @franceslovesfrancis Tent/Disco: @eventpartyrentals -
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![User1893496]()
User1893496 Sent on 10/29/2014The Darlington House is a beautiful place for a wedding (or any event). Rain interrupted our big day but they worked with me to change plans and make more use of the house than we were originally planning. Absolutely love the grounds...only downside is music/food/drinks stopping at 9 and rushing to get everything and everyone out of the house at 9:30. -
![Christina]()
Christina Sent on 09/08/2011Lovely place if you are looking for a small gathering, which we were. The Music and Bar must stop at 9:30 p.m. not bad if you are ready to end the party, paid extra to stay until 10:00 p.m. but most guest left once the bar and music ended. You have to be out at 10:00 p.m. on the dot, but we were aware of this from the begining. People were friendly- again the Darlington House is a very lovey place. -
![Julie]()
Julie Sent on 08/10/2013I love this venue. Our experience was amazing. The style of this house complimented our day creating a one stop location for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. The only bump we ran into was with the bar. in order to save some cash we arranged to have a keg dropped off the day of the wedding at 10am. Our ceremony was at 4pm and the staff waited until after our ceremony to tell us we could not have a keg. It would have been nice if they had told us that morning. They are not very flexible with their rules but if you go into the day knowing what you can and can't do it isn't a big deal. The staff is nice, friendly and helpful. I had a great experience even with the keg mishap. I received rave reviews about the location from my guests. Keep in mind that no ceremony or reception rentals are included so you should be prepared to pay a little more for this space. You will also need to arrange for valet because parking here is not accommodating for large events. Well worth the cost in my opinion. Loved getting married in this beautiful location. -
![abutler11784]()
Ashley Sent on 04/27/2010I will start by saying that I LOVE the Darlington House and can't imagine a more beautiful spot for my reception. I wouldn't change a thing. I will warn potential brides that there are a lot of hidden costs, since you have to rent EVERYTHING- tables, chairs, dance floor, flatware, dinnerware, etc. You can save a major cost because you can bring in your own alcohol (and have a licensed bartender serve it), but just beware when you are checking out venues. Also, it's a historic home, so during your wedding there will be ladies who "supervise." Beware, these women are AWFUL! I heard from multiple guests that they were outright rude to them. At the end of the night we went outside to do sparklers, and the ladies would not let my own mother go back inside to grab the flowers and table decorations. My bridesmaid left her purse in and the docent wouldn't let her go back in! Just know that once the alloted time is up, you have to be out, no exceptions.
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