SB Museum of Natural History Reviews

We are so excited to have booked our ceremony at the SB Museum of Natural History in the beautiful wooded area across the bridge. The oak trees surrounding the ceremony space are just what I envisioned. It feels like such a sacred space, which is perfect for exchanging vows and uniting as a married couple. My fiance and I knew it was the right place instantly! Meridith is warm, accommodating, quick to reply to e-mails, and organized. The price was also ideal as it includes the Broder Building for the bride to get ready while guests arrive, wine barrels to use for tables and decor, and space to do a toast after the wedding with some appetizers. Also, because the museum is a non-profit establishment, the money goes towards the museum which provides free field trips for students. I LOVE THAT! I can't wait to share such a beautiful, sacred space with loved ones during our ceremony.

Choosing to get married at the Museum was the best decision of wedding planning that my husband and I made! The place is a hidden gem and absolutely gorgeous, the quietness added to the beauty of the ceremony as well as the sunlight gleaming through the trees overhead. It was great for a bide+groom that wanted an outdoor venue!

Meridith was so easy to work with, she made the entire process stress free and was always quick to respond to emails. As a bride, I truly appreciated being able to ask any question to Meridith. The ground staff were so wonderful to work with as well, they made the entire process of set up easy and efficient.

The one thing that we LOVED about this venue, is the ability to set up the day before the event and tear down the day after the event! This made the wedding weekend less stress free than if everything was happening all in one day, our family and friends were impressed with this museum policy. The museum was completely affordable as well, the price included chairs and tables (which saved us thousands at the rental company).

We would highly recommend the Museum for any wedding party, they are flexible and are willing to work with your vision!

My fiance and I are not catering hall people, we wanted something that fit us, looked like Santa Barbara and fit our "rustic meets black-tie" style. The museum was perfect for us!
We had our cocktail reception out in the back section which has a beautiful woodsy feel and a little bridge over a creek with a bunch of twinkle lights.
Our dinner and dancing was in the auditorium with a gorgeous giant wood beam ceiling and wood floor.
The whole museum has an incredible 1920's Santa Barbara look that is just perfect!
Meredith was so sweet and easy to work with, she made the whole process very simple and stress free and accommodated my few requests without batting an eye.
The museum team worked with us to make the logistics of drop-off, set-up and clean up very easy and made sure that it didn't impact our special day at all, we just got to enjoy our day.

I had my eye on this venue from the beginning. When I saw it in person, I knew it was the one. Meridith is absolutely amazing to work with, and was so helpful. Before we could have our wedding, COVID hit. We unfortunately were faced with postponing but eventually decided to cancel entirely due to the rising cases. She was beyond helpful throughout the entire experience and I hope that we'll still be able to hold our ceremony here once the world is in a better place. Thank you Meridith, for all you did!

The location is gorgeous and I loved being able to use all 3 areas of the museum for our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. Meridith is extremely helpful and easy to work with.

This is just an unbelievably beautiful place to get married. Words cannot express the way it felt to see the sun come between the canopy of trees. It has become a very special place to us.

There are some amazing benefits other than just the beauty of the site, for example there is a huge parking lot and also the nearby Mission and Rose Garden are gorgeous for pictures. The site has a lot of options for where to do the ceremony, reception and cocktail hour.

The only drawback for some might be the fact that you cannot have amplified music outside (i.e., dancing must occur inside the Fleischmann Auditorium) but it is very understandable given that the Monastery is so close and it works very well to the reception and/or the dancing up in the Fleischmann anyway, but a bride wanting a full outdoor ceremony and reception might feel limited. For us, the Fleischmann ended up perfect for the reception and has a great set up.

I would also like to mention how well Meridith handled one of my biggest concerns which was accessibility, given that my Father is disabled and they absolutely helped us get him to as close as possible to the ceremony site. It meant a lot to us that they took great care with this. We would definitely recommend this site for couples wanting the outdoors with a fun elegant twist..

The setting is absolutely gorgeous, and you can book either two or three parts of the grounds (ceremony, cocktail reception, and reception/dinner). Meredith was great! She was very supportive of our vision and let us decorate the back patio area with lights and lanterns. It was a perfect experience.