South Coast Botanic Garden Reviews

We had our wedding (ceremony only) in the Upper Meadow at SCBG. The location was absolutely beautiful and I loved that the reasonable fees went towards further improvements in the garden as a nonprofit. The team coordinating was super helpful start to finish and was very responsive via email for all my questions. Our guests were so amazed at the garden! I even forgot my bouquet while taking photos and they made sure to track it down, which meant so much to me.

When we started our venue search, we had two things we wanted - an outside ceremony and the ability to bring in our own food. South Coast gave us both of those, plus so much more! We worked with Lisa, who is just so lovely. She was accommodating to us as we live in San Diego and had to drive up, and was willing to answer any questions and work with us when we needed. The space is gorgeous. Only downside is they have one rental vendor that you have to use, which can be a little pricey, but at the end of the day everything we rented was perfect and we would get it again. They are doing construction on their rose garden, and unfortunately day of our wedding there was a large fenced off portion with ugly signage on it, but Lisa gave us plenty of heads up about that and we truly weren't able to see it in photos or anything (and I don't think our guests even noticed!). People still comment on our pretty venue, and I know we found the perfect venue for us. We used a tent with market lights and a chandelier for our reception, and it was the perfect touch. Thank you Lisa for giving us such a perfect wedding day!

SCBG was such a pleasure to work with! Gabby was very prompt with her responses and she was extremely helpful during the planning process! My guests raved about how beautiful the venue was and I could not have asked for a more beautiful place to have my ceremony and reception.

I couln't have selected a better place for my wedding. It is by far the best place in the South bay area near the beach. Staff is great and help you through the process of keeping you in line with your vendors. Gardens and beautiful and fresh.

This site completely MADE my wedding! The site managers really know their wedding stuff and are to helpful and sweet! I absolutely wonderful place to get married- we had a blast and everyone enjoyed the gardens on top of the reception! Worked with Tanya and Graham and they were both wonderful! Would recommend this to EVERYONE! Just be sure to book early as they have a long waiting list, but SO WORTH IT!

South Coast Botanic Gardens in the most beautiful place to hold a wedding ceremony in the south bay! (I may be a little bias!) Everything was gorgeous and our pictures are beautiful with such a fabulous location! The venue was so affordable and extremely easy to work with. Graham was such a pleasure and he made our day just flawless!

We could not have chosen a more beautiful venue! We had both Ceremony (upper meadow) and Reception (lower meadow) within steps from each other. Our guests raved about the beauty, and the staff was beyond helpful! Graham was our coordinator and we are grateful for all of his help with planning our wedding. He answered phone calls and emails in a timely manner, and even suggested some great ideas such as parasols for our summer event...they were a hit! Thank you, Graham!!!

Graham is amazing and incredibly helpful. Unfortunately on the day of our wedding, he was out sick, so there were a few problems the day of, but overall a great experience.

the special events team does take odd days off during the week, but if you call someone is always there to help you! great venue if you're looking to customize your wedding! you can bring in whatever you want yourself - caterer, bartenders, etc and not have to worry about extra fees with using "not preferred vendors".

Beautiful location for a wedding! The event coordinator, although hard to get in touch with as a result of scheduling, was extremley helpful throughout the planning process and especially on the day of our wedding.

We didn't decide on this venue, however we thought the property was beautiful and the value was perfect!

The South Coast Botanic Gardens provided us with a beautiful venue for both our ceremony and reception. We received many compliments on the uniqueness and beauty of the Rose Garden and Upper Meadow. For other couples who are considering SCBG make sure that you are aware that while the venue is amazing, there are many additional costs that come with the use of this venue. All tables, chairs, lights, and all other rentals are not included and you must use Bright Event Rentals, which unfortunately is the most expensive rental company out there. Be aware there is also a very high delivery fee for all the rentals. You will also need to pay additional fees for security and a wedding coordinator that the gardens provides. A benefit of the gardens is being able to BYOB which saves money on expensive drinks. You will need to hire a licensed bartender to serve alcohol, I highly recommend going with Britmo Staffing who the gardens recommends. If you are looking for a place with flexibility in terms of choosing vendors and creatively in design the gardens does provide that but make sure you are watching your budget as you go, as things add up fast. Also we hired a more traditional caterer and I would not recommend this to other couples. I would recommend hiring a food truck for catering, because as there is no kitchen access a food truck would likely be the best way to ensure your guests are eating food that is hot.