The University Club of Pasadena Reviews

Absolutely recommend if someone is considering a COVID-friendly intimate wedding. We decided to have a small wedding of 40 people and they were able to accommodate both ceremony and reception at their patio space. Depending on the seating arrangement, they host up to 50 for reception outside. Jonathan the event coordinator had so much experience and was very professional and knowledgeable in coordinating weddings. The quality of the service and food overall was excellent.

I got married in November 2019 and everything went so perfectly! The University Club is a beautiful venue for both the ceremony and reception. The outside patio was perfect for a ceremony on a 90-degree day, it was so comfortable even in the heat. Working with The University Club team was seamless from the beginning, they were so accommodating and easy to communicate with. It is a perfect venue for large weddings!

I couldn't have asked for better place for the reception. The site itself gives a lovely sense of charm and character. There are separate areas for ceremony,cocktails,greeting hall and reception. The bride and groom each get their own space. The staff was very curtious and polite throughout the entire planning process til the wedding was over. They allowed any vendor I wanted and referred some very great vendors. The Event Coordinator worked with us on everything, from handling our rental needs for chairs, tables and special lighting to arranging the furniture for us the exact way we asked. The catering staff was very professional and food flowed from the kitchen very timely, not to mention how great it tasted. I will be going back for my next large event.

BOOK THEM NOW! We can't express how thankful we are to University Club of Pasadena for hosting our dream wedding. My husband and I toured countless venues and the services University Club provides exceeded them all.
1. You get the venue for the entire day! Other venues we toured had strict times we could enter, some even requiring the bride to arrive completely ready because there wasn't a space for HMU. Cinthia was so flexible and even allowed us to arrive at 6AM to begin getting ready! We had a brunch spread with our family/bridal party there, where Cinthia had the staff assist with setting up and tearing down our brunch tables.
2. The bar package is VERY flexible compared to other venues. We noticed that most of the venues we considered have a per-head cost, expensive since some of our elderly don't drink. UC instead allowed us to set a general bar limit, which afterwards they would convert into a cash bar (we didn't end up reaching our limit, but this was a very cost-effective set-up for us).
3. Joy and Tony were incredible at customizing our drinks! Joy had so many creative suggestions for Asian inspired drinks - they allowed us to have multiple taste testings and we landed on a lychee mojito and strawberry soju in a martini glass. We had SO many guests rave about our signature drinks, asking us for the recipes!
4. They went above and beyond for desserts!!!! We were so disappointed when other venues either don't allow outside vendors or have a fee - we're not cake people so we wanted to bring in Fosselman's ice cream instead. Cinthia and Chef Tony not only allowed us to bring in outside ice cream, but even told us that UC regularly serves Fosselman's for the club members so they could provide the ice cream for us instead of us bringing it! We originally wanted an ice cream bar, but they informed us they could only scoop the ice cream from the kitchen and have the waiters pass them around on trays because of their freezer location. However, the week of our wedding, Cinthia called us and said they've figured out a way to create our ice cream bar! It meant so much to us that UC was still trying to figure out a way to have our dream dessert station even though my husband and I were fine with tray-passed ice cream - and SO many guests complimented us for the ice cream station!
5. Cinthia and Chef Tony are very willing to work with you to make sure the entrees are exactly the way you want it! We initially weren't incredibly happy with the salmon during out taste testing, so they had us come in again to try the chicken with another free taste test (this is a huge deal - other venues often charge for taste tests)! They even allowed us to sub mashed potatoes for scalloped potatoes etc. I'll be honest - we thought the food at our taste testing was okay, pretty decent wedding food. BUT the food the night of our wedding was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! We had so many guests (some of our guests are even wedding coordinators) compliment us for the food! Multiple parents also said this wedding had the best kid meals they've ever seen with delicious chicken tenders and fries - I had a dad even ask if he could also have a kids meal!

Other details that makes UC stand out...
- Parking ON SITE with a private lot!
- You have the entire building to yourself!
- Indoors in case of rain!
- I noticed some wedding websites giving UC three dollar signs, but this venue is actually VERY accommodating to your budget with fair prices
- 10/10 STAFF. Cinthia, Tony (bar), Tony (chef), and Joy are absolutely amazing to work with!

My husband and I got married in May 2019 at the University Club so my review is woefully overdue, but I cannot speak highly enough of the entire team at the UCP and of our experience. Jonathan and Kelly made everything feel seamless and were so supportive throughout the entire planning process. They made us feel like they were part of our team, and let me just tell you - if you have parents with strong opinions like we do, they are a team you can't pass up having on your side. There plenty of things to be stressed about out on our day of, but not a single one of them related to our reception. The food, layout, setup, service, and attention to detail and to us and our guests was above and beyond what we could have imagined. THANK YOU UCP!!!

(photography credit for pictures in this review go to Carrie Rogers Photography)

I got married here Jan 2020 and I would give University Club of Pasadena 10+ stars if I could. From the beginning, the whole staff was incredible to work with. Jonathan was incredible and his team went above a beyond to make my wedding day as smooth as can be. I didn't have to stress or worry about any details. They heard and followed through with all my requests and always were so accommodating and attentive whenever I had questions. The presentation of food was spectacular and delicious. Chef is amazing and was kind enough to create a menu of everything we loved. Even months later I am still receiving compliments of how great the food was and that my venue was absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed every minute of it and would recommend this venue to all future brides I know.

My daughter had her wedding here, at University Club Of Pasadena, in August 2018. When we walked in, we were all sold.

The venue is charming and just what my daughter and her fiancé (now husband) were looking for. It's historic and steeped in "Old Pasadena" charm. The vine-filled courtyard was perfect for the ceremony, and the fountain and lights added a lovely touch. The crisp linens, gold chivari chairs and beautiful chandeliers in the dining room added to the elegance of the evening.

Kelli, Director of Catering & Special Events, and her staff exceeded our expectations in every way. From beginning to end, Kelli helped my daughter and her fiancé plan their dream wedding. Kelli and Jonathon were so accommodating. The entire staff took wonderful care of us.

The food was amazing! We served Indian and American food and Chef & his staff did not disappoint. The presentation was gorgeous and the food was delicious! Everyone was talking about it. We also served a variety of unique & delicious appetizers before dinner.

The value is incredible. University Club Of Pasadena is an all-inclusive venue with ceremony and reception space, separate, very large rooms for bride and groom preparations and valet parking included!

If you're looking for a wedding venue, please visit University Club of Pasadena. I hope you fall in love with this place and Kelli & Staff as much as we did.

University Club and their staff are the best. Kelli, Jonathan, and Cyrus were absolutely amazing to work with from the beginning to the end. Everything was perfect. They're also super flexible with food and bar customization. I had a handful of guests with food allergies, and we had a very specific drink list we wanted for the bar that they were happy to accommodate. I shopped around at least 20 venues in the general LA area, and I'm seriously so glad I chose this place. If you're looking to get married in Pasadena, hands down 10/10 this is the venue I recommend.

We were just married on 10/13/2017, but fell in love with the University Club a year prior. We had already placed a down payment on another venue, but immediately changed our minds once we walked in. The management team, and staff were amazing! Kelli, Cyrus, Jonathan and entire team were super professional, flexible, and more than attentive not only for the planning process, but the day of, our entire wedding party was treated like royalty! The food selections were superb, and the chef and his creations, are out of this world! Everyone at our wedding ranted and raved about the food, from the appetizers, to salad, and especially the main course. If you are planning a wedding, I would highly recommend making an appointment becomes this venue books quickly.

The space transformed well and allowed us to utilize multiple rooms including a separate one for the kids.

The University Club of Pasadena made my wedding unforgettable. It was such an affordable and beautiful wedding venue. I would recommend any couple on a tight budget to check this place out. The staff was amazing and friendly, especially Valerie who kept up communication with me through the whole process.

This review is way past due! We had our wedding reception at the University Club of Pasadena on November 26, 2016. It was everything we had wished for and more! The space is beautiful, the staff was amazing from beginning to end, and the food was exceptional. We received so many compliments on everything. I wish we could do it all over again, it was perfect!

They were a little slow in responding to my initial request for information but once I was contacted, I was very happy. This place is beautiful for your ceremony and reception! My guests loved the location. You have the entire facility to yourselves the entire night! The food is incredible, the prices are even better! Loved this place

If I could plan it all over again, I would still go through the University Club. All of their staff are professional and friendly, the food is delicious, and the space is beautiful. We had access to the entire building for 12 hours, no need to worry about sharing space with other special events. Their staff gave us ideas when we were having trouble deciding on layouts and decorations and were extremely patient with all of our questions. All of our guests came up to us to mention how good the food was at the end of the night.

The University Club of Pasadena is a hidden gem for weddings in Los Angeles! After looking at many venues across LA that felt like overpriced wedding factories, we were excited to find a place that felt unique and inviting. It's a beautiful venue that offers flexibility and is budget friendly. The Club looks nice in photos, but in person you'll be blown away by it's historic charm. It's located in Old Town Pasadena, near City Hall which we used a location for wedding photos. This place checked all the boxes for what we wanted from our wedding. We wanted 1 location for the ceremony and reception, which the club delivered. We had an outdoor ceremony on the covered patio with the fountain because we married in July. The reception space is large; we seated 140 guest comfortably plus a large dance floor. A plus when we contracted in January 2015 was no difference in price for booking a Saturday versus a Friday or Sunday like most other venues. I don't recall a minimum charge being required when we booked, or if there was it was relatively low that we didn't notice. They host 1 event per day, no worries about sharing your space which includes a ceremony site, reception hall, brides room, and grooms room. There are other rooms to explore and use for photo opps or childcare (which we did and our guest loved). Also included was valet for all guest and the choice of Chiavari chairs, at no extra cost! This place seemed too good to be true. The food was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS made by their in-house Chef Ali, who is very talented and guest raved about how great dinner tasted. Staff responds to emails and calls promptly and servers working our wedding were all very polite and nice. They were flexible with our needs and request which was so helpful with planning. There is a Westin hotel across the street where we and our guest stayed, you can walk across the street if you don't want to drive. The University Club of Pasadena is top notch, and we are so happy we got married here.

Overall, this was a great place for our wedding! It sometimes took two or three emails to get a response, and we had to correct some errors and remind the staff of things we'd requested. However, everything came together on our wedding day, everything went smoothly, and we got so many compliments! Food was DELICIOUS!

When I walked into the University Club of Pasadena, I knew that I wanted to have the reception there. The location is beautiful and it was private. We had the whole club to ourselves. It looks a lot more expensive than what it was. The staff and manager were extremely helpful and egard to please. The food was delicious!!!! Everyone only has beautiful things to say about the club. Next to a destination wedding, I would not have done it anywhere else.