Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens

delicious Spanish inspired dinner in the decked out Mexican themed courtyard. We danced the night away on the dance floor inside and loved having all of our guests experience the beauty of San Clemente.

charming historical Spanish colonial villa, than you've come to the right place. But this review is more about their staff and our experience with the venue. Michele was great. Easy to work with, helped us book appointments, and secure the venue. She has worked with so many vendors in the San Clemente area, that she can give great advice on who to book and why. We had an issue with our videographer, and she had our back and helped solve the problem. We had a wedding coordinator, but Michele was there too making sure that everything went smooth as silk. The rest of the staff and security were basically invisible, but I had comfort knowing that they were quietly taking care of things. I will say there are quite a bit of rules since it is a historical building, but I don't think it will be a problem.

mpletely over by 10 PM. There is NO flexibility to this rule whatsoever. Also, they are very strict when it comes to their vendors. We wanted specific vendors from San Diego, however Casa requires you to use their own vendors. We were able to negotiate this rule, only after sending an email to the head of Casa Romantica and having all outside vendors sign outside vendor contracts. Overall, Casa is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen! I would get married there all over again if I could!

nd at first I thought this would be to our advantage because I thought the vendors would know the location well etc. but it didn't help. We chose 24 Carrots as our catering and rental vendor. It ended up being such an extremely hot day and neither Casa Romantica or 24 Carrots had a contingency plan. Any outdoor venue should always have a contingency plan, especially if they work with their selected vendors all of the time. All of my guests along with the bridal party we're sitting under the direct, blazing heat while eating dinner. No one thought to get us umbrellas for the tables outside, no contingency plan for the day that we had waited a year to plan and spent a lot of money on. There is no air conditioning inside. Such an extremely dissapointing experience.

We received so many compliments from guest about how beautiful it was. There are so many incredible spots for photos and it was fun how each area was staged differently. Michele was incredibly informative and helpful with any questions we had. I would definitely recommend this spot to anyone trying to create beautiful memories.

would be do it all over again in a heartbeat :)

ked by it multiple times during vacations to San Clemente but we had never visited. When it was suggested as a wedding venue, we quickly made an appointment to visit and bring our families. We were blown away at the beauty of the location and the view. We met with Michelle (who is wonderful and a saint) and quickly made our deposit. Michelle went out of her way to make us feel comfortable and work with us knowing we did not live in town. She was a pleasure to work with and truly made you feel special and that we were not just a client. On our big day, our coordinator fell ill and Michelle even stepped in to help out and be a calming voice which was beyond reassuring. Our guests were equally impressed with the venue and to this day cant stop talking about how beautiful the location and venue were. We feel so blessed to have started our lives together as husband and wife on such a special day and in such a special place. You will not be disappointed to have your wedding at The Casa

Casa Romantica, and put a deposit down within a week. Michele was extremely helpful and responsive, and the venue itself is just amazing.

iful! We were so happy with CR and highly, highly recommend it! Michele was great to work with and we are so glad we chose CR!

view of the ocean and San Clemente pier, without having to have your ceremony take place on the beach where sand can be an issue for elderly guests and women in heels! The architecture of the building is gorgeous and the gardens are breathtaking. It is also wonderful to be married in a private venue where your friends and family can take over the venue without strangers walking through. While the cost of the venue may be high, we were able to drive this down by working with Iva Lee's as our caterer. Iva Lee's was incredible - delicious food, wonderful service - and made the entire process very easy since our rentals were purchased through Iva Lee's as well. When we factored in the savings from working with Iva Lee's, Casa Romantica was actually a more affordable option than a lot of the Orange County alternatives (and just so much more romantic and charming!!). Plus, you get a membership to Casa Romantica, which hosts a lot of cool events! I cannot begin to say enough nice things about Casa Romantica - it truly is the perfect wedding venue, and we feel SO lucky that we were able to get married there.

is not helpful at all. You are also required to hire a day of coordinator if you use the space. Totally worth it for the venue but something to keep in mind.

else. Our guests could not stop raving about how wonderful the venue was from the ceremony out on the terrance to the dinner in the courtyard. The staff is helpful and flexible to ensure that the planning and big day goes smoothly. It is a little pricey but in my opinion well worth it. The pictures our photographer got are absolutely beautiful and something that we will be able to look at forever and enjoy. The venue books quickly so make sure to tour the Casa and book early if you are interested!

ouldn't have changed a thing!

beautiful architectural details. I am so glad that our money went to benefit the cultural center, gardens, and an important historical landmark. Our guests could not stop talking about how beautiful the venue was. It was expensive, but worth every penny.

es not include anything with it. However, it is a gorgeous venue with an incredible ocean view. The staff is very amenable to your needs and that is about it. Casa holds a special place in my heart because I have always dreamed of having my wedding there because I was born and raised in San Clemente it just made it that more meaningful to have my wedding at that location.

overlooking the ocean and pier, in the cozy fireplace room with the ottomans, the beautiful gardens, the bridal suite, the "man cave" downstairs, the outdoor courtyard in the center of the house, and the Main Salon with the chandelier. Brianne, the wedding coordinator, was so sweet and helpful. :) Our pictures are breathtaking! There is also a ton of history and old photos on the walls, which we thought was really neat. We also used Iva Lees for our catering and were very happy with them!

lemente pier… what more could you ask for? The venue holds 150 and is perfect if you love the beach but want a classic wedding feel. Venue is a little pricey for a Saturday but they do discount for weekday/Sunday weddings. You get the casa from 4-10pm (can come and get ready at 2pm). You have to use their preferred vendors (go with Iva Lees- Lisa is amazing! And the food was fantastic). Also no rentals included- you will have to use signature rentals, have a day of coordinator and valet (if over 100 guests) so make sure to include that in your budget… in the end it was pricey but averaged about to about the same if I went to other venue locations that require you to use their pricey food vendor. The coordinator for weddings did change quite a bit over my planning process (3 in a year) but overall they did a good job at replying back to you as long as you were persistent. Best to talk to the coordinator through email- Our day of coordinator, Lisa Wagoner did a great job at answering the majority of our questions regarding the venue (which I’m sure the majority of preferred caterers should be able to do). Lisa was also our caterer and I think she is a preferred day of coordinator for the casa, which might have helped. Another great plus is you can stop by any time to check out other weddings going on if you go before 4pm- living right down the street I took full advantage of this and got lots of great ideas for my wedding. Overall if you are looking for a classic, laid back- beach type venue go with the casa… you will not be disappointed.

other place would come close. wonderful ocean views, indoor and outdoor settings, pretty flower gardens everywhere and the staff there is wonderful. We got married on a Friday so there was a price break as well.

ning the wedding from where the ceremony will take place to the reception & photography. I would definitely recommend using this place.

they have all of the staff in place! But overall because of the view and needing little decorations - it made it the best place! Also I was actually pleased with only having a few vendor choices - less decisions sometimes make it a lot easier. I HIGHLY recommend Iva Lee's catering - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

ey said they would never make and even asked us after the invites went out to change the start time of our wedding.

for a more romantic and stunning location. Right when we saw it, we knew it was the perfect place for our wedding and it didn't disappoint. However, the price was bit hefty and they require you to use certain vendors (including a mandatory valet which they didn't disclose to us in advance and thus threw our budget off). During the 10 months between the time we booked our venue to the wedding date, they changed "wedding coordinators" 3 times and it was nearly impossible to get a hold of any one. My mom and I both left messages several times over a few week span before we were ever able to confirm the time for the rehearsal. More over, because of noise issues, their policy is that the wedding had to end at 10pm sharp. Literally, staff were taking drinks out of our guests' hands at 10:05pm. We understand the need to keep to the time allotted, but would have loved a little bit of leeway (I had read a review that stated the same thing and actually asked "coordinator #2" about this and she assured me that would never happen - HA!). I can't imagine having had our wedding any where else. It was absolutely beautiful and the photos are stunning. However, before you book, make sure you ask a lot of questions.

g beach go-ers. The inside of the Casa is absolutely beautiful with the open air courtyard for the reception under the lights, a gorgeous chandelier above the dance floor, beautiful gardens throughout and the stunning architecture with the white stucco walls and arches make an awesome backdrop for photos. The site is so naturally beautiful that you don't have to add a crazy amount of decorations or flowers. A good and bad part about Casa Romantica is that you get a blank slate. The site fee only pays for the rental of the location so you have to bring in everything yourself from the catering to tables, chairs, linens, dinnerware, silverwear, glasswear, etc. It can get pricey if you're not careful and it requires a lot of detailed planning. The good side of that is you can create almost anything you want, it will be completely unique and you get to choose every last detail. They also have a limited number of approved vendors that know the site inside and out that will help make your dream wedding come true.