Deering Estate Reviews

I own and operate a catering company called Miami Grill Catering. As a seasoned caterer, I've had the privilege of working at numerous venues. Deering Estate in Miami truly stands out. This historic gem not only offers a breathtaking backdrop for weddings but also makes every caterer's job a breeze.

The event team is great to collaborate with, ensuring seamless communication and execution. The picturesque gardens and bay views provide an unparalleled setting for unforgettable events.

Deering Estate elevates the catering experience, and I'm always thrilled to be part of events here. Highly recommended!

Deering Estate was perfect. It's such a beautiful venue with amazing character and history. Their events team is awesome - super responsive and sweet and helpful. What a perfect venue, that's all I can say. It was everything I ever wanted and more.

It was a dream wedding , very spacious easy to work with

We loved how everything turned out for our wedding. The property is just beautiful and left us with some really great memories. Thank you and all your staff for all the assistance during the planning process and the day of the wedding! Everyone was always so nice, attentive and helpful! It really turned out to be a dream wedding! Anyone looking for a fabulous venue should definitely check out Deering Estate!!
-M & O (9/23/2017)

Deering is the perfect backdrop for portraits. We also loved the fact we could have dinner in the courtyard and the dancing inside; and the flexibly we got from booking our own vendors.

Beautiful Venue! So many great spots for photos. Very rustic and romantic!

In all honesty, I was planning this wedding from out of town so I didn't really have much personal interaction with the vendor representative as my wedding planner interacted with them to set everything up like the researsal at the venue. The venue itself is gorgeous. When everything is set up, it gives the guests a feeling of awe and grandeur walking down the tree lined aisle to the bay that is framed by gorgeous palm trees, sun shining above it all. It was even more wonderful that my caterer was there to provide beverages at the entrance for them to enjoy as they walked down to the ceremony site. It rained on my wedding day. We had gorgeous sunshine for our first look photos but half way through the ceremony the thunder clouds started rolling in. Luckily our Officiant recognized this and expedited the ceremony. The venue was even more beautiful when we had a gorgeous rainbow spread across the ceremony arch during the ceremony. I loved the versatility and the charm of this venue. We had a dressing room across from the grand ball room. And our reception was out in the courtyard. We ended up getting a clear tent due to the predicted rain and it was gorgeous out in the courtyard with the lights and the centerpieces. I would definitely recommend doing the reception in the courtyard, even if it rains rather than squeezing everyone inside the ballroom. We had ~ 100 guests for the wedding.

Deering Estate is a stunning location for any Miami wedding. It's a beautiful, natural setting and the actual estate has so many uses for a wedding. I used the library for desserts, the courtyard for a gorgeous outdoor dinner and the ballroom for dancing. It is a much better value than Viscaya and there event team is top notch!

What can I say! I love this venue! We had a fabulous wedding here! Thank you~!

Gorgeous venue and professional events team. Comped our site visit as well as everyone for our rehearsal. We had planners from their preferred vendor list (Events on a Budget), so they knew the routine with what was acceptable and not as far as set up, noise, hours, etc. There are a lot of rules, for example I was surprised to learn you cannot drop flower petals (or anything for that matter), on the lawn/aisle. With such a stunning back drop for our ceremony we didn't mind sticking to the rules they have in place. They did allow set up of vintage furniture for cocktail hour and heat lamps for our dinner in the courtyard. Whenever we called they got back to us the same day, and were always pleasant!

Between the amazing weather, the beautiful view of the water, the stone house and the courtyard, I definitely had my fairytale wedding. The great part is, that in one location you technically have 3 different venues. I had my ceremony by the water, cocktail hour at the courtyard and reception in the stone house. All my guests were completely blown away!

I first visited the Deering Estate back when I was touring my different wedding venues. It was my last stop for the day, after visiting a couple of country clubs. As soon as my mother, sister and I entered the gates to the estate our jaws immediately dropped and that is when I knew I had to get married there. The long walkway with the high tree canopy over it, the Stone House, the Richmond Cottage, the huge royal palms and view of Biscayne Bay made this place stand out so much. It just felt different than any other place. The Deering Estate is elegant, but not over the top and it has so much natural beauty that it really cannot be beat, and the views of the water make it a perfect waterfront location without sand! My guests still can't stop talking about how amazing of a place it was, and it is wonderful that you get the location to yourself for the evening. I knew I wanted a ceremony and reception location all in one, so that guests didn't have to drive somewhere in between and the deering estate was perfect. The transition from the lawn for the ceremony, to the porch and lawn for cocktail hour, to the courtyard (STUNNING) for the reception, and then inside the ballroom for dancing made it so perfect. This is the perfect place for a dream wedding!

awesome and luxurious place!! everything was amazing

Few places are as beautiful and picturesque as The Deering Estate at Cutler. The views of the water, the regality of the house, the dance floor inside the mansion, the palmtree-lined walkways...I could go on and on. This place is hands-down one of the most beautiful locations in all South Florida to have a wedding. Book early because a lot of other brides think this way as well!!!

The Deering Estate is such a beautiful location. Jenna is awesome to work with and very helpful.

My wedding at Deering was incredible. I first went to Deering when I was 12 or 13 with my father, an attorney, for a bar association event. I remember how beautiful it was in this rustic, majestic, old Florida sort of way. I decided then and there that Deering was where I wanted to get married. My own wedding day was far more beautiful than that evening and far more magical than anything I had imagined.

While many brides I talk to have always had Viscaya on their minds as a number one choice, I think the Deering's smaller size and history made the affair a bit more intimate. Also, because it is rustic and natural beauty, rather than brilliant chandelier sparkle beauty, our decor really looked spectacular and was not overshadowed by the venue.

The staff at Deering was incredibly accommodating in terms of flexing their normal rules to suit my vision of the wedding.

I have talked to some brides that were concerned with the shabby bathrooms (it is a public park owned and operated by Miami Dade County), but we handled that by ensuring they were clean, that each bathroom was appropriately decorated with our flowers and offered a nice collection of soaps, lotions, hairspray, etc. so that it had a nicer feel for guests.

We had the ceremony outside facing the water despite warnings that it had rained earlier in the day and the grass may be flooded. I decided to risk the possibility of additional rain and have the ceremony on the grass but set back a little farther than where we had planned (the grass was still a little wet). We were in luck, it did not rain and the ceremony was beautiful. It was at 5:45 in September and a little warm so we gave all the guests fans and lemonade basil drinks. The pictures show amazing yellow light falling down behind my father and I as we walked down the aisle.

I highly recommend this venue to anyone considering it. Another nice thing with selecting this venue is the fact that the funds spent go back to Miami Dade Public Parks.

Those Deering Brothers sure knew how to live large. While James was importing Italian marble for his little winter cottage, Vizcaya, brother Charles was building this sprawling bayside mansion. The 1922 estate included…
When me and my formally Fiancé visit the Venue, We knew this was going to be our venue!! The staff was the best.

Besides being a beautiful venue, the employees are very courteous and are always willing to help with any issues..I was very pleased with the staff the day of the wedding..The securitys were very friendly and professional...Truly an exceptional place to have your wedding..=) ts a little expensive but at the end of the day it is a beautiful venue and the scenery is spectacular!

This place is an absolute dream!!! Leslie, the wedding coordinator, is really helpful and it was such a pleasure working with her.

The team at the Deering Estate is super accommodating, helpful, and responsive (note during peak booking months, it may take a few days for them to respond, but they are prompt in getting back to you without much delay)! I knew that I wanted to get married at this venue as it's very close to home, and an truly unparalleled historic home & waterfront property. Get the vibes of Vizcaya at a much more affordable rate and in an intimate setting. One of the most important factors for me when looking for a venue was having the flexibility to hire any vendors I wanted (caterer, florist, entertainment, etc), and there were no restrictions at Deering. If you're someone who is comfortable with and wants to hand-select your own vendors, then you'll enjoy the flexibility of picking anyone you want to work with without a restricted or preferred vendor list. Our guests loved being able to explore the home and grounds, and enjoy cocktail hour overlooking the bay plus dinner under the tree canopy of the open courtyard. It's a truly magical and hidden gem, and a perfect wedding venue for anyone looking for a historic location that can accommodate large and small parties (and closed to the public during private events so you don't have uninvited guests participating in the party). It's also a flexible site that can easily adapt to decor themes ranging from art deco and vintage to modern glam, rustic, or beachy. Lastly, the parking was so easy with the visitor parking lot right outside the main gates—no need for guests to hunt for spots or for you to hire a valet service.

The venue was a beautiful. There wasn't one person that didn't tell me how beautiful this place was. For what you pay you get a really large area for the wedding. I had the cocktail party out on a lawn right in front of the water. Then the dancing was inside what they call the stone house. Which the walls & ceiling are beautiful. Then the dinner was at the courtyard right in front of the stone house. So you get a large area to use for the price. I had a lot of children at my wedding and they were able run & play on the lawn b/c it was a large area and parents didn't have to tell their kids to behave like you would if you were at a smaller venue.

We had a great experience with Deering but would not recommend this venue without a planner or very full-service caterer! Since it is such a blank slate, it is beautiful and can be completely made your own, but it’s challenging to manage bringing together so many vendors. I’m not sure we could’ve done it without our planner! Additionally, rain from a few days before our event meant that the lawn was wet and we needed to move around cocktail hour.

I got married at the Deering Estate in December, and it is the most beautiful venue! The waterfront lawn makes a gorgeous backdrop for the ceremony, and the courtyard was a beautiful space for our reception. The venue was easy to work with and offered a lot of flexibility in relation to COVID. It’s not the cheapest venue, but it is stunning. I also liked having the flexibility to bring 8n our own vendors for everything rather than being stuck with only a couple options like how it is with some other venues.

Gorgeous location!! My wedding was absolutely gorgeous!! Location is beautiful I had the reception by the water and reception inside.. Everyone loved the location. I got beautiful pictures.. Only one small issue is since the location is a historical site there is many rules and regulations.. Make sure you go over all rules before booking so you don't get any surprises... However despite the rules location and staff is great! If I had to do it over again I wouldn't change anything... I loved the location and was very happy with the venue for my reception!

Deering Estate is an incredibly special and unique venue (spectacular views, beautiful grounds and charming, historical home) and we loved every minute of our wedding there. The only drawback in service is Leslie in the event's dept. but her colleague, Candy, was wonderful and made sure our special day was perfect.

I could not be any happier with our choice of the Deering Estate. It was stunning and all of our guests have been telling us how beautiful everything was. Jena was so sweet and a total delight to work with, and really went out of her way to make everything special.

The flexibility to bring in whichever vendors you wanted was a huge plus.

All in all, would do it again in a heartbeat!

Beautiful venue! My wedding was absolutely beautiful due to the greenery of this venue! A big "Thank you" to the staff at The Deering Estate!

Deering Estate was an absolute dream for a winter wedding in South Florida. We chose Deering because of the setting on Biscayne Bay, the flexibility to use the vendors we chose, the ease of inviting additional friends and family to the wedding, and being able to support a local museum. The events team is very organized, rules for the venue are clearly laid out and it was easy for our vendors to work with the location. On the day of the wedding, we had manatees in the bay and flocks of egrets flying overhead to roost during our vows. Spectacular and stunning location.

Deering is absolutely beautiful! It is a bit pricey and they do have a lot of rules, but absolutely worth the breathtaking views and grounds. The bathrooms could use a little sprucing up, but I absolutely recommend this venue if you are looking for a unique, beautiful space. Other than Vizcaya, there is nothing else that even comes close.

The venue is beautiful. I received many compliments from my guests.

Deering Estate truly turned my wedding into a fairytale. We had many guests from out of town that ooh'ed and ahh'ed at the gorgeous scenery such as the bay, the palm trees, and the enchanting historic estate. We were lucky that it didn't rain as most of the events took place outside. The one complaint was that during Christmas season they have many christmas decorations and a huge Christmas tree in the ballroom which they did not let us remove. However, everything else was great!

The venue was absolutely gorgeous and I have no regrets using this place. My only negative comment is that they force shutdown at 10:30pm; however, our party continued well into the night in Coconut Grove.

On February 18, 2017, my daughter had her wedding at The Deering Estate. Guests arrived at 5 pm. They were married down by the water and it was spectacular. The pre-reception cocktail party was held on the lawn just outside of the screened porch and it was charming. The dinner reception was in the courtyard and the setting could not have been more perfect. The dancing was in the ballroom, which was naturally beautiful, but it was very hot after only a few minutes. This price for the venue is a little high as it only includes the use of the Estate and nothing else. They also charge fees associated with Parks & Recreation and you are required to hire their security personnel depending upon the size of your event. We had to hire an outside catering company, bakery, and lighting company, in addition to the guitar ensemble for the procession, the DJ, and other fun surprises, which added a little stress to the planning, but we knew that from the beginning. It was a little difficult getting in touch and staying in touch with the staff, but everything worked out in the end. The staff and security were very pleasant, professional, and helpful. All-in-all it was a wonderfully memorable experience. If you have any questions about our experience with The Deering Estate, please feel free to email me at questionsaboutmyreview@gmail.com

The venue is stunning. Depending on the amount of guests you have can you do everything inside or outside, there are capacity limits so keep that in mind while looking here. The stone house is beautiful - it seems a little small when you think of the tables and chairs but it really is the perfect size. We had about 75 people at our reception and it was the perfect size. You cannot move the piano as it is a historical artifact but you don't even notice it at the wedding. The bar is staged just outside the stone house. They do not provide anything for you expect for a space for your wedding and room for the caterers to prep your meals or whatever you decide. The lawn was perfectly manicured and everything was pristine and beautiful. We shopped a couple of different outdoor places, Fairchild tropical gardens, Postcard in, the Kampong, and this was definitely the best if you wanted water side with a nice indoor venue for after since it is Miami and it is hot here. It was well worth it.

Deering Estate is such a gorgeous place! it couldnt have been more perfect for my romantic wedding. We had many out of town guest so I wanted them to experience the beauty of Miami with all of the palm trees and water. People are still talking about how gorgeous the venue was and how hey felt like they were in a beautiful villa. I'm happy with my decision to have my wedding here but I must say the wedding planning was so stressful because the list of rules was pages and pages long...some of the rules were understandable and some completely rediculous. Not allowing music outside or uplighting inside were some that I really had a struggle with. Another negative was that one of the guards was very rude at the end of the wedding...the dj went over the end time by a couple of minutes because the guest encouraged him to play one more song and the guard basically made a scene having the dj turn off all music mid song. He couldve been more discrete about it or just waited 1 more minute for the song to be over.

I dreamed of getting married here since I was a small child and my dream came true. It is a beautiful location and the amazing views are practically uncomparable. There was a change in coordinators after I booked the event. There were some promises made to me that were not fufilled but I learned my lesson and next time I will get everything in writing! The new coordinator did try very hard to accomodate some of the requests though. Regardless the wedding turned out beautifully and was everything I had dreamed of and more. My guests came from all over the US and were floored by the beautiful venue. The value is a little off because there are other venues in South Florida in the same class and price range but offer much more amenities. Nevertheless it is worth every penny spent and it is a histirical site so you can expect to pay a little more than average.

Deering is a great venue for the wedding. Jenna was very flexible in meeting some last minute preparations. The grounds were clean and very well maintained. The walk to where the ceremony is a bit long, but otherwise the premises are amazing. Deering does has some restrictions regarding the reception so it is important to read the guidelines. All in all, Deering is a beautiful place to have a wedding and captures the great essence of the Biscayne Bay.

The Deering Estate is a gorgeous venue! Perfect for the bride that wants to bring in her own vendors and coordinate everything. They are really strict on the rules - no candles, stakes in the ground, forklifts, cars inside the estate, etc, but since it is an historic site, it is understandable. Even though it rained right before the ceremony, the venue was still gorgeous, and we even got amazing pictures with a rainbow over the water. The staff was helpful and very easy to work with!

Deering Estate is BEAUTIFUL!
Its extremely hard to get a hold of the event coordinator.
There was also trash around the lawn that I had friends picking up during the rehearsal the day before the wedding and when the wedding ceremony was being setup.

Despite its flaws, the views are gorgeous! I still wouldn't have picked another place despite its flaws.

A beautiful and breath taking venue. Just make sure that you have a back up plan because of the weather.

The Deering estate offered a beautiful backdrop for our wedding and offered a great way to create a unique wedding. We were truly happy with the flow of our wedding. This venue is for those comfortable with an A'la carte style. So be bold and make this your choice if you truly want to have a wedding venue as unique as yourself.

The deering estate is probably one of the most beautiful places to have your wedding. I personally had my reception in the courtyard and it was a dream come true! Nevertheless, they have many restrictions, such as not being able to put poles to put lights or orbs, there cannot be any open flames, and you cannot put petals on the floor. These are just a few of the many restrictions they impose on you, if you are planning to go with them, just make sure you are aware of the restrictions before you make your final decision.

The venue itself is amazing , the view is priceless . Leslie was hard to reach but Candy was very helpful and responsive . I was called the day before the wedding and told there was spackle on the walls inside the house , because the house was under reconstruction . Leslie asked if this would be a problem and said no but I wondered would it of made a difference if it was ? They weren't going to fix it , so why call ? I wouldn't of even noticed , extra stress I didn't need. Other than that the wedding was amazing , I would do it again in a heart beat.

The place is beautiful and historic but be aware of extra charges.I got back less than half of my down payment for just in case of repairs from vendor's damages.They told me that they fixed damages from the food caterer but never gave us a receipt of the work done.

deeding its beautiful however, the management team does not do a good job at maintaining the place or taking care of issues that are brought up before weddings, the mosquito, wasps situation in deeding its horrible and management doesn't care about it. they also are constantly changing the rules and days before the event you need to change your plans. the best about deeding its how beautiful it is.

Let me preface this review by saying I usually never write bad reviews or really reviews in general but I feel like I need to for other brides. Honestly, the venue is beautiful and the view itself is great but I don’t know that I would have my wedding here again if I had to do it over. Christina is who you deal with and she is great and very nice but it seems she has very little influence over decisions being made. There were several issues I’ll mention but the general theme is that the venue is extremely unhelpful and doesn’t care about your event at all. I went to see the venue with my planner a week before my wedding and was told that all but two of the lights that shine on the palm trees at night were broken and would not be fixed. Remembering that the palm trees and the view are 80% of the reason people choose this venue, I was pretty upset by this. The venue said there was nothing they could do about it and they wouldn’t budge on the price despite this significant detail. So instead of the cool palm trees at night, they were all (all but 2 on the same side) totally out of view once the sun set. The second big issue at the time was that there were huge ditches in the middle of the grass (like at least 20x20 ft and about a foot deep). I told them this was extremely unsightly and also a hazard to older guests and ask that it please be filled in by wedding day. A week later (the day before the wedding) we show up and are told that grass was ordered but wouldn’t be there in time. So the next day there was just a huge patch filled with dirt that became a big mud ditch with rain. Had we known with any more notice then we literally would have done the job ourselves because it truly looked terrible but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect the venue you’re paying $9000 for to take care of such a simple task... When we had gone the week prior we tried walking through the grass and it was soo long it was hard to even walk in. We asked if they’d be cutting it and they told us yes. They did cut the grass (hardly) but on wedding day it was still so long and annoying to walk in. Seemed like another easy task that the venue could’ve taken care of.

Our entire wedding was scheduled and planned for outside. The forecast called for rain during our cocktail hour so we asked the day before if we could move that one hour inside as a last resort if we absolutely needed to (I still wanted and planned for it outside and our ceremony forecast was clear and we had a tent for the reception). We were told that to add the “historic garden house” it would be another $3200. Yes, $3200 in addition to the $9000 you’re already paying just to have one inside room as a absolute last resort for ONE HOUR that you don’t intend on using.

Our ceremony went great and then it started to rain shortly after. All of our guests just went under our reception tent but we didn’t have any time or space to take pictures with our families. We were hoping the venue would let us inside for 20 mins to do this but of course the security guard told us no. It just blows my mind how little regard they can have for the importance of the day for people and not even be willing to let the bride and groom and their parents inside for some pictures with all the money you pay. Lastly, during the wedding they locked the door close to outside and forced guests to walk around the entire building in the rain just to get to the restroom (which is included in your contract).
The venue is also extremely strict with the vendors and drop off/pick up times and overall just very hard to work with from what I was told. The list goes on and on but this is already long enough.

Overall for the amount of money you pay along with how inflexible and unhelpful the venue is really should make you think twice about this venue. There are plenty of other options in Miami that I’m sure would treat you better on your special day when you have plenty other to worry about.