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Weddings

San Diego Botanic Garden Reviews

San Diego Botanic Garden

San Diego Botanic Garden

Encinitas, CA
4.6 out of 5 rating, 40 Reviews
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Reviews

4.6 out of 5 rating
4.6 out of 5 rating
40 Reviews
92% recommend it
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Awards

40
  • Maggie
    Maggie Sent on 10/05/2020
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    Picturesque venue - great experience!

    We had a great experience with the beautiful SDBG. We are from out of town and had dreamed of getting married here. It is BEAUTIFUL, and there are endless photo opportunities throughout the garden. Lita was so wonderful to work with. She was flexible and helpful knowing we were not local, worked well with my local mom and our planner, was very professional and followed local safety protocols with COVID 19. When we needed to move our location of the ceremony within the garden to accommodate our party size while maintaining social distancing, they were so understanding and helpful. Such a great value for the service and visuals. We did not realize that the garden was closing at a specific time so we were a little rushed while taking pictures but I feel like that was more because of COVID and a misunderstanding on our part, so I would just recommend you clarify when you need to be out of the garden completely, not just your rented space of the garden! This was a very small hiccup, and had an otherwise perfect day.

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Maggie, it was a complete pleasure. The Garden is thrilled that you were still able to hold your ceremony onsite under current circumstances. Also on behalf of the Garden, I would like to extend an apology on any miscommunication. Congratulations!
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    Kelly Sent on 07/30/2019
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    Beautiful venue, great experience!

    We loved having our wedding at the San Diego Botanic Gardens! It was such a beautiful venue - we hardly needed any decorations because of the beautiful greenery. We also were very impressed with Lita Dantes. She was very quick to reply to emails, always friendly, and always answered my abundant questions! She was also flexible with ideas and plans, even though there were certain rules/guidelines we had to stay within. We also appreciated that we were allowed to visit the gardens several times before the rehearsal to visualize where everything would go, meet with our photographer, and do a walk through. During the actual wedding day, the SDBG staff was excellent at setting up chairs/tables for our use. It was a huge help that we were able to use their tables & chairs!
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    Ashley Sent on 03/03/2018
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    San Diego Botanic Garden is absolutely beautiful! It was the first venue I saw and I fell in love right away. It was perfect for our intimate, romantic outdoor wedding last fall. The Gazebo Lawn lit up at night looked like a dream!
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  • L
    Laura Sent on 10/23/2017
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    So here I am, a wedding planner of 7 years and it's finally my turn to get married. Well, once you are in the industry you become a bit jaded but I had only one place in mind - the SD Botanic Garden. This place is so beautiful and the lush greenery, waterfall, intimate garden setting and artwork inspired me to create and have the wedding of my dreams. It was perfection. It is def a blank canvas which can be hard for some but worth it. Also, Lita is the coordinator there and she is a pleasure to work with. She is nice, responsive, professional and does a great job with the couple and vendors. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
  • J
    Janelle Sent on 05/12/2014
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    This venue was absolutely perfect! The wedding support team was very helpful, however there were times when it was challenging to get a hold of the wedding coordinator until the few weeks before the wedding. I think its because most weekends they're booked Friday, Saturday and Sunday for a wedding. They may need 2 staff to manage weddings specifically.
  • S
    S And Sent on 03/11/2013
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    If you are looking for a beautiful garden location for your wedding in San Diego, The San Diego Botanic Garden is a must. The natural setting of the gardens are simple, perfect and everything you want to make your day picture perfect.
    From the beginning, Jennifer (the wedding site manager) was so very helpful throughout the whole process. She answered all my endless emails promptly, and followed through with misc requests. She was so great!
    Our wedding ceremony was held in the Walled Garden, and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day in March. It was a warm 79 degrees that day, and every location throughout the gardens proved to be picture perfect and then some.
    So don't look elsewhere and pay for a garden in a hotel setting, get the real deal.

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Hi there! Thank you so much fo the glowing review! It was an absolute pleasure to work with you and I am so happy to hear you're wedding day was so beautiful! Thank you for the wedding photos as well! We hope to see you both visit the Garden again very soon.
  • V
    Valerie Sent on 09/20/2012
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    Excellent experience for my husband and I and all of our guests!!! I recommend having your wedding at the gardens :)

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Hi Valerie! It was a pleasure having you here and I hope to see some photos soon!
  • N
    Nicole Sent on 09/19/2012
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    We held our wedding reception at the San Diego Botanic Garden and could not have imagined a more ideal setting for our event. We used the Lawn House Garden for the cocktail reception and the Gazebo Lawn for the main reception.
    Our experience with their staff was wonderful. Booking the venue for our event was seamless. The site coordinator was very patient and was happy to spend time with me on the phone listing the available dates and times as we determined which would be best suited for our event. The new wedding site coordinator, Jennifer, started shortly before the wedding but jumped right in and helped us immensely in the busy weeks leading up to the big day. She answered emails promptly and was very patient with my many questions. She truly helped to create a stress-free day for us.
    Having a reception at the Garden means that everything must be provided by outside vendors. Tables, chairs, dance floor, etc.,everything must be rented. Don’t let that deter you, however, as their list of preferred vendors provides event rental companies that will assist in bringing your vision to life (We used Allie’s Party Rentals and could not have been happier with the results.) The Garden even provided the chairs for our 175-guest reception as well as a number of belly bar tables and additional tables for the cocktail reception. It saved us quite a bit of money as we did not have to rent additional chairs and tables.
    The best moment of all was stopping in the middle of the reception and looking around at the scene; from the giant Magnolia Tree framing the dance floor to the strung market lights twinkling overhead and from our family and friends laughing in the Gazebo to the sound of the waterfall rushing nearby, it was everything I hoped it would be… absolutely perfect.

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Hi Nicole! It was my absolute pleasure to help you! I'm so happy to hear your wedding day was perfect. I always love seeing photos so please send some my way. Thank you!
  • K
    Kari Sent on 09/05/2012
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    The hardest part of the wedding planning process (for us) was finding the right wedding venue. We would think that we had found "the place" that we loved AND fit within our budget, but then we would discover hidden rules or fees, or we would be stuck having to use the venue's bar tender or catering services which were often very expensive.
    The SDB garden made it soooo easy for us, I just wish we had found them sooner! They were affordable, beautiful, and allowed us to use all of the vendors that we wanted to use! No hidden fees. Our guests had an amazing time and can't stop talking about it. If you're looking for an outdoor wedding with a "backyard" feel, then this is the place!!!

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Thank you so much for the wonderful review. It was a pleasure being apart of your wedding day and we hope to see photos soon!
  • N
    Natalie Sent on 09/24/2012
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    The walled garden and gazebo lawn were absolutely perfect for our wedding! I feel so lucky to have found such a gorgeous and affordable venue. : )
  • User1764850 Sent on 08/14/2014
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    This was my first choice for a wedding ceremony and reception. It was the most perfect day. When planning, they were available for any questions. Though they provide a list of approved caterers, having never done this, the list was very helpful and we found one that met our needs and budget. Everything was ready and prepared when we arrived on our wedding day. SD botanic gardens is a great place for a wedding and reception.
  • Rachelle
    Rachelle Sent on 10/06/2010
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    The Walled Garden was a perfect location for our ceremony. We only added rose petals to the asile way and orchids to the arch and it looked beautiful!
  • G
    Natalie Sent on 08/24/2010
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    amazing and beautiful wedding!!!!
  • I
    Ian Sent on 01/27/2011
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    We had a great time shooting at the Botanical Gardens, the walled ceremony site was a real pleasure to shoot at and just having the grounds to ourselves was a real treat. Highly recommended. \r\n\r\nYou can see our shoot here:\r\nhttp://www.iangrantphotography.com/photography/wedding-photography-gallery/san-diego-botanical-gardens-wedding.html\r\n\r\n-Ian Grant Photography\r\nwww.distinctphoto.com
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    Anna Sent on 01/14/2008
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    The Quail Botanical Gardens was a gorgeous venue! Carla, the wedding site coordinator was so nice, and it was really easy to plan my wedding and there was plenty of time to decorate and clean up before and after the reception. I love the photos I have of my husband and I in the beautiful gardens!
  • A
    Annie Sent on 03/12/2010
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    It was an absolutely beautiful location. The staff was pretty hands off but still helpful. We had a wonderful day and everything went off without a hitch.
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    Michelle Sent on 08/05/2019
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    Lovely venue

    This was my fiancées pick for our wedding and it ended up being perfect. We got married in July, which I don’t recommend because it was hot during the day, but at nighttime it does cool off.

    They had rules that they have to abide by per the city so if you’re looking for a late wedding, they cannot accommodate that.

    The walled garden is so intimate and the gazebo lawn is perfect for that romantic outdoorsy feel.

    Lita is also great. She answered any and every question I have.

    I wish they had was air conditioning in the room you would wait before walking out. There isn’t a bridal suite for the girls/guys to get ready so that’s another bummer.
  • K
    Kirah Sent on 11/04/2019
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    Beautiful Garden Wedding

    The SDBG is absolutely gorgeous, and was the perfect venue for our wedding. We wanted an outdoor venue for the ceremony and reception, and the ability to hire vendors of our choosing, and the garden met all of our needs. We had a lot of people travelling from out of town and the venue was a hit with people from all over the country, and visitors loved being able to stay in Encinitas for the weekend. Lita, the venue coordinator was very helpful and responsive to all of our questions. The only negative was that there are strict sound ordinances in Encinitas so all music needs to end at 10pm, so no late night festivities. We are excited to be able to continue to enjoy our wedding venue as garden guests in the future!
  • R
    Rachel Sent on 04/08/2017
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    We had our wedding at SDBG and everything was beautiful, could not have asked for a better venue for the price. Here's a summary of the pros, and the few "things to note" for other brides interested in this venue:

    Pros: Lita was great and very responsive; good price with lots of location options throughout your event; tables and chairs included if you like, which they will set up for you; provide a list of preferred vendors but you can use other vendors if you like

    Things to Note: while there's tons of flexibility for vendors, there is pretty much only one lighting company that works with the Gardens and they charge a lot of money...so just know that; there can be a fair amount of rigmarole for vendors that haven't worked there before [bartenders, DJs, food trucks], including in some cases a $200 vetting fee that requires a lot of work on your part and no work on theirs to "vet" this vendor. It was still worth it for us to use people who were friends and we trusted, but it was a fair amount of work since the Gardens didn't lay out what needed to be provided if it wasn't a preferred vendor.

    We had many out of town guests who couldn't believe how beautiful the setting was. Was spectacular for our wedding.
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    Olivia Sent on 08/09/2013
    4.8 out of 5 rating
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    I made a list of about 10 venues to look at, but in reality, we only physically went to 1 venue (one, can you believe it?!) and made contact with another before realizing it was useless and that we had fallen in love with the SDBG. It was just beautiful all around, if you choose the Walled Garden for the ceremony, you can also get the Herb Garden and Gazebo Lawn for the cocktail hour and reception. The price is pretty reasonable does not really change based on month, but is dependent on if you have an afternoon or evening wedding so we were able to have a Saturday evening wedding in July or what most places might charge you for a Monday wedding in December. I popped over a couple times to handle questions/ideas for the wedding and if you bring your contract, the gate attendant will just let you in and not charge you admission.

    Throughout the wedding night and afterwards, we received a ton of compliments about how our wedding was beautiful and how the string lights helped accent our reception site (which was provided by my DJ, although they also have a vendor they work with too for that). Just hearing that from all our guests made selecting this place all the more worth it.

    Perhaps one of the only snafus that happened was that my Wedding Site Manager that I was in touch with for at least 10 months moved out of state but never informed me ~2 months before my wedding. I called to ask a question and was greeted by a completely new Manager. She was sweet and apologized on behalf of the former Manager. I would've appreciated the first Manager letting me know since I had a lot of contact with her, but like I said, not a huge deal.

    (Side Note: Events at the garden have to shut down at 10 due to noise restrictions. That is why "flexibility" is 4 stars. It's not their fault, but still.)
  • C
    Carli Sent on 03/28/2014
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    San Diego Botanic gardens was a lovely place to have both our wedding ceremony and reception. There are a few locations within the garden to choose from and all are beautiful.
  • User934146 Sent on 09/14/2012
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    Jennifer Bergen did a fine job coordinating our wedding after only a few weeks as a new employee. She offered effective solutions to several challenges that popped up at the last minute (switching location of ceremony when original choice was muddy), locating a microphone when the officiant lost her voice). The Manager On Duty, Andrew, was responsive, cheerful and efficient. Everything went perfectly.

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Thank you so much! It was a pleasure working with all of you. Hope all is going well and please send some wedding photos my way!
  • User923922 Sent on 09/05/2012
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    The Gardens were so beautiful and peaceful. They were the perfect place to have our wedding! Carla (venue manager) was so helpful and great to work with throughout the whole process

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Thank you so much for your review! We hope you had a wonderful wedding day!
  • H
    Heather Sent on 04/29/2014
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    We completely fell in love with the San Diego Botanic Garden when we went there, and knew it was the perfect place for our laid back garden wedding. We were married in the Walled Garden, cocktail hour in the Herb Garden, and reception on the lawn near the Gazebo. When we booked, we were working with Jennifer, who we were not impressed with. She bailed on us during our first visit there and we saw her giving another couple a tour as we walked around by ourselves. Since we really liked the space, we ended up coming back and getting the full tour from her even though that would have usually turned us off a venue. During our engagement, she left and was replaced by Lyzah, who was MUCH better. Very responsive and helpful! In the end, we were incredibly pleased with our choice to have our wedding here. It turned out beautifully - our party was from 5-10. You can pay extra to move it up one hour to 4, but can't go earlier for an evening wedding, and it must be over at 10. But you have until 11:30 to clean up and get out. Pictures turn out beautifully here, the location impresses guests, and weather is usually good but you can rent a tent if not. I would highly suggest getting market lighting for an evening wedding on the lawn, and definitely use a rental company who has set up before at this venue! Great place!
  • S
    Shayla Sent on 09/10/2012
    4.7 out of 5 rating
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    We rented the Lawn House garden for both our ceremony and reception since we had a small wedding party. The location was gorgeous and provided everything we needed to make our celebration successful. The cost included admission to the garden so we got great photos in between the ceremony and reception and our guests got the treat of roaming the gardens and taking in all the beauty. Parking was easy and plentiful, the staff was responsive, and they were willing to work with us on our choice of caterer.

    We only had two issues with the whole process. One, despite sending them a graphic of our desired layout, they didn't set up our tables and chairs the way we had requested. Luckily we discovered this the evening before, during our final walk through, and they apologetically and quickly rectified the issue. Secondly, during the break between our ceremony and reception, a staff member came through with a prospective couple to view the site. We felt this was disrespectful and a violation of our agreement because we had paid to secure the site for ourselves for the entire day. We can understand wanting to drum up more business but doing it during a time we had the site reserved left a bad taste in our mouths. Despite all this, I would recommend them.

    San Diego Botanic Garden's reply:

    Hi Shayla! Thank you for the feedback. We are so sorry one of our future couples peeked in on your wedding! They were here touring with their coordinator and didn't realize at first there was an event currently taking place! I'm so happy to hear that over all your wedding day went well and we would certainly love to see photos of your special day. Thank you!
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