National Tropical Botanical Garden

The National Tropical Botanical Garden was a highlight of our wedding. While initially a bit tough to get in touch with, once we connected, Gwen was fantastic-- responsive, helpful, and kind. She even helped us find an amazing florist, the Blue Orchid, who did our stunning flowers with only a few days notice. We got married, just the two of us, so the venue was particularly important to help us feel like the wedding was special. The NTBG delivered beautifully (even with the intermittent sprinkles throughout our wedding.)

The National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) came complete with a rainbow, tons of magic, a picturesque Hawaiian backdrop, and the most incredible staff ever! We highly recommend them. Here's why: (1) NTBG is a perfect location for a pandemic wedding. With everchanging COVID19 protocols, the staff under Gwen's leadership helped us solve challenges every step away to ensure our guest, vendors, and NTBG staff were safe. Our wedding guest list went from 50 to 75 to the final 102 headcount in a matter of 4 months. They educated us, listened, and problem solved without putting much pressure on us. So helpful, especially when you're planning a destination wedding during a pandemic. The greenery and trees made it a spectacular place for a Hawaiian wedding photoshoot! (2) The location was stunning for an outdoor wedding. It screamed Hawaiian vibes! After our ceremony, a full rainbow appeared above us. You couldn't ask for more. We set up luxurious AC bathroom stalls, a beautiful tent and dancefloor, and food stations outdoors. The NTBG team knew what they were doing. Honestly, we didn't feel or experience any logistical venue hiccups. It felt so seamless and easy! They were genuine, fun, and embodied the aloha spirit. At the end of the night, the NTBG lead, Gwen, even danced with us. That's beautiful! (3) Most importantly, NTBG is about honoring local Hawaiian culture and community. You probably would not get that personalized attention, service, and community feeling with larger hotel venues. We highly recommend National Tropical Botanical Garden. We are already dreaming about our wedding anniversary party at NTBG - going full circle to where the magic happened! Thanks, NTBG, for the best party and community celebration of our lives. We are sending love from New York City!

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful spot to get married! Me and turner visited this site in 2019 and instantly knew that this is where we wanted to get married. Gwen has been so helpful and accommodating from the very beginning. She has also been so patient through the whole planning and re-planning through this pandemic. She was always so readily available when I emailed or called with questions and concerns. We would 10/10 recommend any of their sites to future brides and grooms!

This place is so incredibly beautiful it’s almost overwhelming. I chose the venue after looking at only a few photos (I didn’t have the opportunity to actually visit the site until the day before my wedding). I was blown away, it was so much more than I could even imagine. We had our ceremony by the waterfall and our reception in the meadow. The whole experience was totally surreal. Gwen, the venue manager, was super helpful and kind. This place is real treasure. I really can’t recommend this venue enough.

This venue is everything, I searched high and low for a perfect venue for my wedding and this was it. I am a very picky person so I made sure to search every ceremony location on the island of Kauai made a spreadsheet and everything. Again this was it, the most perfect one. why? lets start of with Gwen, she is the most sweetest most understanding person ever! at the end the day I was calling her aunty Gwen, she has a heart of gold and super Patient. We emailed each other 57 times! and she never got annoyed of me lol. she answered all my questions and even gave me great recommendations. The place was a dream, my family got out of the car and everyone, I mean everyone including the photographer and videographer from Oahu complimented the garden when they stepped out the car. I got married under the big valley tree. It was a huge sacred tree with vining pothos hanging from it defiantly a statement. the place you get all to yourself in the allotted time. I do strongly recommend you adding another 1 or two for more pictures because there is so many picture opportunities. I love plants and foliage and this had all of it. the area its located is also always sunny. it was raining in Anahola but the sun was out and no cloud in site at the garden. the tree has a canopy so it gives shade to a very big area. the birds where chirping the place was super well maintained and there was a bathroom no to far out. when you book this place you are also helping in conserving the area. I feel like with such a beautiful big tree and the vines, you don't need any extra decor like arch or floral decor, it will take away from the beauty of the tree. I had rose petals sprinkled down the isle but even that I did not really need, the place speaks for itself, it wows people with it own natural beauty. When you get to the big valley tree it is far away from any streets house etc you are just surrounded by nature and all its beauty. I hope this review helps, I will also say I am a Disney princess at heart and this was my DREAM wedding! even the locals who I told where I was getting married said it was the best place to get married at. if you are looking for something that gives a wow factor this is it. I am so satisfied/happy that I chose this place.

NTBG was our dream venue to get married at and after months of planning and back and forth with Gwen, we decided we had to postpone our wedding due to Covid. Gwen was an amazing help from start to finish and answered all my questions in a timely manner! I will definitely be reaching out once this pandemic is over and plan my dream wedding again!

National Tropical Botanical Garden is the perfect place to plan your destination or local wedding! Although we were not able to move forward due to COVID-19, we loved working with Auntie Gwen. She was quick to respond, kept in touch throughout the months of planning, and SHE CARED! My Fiancé and I are both from California and met on Kaua’i 5 years ago in Poi’pu where we got engaged at the same beach that we met at. It was only right to say “I Do” on the island as well. After 6 long months of planning, we created a simple and fun ceremony and reception. The venue itself is beyond beautiful and brings a natural beauty to any event. Auntie Gwen and staff were very empathetic and accommodating during our decision to cancel our wedding due to the pandemic. We highly recommend choosing NTBG for your wedding!

Words cannot adequately express how great Gwen and her team are to work with. They are helpful, kind, and extremely fair. I have absolutely no hesitation to recommend NTBG as a perfect place to plan for your wedding and reception! Thanks Gwen!

My wedding was suppose to be at the NTBG this summer in June. Due to the pandemic we had to cancel our wedding - but I still wanted to review this venue and its excellent staff. Gwen was a dream to work with all along and made the plan for our day so easy and wonderful. I will always be sad that our dream wedding at the NTBG did not work out, but if you are reading this after the pandemic, do not hesitate to get married here.

I am a wedding coordinator here on Kauai. NTBG is one of my favorite venues on the whole island and that's why I choose to have our wedding there. Gwen has always been wonderful to work with! The grounds are always great spaces to host the most amazing events.

While we did not decide to go with the location due to our unique party size/needs, this venue was one of, if not the most beautiful site we saw. There were gorgeous views from anywhere you looked and the amazing plants and foliage were truly amazing. The McBryde Gardens specifically stood out, and the wedding venue there was magical. I especially want to give a shout out to Gwen, who took us on an amazing tour of the site and gardens. She was extremely knowledgeable and was just a pure joy to spend our time with. I would highly recommend her and cannot say enough about the combination of her expertise and beautiful landscape of the gardens themselves. I am a little sad that we won't be having our wedding here, but would HIGHLY recommend this venue. There is a huge breadth of photo opportunities, and they are a very well run organization

Selecting a wedding venue from a distance can be a bit of a mission, but when I saw the Monkey Pod tree at NTBG Big Valley location I knew that I had found the perfect spot! Over 18 months of planning we never had the opportunity to visit until 2 days before the wedding - and it did not disappoint! The venue is absolutely breathtaking with several stunning locations for photos all with a slightly different feel - from garden to jungle to waterfalls. Gwen, the Event Planner for NTBG, is extremely helpful and knowledgeable and can provide vendor recommendations, help provide support when it comes to timelines and is happy to answer any questions you have - and is very responsive on email which is a major plus!

While I was in Kauai My now Husband proposed and we were able to get an appointment with Gwen to look at the venues available for our wedding the following year. The Mcbryde gardens was the perfect location for our wedding. It is a luscious paradise. We had a small wedding of about 40 people and it felt like we had our own private party in the middle of the jungle! It was perfect. Gwen was professional and accommodating on the multiple times we wanted to have access to the property to plan for the event. Keep in mind that you will have to create and bring everything in including bathrooms but it is a perfect opportunity to create the wedding of your dreams! If you are looking for a great location on the south side of Kauai to have your wedding look no further! The National Tropical Botanical gardens has it all!

We could not be happier with our ceremony at the NTBG in Kauai. Gwen is attentive and an excellent communicator. She put my mind at ease and helped make the day seamless. I chose the venue from a previous review of the McBryde Garden and it was perfectly aligned with what envisioned. Thank you Gwen and team for taking care of this magnificent place and offering it to others.

Incredibly beautiful setting with lush and gorgeous greenery. Staff was very helpful and accomodating. If you're looking for an outdoor magical setting, this is your place!

We had our 60 person wedding in NTBG McBryde Garden - Big Valley and it was absolutely breathtaking. Several of our guests mentioned that it was the most beautiful location for a wedding they'd ever been to and I would definitely agree. There's scenic views, trees, and plants everywhere; even a river – tons of great, close options for photos for both the couple and guests. Gwen was a breeze to work with and super helpful. We actually weren't able to visit Kauai prior to the wedding but with her and our planner Marie from Legacy Events Kauai, it was completely stress free. I can't recommend NTBG highly enough; get married here – you won't regret it.

We got married under their private waterfall. It was beautiful and perfect. We had an afternoon ceremony which meant no direct sunlight! Gwen was a joy to work with! She made sure the “aisle” was sprayed down so there were going to be few to no bugs during the wedding. We got bitten up the day of the rehearsal unfortunately so wear bug spray!!

The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous and we had such a wonderful experience working with Gwen Silva and NTBG. Due to flooding on Kaua’i we had to move our location from the big valley to the visitors center 2 days before the wedding, something that could have been extremely stressful but was not at all, and we were far from disappointed with the new venue which provided the perfect setting for our dream wedding. Our pictures turned out so beautifully and all of our guests had a wonderful time under the pink sunset and stars and agreed the gardens were perfect for our special day.

Words fail to express how much my husband James and I appreciated our time spent at the NTBG (McBryde Garden). The day was simply spectacular. As two artists in the entertainment industry with hectic schedules, we were beyond grateful to have had Gwen Silva at the helm of our intimate mini elopement wedding ceremony on June 21st. It was daunting to think of planning anything, including a small wedding up to 10pp from over 6,000 miles away in New York city without knowing what the space would look like until the day before (due to flight delays). However-- from first correspondence to day of coordination, Gwen went above and beyond to treat us like 'Ohana' with her thoughtfulness and warmth. We knew no matter what, with or without family present we were in for the best day of our lives. And it was. The mini climates throughout the gardens-- from the waterfall to the giant Monkey Pod tree-- were a magical and gorgeous place to say our vows. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

A dream location. This Location is private, lush with tropical gardens, and countless photo areas. Gwen (the wedding coordinator) was an absolute DREAM to work with. My husband and I eloped and planning was a breeze with Gwen. She answered all of my questions and even walked through the venue a few days before our ceremony to pick out the perfect location. This is the perfect location big or small!

Finding a venue for a destination wedding was a bit challenging. We wanted an outdoor wedding and we had never been to Kauai. Not seeing a venue in person was a bit worrisome. But once we saw pictures of Ntbg Allerton garden, we fell in love. Gwen was great, friendly and responsive. She took the time to tell us as much information as possible. She respondeed back via email within a day whenever we had questions. She also sent us more pictures and videos to let us get a better idea of the venue. We are very happy to have picked this beautiful place. There's so much space and you get the whole place to yourself. Our guests complimented how beautiful and perfect it was. You see the water in the background and you have a lot of greenery and flowers. This venue describes Kauai very well. You'll have to book all the vendors, but it makes the wedding more personal. Everything went smoothly! We definitely recommend having your wedding at NTBG.