The Brazillian Room Reviews

When we were touring venues, we had a few top choices. And then we saw the Brazilian Room. From the gorgeous views of the valley Tilden is set in, to the stunningly vintage architecture of the building itself, it just screamed "us." The price was extremely reasonable, especially as my mom is a resident of Alameda County, and, although the popularity of the venue meant that it would have been a very long wait for a Saturday, our Sunday evening wedding was a smash hit. Can't wait to see the photos of the cherry blossoms blowing in front of us like snowflakes!

The Brazilian Room was the perfect space for our wedding. We wanted something in a natural setting but still within our budget and The Brazilian Room was just that and more. The scenery really can't be beat and the landscaping is top-notch. The interior is equally beautiful and very spacious for a small-mid sized wedding. I highly recommend ther Brazilian Room!

I planned my wedding from Chicago so I was nervous and at the mercy of Yelp reviews for everything. I had guests flying in from all over and we were looking for a venue that was beautiful and fit into our "Fall" theme without spending an Arm and a leg.

We rented the Brazilian room after researching for weeks. I recommend renting the entire day to avoid any issues. I rented the entire day for $900. We got married on a Thursday so our guests who flew in could spend the weekend going to wine country or hitting the nightlife in SF. It worked perfectly and we got major discounts because of it.

The pictures don't do it justice. I was worried when I saw a review that said it looked like someone's backyard-but I have no clue what that person is talking about now that we had our wedding. It is extremely gorgeous-we got married in October and everything looked perfect.

I would recommend this place over the other places that were quoting me $4-5,000 just to rent the place and weren't nearly as beautiful!

The building is gorgeous inside and or, the stones on the patio where we had the ceremony are lovely and make everything more elegant.

I was going to rent something as a backdrop but my caterer said I should reconsider wasting money because the view is gorgeous and I should t block it and she was right.

This place is Perfect and because you book with hem a lot of the vendors give you discounts! (My DJ was half price because of the Brazil room).

My vendors:
Caterer-Serves you Right Catering (amazing)

DJ and up lighting- Quantum Music Event Planners (the best!)

Cake/Cupcakes-Indie Cakes (the best I've ever had)

Photo booth- Sybex Booths (low prices-great quality)

Rentals-Piedmont Rentals (I rented dark wood chairs, navy linens,and a couple cocktail tables-great service)

Flowers-Whole Foods Market on Telegraph Rd in Berkeley-I never thought to

My daughter's wedding ceremony and reception was held at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park (Berkeley, CA) on Friday, June 12, 2015. This is a beautiful venue and suitable for up to 150 people. We had 100 people so the size of the venue was perfect for the reception and dancing. It was a very sunny and hot day (heat wave). There was no air conditioning but we didn't need it since the ceremony was out on the patio in the morning and the building where the reception was has very high ceilings so the heat stayed up in the rafters. We didn't really notice the heat until later in the afternoon when you stepped outside. Being an Alameda County resident is a bonus because the price couldn't be beat. $600 for a weekday wedding for such a private and beautiful venue is a really good deal when you have a strict budget to work with. The office staff and the online reservation system made it easy to reserve. If you book the Brazilian Room on a weekday you won't have to wait a year to reserve it and you won't be paying thousands of dollars either. I really liked that option! They do have rules and some paperwork to deal with but that is expected for a government-owned site. It actually made my job as wedding planner easier. They have a large list of various vendors to select that they already vetted and if you choose from their list, you will get businesses that know the site and the rules, and will follow them. The only vendor you have to select from their list is a caterer and there are several to choose from. If you are looking for a reasonably priced venue that is private and beautiful, you can't go wrong in choosing the Brazilian Room.

Not only is the Brazilian room a beautiful location, but the staff is very easy to work with and helpful. The open houses for vendors is great to get a feel of what you are looking for in terms of catering. We got married on a Thursday and the price is very good for a venue.

It's a beautiful venue for both the ceremony and reception. It has so many areas that are nice for cocktail hours and mingling on the patio. The room is spacious for the reception and dancing. It's a great place for an intimate wedding.

We selected the Brazilian Room for our wedding due to its gorgeous location and wooden dance floor. The park staff made it very easy to work through the reservation forms with email reminders when different forms were due. We had about 90 people at our wedding and still had plenty of room on the dance floor. The adjacent botanical garden is a lovely place to take wedding photos. All of the weekend dates were booked when we made our reservation (a full year in advance) so we ended up having our wedding on a Thursday evening, which gave us quite a price break.

We LOVED this venue!!!! We are so happy we chose BR. Great value (especially if you are an East bay resident) and a beautiful setting for our Nov 2013 wedding. We held our ceremony outside (lucked out with perfect weather) and the reception indoors, which worked out perfectly. The phone staff is very nice and easy to work with, and the ground staff is very helpful.

BR wants to retain that 'rustic' feel, but they have done many great upgrades since we first looked at the venue back in early 2013. They renovated the bathrooms before our wedding and now support wifi. (Ask for the password. Otherwise, there is little to no cell reception in Tilden Park). They also have easy outlet/hookups for DJ/laptop connections. They also have a remote-control pull-down screen that can be rented out for videos. That was extremely convenient and useful for us.

There are so many great spots to take wedding photos, especially at sunset. The building's wood beams, large windows, and dim lighting makes it a photographers' dreams.

Be warned: give good directions to your guests and tell them to allow extra time to get there. Many will get lost. But once you're there, you will feel like you've escaped urban Berkeley and entered into a nature haven. You won't regret booking this venue for your wedding!

Beautiful location! I had my wedding on a Friday and so costs are lower for this day. Great time there and my wedding was in the Fall so we took advantage of using the fireplace. Nice!

We couldn't have picked a better venue for our September wedding & reception. Our views were phenomenal, the indoor space was elegant without being stuffy, and even in a light fog the pictures came out looking great. We feel very lucky to have found a space on a weekend nine months out, so book early!

We had the most perfect, magical wedding day at the Brazilian Room. It was affordable for what we wanted, and just magical. The views were absolutely spectacular, and all of our guests commented on how gorgeous the venue was. We picked our caterer from the Brazilian Room's list of approved caterer and had a fantastic experience with them (Classic Culinaire), and everything went perfectly on the day of the wedding. We loved it!

Stunning venue for a morning/brunch wedding. A beautiful fog stayed in the hills during our first look, and cleared away by the ceremony so we had gorgeous mountain scenery during our ceremony. The botanical garden is just down the road from the venue, and Tilden Park is a lovely place in general. We loved that we didn't need to wander far from the grounds for great photos. The building was pretty spacious for our 150 guests, and stayed cool when the afternoon sun came in. Overall a great space, and the only buggy thing we ran into was the random family ignoring the "Private Event" sign at the entrance and wandering through the wedding.

This is an absolutely gorgeous venue. Even though we weren't saying our vows in the thick of the trees, I still felt like a woodland princess as we had our perfect outdoor ceremony looking out among the lush hills of Tilden Park. We were able to capture some amazing photos among the surrounding flowers and greenery. Although the drive can be a little precarious, it is well-worth getting to this beautiful place nestled in it's own little world. The Brazilian Room itself is stunning and the beauty of this place is that it can be dressed up or down and still have you in awe. Personally, I love the woodwork from the floors to the ceilings, not to mention the natural light it provides with its many windows. I hope to capture the essence of this room in my future home. We had about 120 guests, a buffet, dessert table, dj set up, room for a dance floor and still fit quite comfortably altogether. The only unfortunate thing about this venue is that it has a very small room for the bridal party to get ready in! I only had 3 bridesmaids and we barely fit with all of us in there! There is a nice full-length mirror and large mirror with a counter to use for touch-ups. We did our hair and makeup at a separate location and only used the room to change into our dresses. The bathrooms are also very small! Only two stalls and not much room to maneuver, however there is a spacious, single handicap bathroom if you're lucky to get into it before anyone else does. I didn't hear any complaints about the bathrooms being a problem for the guests, but it was a bit comical for me to use with my A-line gown and over-sized train! (My bridesmaids were a great help with that). I am so happy that we chose this venue, it was such a wonderful day and I can't get over how pretty everything was! Gorgeous views, forest vibes, and greenery for days; you can't go wrong!

We've booked the Brazilian Room and so far it has been great. We actually saw that an opening a month before our original date opened up and simply called and Karen (I believe was her name) was extremely friendly, helpful, and quick to make the change for us! In your contract, it does say that you can change the date once without penalty... this worked out perfectly for us! We chose a Friday evening, but booked it for the full 12 hours because we wanted our ceremony to start at 4:00P. $2,600 (before the $1,000 refundable deposit) was a little on the high side- but definitely worth it so far. They do have tables and white wood folding chairs, but we ended up getting wider tables through our caterer. They provide a great list of "Approved Caterers"... so it makes it easy. Every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month they have an open house so you can see the venue, look around, speak with Caterers (not all are there every time, so check out the schedule on the Brazilian Room's website). This is great feature. The only downside I see right now is that you can't have your rehearsal there unless it's on a Tuesday night. But other than that- it is great so far. I will update/submit another review once the wedding has happened. But if you're looking for an intimate venue with historical ties to the Bay Area (it was part of the 1939 World's Fair on Treasure Island), with amazing architecture and a beautiful scenic view for the ceremony, this is your place!

The Brazilian Room is a beautiful venue in the Berkeley hills. It's also one of the more affordable venues in the Bay area.

My husband and I got married at the Brazil Room in June 2012 and I must say that you can not find a more beautiful venue for a better value. All of our guests raved about the site. The venue, while operated by the parks department has weddings all the time so they are very accustomed to the process and have an extensive list of approved vendors. The only downfall is that the venue can be a bit tricky for guests to locate.

We are so glad that we chose the Brazil Room for our wedding and reception venue in late June 2009. We held our wedding on a Sunday morning, renting the location from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. As a result, we could enjoy the gorgeous large windows that are at the venue. The ceremony was outside, and the reception was inside, which not only helped with our budget but was also more convenient for guests. Many guests commented on what a beautiful location it was, and the photos turned out beautifully.

We had about 75 guests and were worried that the location would be too large given less than 10 tables inside, but it was perfect.


The only drawbacks we saw--which didn't make us regret the choice but are worth noting--are:
- No air conditioning, which was a bit of a problem since the day was over 90 degrees.
- Not enough windows or doors to open, which would have helped with air flow given the heat.
- Not enough shade for the ceremony portion, so it helped having parasols for guests to use.
- Very strict rules on decor, including very specific candle holder requirements (over 4 inches tall, one piece of glass only, etc.) as well as no flower/lavender dropping allowed for the flower girl or exit. Our flower girl had a basket with flowers that she didn't remove, as well as having bubbles for the guests, so it wasn't a problem in the end.
- Not a huge parking lot. There is parking available nearby, but it's worth mentioning on your wedding website, etc.

The Brazilian Room is a beautiful setting. Tucked away in the Berkeley Hill, it is quiet and quaint. I highly recommend it!!

Had my wedding reception at this location. Amazing views, beautiful architecture, awesome landscaping - everything you'd ever need for an amazing wedding location. You also basically get free roam of the place on some Tuesday nights when they do open houses. Not to mention in February, they've done wedding fairs with all of the approved vendors. There's even a short list of approved vendors that you can speed date all of them over 3 weeks. If you're willing to spend at least a minimum amount, it's worth it -- makes decision making SUPER easy.

The only challenge was of course, the ability to get to and from w/o getting lost. Most of my friends were from out of town so they had some challenges getting there. However, cell phone service has improved. Wifi was also relatively fine. We used an Uber event code to get our friends in and out of the area. It got our first 10 out easily. However, by 11PM, a bunch of our guests started getting drivers canceling on them. Everyone eventually got home though!

Beautiful venue for an amazing price (EB residences get a discount!) Loved it all just sucks that you can't have an fully stocked open bar (wine and beer only allowed) and no flowers allowed for the flower girls to throw.

Gorgeous venue that is made for weddings. - we loved it

What a beautiful location. The Beach House was perfect for our 65 person wedding! My only complaint is that they told us about construction only weeks before the event and did not offer any compensation for the inconvenience. They had said that it was only during the week and would not affect our wedding, but it did, there was construction equipment and tape everywhere. In such a beautiful setting that was not fun. Once they are finished with the construction, however, you should check it out. Just make sure that your caterer listens to requests to keep windows closed and a/c on if you are doing an indoor ceremony (our caterer, Melon's, did not and I was surprised by the level of outdoor noise when I walked down the aisle).
We also booked a picnic area for a more casual event the next day.

PROs:
- Stunning venue
- Perfect size venue to feel cozy for a small wedding, but large enough to accommodate up to 150.
- Offers indoor and outdoor ceremony/reception
- Great value - fits within tight budgets
- Allowed to bring in any external vendors (except you're required to choose one of their preferred caterers - they offer a great variety of price points for caterers. We used Miraglia and they were amazing!)

CONs:
- Always booked at least a year in advance
- Unavailable for rehearsal due to being booked (mitigated by having rehearsal at rehearsal dinner venue)
- A bit hard to find, especially for out of town folks

Had my wedding here recently, and although it was foggy (not unexpected in the Bay Area) it was still beautiful. Compared to other venues this place is a steal.

However, because this is such a popular venue, the venue is in use most of the time and having a rehearsal there is difficult.

Absolutely fabulous venue, quick to repond to emails and the guest raved about the beauty. Plus very little budget is needed for decor