4.8 out of 5 stars and 27 reviews
4.8
(27)Best of Weddings (1x).San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles
$6,250 starting price
300+ guest capacity
This venue can host 300+ guests
About this vendor
Unique Lush Outdoor Wedding & Events Venue
Welcome to River Garden! We are a multi-use wedding and events space in Vista CA, and can't wait to take you for a tour of our one-of-a-kind property! We have over 30,000 square feet of usable event space spread out over 3 separate event spaces, but what makes us special is the towering waterfalls, water features throughout, and our unique gabion walls. These walls circle our venue and provide a private space for you to celebrate your special occasion. These gabion walls are filled with honey quartz rock and are covered with trailing vines, blooming flowers, and are only interrupted by the water features we have scattered all throughout the property. Two gentle streams meet under a picturesque bridge and this river divides our two main event spaces. Our covered Lawn Pavilion is over 7000 sq. ft. of premium turf and is the perfect place to host your ceremony. Opposite this is our glass Conservatory and the rest of our gardens and culminates in a massive 20' showcase waterfall. This Conservatory is a perfect place for your reception and features a modern dance floor with a state of the art sound ceiling from Sweden.
This "hidden gem" in the North County San Diego area is a versatile blank canvas wedding space and with plenty of outdoor entertaining areas, it is perfect for even the largest weddings or a smaller socially distanced wedding.
We can't wait to take you on a tour of this special venue and look forward to hearing from you soon!
Full-wedding venue rental ranges from $6,250-$9,250. Please see our Pricing PDF for our full price list.
Pricing details
Starting prices
Reception:
$6,250
Ceremony:
Contact for price
Bar services:
Contact for price
Catering:
Contact for price
Starting prices don't include service fees, taxes, gratuity, and rental fees. Guest count and seasonality may also affect prices. Peak season for this venue is Feb-Nov.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Guest Capacity
- 300+
Settings
- Barn
- Farm & Ranch
- Estate
- Garden
- Religious Setting
- Church
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Bar Rental
- Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
- Food & Catering
- Rentals & Equipment
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.8
out of 5.027 reviews
Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
River Garden receives glowing reviews as a stunning and spacious wedding venue that exceeded expectations. Reviewers praise the beautiful scenery, friendly and responsive staff, and the affordability of the venue. The all-outdoor setting with unique features like water elements and a waterfall, along with the ability to bring in own vendors for customization, makes it a standout choice for couples looking for a picturesque and stress-free wedding location. Guests appreciate the natural beauty, flexibility, and helpfulness of the team at River Garden, emphatically recommending it to couples searching for an enchanting and magical wedding venue.Review photos
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The entire team at River Garden is AMAZING!! From the moment we first booked a tour our experience with them was phenomenal. I first found them through Instagram. We were looking for an outdoor reception venue and one of the major perks is you can bring all your own vendors in except the DJ. And for the DJ they have a long list of approved DJs. The team at River Garden always responded to our emails promptly. We had a Catholic Mass for our ceremony so they were very patient with trying to find a date that worked for the chruch and at River Garden. Now to mention the beauty of the venue...everywhere you turn is a photo opportunity! A photographer's dream! There is no need for a lot of decor. All the table and chairs are included. We have a large family and all of the kids had a blast running around after dinner playing tag and other games we had for them. The team at River Garden keeps the grounds pristine and are always adding new features and upgrading. Between the time I had booked it and the wedding, they added a grooms getting ready room. I toured it a few times in the months we were engaged and there was always something beautiful blooming. There are 12 water features and they make a beautiful background noise as well as are gorgeous to look at. I just don't have enough time to express how grateful we are to have booked this venue. Book it before the dates are taken!!
Having our wedding at River Garden was one of the best decisions we ever made- highly recommend!! I'm not sure where to even begin. We had so many people come up to us and compliment the beauty, spaciousness, and unique features.
First, the staff is absolutely incredible. They're so kind, professional and quick to respond.
The venue itself is STUNNING. Every single angle/wall/corner is picture-perfect. Despite being close to the main street, you can't hear anything outside the venue between the one-of-a-kind sound system and multiple water features. We saved thousands of dollars because we didn't have to buy much decor.
The other biggest selling point for us was keeping our guests together in one space to maximize fun vibes, but having it large enough that the ceremony was on the other side of the bridge in it's own section that later opened up for games (we rented from them for $100).
They also just added a groomsmen suite, which made it easy to get ready on site.
As an added tip, make sure to book Dax the DJ immediately after securing the venue because he's freaking incredible, provides a Photo Booth with his package, and projects whatever messaging you want onto the main waterfall the entire night! Will add photos when we get them back.
the most beautiful venue & it was affordable!:) it was the perfect setting for our spring wedding. everyone at the venue was so helpful and quick to respond. we had the best day & where able to enjoy it stress free!!!
Any questions?
This venue is absolutely gorgeous!! Becca, one of the venue managers was extremely helpful and made our day extra enjoyable and worry free. I would recommend this venue to anyone looking for an outdoor space with beautiful scenery and can accommodate a ton of guests!!
I had looked for months for a venue that fit the vision I had. We had toured about 5 other venues before coming to River Gardens, but once I stepped inside the walls I knew it was one. They were a relatively new venue when I had toured, but they already had stunning reviews and it made sense when talking with the team and seeing all they offered. I wanted a completely outdoor wedding and they offer that along with the elements for bad weather should it happen. Becca was the manager who handled our wedding and she was always so sweet and quick to respond. She worked amazingly with all our vendors. They provide gorgeous seating and tables and dinner outside under the structure is so idyllic and I will cherish the memories that we created for decades to come. The photos only do so much justice of the beauty and greenery within the venue and I encourage anyone who wants to have the flexibility to bring in the vendors of their choice and those brides who like some DIY, and we got to bring our dog for our ceremony and photos, and that was very important. Thank you River Gardens!
This venue is absolutely stunning and a DREAM!! We viewed this place and fell in love 100%! It had everything we wanted and just kept getting better and better each time we visited. The staff were amazing and helped make this place a second home for us. We loved everything about it! We couldn't be happier with this venue and how our wedding turned out. The team at River Garden made our wedding dreams come true! We are more than grateful to be a part of the RG family!!!! We highly recommend this place and promise you won’t be disappointed!
***TOUR REVIEW ONLY***
We did not select this venue due to following cons: prominent highway noise from the 78, sails/fabric over the ceremony space is not removable so it appears in all pictures, neighborhood you have to drive through to get there and surrounds venue is not very nice…
Response from the Vendor on 01/30/2024
Hi Ally, thank you for the review. I don’t believe we had a scheduled tour for you. I am sorry to hear that we didn’t get the opportunity to show you around! We do require appointments for every your in order to give you the best possible exper...
ience when touring the venue. During the appointment, we turn on all 13 water features, all lights, and music to make sure you get the full picture of what the venue will be like on your wedding day. Our water wall, mixed with our state of the art sound system, and multiple water features make it so the noise form the 78 is almost non existent, and you feel like you’re in our little paradise! We would love to have to come back for a scheduled tour so you can get the full effect. Please reach out to hello@rivergardenweddings.com if you would like to come back and get the guided tour. Thank you so much!
We absolutely loved River Gardens! As soon we stepped inside for our first tour I knew I wanted to get married here! We had a couple other venue tours scheduled but we canceled them after visiting River Gardens. What I loved most about the venue is how it offers so much natural beauty you don't need to spend much on decor to have a stunning wedding. We got so many comments on how beautiful the venue was. Once we got Becca as our main contact our experience only got greater! Thank you River Gardens so much!
I highly recommend River Garden! Not only is the venue absolutely gorgeous, the staff was also greatly communicative and the price is actually reasonable with flexibility to bring your own vendors/alcohol which is incredibly difficult to find nowadays!! There is also a bridal suite to get ready on site. I absolutely loved this venue and would choose it again in a heartbeat. Because it is outdoors and so picturesque, you do not need to overspend on decorations either. Overall, beautiful venue with kind staff.
Absolutely beautiful venue! If you want a beautiful garden fantasy wedding where you could add your spin this is it! made my wedding completely magical! It got a bit cold in the evening since this is all out doors but but guests have been raving to me how beautiful my wedding was here. When I first started looking at venues last year, this was my dream venue. I didnt tell my my fiance how much I wanted this to be our venue but I gave him a list of venues to choose from and he chose River Garden. Then we toured shortly after. I have never seen my parents to excited to hand over money to book this venue. Hanna and Becca have been amazing to work with and and were so helpful. Completely recommend this venue!
My husband and I got married here on 11-18-23, and we LOVED it! The venue is very spacious and is prepared for all weather scenarios with a rainproof covering over the reception area. They also have heaters if needed. There are lots of gorgeous water features, a cute little bridge over a stream, a huge waterfall on which you can project a monogram and much more! They also provide beautiful wooden tables, chairs, and cocktail tables. We chose not to use tablecloths because the wood itself was gorgeous with bud vases and candlesticks on it. We chose to work with many of their recommended vendors, and they were all amazing!! We also loved the management - they are so kind, understanding, and communicative! I would highly encourage you to go to a meet and greet event to check out the venue and some of the vendors they work with! Congratulations on your engagement to those of you on the hunt for a wedding venue! I know it can be stressful finding all the right vendors that work with your budget and style, but if your wedding is anything like mine, it will all work out in the end. Just remember the meaning behind the day and try to not stress so much about all the details (especially if you have your wedding here - there is already so much natural beauty at this venue, so you don't have to worry about buying tons of decorations to spruce it up)
Absolutely GORGEOUS venue! This venue has tons of greenery and beautiful walls along with a STUNNING waterfall. We got married here in September of 2023 and it was an absolute dream! Guests are still talking about the venue and can you say AMAZING photos!!
The girls at River Garden are also very helpful and sweet. Moving out of state half way through wedding planning was hard, however, Becca and Hannah were there to answer any questions we had leading up to our big day without hesitation.
Overall, this venue will make you feel like a princess on your big day and is a remarkable place to get married!!
River Garden is an enchanting venue! My husband and I wanted to have a "giant backyard" feel to it in an all outdoor venue, and it was exactly what we were looking for. We had ~125 guests and there was plenty of space (there is room for 200). So many guests gave us compliments on how beautiful it was! The gazebo in the reception area is so captivating; I remember seeing that in images while vendor shopping really caught my eye! We were helped initially by Hanna, and then Becca who took over as venue manager later on. Hanna and Becca were so helpful and kind. As we got closer to the date, Becca answered every question I had so promptly. I would definitely recommend this venue to others!!
River Garden was everything we could have dreamed of! It was GORGEOUS, affordable, and we loved being able to pick our own food/dessert vendors. We had a big wedding (200 people) and it didn't feel crowded at all. The staff is amazing to work with and so kind. We genuinely feel like it's a hidden gem in San Diego and we feel so blessed to have found it. We truly can't recommend this venue enough! The staff was very professional and communicative. We truly would not have changed a single thing.
We can’t say enough great things about the River Garden. We got married on June 30, 2023 and we couldn’t have picture having our wedding anywhere else. The day ran smooth and we had a great time. The River Garden is definitely a hidden gem in Vista! The Venue itself is breathtaking. So many beautiful plants, flowers, and waterfalls surround the venue. Hanna and the team were amazing! They were kind, helpful, and easy to communicate with. RG provides a a list with many amazing vendors which we choose from. Our guest couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful the venue was. RG was a great pleasure to work with. We highly recommend couples to check out the venue. You won’t be disappointed!
Our original venue canceled a month before our wedding date. I heard that River Garden possibly had a cancellation and reached out. Amy and Hannah were beyond amazing, they were so welcoming, understanding and we’re both a blessing in the whole process. The venue is absolutely stunning and everything we could ever ask for when it came to the vision we had for our wedding. Our hearts our full of gratitude for the whole River Garden family and venue.
We loved our wedding at River Garden! The venue itself is breathtaking and there are so many beautiful areas to take photos, we couldn't get to it all! The venue is only a few years old and they are constantly upgrading it with new features and beautiful landscaping. The staff was organized and kind, setting us up with everything we needed for the day to run smoothly which it absolutely did. We also enjoyed the fact that we could cater from any restaurant, hire our own bartender, and buy our own alcohol instead of needing to order from the venue. That helped to lower the cost a little.
We had an amazing experience at River Garden. Hanna was extremely communicative, helpful, kind, & patient with us during the entire process from start to finish. The venue is incredibly beautiful, well maintained, & had plenty of space to accommodate all of our needs/guests. We have 0 negative things to say, everything was perfect!
We had a beautiful wedding here at River Garden. My wife and I really recommend this place, Hanna was a great person to deal with she was always there to answer questions and always had a smile to great us and our family. We are really happy we got to celebrate our special day here.
Also it is such a beautiful venue inside you and your guest will enjoy it so much if you go with it.
River Garden was the best choice I made during wedding planning! The first time i went to look, it was like love at first sight. The greenery everywhere was exactly what i was looking for in my dream venue. So many people at our wedding also compliments how beautiful it was! Everyone at the venue was so helpful when it came to making our night be a dream come true. Overall, we loved this venue and couldn’t have chosen something better to make our wedding night amazing! 10000% recommend this venue!
Had our wedding here in Sept 2022.
Pros: Accessible, gorgeous, luscious, spacious, quiet, organized, very responsive staff, tons of parking, 12 hr rental, flexible on visits prior to event. Ice maker machine which was handy because alcohol was byob & Farm Tables and Chairs were just perfect!!
Cons: Where do we begin…
Noise. BEWARE if you want to have a decent sounding party with music and dancing. We saw the other reviews about this issue but weren’t too concerned, thinking we were respectful and other people must’ve been out of control. Our contract said they could turn down the music if it could be heard outside the property or surpassed 110 decibels inside. Even though these two terms weren’t met… the venue ‘co-owner’ ended up trying to turn down the music on our wedding day at about 7pm. Groom steps out and argues with Co owner for 15 minutes at the peak of the party, ruining the vibe, whereby it is eventually decided to go back inside to measure this ‘extreme’ music — only 84 decibels in the middle of the dance floor; and 104 decibels one inch away from a single standing speaker. I consider this a breach of contract so BE CAREFUL!! This was after they tried to argue the contract said the limit was 100 decibels. They would’ve been fine ruining the party if they had it their way.
Construction. They added a fireplace without letting us know, removing about 15% of the seating capacity we were counting on. They said it can hold up to 400 people. We had 250 and it was very tight. Just be sure when you book you are ready to be proactive to ask what will be changing we assumed theyd let us know - its good business practice to communicate!
Insurance. They try to make you get $160 insurance for every vendor. Musicians? $160. Security? $160. Clean up crew? $160. Of course they have it pre-set with an insurance company their friends with. I’m sure they don’t get a commission. ;)
Bathrooms. One men’s restroom. Guys started going into the female restroom since there were over 100 guys at the event….
Turf Area isn’t allowed for sit down dinner yet there are still pictures in the venues social media platforms that have this. Shady area is only in the Turf Area so be conscious of that during those hot summer days or pencil in umbrellas. ( Venue has only 8 )
Response from the Vendor on 11/10/2022
Hi Griselda,
We are so sorry you had this experience and wanted to take a moment to respond AND we will be reaching out as well to do whatever we can to make things right. Customer service is really important to us and our team and we really ...
apologize that this didn’t shine through and that you had a less than ideal experience. As you can see from many other reviews, we really care about the guest experience and this is a big priority to make things right.
We absolutely accept responsibility and take what you wrote seriously, however A few things to note for future couples who are considering this review among all the other positive ones:
Music: we have to follow the city and county guidelines and since we are in a neighborhood, we want to be mindful of the noise we create. The county allows an average of 60 Db from the property line and in order to not get shut down and lose our permit, we must comply with that.
Insurance: We care ALOT about the experience that our couples have and we have been doing weddings for awhile and see a lot of lawsuits and problems that occur from vendors not having insurance. We partner with Event Helper to make things easy for our couples…ABSOLUTELY NO kickbacks for us……and the best part, every time they get a policy through us, we feed 1 homeless child for a whole month through the church and a program called Got Your Back San Diego.
We have 2 bathrooms for guys (one in the main atrium and the second one around the corner) and 5 stalls for women. Each is clearly marked, we can make sure we do a better job pointing this out for future couples!
For the food in the turf area and the construction, we are absolutely sorry you didn’t feel like this was communicated prior, we added a few things and changed some small details in order to make a better guest experience, the venues capacity was actually increased by all of the beautiful stamped concrete that was added AND the turf area that used to just be dirt. The pictures that have been posted of receptions in the turf area have largely been taken down and we certainly communicate in tours the limitations of the property (we limited it so that the turf wouldn’t be destroyed AND because its harder to clean up especially when we have multiple weddings in a week.
Ultimately we are very sorry that your experience wasn’t an incredible one, as this is our goal for every couple. Our management will be reaching out to see if there is anything we can do to rectify the situation and take care of you! Talk soon!
Hanna Holford and Team CSE for River Garden Wedding Venue
This is the place you want to get married! The venue is gorgeous!!! It’s beautiful garden and peaceful water features make you feel as though you have been transported out of San Diego county and into your own private paradise. The staff at the venue (John Luke, Nicole and Hana) are so wonderful! They truly love helping people get married and have the best time at their venue. The special sound system for the DJ brings your dance floor and dinner seating close enough together but not too loud. Ceiling DJ speakers…genius! The brand new bridal suite is adorable and has everything you need. Along with great photography opportunities. I am soooo happy we got to get married here and will never forget it. Truly every time we visited the venue we fell in love with it all over again. I hope to get to attend a wedding here in the future so I can revisit and enjoy its beauty.
We had the best experience with River Garden and highly recommend this spot to couples!! It’s so beautiful, the staff is so kind, and it really feels like a hidden gem in Vista. Caleb and I have gotten so many compliments on this venue. We ended up having a rainy day wedding and as the bride, I did not have to worry at all because the staff at RG immediately took care of it and made sure guests were warm and dry - even though it’s a fully outdoor venue! The vendor list RG provides is also incredible as we used a lot of their recommended vendors. The communication was always quick, kind, and easy. Again, we feel so blessed to have gotten married here and it was truly such a magical, beautiful day!!
River Garden was absolutely stunning. I was lucky and blessed enough to be a bride at this venue. The entire team / staff there are spectacular, helpful, kind, and hard workers. I adore Nicole, she’s truly the best. Was willing to help and answer all my questions and has a huge heart! The VENUE is insanely beautiful!! We had so many guest telling us how rad, different, and gorgeous this venue was. I 100% agreed with them. From all the different plants, water features, lightening, layout, and the rock walls! This venue is still doing amazing upgrades. There vision and love for weddings is truly something special. I highly recommend having your wedding here you definitely won’t regret it!
The River Garden was the perfect place for us. It was so easy working with all the venue staff and Nicole, the main venue correspondent, was so easy going and helpful throughout the entire process. They made set up and tear down extremely smooth so that way we can enjoy or special day. I would recommend this venue to any future bride + groom.
River Garden was the first and only venue we looked at, mostly because it was still during COVID restrictions in Dec 2020. I was concerned we wouldn't find a venue that was flexible but still a safe place to hold a wedding and they delivered! Right from the beginning, Nicole was amazing and answered all my million little questions promptly. The venue was an absolute dream and delivered everything we wanted and more for our May 2021 wedding!
Beautiful grounds, all outside, romantic atmosphere, and accommodating for all hired vendors. It was not as cheap as we thought, but with the rentals (tables, chairs, lighting, speakers for reception, plugs) that they provide, it is very comparable and reasonable. River Garden was an absolute pleasure to work with and all our guests loved the experience! I'm referring everyone!
This venue is a best kept secret, but not for long! You have got to see that gabion stone wall and those water features: stunning and unexpected. You can tell that a lot of thought was put into this venue to provide the most amount of flexibility for brides and grooms to express their once-in-a-lifetime dream. Their operations team is so 'can do' and easy to work with...unlike another venue we used that nickel and dimed us for everything!! This venue can adapt to most any style...consider it as an option for YOUR special occasion. Stellar experience!
Contact
390 Mimosa Avenue, Vista, CA | San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles
Interested?
Meet the team
Hanna Holford
Sales Manager
I am so excited to have the opportunity to be able work with couples on creating their most perfect day! Being able to help create special moments and memories is why I truly love what I do here :). Looking forward to chatting with you about River Garden!
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$6,250 starting price
Hanna Holford
SALES MANAGER
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River Garden Wedding & Event Venue
River Garden Wedding & Event Venue's photos