Museum of Photographic Arts Reviews

We had our wedding reception at the MOPA and could not have been happier with it! It's such a unique spot, with a great space and beautiful gallery, so we didn’t have to bring in a lot of extra decor (big relief!), but also had plenty of opportunity to make it our own. We had around 110 guests and thought the space was a great size, with plenty of room for tables and dancing. We had the ceremony in one of the nearby courtyards, and loved everything about the whole experience.

Melissa is the event coordinator there and one of the main reasons that we chose the venue and had such an amazing day! She responded quickly to our (many) questions, had a wealth of information and suggestions, was very organized, and overall just made everything so much easier and stress-free. She went out of her way to help us with not only the reception venue, but also choosing and booking the ceremony space and suggesting other vendors. She also worked with our coordinator to come up with the arrangement of the space.

On the day of the wedding, everything went so smoothly. The Museum staff also deserves a big thank you for their work, as they did a great job breaking down the museum space, cleaning everything, and getting it ready for the reception. Everything was well coordinated, the space was prepared quickly, and it was opened up for the vendors to set everything up like clockwork.

We really can’t say enough good things about it, and would absolutely recommend it!

We just had our reception at the MOPA and we could not be happier! The place is amazing and very classy! I was a "lazy" bride... I had 4 months to plan everything and the MOPA and Balboa park was love at the first sight :). We did the ceremony outdoor but the MOPA also has an indoor theatre can be used for the ceremony. But having the option to do the ceremony outdoor right there was an instant attraction for me.
Melissa, the special event manager at the MOPA is the best! She gave me so many great ideas and helped me to get the permit for the outdoor ceremony, planned the floor and seating, very promptly answered all of my last minute questions! We had a small wedding (36 people). With very nicely positioned tables, the space was like perfectly sized for the event. The best part of the venue is that we don't need to decorate it! Because all of the exhibits were stunning decoration by themselves. With uplights brought by the DJ, the place was stunning! We and the guests had so much fun and I can't say enough of it! Thank you, MOPA!!!

Ever since moving to San Diego, I had always dreamed of a wedding in Balboa Park. I had never been to the MOPA before, but when I found glowing reviews of it online and saw the pictures of it, I was immediately in love. Fortunately, my now husband loved it too. It was the only venue we actually visited because once we saw the space in person and met Melissa the coordinator, we knew that was where we wanted our reception. Melissa is an absolute joy and made the planning process not only easy and stress free, but fun! When there was a change in the exhibit, Melissa and the MOPA Director worked with us to make sure that our vision could still come to life. And when the forecast said rain (and our ceremony and cocktail hour were both planned for outside), Melissa worked with us to come up with a great backup plan (which we thankfully didn't need). I could go on and on about the night itself, but let me just say, it was PERFECT. When I walked in for the first time, I was overwhelmed by how gorgeous the everything looked and with a wedding of 60 people, the place felt spacious but cozy. The MOPA staff was amazing, as was the recommended caterer, and best of all, our guests, LOVED it, and loved that they got to walk around and check out the art and activities. In the end, we had the perfect wedding with a unique juxtaposition between our ceremony and cocktail hour in front of the Botanical Building and then the reception in the sleek, modern MOPA.

My nonprofit organization rented the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theater inside of MOPA to host a Sound of Music Sing-Along fundraiser event. It was a great success and fun for the whole family! Everyone gawked at the theater as they entered, because it is visually stunning and the photos don't do it justice. The staff were so friendly and helpful. And the audience loved it so much that they’re already asking us when the next one will be! It couldn’t have gone better. Thank you to the MOPA team so much for making this such a positive and enjoyable experience.

Thank YOU and your entire team. Everyone was very helpful and professional. It was a pleasure working with you.

We had our wedding reception at the museum on August 20th, 2011, and we could not have been happier with our choice of venue. As other reviewers have said, the museum provides a contemporary look and feel, while providing an awesome location in the historic Balboa Park, with all the wonderful photo opportunities. The atrium, which is used for the reception, is a large rectangular space, with very high ceilings, huge skylights, and clean white walls that provide endless possibilities for decoration (we had a number of uplights set up along the walls, and that worked out perfectly in accenting all the floral arrangements and other decorations). We had our ceremony at the Zoro Garden, which is an awesome outdoor venue next door to the museum. The museum also offers the use of its theater for the ceremony, which we did not use. We also utilized the photobooth option from the museum, which was a great addition to our wedding, and which we used as a party favor for our guests. Our guests also had access to the museum exhibits, which was wonderful. Finally, we also used the projectionist offered by the museum, which displayed various photos of us throughout the night, and incorporated some Powerpoint presentations for toasts from our guests.

One of the best parts of choosing this venue is getting to plan your wedding with Melissa Pfeiffer, who is the special events coordinator with the museum. In one word, she is amazing! Melissa worked with us throughout the planning process. She was very responsive to all of our communications, accommodating with all of our requests, and very flexible with numerous changes that we made throughout the process. Melissa went out of her way to make sure we are happy with everything, and that everything turned out exactly how we wanted. Melissa was also the day-of coordinator at the museum, and everything went flawlessly. Her and the rest of the museum staff are wonderful, and we couldn't have been happier!

We wanted a unique venue that would be able to accommodate a mix of contemporary and traditional where we could have both the ceremony and reception in one place....we found EXACTLY what we were looking for at MOPA. When we first saw the photos of the space online, we thought there was no way we could afford such an incredible venue, but for both the ceremony location and reception venue (where we could actually have our own vendors!), including day-of MOPA staff, we were shocked at what we actually paid.

The theater space was so beautiful and it was something that some of our out-of-town guests had never even dreamed of for a wedding! Nothing like getting hitched indoors but under the stars at the same time! Included was the assistance of a projectionist so that you get music and lighting.

The reception space (though it looks tight for 120-140 people) is actually very reasonable and having access to the galleries is an amazing treat. Maybe it's not for everyone, but our lively family LOVED the unlimited access to the in-house photobooth which can also be rented for about 1/2 the cost of going to a private company. We now have a stack of photo strips of our family and friends for our wedding album since the booth prints 2 strips per visit! :)

The venue is really awesome. The one drawback is that there can be some logistical challenges. There isn't a full kitchen so you need a caterer who is comfortable with that evironment. We went with TOAST who was AMAZING. They recommended renting an oven (only $250 more) which was totally worth it so that much of the food could be cooked onsite and not just pre-cooked/reheated. There is a loading dock but it has an elevator so if you have any family/friends doing flowers, cake, etc. like we did, it's a LOT of running around...get ready to hoof it. But all-in-all, it was totally worth the work to have such an amazing space. Most of our guests said they had never seen anything like it.

100% recommendation!

The MOPA was a perfect venue for our medium size wedding. We used the patio for our cocktail hour and the main room for the dinner for 140 people. Our guests also enjoyed access to the gallery during our event. After dinner we rolled away tables to expand the dance floor and invite more friends to drink and dance the night away (I don't even remember seeing them roll away tables, it was like they just disappeared. We also sat our wedding party at the tables so they had a heads up of what was going to happen.). We worked with Melissa (pfeiffer@mopa.org) to plan our event and she was awesome! Matty was there the day of to take care of venue logistics and he was also great to work with. We've received so many great compliments about our reception venue and our guests thought it was a unique and beautiful venue.

The MOPA was a perfect venue for our medium size wedding. We used the patio for our cocktail hour and the main room for the dinner for 140 people. Our guests also enjoyed access to the gallery during our event. After dinner we rolled away tables to expand the dance floor and invite more friends to drink and dance the night away (I don't even remember seeing them roll away tables, it was like they just disappeared. We also sat our wedding party at the tables so they had a heads up of what was going to happen.). We worked with Melissa (pfeiffer@mopa.org) to plan our event and she was awesome! Matty was there the day of to take care of venue logistics and he was also great to work with. We've received so many great compliments about our reception venue and our guests thought it was a unique and beautiful venue.

It was the best day of our lives. Our timeline went by smoothly with just a bit of a delay that went unnoticed. Thank you to Melissa, the special events manager, for the many times that we met to organize and arrange multiple changes and ideas. The wedding was perfect and well beyond our dreams. The only reason I did not given them 5 stars was because I would have rather Melissa to be on staff the actual day of the event. I believe that once you have built rapport and trust in someone with all the plans of your wedding it should be that person to forefront and oversee the set-up and direct vendors. I do have to point out that a young lady by the name of Karla, from MOPA's team, was the sweetest person and helped us out with any questions and concerns. Overall the venue is incredible, it will truly be an unforgettable experience for our guest due to its uniqueness. We searched venues for 6 months because we wanted something beautiful yet different than the typical venue inside a hotel. I highly recommend MOPA!! DO request to be only helped by Melissa. This recommendation comes from an extremely picky person that pays attention to every detail.

We held our reception at MOPA and our ceremony across Balboa Park at another venue.
*Melissa, the Manager of Special Events at the museum, was a great resource. She worked well with us and our wedding coordinator, she helped us plan the layout of the reception, and she provided a great recommendation for our catere
*It's located in Balboa Park, a beautiful location for a wedding, and we had cocktail hour on the lawn of the Botanic Garden, which was arranged by MOPA
*It was the perfect size for our 100 person wedding (although it can hold up to 100 people)
*You can bring in your own liquor, which helps to save a TON of money
*Guests can check out the exhibit on display but don't get lost in a huge museum

We loved it and would definitely recommend it.