Santa Barbara State Historic Park Reviews

Reviews

+5 User photos

• Sylvia H. Sent on 08/27/2023
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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  Beautiful church

  This was a dream venue! It was easy to book, and they were super accommodating with my back-and-forth dates. My only issue is that I wish the guy at the door would have been dressed more professionally. Overall, it was absolutely amazing!

  This was a dream venue! It was easy to book, and they were super accommodating with my back-and-forth dates. My only issue is that I wish the guy at the door would have been dressed more professionally. Overall, it was absolutely amazing!
• Micha Sent on 08/17/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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  To begin with I should mention that we got married during Old Spanish Days, which took this from being a great venue to the best ceremony venue ever. My husband and I are from New York and found it difficult to find a Catholic Church in Santa Barbra. To add to the difficulty, my husband is not Catholic himself. These limitations made it really hard to find a church for us to get married in, but since that’s where I’d always imagined my wedding, we didn’t give up. El Presidio ended up being the perfect venue for us. A rebuilt museum of the oldest Catholic church in Santa Barbara, El Presidio is no longer a traditional church so it allows non-denominational ceremonies of all kinds in a very Catholic setting. Rain, the coordinator at El Presidio, was very helpful in getting us all set up to walk down the aisle on one of the busiest weekends in Santa Barbra. There was a private parking lot for our wedding and great rooms for our wedding party to pass time before the ceremony. El Presidio is built in the traditional adobe style so even at the beginning of August there was no problem with us being overheated in the church during the ceremony. The venue itself required almost no additional decorations which was a great cost saver for us. We only added candles. Rain really knew all the tricks for elevating our ceremony to the next level, including ringing the traditional church bells as we exited the church for the first time as husband and wife. I highly recommend this venue for anyone looking for a traditional venue that is open to something a little funkier. Overall working with Rain and El Presidio was such a joy and allowed us to have the wedding ceremony I’ve always imagined.

  To begin with I should mention that we got married during Old Spanish Days, which took this from being a great venue to the best ceremony venue ever. My husband and I are from New York and found it difficult to find a Catholic Church in Santa Barbra. To add to the difficulty, my husband is not Catholic himself. These limitations made it really hard to find a church for us to get married in, but since that’s where I’d always imagined my wedding, we didn’t give up. El Presidio ended up being the perfect venue for us. A rebuilt museum of the oldest Catholic church in Santa Barbara, El Presidio is no longer a traditional church so it allows non-denominational ceremonies of all kinds in a very Catholic setting. Rain, the coordinator at El Presidio, was very helpful in getting us all set up to walk down the aisle on one of the busiest weekends in Santa Barbra. There was a private parking lot for our wedding and great rooms for our wedding party to pass time before the ceremony. El Presidio is built in the traditional adobe style so even at the beginning of August there was no problem with us being overheated in the church during the ceremony. The venue itself required almost no additional decorations which was a great cost saver for us. We only added candles. Rain really knew all the tricks for elevating our ceremony to the next level, including ringing the traditional church bells as we exited the church for the first time as husband and wife. I highly recommend this venue for anyone looking for a traditional venue that is open to something a little funkier. Overall working with Rain and El Presidio was such a joy and allowed us to have the wedding ceremony I’ve always imagined.
• Lauren Sent on 02/03/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0
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  We held our wedding at the historic El Presidio this past Saturday, January 31, 2015 in Santa Barbara, CA. We can't say enough about how gorgeous and charming the property is. The Spanish style Chapel was built in the late 1700's, with an outside of beautiful white adobe, while the inside is almost indescribable due to how unique and special it is. They offer the rental of historic spanish soldados, men in spanish uniform to be present at the wedding offering a really unique flair to the site, as well as a real cannon firing. Plus, when the ceremony was over, the chapel bells were rung for almost three minutes. Renee (Rain) Longo, the venue's event planner was amazing....she walked us through a rehearsal the day before, was there the day-off to make sure everything went well, recommended the mariachi band we hired, and overall was just amazing. All of our guests had the most wonderful time.

  We held our wedding at the historic El Presidio this past Saturday, January 31, 2015 in Santa Barbara, CA. We can't say enough about how gorgeous and charming the property is. The Spanish style Chapel was built in the late 1700's, with an outside of beautiful white adobe, while the inside is almost indescribable due to how unique and special it is. They offer the rental of historic spanish soldados, men in spanish uniform to be present at the wedding offering a really unique flair to the site, as well as a real cannon firing. Plus, when the ceremony was over, the chapel bells were rung for almost three minutes. Renee (Rain) Longo, the venue's event planner was amazing....she walked us through a rehearsal the day before, was there the day-off to make sure everything went well, recommended the mariachi band we hired, and overall was just amazing. All of our guests had the most wonderful time.
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• Dan Sent on 07/22/2014
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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  The chapel is part of a reconstructed 18th century Spanish fort, the founding site of Santa Barbara, This is a charming venue with wonderful acoustics, ample parking, and a historic vibe.

  The chapel is part of a reconstructed 18th century Spanish fort, the founding site of Santa Barbara, This is a charming venue with wonderful acoustics, ample parking, and a historic vibe.
• Lindsey Sent on 12/23/2017
  4.9 out of 5 rating

  4.9
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    5.0
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    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5
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  The chapel and Casa de la Guerra are beautiful wedding venue locations. Bonus, a package deal is given to save on cost when you have you’re ceremony at the chapel and your reception at Casa de la Guerra!

  The chapel and Casa de la Guerra are beautiful wedding venue locations. Bonus, a package deal is given to save on cost when you have you’re ceremony at the chapel and your reception at Casa de la Guerra!
• Ron Sent on 11/03/2014
  4.2 out of 5 rating

  4.2
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    2.0
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  We held our wedding here. It was perfect.
  
  The only complaint I have is that they are not very responsive to emails. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to hear back. You don't get any kind of official receipt that your event is booked. My check cleared, and I never got anything confirmation. I had to track them down on the phone to confirm that all was OK.
  
  

  We held our wedding here. It was perfect.
  
  The only complaint I have is that they are not very responsive to emails. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to hear back. You don't get any kind of official receipt that your event is booked. My check cleared, and I never got anything confirmation. I had to track them down on the phone to confirm that all was OK.
  
  
• Ciera Sent on 12/19/2017
  3.9 out of 5 rating

  3.9
  • Quality of service
    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5
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    3.0
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  I was so excited to book this venue, being catholic I was excited at the history. We ended up not using a priest due to issues with our date. We love this place, it is so beautiful. We did not use anything to decorate because it is simply amazing. Everyone loved the look. The price was less than most churches in the area and older. I had a bit of a hard time getting in contact due to changes in staff and other issues, that was the main issue. At one point we were not sure that we had our date because they marked our date a year earlier. Other than that, we had the perfect day there. I would suggest this place to anyone.

  I was so excited to book this venue, being catholic I was excited at the history. We ended up not using a priest due to issues with our date. We love this place, it is so beautiful. We did not use anything to decorate because it is simply amazing. Everyone loved the look. The price was less than most churches in the area and older. I had a bit of a hard time getting in contact due to changes in staff and other issues, that was the main issue. At one point we were not sure that we had our date because they marked our date a year earlier. Other than that, we had the perfect day there. I would suggest this place to anyone.

  • +6 photos

  Santa Barbara State Historic Park's reply:

  Hi Ciera -
  
  Thank you for the review! We appreciate it. Are there any of your photos that you would be ok with us sharing on social media and our website? We will of course give photo credit to you and your photographer.
  
  Thank you for the consideration!
  
  Best,
  
  Warner Anderson