Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

700 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA

251-300 guest capacity

This venue can host up to 300 guests

About this vendor

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has two distinctive locations which offer beautiful event spaces for your special occasion. The La Jolla location has breathtaking ocean views while the downtown location offers a distinct urban flare. It is our pleasure to help you plan your special event!

Amenities + details

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

Reception Area

Covered Outdoors Space

Dressing Room

Liability Insurance

On-Site Accommodations

Outdoor Event Space

Wireless Internet

Guest Capacity

Up to 300

Settings

Museum

Venue Service Offerings

Planning
Rentals & Equipment

4.5

out of 5.0

8 reviews

Search reviews

8/05/2023 • Matthew C

Beautiful ocean view, cool artwork and exhibits. However, as other reviewers have noted, horribly bad security staff to ruin your experience. We recently had our wedding reception here and it was unfortunately staffed by the worst security team I’ve ever seen in any situation, let alone for a museum/event space. One of them began the reception by yelling at us (the bride and groom) in front of all our guests for taking pictures outside. Infuriating, but we tried to let it go. Meanwhile they let one of our guest’s toddlers walk past them and get into an elevator by herself before her mother rushed to stop the doors from closing. Also, while not a huge deal, they should really implement a dress code. While some of the staff were dressed in uniforms, others were wearing very casual street clothes (jean jacket, tshirt, gold chains, sneakers). I’m all for people being comfortable but clearly not appropriate for the setting. Finally, when it was time to leave the reception, another security staff member was loudly telling people they needed to get out because they were closing. Much like a bouncer would do at a dive bar. This was a nice wedding and they were talking to our elderly parents, aunts and uncles. Completely inappropriate and a little shocking. All of the time, effort, and money spent on our event and it was largely soured by aggressive and poorly trained staff. We obviously expected a lot more from this type of venue. A real shame because it could have been great

12/17/2012 • Lauren Q

MCASD was a little more than I budgeted but I really think it was worth it. We had our ceremony on the terrace outside with a spectacular ocean view, but it was still very private. The reception space is really open and you have a lot of flexibility. The staff are great and I would say the only drawback is their preferred vendor list is a little more limited than other venues. I absolutely loved it and would highly recommend.

9/19/2012 • Sharon Y

We had our wedding ceremony and reception at the MCASD La Jolla and loved the experience! There are some logistical rules to follow, but the museum staff was very helpful throughout the planning process. The ceremony on the Terrace was gorgeous, complete with ocean waves crashing at sunset!

8/21/2011 • Michelle L

Excellent! The venue was beautiful and the staff was amazing! So great to work with!

10/01/2010 • Bendee A

We were looking for an ocean view location for our wedding, and was so happy we chose the MCASD (even though there was no sun all weekend long even in September - Note to brides: La Jolla can have that fog layer last all day long, while it's sunny just 1 mile out :P). First of all, I felt confident of a successful event throughout the entire planning process b/c of the responsiveness of Eric, our main point of contact from the museum. I must've peppered him with questions every week leading to the wedding, and he was so helpful and pleasant to deal with. Second of all, it ended up being the perfect space with the outside terrace being used for cocktail hour (with somewhat of a sunset), but the inside lobby (Axline Court) for dinner when it got dark/colder. He and Giuseppe, the caterer most knowledgeable about the space, gave advice about the setup and decor for our 170 guests - which ended up looking spectacular that night. I would say 200 guests would've been pushing it with our stage/band, but could be accommodated well with just a DJ. We initially looked into the Financial Building patio, La Jolla Cove suites rooftop, and La Jolla Woman's Club as other options, because of our ocean view and guest # requirements -- but the Museum seemed the most classy and able to accommodate our large party size. The only thing I wish is that the museum stayed open later - though it *is* open until 11pm, while most other venues in La Jolla closed at 10:00pm. Note: you can extend the time for earlier setup so as to have cocktail hour at 5 or 530pm instead of 6pm, to make the party go longer Kudos to Eric and his time for a great event space!

8/10/2010 • KAITLIN N

I used them for my ceremony and reception! I wanted an outdoor ceremony, which I had on the terrace over looking the ocean. And an indoor reception that wasn’t just in a hotel-box-ballroom. It was the perfect combination for me.

7/07/2010 • lisa g

The MCASD in La Jolla is a beautiful location to have a wedding reception. The coordinators and staff were very helpful. The scenery alone cannot be beat, ocean front and view is fabulous. Thanks for everything!

5/10/2010 • Janelle W

The MCASD was the perfect canvas for designing a reception! It allowed us to have cocktails outside, then dinner inside. The art added to the look of the reception, and the architecture is fantastic! We received many compliments on the museum.;Timing is very strict - events cannot begin before 6pm and cannot end after 11pm.